Like after the Wapato and the St. Johns Bridge incident, everyone met at the farm. The injured were attended to, but fortunately, no fatalities needed to be dealt with. Luke and the pack had gotten off lightly, considering the scale of the operation they’d just accomplished.
When Luke stepped out of Pablo’s truck, Gwen blinded sided him with a fierce hug that nearly knocked him off balance, putting pressure on his injured leg. After a moment of surprise, he pulled the preteen in to return her hug.
When they realized they were the center of attention, they broke apart, blushing, uncomfortable with so many eyes on them. Sam, Delilah, and Pablo smiled broadly at their friend. Maggie’s smile, though softer, also struck him. They turned to walk into the farmhouse.
“You’re hurt?” Gwen asked, noticing his limp.
Pablo howled with laughter. “He got shot in the butt!”
“I did not get shot in the butt,” Luke replied, exasperated. “It just grazed my butt cheek. There’s a world of difference.”
Gwen was trying to hide a snicker but doing a poor job of it. “In the butt?”
She broke down laughing too, her visible stress dissipating with the help of Pablo’s laughter. Luke sighed and shook his head, letting everyone get their laugh in. Gwen hid her laughter behind one hand and reached out with the other to grab Luke’s as they walked into the house.
After they took their shoes off and stashed them on the racks by the doors, everyone who’d been on the boats headed to their bathrooms to wash off a week’s worth of not showering. The car ride back from the coast had been a fragrant journey. Luke, Maggie, Sam, and Pablo had spent much of the way back with the windows of Pablo’s pickup rolled down when they got a break from the spring rain that had followed them in from the Pacific.
When Luke joined the group around the table, he found a kid’s pool floaty donut sitting on the chair left for him and a group of people not even attempting to hold back snickers, even the usually stoic Holly. Luke, as seemed to be his most common gesture combination lately, sighed and shook his head. He was glad to have friends to joke with, but still…
Maggie followed Luke into the farmhouse’s kitchen, swiped the donut off Luke’s seat, threw it at Pablo like a Frisbee, and replaced it with a pillow. “You’d figure a nine-hundred-year-old werewolf would have more decorum,” she huffed.
“Hey! I’m not that old,” Pablo protested.
Luke smirked at his best friend, enjoying Maggie using the joke Pablo so often turned on him. “Thanks, Maggie.”
Maggie smiled warmly at Luke and took a seat.
Delilah, like the last time they’d all met for their last major mission, leaned against the counter in the background. She’d barely spoken since they were forced to turn away from Cassius and his escape boat. Her rage at her father’s murder made fresh with the escape of his murderer dampened the joviality of the earlier joking. Pieter followed Delilah in and sat next to Pablo, completing the roster of those participating in the postmortem.
“So, how’d we do?” Holly asked Luke, by way of starting the meeting.
“Overall? We hit most of our objectives. The freighter was stopped. We destroyed a huge portion of their incoming weapons and probably killed at least a hundred if not several hundred vampires in the process,” Luke replied.
“I’m hearing a lot of soft words in that statement,” Holly replied.
Luke gave a half shrug. “We weren’t able to confirm the sinking of the ship. It was listing heavily when we were forced to retreat with the rest of the flotilla.”
Holly rested her elbows on the table, leaning closer to Luke. “Why weren’t you able to stay and confirm?”
“That takes us to the less than victorious aspects of the mission. Somehow, the Coast Guard is involved. I don’t know if Cassius and the Portland nest forcibly took over the Astoria Coast Guard station, if they have agents and human accomplices inside Astoria, or something worse.”
“How is the Coast Guard involved?” Holly asked, her face paling at the mention of the US military’s involvement.
“Cassius highjacked one of the Astoria cutters and was meeting the freighter. There’s no way they could’ve been there unless it was pre-planned. The cutter wasn’t that fast, and the freighter was a bit too far out. That’s probably how they’ve been getting the vampires off the freighters in the first place, plucking them from freighters offshore and bringing them back to land.”
