Chapter 10 Wyatt #2
“I called Richard,” he replied, sounding resigned.
Heath slumped in his chair. “And?”
“Useless,” Aiden spat. “He and Charles just do not give a fuck anymore.”
Richard Blackwell was an attorney and ran one of the most influential law firms in the Georgia shifter community.
He was also a Prime panther and Aiden’s biological dad.
He and Charles—another of their fathers, who was an investment banker—spent the majority of their time away from home.
Business trips, long stints at their respective apartments nearer to Fulton City for “work,” vacations with college buddies, bullshit like that.
They’d make appearances at the Blackwell family home with just enough frequency to tend to their bond with Heath and Aiden’s mother, providing what I assumed was just enough physical intimacy so that it didn’t wither and die. Then they’d bounce again.
It wasn’t how a bonded quad was meant to operate, but if I had to spend a significant amount of time around the two other Blackwell dads, I’d probably be looking for a way to make myself scarce too.
“It’s not like either of them has the ability to do anything short of kidnapping Clara and hiding her,” Heath said, “even if they did care, which they don’t. Holden is too fucking powerful and runs our entire family with an iron paw.”
“But you’re closing in on him,” Aiden said softly. “Not to mention, you’re light-years better trained, since none of our parents ever deigned to serve in the Guardians. You have to believe in yourself, Heath.”
“I do,” he growled. “And I’d do anything to save Clara from their twisted machinations. But I can’t save her if I die challenging Dad.”
My bear’s rage had been clawing under my skin since the conversation took this turn, and a guttural growl finally broke through.
“Easy, Wyatt,” Aiden said gently.
I relaxed my jaw and blinked away what I was sure were ruby-red headlights.
Discussion of Heath and Wyatt’s little sister’s situation never failed to set off the bear inside.
I had four little sisters between the ages of twelve and seventeen, and if one of my dads had tried to pull something like this on any of them, he’d already be dead.
“Sorry. Remind me again why we can’t just unleash Elijah at your parents’ next garden party and call Holden’s death a tragic accident? ”
Aiden removed his glasses and pinched his brow.
“Because even if Elijah did manage to kill him without losing control and killing everyone else in a one-mile radius, which would then put a target on his back, it would leave the question of Clara’s custody up in the air.
It would take months if not years in the legal system to resolve it, and by then it would be too late. ”
Clara was sixteen years old, the light of Heath’s and Aiden’s lives and best friend to my oldest sister, Willow.
She was also the only latent daughter of the most powerful shifter in the Southeast Region.
This made her a highly desirable potential bond for the sons and soon-to-be-formed quads of our community’s most influential families.
Holden, along with Stephen, their fourth father, who was an Alpha wolf, decided to take full advantage of this and planned to sell her to the highest bidder.
We’d found this out over the holiday break.
While simply offering their daughter up for cash would’ve been scandalous and in poor taste for a family of the Blackwell’s status, the two of them had begun entertaining proposals involving business connections, investments in the Blackwell companies, and Council favors from a bunch of other rich pricks attempting to secure a powerful legacy for their sons.
We’d formed a plan to deal with it, but Heath needed to be stronger to have a shot at taking his father in a challenge.
“And that brings us back to why we’re all so salty,” I said, going for light but just sounding tired.
“We’ve decided to quit fucking around and attempt to find a suitable girl to bond, but not one of us is excited about the prospect, nor do we have any candidates that have vibed with all of us and our beasts.
The new girl was an interesting little beacon of hope, but she is perhaps not what we thought she was, so we remain at square one. ”
“Even if she doesn’t have a beast,” Heath said, “she will likely get herself killed if she continues this farce about becoming a Guardian. We need to bond for reasons beyond dealing with my parents—we’re headed for a dangerous job and need the ability to share power that a latent central bond is supposed to provide.
Not to mention Elijah needs a solid bond for the rest of his fucking life. ”
We sat in silence for a few minutes. Heath stared broodily into the fire.
Aiden glared at his computer screen. George snoozed, the reflection of the flames dancing on his glossy purple scales.
I fucked around with my phone, first requesting to follow Avery on Instagram, then sending off another text to Elijah in our quad group chat.
When the fuck are you coming back?
After a few minutes, he finally replied.
ELIJAH
I’m on the way.
Heath jerked his phone from his pocket. His eyes narrowed as he read.
HEATH
Did you get anything useful?
ELIJAH
The guy won the knife off a member of the Low Country Kings in a poker game over the summer.
“Oh, perfect,” Aiden said, tipping his head back with a groan. “A shifter motorcycle gang.”
I stood up and stretched my aching muscles, then shrugged my backpack onto my shoulders. “I’ll tell him to meet us at Aiden’s house so we can chat in private. If I order pizza now, he can grab it at the guard station on his way into campus.”
“Good idea,” Heath said, also rising from his chair. “I don’t feel like being in the middle of whatever will be stewing in the dining hall tonight anyway.”
Aiden stood up from his desk and began to pack his shit. “Make sure Elijah’s pizza has the dairy-free cheese.”
“Like I haven’t been dealing with Elijah’s bullshit dietary restrictions for years,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. I poked George again with the toe of my shoe. “Let’s go, asshole. Your daddy is on his way.”
He didn’t acknowledge me, but he did slowly unwind his body and begin a leisurely slither toward the door.