Character(s):: Stone, August, and Delia with mentions of @pettythieveswithpotential ‘s Chase
Word Count::1,023
Content Warnings::Mild violence
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Chase and Del were discussing the new kid, speaking in hushed tones so as not to concern any of the other kids. They had all been sent upstairs in order to make things easier for Stone and, in that same spirit, August had slipped on a pair of mirrored sunglasses and kept his mouth shut. Between the feline eyes and the sharpness of his canine teeth, it was just easier that way.
The last thing anyone wanted was to freak this boy out more than he already was.
Surviving a werewolf attack, finding out that someone he had known as a hunter was a shifter, and being brought to a house where only one person was even remotely human had to be a shock. Adding to that could be dangerous for everyone involved.
Maybe it wasn’t a great idea, Del bringing Greg Hardin’s oldest son to them, but August knew she didn’t have any better choice. A pack was out of the question, there was too much at risk there. Anywhere hunters might frequent when they were faking the kid’s death was also too much of a risk.
Chase and August had made it work with Hawk, so it wasn’t as if they didn’t have the experience needed to hide Stone. The difference was Hawk hadn’t been nearly as hostile, as far as August could remember.
They had gotten Stone settled into the safe room down in the basement. With it being close to the full moon and not having gone through his first shift yet, it was the safest place for him to be. The walls were reinforced and the door could be secured. On top of that, they had taken steps to secure a second door at the bottom of the steps as well as the one at the top.
It seemed like overkill, but August had been the one to insist on them after they had lost Aislynn. He had broken too hard, got stuck in a shift, and it was the best way to keep Milay and Chase safe until he could get himself back under control.
August hated needing it for a child, but it was the safest option they had. Not just for the other kids, but for Stone as well.
The room itself was cozy. A good bed, a dresser, television, minifridge stocked up. Sure, there was a chance these things could get damaged in the shift, but objects could be replaced. A person could not.
“I’m going to go check on him,” August announced, pushing himself away from the table, much to the surprise of Chase and Del.He didn’t give them a chance to argue, but he did hear Del remark to Chase that dumb ass cat is gonna get himself stabbed.
She was likely right, but it would be a good gauge at just what they were in for with Stone.
August knocked on the open doorframe, peeking in to see Stone perched on the edge of the bed, fingers gripping tightly at his legs. He jumped at the noise before glaring at the older man, not happy to be there at all.
“Hey, I’m August, Chase’s husband. I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you didn’t need anything?”
The teen was silent, sullen as he looked the other over. He wasn’t a hunter, Stone could tell that just from the way he carried himself.
“What’s with the sunglasses? It’s not exactly bright down here.”
“Most people don’t take too well to my eyes,” he explained, hoping that Stone didn’t panic. He had been expecting the question, most people asked, but August rarely removed them in public. However, he slipped them off and hung them on the collar of his shirt before glancing back up at the kid, letting him see the feline hues.
All it took was one look at the man’s eyes to have him going for his knife. It was the last weapon he had since Delia had taken his guns and other blades from him before he got into her car, and he was glad she had missed that one.
The kid was quick, quicker than the cat had been anticipating, but August had spent years watching Chase work with the kids on self-defense and that was likely his only saving grace as he dodged the knife and shouted for Chase and Del.
It didn’t take long for them to get down into the basement and grab Stone, getting the knife away from him before anyone got hurt.
Del looked at Chase, annoyed and holding a hand out for the Stone’s knife. “I told you so,” was all she had to say before turning her attention to the kid, letting Chase handle August. Mostly because if she had to deal with the cat, she would likely end up decking him and not for the first time.
That never went over well.
“I’m giving this back to you but maybe don’t try killing the cat. His eyes are stuck like that, it ain’t a loss of control thing. He physically can’t shift all the way back to human,” she explained as she held the knife out to him, handle first. “Boy got stuck in kitty mode too long’s all it is. He ain’t the brightest but he damn sure is the most harmless, useless ass in a crisis shifter I’ve ever met.”
“Comforting,” Stone muttered sarcastically as he slipped the knife into his pocket, not wanting to give away the original hiding spot for it. She had missed it in frisking him and he damn sure wasn’t going to lose that one bit of hiding. “Do I have to be here?”
“If you wanna live, yeah.”
“Great. Thanks for nothing.” He sat back down on the bed and turns his back to her despite the prickling along the back of his neck. He didn’t trust her at his back anymore, even if she had given him back his last weapon.
He didn’t have anyone he could trust anymore.
“I’ll check up on you later, kid. Try not to stab the very nice people tryin’ to save your ass.”
Character(s)::Dakota, Ryland, and Delia
Word Count::3,395
Del had always known that Coltrane Mahlendorf had to have had more kids than just Ryland. The man was notorious for sleeping around and, hell, he had even tried to bed her on a couple of occasions. She had firmly planted a gun in his crotch and told him it would be the last goddamn thing he ever did and it had been a clear enough message to back off.