“It’s not going to come back on the pack, is it?” Worry flooded Holly’s eyes.
“Not in any way more than we’re already involved. Cassius knows I’m allied with werewolves, although he probably has no idea which pack, but the entire flotilla was running without identification. All numbers were covered and any GPS or other transponders switched off. Owen is half pirate.”
“That’s probably an underestimate,” Holly muttered.
Luke, Pablo, Sam, and Maggie chuckled.
Sitting back, Holly ran her hand through her short, spiky hair. “Should we be expecting people in white and orange to be sniffing around?”
“It’s possible,” Pablo weighed in. “We did kind of sink their cutter.”
“And shoot down their helicopter,” Luke added.
Holly put her head in her hands. “How do you ‘kind of sink’ a Coast Guard cutter?”
“We kind of sunk it all the way.” Pablo shrugged.
“But a couple of their lifeboats made it off. It looked like one was the crew and the other was Cassius and his fanged goons. At that point, we were running low on ammo and fuel, at least if we wanted to get home. Owen and I thought it best to move his boat back to the flotilla for defense in case the vamps had anything else planned for us or organized another response.” Luke shifted uncomfortably to take some pressure off his sore butt cheek.
“Is there any way for them to recognize us?”
“Owen’s boat isn’t what you’d call run of the mill. I’m sure the Coasties will remember a WWII-era PT Boat. Although, I doubt any of them will make it back to shore, and if they do, they probably won’t live long. The vampires will need to cover up evidence.”
“That’s a lot to hope on,” Holly said.
“Yeah,” Luke replied.
Holly sat back and ran both hands through her short, spiky hair, exhaling slowly. “I guess we knew this could happen if we got involved. I’ll reach out to Lauren to see what resources they might need.”
“They’re a wealthier pack than we are with all their marijuana farms,” Sam said bitingly.
Holly rested her hand on Sam’s wrist. “True, but we’re logistically more wealthy. Lauren has been a good ally to step up and put their pack and resources on the line. We’ll want to keep on their good side. Besides, this keeps getting deeper and we’re only one pack. We need our neighbors with us too.”
“I like Owen and Lauren. They’re good people,” Luke weighed in.
“Yeah, the pack’s lawyers work for them quite a bit. Lauren is as solid as you can find. That’s why she’s in charge. Owen is a lot of fun, but he’s a huge troublemaker. We couldn’t have a tougher ally than him. If you’ve made friends with him, his word carries weight with Lauren. He’ll be excited you gave him an opportunity to play with his toys. He loves that boat,” Sam said.
“What kind of troublemaker?” Luke asked, wondering if he needed to add another person to his mental equations of the dangers of his world.
“Oh, nothing dangerous. Just a prankster. He’s the guy that’ll keep you out to all hours of the night drinking then call you the next day and make fun of your hangover. That kind of stuff,” Sam replied, assuaging Luke’s concerns.
Nodding, Holly reached out and grasped Sam’s hand before turning back to Luke. “So, what next?” she asked.
“I spoke with Owen about that on the way back to shore. They’re going to keep an eye on traffic and the Coast Guard to see if there are any more drops. Also, now that they’ve got the scent, they’ll start sweeping their communities for nests and try to track down any stray vamps.”
Holly nodded, an impressed look on her face.
“I’d like to step up our patrols as well. See if we can mix newer recruits into experienced sweeper teams to get trained on the protocols and scents. Is there a possibility of bringing in any of the other Portland area packs on board?” Luke asked.
“I’ve been opening the dialog with the other packs. Beaverton Pack is willing to listen,” Holly replied.
“As a courtesy?” Luke asked.
“No. Seriously. Now that we’ve settled this, I’d like to get you in front of their pack council so they can ask you any questions they might have. If I know Amalia, she’s already made a few calls to some of our members who she’s close with. The East Portland pack is more tentative, but I think they can be persuaded.”
“And the Clackamas County pack?” Sam asked.
“They’re more…uncertain,” Holly responded obliquely.
