It altered everything. It wouldn’t just be Lorn depending on his brother’s friends to side with him. Kar was officially giving him his loyalty.

“Thank you. It’s an honor.”

“The honor is mine. I have faith you’ll change things and make our clan better.”

“And Kira?” Lorn wanted to know if they’d have issues later on.

“You stated she’s yours, and I’ve known how you’ve felt about her since we were kids. I wouldn’t care if the woman I loved turned into a Vampire. It wouldn’t change a damn thing except I wouldn’t become a father. Kira’s compassionate and I know she hated how Decker ran things. That’s all that matters to me if you take her as your mate.”

“I’ll be back as soon as possible. Protect her.”

Kar nodded. “Good luck. Roll in the dirt a little. You look too clean for someone who’s supposedly been tracking Vampires out in the wilderness.” He sniffed. “I’m also picking up a slight Vamp scent on you but they won’t question that, considering where everyone thinks you’ve been.”

Lorn took off toward the village. He heeded Kar’s advice and brushed up against bushes and trees to soil his clothing. He reached his parents’ home a few minutes late. Lavos had already arrived. He heard his voice coming from the kitchen and followed it.

“You have to stop this nonsense,” Lavos yelled.

“Stop!” their mother demanded.

“How can you take his side? You’re a mate. Would you want to be taken to the lodge and kept there by force?”

“Don’t speak to your mother in that tone,” Ladius thundered. “How dare you!”

“How dare you?” Lorn snarled.

Ladius spun to glare at Lorn. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Did you find Kira?” His mother stepped forward.

“Fuck the girl,” Ladius snarled. “Your place was here, not chasing after her. You’ve embarrassed me for the last time! How do you think it looked to everyone after you abandoned your clan for her?”

Lavos snorted. “Are you an idiot? Of course he went after her.”

“Shut up.” Ladius motioned to Lavos then glared back at Lorn. “Answer me.”

Lorn crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re the one who needs to explain what the hell you were thinking by ordering mates separated. You had Nabby order it, didn’t you? It’s against our nature. You can’t keep our clan intact by force and fear. Did you come up with that moronic plan or did Decker?”

“I’m in charge while Decker is gone.”

Lorn growled, taking that to mean his father had come up with the plan on his own. “I won’t allow you to terrorize our people.”

“I’m doing no such thing.”

“Bullshit. You’re attempting to hold the women and children hostage at the lodge. You think you’re so clever, but you’re a moron. What if the Vampires return? All the children gathered in one place will be a disadvantage. They could surround it and threaten to burn them to death inside if we don’t surrender. Did you think about that?”

“The Vampires would never walk right into our village.”

“Don’t be a fool. They trespassed on our land and broke the treaty. They attacked two of our clan members.”

“That girl isn’t clan.”

“You asshole,” Lorn grit out. “What about Veso? Has he returned? No. Because they’ve probably killed him.”

“He was weak if he allowed them to take him down.”

“You son of a bitch!” Lavos snapped. “Don’t speak that way about my friend. He was an excellent fighter. That tells me there was a large group of them if they were able to take him out.”

It reminded Lorn of something Kira had told him before they’d gone to sleep. He refused to say her name, though, and risk his father believing she might be hidden somewhere. He decided to lie. “I caught up to a Vamp. Do you know what he told me? Decker went to their Vampire Council for some reason. Now they’ve attacked us. He’s somehow to blame for this. They suddenly think we’re weak enough to take out.”

Ladius snarled and his claws extended, along with his fangs. “Blasphemy! He would do no such thing!”

Lorn reacted by doing the same and tensing, preparing to attack. His mother rushed between them, opening her arms wide.

“Stop it! I won’t allow you two to fight. You’ll have to go through me.”

“Get out of the way, Mom.” Lavos slowly stepped closer, his tone pleading. He reached out to her. “You could get hurt. Come here.”

“No! I won’t let them kill each other.” She turned her head, staring at her mate. “Don’t do this.”

“Get the hell out of the way, woman,” Ladius snarled.

“You’re angry and projecting your thoughts.” She turned, facing him. “You think our son is weakened from spending days hunting for the girl. You’ve decided you can take him, that with the girl dead, his grief will have broken his will to live. You see this as your chance to kill our son, and think you don’t need him anymore—because you believe what he said about Decker! You think you can use what you’ve just learned to turn everyone against Decker and assume they’ll accept you as the new leader.”

That enraged Lorn. He growled fiercely.

His mother held up one finger, a signal for him to hold his temper. He remained still, not willing to possibly injure her to get at his father.

“Ladius, you’re wrong. I know my boys better than you ever did, or ever will. Lorn’s not grieving, and he isn’t weakened from not eating. Believe me—I know the signs of his misery. I’ve seen it most of his life. He’s strong and determined. And he will kill you if you leave him with no choice. Don’t do this. I didn’t birth two sons just for you to kill them if they defied you. They are our flesh and blood!”

“Shut the hell up!” Ladius turned his fury on her, his eyes starting to darken as he stared down his mate.

Silence reigned, and Lorn knew his parents were communicating without words. It pissed him off further when his mother actually stumbled back a step, as if she’d been physically struck by his father.

He moved without thought and caught her around her middle, holding her close, careful not to scratch her with his claws. He dragged her farther from her mate.