Still, as far as she had known, Ryland was the only living kid he had. Until she had gotten a call from an old friend of hers a couple hours away from pack grounds. She had a pair of shifters, a boy that worked for her and his mate and, from what Carla could tell her, they were pups involved and she needed a sweep of the area and maybe a few extra eyes looking out to make sure they were safe.
Which is how Del had ended up in the diner Carla had inherited from her parents when shift change happened.
He didn’t look much like Ryland, but he did look an awful lot like Coltrane. But it was the familial scent markers that really stuck out.
Carla had noticed the look on her face but Del just shook it off and forced herself not to dig out her phone and text Ryland the address to see how quickly he could get there. He had been on the run for a bit now, but things had come to a sort of tense truce of sorts, from what she had gathered, and if anyone deserved to know they had family that wasn’t shit, it was that kid. But, at the same time, she didn’t know a damn thing about this wolf and she didn’t want to run the risk of putting Ryland in danger again.
It was unusual to have another shifter around the diner, but Dakota had picked up on her scent the moment he had gotten out of the truck. Carla knew what he was, he had filled her in a bit on the situation with Gabbie too, just to have his basis covered and have people on call in case he needed to leave for any reason, but he hadn’t expected another wolf to be Carla’s “I got a friend I can call in” person.
But even more concerning was the fact that woman was looking at him like she had just seen a ghost. It made him uneasy, especially with how jumpy he was in general.
There was a small bit of relief when he realized Carla had called in one of the other cooks, so he headed for her office instead, a touch surprised when the other wolf got up and followed. He wasn’t sure he wanted a stranger at his back, but he didn’t think Carla would put him harm’s way like that.
“Dakota, this is Del Rogers. Known Del since I was a little shit. Del, this is Dakota Thompson, the boy I was tellin’ you about. Gonna let y’all sort shit on you’re own, I gotta do bank run before they close. Office is sound proofed,” Carla instructed, gesturing for Dakota to take the seat behind the desk where she usually sat. She trusted him not to rob her blind more than she did most anyone else.
Del had been expecting Carla to do something like that, but Dakota clearly hadn’t. His entire posture was rigid as he sat, regarding the woman with less than friendly eyes.
“Oh put the glare away, pup, I ain’t here to cause trouble,” Del sighed as she dropped herself down into the chair facing him. “Me and Carla go way back. Ya never stopped to wonder why she weren’t all that shocked when she found out you are?”
He opened his mouth to argue but she was right. Carla had been surprisingly quick to roll with that bombshell and work his schedule around the full moon to avoid complication. But it didn’t make him any more trusting of the woman sitting in front of him.
“Look, Carla said there were pups that needed to be kept safe. I know the ins and outs of hunters pretty damn well and if this place ends up too hot, I got a few safe places y’all can relocate to and the means to help ya get there safe and sound. Keepin’ kids safe is what I do best,” she explained, trying to come off as gentle as she could. It wasn’t the best, but it seemed to get through to the other even a little.
“How do you know hunters so well then?” he finally asked, wondering if the scars on her neck were a sign that she was a bitten, a former hunter herself. He had heard of some hunters going against what they had been raised after being turned but he had never met any himself.
“Oh, well, hunters tend to think I am one. Take out a couple shifters munchin’ on folk and word spreads. They just don’t know that I’m ferryin’ newly bit kids to packs and safe houses. Got a couple former hunters that know who and what I am, folk I run information with and for, but it’s a good cover and it keeps me in a better position to help.”
He nodded at that, not terribly surprised that shifters would police their own like that. It sounded a lot better than humans deciding they were all dangerous and killing them on sight or worse.
“So how do you plan to help?”
Del smiled, relieved he was starting to relax into the idea. “Well, my pack ain’t far from here so having a couple wolves checkin’ in from time to time will help, but I also know some defected hunters that would be willin’ to canvas the area under the pretense of doin’ active work. Even got one that specialized in shifters before he helped take out some of the worse members of his family. He’d probably be the one I called in,” she mused, knowing it wouldn’t be too difficult to get Ryland out there if she told him there were kids involved. That boy had always been a soft touch.
The idea of anyone that had actually been a hunter coming around made him nervous, but he had to admit that the woman had a point. No one knew hunters better than former hunters and maybe it was the best idea. Especially when he damn sure wasn’t great with guns.
“I can call Ry and have him come out this way and meet with you. Boy owes me a favor or two to begin with and since the clan you lot are the closest to are his kin, he’s the best choice ya got,” she offered, waiting for him to take the bait so she could text Ryland.
