“I don’t care what a lot of people would say.You’re my friend.”
Nic wanted to ask if he still was, but he didn’t dare.Devon was already giving him more than he’d hoped for and had expected.He hadn’t thought he’d ever see Devon again, and that if he did, Devon would be mad.Instead, he seemed mostly disappointed.
He wasn’t the only one.
“Thank you,” he said in a trembling voice.He didn’t want to start crying in front of Devon.He knew his friend—he couldn’t believe he was still allowed to call Devon that—and that Devon would try to comfort him, but Nic didn’t deserve any comfort.He was here because of his own actions and stupidity.
He glanced at Ryan, expecting him to have a different opinion.He wasn’t Ryan’s friend.He doubted that Ryan would everwantto be his friend, but Ryan nodded, so maybe he’d make an effort.They both would if it was for Devon.
Ryan wanted to make his mate happy, and Nic didn’t want to lose the only friend he’d ever had.He’d do pretty much anything in his power to get Devon to forgive him.He wasn’t sure it would be enough, but it wouldn’t stop him from trying.
“Just don’t do anything like that again, please,” Devon said.“I can understand why you went along with what Parrish wanted, but he’s not a good person.”
“How can you understand?”
Nic had meant that Devon would never have done what he’d done, no matter the situation he was in, but Devon shrugged.“I spent years living on the streets.I would probably have died six months in if Melissa hadn’t found me.She had a daughter to think about, but she took me in, too.She made sure we were both fed and as safe as she possibly could keep us.”
“She sounds like she’s a good person.”
“She is, and the fact that she’s a Kudlak has never mattered.She and Haley are my family.I don’t care what they are.No one here does.”
Nic found that hard to believe.He’d ended up with Parrish because he’d never belonged anywhere else after his parents had died.People didn’t want him around.Humans were afraid of him when they found out what he was, and other supernatural creatures kept their distance because Kudlaks had a bad reputation.
“They’re not going to hold what you are against you,” Devon continued.“But they’ll want an explanation and to know why you did what you did.”
And Nic would give them one, no matter how stupid or bad it was.It was the least he could do.
* * * *
“IT’S CLEAR THAT THEvillage needs more protection,” Rowan said as he looked around the room at the people gathered there.
Tamsin agreed.They’d been lucky they were able to stop the Kudlaks, but things could have gone very differently.They would have if they hadn’t been warned that the Kudlaks were coming.
He still had a hard time believing they had been.He didn’t understand why one of the Kudlaks had decided to betray the others, and he was curious.Right now, though, he couldn’t afford to think about that.He and the other Vila had to focus on what they could do for the clan and the village.It was why they were having a meeting.
“Is there anything you guys can do about that?”Clay asked.“I don’t know anything about your magic, but I thought I’d ask.”
Dermot and Tamsin exchanged a glance.They knew what they had to do.They’d done it before, when they’d still had a home.They hadn’t known each other then, but they both knew how to use their magic to protect their clan.
They had a new home now.Some days, it was still hard to believe, but they’d finally been able to stop running.They were safe, or as safe as they could be with Kudlaks targeting their new clan.
Tamsin swallowed.He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to this clan.He hadn’t been able to do anything to protect his people the first time around, but that was in the past.He was older and more powerful now.
That didn’t mean that there was much he could do on his own.
“We need more people,” Dermot said.“The Vila we have are all helping, but we’re not enough.The village needs more of us, more magic.It’s the only way to protect everyone.”
Rowan nodded, not looking surprised.Considering who he was, he probably wasn’t.He’d lost his entire clan to the Kudlaks, but he knew how clans worked.He knew what was needed and what was expected from the members.He knew that Dermot, Tamsin, and the others would do everything in their power to protect the village, but also that that power might not be enough.
“Word has been spreading about the clan,” Rowan said.“I’ve had a few people reach out and ask me about us.Unfortunately, I had to be honest and mention Parrish.I think that the Kudlaks are the main reason more people haven’t joined us.I know that a lot of us out there are desperate for a home, but right now, the village isn’t safe.”
Tamsin, unfortunately, had to agree.When he and the others had decided to come this way and check out the clan, they’d hoped they’d find a place to call home.They had, but at the same time, they’d found a bunch of Kudlaks trying to destroy the clan before it could get any stronger.Parrish had a vendetta against Rowan because Rowan was the last of his clan, and something told Tamsin that he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.
And what he wanted seemed to be the clan completely gone.
It was what Parrish did.Before, Tamsin had thought it was what every Kudlak did, but he knew that wasn’t the case.He’d been wary of Melissa and her daughter when he’d first met them, but Melissa had fought by their side.She’d protected them and had been ready to take on the other Kudlaks just like any of them.She might be a Kudlak, but she was one of them.
The same couldn’t be said about the other Kudlak in their territory.
