I’ll need to bring him into the loop, eventually. I’ll get stock of everything in Minnesota before I drag him in if he doesn’t reach out before then.
Neither wolf looked happy. Beside me, Heath smelled confident as if I had already won the argument, and we would be in the air soon. He knew these werewolves better than me. I had worked with them for only a handful of days while he had spent years as their Alpha.
“Let’s go,” Ranger said, defeated.
“I can buy other tickets,” I said softly. “I don’t need this ride.”
“Just get in,” the wolf grumbled.
Ranger and Sheila went to get the plane ready and left me with Heath, standing in the hangar bay.
“When you said they weren’t your friends anymore, I didn’t realize you were serious,” I muttered, looking back at him. “I figured a few would still be…”
“Members of the pack might still like me, but Tywin is a new Alpha, and he’s paranoid. Ranger and Sheila probably just don’t want to be caught in the middle. On top of that, you’re a werecat, and I’m convincing them to help you.”
“I’ve helped this pack,” I reminded him.
“I know, and I reminded Tywin of that. He wouldn’t have a pack today if it weren’t for you helping us. What’s one quick plane ride for that?” Heath gave me a small smile. “I’m more dominant. I was when I ran this pack, and I still am. I’m the most dominant wolf in the state of Texas, and probably in the top three in the United States. He was going to listen. He’s going to be pissy about it, but he listened.”
I didn’t reply, thinking about what he said about how dominant he was. I had never really considered Heath’s power in the general scheme of things. He always played off his power by saying there were others above him. I had never really considered how many, rather, how few, werewolves were above him.
Something about his casual declaration and ability to use that dominance when it suited him showed he wasn’t just being boastful. He had held onto that information for a long time, which he could have told me over a year ago. It was something to think about.
My phone buzzed, and I checked the text to see if it was from Everett. I had sent him a text, asking for his address, and he sent it back over an hour later. I quickly updated him, telling him we were about to jump on a plane and head his way. Hopefully, this was something we could clean up easily and wasn’t as bad as it felt.
“Would the Tribunal werewolves tell Hasan about the Russian werewolves?” I asked my partner quietly. “They might be able to put their feet down and stop anything before it happens.”
“No. It would make them look vulnerable. I bet Hasan has his sources, just like they would, but…” Heath seemed thoughtful. “They didn’t take advantage of what your family went through in February, so I don’t see Hasan using this to take advantage of them.”
“But they won’t talk to each other. They keep their distance, just in case.”
“Just in case,” Heath agreed. “It’s safer that way. No one likes when other species get involved with their affairs.”
“Yet…” I lifted my hands and gave him a hard look. I got what I wanted, a masculine chuckle.
“Yes, yes, I know. Werewolves and other supernaturals successfully pull you werecats into things that shouldn’t be your business. Take that up with Hasan. He’s the one who decided someone needed to protect the human aspect of the supernatural world and that werecats should do that,” Heath said, smiling. “You are one of the few people who can talk to him about it.”
“Yeah…” I stared at the plane. “You think we’ll be able to leave soon?”
Right after I said that, Ranger walked out of the plane again and waved us to board.
“Well, never mind.” I started walking, chuckling a little. Heath ignored the wolf as we boarded, but I stopped. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Yeah, sure.” He was curt and stiff, not that I could blame him. I moved into the main cabin of the little luxury private plane and sat as far from Heath as I could. When he looked back at me, I really tried to convey the reason through the look on my face.
There was no way in hell we could sit together for this flight. The risk of seeming cozy was too high.
He shrugged and turned around again, looking toward the front.
We settled in for the flight. Sheila went through the safety procedure, then went back into the cockpit with Ranger, locking us out.
I ignored Heath as we entered the air, turning my thoughts onto the situation in Minnesota. I had no real idea what I was walking into, which disturbed me. The last time I left my territory on a plane with Heath, I had no idea what I would find. It made me uncomfortable last time, but now, I knew to fear the possibilities.
Not that my territory was much safer last winter. The other werecats pushed me into running and…
I banished the memories, trying to stay in the present. If I thought about my captivity too much, I knew I would have nightmares for a week.