Sam rolled her eyes and looked at Luke. “They’re not the biggest fans of our pack. Let’s just say, we pick up quite a few members from their pack who are looking for a more…open environment.”
“Ah, I see,” Luke replied.
“What about fucking Cassius?” Delilah asked, her poorly contained anger spilling out into the room.
Luke knew this was coming. She’d placed a lot of trust in Luke and the pack but still wasn’t getting satisfaction about her personal vendetta.
“When do we put him in the ground permanently?”
“Look, Delilah, I know—”
Delilah interrupted Luke. “You don’t know fucking shit. He murdered my father.”
“You don’t think I know the pain of burying loved ones because of vampires? I’ve got nearly two thousand years of it stacked up inside. Where I used to have feelings, now I have scar tissue. I’ve been burying people I care about longer than anyone in this room has been alive. Combined and then multiplied. You don’t know the weight of that much guilt.” Luke stopped himself, pulling back on the reins of his own shallowly buried anger. “And I don’t want you to have to live with that kind of crushing guilt and trauma.” Luke rubbed his hand over his cheek.
“I promise you this. Cassius will be my number one priority. Ending him will remove a thorn from both our sides. And it’ll help us get Portland under control, or at least thin the herd considerably. Will that suffice?”
Delilah thought about it, her arms rigidly folded across her chest, her jaw clenching. She gave a single tight nod as her only sign of acceptance. Sam stood and walked over to give her friend a hug. Delilah, usually liking to maintain her tough facade, pulled the shorter woman in for a tight hug, betraying her anger and sadness with a few sniffles.
Holly called a quick break so everyone could get a breather. Pieter passed behind Luke and squeezed his shoulder before disappearing out to the house’s large porch. Seizing the opportunity to take some pressure off his wound, Luke stood and leaned up against the counter so he could take the weight off the injured limb. Maggie opened a cabinet, pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen, and gave Luke a few.
Once the last person retook their seat, Holly called the meeting back to order. “Is there anything else you’ll need or something the pack should be working on?”
Luke thought about it, deciding to air ideas he’d had floating in his head for a while. “I think I need to move resources from some of my storage facilities in Europe. I’ll probably acquire some private warehouse space locally. And now that I think about it, some space closer to town to set up a training facility. I appreciate the use of the farm, but I’d like to leave it as a sanctuary for the pack. Every time we come up here and make noise, it makes it more likely we’ll be discovered.”
Holly looked thoughtfully at Luke. “I appreciate that, as does the pack. We can help you find what you’re looking for in real estate. I’ll have Pablo send some contacts your way of pack members who can facilitate that for you.”
“I’ll text you the info of our pack agents. Also, got a text from Jorge while you were showering. Your car is ready. I can drop you off on the way home,” Pablo said.
“Excellent! I’ve missed the old beast,” Luke replied, a smile returning to his face.
“Is there anything else we need to cover?” Holly asked.
“Yeah. I want to speak to Pieter about it.” Luke turned to Pieter. “I’d like to see if we can open negotiations with your pack to form a closer alliance. You’re the only European pack I have ties to, but I’m hoping you’ll be able to work across the continent and help make some connections for us. We won’t be able to stand alone with the vampires coordinating internationally. Your pack is full of good folk, and you command respect.”
“What are you thinking?” Pieter asked.
“I’d like to take a team to Belgium with me. I’ll want to oversee some of the resources transfer personally, plus it would be good to renew ties with your father and brother, as well as Amiata.” Luke turned to Holly. “If you’d like to come, that’d be great. Pieter and I can serve as your guides on the ground.”
“I’d like to, but with the upcoming special election, I need to stay here and keep an eye on local politics,” Holly replied.
“Say what now?” Luke asked, shocked.
“With no news on Mayor Jorgenssen, they’re holding a special election to replace him.”
“Do we have any idea who’s running yet?” Sam asked.
“A few of the usual no-chance candidates have already announced.” Holly sat back, straightening as she looked around the table. “The only name of note is our friend Fred Bealer.”
