Felix

I ran home as quickly as I could. The only clothing I had with me was my sweatshirt, which I quickly untied from around my neck. I fished the key out and hurried into the house, only caring about my nudity when I heard Mel and Magnus' voices drifting down the hall. Like any good werewolf, I kept several stacks of clothing in the closet just inside the door, so I pulled on a pair of sweatpants before running down the hall to join my family.

I found Magnus running around Griffin's room, holding him up over his head so Griffin could touch the star stickers Everett had covered the ceiling with. Mel was nearby, concentrating hard on building a block castle. "Where's Everett?" I asked.

Mel glanced up at me and I saw her eyes sweep my body, looking for injuries. "He's cooking in the kitchen," she said when she was satisfied.

I wanted to run straight to my mate, but I needed to keep building my relationship with Griffin. Anya had told me that every interaction counted, that I had to wear him down by always being there for him. So instead of rushing to Everett, who I knew had spent the better part of the last few hours in a state of anxiety and fear, I said, "Magnus, toss him to me." Magnus turned around and grinned at me. He did a 1-2-3 swing with Griffin before tossing him up into the air. I caught him easily and pressed kisses on his cheeks while Griffin laughed in delight. "Ready?" I asked Magnus, who nodded. I tossed Griffin back to him, then left the room.

When I got to the kitchen, I regretted even the small delay I had taken to greet Griffin. Everett's back was to me when I entered and he was chopping something on a cutting board. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek, only to find that it was wet. He was crying. I carefully reached around him and took the knife from his hands before spinning him around to face me.

Everett immediately tucked his head against my chest and hugged me hard. I could hear and feel him taking in deep gusts of air as he tried to calm down. "Hey, I'm okay," I said. That only made Everett squeeze me harder.

I looked down at him and fear pierced me. What if this was too much for him? Everett and I were still so new. We were committed now and I trusted that he wouldn't leave me, but what if this was too much for him to handle? We would have to leave the life we were building here. I would have to find another job, to leave my pack and my siblings. I would do it for him, but I really, really didn't want to.

When Everett's breathing went back to normal, I pulled him away and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Better?" I asked.

Everett smiled ruefully. "I feel a lot better now that you're home safe."

"I'm sorry about tonight. I'm sorry that every time the sirens go off, I'm going to have to leave you." I looked away from him, unable to bear meeting his gaze. I knew just how afraid Everett had been for me. I could feel him in my mind the whole time. He didn't withdraw once in the hours I spent on patrol. It had to have been exhausting, especially while he was watching Griffin.

Everett pressed his palms to my cheeks and gently tilted my head so I was looking at him again. He kissed me gently and said, "It's okay, Felix. I understand why you had to go, why you'll always have to go. I think it's really brave and I'm so proud of you."

My heart glowed with pride and happiness. I clutched him closer and pressed my lips to his again, slipping my tongue into his mouth at the first opportunity and reveling in the tingling sensation that intensified with every caress of his tongue against mine. I slid my hands down his sides and slipped them into his waistband, teasing the skin just underneath while Everett shuddered against me. I smiled against his lips and he nipped at me gently before sucking away the small hurt, drawing a long moan out of me.

Then Everett slipped out of my arms and moved to stir the pot on the stove, smirking at me over his shoulder. The challenge in his eyes sparked something primal in me. "Tonight," I promised him.

Everett's smirk grew and his eyes sparkled. "You seem pretty sure of yourself," he said.

I placed one hand on each side of Everett, carefully avoiding the burner. His eyes widened as I slinked into his personal space and loomed over him. I could feel his breath against my throat and my skin flared in goosebumps. "Oh, I am... mate."

Everett visibly trembled at my words and I stepped back, victorious. He took a couple of steps back so he could lean against the counter. The challenge in his eyes had melted into heat and I cursed the fact that we weren't alone in the house. I had just stepped forward to claim his lips again when a giggling Mel came running down the hallway with Magnus chasing her, yelling at her about something being unfair. Mel had Griffin in her arms and he looked like he was having the time of his life, screaming in laughter whenever Magnus got too close.

Everett hooked an arm around my waist and leaned his head against my shoulder while he watched them. "I love our family," he said.

