Page 5 of Cruel Revenge (Jacky Leon #12)

“He really is,” I agreed, nodding. The family didn’t know Makalo existed until he finally came into his magic, and Aisha reached out to Zuri for help.

She had raised him alone well into his teens, keeping him away from the dangerous politics of the werecat ruling family so he could forge his own path one day, instead of being roped into the danger and drama of his paternal family.

His magic coming in so late meant it had come in with a bang.

A couple of them, actually. He didn’t have an easy go of it from what Jabari and Aisha have told me.

The bangs had not been his fault, but one had nearly killed his mother. It was Subira who was able to fix the damage and get him under control.

“Do you ever train with Makalo? Or talk to him? He might have the closest estimation to what you’re going through,” I said, purely out of curiosity.

“Not yet. I would love to talk more with Zuri and Jabari as well, and Aisha, but everyone is so busy. Even me. I’m not sure how Subira divides her time as well as she does. No one else can manage to keep up.”

“Probably magic,” I said, making even Dirk in the back seat laugh along with Olivia and me.

“Excited to see home?” I asked her after everyone settled back down.

“I come back once a month, and it doesn’t seem nearly often enough, but at the same time… I know the animals are in good hands.”

“Niko knows how to care for things,” Dirk agreed. “Thank you for letting him settle in your place and do that. He refused to make a territory for a while, and I was starting to get worried. I know Jacky was, too.”

“It’s me who should be grateful,” Olivia countered, shaking her head at Dirk’s thanks. She twisted her hands together. “Your father taking over my property and caring for those animals… not many would sign up for that.”

“Part of it’s my fault for dragging you to Jacky’s territory and getting you involved in our problems. It’s only right that our family helps you take care of things.”

I only listened since the discussions hadn’t included me, except for my approval for Olivia to stay in our territory.

She’d proven herself to Subira; therefore, I was more than willing to give the witch a chance.

Niko took her property as his territory to take care of her animals because we needed her close if Subira was going to help her with the changes to her magic.

Having the healer around was potentially useful as well.

She and Teagan falling for each other was an added bonus, an unexpected thing that just left everyone pleased, hoping they lasted the long haul.

As I approached her property, I felt the moment I entered Niko’s territory, which had now expanded beyond the bounds of her actual land.

His magic was warm, greeting me, Dirk, and Olivia.

When we reached the main house, he was waiting on the porch.

One thing, even though this was now his territory, he made no changes to Olivia’s home.

She had collected everything she needed, and these trips to check on the animals served the dual purpose of letting her continue to collect things she might need or want.

She was slowly moving out of her house without realizing it. It made me wonder what would happen to her rescue, but I had a strong feeling that she was already thinking about that as well.

“Hi, Niko,” I said as he came down the front steps to greet me.

“Hey, Jacky,” he replied, giving me a strong hug. “Heard the raid went well. No injuries for anyone on our side. Always good to hear.”

“That’s right. It went perfectly. Heath is actually in the meeting to discuss the interrogations of the captured witches right now.”

“Hey, Dad,” Dirk said, cutting in and taking Niko’s attention.

Olivia wandered off while we spoke, catching up with our family.

It was mostly about how Mischa and Hisao were doing between Niko and me, while Niko was desperate to hear all about Dirk’s life, even if none of it was new information.

After more than a few minutes, I decided to follow her, leaving Dirk and Niko to chat.

I found her going from enclosure to enclosure, studying the rescued and rehabilitating animals that were once in her daily care.

“Have you considered what you’re going to do if Teagan wants you to move in permanently?

” I asked from about ten feet away, giving her space and not wanting to spook the animals.

Niko was much better with them than I was, and there had been a few rumors that it took a few weeks with a few of them, and one fight with a big cat to finally establish himself as the caretaker who could be trusted.

“Teagan and I have been talking about it,” she said, touching the chain-link fence between her and a bird of prey that was brought in with a wing injury.

“I don’t want to say anything until it’s confirmed that it will need to happen.

Giving up my home here, even temporarily, hasn’t been easy.

I miss the animals and the work. I just can’t safely do it right now, thanks to what happened.

But…” She blushed as she looked at me. “I couldn’t imagine being so far from Teagan now, either. ”

“I know the feeling,” I said, nodding, my best attempt at being sagely. “There’s something about hunky werewolves.”

She laughed, moving away from the enclosure, closer to me.

“There’s something about them,” she agreed, giggling. “You would know that better than most, huh?”

“One could say I have experience with falling for one, yes.” I wrapped my arm with hers. “So, what are we grabbing from your house today?”

She sighed, her smile deflating, a simple act that let me know it was going to be more than I brought space for, and probably difficult to manage.

“We’ll have Niko and Dirk take his truck to carry a lot of it, too,” I promised, leading her back to the house.