Dakota hesitated, wanting to check with Gabbie first but not wanting to worry her. Hell, he probably wouldn’t let anyone near her anyway, no matter who they were, so he just nodded, giving Del the consent to call in anyone she felt would be good.
Del gave a nod of her own before pulling out her phone and dialing Ry’s number, giving him a brief run down of what was needed before texting him the location. He said he could be there in about twenty minutes to do a run through, the place he was currently holed up in equipped to get him anywhere pretty quickly before the line went dead.
“Did he just say he could get here from Nevada in twenty minutes?” Dakota asked, staring at her phone as if it had turned into a giant spider. The last time he had checked, there was nothing that could turn a human into something like that short of death and he was really hoping Del wasn’t entrusting the safety of his family to a demon.
“Mmmhmmm, there’s a trickster that lives at the bar he’s at. Chay’s a good dude, little chaotic, but overall decent enough,” she replied as she leaned back in the chair and kicked her feet up on the desk to wait.
Dakota nodded, more to himself than her as he fidgeted with the pens on the desk, anxious enough to text Gabbie and fill her in a bit on what was going on, promising her that, at this point, he had no intentions of bringing anyone new around the house, but making sure the area was secure was a priority for both of them.
The time felt like it was dragging on until Del’s phone buzzed, making Dakota jump. She didn’t seem startled as she sat up properly and left the office, returning a few moments later with the guy Dakota was assuming was Ryland.
Ryland hadn’t expected Del to be calling in a favor so soon, but he more than owed her, that much was obvious. He had hastily shoved a bunch of clothes into a bag before digging out his weapons stash and arming himself before putting anything extra into a separate bag.
He made sure to tell Lex that he was going to get a motel room and do a sweep first, make sure everything was safe first, and then give him the heads up in case he wanted to come along for the detail. He would have preferred Lex coming with him, but he understood if the other needed some time at the bar, so he left that choice in his hands.
The motel was cheap but still nicer than some of the other places he had stayed in over the years on the road, so he wasn’t about to complain. Even better was the fact that Chayton had set everything up so he could bring his damn truck instead of needing to rent one and he did a quick drive through of the area before pulling into the diner Del had given him the address for.
“You know Rogers, you only have so many favor tokens before I can decline,” he groused, the smile ruining the effect of the words as he gave her a quick hug. “So who’s this wolf you want me to meet with?”
“Before I take you round back, I think you need to know a couple things,” she started, pushing him towards the door to go back outside. He was more likely to handle the news better given that he was at least aware he had the possibility of siblings.
“That sounds fishy.” But still, he let her push him out the door and back into the parking lot, his body immediately leaning against his truck as he dug out his cigarettes and lit one. “What’s this about, Del?”
“That’s gonna kill you,” she scolded, never big on the smell of smoke and using it as an excuse to stall, a ruse quickly dashed by the look the other gave her. “What do you know about your siblings?”
“Well, according to the old bastard, the only two he knew about are dead. Some siren woman he killed, never found the kid but that one had been an infant so odds of surviving were slim without a mother and the wolf. His ma told the old man the kid was “as good as dead” so, take that for what you will. What’s this got to do with anything?”
As good as dead wasn’t the same thing as dead, Del knew that better than most. She had hidden enough kids that were “as good as dead” over the years, all of them still alive today. “What if that second one weren’t dead? What if his momma told your old man that to keep him from lookin’ for the kid?”
It was a possibility. A pretty good one at that. What parent, good parent, wouldn’t willingly sacrifice themselves to protect their kid?
“Would you just stop beatin’ around the bush and make your point, Rogers? Ain’t got all day to stand out here.” But he had a feeling he knew where she was getting with this line of thought.
“I didn’t know nothin’ about it until I got here, but the wolf Carla called me in to help with? Smells an awful lot like you and looks an awful lot like your sperm donor. D’ya know anything else about your brother?”
Ryland shook his head, a frown creasing his brow. “Just that he’s older than me and the only name the old man got out of his mom was Kota.”
“Yeah, this guy’s name’s Dakota and I’m willin’ to bet he’s your damn brother. Don’t think he knows about it and I wanted to give you the warning in case he panics.”
“Gee, thanks Del,” he grumbled, dropping the cigarette into the gravel and stepping on it to put it out. “Let’s get this over with.”
She nodded before leading him back inside, stepping into the office with Ryland on her heel, her gaze shifting between the two of them. “Dakota, this is Ryland. Ry, Dakota,” she introduced, keeping a close eye on Dakota’s reaction. Between the two of them, she was more likely to be able to subdue a werewolf without a weapon and she didn’t want anyone to get hurt if the wolf panicked.