A new warmth spread through me and I kissed the top of his head. "Me too."

--

I was supposed to have the next day off even after the attack, but Spencer called me at eight in the morning asking me to come in with Everett when I could. He wouldn't tell me what it was about, just that it might take a while.

"We should take Griffin to the daycare," Everett said when I told him. "We can pick him up when we're done."

"Or we can go out after we meet with Spencer. I'd like to take you on an actual date," I countered.

Everett lit up at the idea. "We can go to lunch. My mom's working the daycare today, so Griffin will be fine there."

I pecked him on the lips and smiled back. "Sounds good."

I took a quick shower while Everett got Griffin ready. We ate cereal for breakfast to save time – which Griffin only accepted after I promised we could make eggs for dinner. By the time we dropped Griffin off at the daycare and drove to the office, it was a little after nine. Honestly, we made better time than I expected.

I halted in my tracks when I walked into the office and saw Molly's grim expression. Everett walked into my back before stepping around me and freezing, too, when he saw Molly. "Is something wrong?" he asked nervously. I took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, though I was starting to get a bad feeling about this meeting.

Molly looked between the two of us and sighed. "I'll let Spencer explain everything." She knocked on his door and opened it when he called out for her to enter. Molly held the door open for me and Everett and stepped inside, too, shutting the door behind her. Everett and I settled in the chairs across from Spencer's desk while Molly took a seat in the corner behind his desk – a chair I knew was kept there specifically for her use.

Spencer and Molly didn't look much alike even though he was her father. Spencer was gruff and looked like a brawler, with huge muscles, rugged features, and unkempt hair. He was one of the tallest people I knew, but even without that, his presence would have been imposing. Molly was small and lithe, with delicate features and smooth, bright hair. The only time you could tell they were related at all was when they sat side-by-side like this with identical expressions on their faces. Their lips were pressed into flat lines, their brows were drawn downward, and they both had carefully neutral eyes that stared appraisingly at us.

Spencer spoke first. "Lin ran DNA tests on the bodies of the wolves who attacked us last night," Spencer said. Everett and I exchanged alarmed looks – why would last night's attack require a meeting with the two of us? It made sense for me to be involved – dealing with this was my job. What could Everett possibly have to do with the attack, though?

"Calm down and listen," Molly said softly. "No one's in trouble here and your mate isn't in danger."

I focused back on Spencer, who continued. "All six of the deceased wolves were from the Tourmaline pack. Sue and Earnest – they're our private investigators – have been looking for a connection between our pack and theirs. They found one: Griffin."

Everett's hand squeezed mine painfully tight, but I was too frozen to complain about it or to pull away.

"The Tourmaline pack just changed power. There was an uprising and the new leader is Griffin's biological father."

"You think they're coming for him," Everett said. My fingers were aching from the lack of blood flow.

"Yes."

The word sent ice skittering through my veins and I found myself incapable of stringing together a coherent sentence. Luckily, Everett had no trouble keeping control of himself, except for the hand that still squeezed mine. "Griffin's biological father signed away his rights to Griffin when he was born," Everett objected. "Why would he do that, only to come after him now?"

Spencer and Molly exchanged a look. "We have a guess," Molly said after a pause that was entirely too long for my health. When she didn't continue right away, I resisted the urge to shake the words out of her. Finally, she said, "Marcus – that's his name – lost his mate in the uprising. He's a leader without a mate or an heir. We believe he wants Griffin to secure his leadership."

My fingers were starting to go numb, for which I was grateful. Spencer leaned forward, looking deeply into my eyes and then into Everett's to make sure we were still focused on the conversation. I was barely hanging on, but it was enough. He said, "We will not let them take your son."

It was like he hit a button that let me breathe again. I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath until I gasped in air and felt an acute sense of relief. Everett let go of my hand and dropped his head into his palms. I shook out my hand as my fingers came back to life and inched forward in my seat, meeting Spencer's direct gaze. "What's the plan?"

Spencer nodded his head ever so slightly in approval. "We'll protect him. For your safety, I recommend that you temporarily move your family into my parents' old house. My father was a paranoid man and he built his house into a fortress. It's been empty for a couple of years now, but I've kept up on the maintenance and it should be ready to go, if in need of a little cleaning."

