can tell you is that I’m serious about fitting my life into Cheyenne’s, and her life into mine.”
“This is going to cut in on your sex life — you know that, right? At least at first, they’re going to want to be at Shy’s house when you’re there. My fault, for making you the forbidden fruit. I’m working to fix that now.”
“We’ll work through it.” I was going to want at least three nights a week without them around, but that wasn’t information Gil needed. Cheyenne and I would work that out.
“One last thing, and it’s a dealbreaker. I don’t want my kids around your biker friends.”
“Can they eat here when my brothers are in the restaurant? Kids are in school now, but come dinnertime, it’s a family restaurant and nearly every table has kids at it.”
He’d meant to draw a firm line in the sand, and I’d already fucked with it. He wasn’t happy.
I gave him a few seconds to look around, and I decided to try another tactic. “The next time we throw a big party, I’d like for you and the kids to drop by, or to show up with us and stay for a short time. There will be other kids, they won’t be the only ones. We’re family friendly while the sun’s up. Stay for twenty minutes to an hour, and then you and Cheyenne can talk about whether you want them around my brothers or not.”
He didn’t say anything, and I shrugged. “Eventually, you’ll need to trust my decision-making ability if this is going to work without friction. I get that I need to earn your trust.”
“Several of my packmates spent some time inside with you. Destruction of property — burning a house down with a doorway to hell inside it. Couldn’t explain that last part to the cops, so they did time.”
I smiled. I knew exactly who he was talking about. “Good men, all around.”
“You helped them during their first full moon inside. They said you didn’t ask for anything in return.”
“I couldn’t give them the night, but I got them into an area without cameras for an hour, so they could change for a short time, at least.”
“Your people didn’t try to negotiate with the Alpha, either. There was no in-kind payment, according to them.”
I shrugged. “They hadn’t been there long enough to figure out a solution, and I could tell they were having to fight their wolves. Caged, having to pretend submission to the screws, not even close to enough food... it was the least I could do.”
At his confused look, I explained, “Sorry, guards. We call’em screws inside.”
He chuckled. “Every last one of my packmates told me not to piss you off, and to never take a swing at you, but they said you’re made of good stuff, even if you’re a bird.”
“Your Alpha put you with them for a Q&A?”
“Yeah.”
Before the battle, we’d had a combative relationship with the Pack, but things seemed better now. Part of it was that the new Uber-Alpha was friends with the Chattanooga RTMC chapter, and all other Alphas in this part of the country came under her in the hierarchy. Mostly, though, it seemed we’d earned the local Alpha’s respect during the fighting.
Also, we’d been mostly wolves before, which challenged his standing as Alpha. Now, we were just another supernatural pack, with less than half of our membership made of wolves.
“We fought on the same side in the battle,” I told Gil. “I see no reason for us to be at odds now. I was in a position to help them, so I did.”
“But you charged others for protection.”
“Right, because if I had to fight for them, I risked having to stay inside longer. Helping your packmates came with a risk, but not on the same level. They didn’t need protection services, they just needed help hiding out for an hour so they could let their wolves out.”
He didn’t respond. Wolves are big on loyalty and trust, so I repeated what I’d said to him earlier. “Eventually, you’ll need to trust my decision-making ability. I get that I need to earn your trust. Three of your packmates respect me, and my club obviously does if they trust me to run our contracting company — not to mention the fact Cheyenne trusts me. I’m hoping those things give you a basis in trust for us to get started.”
“You can start by supervising the boys to buy their video games. Shy is clueless about the