"I just wanted to make sure things were cool," Chad said, staring into his cup of coffee instead of looking Marcus in the eye. Keeping one's eyes lowered was often the reaction of a submissive werewolf to his Alpha.
"I do expect you to try and get along with everyone in the community. We have three new vampires—they came in late last night. I want everyone to introduce themselves when the vamps wake—they're here to beef up security around the community—they’ll be trading nights off so Nathan won't be pushed to the limit like he and Aedan were before."
"Too bad the Council recalled Aedan." Chad's words were hollow and tinged with sarcasm. Marcus noted it but made no comment, studying the twenty-year-old werewolf instead. Chad had his mother's dark hair and hazel eyes. His facial features belonged to his father, though. Marcus never forgot that Chad's father, Hollis Daniels, had challenged—and lost.
Marcus had attempted to talk Hollis out of the challenge—Chad had been eight at the time and Marcus didn't like leaving families without one of the parents. Hollis hadn't liked the fact that vampires were part of their paranormal community. Therefore, he'd challenged Marcus. It was a mistake. Marcus sighed at the memory and put it out of his mind.
"Chad, I have work to do—I’m buying a shop in Aransas Pass to set up my locksmith business again. Sit here until you finish your drink. If you need anything, ask Denise." Marcus rose and walked out of the house. Chad didn't say anything as he watched Marcus leave.
* * *
"What's your college major?" Bear Wright was moving things into the office set aside for the Principal. Jeremy Booth had come to talk for some reason.
"Psychology," Jeremy said. "But I’m still getting basics out of the way."
"And you’ve gone for two years?"
"Yeah."
"I see. How do you like it?" Bear hefted a box of files onto a shelf inside a tiny storage closet.
"It's okay."
"Planning to hang up a shingle when you're done with your PhD?" Bear lifted another box of files.
"I hadn't thought that far ahead," Jeremy admitted.
"What were you going to do after graduation, then?"
"Don't know. Maybe get a job on a local fishing boat or join the Navy. Mom and Dad are paying for school, so I’ll get that out of the way before I look for a job."
"Why didn't you go for history instead of psychology? I saw you had decent marks in Dodd's classes."
"Mr. Dodd was pretty cool. He made history interesting. But the classes in college? Boring."
"I always thought that some teachers should have found something else to occupy their time, and some that went into other fields should have been teachers. Some people just have the knack for it. Others couldn't care less."
"I heard you were thinking about trying to organize the shapeshifter community." Jeremy said what he'd come to say.
"Ah. Finally the truth." Bear shifted the boxes of files on the shelf to fit another in. He'd dressed in a checkered shirt with sleeves rolled back, his bushy, light-brown hair was more disheveled than normal and his jeans were frayed around the hems. Star Cove's new Principal had come prepared for physical activity. Jeremy found it unattractive. Principal Billings had never dressed that way.
"Mom told me," Jeremy shrugged, as if the subject didn't interest him.
"Are you opposed to being organized?" Bear leveled a thoughtful glance at Jeremy.
"No. The werewolves are organized. The vampires are really organized."
"I suspect that not much will change, if we do organize," Bear said carefully. "But a Shifter Council might have some leverage when it comes to criminal activity, both committed by and against shapeshifters. I have no idea how much you know about that game preserve they shut down in the Texas Panhandle, but plenty of evidence was found indicating shifters were hunted and killed there. Most of them were rare shifters—ones we can't replace."
"Don't know about that," Jeremy scuffed a toe of his athletic shoe on the polished tile floor of Bear's office.
"Maybe you should know about it. Ask Marcus—see if he’ll tell you," Bear lifted the last file box and maneuvered it into place. Each box was neatly labeled with the contents inside.
"I’ll ask," Jeremy lied. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Jeremy raised his eyes and asked.
"Nope. Just finished. Have to make calls now. See you later." Jeremy took the hint and left.
* * *
Andy was waiting at the airport with a van and a pile of messages for Winkler. Winkler looked through the stack while Andy drove Ashe and the others toward Star Cove. "Mom, I’m back; we're between Corpus and Star Cove right now," Ashe told his mother.
"Hi, hon. Buck and I were going over the plans for the school cafeteria, and we’ll update the kitchen at Victoria's when that's finished," she said brightly. Ashe wanted to sigh. Whatever his father had done, he'd been thorough about it.
"I’ll see you when we get in," Ashe said and hung up.
"Kid, don't let it get you down," Trace pulled Ashe into a bear hug. "We’ll work this out. You’ll see."
Ashe sat back when Trace let him go and stared at his new watch—Matt Michaels had given him the timepiece before he'd boarded Winkler's jet. The watch was a nice one—it gave temperatures, elevations, time zones and even had an Internet connection. The manufacturer was committed to the idea of keeping up with cell phones and other devices while still looking elegant on a wrist. Ashe had looked the watch up on its Internet connection, whistling at the price. Matt said it was in appreciation for what he'd done for the country so far and patted Ashe on the shoulder. "Here's my card, kid. That's my private number," Matt added. "If you have information for me or ever need anything from me, I’ll answer if possible."
"All right," Ashe promised. "Thanks for the watch." Ashe had boarded the jet shortly after that, pulling the watch out of the box and placing it on his wrist. Made of platinum, it had a square face and a few diamonds around the bezel.
"That's a nice gift," Trace nodded at the watch as Andy drove them home.
"Yeah. I guess." Ashe would give that up and more if he could have his family together again.
* * *
"Good news," Buck was waiting for Winkler when the van pulled into the drive of Winkler's home in Star Cove. "You can move into the beach house in a week. We won't be done, but what's left can be finished while you're there. The kitchens and the bathrooms are done and carpet laid in the bedrooms. We're putting up stucco this week and painting next week."