I looked at Everett, who nodded. "We will," I said. "Thank you, Spencer."

"You know you're family to me. More than that, you're in my pack and it's my duty to protect you. No need to thank me for doing my job," Spencer said. "We'll have a protective detail on the house at all times. I'm also taking you off active duty, at least until we have more information."

"Thank you," I said, even though he literally just told me not to thank him. I didn't think I could force myself to leave Everett and Griffin, not knowing Griffin was a target.

"Sue and Earnest are still digging into this," Molly said. "We're hoping they'll find something that will help us make a plan. There must be something in Marcus' past we can leverage to get him to back off."

"Maybe we can buy him off," Everett suggested.

I looked down at him, shocked. "No way. We owe him nothing and who's to say he would stop even after accepting a bribe?"

Everett's determined expression didn't falter, though. "Everyone has a price, Felix. You don't work in my field without becoming intimately familiar with that. For a lot of people, money translates to power. It seems like power is something Marcus badly wants."

I shook my head. "No way. We'll find another way to take him down." The calculating glint didn't leave Everett's eyes, but he didn't push the topic. His suggestion had me wondering just how much money Everett had tucked away. He had alluded to being financially well-off and had tried to refuse payment for his work in the daycare. All this talk of bribes made me think I had been underestimating his wealth.

I looked to Spencer. "I agree with Felix, for now. No bribes. Let's see if we can handle this a little more subtly and more permanently. Felix, you'll have Elspeth guarding Griffin while she's not training. When she's unavailable, you'll have Patrick or Tommy. Alexa will take the night shift. We'll also increase our patrols while we get a feel for the situation."

Spencer was assigning Griffin the guards I trusted most, which made me feel even better. Elspeth and Patrick were good friends of mine, while Alexa and Tommy had been my students several years ago. They were fiercely loyal and took their jobs very seriously. Both had also been able to land me on my ass in training more than once. "Thank you," I said again.

Everett went tense at the talk of guards. I think having guards assigned made the situation more real to him. "They're exactly who I would have chosen. They'll protect him," I mind-linked Everett. He relaxed and shot me a grateful look. I felt a little better, too, just from knowing I had made Everett feel even a little less tense.

"Is there anything else we should talk about now?" I asked, sensing that Spencer had said all he needed to.

Spencer dug in his pocket and came up with two keyrings. He slid them across the desk. "These will get you into the house. There are also bio locks. Molly can take you both to the house now to get your prints entered into the system. The only people who currently have access are myself and Molly."

I stood and took both keys, zipping them into my jacket pocket before reaching out for Everett's hand and pulling him to his feet. "Thanks again, Spencer."

"Stop it, already," he complained. "If you keep thanking me, the next thing I do for you will be taping over your mouth."

I couldn't help grinning at him. He had been such a constant in my life ever since I was a child, someone I had always been able to count on. He was the one who made me want so badly to be a warrior – he told me stories about when he was a pack defender and I had wanted my own stories to tell. I wanted to make him proud of me. Knowing he was in my corner and that he was putting so many resources into helping us protect Griffin made the whole thing feel like it was going to be okay.

Besides, I would be there with Griffin until this was all over, and no one was getting through me.

I slid a glance at Everett and found him pale and shaky, so I slipped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close to me. I also dropped all of my mental defenses so he could feel what I was feeling. Hopefully it would calm his nerves a little. He had just been starting to trust that this pack would be a safe place to live when all of this happened. If he backslid and started fearing life in Lakota again, I didn't know what I would do.

I pressed a kiss to Everett's temple and whispered, "It's going to be okay."

He looked up at me searchingly. His neck muscles were straining with stress and he was biting at his bottom lip, which had already been chewed bloody. I could see his tension in the little lines around his eyes and the furrow in his brow. His eyes were calm and analytical, though, as he examined my expression for any hint of doubt. When all he found was calm and reassurance, he relaxed into my body. "I trust you, Felix," he said.

My heart warmed and a fierce determination built up in me. I would keep my family safe. I would prove myself worthy of Everett's trust in me.