Everett

Griffin cried when Felix left the bunker after lunch. I was kind of happy Felix's leaving impacted him, since it meant he wasn't only attached to me, but it was awful to have him crying against me.

"Pop will be back soon," I assured Griffin.

"No leave!" Griffin argued.

"He's just outside. Here, why don't we go to the window and watch?" I knew Felix wanted to keep me and Griffin away from Niles, but surely there wasn't any harm in looking out the window for a little while. I stood at the window with Griffin resting on my hip and his cries died down as soon as he saw Felix where he was stretching in the clearing in the middle of the houses that were tucked away in this part of the forest.

"See?" I said to Griffin. "Pop didn't go far. And even if he went away for a while, he'll always come back. We will never leave you." At least, not the way he feared we would.

We watched Felix for a little while until Griffin got bored. "Read a book?" he asked.

So it was that fifteen minutes later, Griffin and I were nestled into the couch reading when the sound of arguing came from outside. I sat up straighter and listened hard, but I wasn't able to make out what was being said. I could, however, tell that it was Felix and a woman - Molly, I thought.

I slid Griffin from my lap and onto the couch and was just standing up when the front door opened. "Molly, stop!" Felix yelled. He was clearly upset, which had me hurrying toward the door... that is, until Molly stepped into the living room with a stranger at her heels. Given the fact I didn't recognize him and Felix was supposed to be training someone right now, I guessed that this was Niles. Patrick, who had been in the house to protect me and Griffin, was on his feet between us and the stranger.

My body reacted automatically, positioning myself behind our protector with Griffin tucked behind me. Felix darted into the room, brushing past Niles, who was still in the doorway. He stood in front of me, too. If the situation weren't so tense, I might have laughed at how absurd it was to have two warriors blocking me from the same threat. There was no room in me for laugher, though. This was too serious.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Molly rolled her eyes. "Your mate is being a dramatic pansy. He didn't want me letting Niles into the house."

"So why did you?" I asked. My voice came out in a growl - something that had happened only a few times before. I didn't like the way Molly so blatantly disregarded Felix's wishes, though, and insulted him on top of it. This house was a sanctuary offered to us by her father, one we accepted in good faith. She shouldn't be bringing people in without our permission, and especially when one of us expressly told her not to.

No wonder Felix's chest was heaving. Anger burned in his eyes and I could tell he was fighting back the urge to do something rash. I put my hand on the small of his back in the hopes that a little bit of contact might soothe him. I think it only intensified the protectiveness he was feeling, since he shifted into a fighting stance.

"Pop!" Griffin yelled from the couch. I heard his feet hit the floor and quickly spun around to snatch him up into my arms. I could trust Felix to guard my back if I needed to take Griffin and run. Why would Molly bring such an unknown into the bunker?

"Hi, Griffin," Molly said brightly. "This is Niles."

"Answer him," Felix demanded. "Everett asked why you brought him here when I expressly said not to. I think you owe him an explanation. And me, for that matter."

Molly stood up straighter, anger flashing in her eyes now. "Remember your place, Felix. You're my dearest friend, but this is my family home and you're in my family's pack. We do not answer to you."

Felix tensed up so much the muscles and bones in his neck stood out in sharp relief. His hands partially shifted so that his fingers ended in claws and I had a decision to make. I could either let Felix attack his friend and future alpha or I could do something to diffuse the situation.

Option B was the obvious choice.

"Felix, take Griffin," I said, thrusting him toward Felix. Griffin reached out and latched onto him and I drew my hands back so Felix had no choice but to hold the child. His claws disappeared automatically and he shot me an alarmed look.

"I can't fight with him in my arms. You have to take him," Felix said through our link.

"That's the point. You can't attack Molly, not like this."

I stepped around Felix and crossed the room before he could stop me. Felix wouldn't get too close to Niles with Griffin, so he was helpless to bring me back once I got far enough. Patrick watched me but made no move to step in, for which I was grateful. "You know Felix didn't mean any offense, Molly. We both respect you and your place in the pack. We're just worried about our family." I looked directly into her eyes and hoped she could see that I really didn't want a fight.

Molly squeezed her eyes shut and Niles placed a hand on her shoulder. Molly leaned into it and sighed. When she opened her eyes again, they were clear of anger. "I know. Sorry. I'm a little touchy right now. Can we talk this out at the table? I swear to you, Niles will not hurt you or Griffin. I would never intentionally put anyone in danger, especially not Felix's family. I love him like a brother. I wouldn't do that."

"I know," I said, though of course I didn't trust her quite like Felix did, and Felix had certainly thought it possible she would jeopardize us. He was also in defensive mode, which could be impacting his judgment.

Molly led Niles to the dining room and I turned to Felix, who looked more worried than angry now. "I'll take Griffin. We'll sit on the opposite side of the table from him. If anything happens, I trust you to protect us."

Felix kissed me quickly. "Let's just get this over with. We might need to find a new safehouse, though. I don't like that he's seeing the layout. I don't even like that he's met you. Don't let him near Griffin."

