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Rachel, Scott, and Dani nearly simultaneously let out strangled sounds that could have been muffled laughter or an indication of pain. Asylin shot them a sharp look and their gazes dropped to the floor in total deference. Her voice was strong and her deep brown eyes were serious and confident when she faced Claire and said, “In this family, we face our problems head-on. In the past decade, nearly forty troubled souls have passed through this home. Children and teens traumatized by every form of loss and abuse, physically and emotionally wounded, too damaged for nearly any other pack to take on. Every possible personality has met, clashed, and eventually, rejoiced.

“The only way that can happen is for there to be
trust
. John and I rule this roost with a firm hand. So long as you trust in that, you'll know that there's no conflict so horrible that you can't deal with the person face-to-face. I let you have last night to rest, but you can't avoid this forever. No harm will come to you from anyone under this roof. I swear that to you as I swore it to your pack leaders.”

Claire nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, keeping as much emotion from her scent as possible. Instead, she concentrated on the smells of the food downstairs until her stomach rumbled and she literally had to wipe drool from the corner of her mouth. It was a good distraction, because Asylin let out a small chuckle.

“We can talk more after supper.”

The food was good. Great, in fact. The venison was a perfect medium rare, the turkey was juicy under a crackling brown skin. Granted, there weren't four different homemade salsas to slather on things, but Claire had to expect that not every place would be like Texas. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was, although she should have, considering the events of the past few days. Even the traveling between states to get here had been traumatic because it had been years since she'd been in airports in major cities. Fortunately, keeping her mouth stuffed with food was a great reason not to do more than raise her chin and wave a finger whenever anyone said anything to her, so she mostly could watch and listen. There were men and women, kids young and old, various species and various nationalities. Yet they all got along and seemed like a real family. She'd thought the Tedford pack was the only group out there that got along well, and only because they were bound mentally under the Alphas. She'd heard stories from visiting dignitaries from the Council and Wolven that had led her to believe that most of the problems they had to intervene with had to do with the species not blending well in the same area. The great cats didn't like living even a few miles away from wolves, the birds feared cats in their territory, the wolves hated the smell of the birds. But there seemed no such problems here. It confused her.

What confused her more, though, was that nobody was talking about the missing kids. It seemed weird. There was talk of college courses, and who was dating who, and who hated their job more, but nothing about what should be the biggest issue on the minds of this particular family.

After some minutes, Claire tapped Dani on the arm and leaned in to whisper. “So what's the scoop on the search for the kids? We haven't really talked about it since we got here.”

Dani stared at her with furrowed brows and then blinked a few times, looking around the room as though searching for a memory. “I … I don't know. I think Mom said something about them being okay.”

Say what? After her panic in the car yesterday? Claire let out a small squeal. “Really? That's amazing! Are they here? Did they say where they'd been? I'd love to meet them.”

Now Dani seemed really confused. She started shaking her head, drumming her fingers on the edge of the plate on her lap. She stood abruptly. “Excuse me, okay? I need to find Mom.”

Claire wanted to follow, but spotted Scott and Rachel headed her way. Even if Kristy and Darrell were safe and sound, others were still unaccounted for. She couldn't leave until she could give the Council a report on the situation here. And that meant a stint as an Omega, as much as she hated the idea.

“Hey, Rachel.” She raised her hand, inviting the pair to sit on the couch across from her. “And … Scott, right?”

He nodded and smiled. “How you doin'? Have you met everyone?”

Claire shrugged. “Sort of, I guess. They only have to remember one new name. I'd struggle to remember half of theirs if you quizzed me.” In truth, she'd been concentrating on trying to overhear conversations. “Where's Asylin? I wanted to thank her for the amazing food. She's one heck of a cook.”

Rachel chuckled. “Then you need to thank Dad. He's the cook. Mom is the galley sergeant that gets everything on the table at once, but she's not too good with a skillet.”

That explained the bacon yesterday. “Good to know. Anyway, where is she? I haven't seen her since we came downstairs.”

