a chance it’s my fault because of everything that happened with the Dallas pack and the Tribunal?”
“A lot of werecats will think so as that news spreads,” Lani answered, and I heard a touch of ‘maybe I do too’ in her voice. “Who told you?”
“Jabari,” I informed her quickly. “Family, you know?”
“Hmm.” That was short.
“You’re mad at me.”
“Maybe I am. For years, I tried to help you in our world, thinking you were a stray who needed help settling and getting adjusted to being a werecat. Instead, I find out you’re the young, prodigal child of the most respected werecat in history. If we believed in Kings, Queens, and Alphas, you’re the daughter of ours, and you just never bothered to tell anyone. Now, you get news from Jabari—”
“Jabari and I don’t talk that often. This is the first time he’s contacted me in over seven years, Lani. They let me walk away from the family—”
“And now, everyone knows you are part of that family, and yes, werecats are mad at you. Damn it, I have lost longtime friends for my minimal involvement in your Tribunal case, Jacky. There was a reason I was the only werecat there, except Hasan. They think you’re young and refuse to follow the rules. If they didn’t know Hasan was your father, they would just call you stupid and ignorant.”
“You weren’t pissy with me when I did it,” I snapped, pissed off that she sounded like she believed how those other werecats felt. God damn gossipy werecats. They never see each other in person, but they all have each other’s damn cell phone numbers. They can never resist calling each other to pass along the news! “You said you would stand with me! Did you think you would speak up for me, I would still be executed, and that would be that? There wouldn’t be anything further from it?”
“Honestly? Yes.”
Guilt. If she was in the room with me, I knew I would smell it just based on the tone of her voice.
“Damn, Lani.” I resisted hanging up on her. “How do I fix this?”
“You kick those wolves out of your territory and keep out of trouble for a decade. Maybe a century. Depends on how long it takes us to go back to a nearly forgotten species. Do you know how many werecats have been called to Duty since your stunt? Four. That’s more than the last twenty years. It hasn’t even been a year. Thankfully, none of them have been injured, but it’s only a matter of time.”
“I can’t do that. I can’t throw them out,” I mumbled, shaking my head. “There has to be something else.”
“To win over other werecats? Not likely. You would have to curb any war you might have started rolling before it has the chance to start. Sadly, you stirred the pot, then walked out of the kitchen, leaving the rest of us to deal with your mess. The Houston pack refuses to leave me alone. They want to have dinner, get to know me, discuss protection plans for any of the humans in their pack, in case something happens. I finally told them to fuck off last month, and they’ve given me space again.”
“I’m sorry.” I groaned. “Lani, I am. I didn’t think—”
“No, you didn’t think. Your family is known for stepping in and correcting these issues. They help us stay alive. You just kicked a hornet’s nest and—”
“I get it!” I growled. “I’m a fuck up compared to the rest of Hasan’s children. I know! That has been made abundantly clear, damn it! I don’t need you fucking rubbing it in.”
“Sorry. I shouldn’t be harsh with you—”
“No.”
“But you can’t deny you should have thought about all of this a lot sooner.”
“I know.” My anger deflated quickly. I know. “I’ll…figure something out. Some way to make a better impression.”
Lani sighed on the other end. “If I have any ideas, other than the ones I’ve already given you, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you.”
I heard the call disconnect, defeat weighing on me. She hung up on me. Why did this become such a big deal? Why did no one tell me sooner? I would have tried something.
But would I have? Or would I have buried my head in the sand and bitched it wasn’t my problem?
I didn’t know. All I knew was that two werecats were now dead, Jabari was figuring out what killed them for Hasan, and fingers were slowly being pointed at me as the reason werecats