— Kaden —

“So,” I said. “Security detail.”

“I’m in,” said Anders automatically.

I nodded.

“I’m okay with this if I can still go to battlefields,” Said Ylva.

“Well, we might need a few more anyways for rotations,” said Anders.

“Got anyone in mind?” I asked him.

“Sure,” he said.

“See what you can do?” I told him. “I will let you sort out who takes which shifts.”

“I think Ylva should take day shifts, it might be more subtle to see two women together than a man shadowing her,” said Anders.

Ylva raised an eyebrow at him. “You think I’m subtle.”

“No, but you could look like a more plausible friend than me. We are supposed to go for subtlety, right,” he asked me.

“As much as we can,” I told him. “I’ll put this in your hands. You’re in charge of her security detail.”

He nodded.

“Go,” I told him.

He looked at Ylva, but turned around and left.

Ylva crossed her arms and looked at me pointedly.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” I told her once Anders was out.

“Why, because we had sex?” she asked.

I shrugged.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about who you shag. We’ve never been exclusive to begin with.”

“Which is why you’re here. In part,” I said. “But again, if it bugs you, I can get someone else, you can keep your old gig.”

“You’re gonna need a new bodyguard,” she told me.

“Sure, but I’m not gonna leave Blakemore for a little while.”

“Right,” she said. “So things will probably be more exciting here with her than with you.”

I scoffed. “Maybe. If things go really, really wrong.”

“Cool,” she said and sat down.

I shook my head and sat too.

“She should learn to fight,” I told Ylva.

“That’s the best form of protection,” she agreed.

“I don’t know if she knows anything about self-defense. I don’t know if she’s in good physical shape either.”

“But you need to know to evaluate how much training she needs.”

“Mostly.”

“You want me to do it?”

“Let’s go gradually, start with running maybe. See where she stands. Then we can plan a training program.”

“What if she doesn’t want to?”

I shrugged. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get there.”

She shrugged.

“Okay, well, she’s at home now so everything should be okay, maybe you can come in tomorrow morning to make introductions?”

“Sure,”

She got up.

“Ylva,” I said.

She looked at me.

“Thanks.”

She furrowed her brows. “Is it really that bad?”

“What?” I asked.

“The things that could happen to her.”

“The more I learn, the worst it gets,” I said. “Maybe nothing will happen. I’m just never been the type to take chances.”

She nodded thoughtfully.

She took a few steps towards the door.

“Will it work out?”

“What?”

“The two of you?”

“I would like to say that I don’t know and don’t care so much at the moment, but the more things go on, the more I want to make it work. And I think she’s starting to think long terms too.”

“Will she make you happy?” That was an uncharacteristically odd question coming from Ylva.

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “But it’ll be nice if she did.”

She gave me a withdrawn smile. “It would be nice,” she agreed. “Take care of yourself Kaden,” she said as she left. There was an air of finality to the words.

I supposed it was the end of something. There was a melancholic weight left my heart for a few beats. It wasn’t heartbreak. Ylva and I had never been in love.

But there was an air of change that I suppose I was never truly prepared for.

I got my ass off my chair and went to my office. I had calls to make.

* * * * *

“So,” I said. “What’s the verdict?”

“Laeticia as cleared my schedule ahead of time,” Said Jean-Philippe. “I might be coming in tomorrow.”

“Good, bring the contracts.”

“Sure,” he said. “Is Eva still with her mate?” He tried for a casual tone, but it sounded nothing like it.

So, the guy had a crush on my sister, huh?

“Yes, he’s my Gamma now, they moved in together a couple of months back.”

“Ah.” Again, he tried for casual, but man the kid still has bread crusts to eat.

“There is something else that I wanted to talk to you,” I changed the subject.

“Okay, shoot.”

“You might have heard of my little war on Nubinero.”

“Oh, man. Rumours are going wild again.”

“Okay, well, there might have been two other packs involved in similar shit. I don’t know if they were in league, or just inspired by one another, but I gave the information to the Brotherhood.”

“Which?”

“Greysky and Akayume.”

“Never heard of them.”

“One is in the U.S., and the other in Japan,” I said. “Technically, as I’m the one who brought this to the Brotherhood, I’m the one who should pursue this avenue with them. Only they’re not keen on me working with them right now, especially on these cases as they think I’m using this to make a power move.”

“So you want to call up a third party?”

“That would simplify things a little.”

“You want me to call them?”

“It could be better if it comes from you. If you need to go in person, I’ll send you as many warriors as you want. But it’ll be under your leadership.”

“Erm,” he hesitated.

“You can do this kid, I’ll send you captains to lead the way. They took care of Nubinero and a lot of other crap. If you want more back up, I’ll send Jayson, my Beta, to back you up. My people can do all the heavy lifting if you need it. But for the Brotherhood, you’re in charge.”

“So you lead from the back?”

“No, you do all that you’re comfortable to do yourself, and I’ll send you loyal competent people to help you with whatever you’re not comfortable with,” I said. “I know you’ve never done this. That could be a good way to start, to learn.”

“Right,” he said. “Might as well start somewhere.”

“Might as well.”

“And I sort of owe you a lot.”

“And I owed your father. Let’s not start counting favours now.”

“Right.”

“Thanks.”

“I might come in a little later now though.”

“Do what you can, and keep me posted.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

— Elaeya —

I had been reading on the roles of Lunas for a few hours when someone knocked at the door. Mrs. Raynolds went to open up.

“Hi,” said a young girl with curly black hair cut around her jawline. I recognized her as one of Kaden’s sisters. The youngest I believe, Amy.

“Hello,” I said, putting my book down and getting up.

“Well, it’s pretty much one of the last good days of summer and we have a heated pool ready to use and everything and we were thinking that maybe you could come. You know, to get to know each other and everything.”

I pursed my lips. “I don’t think I have a bathing suit.”

“You have, Miss,” said Mrs. Raynolds. “May I fetch it for you? I can prepare a bag.”

I hesitated.

“Please, please, please,” said the girl. “It’ll be nice. We’ll chill together and have a bunch of people ogle at us. It’ll be fun.”

My eyes widened a bit. Is that what is fun?

“Come on,” she said coming up to me and wrapping her arms around mine. “You can bring her bag by the pool,” she told Mrs. Raynolds.

She nodded and mouthed silently to me ‘have fun, Miss’ in her usual smile. And then I was dragged away.

I wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but I didn’t find the heart to tell the girl off. I could simply sit by the pool and watch, right?

We followed a few paths going to the packhouse. We crossed paths with a tall blond woman, maybe an inch or two shy of six feet, dressed in leather pants and with a sword strapped to her back.

“Oh, hello Ylva,” said Amy.

I recognized the name from the conversation Kaden had when we were at Monaweard.

The woman nodded and kept going. Until she did a double-take and turned around to us.

“You’re Kaden’s girl?” she asked me.

I knew she and Kaden has had a relationship.

I nodded and centered my weight on my feet, letting myself loose from Amy’s grip.

“Kaden said you’d spend the day at home,” she told me.

“Well, you can’t expect her to be locked up in that place on a day like this,” said Amy.

“There are days when I wonder how you girls managed to survive while being this oblivious,” she told her.

“Oblivious to what?” Amy asked.

“Exactly,” Ylva said. She looked at us. “I’m coming.”

“To swim?” asked Amy

“Oh, hell no,” she said. “To make sure no one does anything stupid.”