Chapter 178 Chapter 178
Blair lay there, looking at the ceiling in his little space. He should get up and was working toward it. Nichelle had wanted to go for a run three more times yesterday and he’d insisted on escorting her each time. Then Kobie wanted to, so he’d gone with her too. At least his cat couldn’t grumble he wasn’t getting out enough. Blair rubbed his hand over his face. He needed to think about things for the women to do. Once the house was fully painted, they’d start going stir crazy. Sitting up, he stared at the wall. At least he was thinking ahead on some things.
Getting up, he grabbed a clean pair of jeans and shoved his legs into them. As he was doing them up, a soft knock sounded.
Opening the door, he looked down to see Daisie standing there.
“I need to talk to you.” She said in a serious tone. She held out a cup. “I brought you coffee.”
He smirked and took it. “Thank you.” He took a sip and then leaned against the door jam. “What do we need to talk about?”
She looked over her shoulder and then back at him. “I want a dog—or a puppy, but maybe a dog because they don’t pee all over.” She nodded, her expression more serious than he’d ever seen it.
He hadn’t seen that coming. “Well,” setting the cup down, he went over and got a t-shirt out of the drawer and pulled it over his head, “it’s rare for our kind to have pets.” He drawled, not sure how to tell her no without breaking her heart. “Did any of your clan have pets before you came here?”
She shook her head.
“There’s a reason for that, hun.” He picked up the cup and motioned for them to go outside. “Dogs aren’t fond of large cats and because we’re…”
“Large cats they don’t like us.” She gave him a sad look.
“I wouldn’t say they don’t like us, but they’re afraid of us and…”
“Oh. I can’t make a dog live where it’s scared.” She said and looked at the ground.
“Something like that.” Blowing out a breath, he reached down and tipped her chin up, “but Bruce has some other animals on the farm. We can go there sometime.”
“We can?”
He nodded, hoping that was the end of the problem. He wondered for a second if problems came before coffee every day or if it was just the situation lately.
“Are you leaving when my daddy comes home?” She blurted out quickly.
Blair wondered if that was the whole reason for her visit this morning, she’d probably known the answer about the dog. “No.” Squatting down, he ignored the coffee he splashed on his wrist. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She fell against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing. Blair wore the whole cup of coffee as it hit his leg before landing on the ground. Putting his arm around her, he held her close. “You’re stuck with me, kid.”
Releasing his neck, she nodded. A single tear rolling down her cheek shattered his heart instantly.
“Good.” She backed up and looked at the cup on the ground. “You need more coffee.” Picking up the cup, she ran toward the house.
He sat down and looked at his soaked leg.
A soft chuckle had him turn to see Kobie standing there leaning against the side of the little building.
“She knows why no dogs.”
Blair wiped at the wet leg of his jeans. “I figured.” He got up slowly and looked down at his jeans again. Deciding he’d live with the wet material, he motioned to the house.
“All Nichelle can talk about is how you dove in and saved her.” She looked amused.
“That reminds me, I thought we could talk with the other girls about things not to do during the first few shifts.”
“We?” She pushed away from the wall and started for the house.
Blair nodded, “yeah, I thought it would be easier if you were there…”
“Afraid of laying down the law with the girls?” She smirked up at him.
Blair rubbed a hand over his jaw, “that obvious?”
Kobie nodded, still looking amused.
“I don’t want to order them around…”
“Look,” she stopped and put a hand on his arm, “right now they think you walk on water. It might be the best time to get through to them.” She sobered, “because once that wears off the road is going to be bumpy.”
Blair shook his head slowly, “I have no idea what I’m doing here.”
She patted his chest, “not to worry, I will let you know if you step out of line.”
He reached over and played with the hair hanging over her shoulder, “yeah? Going to keep me in line?”
“You know it.” She smiled up at him.
“I’ll hold you to that.” He whispered.
“Oh good, you’re up.”
They turned to see Calum standing at the door, holding his phone and a cup.
“I’ll go get you that coffee.” Stretching up, she kissed him on the mouth so briefly she was walking away before it registered.
Blowing out a breath, Blair held up his hand and motioned to the building he briefly slept in. “Stand guard for me?” He started walking.
“For what? Calum followed.
“So I can use the bathroom before my bladder explodes.”
Calum chuckled. “It’s bound to get easier.”
Blair paused in the door. “Is it? I don’t think so. I think it’s going to be a matter of me adjusting and running with it than it ever settling down.”
He held his hand up to prevent Calum from speaking and took a sip of the coffee. Closing his eyes, he savored it. “Okay,” he looked at him, “now you can speak.”
With a grin, Calum leaned back against the truck. “Devin called before I was even awake.”
“Lucky you.” He joked.
“Yeah,” Calum shrugged, “goes with the job.” He glanced to see Kobie go back into the house. “Robbie and Niles are being transported tomorrow. They should arrive just before dusk.”
“Jesse bringing them?”
Calum shook his head, “no, he’s still trying to track down some clans that the Alliance hasn’t been able to reach in a long time.”
“Is there a lot of them like that?” Blair took another drink, hoping the hot liquid worked fast.
