to wait out the storm.”
“I can help, but…”
“You can’t,” I said softly. “Don’t get any foolish ideas.”
“But—”
“People could die. Accept the lesson the easy way. Please don’t risk learning it the hard way.” I rubbed my face as she stepped up next to me. “You’re human and your body is fragile. You’ll be Changed when it’s time, whenever the pack has a chance, and then you can get into the bloody mess with all of them, but you’re not a wolf yet.”
“Yeah…” She stared out over the terrible view with me. Other warehouses. So majestic.
“It sucks, I get it.” And soon it won’t be my problem.
“How? You’re a werecat.”
“I was once human, remember? I was an EMT. I saw…humans break all the time. I know exactly how fragile they are. Let’s not give Heath or your father any reason to worry about you breaking, please? I’m not sure I can protect two human girls.” Hell, I’ve already failed at protecting one.
“Good point. I just want…”
“What are you ladies doing out here?” Shamus said from the door.
“I was enjoying the sun for a minute. Stacy was keeping me company,” I answered. “Any decisions made?”
“He’s got a top five to choose between, which is where I step back. He likes making final decisions by himself.”
“Of course he does.”
“Stacy, come inside. It’s not safe wandering outside as a member of the pack right now.” It was a tone I knew from Hasan and my human father. Chiding, soft, loving. A father who wanted his daughter to do as he asked without an argument.
“The door is right there!”
I resisted a snicker. “She’s fine, Shamus.”
“No. You’re safe out here, but they’ve come through this place before and we barely stayed hidden. I don’t want to see if they might have plans to try and find us right before we’re done with this mess. If they catch you out, they might just assume you’re squatting without us.” Shamus stepped out further and motioned to the door. “Please, Stacy.”
“Fine! Be safe out here in the dangerous world, Jacky.” The amount of sarcasm in those words made me grin.
“I will.” Shamus didn’t follow his daughter inside, stepping to stand next to me. I leaned over and whispered, “Hypocrite.”
“I wanted to talk to you alone, actually, and my daughter beat me to it,” he said. “Are you sure you can handle tonight?”
“No, but I’ll do my best,” I answered, becoming as serious as he was, my humor dying.
“If you have to shift back to human, do you know how to use any weapons?”
“I can shoot a gun and I’m trained for self-defense with a silver knife.” I threw my hands up as I remembered one thing I should have told the wolves about already. “Damn it. I’m sorry for not telling you this soon, but I stole a couple of sidearms from the wolves that attacked me. They’re in my gym bag. You might be able to track—”
“None of the pack’s firearms are registered. Thank you for finally telling me, but don’t worry. They would be useless.” He smiled kindly. “A silver knife, huh? Not what I’d expect.”
“A gift from the werecat who Changed me before I moved out,” I explained. “So yeah, I should be handy around a weapon if I get my hands on one. If I need to have hands.”
“Good. I’m trusting you with my Alpha’s life. It’s not an easy thing for me to do, but you came here, got our attention, and offered help. When this is all said and done, he’s probably going to rush into retirement so there’s no chance of it interfering with his daughter’s life again.” Shamus took a deep breath. “Please make sure he has the chance to enjoy it.”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised again, swallowing. “Let’s get back inside.” The sun didn’t feel warm anymore.
He held the door for me and as we walked inside, I noticed it was much quieter than when I had left. Heath was standing with five wolves in the middle of the room, having a quiet conversation. I didn’t interrupt, taking a seat nearby and watching. Whoever he picked were wolves I was going to have to rely on tonight. An odd place for a werecat to be. I couldn’t forget that, no matter how hard I tried. I was a werecat in a warehouse full of werewolves in the middle of a werewolf war.
I’m an idiot and I’m going to pay for this. The Tribunal I’m going to face once it’s