“Yeah.”
He blinks at me before taking a step back.
“The reason I haven’t been present is because he needs me right now, and as important as this pack is to me, he’s important to me, too.”
“Goddess,” Felix murmurs. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Couldn’t risk Ryker finding out.”
He shakes his head. “I would never tell a soul.”
“I know,” I admit. “It was easier that no one knew.”
“What do you mean he needs you?”
I take a deep breath in. “It’s personal,” I say after a few moments. “He’s coming to stay with us for the foreseeable.”
“For the foreseeable?”
“So I can look after him,andI can be with my pack. It’s the best place for him to be right now.”
Felix cups his hand over his jaw. “And what about your father when he comes sniffing around?”
I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I taste blood. “I don’t know,” I confess. “But I can’t leave Evan there. I won’t sleep. I won’t be the Alpha I want to be. I thought pushing him away would keep him safer, but I need him next to me.”
“Evan’s made a good impression on Cole’s old pack,” he states. “He has spent more time with them than we have. They’ll protect him.”
“I hope so,” I mumble. “We’ll have to keep my father in our sights at all times, and if he comes to visit, Evan stays away.”
Felix starts to pace. “You’re not going to tell the pack about the pair of you, are you?”
“No.” I twist in my chair. “I don’t know who I can trust. It stays a secret.”
“And what about when people ask why he’s here?”
“I’ll say there was a dispute at Jaxon’s, and he’s coming here to train. They’ve seen him here before; it won’t be a massive shock. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.”
“And you think they’ll believe that?”
I shrug, my temples now aching. “They’ll have to.”
“I pray you know what you’re doing.”
Unfortunately, I don’t. But I don’t have any other choice. It’s a mess of a situation, and all I care about is the fact that Evan will be close. The thought of losing him makes me nauseous. It’s not even a possibility.
“Did anything happen last night?”
“A false alarm around the perimeter, but that’s it.”
“Any more on Ryker?”
“Carson and Aimee are doing everything they can,” he says before finally taking a seat opposite me. “I thought more about the plan after analysing where he’s been spending his time and when he’s least active.”
I lean forward, intrigued. “Yeah?”
“If we attack on his land, we can take out his men and free the women and children. That way, we can physically surround him when he least expects it, and hopefully when he’s most vulnerable, especially if we give intelligence to local packs that he might be trying to take over.” He waves a hand.
“It could backfire, they’re going to be prepared on their land."
