Everett

Would Griffin ever learn to trust us?

So far, Felix and I hadn't been able to offer him any kind of stability. We brought him into our home, then moved to another. He'd suffered through two bouts of intruder sirens, which terrified him. He had watched as Felix fought his biological father. Griffin wouldn't know exactly what a biological father was, but he would have scented Marcus and would have instinctively associated him with family.

Because it had been Marcus who broke into our house and pointed a gun at my head. It had been Marcus who, we later found out, learned when a patrol of two unmated wolves would be going through the Southern border. He attacked when those wolves were in range and because they were unmated, they had no mind link, no way to warn the rest of the pack that there were intruders before they died. Marcus found our house by tracing Magnus' scent to it, who they knew to follow from my file, since it listed relatives. They had come equipped to cut through the bars on the windows, killed our guard, and would have killed myself, Felix, and Magnus if Felix hadn't been so strong.

During the fight, I had kept myself wrapped around Griffin and had kept tapped into Felix's mind. As hard as it had been to follow the fight from his perspective, I couldn't bear not knowing what was going on out there.

Because I had been in Felix's mind, I had understood why he offered the invaders surrender. He didn't like mindless killing, he wanted information, and he frankly didn't have the time to kill everyone while still helping his brother. In the end, having Stella and Ryan subdued but alive had been a very good thing. They were the reason we were able to piece together the story of how Marcus made it into the bunker.

After the sirens started blaring, Spencer had sent two members of the defense team to collect Felix's prisoners. Felix could have taken them both to the holding cells, but no one expected him to leave my side. Spencer also came, himself, to escort us to the safe room in his own house, where the sound of sirens was muffled enough for Griffin to calm down. He still clung to me, but that was okay. I was feeling clingy, too.

Felix, Griffin, and I were alone in the saferoom while we waited for news. I called my mother, who had thankfully not been with us today – I hated to think of how she would have handled the break-in and Felix would have been left with another defenseless civilian to protect. She was fine, of course, and was relieved to hear that we were okay, too. The sirens had terrified her since she knew Griffin was a target.

Felix called Meleri, who worked as a paralegal in the nearest city. She insisted on coming home even though Felix pled with her to stay at work. Since Magnus was still out there – Felix didn't know what had happened to him after he went chasing Marcus – she wouldn't hear of it. I respected her choice even as it worried me, and I could see the same worry painted across Felix's face. Worry for Magnus, worry that Mel would stumble on more intruders while she looked for him. Worry that Magnus would try again and get even closer than he did this time.

I couldn't comfort him, not when I was worried about the same things. So we held each other on the couch, Griffin snuggled in between us, while we waited for news. The bunker had a television, which we turned on to keep Griffin distracted, but Felix and I didn't pay the show any mind. We passed images back and forth across our mind link, playing out our worries. It wasn't healthy, and it definitely only fed my fear to know what Felix was worrying over, but I couldn't help it.

Finally, the saferoom door opened and a wild-eyed Magnus stumbled through it, supported by Spencer. Felix threw himself from the couch and rushed to his brother, putting his palms on Magnus' blood-smeared face and examining him closely.

"Are you hurt?" Felix demanded.

"I'm fine," Magnus said. "Nothing that won't heal just fine on its own. How are you?"

Felix scooped Magnus into his arms as Magnus' knees gave out. Felix lay him down on the couch that was next to the one Griffin and I were still on. I debated taking Griffin away before he could see the state Magnus was in – should a child be exposed to so much blood? – but I didn't react quickly enough.

"Uncle?" Griffin asked, his small voice troubled. He pronounced the word more like "unka," but it was obvious what he meant and my heart warmed even as it twisted with worry.

"Uncle Magnus is okay," I assured Griffin. "He just needs a nap and a bath."

Griffin squirmed in my arms and slipped himself down onto the ground. He walked to Magnus' couch and stared up at him with big, frightened eyes. "Hi, buddy," Magnus said. It was obvious he was struggling to keep his eyes open, but he made a valiant effort for the boy. Griffin was on the edge of fear. He could tell something was wrong, even if he didn't quite understand what. After the afternoon we'd all had, I was amazed at how composed he still was.

Griffin reached up for Magnus, but Felix picked him up and swooped him through the air as a distraction. "We need to let Uncle Magnus rest for a while, okay?"

"Nap time," Griffin said. He reached for Magnus again. He was clearly still worried, and keeping them apart was only making him worry more. It always amazed me, the things kids picked up on.

In fact, we had blown right through Griffin's nap time with all the excitement.

"Let me get cleaned up," Magnus said. "He can lay with me if he wants."

I took Griffin while Felix helped Magnus down the hall to the bathroom. It had a small, utilitarian shower along with shelves stocked with several spare sets of clothing. While Felix and Magnus were in the bathroom, the saferoom door slammed open and Meleri came charging in.

She saw Spencer and stopped short. Her eyes darted around the room before resting on him again with a glare. "Where is he? You said Magnus was safe."

"Magnus is okay. He's washing up," I assured her. Then I realized Spencer probably had much better things to do than wait around here. I looked at him, too, and wondered why he lingered.

Spencer caught my questioning look and said, "We have a lot to talk about. Everything's under control outside and I'd rather we talked sooner than later."

