“Then who’ll watch Maizy?” Lexi asked.
Izzy raised her hand from her spot on the sofa beside me. “I will. It’s no secret I can’t shift without putting the baby at risk, and I’m not going to leave that little girl down there by herself. Denver’s her watchdog, but we need him up here.”
“True that,” Denver said from the hall leading to the kitchen. He slid a handful of peanuts into his mouth and began licking his fingers. “Hand me my pistola and let’s get this party rolling.”
“Don’t give him a gun,” Izzy said. “The only thing he can shoot off is his mouth.”
Reno sighed. “We’ll rotate. Lexi first, then Denver, and anyone else who needs to fire off a few practice rounds. I can’t do anything about your aim, but you need to know how to handle a weapon without shooting your foot off.”
I raised two fingers. “Just hand me a gun; my father taught me how to use all kinds of weapons. I’d prefer something with less kickback.”
Reno’s brows arched up. “My kind of girl.”
I guessed he was saving April for last. Reno had taught her how to ride a motorcycle this past summer after they’d returned from a vacation, but I’d never seen him teaching her to shoot. Maybe he didn’t want to admit a situation might arise where he wouldn’t be able to protect his woman. I had a feeling Reno might end up sending her down to the basement. April was a tough girl, but Reno was a tougher wolf. Women often fought by the side of their pack, but her mortality would give a man like Reno pause.
I slipped my braid inside the back of my shirt so it couldn’t be used against me by a pair of grabby hands. Everyone milled around talking, and Lexi was putting on her jacket. When I peered out the window, a lone wolf howled in the distance.
Austin gripped my arm and tugged me back. “Keep away from the window.”
“That was Fox,” I said in a soft whisper. At least I had peace of mind knowing he wasn’t out there searching for my son.
“I say we just go out there and shoot them all. We can’t just sit here,” Lexi said, putting her hands on her hips. “You should just go out there and kick their asses.”
Austin curled his right arm around her waist and kissed her brow. “Ladybug, in another life, I would have been that man. I have a pack to think about now—lives to protect. Keep your wolf in check.”
Lexi swallowed him up with her big brown eyes. “What if we just locked up the house and went to town? It’s not like they’re going to start up a war at Howlers.”
Denver snorted. “You haven’t seen ladies’ night. Still, it’s not a bad idea, Aus. Maybe you can chat with a few Packmasters and see if the Council wants to intervene.”
Austin gave him a disapproving look. “And then what? We come home to find they’ve taken over the house?”
Denver shrugged. “You have legal rights to this land if they do. We can call the human cops and have them thrown in jail.”
Wheeler laughed in a dark voice. “Now that I’d like to see. Doubt anyone would bail their sorry asses out.”
Austin sighed and leaned against the wall near the door. “The Council would, if not the higher authority. They get flagged whenever one of our kind uses one of our aliases in a human jail. You know that.”
Wheeler chewed off the end of his jerky and took a seat at the foot of the stairs. “Maybe so, but it would buy us some time. Fox would be safe and sound and it might give Reno time to track down her kid.”
Austin shook his head. “We’re not doing anything that might get the Council involved. I don’t want anyone thinking we can’t handle our shit. These are the times that will test a pack and send out a message to others. What kind of message do you want to send? That we need hand-holding and can’t use our heads to fight off a rogue pack?”
The heavy blanket of dread began to lift. Fox would wait us out for as long as it took, but Austin was right about not calling the Council. It would make him look foolish as a new Packmaster. If we stayed inside, we could run out of food, sleep, or simply grow impatient and do something foolish like go after them. They could try to set the house on fire; all these ideas swam through my mind of ways they could smoke us out.
“My father once told me that sitting ducks wind up on the dinner table.”
Everyone looked at me with a bewildered expression. I moved away from the window and tapped my cane on the floor. “A strong pack will prepare for battle no matter where they are. Fox can’t claim the land without taking down the pack. What if we ask one of the stronger packs to take Maizy and Izzy in?”
Denver stepped forward. “Because then I won’t be able to guard her. Not having it. She stays by my side. That’s not up for debate.”