Slowly, lunch came to be expected. As the kids came to trust me, I gave up the pretense of just having snacks, and between Ma and I, we had a full spread at the library Monday through Friday. I'd tried to bring up the idea of them going to the diner on the weekends, but Gideon had gathered the rest of the kids up and left half a meal when I'd pushed. They'd been back on Monday, a little wary, but I didn't bring it up again, and we'd settled into somewhat of a routine.

I had no question they were homeless and on their own. The others looked to Gideon whenever an uncertainty came up, though the two I guessed were about the same age as him, Bethany and Kaden, didn't always seem to agree with him. If they argued, they did so discreetly.

I was determined to do more for these kids than just provide them lunch. Ma had been pushing me for weeks to let her meet them, but I wasn't sure they were ready to trust more people. I wasn't sure how much they trusted me. But their clothes were only getting more ragged. They needed someone to take care of them; they deserved to be taken care of. I was hoping they'd let me be that person.

One of the girls, Lila, who I guessed to be about fourteen, was telling me about the series she'd just started reading—The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. I didn't want to stop her to tell her that was one of my favorite series, and the reason we had a copy was it was one of my first purchases as head librarian. Her words practically tripped over themselves in her eagerness to share with me. The kids came for a couple hours a day now, never checking out any books. A couple weeks ago, Kaden had asked what they needed to get a library card. The information was basic: name, address, phone number. He'd nodded and walked away. 

The library door opened behind me with a jingle of its bell, and I set down my sandwich and reached for a napkin to wipe my hands before greeting the new patron. I froze in the reference room door—just for a moment—astonished by the sheer size of the man who stood in front of me. Broad shoulders. Shaggy hair. A scar that ran from his right eyebrow to his left cheek. 

He was terrifying.

I could tell he was a shifter, a bear, from his scent, but overlaying that was the fresh scent of pine. Not like a car freshener, but actual pine woods. Alpha all the way. Even with his looming sense of power, I felt drawn to him in a way I couldn’t explain—it was if I already knew him. I had to keep myself from instinctively reaching out to brush my thoughts against this stranger’s mind. I did my best to walk calmly to my desk, but before I could take two steps, I was suddenly surrounded by a dozen, protectively bristling children. I tried to take a step through them, but Gideon gently pushed me back into the middle with a warning look.

"What do you want?" Gideon asked the giant. "Where's the rest of your pack?" There was a sense of animosity and derision I'd never heard in Gideon's voice. He'd never been anything but respectful to me, even when I'd upset him.

"I have come looking for you," the giant said. His voice was rough, but softer than I expected.

The kids raised their hands defensively, almost as one unit, like they knew what they were doing. My stomach sunk to my toes as I realized I might be completely out of my depth here. Exactly what was going on with these kids?

Gideon jerked his chin at the giant. "No shit. They surround the building? Waiting for us in case we try to escape?"

The big man shook his shaggy head slowly. "I am alone."

"He's telling the truth," one of the girls, Caite, whispered to Gideon. The muscles in Gideon's neck loosened slightly. 

I tried to push past the kids again, anger churning in my gut, fear shaking in my limbs. I didn't know who this guy was that my kids were so afraid, but there was no way he was going to touch any of them. Not while I was around, no matter how scared I was. If they would just... let... me...

I gave up trying to get through them. You'd think they were protecting me instead of the other way around. My voice was like steel as I said, "I don't know who you are, or what you want with these kids, but you need to get out of my library right now." My threat seemed empty. I wanted to add something like, "before I call the cops," but human cops wouldn't mean anything to this guy. And what else could I do? Threaten to sic the entire warren on him? I couldn't imagine a guy like him running for cover when a sea of rabbits swarmed toward him.

The man was silent. The kids were tense. My mind was racing, trying to think of what I could do if this guy decided he was going to... do whatever he was here to do. 

"I can't see the path I should take here," the giant rumbled. 

"The door is right behind you, bubba. Don't let it hit you on the way out."

The big man looked right into Theo's eyes. "I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"Oh, yeah?" Gideon said. "What did you do with the others? I'm sure you didn't hurt them."

Damnit, were there other kids in danger, too?

"Some of them have returned to their families, if it was safe to do so." The big man seemed unruffled by Gideon's aggression. "Some of them remain with the pack. We've been concerned about you."

"He shouldn't have been able to find us," one of the boys muttered. Adam, I thought, though I could only see him out of the corner of my eye.

The back and forth between the man and the kids was confusing. He wasn't acting like a predator; he wasn't getting upset or violent. But the children were definitely afraid of him.

"Look," I said. "Whatever it is you think you're here to do, right now isn't a good time. You should go."

The giant's eyes fell on me again, making me feel even more powerless, as if he saw something I didn't. Then without a word, he turned and left. The kids let me break through their protective wall this time and I locked the door to keep further interruptions out while we talked.

"What the he—heck is going on?" I caught myself before I cussed in front of the kids. My ma would have washed my mouth out with soap if she heard me, no matter that I was coming up on thirty years old. 

"He's a bad man."

"Their pack attacked us."

"They kidnapped the others."

"Quiet," Gideon snapped as voices tumbled over, mangling any individual story. The kids clamped their mouths shut at his command, heads tilting to bear necks or bowing slightly. "We can take care of him," Gideon told me.

Was he serious? That man could eat these kids for lunch. They'd be just a snack to him. 

"You don't need to take care of anything." I addressed Gideon directly, knowing he would be the one to convince. "I know you're in some kind of trouble, but you don't have to face it alone. I can help."

"You're just a bunny," one of the kids said. Gideon held up his hand for quiet. I didn't take offense. I was used to being underestimated as a rabbit. Getting upset about it was a waste of my time.

"But I'm an adult, and you're kids. I know you're not normal kids; it's clear you've had to deal with more than most kids your age, and you've grown up fast. But you shouldn't have to face this—any of this—on your own."

Gideon shook his head. "It's safer if we handle it ourselves. We don't want you to get involved."

"He's already involved, Gideon," Kaden said. He'd never spoken against Gideon before. "The seer knows he's connected to us. It's not safe for him to be alone now."

A flash of childlike confusion crossed Gideon's face, there and gone so fast I would have missed it if I hadn't been so intent on him. He was lost, a child with the responsibility of a man. 

"We can protect you, Mr. Theo!" Will said, and Gideon didn't hush him this time. The other children chimed in their agreement. "We'll protect Mr. Theo."

Gideon thought about it for a moment, his eyes closed. "Okay." He opened his eyes. "Half of us will stay with Mr. Theo. The rest will go gather up our stuff and meet here. We'll guard Mr. Theo on his way home and put up a perimeter at his house, find some shelter nearby."

Gideon's eyes dared me to challenge him. I would, but not yet. It sounded like he was planning on them camping outside, maybe set up some kind of guard rotation. Over my dead body. These kids were coming into my house and they were sleeping through the night. I might be a rabbit, but I had a backbone, and these kids were going to find out they couldn't scare me away.