"Of course not." I would have taken offense that Felix thought I could possibly be so stupid, but I knew he was just worried. It did feel wrong to let our extreme caution slip after so many days of painful vigilance.

Felix led the way to the dining room, but he refused to sit. I sat down with Griffin in my arms. If a fight broke out, I didn't want to waste time disentangling him from his high chair. Patrick leaned against the wall behind Felix.

"Play with blocks," Griffin said as we settled down.

"We can play in a little while. Can you sit with me here for a few minutes?" I asked.

"Blocks!" Griffin insisted.

As he grew more comfortable with us, he grew more demanding. It was usually cute to see him so assertive, but I was starting to wonder whether we indulged him too much. "How about I get you a book? We can't play with blocks right now."

Griffin thought about this. "Juice too?"

"Excuse us for a minute," I said apologetically to Molly and Niles, who had been watching the exchange. They didn't look annoyed, which was good. I wanted everyone to start off this conversation with a level head. I kept Griffin with me while I got him a sippy cup of juice and one of the books from his kitchen mat.

The next time we sat down, he was content to flip through the book and drink. He liked to say what the pictures were while he looked at them, and when he said "Dog! Wooh!" in his adorable attempt at a bark, Molly aww-ed.

"He's just the cutest," she gushed at Felix.

Felix, still standing rigidly next to my chair, smiled a little bit. "He is," he agreed.

"Sorry I didn't take the time to explain everything before barging in here," Molly said. "I'm honestly hurt that you didn't trust me, though." She aimed her big, pretty eyes at Felix and their expression was pleading.

Felix sighed and braced his hands on the back of the chair in front of him, leaning into it. His posture was one of defeat. "I know. I think you can understand why I might be extra paranoid about my family's safety right now, though."

Molly visibly swallowed. "Yes, you're right. So I'm sorry. But Niles won't hurt you, though. I trust him implicitly." She stared Felix down until he looked at her before a huge smile overtook her face. "He's my mate, Felix. He won't hurt anyone I care about."

Felix's eyes widened dramatically and he sagged even more against the chair. I looked between Niles and Molly and noticed the way their bodies were angled toward each other, the way his eyes sparkled with admiration and awe when he looked at her. If Felix and I hadn't gone into protective overdrive, we probably would have been able to figure this out for ourselves before Molly ever made the announcement.

"That's great, Molly. I'm so happy for you," Felix said once he recovered. "Niles, you're a lucky bastard. Molly's the best." He mentally added to me, "Other than you, of course." I snorted.

"Thanks, Felix. Are we good?"

"Always," he answered, and finally took a seat. That gesture of trust eased the rest of the tension from Molly and she beamed with happiness.

Her smile didn't last long, though. "What does this mean for our plan?" I asked her.

Felix jolted beside me - he hadn't thought through the ramifications yet. It seemed unlikely to me that Molly would be okay with her non-warrior mate running off to battle. Niles sat up straighter. "We need a new plan," he said, and looked down at Griffin with a frown. "I understand that this is especially time-sensitive for you. I don't want to make things any harder for your family than they already are, but the simple fact is that Molly and I can't run two packs and she's needed here in Lakota. I never wanted to run Tourmaline, anyway. It was always supposed to be my cousin. I was only stepping up now because Marcus can't be allowed to carry on there. He's destroying the pack from the inside. We're losing all of our integrity and our culture. It's become a place of fear, a place where the strong prey on the weak instead of protecting them."

"And he's just going to walk away from that now because he found his mate?" Felix said caustically through our link. I reached over and laced my fingers through his, but it did little to settle him. He was upset past the point of an easy fix.

Molly smiled supportively at her mate, obviously missing the anger in mine. "We're going to find a way to save Tourmaline that doesn't involve Niles challenging Marcus. We just need a little more time."

"We're on borrowed time as it is. Marcus hasn't made another attack yet, but we all know one is coming."

Molly flinched. Felix knew her much better than I did and he read something in her expression I didn't, because he leaned in and glared. "Why do you look guilty?"

It made sense to me that Molly might feel guilty about taking our plan off the table, but Felix wouldn't be reacting like this if that's all he meant. I studied Molly and instinctively held Griffin closer to me. Felix's accusation only made her look guiltier.

"Look, I was going to tell you," she said. "I was just waiting until we had all the facts."

"What?" Felix ground out through clenched teeth. Griffin looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. He was aware enough to know something was wrong, but not enough to have followed our conversation. I ran my fingers through his soft hair and Griffin settled back against me. If only all hurts could be so easily soothed.

"There was another attack," Molly said. "Just not in the usual way. Sue and Earnest caught a cyber security breach a couple of days ago. They've been tracing the hacker's path through our network. They only got some of our defense schematics and..."

"And what?" Felix asked, his voice dangerously low and mostly growl.

"And information on Everett. Just his transfer paperwork. We caught the hacker before he or she dug up any more."

Felix stood violently and his chair clattered to the floor behind us. Griffin jolted in my arms before he started wailing. I rocked him and shushed him and he calmed down quickly. It was much easier to soothe tears of surprise than his usual ones.

