I grabbed my cellphone and texted Lani, telling her I was called to Duty, and knew she would text me back soon, probably offering any aid she could. I sent a second, requesting any phone number to the North American Werewolf Council that could be safely reached by supernaturals. If she didn’t have one of those, any number would do. There were codes that any supernatural could use to get onto a secure line if needed. It was already past midnight, so all of those things would need to be dealt with in the morning. Right now, I just needed to lay the groundwork. She would be safe for the night, because if any wolf dared to enter my territory before I called anyone, I could and would just kill them, no matter what faction they might be in.
She cried herself to sleep, which was both good and bad. I laid her out on the couch and tucked her in with a blanket, hoping she didn’t get too hot. The AC in the bar wasn’t as good as the AC at the house, but it was the safer location in the end. It had the road access my home didn’t and that would come in handy if a hunting pack came for her.
I waited for Lani, hoping she would answer soon while I watched the sleeping little girl on my couch. Of course, the damn werewolf Alpha had known I was here. How could I be so stupid to think that just because I never caught surveillance that there was none? In the end, it didn’t really change my life too much.
Except for the fact that it meant I was now the only thing between his daughter and a possibly horrifying death.
Lani didn’t text. My phone, at full volume, started blaring the annoying country song I had put for her ringtone. I fumbled with it like a fool as I tried to hit the answer button before Carey woke up.
“God damn it, Lani. I said text me!” I snapped, trying to keep my voice down. Carey was thankfully still asleep. If I guessed right, she had probably been running from the moment her brothers told her to, and that meant she was run ragged. The news of the takeover came out on Thursday. It was now Saturday morning. The poor girl had taken nearly three days to get to me.
“You were called to Duty, Jacky? Explain.” The other werecat didn’t waste any time, that was certain.
I quickly ran down exactly what I knew. Alpha’s human daughter showed up at my bar. I closed down. I didn’t tell her anything about accidentally exposing I wasn’t human. Not yet. Carey was the number one priority. The rest of the mess would have to wait. It had to.
When I was done, I just listened to silence. Lani wasn’t even breathing.
“Lani?” I sounded like a child myself in that moment. When I had run from my ‘father’ and claimed this private life in East Texas, Lani, a smaller-than-average female, had shown up at my doorstep. She had been confused at the presence of a new werecat in Texas. She didn’t know who I was or who my ‘father’ was. She just knew I was new and wanted to get to know me. Since then, she’s been my tentative ally, my only werecat to phone when I had questions or needed advice. Since I wasn’t keen on ever talking to Hasan, I called her more than him.
“It’s been nearly a century since something this big has been invoked for Duty,” Lani answered carefully. “Do you understand that the Duty is going to put you in the middle of a werewolf turf war and you will potentially declare the winner?”
I swallowed. “Yes.”
“Good. You cannot give her to anyone until they settle this among themselves.”
“I know. I was planning on keeping her until the dust settled. What happens if the winner means her harm?” It was an important question.
“You keep her. Your Duty becomes a lifelong commitment. It hasn’t happened in centuries, but it’s happened. You need to tread carefully. Do you have a lawyer?”
“Yes.” Well, not really. I had Hasan’s lawyer, who I begrudgingly used when things were desperate. Luckily, I almost never needed a lawyer. Sadly, this was desperate. “I’ll get him started on the paperwork needed for the human world once I’m off the phone with you.”
“It doesn’t have to be real. Just something to keep human cops off your back. What else are you planning?”
“To deal with the ‘she’s missing’ problem, I’m going to contact the werewolves’ council and have them make an announcement that she’s been found, to call off the search and continue managing things in the city. They won’t be stupid enough to think I can’t protect her.”
“Don’t get overconfident. There’s a lot of wolves in DFW. A lot. Last count I heard was seventy-five. Now, this turmoil might break them up, but a werecat your age might be able to handle five, ten if you’re lucky. You can’t take twenty or thirty. Hell, I’ve been around for a few centuries and I couldn’t take the Dallas-Fort Worth pack.”
“My Duty is to protect Carey Everson, daughter of the deposed Alpha of the Dallas-Fort Worth pack. I will do my Duty, Lani. It’s not overconfidence. It’s fact.” I tried my damnedest to put as much truth in those words as I could. I couldn’t fail. It wouldn’t just look poorly on me. It would look poorly on all werecats—and Hasan. I might dislike the man for several personal reasons, but I wasn’t going to fail in this. Not even for him or the werecats.
