Oath Sworn - K.N. Banet Page 0,90

hit her nose.

They had contacted. With a time and a location. It was in twelve hours, putting it after sunset.

Heath was behind me now, reading over it as well. “They don’t want me bringing anyone except you, Jacky. You must have pissed them off.”

“Or they know this will fail if you can’t put Carey into someone’s care,” I said. “They might not want any of the wolves loyal to you, but I’m supposed to be impartial. Carey is my only concern.”

“If I’m dead, the turmoil ends and whoever takes the pack has the right to challenge my will and claim my daughter as their own, ‘for her own protection’ and as a ‘sign of good will,’” he said harshly. “They might think you’ll hand her back over.”

“Oh, that’s really something I should have known before now,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I’m not going to give her to anyone but you or one of your sons. I swear to it now.”

“Even if one of them forced their way in as her new legal guardian?” He straightened up, looking down at me. I realized in that moment how much taller than me he was, just over six feet tall. For a second I felt very small.

Not all of it was thanks to his physical display.

I puffed my chest, all bravado and confidence even if I didn’t feel it. “She deserves her family, and while under my protection…she is my family. I don’t see any reason to believe she might be safe with the wolves who killed her father. I’ll find anyone else or keep her before I let them have her.”

“Thank you.” He stepped away, beginning to shout orders, telling everyone in the pack the news as he walked out.

I realized I had just signed up to possibly care for a little girl for the rest of her life. It sank in. When Lani had said something about it, it seemed like a far off possibility. Now it seemed like a reasonable outcome.

Shit.

20

Chapter Twenty

I was sitting in a large circle as everyone argued about how this should play out.

“I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t go in with just the werecat as back up!” Shamus snapped. Then he glanced at me. “Sorry.”

“Oh, no. I agree. I’m not a warrior. I am not, and never was, prepared to be the sole defense of anyone. I would love to take all of you and crush them with overwhelming force, but that might just get Carey killed.”

“Exactly. I think we follow their rules, to a point.” Heath was pacing in a circle. “Jacky and I will be driven in by a small group. A couple of guards and a driver, who will wait outside for us—”

“So you aren’t planning on actually sacrificing yourself? That’s good.” I couldn’t resist making the comment. Should have, but couldn’t.

“No, of course not!” Heath furrowed his brow and I found it kind of cute.

Bad Jacky. “Good. I just figured since it hadn’t been explicitly said yet, it might be good for the class to hear that.”

“You have a mean little attitude over there right now,” he said softly, narrowing his eyes on me.

“I’m stressed out and possibly going to die tonight. It’s the only way I can deal with it. If it helps: no, I never acted this way in front of Carey. For her I was a stoic, strong source of support and only cried and freaked out by myself in the shower while she was sleeping.” Well, not exactly that way, but close enough.

“That’s reassuring,” someone said darkly. “Our so-called trump card is an anxiety-ridden mess who has no real experience. Heath, you sent your daughter to her to be protected.”

“Well, it wasn’t a bad idea of his. I did kill over ten werewolves in something like three days,” I retorted. “I’ve just never walked into a wolf’s den with the specific purpose of killing one of the wolves before. On top of that, even being a werecat should have deterred them. Obviously it didn’t…but don’t think your Alpha’s plan wasn’t sound.”

“Jacky, do you want to be in werecat form or human?”

“Werecat,” I answered immediately. “I have training in self-defense and hand-to-hand techniques, but I’m more comfortable in a fight when I’m in werecat form and less likely to die from a stray bullet.”

“Communication wouldn’t be possible, though.”

“Let me worry about that,” I said. Brin had fixed that problem, and while I would never be comfortable with the gift, it was handy. I didn’t want to use it,