One Russian werewolf Alpha is dead to a submissive werewolf, who can’t take over, which leaves the pack in disarray, and from the sound of it, Everett has a human covered in werewolf blood.
Instinctively, I knew the human wasn’t safe. If Heath was right about the Russian werewolf pack, they would go after every human involved with the Alpha’s death for revenge. Innocent doctors, nurses, and techs would be killed if they had any reason to think the hospital was responsible for the death of their Alpha.
Heath made it sound like the pack was old and strong, something that made this more complicated. Most wolves in the U.S., from my understanding, were fairly young and not as strong.
About two hours into the flight, I got a text I wasn’t expecting.
Dirk: So, you just leave town without telling us now?
Wincing, I quickly replied.
Jacky: Sorry, it was urgent. Landon is going to check in with you guys while I’m gone. Hopefully, it won’t be a long trip. Is that okay with you? Also, please don’t tell Niko or anyone else from the family about this.
Dirk: I won’t tell them. Oliver doesn’t even know you left yet, I haven’t told him. Landon gave me a call and let me know, and I’ve been thinking about how to tell Oliver without scaring him. He’s easy to spook.
I frowned and wondered for a moment how Landon had Dirk’s number, then decided to ignore it. If Dirk and Landon were friends or could contact each other, that was only a good thing for me.
“Heath, when did Landon and Dirk exchange numbers?” I asked loudly.
“Back in February, I bet. They ran an errand together and probably traded contacts in case they got separated.”
“Ah.” I nodded slowly and got to work on my response.
Jacky: Stay safe. Thanks for understanding.
Dirk: Will do and no problem, boss.
I chuckled. Dirk, born and raised in Germany, was blending in with America really well. Oliver couldn’t completely cover his English heritage, but obviously, Dirk had training in it from Niko. More and more, he came off as a relaxed American guy, an act to get his customers to tip him better.
Putting my phone away, I relaxed for the long flight. I had a feeling it would be the last chance I had for a long time.
Chapter Ten
When we landed in Rochester, Heath and I quickly thanked Ranger and Sheila.
“Look, just go back to Dallas, okay?” I said, looking between them. “We’re not going to ask this of you ever again, I promise.” I heard Heath make a noise of disagreement but ignored it. We still needed to rent a car and get to Everett. We could talk about whatever offended him on the drive.
“Good luck with whatever you’re into,” Sheila said softly. “I hope nothing we’ve done or said has changed your feelings about the Dallas pack.”
Ranger growled softly, and the female werewolf made a face.
“I know this is uncomfortable for your Alpha. Let him know I’m grateful for the assistance, and if there’s a time when any of the pack’s humans need protection, I will take that Duty without complaint.” I bowed my head a little, and without anything left to say, I started the search for a rental company.
Heath caught up with me after only a couple of steps.
“You could have stayed a moment and said a longer goodbye to them,” I chastised softly. “They used to be—”
“They used to be my pack, but it’s getting more apparent Ranger is growing more dominant. If I haven’t lost my touch about these things, he’ll be part of Tywin’s inner circle before the end of the year. Good for him, but frustrating for me to deal with. He’s instinctively hostile to me, therefore you, because he’s growing to think less about following pack orders and more independently to protect the pack as a leader.”
“Ah.” I tried to sound like I understood, but really, I didn’t. Werecats didn’t have anything like that. We went through a whirlwind of an adjustment period when we first changed, then settled into our lives for the coming centuries. I did, my siblings did, every werecat I ever heard of had. The only time werecats deviated from that path was when other species got involved, wars, and the like.
“You did good, but you offered them a lot.” Heath didn’t sound pleased.
“I offered them what I thought they deserved—”
“You didn’t owe them anything—”
“I don’t like unfair politics—”
“And what’s going to happen when another human—”
“Heath!” I snapped, tired of cutting each other off. His eyebrows went up when I stepped in front of him and narrowed my eyes. “I’m stressed out, and you involved a pack of werewolves without letting me know, which led to awkward tension that could have been avoided. I understand we’re on a time crunch, but you could have run it by me. How I handle it after you drop it on my head is my business, and I don’t need the critique.”
“I just want to help you,” he growled softly. “What’s so wrong with that?”