“They’re being taken home.Primed not to disappear again and to be available for contact from us via phone 24/7.”
“I don’t want her knowing them.”He knew he didn’t need to clarify.“Don’t want any of them knowing them.”
“Okay,” she simply said.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”She caught Lyssa’s foot and played with it, baby-talking to her.“I won’t let you or your siblings have a relationship with that guy.I agree with Daddy—he’s a shi-poopyhead.”
Ken smiled.
“Anyway,” Dewi continued.“I get why Donnel made his choices, even though I absolutely do not agree with them.Not excusing what he did, but it must have been excruciating to witness what happened to his mate.Although I think he was the coward for not killing Faegan.He tried to shift the blame to Hamish and Bryn when it wasn’t their fault.”
“What’d Hamish think about Donnel’s assertions that it was Bryn and Hamish’s fault?”
She snorted.“Hamish decked him, too, before Da pulled him off.I think Da and Badger could’ve stopped him, but they let him get a shot in since you got one.”
“I don’t understand how Donnel didn’t kill Faegan.They had guns back then.Make it look like an accident, or stage it as a crime.”
“I don’t, either.But I wasn’t in his shoes.And if Hyacinth was terrified her family would be killed if they moved against Faegan, I can see where that played a role.It was a different time, different pack dynamics.Again, not excusing what he did, just offering a little context.”
“I’m a human, and I fought to save your life,” he said, choking up.“Against Endquist.A fuckingPrime.”
She nuzzled his head again.“I know,” she whispered.“But now that we know who your grandparents were, it makes sense.Just because you’re not a shifter doesn’t mean you’re not strong in ways you never knew.”
“I can’t forgive him for abandoning Mom.”
“No one’s asking you to.”
“We leave tomorrow?For sure?”
“For sure.Gillian’s probably still locked in her bedroom and yelling at Peyton over the phone about it.”
“Now what happens?”he asked.“Big picture, not the actual travel.”
“Well, Peyton said the drones they sent confirmed the site data.They already have two Enforcers, one of them a Prime, heading to the closest town to start working on gathering intel.In a week or so, they’ll fly Jake over to help out.”
“You arenotgoing.”
She snorted.“No.I might have been able to argue a case to Peyton if I wasn’t pregnant, but my ass is staying home with you and the baby.”
“Thank you.”
She laid a hand on his arm.“While I can’t promise you normal, I do promise to spend more time focusing on us and our personal lives.”
He blew out a long breath.“I know it will get better.I know this isn’t the default.I just want to raise our kids and not worry about drug cartels or megalomaniacal corgi assholes.Which is a three-word phrase Ineverthought I’d say in my life.”
She snorted.“I know.I love you.”
“I love you, too.”The baby had almost finished feeding and was already slowing, her eyes nearly closed, her body relaxing.“Please remember that, while yes, family and pack are important,” he said, “weare your family, too.”
“I will.I promise.”
Ken closed his eyes, breathing in the various scents.From the baby, from Dewi, from the ever-present scent of pine cushioning the air no matter where he went.
He knew Dewi meant that promise.
He also wondered what might happen in the future that would force her to break it.
