The Blackhawk helicopter was a lot more comfortable in Edward’s opinion than the Russian Ka-62 that he’d first flown in when he left Aklark lands to become Kimberly’s mate. Part of it, of course, was that the cargo compartment of the chopper had been temporarily outfitted to fit his massive frame, with a padded reclining seat as well as food, drinks, and other things. It wasn’t quite as comfortable as riding in the Hummer, but when the added speed was factored in, he liked it pretty well.

“How’re you doing up there?” Edward asked Magnus, who’d been piloting the helicopter the whole time. “Feeling good?”

“Feeling good,” Magnus said over his headset. “It’s a straight shot, we’ve got good weather, and I’ve already talked with the airfield up in Kenai territory. They’re expecting us. We’ve got an ETA of about twenty minutes.”

“Great,” Edward replied, chewing on a turkey sandwich. “Hey, question. You said your father was a relatively high-ranking member of his clan, but then he mated with a regular woman. How’d that affect him?”

“If you’re asking if your children are going to have the same problems, no chance in hell,” Magnus replied with a light growl. “I expect you’re going to have two ass-kickers on your hands in a decade or two. I know your rep, and I know the Waldwycks. As for me, my father lost his shot at being an Alpha himself. It really pushed him down the social ladder in that clan. I don’t think he ever regretted it. He loved Mom very much. He didn’t like losing status, but other than that, he did just fine until he passed away.”

“How old are you, anyway?” Edward asked. “I mean, you look like you’re about the same age as me, but let’s be honest—that’s no help.”

Magnus laughed, shaking his head. It was a fact of life among Aklark and Lycans that appearance was hardly an indicator of age. Magnus still got carded sometimes when he went to bars. “I’m older than your mate. I turn forty-five in January. Meh, not too bad really. I still have a good sixty years or so left. What about you?”

“Thirty-eight now. The Aklark are a lot like you Lycans. We age slower than humans. Have you read up on the Aklark?”

“Just what’s in the public database,” Magnus replied. “No offense, Edward, but I figure your people have their ways, and unless they’re directly impacting my life, I’m not going to poke around too much. I’ve got enough on my plate handling Lockwood business.”

“Well, I might need you to get smart on Aklark ways if this takes more than a day or two,” Edward said. “There’s a lot of what you might call internal tribal stuff. I can maneuver that pretty well. I might need you to talk with the Kenai, although I know a lot of them decently well. We’ll talk about it as it happens.”

They landed soon afterward, Edward climbing out of the side of the helicopter to see Peter Alces, the Alpha of Clan Kenai, come out of the control building. Edward raised his hand in greeting, stopping when he saw how pale Peter looked. After the slaughter of his Alpha Male and Female at the manor attack, Peter had been elected Alpha of Clan Kenai, and Edward thought he’d been doing well. Now, though . . . “Lord Kenai, it’s been too long.”

“Cut the crap Edward. I’m still just Peter . . . unless you want me to spend the entire visit calling you Lord Stormstout,” Peter said, his voice sounding raspy. Still, he tried to force a smile until he winced as Edward and he shook hands. “I see living in the city hasn’t made you weaker.”

“Peter, this is Magnus Fiachan,” Edward said, introducing the Lockwood Lycan in the formal style, first and last name. “He’s my pilot, and with your permission, I’d like him to tag along with me while I have a visit with my family.”

“Of course. You’re well met, Magnus Fiachan,” Peter said, offering his hand. “May your time in the Kenai territory be peaceful and pleasant.”

“Thank you, Lord Kenai,” Magnus replied, not wanting to violate any Lycan protocols. He hadn’t been invited to use Peter’s first name, and as a lower-ranked Lycan, he would risk causing an incident if he did. “I am honored to be invited.”

“Peter. A year and a half ago, I was probably lower in rank than you are,” Peter said, his voice still weak. He turned and coughed into his hand, making Edward lift his eyebrow in surprise. “I know, bad timing. Seems to be something pretty nasty going around, and with the stress of the job, I’m a bit worn down. Remember, Edward, I wasn’t born to be an Alpha. I just took over when I had to. I’d be a lot happier running the auto repair shop for my day job like I was.”

“That attack put us all on different paths,” Edward said thoughtfully. “If it hadn’t been for that, I’d still be pulling trees out of the woods.”

