Page 95 of Broken Bonds

Sitting back, I closely study my mate. Todd’s now pretending pizza is literally the most fucking interesting thing on the planet, and he’s shoveling it into his snout as fast as possible, likely so he can escape to take his shower and leave us alone to hash this out.

“I’m sorry,” I tell Shawn. “I wasn’t trying to?—”

“You know, I’ll get my shower right now,” Todd says, grabbing his paper plate and dropping two more pieces on it as he stands and heads out.

“That was subtle,” Shawn snarks as he watches him retreat.

I wipe my hands and turn in my chair so I’m facing him. “Can we talk about this? Please?”

He glances down the hall, waiting until he hears the hall bathroom door shut and the fart fan running. When he speaks it’s so low I know even Todd can’t hear.

“He’s got it bad for Mal. If we have to ship Mal out it’ll be worse for Todd. Do I want to be railed tonight? No-fucking-duh, of course I do. But I had a lot of time to think today, unfortunately. If shit comes to a head and Mal is scented by any of our ‘guests’, there’s no way in hell they won’t associate his scent with Todd. I don’t feel like getting in the middle of a grudge there’s no way I can fight back against. I don’t think it’s a good idea right now to risk any hint of Mal’s scent getting on either of us. How do we know if Mal is scented and they go after him that they won’t go after Todd and anyone who smells like either of them?”

This isn’t what I expected from him and it irritates me that he’s…

Well, he’s completely correct.

“What do you suggest?” I ask.

“That neither of us fuck around with Todd or Mal until the vampires and everyone are gone and we can figure out the pup’s next step. Stash him somewhere. If they wipe out Sterling and his pack and then move on, sure, it’ll be safe for the pup here. After the vampires leave, we’ll bring the pup back and kick off his initiation.”

“By your reasoning, we should move him, but where, Shawn? Where is safe enough for him? From his father or the vampires, or the others? Where is safer than here?”

“How safe will our pack be if they find him here?” he asks. “What happens if we move him and then either Sterling or the vampires kill him regardless of how that situation is settled? We have no right to tell them they can’t kill one of Sterling’s sons when he’s not pack.”

“But he’s safe here because they’ve agreed not to harm anyone in our pack, either while they’re in our territory or after.”

Shawn makes a “keep going” gesture, his head cocked, waiting.

That’s when it hits me and I deflate. “But he’s not part of our pack.”

“Exactly. We can’t initiate him before they get here. You said it yourself, there’s no time. If we rush his initiation, there’s a good chance he’ll be blackballed because of who he is, with someone hoping the vampires take him out to make the point moot. I wouldn’t even put it past someone to accidentally leak the info.”

“Even if I order everyone to keep their snouts shut?”

“Yes. Because we’ve never faced something like this before. You have a strong grip on this pack, sure, but this is unprecedented. You can’t expect people who are freaked the fuck out on multiple fronts not to react in unpredictable ways when they’re worried about the safety of their loved ones. It wouldn’t shock me if someone drops a dime on him to Sterling to get Mal out of our territory.”

I sit back and study the ceiling for a moment because he’s not wrong.

About any of it.

“I don’t feel right moving him,” I say. “My gut tells me not to.”

“I can always pick him up in the middle of the night, not tell anyone, drive him to Orlando or Tampa or Miami, and put him up in a big hotel. Somewhere touristy, like a resort, where there will be a high turnover of people, crowds to mask his scent. Tell him not to leave the room and order room service for every meal, all on the pack’s tab. Buy us some time, figure out what the fuck to do with him after the vampires leave.”

Thinking about it, I run several scenarios through my mind, and none of them end well for Mal. “They won’t harm him if we hide him here,” I say, no longer sure of that. “They’ve requested sanctuary—they came to us. They’ll respect that.”

Shawn scoffs. “Jax, you have no idea if they will. If Sterling is behind all this, he’s killed a lot of people—vampires, shifters, fae, and witches. If you honestly think you can predict how all of them will behave if they figure out we’re harboring Randolph Sterling’s son, then you’re delusional. And the last fucking thing we need is a goddamned war over one fucking pup!”

I study him again because something is…off.

Definitely doesn’t feel right.

“Are you jealous because Todd’s into him?” I softly ask.

“What? No, Jax, what the fuck? I’m not jealous—I’m fucking scared.”

He is, too. Now that I’m paying attention—yes, another fail on my part—I smell it on him.