Swain then gazed at Nik with a serious expression. “But it doesn't mean I can't be more helpful. More useful. You can't protect all of us all the time. You'll go insane trying. Sometimes you need people to look out for you. I want to do that, Nik.” He leaned forward, his palms together. “Tell me what to do. I'll do anything.” Nik shook his head, about to reject his offer when Swain stopped him. “Please, Nik. For Dad's sake, if not for mine.”
The two brothers both had pain carved into their faces as they remembered their father, who had been murdered when Nik was fifteen. Swain was only nine years old.
Nik had witnessed their father's murder. Had seen his father's killer in the dead of night; the man's face concealed by the hood of his dark green, Hunter jacket. Nik could never forget the small glimpse of the man's eyes. Shadowy, Cimmerian, coal-coloured. The colour of death.
Nik saw Swain watching him, waiting for his answer.
“Okay... I promise to involve you more. But you have to earn it,” Nik warned, pointing a finger in his direction. “You need to be at every council meeting, no excuse. Unless you're incapacitated by a life-threatening illness or dead. Spending the night in a woman's bed doesn't cut it anymore.”
“Understood.”
“I want you to help out with guard duty. I'll let Carr know and he'll assign you a shift. Make sure you're there.”
“Yes, Pack Leader.” Swain stood up.
Nik did too. He turned to gaze out the window. The sky was a pretty canvas of blushing oranges, electric pinks, deep blues and vibrant purples as the sun made way for the moon.
He thought about Jaz, cooped up in her cabin with a fractured jaw. His heart seared, yearning for her touch. For her kiss. “I have a favour to ask of you. Something I want you to keep to yourself.”
Swain looked up, his eyes bright with eagerness. “Anything.”
“Tomorrow there's a council meeting. In the morning, I want you to go and ask Jaz to be there. It's at twelve-thirty. On the dot.”
Swain stared, then frowned, then raised both his brows in a knowing smile. “So I was right? You've got a thing for her, haven't you?”
“I'm asking her to a council meeting, not a date,” Nik countered.
Swain grinned wider. “And why would that be?”
Nik looked back out the window, his hands slid into the pockets of his khaki chinos. “I think she should have a say in what happens. Or at least be involved in the discussion. She's family after all.”
Swain was clearly surprised by his answer. “Family?” he asked, with scepticism jabbing through his tone.
“Yes. To Garik, Maria, Erica, Thorpe and Eliza. And indirectly to me.”
Swain hunched his shoulders. “She barely speaks to Garik or Erica; has never even met her parents, and let's not forget that they aren't in this Pack anymore. I'm not even gonna argue about her connection to you-”
“Good.”
“-and if she's so close to Maria, why hasn't she suggested this before?”
“Because it wasn't in Jaz's best interest. Now I think it is. And I know Maria will agree with me. Why are you against this?”
“I'm not. I'm just looking out for you.”
It was Nik's turn to be sceptical. “Looking out for me? What's that supposed to mean?”
“I don't mean anything bad by it. Just that she's new to this Pack. It takes a lot of time, trust and duty spent earning a place on the Council. Plus she doesn't know much about this place and how it works.”
“You seem to know a lot about what she thinks for someone you've barely spoken to.”
Swain sighed. He remembered Jaz said something similar to him the day he'd bumped into her. He shrugged. “I guess I know how women think.”
Nik's bottom lip curved downwards in displeasure. “To be clear, I never said I wanted her on the Council, just to be there for the meeting.”
“Because you think she wants to listen to you asking other's thoughts on your possible death sentence? Yeah. That makes sense,” Swain retorted sarcastically.
Nik clenched his jaw and then counted to five to calm himself down; his usual technique. “We're good friends. We're connected to each other through Lora and I know she'd want to be in the loop.”
“You also know she's either gonna resent you as long as you're alive or make a scene at the Council meeting, right?”
Nik shook his head. “She wouldn't do that.” But then he wasn't so sure about that. “She'll understand.”
“Oh, come on! Even I saw the look on her face today, so I know you bloody did. She's been living in the outside world all her life, she doesn't get these rules and etiquettes and ideals. Sometimes I don't either, but I respect them. She has no reason to.”
“I'll sort it.”
“Don't let her come to the meeting. Trust me, Nik. For both yours and her own good. It's different for her, and for me; you're our friend, our family, not just a Leader. It means more to us than business.
“I find it hard as it is, but god knows how hard it will be for her to sit there and listen to all that. Talk to her about it. She may hate you for a while but it'll be better than the alternative.”
“You still sound like you're giving me relationship advice, y'know?”
Swain smiled. “Okay, you and her aren't a 'thing'. My bad. I shouldn't have made judgements. I know how much you loved Lora.”
Nik bowed his head.
Swain looked off into the distance, his brow furrowed. “It must be weird, seeing Jaz every day, looking so much like her sister.”
Nik glared at his brother. “Jaz looks nothing like Lora in my eyes. They're very different.”
Swain nodded.