“Most likely with your . . . ahem . . . bare hands,” Peter joked lightly, his voice still not that strong. “Well, I’d offer you an escort, but since you know the territory . . .”

“A truck is all we really need,” Edward finished, giving Peter a half-smile. “It was half the reason I wanted to come up. I missed driving the old roads.”

“What was the other half?” Peter asked, and Edward patted his jeans. “Denim?”

“You realize how rarely I get to wear this stuff in the city?” Edward asked with a laugh. “I like the combat boots, but I miss the denim. It’ll be nice to wear it again.”

“Where are you staying?” Peter asked. “I’ll make sure your bags are delivered.”

“Oh, we’ll stay at my old place. Last time I talked with Dad, he said that it’s still mine,” Edward said lightly. “We’ll just throw them into the back of my pickup. You were able to bring it, right?”

“Tuned up and waiting for you,” Peter reassured them, waiting as Magnus grabbed the three duffel bags out of the Blackhawk. “Whoa, what’s this?”

“Brought some goodies from the city too,” Edward said, opening the black bag that Magnus handed him and taking out a few wrapped packages for Peter. “Nothing much, but I thought maybe you’d be able to appreciate some stuff. I won’t insult you with steaks or anything—you have better than I do right now—but if your people check out the cargo area, there’s another few boxes that Kim said I should bring up for you. The Kenai ladies should be feeling quite beautiful after what Kim insisted I bring. Hope your males have been staying in shape.”

“I’ll be glad to accept it,” Peter said with a light laugh, but still, he looked distracted. “Anything for the Aklark?”

“Of course. The boxes are marked,” Edward replied. “I’ll have Dad send someone to pick up the things for the Aklark. In the meantime, we should get going.”

The truck was familiar to Edward, and as he settled behind the steering wheel, he looked over at Magnus. “Thoughts?”

“That was weird,” Magnus said as Edward started the truck and pulled away. “And that line about him being sick, unprepared for the job . . . that’s bullshit.”

“What do you mean?” Edward asked. “You don’t think he’s under stress?”

“I know he is,” Magnus replied. “But I also had to study Peter’s bloodlines when there was the issue of Kenai succession. He’s got stronger bloodlines than most Lycans, and while I wouldn’t compare them to, say, those of Lady Thornblood, there’s no reason he should be getting worn down by the job. The Kenai aren’t a high-stress clan.”

Edward nodded. “The Kenai don’t have a lot of the political problems the other clans have. Let’s face it, they’re pretty isolated up here, with no other big clans around for hundreds of miles.”

“Which means being the Kenai Alpha is a pretty easy job compared to some,” Magnus replied. “No offense to Peter, but I’m pretty sure I could to the job if I had to.”

“You probably could,” Edward said. They pulled away from the heliport, driving toward the main portion of town. “I’d give you the tour of town, but there isn’t much to it. First, though, let’s go down to the diner. It’s sort of the social hub of the Aklark and Kenai communities in the area.”

The drive was short, and when Magnus got out of the truck, he could see that it was just as rural as he’d expected. The container diner certainly looked like it’d just been dropped in the middle of the dirt parking lot, and as he zipped up the light flight jacket that he’d worn, he kept his thoughts to himself. Edward, however, had grown up around the area, and as he looked around the area, he inhaled deeply, filling his chest with the scents of home. “It’s not much,” he admitted in a wondering voice, “but it’s home.”

“It’s got a certain charm,” Magnus said uncertainly. “I mean, you definitely don’t have any problems with pollution. And let’s be honest, monthly changes have to be a lot easier for the Kenai than for the Lockwoods.”

“Come on. I’m sure my father will be here. If not, my mother is the main cook,” Edward said with a laugh. “We’ll see if we can fill that Lycan belly of yours.”

Magnus followed Edward inside, his nose crinkling as they walked through the door. Honestly, he thought, it didn’t smell all that good in the diner. There was a slight burned odor in the air, and there weren’t a lot of customers inside.

However, there was one man whom Magnus identified immediately, Ben Stormstout. Not only did he share a lot of traits with his son, but Magnus had seen the man before when he’d come to the Lockwood Manor for the mating of his son and Kimberly. Magnus doubted if Ben remembered him, though. He was the sort of man who didn’t pay attention to underlings.

“Dad!” Edward said, approaching his father with restrained happiness. Magnus could see Edward’s eyes flicker around. Things obviously weren’t right. Not that Edward was going to say anything at the moment.

