I didn’t believe his apology. “When Heath said he was flying up with you, I expected…something else.”
“I was only asked to make an introduction. Jacky would like to ask you some questions, and none of it should endanger your pack,” Heath explained carefully. “If they might, she’ll drop it.” He gave me a pointed look.
“Of course,” I agreed. “I’m not here to cause any trouble for the Seattle pack.”
“Please tell me what the most famous werewolf and werecat could possibly need from me. Have a seat.” Geoffrey pointed to his couches, smiling, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I had a feeling he’d either figured out why I might want to talk to him or thought I was there to cause trouble. My siblings were right. Showing up outside my territory made others wary.
We all sat down, and Geoffrey made a show of making sure we all had something to drink. I asked for water and made a show of sniffing it before sipping it. That made the Alpha pause, and Heath coughed.
“He’s not going to poison you,” Heath whispered to me, though everyone in the room could hear it.
“After the introduction I had to your pack, I would rather be safe than sorry. Easier to ask for forgiveness for offending someone than dying.” I shrugged. I was too edgy, far from home, and whether I wanted to admit it or not, scared. “Geoffrey, another werecat passed through here recently. Did you speak to him?”
“How…” The Alpha frowned deeply. “How did you know?”
“Because werecats, contrary to popular belief, talk to each other,” I explained. “I’m here to continue the investigation he was on and find out what the fuck is going on in this neck of the woods.”
“Heath,” Geoffrey snarled. My attitude had apparently struck a nerve with the Alpha. “Leash your feline.”
“Fuck me.” Heath shook his head. “Jacky, maybe you should explain to him what is going on. He might be willing to tell you more.”
“First, I want to know why he didn’t talk to the previous werecat,” I snapped.
“Because we’re having problems with our two local werecats. Why do I want even more of you around?” Geoffrey growled as he spoke. “I’m only giving you a moment of my time because Heath is vouching for you.”
“Problems?” I snorted. “Alpha Lewis, your two local werecats are dead. Now the question is if you killed them, and after you firmly shut down speaking to the previous werecat sent here to find answers, the outcome doesn’t look good for you.”
Every word that came out of my mouth made the wolf more and more pale. I played hard ball. Maybe it was my anger, not knowing where Jabari was. Maybe I was too edgy and frustrated from being away from home. Whatever it was, it had me on the offensive. I was pissed off now.
“Dead?” he asked softly. “Titan and Gaia are dead? We’re talking…we’re talking about the two old cats that lived in the park, right?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “Jabari was sent to—”
“That male was Jabari?” The wolf sagged back into his couch. “Heath…”
“Jacky.” My wolf looked over to me, pleading with his eyes. “Tell him who you are and everything else. He obviously isn’t part of this.”
I knew that. I could smell the honest shock off the wolf.
“Jabari, son of Hasan, was sent here by Hasan to find out what or who killed Titan and Gaia,” I explained, taking a deep breath to relax and loosen my muscles. “He said he met a stone wall with you when inquiries were made, then headed off toward their territories to discover more. He hasn’t called in or reported in a week…” I sighed. “I’m Jacky, as everyone calls me, but to werecats, I’m Jacqueline, daughter of Hasan, and Jabari is my older brother. I’m here to assist him as needed or finish what he started if necessary. Heath agreed to help me talk to you because Jabari wasn’t able to.”
“Fuck. My friend, why doesn’t everyone know you have a direct line to fucking Hasan himself? And the General walked through my fucking city without me even knowing! He called us and just said he was a werecat interested in finding out more about our relationship with the two cats who lived in the state!”
“Yeah, Jabari wouldn’t have told you too much over the phone because lies are too easy. Because of…Heath and me, things have been tense between our kinds,” I tried to say without getting snappy.
“I can agree to that. Some packs