“Very much so. And boy, I’d forgotten how fast news spreads….” He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling so very tired.
“Yeah, sorry. We’re very protective of the kids and the farm.” Rider winced a bit. “Mikael texted us when you arrived and then what went on with Cal, and Dallas filled us in after dinner.”
“And then you somehow got hold of Anna before summoning me here,” Derek added in a dry tone.
“Well, she is the mother of my child, so….” Rider’s tone equaled Derek’s.
“We didn’t just call her to get gossip and a security clearance.” Sean looked at Derek. “We think she might be able to help you.”
Now Derek felt confused. “Help me…?”
“With figuring out how to help Cal once he reappears. From what we have gathered, something bad happened at that last job and nobody knows what, right?” Rider started. At Derek’s nod he added, “What if we had someone on the inside who could maybe figure that out for you?”
“I tried, when they first vanished. I went to everyone I could.” Derek huffed. “I don’t know how she could—”
“You know her father is in the Council. She’ll have her ways. I know they’re all very tight-lipped about Cal in general, but it can’t hurt to try?” Rider sighed. “I mean, only if you want to, but… whatever it is, it has to be big, right?”
“If it’s… I mean, if it’s safe for Anna. I don’t want her to get into trouble for my sake.”
“If we give her the go-ahead, she’ll see what she can do safely. She won’t put herself at risk,” Sean assured him.
“Okay. Well, okay then. I….” Suddenly he felt his whole body sway. “Oh fuck, this is… I need to get to bed.”
“Ah, the joys of travel. Jetlag and all the excitement.” Sean got up and offered Derek his arm for support as he heaved himself off the couch.
“I’m sorry, we could’ve waited until tomorrow, but….” Rider trailed off.
“But it’s your kids and your pack. You needed to meet me for yourself, because even though Mikael trusts me and you trust him, your first duty is to your pack.”
The alphas chuckled in unison.
“It’s obvious you’ve been around shifters for a very long time,” Rider commented.
Anton appeared when Derek got to the front door and they pulled their shoes on together. Derek had to lean his ass to the closest wall to stay upright, he was that tired. “I don’t know why I bother.”
“Yeah, me neither. It’s summertime.” Anton shrugged, then waited for Derek to be ready. “Let’s get you safely upstairs to bed. We can ponder on shoes tomorrow.”
The next morning, Derek barely remembered going to bed. He had a mild headache that he got ibuprofen for from Noah. There were two medically trained people, Noah who’d been a medic once and Dallas who had been a nurse, living on the farm.
That had to be an asset for everyone, because it wasn’t simple for a shifter to go to a regular doctor. They tried to always take care of their own first and only in the worst-case situations did they resort to outside help and even then, it wasn’t just as simple as going to the nearest hospital.
Cal hadn’t appeared overnight, which Derek hadn’t really expected anyway. He took his stuff and walked with Kit through the patch of woods between the Jarvela and Metsala farms.
“Thanks for coming to stay with me,” Kit said as they walked.
“Of course. Your Dad will reappear, and like you said, it’s better if you’re home. The cat will find its way home and well, I know foxes like their dens best, too.” He smiled at the boy who glanced at him and nodded.
“Yeah, I mean as much as I like the big houses, ours is nicer. I’m glad the Council put us here.” Kit was quiet for a while. “I just hate how much trouble we are for Mikael and everyone else.”
“I don’t think they see it that way now that they’ve actually met you.”
Kit sighed, but continued walking. Soon enough, he smiled and pointed through the woods. “There!” He almost skipped the rest of the way, making Derek chuckle.
The house was a two story one with beat up old paint on the exterior. The roof looked nice and freshly painted, though.
The steps that were stone and concrete—Derek could see it from the sides—had been covered with boards, probably to make it steady without having to think about the old ones crumbling underfoot.
The yard was small, the outbuilding seemed to be in a barely-upright condition, but that was fine, it was still summer, so there was time to fix or tear it down before the winter months and all the snow Derek expected to see.