“Edward, it’s good to see you!” Ben Stormstout said, getting off the stool that he was perched on and approaching his son. Magnus had to do a double-take, almost, as Edward looked nearly dwarfed by his father who, despite appearing middle-aged and going to a bit of spread in the gut and ass, was still a good three inches taller and perhaps a hundred pounds heavier than his son.

The two embraced, the force of their claps on each other’s back nearly physical in the air itself. Edward was barely fazed, though, as he turned and indicated Magnus. “Dad, this is Magnus Fiachan, from Clan Lockwood. Magnus, this is my father, Ben Stormstout. Just Ben.”

“Ben, it’s a pleasure,” Magnus said, offering his hand. “Thank you for having me here.”

“Well, when Edward here explained why my daughter-in-law couldn’t travel, I totally understood,” Ben said in a wide grin that Magnus didn’t trust right from the start. He remembered what Kim had called Ben, a smiler and a backslapper, but a politician. He reminded himself to watch his words around him. “So you’re Kimberly’s secretary?”

“I prefer the term chief coffee fetcher, but sure,” Magnus said with a self-effacing smirk. Let the cocky older man think what he wanted. Magnus would be perfectly happy being underestimated. “I just do my best to help her with the office work.”

“Magnus has been an important assistant to not just Kimberly, but to Keith and to Barwulf before them,” Edward interjected, boosting Magnus up. “He’s just the sort who never takes any credit for himself.”

“Well met, and enjoy your visit,” Ben said, squeezing Magnus’s hand until he thought his bones would break before relenting and turning to his son. “Although I’m still not sure what brings you up here, Edward.”

“A couple of concerns on the herbal tea supply mostly, Dad, although I wanted to get reacquainted with the homelands before bringing the little ones up, hopefully soon,” Edward replied. “Actually, Dad, I’m kinda glad I did. Peter’s looking like he’s come down with a cold, and to be blunt . . . this place looks a little under standard.”

“Your mother’s come down with something too,” Edward said, shaking his head. “Whatever version of the common cold that’s coming through, it’s kicking a lot of butts right now. Seems to be affecting us more than . . . well, them. Still, the diner’s not too bad. We’ve got some new people running the back, and they just need to cover the gaps while your mother’s ill.”

Ben ordered some food for all of them, and while Magnus thought it wasn’t the worst patty melt he’d ever eaten, it certainly wasn’t as good as the near-mythical stew that Keith and Kim had eaten for their first visit to the diner. During the whole meal, Edward and Ben talked, and Magnus took a seat a few stools down near the end, listening without interrupting.

The more Ben talked, the less Magnus trusted him. He didn’t know what, exactly, it was about him. It wasn’t that anything he was saying was a clear lie on the surface. If he had to say, it was more the space between the words, if that made any sense at all.

After the meal, Edward and Magnus left after shaking hands with Ben again, grins and back slaps all around. Outside, the air was cool to Magnus as he inhaled the clean air. “Well?”

“Let’s go to Container Village,” Edward said simply, heading for the truck. He started it up, and as they drove, Magnus kept his silence. Finally, after about a half mile, Edward slowed down, not pulling off the road but giving them more time. “He’s full of shit.”

“I know that,” Magnus deadpanned, smirking. “But you might want to fill me in on more. I don’t know him like you do.”

“I can’t put my finger on it just yet,” Edward admitted, sighing. “I’m going to need your help more than I thought, Magnus. When we get to Container Village, I’m going to split off from you. You memorized the map I gave you, right?”

“I’ve got it in my pocket too,” Magnus said, pulling out his cellphone. “What do you want me to do?”

“Go around and see what there is to see. You’re Lycan, so I don’t expect a lot of people to open up to you too much, but you’ve got two good eyes and two sharp ears. Meet me back at my place right around sunset. I’m going to check out a few other of the operations. If you want a starting point, go to the greenhouses where the herbal teas are grown. Nobody would be surprised to find a Lockwood Lycan there. I’ll be up with the loggers at first. That was my last job.”

“Deal,” Magnus said, looking out as Edward turned off the main road, heading down a well-paved but certainly private road. It wound through the trees for about a quarter mile before opening up into a clearing that had nearly thirty metal shipping containers arranged in neat rows like a trailer park.

Edward drove in and pulled over to the fifth container on the right, parking in front of it and shutting off the engine. “Welcome to Container Village.”