“You don’t trust your family?”
I scoffed while taking up a barbecue stain. “You’re kidding me, right? In less than five hours, the entire city knows I’m over here because you guys can’t keep your mouths shut.”
“That’s just wolves talking. What happened?” He drew closer. “Is Hunter okay?”
I felt a pang of guilt for keeping this secret. Switch might just be a teacher and mentor, but he really cared about Hunter. “We’re working on it.”
He followed me into the living room. “Working on what?”
I reached inside the box, pulled out a long strand of garland, and swung it in his direction. “Don’t you trust me?”
He inched forward and dipped his chin. “Don’tyoutrustme?”
“I can’t betray Viktor. We have a plan, and as much as you want to help, I’m not doing anything at the last minute that might put that plan in jeopardy. Viktor wouldn’t want another complication.” Looking around the room, I decided to drape the garland around the television. “Right now we have it under control. When we don’t, I’ll let you know. But only if Viktor gives his permission. I follow orders; I don’t make them.”
He ripped the garland off the television.
“Hey!”
Switch strutted to the front door and hung it around the frame. “He still has these little nails up here for hanging this shit. I came over here one Christmas after you left home—before you vanished. He had lights hanging up all around the door. I guess he thought if he made it real nice around here, you might actually spend the holidays with him. Then you disappeared, and that was the last time I saw the Christmas stuff go up.”
I dragged out the kitchen chair and sat down to watch him. “I was different back then.”
“I know,” he said, and to my relief, there was no judgment in his tone. “I was different back then too. Kids think they know everything, even in packs. Young wolves break away and want to do everything differently than their parents.”
“I thought my father was holding me back from a better life, and I resented him. It took going through hell for me to figure out that I already had it all. I thought money and lifestyle meant happiness. But I had it all wrong.”
After the garland was secure all around the doorframe, he pulled out the chair across from me and sat. “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.Alice in Wonderland.”
“I should read more.”
“Tell Viktor that if he needs anything,we’rehere to help. You don’t realize how much the packs around here respect your old man. Most of them knew you as a little girl, and I know a good number of them who would fall on a sword for either one of you.”
“It’s one thing when someone offers to help fix your car. It’s another when they offer their life. Do you think I could live with someone I care about throwing their life away to help? And how would the packs feel after it’s all said and done? You don’t think they would whisper in quiet corners about us taking away a respected packmate or even Packmaster? I can’t take advantage of someone’s friendship like that. People would think we’re worthless—that Keystone only gets the job done at the expense of others.”
“You don’t know how Shifters think. If anything, people will think you guys are something special if you have packs supporting you with their lives.”
“Maybe so. Just promise me you’ll sit tight for now. I’ll talk to Viktor about your offer, but we have a plan laid out and no time to make adjustments. The war isn’t over yet, so we might call.”
He pushed his helmet aside. “Does this have anything to do with half the higher authority not showing up to work?”
My eyes flashed up.
“Absentees happen, but they have some kind of backup system in place. I don’t know what they do all day, but Idoknow that they sit through trials and executions. Rumor is they’ve been postponed, but no one from the inside’s talking.”
I rubbed my temples. This was getting out of control, and the city would fall into chaos if they knew what was going down.
“I heard a prominent banker isn’t returning any calls and is canceling appointments,” he went on. “Kind of fishy. Has a lot of his clients nervous.”
“Understand that I don’t make the decisions. Viktor does. My hands are tied.”
“I get it. He’s your leader. Just be sure that he knows we’re here. The packs think like I do. Ren especially. He’s been friends with your dad for a long time, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for him. Vamps are a lot to take on for a small crew like yourself.” He folded his arms on the table and leaned in. “Did you know wolves can take down a Vampire? We do it the same way we would a Mage, only it’s more dangerous because they’re strong. I’m talking about a group of wolves, not just one. We tear them apart, limb from limb.”
“I hope that’s not what you’re teaching Hunter,” I said with a smile.
“Not now, but I will. Breed education is different from what you experienced as a human. It’s important for children to learn about their own unique history, but they also need to know the beauty and dangers of all Breeds. Right now he’s learning about himself.” Switch held a fist in front of his mouth. “Is anyone protecting him?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t certain if Kira was still alive, but I decided to give him that measure of comfort. Otherwise, he’d become a loose cannon.