“Commissioner Smackie?” Pablo said, slapping the inside of his elbow like he was trying to raise a vein.
“Yup.” Holly looked disgusted, shaking her head.
Luke’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “Yeah, that’ll need to be monitored closely. We can’t have a mayor tied to the vampires, certainly not one in their control.”
“I’ll keep an eye on candidates and figure out who to throw our weight behind,” Holly volunteered. She looked around the room. “I think that covers everything. Anyone have anything to add?”
“Are you sure we can’t talk you into running, Holly?” Luke asked.
“No. I’m still not interested.” Removing the option firmly from the table, Holly looked around the room, seeing nothing but shaking heads accompanied by the occasional whispered, “Nope.” Only Maggie had her hand up.
“Yes, Maggie?” Holly asked.
“It’s not mission related, or anything like that, but…” She hesitated for a moment, before directing her gaze toward Luke. “It’s about Gwen. Now that things have settled a bit, and she’s doing better, a couple pack families have offered to take her in. I wanted to bring this to you before I approached her. What are your thoughts?”
Luke’s stomach dropped. “Um…” Luke hesitated, a frown spreading across his face. All his friends stared at him, their gazes kind and curious. He finally got his tongue to work again, half-heartedly asking, “I mean, what’s best for Gwen?”
Maggie walked around the table and took the seat next to Luke's. She leaned toward him, resting her elbow on the table as she looked at him and took one of his hands in both hers. “I’m not asking about Gwen right now, Luke. Would you like for us to find a new home for Gwen?”
Off in the sitting room, something thudded to the ground. Luke looked into Maggie’s startlingly blue eyes. He could see her empathy and concern, but also a searching he couldn’t put a name to. The room shrank to just them, Maggie looking into Luke’s eyes, Luke trying to manage the riot of feelings running wild through him as he tried to formulate a coherent answer.
“I…I don’t think I’d like that. I don’t think I’d like that at all,” Luke said, his voice shaking.
The clatter of one of the end tables from the sitting room tipping over was followed by the sound of bare feet on wood floor. Luke grunted as a blur ran into the room and slammed into him, small shaking arms wrapping around him. The impact of the young werewolf hit harder than he expected. Luke folded the crying preteen in a hug, his own tears threatening to burst forth.
“Don’t make me live somewhere else, Luke, please?” Gwen stammered around her tears.
Luke looked up at Maggie. Making eye contact, he noticed her eyes were getting watery as well. She reached out and squeezed Gwen’s shoulder before fixing Luke with her quiet, serious eyes.
“Luke, do you want to make the arrangement permanent?” Maggie asked.
Luke nodded. “I would.”
“Gwendolyn, how about you? Do you want Luke to be your permanent guardian?”
Gwen turned toward Maggie and nodded vigorously, wiping her sniffly nose. “Yes.”
Maggie smiled warmly at them. A few people around the kitchen were handing around a box of tissues. Luke’s face flushed red from being the center of attention while Gwen hugged him one-armed.
Holly, sounding softer than Luke had ever heard her, cleared her throat before speaking. “I’ll have Sam work with you on getting the papers drawn up so everything is legal if the state asks questions.”
Luke turned toward the sound of clinking glasses as Pablo pulled down whiskey glasses from the cabinet. He sorted through a few bottles until he found the one he wanted. After filling the glasses, he handed them out.
“Last time we did this, we went with a rougher option. If we’re going to celebrate, I’m breaking out something smoother. Yamazaki 18 should do the trick.” Pablo raised his glass.
“Hey, Pablo, hold off a minute. We need to get something for Gwen to toast with. She’s still a little young for brown liquor,” Sam said, getting up to look in the fridge.
She rattled a few things around, glass clinking against glass until she called, “Ah ha!” and pulled a bottle from the back of the fridge. “We had some leftover nonalcoholic sparkling cider left from New Year’s.”
