Where Dad was on the board. "Aren't you sick of him controlling every aspect of your life?"
"I'm happy with my life. And in case you didn't notice, Dad doesn't control everything I do. He has no idea I'm helping these boys."
"You're not helping them. You're enabling them."
"What?" She poured the eggs into the frying pan. "I gave them a home."
"They're doing nothing, Bryn. They should be finishing school, getting jobs."
"The only jobs around here are on ranches that are either owned by Dad or someone he controls. The boys are stuck."
"As long as they're here, yes. They need to leave."
Bryn gasped. "You would kick them out?"
"No." He drank some coffee. "I'll think of something."
"Like being their pack master?" She gave him a hopeful look. "They need a father figure. They need you."
He began to pace. The last thing he wanted was to act like a father.
He had wanted to go away to college, but his father hadn't seen any point in a higher education. Dad had every detail of his life already mapped out - the ranches he would run, the female werewolf he would marry, and his eventual ascension to the role of Supreme Pack Master in about three hundred years. All the wealth and power would be his, if he could just behave himself and do as his father said for a few centuries.
Maybe it was time for a change. Roman Draganesti had revolutionized the Vampire World when he'd invented synthetic blood. Modern Vamps, no longer shackled with the need to feed every night, were now engaging in careers in science, business, entertainment, whatever they wanted.
Maybe it was time for a similar revolution in the Lycan World. He'd broken free from the pack and all the old traditions and restraints. Maybe these boys could do it, too.
Phil spent the day preparing for the battle that night. He borrowed Brynley's car and drove to the nearest town, where he purchased more clothes and bottled blood for Vanda and more ammo for himself. It occurred to him that she might need more than a whip for protection, so he bought her a handgun plus a hunting knife with a sheath she could strap to her calf. And if anything happened to him, and she ended up on her own, she would need a cell phone to help her teleport.
On the drive back to the cabin, he charged his cell phone and Vanda's new one. Then, at the cabin, he downloaded all the contact numbers from his phone onto hers.
He heard the boys outside and peered out the window. They'd divided into two teams and were playing touch football in the meadow.
He stepped onto the porch.
Brynley was sitting in the rocking chair, creaking it slowly back and forth. "So are you really going to fight in that battle tonight?"
"Yes. I'm leaving Vanda here. I'd appreciate your help in keeping her safe."
Bryn nodded. "I can do that."
Phil leaned against a post. "How long can you stay? Don't you have a teaching job you need to get back to?"
She frowned. "Dad didn't want me to work. He thought it was beneath me."
Phil shook his head. "I know a school that would love to hire you. The boys could go there, too, and live on campus."
Her eyes widened. "Where?"
"The location is kept a secret 'cause the students are...different. Some are mortal children who know too much, some are half-vampire children with special powers, and others are were-panthers. I think these boys would fit right in."
She frowned. "I don't know. It sounds so far removed from the Lycan World."
"They can't have a life in the Lycan World, Bryn. They were banished. There's no going back."
"Hey, Mr. Jones." The youngest boy jogged up to the porch. "You want to play?"
"Sorry, Gavin. I need to conserve my energy."
"I told you he wouldn't," Davy grumbled. "He doesn't want anything to do with us."
Phil frowned. "That's not true."
"You refused to be our master!" Davy shouted.
Phil shot his sister an annoyed look.
She shrugged. "They wanted to know. What else could I tell them?"
"I said I would help them." Phil turned to the boys, who were clumped together in the pasture, watching him with injured expressions. "Okay, listen up. You were all banished because you challenged the authority of your masters, right?"
Davy lifted his chin. "So? You got a problem with that?"
"We wouldn't challenge you," Gavin insisted, his eyes pleading. "We think you're totally awesome."
The boys all murmured in agreement.
"Is it true you went Alpha without a pack?" a redheaded boy named Griffin asked.
"Yes." Phil held up his hands to quiet the boys, who were growing too excited. "Look. There's a good reason why you challenged your masters. It's because you all have natural leadership abilities. Each one of you has the strength, courage, and intelligence it takes to be a pack master, and your masters knew it. You're their worst nightmare - young Alphas in the making. The only way they could keep control was to get rid of you."
"Yeah, so we're tough," Davy growled. "We already knew that."
Phil smiled. "I'm sure you do. You also have the confidence it takes to be a leader. But consider how the Lycan World is set up now. With Alphas in charge who can live to be five hundred years old, how can someone like you become the leaders you were born to be? You're a threat to the leaders in power now, so they kicked you out. And all that's left in the Lycan World are the wimps and weaklings who are happy to submit. Over time the Lycan World will become weak and ineffectual because they rejected the strongest and fiercest of their youth."
"That sucks," Griffin mumbled.
"Do you know why I don't want to be your master? Because you would accept me, and it would hold you back. Each one of you has the potential of becoming Alpha, and I intend to help you achieve it."
The boys gasped.
"We could be like you?" Gavin asked.
"But there can only be one Alpha in a pack," Davy protested.
"According to the old rules, yes," Phil said. "But the old ways rejected you. Why should you follow them? Why should you accept being less than you can be?"
Gavin stepped forward. "I want to be an Alpha."
"You can do it." Phil looked each boy in the face. "You can all do it. I know a school where you can go."
"School?" Davy wrinkled his nose. "Who needs school?"
"You do. You need a high school diploma at the very least," Phil explained. "And then you'll be free to follow whatever aspirations you might have."
Davy snorted. "I want to kick ass."
Phil smiled. "I know the perfect place for you. It's a security and investigation company that would hire you in a second. But you'll have to learn how to fight."
"We know how to fight." Griffin elbowed the boy beside him, who pushed him back.