There was a strong, scared little girl on my couch who outweighed all of them.
There was silence. I could hear Lani breathing now, obviously trying to stay calm. “Be safe. Call if you need any more information. I’ll text a number I know for the wolves.”
“Will do. Thank you.” I hung up first, not worried about Lani like I was with Hasan. My phone dinged only a minute later. I texted the family lawyer first, explaining I was called to Duty by a minor. I needed anything I could get my hands on to make it legal to the humans. He responded instantly, which wasn’t strange. He might have been human, but he worked for monsters. He had to be nocturnal because we were. Thanks to client privilege, he wouldn’t tell Hasan what was going on either. The last damn thing I needed was him showing up. He would start a damn war no one needed.
Finally, I punched in the number Lani gave me. It rang twice before a quiet and tired woman answered.
“Hello. This is the North American Werewolf Council’s office. May I get your name?”
“Hello, I’m Jacky Leon and I need to speak with a wolf,” I said quickly. “Fang and claw to fang and claw. Secure line, someone important.”
There was an immediate beep. I had no hope I would get someone important, but it was worth a shot.
“George of the Atlanta Pack speaking.”
“Are you important?” I asked immediately. “I need to speak with someone who has anything to do with the turmoil in Texas.”
The wolf laughed at me. I gritted my teeth. “Like I’m going to give a stranger one of those lines. State your business and I’ll think about it.”
“How about this? I’m a fucking werecat called to Duty and you’ll give me to someone in charge.” I knew it would be easier to just explain what that Duty was, where I lived and the like, but I didn’t give my information to random phone boys and that’s all George was. He was some guy sitting in an office doing his pack’s duty to support the council, and that was answering phones.
“Look here, kitten. I don’t care if you’re the president of the fucking United States. You’re a werecat and you’re—”
“I have the Duty of protecting the deposed Alpha’s eleven-year-old human daughter,” I whispered harshly. “You’ll give me to who I fucking want to talk to.”
“Oh shit.”
“Oh shit is right, you mangy mutt.”
“One moment, Miss Leon.” I was put on hold after that harried correction.
I nearly laughed. He wasn’t the first werewolf I’d ever spoken to, and it was always a bit hostile, even though we’ve been at peace for over eight hundred years. A fragile peace, though. One that relied on two things. First, the werewolves had to stop hunting the werecats. Second, the werecats upheld and did their Duty. That was all that kept the peace between us. Not even the fae or vampires wanted the war to restart. It would spill into their communities, the human world, and probably beyond. It wouldn’t end until one side was extinct.
That was why this was an entirely bad situation. If I screwed up, there could be an angry werewolf out there waiting to put a bullet in me, and then the war would kick off. There would be no peace if I got killed because of the Duty. Even failing the Duty wouldn’t be grounds to kill me, though I had no intention of failing.
“Jacky Leon?” The voice was rich and calm, but tired. I could read the exhaustion in it, just by those two words.
“That’s right. I take it you’ve gotten my message.”
“It was explained to me. Where are you? I can send—”
I pulled the phone away for a second, giving it a confused look. “Excuse me? No? Why don’t you tell me your name? Let’s start easy here.”
“I’m Harrison, Alpha of the Atlanta Pack. Forgive me, but you bring good news and we just wish to secure her—”
“She’s secure now, and if you try to find and take her from me, I will consider it an act against her safety,” I said softly, dangerously, letting violence roll through those words, knowing they would be clear. “Don’t try to take her from me before I’m ready, wolf.”
A moment of silence, at least over the call between us. Not complete silence, though. I could hear people talking in the background. I knew the call would have people listening.
“Then let me assist you. We will announce that she has been found and put into protective custody. What would be the terms by which you will accept that your Duty is over?” He was diplomatic and calm, but I didn’t trust it. Really, in that moment, there were very few people I would trust. A life was my responsibility. I had no idea what threat level I was facing, therefore everything was a threat.
“There are a few factors,” I began, taking a deep breath. “First, peace needs to be established in Dallas-Fort Worth. I don’t care who’s in charge, honestly, but peace. That way no one is feeling unstable and thinks to strike out against her in the future. Second, I would like someone of her family available—or all of them proven dead. I don’t care how long that takes, but I need confirmation, because I won’t hand her off to a family friend when I could give her to her father or brother.” I considered if there was anything else. “Just so we’re clear, I do have immunity from any repercussions that would come from me protecting my charge. That comes from the Laws.”