Page 93 of Broken Bonds

“Yeah, that shit makes duct tape look like tissue paper.”

“We shouldn’t have to worry about anyone trying to rip it off from inside because it’ll only be their people in here.”

“Only?”

“Yeah.” He meets my gaze. “None of ours go inside while they’re here. Our people will only do perimeter guard duty, and only two or three designated people of theirs will be allowed to enter and exit the building to move supplies inside and stuff.”

“To prevent any ‘accidents,’” I say, realizing what he means.

He grimly nods. “No, I don’t like this. But I like even less that we’re forced into this position because of that fucker, Sterling. If doing this helps them, removes that threat, and helps bridge a divide between us that leads to lasting mutual aid? Worth it. I just hate that the cost to them has been so high.”

We return to the main space where he props his hands on his hips and stares up at the windows and skylights.

“Is that why you haven’t turned the lights on yet?” I ask.

“Yeah. I want to make sure I’m not missing anything else. Once everything’s up, I’ll come back in and make sure there aren’t any light leaks. We can patch them as necessary.”

I have to ask it. “Do you think you’ll have to send Mal away?”

He takes a deep breath and finally meets my gaze. “I don’t know. It’s not the last thing I want to do, but it’s down at the bottom of my list. How much did you tell him?”

“Nothing about…” I take a breath of my own. “Only about this bullshit.” I circle a finger in the air as I look around the space. “I don’t need to burden him with my feelings—which I don’t even know what those feelings are—or have him feeling guilty or obligated to me.”

He turns to face me. “Todd, you’re a good guy. I get wanting to hold this back from him for now. But don’t think it’s because you’re worried about manipulating him. You aren’t that kind of guy and you’ve never been. Hopefully, we can resolve this quickly and then get back to whatever passes for normal around here. Including you being able to have some heart-to-heart talks with Mal and start the initiation process with him.”

We work all morning and several others join us to help. By late that afternoon, we’ve installed nearly half of the exterior shutters, and Jax is fending off phone calls left and right from people as the rumor mill goes into hyperdrive.

I’m surprised Chaz Gillians shows up to help because Jax confided in me that the Alpha tiger wanted nothing to do with any of this.

But he walks right up to Jax and shakes his hand. “This doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind,” he grumbles. “About the initiation stuff. But this is pack land, and I’m not doing my part if I don’t help with this, at least.”

“Thank you,” Jax says. “I appreciate you doing this.”

“Will actual vampires be staying here?” he asks.

“They might help move their people in and then out once it’s safe, but there are only four of them left in their nest, and they want to hunt the attackers. They’re bringing us kids, mates, human familiars, and younglings. They will not be staying here with them.”

He spits on the ground. “Younglings means vampires, doesn’t it?”

“From what I understand, no,” Jax says. “Some of them might develop it, some of them might not. I don’t claim to be an expert.”

“Younglings are like kids from shifter families,” I say, hoping I don’t regret speaking up. “Vampires are born, not made. And just like some kids are born to shifter families but can’t shift, that’s what younglings are. They might develop some of the strengths—or even all of the weaknesses—of vampirism, but it doesn’t mean they’ll…grow into it. They have nearly human kids, too, just like shifters. But younglings might have some of the traits, so they have to be kept safe from sunlight until they mature, in case that’s one of their weaknesses. They aren’t ‘human,’ but they aren’t vampires, either. Not every child born to a vampire couple carries it, and the chances drop even more if one of the parents is a human, or was themselves a youngling who didn’t inherit it.”

Chaz stares at me for a moment, and I see the gears spinning in his head. “How come you know so much about ’em?” he asks.

“Because I think it’s important to know things,” I counter. “Ignorance breeds fear. It also breeds overconfidence.” I nod toward Jax. “He’s my pack Alpha. If he says we need to help them, then I’m all-in and I want to know as much as I can.”

You know, none of that’s a lie but it’s an omission I know might come back to bite me later.

No pun intended.

Still, emotions are running high and hot and I don’t feel like tossing a gallon of gasoline on a barbecue.

Chaz finally nods. “Makes sense. Well, where you need me, Jax?”

As Jax leads him to one of the teams working on the storm shutters, I breathe a sigh of relief.

If only that were to be the most complicated thing to happen around here for a long while.