"You'll have to become experts in firearms, martial arts, and fencing. There's an enemy out there that wants to take over the world, and they tend to fight with swords."
"Cool," Davy said.
Phil snorted. "This is not like a hunt. You'll be up against a foe that actually fights back."
"Awesome," Griffin whispered.
Phil gave him a stern look. "They fight to the death. They're an evil group of vampires we call the Malcontents. They have super speed and strength."
"So do we," Davy insisted. "We can take them on."
Phil smiled. "I'm sure you can. But first you have to be trained. Each one of you can achieve Alpha. Take that power. Seize it and make it your own. Together, we can change the outcome of this war. We can save the mortal world. We can defeat evil. What do you say?"
The boys cheered.
Brynley leaned close to him and whispered, "If you get one of them killed, I'm going to be royally pissed."
He gave her a wry look. "Why don't you come work at the school, then you can watch over them?"
"Dad would never allow it."
"You're twenty-seven, Bryn. Time to break free."
She sighed. "I'll think about it."
"I'll leave you the number for Shanna Draganesti," Phil said. "She's in charge of the school. If anything happens to me, call her and get the boys enrolled."
Brynley scowled. "Don't you dare get yourself killed."
"I don't intend to."
CHAPTER 22
Early that evening, Phil had just finished eating one of the two dozen hamburgers Brynley had cooked for supper when his phone rang.
"Are ye feeling up to a fight, lad?" Connor asked.
"I'm ready." Phil glanced out the window. It felt strange to hear Connor's voice while the sun was still shining.
"Good. We need every available man. We doona want to be outnumbered like that fiasco in New Orleans."
"Did you get the tracking device implanted in Sigismund?"
"Aye. And we let the bastard escape. So far, he's gone to the Russian coven in Brooklyn."
"Do you think Robby could be there?" Phil asked.
"Nay. Sean Whelan has the place bugged and his team watching it. There's been no mention of Robby's whereabouts. Or Casimir's either. We think Sigismund is biding his time, waiting for nightfall in the West before he moves. Och, wait a minute..."
Phil could hear Connor discussing something with Howard.
"He just made a big jump on the radar. He must have teleported. Do ye have a fix on him, Howard?"
"Chicago," Howard answered with his booming voice.
"Good," Connor said. "Phil, as soon as the sun sets in yer location, I want ye to call Phineas. He'll pick you up. By then we should know where Sigismund has stopped, and we'll be gathering there to attack."
"Will do." Phil hung up. He drummed his fingers on the table. It would be another hour or two before the sun set in western Wyoming.
As soon as night fell, Phil jumped into the cellar to see Vanda. He heard her first gasping breath as she came back to life. "Hey, sweetheart."
She sat up. "What's going on?"
"I have to leave soon. Phineas will come to get me."
She rose to her feet. "Then the battle is tonight?"
"Yes. I bought you some weapons today, just in case, and a cell phone so you can teleport. I want you to know you can stay here as long as you like. If anything happens to me - "
"No!" She dashed toward him at vampire speed and threw her arms around his neck. "Nothing's going to happen to you."
He held her tight. "I love you, Vanda."
"I feel the same way about you," she whispered. "I know you have a great future ahead of you."
He started to kiss her, but she jumped back.
"I need to eat." She levitated up to the ground floor.
He jumped through the opening and shut the trap door. Vanda was already pulling a bottle of synthetic blood from the ice chest. Brynley was standing by the kitchen table, where he'd left his weapons. He embraced her, then strapped on a shoulder holster and inserted his handgun.
He picked up his cell phone and called Phineas.
Within seconds the young Vamp was there. "Yo, wolf-bro." He shared a knuckle pound with Phil. Then he noticed Vanda and winced. "Oops, hope I didn't blow the big secret."
"She knows." Phil looked at Vanda and smiled. "She loves me the way I am."
Vanda smiled back. "Yes, I do."
"This is my sister, Brynley." Phil motioned to her.
"Whoa, a lady wolf. Dr. Phang at your service." Phineas shook her hand.
Phil noticed the boys on the front porch, peering through the windows. "And this is the young wolf pack. Future employees of MacKay S & I."
"Excellent." Phineas waved at the boys. "Looking good, dudes."
Vanda approached the kitchen table, sipping from her bottle of blood. "Phineas, how is Dougal?"
"He's okay. He's learning how to fence with his left hand." Phineas frowned. "He insisted on coming to the battle tonight, and Angus let him. Angus is worried about us being outnumbered, but we have more than seventy Vamps there now."
"Where?" Phil asked.
"A campground just south of Mount Rushmore," Phineas said. "Are you ready?"
"Yes." Phil gave his sister a quick hug and Vanda a quick kiss. "Remember, I love you."
She nodded, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
"Let's go." Phil grabbed onto Phineas, and everything went black.
They landed in a small clearing next to a stream. The moon shone overhead, still full. It glittered on the gurgling water and reflected off large gray boulders. The air was fresh with the scent of pine.
"The campground is farther down this stream," Phineas whispered. "Come on, let's get you a sword." He led Phil upstream to a pile of boulders. Dougal was standing guard by a stash of weapons.
Phil greeted him quietly and clapped him on the back.
Dougal gave him a wry smile. "They doona trust me to fight yet, so this is my job."
"It's a damned important job," Phineas muttered. He selected a sword.
Phil picked one that felt good in his hand.
"Angus sent Ian to scout the campground," Dougal whispered.
"Ian's back from his honeymoon?" Phil asked.
Dougal nodded. "He and Toni came back when they heard about Robby. In fact, about every MacKay employee I've ever met is here."