Scott rolled his eyes. “Out tracking down Alek, I think. When Mom says dinner is
mandatory,
she means it.” Claire must have shown her confusion, because he explained between bites of roast, punctuating with his fork while he shifted from foot to foot with nervous energy. “Dinner is more than a meal here. It's an event. It used to be every night when we were little. It was Mom's way of making sure everyone was under lock and key once the sun went down.”

Rachel nodded and added, “You know how they advertise about
family game night
on TV? Sort of like that. Everyone participates in preparation and cleanup. And sometimes we do play games. Jenga or charades or even gin rummy.”

“Right.” Scott started in on a big chunk of apple pie that Claire had wanted to try but was too full. “But now
dinner
is just once a week so she and Dad can catch up on everyone—since we mostly live in other houses around town. I mean, we eat supper every day, but
dinner
means the weekly family thing.” He sat down on an oversized hassock and Rachel sat down beside him. “They're treating you like a guest this time, but plan that next week, you'll be helping cook and clean.”

“Got it.” That she understood. It was the same in her pack. The weekly tamale cooks and tortilla baking parties were part of her life. She would miss them.

Scott swallowed down half a soda and then started talking again. “Until she gets back, let's go over the Omega duties.”

Claire laughed nervously, feeling a warm rush of something approaching fear. “Your voice just went up about an octave. Is this something I need to worry about?”

The two shifters, who stank of worry, exchanged wary glances. Rachel reached over and touched her hand. “This will probably be a cakewalk for you, since you're an alpha. You're stronger, faster—”

Scott added, nodding, “And heal quicker. That'll be a bonus.”

Rachel nodded also. “Huge. Really, Claire. You'll be fine.”

Heal quicker? Stronger? Faster? What the hell!
“You guys are freaking me out. Do I need to carry a medical kit with me?”

Scott looked at her with an expression somewhere between sorrow and contempt. His voice was flat and angry. “No. They make sure marks don't show. At least, not for a few days.”

What the hell was going on in this town?
“Come again? Maybe you'd better give me some specifics.” Because if the Omegas were being abused here it was definitely time to bring in the big guns of Wolven. Maybe even the Council.

A flash of movement in the sky, glimpsed through the picture window, made her flinch, remembering things she'd rather forget. A large white owl swooped over the yard, clutching a man in its talons. Though she'd seen him only a few times, Claire had no trouble recognizing Alek—which meant that the owl was probably Asylin. She dropped Alek from a height of about four feet. He bounced once on the thick coating of pine needles that covered the ground, then got to his feet.

The owl landed silently beside him, almost without a wing flutter, and transformed back into Asylin Williams. Though Claire knew she was naked—clothing couldn't be shifted or carried—Asylin appeared to be fully dressed, which told Claire the owl shifter was a powerful alpha. Many high-level alphas could use their magic to create the appearance and sometimes even the feel of clothing when they didn't have a stitch on. Claire might be an alpha but she didn't have anything close to that power.

Asylin didn't touch Alek, just pointed toward the house. He sprinted up the drive with her hot on his heels.

Scott and Rachel had turned to watch the spectacle. “Ooo,” Scott commented with an almost painful wince. “That probably wasn't pretty. I warned him she wouldn't be happy.”

“Do you guys actually wander around in animal form during the day?” Claire couldn't help but ask. The sighting of a wolf or cougar wouldn't necessarily be a cause for alarm in humans, but an owl with a wing span of a dozen feet was bound to be noticed.

“No,” Rachel said, with raised brows. “Asylin wouldn't do that unless there was trouble. She wasn't just ticked off; she was
scared
.”

 

CHAPTER 10

The minute Asylin walked through the door behind Alek, she started snapping out orders.

“Battle stations, people! We've got a rogue.” Plates and cups dropped to the floor from multiple locations and all conversation ceased. Everyone turned to face the willowy, dark-skinned woman with the voice of solid steel. “A female cougar, headed toward the main road. A-team, get to the mudroom, shift, and hit the perimeter. Drive her here.” She pointed at Claire. “I know you're new, sweetie, but you're alphic. You're part of A-team. Your pack said you can handle defense. Alek, take her with you. And this time, explain the process to her.”