"As soon as we get Griffin settled down," I said. Griffin was drooping against me, still watching down the hall and waiting for Felix and Magnus to come back. I sat back down with him and Mel took the seat next to me, eyeing the blood smears Magnus had left on the couch with a look of trepidation.

"He's really okay?" she asked.

"He said he was. I didn't see any wounds on him," I answered. Spencer laid down a blanket over the dried blood and sat down in a chair. We didn't speak again until Felix and Magnus came back. Magnus still used Felix for support, but he looked less shaky than before. Thank goodness for werewolf healing. I didn't know where his injuries were, but they had clearly taken a lot out of him. The instant he laid back out on the couch, his eyelids fell shut.

"Nap with Uncle," Griffin said, reaching for him again.

"I don't know if that's the best idea," I said. I didn't want Griffin to accidentally press up against any wounds he had.

Magnus just shook his head and turned to the side. "Let him lay here. He won't hurt me and maybe he'll get some sleep." I looked to Felix. This was his little brother and he could make the decision here. Watching after Magnus had been Felix's job for years and at least for today, it fell on him again. Finally, Felix nodded, so I passed Griffin off and watched him press himself against Magnus, sniffing at him before nuzzling his face into Magnus' chest. Griffin's eyes shut and Felix took the blanket off the back of our couch and draped it over the two of them. The result was adorable and it went a long way toward soothing my nerves after today's horrors.

It didn't take long for Griffin's breathing to even out. Magnus said "Would you mind explaining?" and looked to Spencer.

Spencer inclined his head and looked to us. Felix was sitting between me and Meleri and my heart tripped at the gravity of Spencer's gaze.

"Magnus defeated Marcus. We did not offer him mercy. Marcus is dead."

I was glad Spencer was being so direct, and that he gave us time to absorb this.

I looked to Griffin and almost cried in relief. Surely now that Marcus was gone, no one would be coming after Griffin anymore. Why would they?

Felix made the connection before I did. He was so deeply shocked that he sent his realization through the bond.

Magnus had defeated Marcus. By the rules of Tourmaline, that made Magnus their new alpha.

I gasped and looked to Magnus, who gave us a tired smile.

"What's happening?" Meleri demanded when the room was silent for too long. "Why aren't we celebrating?"

"Magnus is the new alpha of Tourmaline. We stopped by the holding cells to talk with Ryan and Stella, the Tourmaline members we captured today. They bore witness to Magnus' ascension – he still wore Marcus' blood and we brought them Marcus' body so they could smell Magnus on him. No one else in Tourmaline knows yet. This will need to be handled delicately."

We all gaped at Magnus, who merely looked tired.

"But... Magnus can't be alpha," Mel said.

"Gee, thanks, Mel," he said. I could tell he was hurt, though he tried to mask it.

She shook her head. "I don't mean it like that. I mean... if you're alpha, you'll have to leave. You'll have to move to Tourmaline. We won't see you anymore."

Magnus' eyes squeezed shut. "I know."

Meleri looked to Felix. "This can't be happening."

Felix's expression was sad. "It is happening." He wrapped an arm around his sister but looked to his brother. "You can't step down unless there's someone to take your place. We've been looking for someone to challenge Marcus, but I never thought it would be you."

Magnus' lip quirked. "I was just protecting my family. We couldn't let him get away, and you couldn't go after him." Meleri started crying and tears welled in my own eyes. Magnus's little smile died and he shrugged helplessly. "I need to go. I need to at least try to fix the pack. I owe them that now. And maybe... maybe we'll find someone else who can take over for me once things are stable."

"Thank you, Magnus." I realized I hadn't said it yet. "You saved us today. Felix is incredible, but I don't think he could have fought all of them off alone and I'm worse than useless in a fight. I'm a liability."

"You're welcome, brother," Magnus said. His eyes were still sad, but they held a little more warmth now.

"When will you go?" Felix asked. His voice sounded choked and I knew there would be tears later, but he wouldn't break down while his siblings needed him to stay strong. He was their rock – he always had been.

"Soon. The people of Tourmaline are hurting. The sooner I go, the sooner I can start restoring some kind of order."

I looked down at Griffin. How would we explain this to him? We were still trying to convince him he wouldn't be abandoned again, that there were people who would stay in his life. He would see Magnus moving away as another abandonment, wouldn't he?

"We'll visit you when it's safe," I decided. Felix and I would want to see Magnus, anyway, but I thought Griffin would need to see that Magnus could leave but stay in his life, too.

"I'm going with you," Meleri said. "No way am I sending you off to do this alone."

That was it for Magnus. He lost his composure and his face crumpled, fat tears rolling down his cheeks in quick succession. He clutched Griffin against him as he shook with sobs. Meleri went to him and wrapped her arms around him the best she could while Magnus lay with the child. When he finally calmed down, he said, "Thank you, Mel."

She kissed his forehead. "Don't thank me. Of course I'm going with you." While Magnus fought for composure, she looked over her shoulder at Felix with sad eyes.

"I'll leave your family to recover," Spencer said. "You should be safe to return to your own home now, but you're welcome to stay in mine as long as you wish." He left the room, shutting the door gently behind him.

"It'll be okay," I whispered to Felix, who was fighting hard not to cry. He nodded but couldn't speak. I wrapped my arms around him and provided what comfort I could while we contemplated the separation ahead.