Things had gone to hell again in a matter of weeks.

No one had been kidnapped and offices hadn’t been destroyed. There had been no bodily threatening of anyone.

No, this kind of hell was on the personal level, the we’re overworked and stretched thin kind of hell, while also trying to get into a new routine as a family of five again.

Devon was truly in a bind. After promising to take the day off and spend it with the kids, he got a call from the hospital and there was no way he could get out of it. The on-call doctor was dealing with another emergency and no one else was available.

He would have had no problem leaving the kids with Carolline, they loved her, but she had been called away a couple days ago down to Denver, something he hadn’t realized she did on a regular basis. She wasn’t expected back for a few more days.

His parents weren’t available either. They’d decided to take an impromptu trip to see Dallas and Kacie after Dallas called to confirm that, yes, they were expecting. Devon hadn’t been surprised in the least. Neither had his parents, but they were overjoyed at the prospect of another set of tiny feet and had beat it down to Cascade as quickly as their car could legally go.

There was no one else that could help him out, and it was just his luck that Philip and Tracey were back in town. He really had no other option.

Pulling out his phone, he found his way to his recent contacts. At the top of the list was Philip’s number. He hesitated for a second before tapping on his name. It rang once before Philip’s deep voice came over the line.

“Devon. I didn’t think we’d be hearing from you today.”

“Hey, Philip. I have a favor to ask.”

“Of course,” he replied instantly with barely restrained excitement in his voice.

“I’ve been called into work and I need someone to watch the kids for a bit. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours, I hope. There’s an emergency at the hospital and my parents are out of town.”

Devon heard rustling on the other end of the line. He assumed it was Philip grabbing his wallet and keys. There was muffled talking and then the other man was back on the line.

“We’ll be over as soon as possible.” The words were followed by a sudden click.

True to his word, Philip pulled into the driveway a mere ten minutes later.

While he could, Devon turned to the kids and kissed them each. “Be good for your grandparents.”

Marcus, who still wasn’t a fan of the Jordans, nodded solemnly. “I’ll keep an eye on them, Dad.”

Devon heaved a huge internal sigh before he ruffled his son’s hair. “I know you will. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Okay, Papa,” Tabitha replied, breaking away from him and skipping to the front door. Before there was even a knock, she swung it open. “Hello, Grandfather and Grandmother. I’m so happy you can come and watch us.”

“Well, hello there pumpkin,” Philip replied with a grin. “I’m happy your dad called us to help out. I wouldn’t miss the chance to watch my favorite grandkids.”

“We’re your only grandchildren,” she huffed.

Philip laughed and came into the living room, followed by Tracey. The woman had a frown on her face, as usual. Devon didn’t think a day went by without that look on her face. If she ever did smile, he would think the world was coming to an end.

Devon wished the woman would embrace the kids like her husband did, but deep down he knew it wouldn’t happen. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to worry about that just now. Not if he wanted to get to the hospital, finish what he needed to get done, and then get home as soon as possible.

“Okay,” Devon said while moving to his office to grab his wallet and hospital badge. “You have my number. Call me if anything comes up or there are any issues.”

“We’ll be fine,” Philip replied. He settled on the couch with Tabitha next to him, grabbing a book sitting on the side table. Seb crawled up on the other side of him.

“We fine,” Seb chirped.

Devon hesitated a moment at the front door. “But, still, if you need anything just call me.”

“We’ll be fine, Devon,” Tracey spoke up for the first time. “I’m sure we can keep the children entertained and out of trouble. We did raise one child already.”

Devon glanced in her direction and saw her arched eyebrow. The small smirk on her face. A silent challenge, in his opinion, to argue differently. It also served as a quick and painful reminder that their daughter was no longer there.

“Right,” he replied. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Take your time if you need to.” Philip smiled in his direction.

Devon wanted to feel relief at leaving the kids, and he did, a little bit, but there was a part of him that couldn’t let go of the thought that this was a bad idea. He wasn’t ready to leave them with the Jordan’s, but he really had no choice.

Marcus watched from a distance as Mr. Jordan read to his younger brother and sister. He was torn on what to do. He liked the man better than when he’d first met him…he liked him a lot better than he liked Mrs. Jordan...and he wanted to sit down and listen to the story, but Mrs. Jordan gave him an uneasy feeling. Being near her made him restless inside. Something pulling at his guts, almost like he wanted to run down the street and get sick all at the same time. At times his head buzzed and his body ached. He wanted to talk to his dad about it, but it wasn’t the right time. He knew his dad was worried about what happened to them weeks ago.