Alek hesitated before starting forward and his mother noticed. “Get past it, Alek. You too, Claire. We have a verified threat.”

His stomach churning, he swallowed, nodded, and walked quickly over to Claire, holding out his hand. She hesitated only a moment before she took it, clearly not understanding what was happening. The tingle when their hands met was strong, flashing across his skin like fire, hot enough to pull a gasp from his throat. But there was no time. He pulled her with him toward the mudroom, just behind Patrick, Janet, and Cindee.

Behind them, Asylin continued setting people into motion. “B-team, get the barricades up. Dani, you're with C-team today. I don't want you flying on that wing yet. Get the kids to the basement. D-team, you're with me.”

“Alek, what's happening?” Claire asked, turning her head to try to see everything that was going on. Alek knew without looking that some of his brothers and sisters were locking previously concealed metal grating into place over the plate glass windows. Others were sealing the doors, using steel plates stored under the top of the big dining room table.

“Someone in town has gone rogue. Insane. Have you ever encountered a rogue shifter?”

She nodded, swallowing hard. “Once. Not one of our pack; an eagle who started attacking humans in town. We had to hunt it down. I lost a good friend in the fight.”

He nodded. “That's happened here too, but we'll try not to lose anyone today. I presume you've met everyone, but just in case … Claire, meet Patrick, Cindee, and Janet. Along with Mom and Dad, we're A-team. But Mom tends to stay and guard the house.” Claire raised her hand somewhat sheepishly.

“We've met, sort of,” Janet said. “I was in the kitchen when most of the people were doing the hellos. I'm Janet. Welcome to the chaos.”

Once they were in the mudroom, Patrick stepped behind them to pull a thick steel bar out of the decorative woodwork on the wall and used it to barricade the door. He closed the heavy, extra-strong, thick mesh screen door, which latched with a sharp snap.

Janet had already taken off her boots and shifted to cougar form, shredding her clothes in the process. The rags lay in little heaps around her.

“Jeez, sis,” Patrick said, pulling his sweater over his head. “Looking for new reasons to go shopping online?”

She turned her shaggy head and twitched a whisker at him. “I'd rather have the ability to shop later instead of getting shredded by the rogue while I was trying to unhook my bra. Besides, I was tired of those jeans.” She leaped out the back door. “See you on the flip side. Going south toward the lake.”

Patrick was a beat behind her, shifting to owl form and hopping to the door. “I'll head north to the ridge,” he said, then spread his wings and was gone.

Cindee was crouched, naked, staring at the floor, with her honey-colored hair hanging loose, almost concealing her face. Her clothing was in a neatly folded stack on top of the washing machine. She was taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly. Alek knelt beside her. “You okay?”

He focused on his sister, whose nude form held no attraction for him, to distract himself from what Claire was doing. It was wrong, wanting to look as he heard the whisper of cloth, knowing she was getting undressed. It was wrong, wanting to know what her body looked like, to see her muscles moving under pale skin.

Cindee looked up at him sadly, seeming somehow small and vulnerable though she was an alpha wolf. “Will this
ever
be over, Alek? Will we forever be tracking down and slaughtering our friends and family?”

“There have always been rogues, Cindee. It's not just since the plague. It was just another secret, something most of us never heard about.” He heard the bitterness in his voice and made an effort to sound encouraging. “You can do this.”

“He's right.” Claire's voice was lower now, with a slight growl. She stepped into Alek's peripheral vision, a fluff of cinnamon-colored fur. “There are rogues all over. I know I'm new, and you don't know me, but insanity … whether human or animal, happens. It sucks, but it happens.”

Nodding, Cindee let out a slow breath. Her amber eyes were glowing, unblinking, and cold but her voice trembled as she said, “Female cougar, Alek. What if it's Tammy? I've worked so hard with her. I thought I had her on the mend.”