Page 34 of War Games (Jacky Leon #11)

I dreamed more, but it was natural. A picnic with Heath, then a wedding where Carey smiled brightly at me and Heath as we walked down the aisle. There were other faces, but they were blurry. I could have guessed who they were, but the knowing didn’t matter as much as the feeling the dreams gave me. It was a sporadic, normal dream. As I woke up, the images were already fleeing my mind, to be forgotten by the time I got out of bed.

Or before that, seeing how many people were in my bedroom hovering around the bed, staring at me expectantly, like they were waiting on bated breath.

“You’re awake,” Dirk said, sagging as he leaned on the bed, grabbing my hand. “You’re awake.”

“Hey, Dirk,” I said, smiling. I was sore, but I pushed up and squeezed his hand. It was only a second before I realized the bed was wet and the room smelled like blood.

“Oh, I need to…” I tried to get out of bed, but another hand grabbed me for a second.

“Taking a deep breath first,” Niko ordered. “Tell me if you feel dizzy or anything. Let’s make sure you can walk before letting you try.”

I followed his orders and tried to ignore how I was certainly in the blood I could smell. My head felt good, clearer than it had been in a long time. There was soreness in different areas, places I recognized, knowing the cause perfectly, but they weren’t nearly as painful as they had been. I wiggled my toes for Niko, who was convinced I needed a head-to-toe check, then noticed Olivia hovering.

“Hi,” I greeted, smiling at her. “My mother told me you were here.”

“So, you remember,” Subira said from the door, leaning on the frame. “That’s good.”

“I do,” I said, nodding. “And I feel fine. Can I get up?”

“I’ll help you get cleaned up. Niko, let your sister go.” Subira came closer, taking Niko’s place and helping me from the bed. I was naked and covered in blood that someone had tried sponging off but didn’t finish or couldn’t reach all of it. It was all my blood, though.

Weird thing to feel good about, but it meant no one else got hurt. I’d take it as a win.

Being naked also didn’t bother me, not in this particular instance. Subira walked into the bathroom with me, forcing me into the shower before I could start asking questions or wondering what had happened while I was trapped in my own mind.

She joined me, getting the blood from my back, butt, and legs. That startled me, but her grip was iron.

“Let me help,” she said, holding my ankle as she scrubbed my leg, the one that had been broken.

When I was finally scrubbed raw, the smell of blood going down the drain with a full bottle of body wash, all of my shampoo and conditioner, and an entire bar of soap, Subira let me get out.

“I know how to clean myself,” I reminded her, trying to dry off.

“I wanted to tend to you in reality,” she answered, patting my shoulder with a towel to dry me off. “I don’t often get to tend to my children like this.”

“Maybe because we’re adults who all know personal hygiene.”

“Perhaps,” she said, smiling. “Perhaps because the modern world doesn’t believe in community bathing anymore.”

“Wait, so you would do this with Jabari or Zuri?”

“Have, will again. We came from the same time. Bathing in rivers and the like. Helping each other reach all the difficult spots was as natural as eating a meal together,” she explained. “I know you aren’t as comfortable with it, but…” She met my eyes in the mirror. “I would rather you be a touch uncomfortable here and know that I will do anything for you and with you than let you be alone right now.”

I swallowed. If she wasn’t there, I would have gone back to thinking of my memories of childhood or, worse, her memory of that terrible day I wasn’t supposed to see.

“Thanks,” I whispered, letting her towel me off without fighting against it. It was comforting, the attention from her, which was warm, gentle, and caring, but also just respectful enough not to turn me red from embarrassment. I felt her fingers glide over the scars I had, most of them bullet holes that were fading slowly, but they had been caused by silver, so they would never fade entirely.

She went out to get me clothes, leaving me to my own thoughts for a few moments. I couldn’t stop myself. I reached out to my territory, letting it reconnect with me after I felt so disconnected with it in my mind. I did a mental tally, starting with each person closest to me.

Subira is right outside. Niko and Dirk went downstairs. Olivia isn’t doing any magic right now, but I bet she’s down there as well. Ranger is down there, too. Huh. Teagan is in my office…

Shamus is at Kick Shot with Stacy, Kody, Arlo, and Benjamin. He must be on young werewolf watch.

I reached out further.

Roselyn and Piper are at home. Carlos is with them? Carlos is always at home with Jenny.

Ah.

Jenny is missing.

So are Heath and Landon.

I opened my eyes, staring at my gold eyes in the mirror. I remembered everything I had just gone through. It was easy to put the pieces together.

Heath, Landon, and Jenny. Jenny isn’t high-ranking enough to be at an important meeting.

She’s either going to die or is already dead. Is she on the run, and they went after her?

It upset me knowing Heath wasn’t going to be out there once I left the bathroom. I wanted to see him. A little part of me wouldn’t know this was real yet until I saw him.

Subira walked back in, putting down a simple outfit I would have picked for myself, and noticed my eyes.

“How does your territory feel?” she asked benignly.

“Two of my werewolves are missing,” I answered. “Any idea where they could be?”

“Only two?”

“I don’t keep traitors,” I growled softly.

Subira put a hand on my shoulder.

“For the best. They took the traitor to those who needed to see the traitor and finish up what they need to do after such a betrayal.”

“Have you seen them?”

“I saw them go into the little security building you make Dirk live in,” she answered, teasing me.

“They aren’t there now,” I explained.

“I know,” Subira whispered, running her hand over my head.

“Killing Jenny and sending her head would have been enough, so why did they go to the Tribunal?” I suddenly needed to see Heath. Subira noticed the change in me, keeping herself in front of my closed bathroom door. I got up and grabbed the clothes, throwing them on, only to face her there.

“Answer, please,” I pleaded. I could have handled him being gone for a moment, but the need to see him was overwhelming.

