“Don’t snarl. Veso didn’t want to fuck her. He couldn’t see the draw of human women, certain he’d break one in bed by accident, and they were too easy to control. He could be a nightmare as a patrol partner but he played games with Kira. She amused him.”

“What did he do?”

“He stole her lunches, would leave her notes saying she’d have to track him if she wanted to eat. He’d expected her to rant or cry at first, but instead she began packing food for two and would share her meals when she caught up to him. Things like that. Games that helped improve her skills.”

Lorn regretted some of the hatred he’d once felt for the VampLycan. “I see.”

“I’ll go shift and run to the border cabin. I’m hoping Dad’s jaw is healed enough that he was able to shift to human, or can by now. If not, he can send any messages through his link to Mom. I won’t be gone for more than a few hours. I’ll send Garson up here since you have Kar watching your den.”

“Thanks. Davis should be along soon, too.” Lorn retook his seat. “I’ll notify the other clans to make my position official to them as well.”

“Good luck. I’ll hurry.”

Lorn waited until his brother left and closed the door behind him. He withdrew his cell phone and listened to two rings before it was answered.

“This is Velder.”

“It’s Lorn. It’s done. I’ve taken the clan.”

“We heard.”

That surprised Lorn. “From who?”

“We have friends amongst your clan. I won’t give names. Is that a problem?”

“No. I have nothing to hide and I encourage friendships between our clans.”

“I wondered, since you waited to call.”

“I apologize for the delay but I needed sleep, first and foremost.” He wasn’t willing to mention Kira.

“Damn. I didn’t know you were in bad shape. I was told you only sustained minor injuries. You hid it well from your clansmen. They believe you took down your challengers without any difficulty.”

Velder really did have someone inside the clan feeding him information. It didn’t bother Lorn. He opened his mouth to reply but Velder went on.

“The offer still stands for us to help you. I can send at least four enforcers, and the other two clan leaders will spare some of theirs. They’ll take direct orders from you to help stabilize your situation.”

“I’ve healed enough that it’s not a problem. I appreciate it but I think it would make everyone nervous if others came so soon.”

“You don’t want to be seen as weak enough to ask for help from us.”

“Yes.”

“Smart. Do you have enough loyal friends and family to create a solid foundation circle around you?”

“I’ve made my brother my second and accepted two enforcers so far.”

“Four of you aren’t enough to hold an entire clan. You need at least a dozen in your circle or you’ll never sleep. Part of being a leader is delegating responsibilities to others. It gives everyone a sense of security to know the death of one won’t completely throw the clan into chaos.”

“I’ll accept more enforcers once things settle a bit. I have one more who runs the lodge that has my back. I’m still feeling out loyalties but I have some offers I’m considering. Decker took most of the threats with him when he fled. I’ve handled the worst of the ones he left behind. I’m expecting a few sneak attacks but we can handle it.”

“Picking an elder as your advisor will smooth over any resentment from the first-generations. Age is knowledge.”

“I’m not asking an elder to be my advisor. Decker and Ladius kept us from moving forward with their archaic ways. I’m changing all the shit I hated and bringing us in line with the other clans.”

“I understand, but be warned, it might make you enemies. Watch them closely.”

“I already had to take down two elders.”

“I heard. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help, Lorn. We all want you to succeed. We’re looking forward to strengthening the bonds between our clans again. It’s been hell for us all, since Decker made us so wary. All the clans are connected through blood ties from mating. We’re trusting that you want that as well.”

“I do. I give my word that I don’t have any plans to start a war. One clan is going to be challenging enough. I don’t want yours or anyone else’s.”

Velder chuckled. “Just wait until you’re dealing with all the clan issues that arise. They’ll really keep you busy. Today I had to punish a youth.”

“And that was amusing?”

“The boy played a prank but it crossed a line. I wanted to laugh my ass off and pat him on the back. It was near genius but I had to hide how I felt. It was my job to make an example out of him so others weren’t encouraged to misbehave too.”

“What did he do?” Lorn could use a laugh.

“Another youth is showing signs of becoming a strong enforcer one day. He’s only eight but he’s already building muscle and can fully shift. It’s making him a bit of a bully. We’ve talked to him but you know how it is.”

Lorn did. Some VampLycans were stronger than others at younger ages. He’d been one of them but he’d never felt the need to push around smaller VampLycans just because he grew at a faster rate. Nabby, on the other hand, had terrorized them. “I do.”

“Rigo, that’s the eight-year-old, has taken to shifting and chasing the other youths, threatening to bite them. He chose the wrong ten-year-old to hunt today. This one is small for his size but he’s cunning. He saw it coming and rigged a few snare traps to trees and used logs as counterweights. Rigo was so busy running after his prey that he stepped into one.”

“It served him right.”

“I agree.” Velder chuckled again. “Rigo hung from a tree by his foot for a good hour before Ben confessed what he’d done. Rigo’s claws weren’t sharp enough to cut through a rope so thick to get free on his own. It’s against the rules to set traps like that so Ben had to be punished. The parents would have ranted about the unfairness otherwise.”

“What about Rigo?”

“I punished him too. He did hunt Ben, tracks don’t lie. He’d shifted, following Ben into the woods. I had to talk to them in public and assign them chores as punishment. It’s humiliating to get busted in front of your friends. Rigo was given trash duty, while Ben has to help my mate this entire week. She’ll probably feed him sweets and pamper him. She was impressed by Ben too.”