Then there was Carolline. At first, he didn’t like her. Well, he didn’t want to like her and he’d tried hard not to. But she’d saved them. It was hard not to like someone who saved you. And who was so nice and didn’t pressure you to make you call her mom or act like your mother didn’t exist. Then there was the weird coincidence of her being his dad’s mate. He didn’t know how to feel about that. Did that mean his mom wasn’t meant to be with his dad? Were they not supposed to find each other and be together forever? That’s what they taught in school. What the other kids talked about, even at his age. He wasn’t so sure they were right anymore.

Mrs. Jordan stood abruptly from her chair and moved toward Sebastian. Before Marcus could say anything, she grabbed Seb up, lifting him up onto her hip.

“Okay kids, let’s go,” she snapped and then wrapped her hand around Tabitha’s upper arm.

The second Mrs. Jordan touched Tabitha, Marcus felt sick. His skin felt hot all over. His chest started to ache. His mouth watered and his gums hurt. Distantly he heard a low, quiet rumble. It reminded him of his dad, but it wasn’t as deep or comforting.

Mrs. Jordan’s narrowed gaze turned toward him. “You little abomination,” she hissed. “Don’t you growl at me.” Marcus stepped back on instinct. The hatred in her voice was something he wasn’t familiar with.

“Tracey,” Mr. Jordan barked. “Let them go.”

“No, Philip. This is our chance.”

“Absolutely not.” Mr. Jordan reached for Tabitha, but she yanked her out of reach. It was lucky for Marcus that Mrs. Jordan pulled her closer to him. He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it lightly.

The argument between his grandparents pulled his attention again.

“We talked about this, Philip. We can take the kids and they won’t know for hours. By the time they figure it out, we’ll be long gone.”

Mr. Jordan shook his head. “You can’t be serious. We had that conversation years ago. It was so soon after Sasha’s death, I thought you were just venting your anger and frustration.”

“My anger and frustration?” Disbelief bled through her voice. “If it hadn’t been for him, we never would have lost her in the first place. You think I could ever forgive that? Now I’m taking what is left of my daughter in the form of her children.”

“And what? Locking them away from their father for the rest of their lives? That’s crazy, Tracey. What we have right now is perfect. He’s letting us be part of their lives after banning him from our home and ignoring them for years. We get to see them grow up and get to know the man our daughter loved.”

“Loved,” she said with disgust. “She didn’t love him. She was infatuated with him. She would have gotten over it if he hadn’t smooth talked his way into her bed and gotten her pregnant.”

Mr. Jordan reached for Sebastian, slipping his hands over his ears. Marcus thought that was a waste of time. His brother probably wouldn’t understand much of what they were saying anyway. Not with the way he was trying to wiggle out of Mrs. Jordan’s arms.

“Stop moving,” she growled and let go of Tabitha’s arm to try and make Seb stay still. Marcus pulled his sister behind him. He hoped Mr. Jordan would be able to coax his brother from Mrs. Jordan.

“Tracey, you need to stop whatever it is going through your head.” Marcus watched as Mr. Jordan moved closer to his wife.

“She was going to leave him, Philip. She was going to leave him and take the children away, and this is the perfect opportunity to do what we had planned. We can give the children a new life. A fresh start away from shifters. They can live like humans!”

Mr. Jordan inched his hands down onto Sebastian’s shoulders and then his arms as he talked. “But they could be shifters, Tracey. Just look at Marcus.”

Marcus flinched at the mention of his name. Mrs. Jordan turned his way and when she did, Mr. Jordan pulled Seb from her arms.

Mrs. Jordan twisted around again to stare angrily at her husband. “Give him back to me, Philip.”

“No. We aren’t doing this. I won’t allow you to.”

Mrs. Jordan screamed in frustration and lunged at her husband. He had enough sense and was quick enough to set Seb on the ground before Tracey tackled him. She swung at him with closed fists.

“You aren’t stopping me. I always knew you were weak.” In a move Marcus had only seen done on TV, Mrs. Jordan reached for the vase on the side table and smashed it against Mr. Jordan’s head. His body went limp and he crumpled to the ground. Marcus felt panic set in at the sight.

Against his will, his instincts set in. His heart began to race out of control, as the kidnapping flashed through his mind. How he couldn’t protect his brother and sister then. The only thing that saved them was Carolline, but she wasn’t here. Neither was his dad or his uncle or his grandparents. He was the only one that could stop her. He needed to protect them. He couldn’t let Tracey take them. She hurt her husband, someone she was supposed to love, what would she do to them? She didn’t love them. He didn’t even think she liked them that much.

Sebastian scrambled over to where he stood with their sister. Tabitha grabbed Seb’s hand and tugged him closer. They inched their way toward the front door while Tracey was preoccupied. He hoped they could make it out and run to the neighbor’s house before she even knew they were missing.

When she turned their way with an evil grin on her face, he knew they wouldn’t make it out.