"I can't believe you did that!" Jordan hissed, trying to keep their voice down.
It was late, far later than the couple had planned to get home. The house on Olde Mill Lane was quiet and still in the warm end-of-summer night. Upstairs, Jordan knew, little Amber would be long asleep, and they really didn't want to wake her.
"It was a fake," Aadi said, cheerful voice bursting with energy despite their own struggle to keep it down. "I couldn't let them hang a fake in the gallery, could I?"
"So, you thought the thing to do was write 'This is a Fake' on a priceless painting... with a felt tip marker!?" Jordan choked out.
"It was all I had," Aadi smiled. "Besides, it's not a priceless painting. It's. A. Fake."
"Let's not fight about it," Jordan sighed.
"Come into the living room," Aadi suggested. "We'll sit, relax, maybe watch a little TV before bed."
"Yeah," Jordan agreed. "Oh... looks like Abbey and Amber are packed."
Aadi kept a smile on their face but ached a little inside.
"Hey, you two," Abbey called from the couch. "How was the gallery show?"
"You're still up," Aadi said brightly.
"Aadi got arrested," Jordan put in.
"Detained," Aadi corrected brightly.
"Oh, I have to hear this," Abbey laughed.
"... so, then gallery security tackled Aadi and took them away," Jordan finished the story.
"Kevin was a lovely man," Aadi smiled mischievously. "Such nice muscles."
"They took you to jail!?" Abbey asked, balanced halfway between laughter and shock.
"I've been to Big House," Aadi said dramatically. "I've seen things. It changed me."
"You spent two hours in county jail," Jordan laughed. "Then the gallery figured out that the painting was actually a fake and agreed not to press charges. I think they're hoping to just sweep the whole incident under the rug."
"So, you're all packed," Aadi said, trying to keep their customary good cheer.
"Yeah," Abbey said. "Jake's coming tomorrow morning to take us to my cousin in Evergreen Harbor. I'm sorry Aadi but..."
"Lions and tigers and gangsters, oh my," Aadi said with a laugh. "Not exactly the quiet, peaceful artists' community. We understand."
"Completely," Jordan agreed.
"In fact," Aadi said, turning to their lover.
"Nope," Jordan said simply. "Abbey has to go away to take care her baby, and I'm staying to take care of my boo... and that's final."
--------------------
"You've got everything you need?" Aadi asked.
"Thank you," Abbey said. "You two are the best. I still feel like I'm running out on you."
"Girlfriend, don't even," Aadi said firmly. "You have to look after our little niblet."
"And you know you're welcome back once things blow over," Jordan said.
"Oh, I have to go," Abbey laughed. "Bye, you two."
"Aa'hii bye," Amber babbled sadly.
"They're going to be OK," Aadi said, a little sadly, watching Abbey and Amber head down the walk.
"They'll be OK," Jordan nodded.
"I'll make sure of it," Jake said firmly. "Moonwood Mill looks after its own. Which brings me to some people I want you two to meet," he added, waving over a couple Aadi had taken for wandering tourists.
"Aadi, Jordan, this is Lux Demarco," Jake said as the couple came up onto the porch.
"Pleased to meet you," the tawny-haired woman said with a smile. "Everyone calls me Demarco."
"And this is Etta Blackwood," Jake said, nodding to the other.
"Hello," the fair-skinned blonde nodded curtly.
"They run with my sister, Rory," Jake continued, "and they're going to be staying in the area. Like I said, we look after our own... and that includes you two. Now, I need to catch up with Abbey. Don't want her and Amber sitting in the truck too long. You've all got my number. I leave you in Demarco and Etta's capable hands."
"So... you two are, like, werewolves then," Aadi said brightly.
"Aadi, really." Jordan shook their head at their lover's insistence on such fantastical notions.
"'I'm telling you, I heard it. Howling. Those werewolf tales are true,'" Aadi quoted.
"Sorry, Aadi's been playing too many video games lately," Jordan laughed.
"It's OK," Demarco smiled. "I used do that too... 'then I took an arrow in the knee.'"
"I knew Rory letting you guys get a computer was a bad idea," Etta chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Don't encourage her."
"Anyway to answer your question Aadi - I am, Etta's not," Demarco said, "but she knows more about both spooky stuff and shady stuff than almost anyone I know. We've got your back."
"Right," Jordan said skeptically.
"So, where are you staying?" Aadi asked.
"We were going to rent rooms in Finchwich," Etta said.
"Or maybe just set up a tent in the woods," Demarco added.
"No, no, no," Aadi said. "We've got plenty of room here in the house. I mean, if you're going to be 'looking after us' you may as well stay here. Am I right?"
"Yeah," Jordan nodded after a moment. "We've got plenty of room. Stay."
"It would be easier," Etta allowed cautiously.
"Deal," Demarco smiled. "And we'll only need one room."
"Lux!" Etta gasped, her fair skin suddenly blushing furiously.
"What?" Demarco laughed. "They don't mind."
"Consenting adults, girlfriends," Aadi grinned.
"So, we're going to look around the place," Demarco said. "Then we'll grab our things and get settled in. Cool?"
"Cool," Aadi said. "Lunch is at noon. I'm making veggie pasta salad."
"You've been warned," Jordan said.
"Everyone loves my veggie pasta salad," Aadi said, as the couple disappeared inside.
"Checking the perimeter?" Etta said softly.
"Yeah," Demarco nodded. "I want to know what we're dealing with, if we have to defend this place."
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"We've got a room all ready for you," Lilah McGee said. "Marty has been puttering around putting the finishing touches on things, and Arthur is thrilled to see his little cousin."
"Thanks for making a place of us," Abbey said.
"Don't think twice about it," Lilah said. "The pack looks after its own."
"Always," Jake nodded.
"Are you staying for dinner, Jake?" Lilah asked.
"No, thanks, I need to get back," Jake sighed. "I swear, I can't leave the Mill for a day without something coming up."
"The burdens of leadership," Lilah smiled.
The burdens of leadership. That's what Kristopher had always called being pack leader... a burden and a privilege. Now, Jake's burden and privilege. He sighed. He was doing his best.
Lilah would look after Abbey and Amber. Aadi, Jordan and Mill Lane couldn't ask for better than Demarco and Etta, if Jake couldn't do it himself. It still rankled a bit, having to leave the house... his house... to be guarded by others, and Wildfangs at that. The burdens of leadership.
Lost in thought, he almost missed it. A familiar scent, buried under the stinks of Evergreen Harbor, but there, nonetheless.
Well, he thought, isn't that interesting. Better to say nothing. Better to go and leave what hasn't been seen remain unseen. What hasn't been said, remain unsaid.
When the time came, he would be ready.
Moonwood Mill looks after its own.
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Author's note: It's. A. Fake. :)