Felix leaned down and scooped Griffin up, hugging him and apologizing for making such a loud noise. Griffin patted his cheek and said, "Okay, Pop." Felix and I grinned at each other. I loved every single interaction between my mate and our son. Their relationship was growing a lot quicker than I had dared hope for. Then Griffin said, "Play blocks?" and I couldn't help laughing.

"Sure, bud. We'll have to play them in the dining room since Daddy and I aren't done talking to Molly and Niles yet." He glanced at the rest of us and said, "We'll be right back."

I watched as they left the room and kept staring after them until Molly said, "I really love seeing Felix like this." I glanced at her questioningly and she added, "All soft and loving. Don't get me wrong, he's always been like this with Magnus and Meleri, but I don't think he was ever so fulfilled or so deeply happy."

I couldn't help a dopey smile from taking over. I loved Felix, and I loved hearing from people who'd known him forever that they thought his life was better with me in it. I was certainly much happier with him than ever before.

I brought Griffin's mat into the dining room so he could sit near us while he played. Felix helped Griffin set up his first tower when they came back with a box of blocks, then rejoined us at the table. He kissed my cheek, then looked between Molly and Niles. "So, we need a new plan. What are you guys thinking so far?"

Molly looked dumbfounded for a moment before glaring at him. "Felix, I just met my mate less than an hour ago. We came straight here even though, I've gotta tell you, the last thing I wanted to do was be around other people right now, and you think we've had time to come up with another plan?"

Felix held up his hands. "Maybe you and Niles should find some privacy and come back later. I think you'd be less irritable."

Molly growled at him. "Excuse me for caring about you and your family. I know where our priorities have to be right now. Can you stop instigating and focus?"

That wiped Felix's amused grin away and I could see he felt bad for getting distracted. I grabbed his hand under the table and gave him a look I hope he found reassuring. There was nothing wrong with a little teasing, even when there was work to be done. If we pushed ourselves too hard, our ability to come up with new ideas would suffer.

The room was silent for a little while except for the clatter of Griffin's blocks as he stacked them and knocked them down. Then an idea formed. "Why not stick with the original plan?" I asked. I could see Molly getting worked up, so I held up a hand and said, "I don't mean that Niles should challenge Marcus. But why not have someone else challenge him? Do the rules say the challenger has to be a descendent of a former alpha?"

"Leadership transitions are smoother when someone has alpha blood," Felix said, "but I think we're past the point of a smooth transition at this point, anyway. But who would we get to challenge him? We need someone we trust to lead a pack - who actually wants to lead a pack - and who is strong enough to win the fight. It's not like we can put an ad in the paper."

"Is there no one in Tourmaline who could do it?" Molly asked Niles.

Niles' eyes were sorrowful. "Not anymore. Marcus killed anyone he thought was strong enough to challenge him."

"So we need someone from a different pack. Someone willing to move to Tourmaline and lead - and to put his or her life on the line to win the right to. I don't personally know any fighters except Felix," I said. "How about you guys?"

Molly frowned in thought. "My father and I go to quarterly summits to meet with other packs. I've met a couple of people who might be up for the job, but I don't know them well enough to be certain."

"Can we go visit them? It would give you a chance to feel out the situation," Niles said.

Molly nodded slowly. "We'll start with the closest candidate. I think that'll be Opal Reyes. She's an alpha's daughter, but her older sister is in line to inherit, so we wouldn't be costing a pack its leader."

I looked to Felix, feeling torn. "What is it?" he asked.

I glanced at Molly and Niles, then decided privacy would be best. I used the mind link. "We need to think about you going along with Molly and Niles," I said to him.

Felix jolted in surprise. "You can't be serious. I'm not leaving you two."

"We get one shot at this, Felix. Once Marcus realizes we're trying to challenge him, he'll change the rules. Whoever we send to challenge him has to win. You can go and test Opal's skill. Do you want to leave that to another?"

Felix frowned and wrapped his arm around my shoulders so he could pull me in for a hug. "I'm not going," he told me. His tone was one of finality. "You make a good point, though. It shouldn't be just Molly and Niles. A warrior has to go, too. I'll see if Elspeth can do it. I trust her."

I searched his gaze for any hint of doubt, but Felix was being sincere. He really did trust Elspeth to do it. After having heard about his past with her, I trusted Felix's judgment. "Okay."

Felix and I looked back to Molly and Niles, who had been watching us curiously. Well, Molly was watching us while Niles stole glances in her direction. You could tell that Molly was the better leader here - she didn't let her personal life or feelings impact the attention she gave her work. Maybe it was for the best that Niles wasn't going to be challenging Marcus, after all.

"Take Elspeth with you," Felix said. "She can test Opal's fighting abilities."

Molly nodded. "I'd rather take you with me, but I understand. I'll call her after we leave to see if she'll join us. That will leave a gap in your guard schedule, though."

"I understand," Felix said. "We'll get someone else to fill in." I knew Felix wasn't totally happy with this - he preferred that our defenders be people he who had his absolute trust - but we were running out of options here.

So it was settled. Molly, Niles, and Elspeth would go out looking for someone to challenge Marcus. I just hoped this mess was over soon.