The children were all strapped in their car seats in the third row. Madison was already asleep while Patrick and Bran Jr. watched us silently. Bran blinked so slowly, I'd be surprised if he was still awake when we got back to Wyatt's house.
Phineas started the car and pulled it out of the parking lot onto the street.
"Branson called while you two were looking for the frisbee," Aver said. "He'd been informed there was a large group coming in on the ferry. Everyone was eager to send their representatives and see what a mess things have become here."
My eyebrows furrowed. I understood that there were more packs in the country and, I guessed, all over the world. Every pack was responsible for themselves for the most part, but there was a shifter council that kept an eye on them all. "Have you guys heard of a pack asking for help like this?" I asked.
Aver shook his head. "I read through some of Nana's old books looking for that exact answer. Shifters are generally private people. We crave a social structure, which is why so many of us join packs even when we leave the one we were born in, but as a whole, there isn't a lot of interaction between packs. Asking for help is admitting weakness."
The fact that they still had meant something, but what? That they were desperate? I always made my worst choices when I was desperate. "What does this mean? War has come?"
Wyatt draped his arm over my shoulder. "I don't know. But things have changed. They aren't backing down. We can't either."
"I still think we should formally request pack status," Aver said.
"What will that solve?" Wyatt asked. "We'll still be a pack on their territory, only then we'd have official status. There'd be no gray hour. We would be considered trespassers in our own home."
Home, town, business. Leaving Walker County would mean leaving everything these men had worked for.
"Not if we're protected," Aver said quietly.
Wyatt hissed, and I figured that meant something other than the normal definition. "You want to hide behind babies," he seethed.
Aver didn't rise to his anger. He shrugged and looked out the window. "I want us to be safe. I don't care if my pride has to be hurt to do that, Wyatt."
Wyatt didn't respond, and when I looked up at him, he was still troubled. The only thing stronger than Wyatt's confidence was his pride. Would he be able to swallow that if the need arose? Had that need risen?
I couldn't be sure what would happen next, but I knew I was only sinking deeper into this world that wasn't mine and needed to remember that soon, I'd be forced to leave it.
Chapter Eleven
Wyatt
Branson, Riley, and Nash were waiting for us by the time Phineas pulled down the driveway. Nash rushed forward, drawing Phineas into a tight hug before helping him unload the children.
Branson and Riley snuggled Bran Jr. as we congregated as a group to the living room.
"Everyone is safe?" Branson asked once we'd all sat.
Kansas had come closest to danger, but the other shifter hadn't touched him. He wouldn't still have arms if he had. "We're fine now, but this escalation can't be ignored."
"What do you suggest?" Aver asked.
I hated the calm way he spoke. He didn't have to worry about a human caught in shifter crosshairs, though. Kansas had his power, but if he'd tried to drain a pack of shifters as large as the one we'd ran into at the park, I didn't know how long it would take him to wake up.
Or if he ever would.
"We need to figure it out, Branson. We can't keep living like this." I couldn't operate knowing danger was around every corner for Kansas.
Kansas tugged my sleeve, and I schooled my face into something a little less furious before looking to him. "I have my shift tonight. I need to get ready."
I frowned. "You don't work tonight."
Kansas's cheeks went pink, and his eyes darted to the other bodies in the room. "I told Jasper I would cover for him," he whispered.
Jasper had no business asking Kansas to take his shifts. Last I heard, he and Sia were busy trying to buy a house. And Kansas worked so hard already. "You should've asked me."
"I didn't know I had to," Kansas replied with enough steel in his tone to make my dick hard.
My scent still lingered on his skin from our romp in the trees. It didn't matter. I wanted Kansas constantly. But right now, I needed to ensure his safety more. "Why don't you shower here? I bought the same gel you use just in case. It's in the bathroom."
"I don't have clothes," he said, again looking to the group. He didn't like talking about this in front of them, and for some reason, that annoyed me. These people were my family; he should be comfortable in front of them.
"I bought you a backup pair since I knew you only had the one outfit." I'd been planning on revealing that information privately, but I suddenly didn't care who knew. "It's hanging in my closet. The sizes are right. I checked."
Kansas nodded and padded away, prompting Riley and Phin to announce their little ones needed a nap. Madison hadn't ever woken up, so Nash stayed while the mates and babies dispersed.
"I'll take the first watch," Aver said once we could be pretty sure the others were out of hearing distance.
"I'll take the one after. Someone should always be home. I don't want Riley, Phin, or Kansas knowing, though," Branson said. "They'll just want to help."
I shook my head. This was our mess, caused not by anything we'd done wrong, but ours all the same. "It would be easier if I could get Kansas to move in here."
"Kansas, the man who just works for you, right?" Nash asked, a single eyebrow arched.
No, he wasn't just the man who worked for me. I knew that now, as Nash had likely always known. But that didn't mean I had to sit and look at his smarmy face. I launched a throw pillow at his head.
"Ouch! That's one Riley beaded!" Nash complained, throwing it back.
"We don't have time for this," Branson snarled.
I clenched the pillow but didn't throw it back, not because Branson was our Alpha or anything, but because he was right. We didn't have time to fuck off. Kansas had come nose to nose with a shifter this afternoon. Would I be around the next time that happened? Looking around the living room, I swore one of us would be. Always.
"We need to stay clean here if I'm going to be petitioning the council for protected status," Aver said, letting me know that his plan was one he'd brought up already to the others, since neither of them had anything to say in return.
Nash scratched his chin. "I called my PI buddy. His pack is working a case on the east coast and can't make it to this side of the country right now, but they put out feelers in case this thing grows any larger."
I'd only heard of Nash's investigator pal. I'd never had cause to utilize his services. Though my time with Kansas might be easier if I could dig up a little dirt on him. I wanted him to tell me, though. I didn't want to tear the information free myself.
"So business as usual until one of them punches first?" Nash asked.
None of us liked that plan very much, but for the moment, it was the only plan we had.