Pablo grabbed a champagne flute from the cupboard and set it next to Sam as she pulled the cork with a loud pop. She filled it halfway and handed it to Gwen. Now that everyone had a glass, they stood, looking toward Luke and Gwen.
Sam lifted her glass. “Luke, Gwendolyn, I want to welcome you both to our family. Everyone in this room has chosen to be part of this pack. Many of us had no other choices where we’d feel welcome. No places where we could safely be ourselves and accepted for who we are.
“Luke, you’re not a werewolf, but you’re one of us. You’re a weird misfit who doesn’t have to hide himself with us. You’ve become a friend and someone I rely on and trust with the safety of my family and my pack. Everyone here cares about you and accepts you.
“Gwennie, your path here wasn’t an easy one, but we’re all glad you’re here with us now, and we’ll all be here for you whenever you need us, without question. We’ve all chosen to be together, and we’ve all fought to protect our safe haven. We want this to be your safe haven, too.
“Delilah, I know this moment is about Luke and Gwen, but I can’t leave you out. You’ve become a dear friend and someone I love like a sister. You’re one of us, too, and your goals are my goals. You can always count on me to have your back.”
Luke knew that meant Delilah had the resources of the pack to back Sam and her pledge to aid her friend in the quest to avenge her father. It wasn’t an idle promise, and Delilah was bolstered by Sam’s words, stepping forward to hug her friend. Luke smiled and nodded when he caught her eye. It was his pledge that she also had his resources to back her up as well.
“So, here’s to us. To love, friendship, and the people we’ve chosen as our family.”
“Love, friendship, and family!” everyone called out, finding glasses to touch with theirs, raising a clatter of glass on glass.
For the moment, their plans and problems were forgotten as they shared in their friendships, the humans welcomed officially into the family of the pack. Mostly, they shared in the joy of Luke and Gwen finding each other and building their own little family unit together. Luke, who’d had no one for huge parts of his long life, and Gwen, who hadn’t had a safe place in the family she was born to, had found each other through the tragedy vampires had imposed on their lives.
Luke had provided the young trans girl her first safe haven and his friends had provided emotional support to both of them as they figured out how to live in a situation neither had any idea how to navigate. Even so, their arrangement wasn’t typical. Luke wished he could provide a more stable home for her, but she’d chosen him over a potentially stable wolf family. He was glad she had. Until confronted with the decision, he hadn’t realized how attached he’d grown to having her in his life. He’d do his best by her.
Luke pulled Gwen in for a one-armed hug, getting one in return as they stood side-by-side, quietly watching their friends laugh and chat. Sam stepped over to address them both.
“Some stuff to think about. You two will need to figure out how you want your relationship documented so you can keep your story straight. Gwen, you’ll need to select a last name so we can get your paperwork finished. Luke, well… I guess I don’t know. Are you using Luke Irontree as your official name?”
“No, it’s more my nom de guerre, but I think I’m due for a change on the official documents. Probably about time to sell my house to myself again.”
“Cool, I’ll get the ball rolling on everything.” She pulled Luke in for a hug, wrapping her other arm around Gwen. “I’m so happy for you two. And seriously, if either of you need anything, I’ll be there for you no matter what.”
“Thanks, Sam,” Luke said.
When Luke let Sam go, Delilah was waiting for her turn. “Hey you two, congrats!”
She bent over and hugged Gwen. Delilah had been the first person outside of Luke to bond with the child. They still hung out regularly. Sam had joined in as her friendship with Delilah grew, both providing advice to Gwen as she finally had a safe space to explore who she was and be herself. When she stood up, she awkwardly hesitated for a moment before Luke wrapped his arms around her.
“Delilah, I’m sorry I snapped at you. That was assholish of me.”
“Yeah, same on my part.” Delilah exhaled sharply. “I’m just so angry, but I shouldn’t take that out on my friends.”
“We’ll get him. I promise.” Luke held Delilah’s gaze and squeezed her shoulder.
Sniffing, she whipped a tear off her cheek and gave Luke a single nod. “Thank you.”