“They are. The humans, at least,” Kai offered.
“So tell me a story about your Dada.”
Kai pondered for a moment and then started laughing. “Well, when I was a young human boy, I was walking with my grandfather to another village. We were with a group of cows we owned, to sell them as milking cows. A man ahead of us had a small metal cage stuffed full with chickens. There was not one inch of space for the chickens to breathe. Some were bent at such an odd angle their feet and wings were broken.”
“Oh, God.”
“The second my Dada saw the man dragging the cage along the road with the chickens scraping along the ground, he screamed, “Stop!’”
Kai went on. “My grandfather stormed the man and ripped the string from his hand, taking the cage. The guy was furious with my grandfather and asked him what he thought he was doing. My grandfather told him that it was cruel to carry the chickens like this, to cause them pain. The guy actually laughed. He told my grandfather they were going to the slaughter house to be sold for meat anyway, so what did it matter. My grandfather told the man that one day he too would die, but he wouldn’t want to be tortured beforehand.”
I smiled. After a moment of silence, I poked him. “So, what happened to the chickens?”
Kai seemed to be off in his head, but he focused on me. “He traded them for all of the money in his pocket, and the watch my grandmother had gotten him. We weren’t a wealthy family. It was every luxury we had.”
“Whoa.” I sat back. Would I have done the same?
“We took them out of the cage and brought them home. We splinted their legs and wings and gave them all names. They squawked around the yard for years.” Kai smiled. I smiled, too. I liked stories with happy endings.
After dinner we went home to watch a movie. I changed into yoga pants and a loose long-sleeved t-shirt. Right before Kai was about to play the movie, he looked at me with the remote in his hand. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you.”
My heart started beating fast. That’s not exactly a sentence I like to hear.
“Okay, so don’t.”
“After you ran off with Emma and I questioned Sylvia, she told me that now that she has her memories back she remembered something else. Something she didn’t show you.”
I paused, waiting.
“After you were turned human as a baby, Sylvia also put a blanket over your natural witch magic. That blanket is still there and she will remove it and teach you magic if you want.” He toyed with the remote, chewing his cheek.
“Oh. More powers, more weird stuff happening to me without my control? Not now, maybe later, but not now,” I assured him. I think we all needed a break from my issues. No way was I adding anymore to my plate.
He sighed in relief. I guess Kai wasn’t a huge fan of me being part witch.
The next day we toured the top two properties we had picked out for Safe Haven. Kai told me price wasn’t an issue and so I picked the old high school property. The gymnasium would be perfect for training sessions and the cafeteria could feed a lot of families. We could stock the classrooms with bunk beds and turn them into apartments for families in crisis.
Next we met with a contractor to plan out what construction needed to be done to the property and how many beds to order. Then Kai had us meet with a marketing firm and had promotional materials printed up for Safe Haven. He also purchased a billboard and hired one of the pack members to oversee the daily tasks of running the facility. We were going to be able to help so many families. After calling local businesses for Safe Haven donations, we collapsed onto the couch.
Kai stared at me seemingly in deep thought. “What?” I prodded.
“You are the ultimate package: beautiful, smart, strong AND a good person. How did I get so lucky?”
I grinned. “Good karma I guess.”
Before he could respond his cell phone rang. Kai looked at the caller ID. “My father.” He groaned.
“Hello, Papa.” Kai was very formal with his father. I also noticed that he didn’t tone down his dominance with his father like he did with me. He didn’t treat his father as an equal. His father pushed and he pushed back.
“I will keep them safe, you know that,” he said through gritted teeth.
His father said something else and Kai’s nostrils flared. “Fine.” He hung up.
I looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“My mother and Diya will be flying out here to meet Trent. My father will be sending my eldest brother, Jai, along for protection because apparently my pack isn’t big enough to protect anyone.” He groaned.
My mouth hung open. “So I’m going to meet your family?”
“Yes, they will be here tomorrow,” he stated calmly like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Tomorrow!” I sat up. “I need to unpack my room. It’s a mess.”
Kai laughed. “It’s fine. No one will go in there. You sleep in my room anyway. They can stay in one of the other four bedrooms.”
I started walking to my room. “If you think I’m staying in your room with your mother here, you are crazy. Help me unpack,” I added.
He groaned getting up. “Aurora, we’re mates. They expect some hanky panky to be going on.”
I grinned at the words ‘hanky panky’ but then let my face grow serious. “No, you only get to make a first impression once. Help me unpack and move all of my stuff out of your room.”
He frowned but followed me into my room.