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He swallowed. “Yes, Mrs. Landon. It was a very intense experience, one I don’t think we’ll easily forget.”

“If you ever need to talk….”

Dellan kissed her cheek. “That’s a sweet thought, but I’m not sure we can.”

“Sounds to me as though you all have a heap of emotions to deal with.”

Horvan nodded. “And you’d be correct, but what’s more important right now is reconnecting with our mates, to make the most of what time we have before….”

Before we need to go and do it all over again.

Dellan glanced at him.She’s right, you know. So much stress, so much tension, and then there were deaths to deal with.

And we will deal with all of it. But like I said, not now. Later.

Then Dellan realized he had an unpleasant task to perform. “Mrs. Landon, while we were away, we… we learned something awful. I wasn’t going to tell you, until I remembered that you knew my mom. You’ve been part of this house ever since Tom built it.”

“Something to do with your mother?”

He nodded. “It… it wasn’t a natural death.”

She clutched her chest. “Oh no. That poor woman. Hadn’t she been through enough in her life, not knowing what became of your father?” She wiped her eyes.

“There’s a reason I’m telling you this. One of our guests? It’s my dad.”

Mrs. Landon’s mouth fell open, and her eyes widened. “He’s not dead? Then where has he been all this time?”

“That’s a long story.” And one he wasn’t prepared to answer. She knew about shifters. They’d shared that with her because it would have been pretty difficult to explain why a bear, a lion, and a tiger were playing together outside behind the barrier Roadkill had erected, or why a Greenland shark was swimming in the lake. But Dellan hadn’t gone so far as telling her what was going on in a world she knew nothing about. Mrs. Landon wasn’t stupid. She knew Horvan and the others were soldiers of some kind, but she didn’t ask questions.

“Is he okay?”

Only time will tell.

He gave Mrs. Landon a smile. “I’ll introduce you. He went upstairs to freshen up. He’s going to take Hashtag’s room. Seth’s going to be in Brick and Aric’s room. And Jamie and Doc Tranter will be in the basement. Thank you again for understanding about the space issues.” He knew he was changing the subject abruptly, but if he didn’t he’d be crying too.

Mrs. Landon waved her hand. “It’s no bother. My daughter is delighted to have me stay a while. Not that I’ll be spending much time there, not with all of you to take care of.”

“No!” Eve gasped as she walked into the kitchen. “Don’t leave me, Mrs. L. I’m feeling outnumbered here.”

Mrs. Landon beamed. “You’ll be fine. You could wipe the floor with any of them. Except maybe Brick.”

Horvan’s expression grew pained. “Hey. What about me?”

She patted his cheek. “You? You’re a sweetheart. In fact as one of you once said, you’re practically a teddy bear.” And with that she walked out of the kitchen.

“Who said that?” Horvan tried to look aggrieved, but Dellan wasn’t fooled.

He laughed. “Wow. She knows you.”

You okay?

Warmth flowed over him, and he knew that was Horvan’s doing.No, but I will be. All I need is time. And maybe a little therapy.

Hey, we all need that at some point or other.

Dellan gave Eve an inquiring glance. “Where are your mates?”

“In H’s office, where they’ve been ever since we got back here.”