“Maybe it’s there because Theo needed it,” Niall mused.
“I wondered about that myself. I also wondered if, when we went back up there, it would be gone again.”
Loyal tilted his head, frowning. “I’ll run up there today and see. If it’s going to be a place where people can hide, I think we need to know sooner rather than later.”
Liam nodded slowly, because that made total sense. “I would go with you but?—”
Niall gave him a gentle smile. “But you have a brand-new mate, and he needs you here to help him regain his strength.”
His shoulders hunched up around his ears. “Look, I don’t know why you guys keep saying he’s my mate. I mean obviously I’m incredibly drawn to him, but I’m not a wolf. I can’t mate with a werewolf.” Why couldn’t they get that? Rory was the outlier. No one else in the family could howl.
Loyal sent him a pitying stare. “You just keep telling yourself that, buddy.”
“Keegan said the same thing, but I don’t understand. How can I be a werewolf if I’ve never shown even the slightest inclination to being one?” He was starting to get a little panicky idiot about this, and he didn’t want to do anything stupid.
Loyal just shrugged and sipped his own coffee. “It’s called a latent gene, and for some reason, in some people it only comes out after a traumatic event or after something nudges it into the light. It’s almost like a genetic necessity. Like what happened with Gareth.”
By Gareth, Loyal meant a dragon who had lived among the werewolves, thinking he was one of them for many years. He had ended up being Zeke’s mate, and Zeke was one of the big alphas who had lived up in the dragon compound, or a clutch as they called it. All of a sudden, the dragon had come out of Gareth without any of them expecting it.
“A latent gene? Do you know how bizarre this all sounds?” He waved his arms, barely missing his coffee cup.
Loyal raised a deep red eyebrow. “Do you know how bizarre most people would consider talking about werewolves and dragons at all? Think about that for a minute. Think about the people who stop into your trading post down at the base of the mountain, those lost tourists who don’t realize that it’s probably not good for them to be where they are. How weird would they think you are for sitting here talking to me knowing that I can shift into a wolf?”
“Don’t confuse the issue with logic, man.” Liam sighed and sipped his coffee, letting the sugar and the caffeine do its work. “I know what you’re saying makes sense. You know, it’s easy to know what you know.”
He crossed his eyes as if he was going to stare at his mouth, trying to figure out how to parse what he just said. “It’s hard to… I don’t know… see myself in it?”
“You don’t have to stress it.” Niall gave him a wink and a smile. “You just have to be in it. Sometimes, you have to have a little faith, right? I know you know how to use your instincts.”
“A little bit, yeah.” Hell, instincts were one of the things that he really did have down. “I think one of the huge things we have to address here is that we have murderers afoot. Somebody shot and killed that baby’s family”
Loyal nodded. “Shit, someone scared Theo enough that he was starving and willing to starve that baby rather than leave the house, when there is a relatively clear path down the mountain. I mean, it’s not a road, but if he’d gone out and explored, he could have seen that there was a way.”
Niall nodded. “This is a problem.”
“Well, and we have these pale wolves coming from… where?” Liam was as close to a non-werewolf werewolf expert as there was, he reckoned. “This is the third white wolf who’s been found that’s on the run. What’s wrong with them? No offense, Niall.”
“None taken. I have the same concern.”
“I mean, are there pockets of white wolves just hanging around? Is that a thing? Do we need to try to find Theo’s pack and take him home?” Liam had concerns, dammit.
Niall shook his head. “I don’t think these packs are the same as ours. These are more families that are dying. Yeah, little groups, three or four adults tops, and as soon as there are more, they split off.”
“Okay, all right, I can see that. That makes sense.” It was reasonable as hell, and he’d accept it. “I think we need to talk to Fen.”
“Good thing I brought him.” Rory walked in holding his baby. “You’ve had a busy twenty-four hours, brother.”
“I have, yeah.” He climbed to his feet and went to hug Rory and kiss his little nephew. “Did Kee send you?”
“He did. He said he’d be back, but he wanted Fen and your Theo to put eyes on each other.”
“Okay, cool. Cool. I mean, Theo is asleep…”
“We can have coffee.” Fen entered the room as well, carrying a couple of large packs. “We brought some supplies for the new wee one and for the extra mouths to feed, Niall.”
“Thank you. That will help.”
“I can support us.” No problem. He was sure he could make it work.