He was supposed to be here. I’m not home yet. I need to see him.

“You’ve been distracting me from his absence,” I accused.

“Just a little,” Subira confirmed. “For your benefit and his. Not to meddle but for safety.”

“Subira—”

“Jacky, you were accidentally hurt by an attack on him from the Tribunal Alpha werewolves. They are dealing with other packs who are rejecting their authority. You weren’t the target, but you were hurt. Heath has every right to set this straight and make sure it never happens again.”

“The only way to stop the power jockeying of werewolves is to fight it out until everyone feels like they are in the right spot!” I yelled, and once it left me, I knew that was exactly what was happening.

I had known it was possible one day but hadn’t thought far enough ahead. I thought I had time, thought it might never actually happen, that Heath could live quietly with me in my territory outside of the werewolf nonsense unless it came to our door.

It did come to our door. It left me fighting through my worst memories…

“He could die,” I whispered, reaching around Subira to get the handle. She moved to the side and let me run past.

“Worse,” Subira said as I ran out of my bedroom. “He could win.”

That made me stop at the top of the stairs, looking over my shoulder at her.

He could become a member of the Tribunal. He would be the most dominant male werewolf in the world.

“And you can’t stop it,” Subira said. “Or help him.”

I kept going, running down the stairs, going through my friends, and nearly running over my brother. I got outside and was nearly at the door when something stopped me and pulled me back hard.

“You can’t interfere, Jacky!” Subira snapped, having followed me outside, stopping on my porch. She held up a hand as I looked back at her.

“Fuck that stupid rule!” I growled, getting back up to go into the Tribunal if I could.

“It’s not about the rule, Jacky. It’s about distracting Heath and getting him killed!” Subira’s thunderous words made me pause. They also brought out everyone else. Everyone in both my home and every supernatural in Kick Shot was now moving toward me.

I looked at Niko, who was resigned. He had known. Carey was there, rubbing her arms, also worried, but not surprised by any of this. Dirk was even more worried; his now-husband was there with Heath.

Landon might watch his father die…

I turned to see Shamus with the younger werewolves, walking down my driveway, drawn in by Subira’s thunderous words.

He’s keeping them together in case they need to leave before other Tribunal werewolves show up to dismantle the pack.

Teagan slipped out, Olivia beside him. Ranger hobbled out last, not wearing his prosthetic.

“I assume you’ve been getting paperwork ready for whatever might happen,” I said to the old werewolf, the gentle soul who chose our little rogue pack over going back to the bigger packs he’d once known.

“I am,” he confirmed. “And setting up a contract for Olivia to continue to work with us as a healer, so long as we lend werewolves to her animal rescue.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” I said, feeling a little crazy as he had turned this into a very casual conversation.

Dirk trotted down the steps and approached me, wrapping his arms around me.

“I just want to see him,” I whispered, shaking as I wrapped my arms around him too. “I just want to know he’s okay.”

“I know,” Dirk said, rocking me a little.

Instead of going back inside, I sat with my mother, brother, nephew, and all the werewolves outside, watching and waiting for news.

“You don’t have to…” I looked at Shamus and the young ones. Sure, Stacy and Kody were fully adults by age now, but they were still Shamus’s kids. Arlo and Benjamin were older teens, still certainly considered children by the conditions of immortals.

Sometimes, I was still a child when it came to immortals, and I was over forty.

“Would rather be here waiting with everyone else for our Alpha to be victorious than alone, ready to run,” Shamus said, smiling. “And you might not be a werewolf, but you’re part of this bigger family, too. It’s just as dysfunctional as yours, so you might not welcome?—”

Something made Shamus quiet. I looked at Subira to see she was unamused by the humor of Heath’s third. He’d shut his mouth once she had made eye contact with him.

“He’s teasing,” I promised her.

“I hope so,” she said, smiling but Subira was a master of the smile that meant she would turn someone into a blood splatter if they kept up whatever they were doing.

It was only a few minutes of this when Subira, of all people, had a phone going off.

“Ah.” She got up and walked to the security building, and I was the only one brave enough to follow her immediately.

I grabbed the handle, recognizing her gesture that I could, and pulled it open.

I wasn’t expecting the scene I walked into. Corissa was nearly crawling to a werewolf’s body, a werewolf who had certainly lost the fight, who left blood all over the marble floor of the now huge Tribunal main chamber. A wolf I recognized was standing over the body, also bleeding and bloodied, but the winner.

Heath had the other wolf by the neck.

“Please, just let me save him,” Corissa whispered, making me realize it was Callahan who was down. “I can’t lose him.”

Heath released Callahan’s neck and took two steps back.

“There will be a meeting once Callahan’s condition has stabilized and Heath’s injuries have been tended,” Landon announced.

My anger snapped, knowing if I wasn’t standing there, there was a chance no one would come to tell me about any of this happening until it was all well over and settled.

“I better be at that fucking meeting,” I snarled. I was staring not at Landon but at Heath, his ice-blue werewolf eyes looking up at mine, a boldness in their expression.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Landon said, grinning as he turned to her as well. “Good to see you up.”

“I mean, really?” I started down the stairs. I remembered almost too much. “I have been in a drug-induced nightmare coma for…”

“Three days,” Subira called out from the door behind me.

“Three days!” I growled. “And neither one of you assholes thought to leave a note for if I woke up? Or to wait a fucking minute before trying to get yourselves killed?”

I stomped down the stairs. Landon’s eyes went wide as I approached.

Heath, the brave man, bleeding and injured in his werewolf form, only watched my approach, not moving an inch.

“I mean, really, Heath! How am I supposed to tell you I want to get married next year if you go and die before I wake up?” I roared at the werewolf.

“Oh, shit,” Landon said.

Subira laughed.