“More than initially thought.” Calum’s expression was harder. “After the shit show with Shae’s clan, they went back over the records and found many had just faded out, no news from them in years.” He cleared his throat, “not as long as with Shae’s, but long enough to raise some alarms.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. I don’t know all the details, but Jesse is a good one to go searching.”
Blair couldn’t argue with that, Jesse seemed like he was as capable as Calum, only with more diplomacy. “Okay. How are Robbie and Niles doing?”
“Shae spoke to him and got the full medical run down.” He took a quick drink. “They’re not as bad as Jay, but it’s still going to be recovery time.”
“I’ve been thinking of transferring Cale to this clan if he agrees.” He rubbed his hand over his hair, “I’m not sure how that works, but we need a few more males to lend a hand.”
“I’ll talk to Devin about it.”
Blair dropped the tailgate and sat down. “Okay, tell me how bad they are.” His nerves were getting the best of him, wondering how these two clan males were going to feel about him taking over their clan. His clan. They were his clan now, regardless of what anyone thought.
“Robbie is the better of the two, his neck area—I don’t know the anatomy terminology, but Shae made a motion up her throat when she said it,” he shrugged, “it was sliced open, but healing well enough.” Calum motioned across his hip to his back, “he was cut up pretty bad there too.”
“No chance to shift and heal it?”
Calum shook his head, “it was too deep. He can’t shift until it heals more.”
“Shit. Okay.”
“There are a few more things, but non-life-threatening.” He blew out a breath, “Niles on the other hand is a lot worse off. Broken arm, collarbone, a few ribs, and his ankle.”
“Holy fuck.” Blair wanted to beat on something. The fact that other shifters could do this to one another pissed him right off. “They’re both going to be on the mend for a while.”
Calum nodded. “Yeah.” He glanced at Cale as he came up from his small house. “Shae and I will stay until they’re more recovered.”
“I appreciate it,” Blair said, still unable to digest what had happened to them. “So, do we know if they got away or were left for dead?”
“I don’t have the details yet. Devin wants us to do a conference call with Shep and a few others that are key in the Alliance.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’ll set it up for later today.”
Blair nodded. “Yeah. I’d like to know as much as I can about it.”
“The team sent in found fresh graves.”
Blair’s heart felt like it was beating in his throat now. “Kobie’s father?”
“They’re still working to identify who was buried there.” He straightened away from the truck. “Unless more show up, I figure there’s at least six dead.”
Blair nodded, “I’m hoping with more details we’ll find out there are more alive and not in captivity.”
Calum raised his cup to mock a toast. “I’ll drink to that.” He jerked his head toward Cale, “find out if he’s good with a transfer and let me know.”
Blair nodded, “will do.”
Cale stopped when he reached him and then he looked around. “Quiet today?” He grinned.
“So far.” Blair took a quick sip. “They are transporting the two clansmen here tomorrow night.”
Cale nodded, “that’s a good thing.” He cleared his throat, “maybe it will settle down some of the women.”
Blair smirked, “I doubt it.” He stood up, “they will not be able to shift for a while,” he paused at the look the other man gave him, “it’s not as bad as with Jay, but it’s still long recoveries.”
He nodded slowly, “that’s good though, that they will be able to shift.” He huffed out a breath, “I don’t know what I’d do if I could never shift again or had to wait…”
“Yeah.” Bair agreed, “that’s my own personal nightmare.”
“For sure.”
“Listen,” Blair gave him a serious look, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Cale gave him a wary look.
“I know I asked you to stick around and help out.”
“Happy to do it.”
He liked that about the man, he spoke his mind with few words. “I appreciate it, really.” Blair wasn’t sure how to ask him. “I was thinking maybe you’d consider transferring to this clan, as your own.” He shrugged, “to be honest, I have no idea how that works, but you’re a good fit and able males are something this clan sorely needs.”
Cale gave him a sober look and then nodded. “I’ve noticed the lack of testosterone.”
Blair chuckled, “hard not to.”
“I’ll be straight with you, Blair.” Cale pulled his thick hair back and put it in a quick man-bun. “I was hoping to stay.”
“You were?”
Cale motioned to the house and then Blair’s cup. “I need coffee.” They started walking. “Yeah, my clan has no available females left and so far, only boys seem to be born.”
“Oh shit.” Blair looked at him. “That’s…”
“Way too much testosterone.” Cale nodded. “It’s one of the reasons I joined up with the Alliance, so I could travel around, take in some sights, and help.” He stopped, “so if I join this clan, I’m not renouncing my own family, right?”
Blair opened his mouth and then closed it again. “I don’t know, but we’ll get the details.”
Cale shrugged, “okay, and just so you know, I have no issues with you as an Alpha.” He smirked, “I’ll back you up any day.”
It felt like Blair’s heart expanded. “Thanks. I appreciate it. Now I just have to figure out how to tell the two men of this clan I took over while they were gone.”
Cale stood there for a second. “I’ll back you up, chief.”
Grinning, Blair motioned to the door, “food and coffee first.”
“Agreed.”