“About twenty,” Westley said. “They are spaced out, working in pairs, and have about fifteen miles.”
“Do you think we should be branching out? I heard that there is an area right here,” Asher waved a finger over a space to the South of the woods. “That has some activity. We could start there. Send a few guys and clear the space out.”
I shook my head. “We don’t have the power to go out and have a killing spree. We also can’t use our energy on doing that when we don’t know where they are waiting. They could easily attack, and we would be lacking.”
“So, we just sit and wait?” Westley asked.
I nodded, knowing it wasn’t something any of us liked to do. We liked to take action and see results. Sitting and waiting wasn’t something we knew how to do.
“How long do we wait before we decide we need to take action, Brandon?” Asher asked, crossing his arms.
“I don’t think it will be long,” Kaleb said. They are an impatient species. It’s only a matter of time, and we need to stay ready.”
I frowned. I figured they would have already attacked us by now. Once they saw we were training and getting stronger, they should have. It didn’t make sense.
We discussed a few other things before I called the meeting to an end. Kaleb remained seated, and I raised an eyebrow at him. Asher and Westley slipped out, and Kaleb stared at me, his eyes focused.
“Did you need something else?” I asked, rolling the map back up.
“How are things with you and Jade?”
The question made me pause, but I understood why. We had a complicated relationship, and it was with his sister. “We’re okay.”
He nodded once. “Just okay?”
“We’re getting along well, and things are good.” I tossed the map toward the other side of the desk. “I feel that you have more to say than just asking how things are between Jade and me.”
“You knocked my sister up, of course, I’m going to have questions.”
“I’ve been waiting for them.”
Kaleb scowled at me, and for the first time in a long time, I could see the anger and frustration. I had expected him to yell at me, but he hadn’t. But it was clear he wasn’t sweeping this under the rug either.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were mates?”
“Because it was between your sister and me.”
“I had a right to know. You spent an endless amount of hours at my house. I trusted you.”
“We slept together once, Kaleb. A few days before I left. It wasn’t like I was sneaking behind your back and banging your sister every chance I got.”
Kaleb’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and he sighed. “Just…tell me you’re not going to repeat history. My sister has had a hard enough life without you screwing it up for her.”
“I don’t intend to repeat history, Brandon. I care about your sister.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. You left her before.”
“Because I had no choice. You know that. This is different.”
“I hope so,” he said, his eyes hardened. “Because it’s not about just you two. Ilsa is part of this, and if you don’t intend to be with my sister or you don’t see being serious, you need to stop it now.”
I placed my hands together on the desk. “Kaleb, I care about your sister and my daughter more than anything in the world. I am not repeating history.”
Kaleb stared at me for another moment, the silence filling the space. After that, he pulled himself up and nodded. “Good, I’d hate to have to kill my best friend.”
He left, and I closed my eyes, leaning back against my chair. I ran a hand over my face, feeling like I was in quicksand. I seemed to be getting nowhere with everything. The pack was better, but not enough to actually fend off an army of hybrids. Things were fine, but we were no closer to being anything morethan what we were. Ilsa was spending time with me, but she still didn’t know who I was. I felt like I was making no progress.
I packed my stuff up and headed home. As I entered, I found Ilsa and Jade in the kitchen. Ilsa was dancing to music that Jade had playing from a speaker on the counter. Jade was standing in front of a cutting board, her hips swaying as she sang with Ilsa. She was chopping up vegetables and tossing them into a large pot.