He had caught the scent on the other moments before the door was opened and the phone dropped from his hands on to the desk, confusion and hurt crossing his features. No one had ever told him there were people that smelled like him. What little he could remember of his birth mom did not include the information of siblings. Just that his daddy wanted them both dead. Of course, his mom had made it pretty clear she didn’t really want him either, but she didn’t want him killed like that, not that the people she left him with had been much better.
Ryland gave him a long look over, wincing slightly when he realized Del was right. This guy did hold a pretty solid resemblance to his dad and he didn’t much care for the reminder.
“Why...why does he smell like family? What the hell is going on?” Dakota demanded, putting as much physical distance between himself and the supposedly defected hunter, almost afraid to know the answer to that question.
“Well, I’m pretty sure the two of you are brothers,” Del answered plainly, keeping herself between the two men in case things went poorly.
Well, Del tried but Ryland moved in front of her, hands out where Dakota could see them, showing that he wasn’t going for a weapon. Between the two of them, he knew who he would put his money on in terms of speed and it damn sure wasn’t on himself.
“Could you be any more tactless, Rogers?” he shot at Del, giving her a hard look before returning his focus to the other man. “Listen, I get it, it’s a lot to take in. But if she’s right, you don’t got nothin’ to worry about. The old man’s dead, I saw to that myself,” he explained, taking another step forward, but still keeping his hands where Dakota could see them. “Honestly? Odds are damn good my aunt V already knows about you and where you are and has done her best from behind the scenes to divert others from this area if you are my brother. She’s good at keepin’ tabs like that.”
It also meant he would be calling his aunt to double check with that, because he knew Del well enough to trust her judgement on something like this, but he trusted his aunt’s intel more.
“What the hell hunting family are you from that you killed your own father?” It wasn’t a reassuring sentiment, not unless the other’s father had been a real piece of work but that would also mean Ryland was from one of the worst families if he saw it as a good thing.
“Mahlendorf. Coltrane was my dad. His death was necessary to keep me and my boyfriend safe. He would have killed my Lex and I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
“His boyfriend’s a witch,” Del interjected, making sure Dakota knew that Ryland had very intentionally chose which side of the fight he was on and why.
“Witch and fae, as it turns out. But I couldn’t let them hurt him, you know?” He had a feeling Dakota would understand given the lengths he was trying to go to in order to protect those he loved in turn.
That was a motive Dakota could understand, at the very least. He was more than willing to kill to protect his mate and that was even before there pups in the picture.
“How do we find out for sure if we’re related?” he finally asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know for sure but, at the same time, needing some sort of answers. Not to mention the more animal part of him recognized Ryland as family and it was taking every bit of self restraint he had not to close that last bit of distance and touch him. He had never had a pack before, but he understood the feeling. It was the same drive he had to hug on his pups, to keep their scents mingled so they knew they were safe and loved.
“Blood test, usually. I know some people that could do it without it getting in any medical system,” he offered, knowing Lex’s grandmother would be more than happy to given that the woman, as terrifying as she was to Ryland, had already welcomed him so readily into the family simply because Lex loved him. “But calling and asking my aunt might be quicker.”
Dakota nodded, the initial shock and panic receding slowly as he let the reality of it all sink in. He had a brother, potentially, and one that didn’t seem like he wanted to kill him. It was more than he had ever anticipated.
But then he had another thought and it wasn’t a very happy one. “I really hate to ask this but...do you know anything about a werecoyote named Nalah? Would’ve been taken about a decade or so ago?”
The name meant nothing to Ryland and he shook his head, teeth worrying over his bottom lip. “Not off the top of my head but if someone in the family took her, there’ll be record of it. I could ask for some files, maybe try to find out.” There wasn’t going to be any good answer if his family had crossed paths with the coyote in question, but he figured Dakota knew that when he asked. “I take it this has something to do with your mate?”
“Her sister. Gabs and I ended up crossing paths after the fact. For a long while, we were all each other had and then we got separated. Took a few years to end up crossing paths again and I know she never got any real closure from losin’ Nalah.” And it was something he wanted to give her if he could.
Ry nodded, knowing the feeling. He had gone years looking for his own closure about his ex, so he could only imagine how much more it would have hurt to lose a close family member. “I’ll see if I can find anything out while I’m in the area. V’s not too far from here, so it’s not like I can’t drive down and get anything from her after making sure this area is good,” he offered, hoping it would earn him some inch of trust.
“Please?”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll keep in touch on that,” he promised, pulling out his phone and getting the contacts screen. “What’s a good number to reach you at?”
Dakota gave the number, relieved that he might be able to get answers for both himself and Gabbie before stepping forward enough to offer his hand. “I need to get back home to check in, but if you find anything, big or small, call or text me, I don’t care about time.”
“I will,” Ry promised, taking his hand and giving it a quick squeeze before stepping aside to let him pass.
Once Dakota was gone from the building, Del smirked and nodded to herself. “That went better than I was expecting.”
