Hyena Moon by Jeanette Battista Read Free Book Online

nodded.
    Bomani agreed. "She's marshaling her forces. She'll attack when she thinks she has enough hyenas that she can't lose."
    "We can't fight the numbers that she can bring." Masud looked at Kess.
    "Do we have a count?"
    Bomani shook his head. "A rough estimate at best and that is probably out of date now." He paused, as though debating if he should put sound to his next thought. "But we have access to someone who may know more."
    Kess cocked her head, thinking about what the older wereleopard was suggesting. She'd told Rafe that she wasn't going to press him for details about his mother or her plans and she didn't want to. But she owed it to her clan to do everything she could to protect them. She wasn't sure how to balance both. She was gaining a new respect for Alaric—if this was what being an Alpha was like--even if her clan didn't call her that--she didn't know how he did it. How were you supposed to balance your own personal promises with what was best for the clan?
    Kess avoided answering Bomani's unspoken question. "We're going to need to have a meeting with everyone."
    The clan counselor frowned, but held his tongue. There was a lot he clearly didn't agree with her on, but he did respect her authority. At least until he felt the need to put a hit out on her, like he did her brother, she thought sourly. "We can't do it here. Find one of the clan who's willing to host. I don’t want to risk anyone overhearing something they shouldn't." She looked at Bomani when she said this.
    He bowed his head in acknowledgement, content to let the matter rest. Masud said, "I'll set it up. Is there anything else you need?"
    "No. Just the meeting. Thank you." She watched as the two men filed out, then lowered herself into the chair behind the desk. Kess wondered, and not for the first time, what she'd gotten herself into.
     
     
    **********
     
     
    Kess waited for the guys to get settled. They were all in the library which had turned into their default meeting area since they'd been here. She didn't like meeting in the office; it felt way too formal and it never really felt like hers anyway. There were too many reminders of her brother and her father for her to feel comfortable there. She needed to redecorate it into something more uniquely hers, but that would have to wait until after she'd dealt with the hyena threat.
    Cormac sat in the chair closest to hers, while Finn slumped into a wingback across the room. Kess tucked her feet underneath her, knowing that she probably would be pacing before too long. Movement helped her think.
    "So what's up? I'm missing quality pool time." Finn's voice was lazy, but Kess noticed his eyes were alert. He may feign indifference, but Kess had learned that not much got past Finn if he didn't want it to.
    "Sorry to disturb your plans for the day," she began, "but I need your big brains to help me figure some things out."
    Cormac was leaning forward, forearms braced against his knees. "Let's hear it."
    She took a deep breath. "I've been thinking a lot about the problem with the borders here in Miami and the more I think about it, the more I realize that it's stupid to try and keep everyone out." She paused, waiting for either of them to say something. When they didn't, she plowed on. "So what if I just stop trying?"
    She looked at each of them in turn. Cormac looked thoughtful, as if this were a particularly knotty word problem on a test he had to solve. Finn's brows were drawn down in a half-scowl, like he was trying to make sense of what she was proposing. "Stop trying to do what exactly?"
    "Stop trying to keep the borders secure. What if I just open Miami up to any were interested in coming here?" Kess got up from her chair and began her circuit around the room. She found it hard to sit still when they were going to end up discussing the future of her people.
    She saw Cormac's eyes following her progress. "What will that mean for you and your clan?"
    That was the problem. "I'm not sure. I