Isabella let out a heavy breath as she collapsed into the armchair of the council chambers. As before, she was the last one to enter the room, and she could feel the curious gazes of the others on her. She did her best to ignore them as best she could. Jed, who had been looking down at a stack of papers on the table, finally glanced up and cleared his throat.

"Okay…now that everyone is here, I suppose we'd better get started."

His dark eyes darted down the table, meeting Isabella's.

"Ms. Connors, you messaged me that you initiated contact?"

Isabella gulped, a strange lump in her throat. When she finally spoke, her voice was oddly strained.

"Yes, I did."

There was a pause, as the others in the room all stared at her expectantly. Jedidiah raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" He prompted, "Your thoughts?"

Isabella shifted in her seat, heat rushing to her cheeks. She shook off the embarrassment and tried to compose herself.

"He's…strange." She began.

"Strange how?" Snapped Packard, and Isabella glared at him. Jedidiah shot Packard a reproachful look, before turning his gaze back to Isabella.

"Ms. Connors, if you could please explain?"

She nodded, "I…don't think he's human. Not fully anyways."

"What makes you say that?" Asked Thailor, her tone wasn't accusatory, she just seemed curious.

"Hard to say," said Isabella, worrying at her lip as she thought back to her interaction with the man. "There's just…something about him that doesn't make sense. There's a lot about him that doesn't make sense I guess, but the big thing is that…well…" She flushed once more and averted her gaze.

"He doesn't…smell…right."

"The hell does that mean?" Scoffed Packard,

"If you shut your mouth for five seconds and let the woman talk, you might get your answer," growled Brok in agitation.

Isabella nodded her thanks at the small dwarf.

"I don't know how to explain it," she continued. "He just…he doesn't smell like normal humans. Doesn't…feel like a normal human either. There's just a gravity around him. Like-like magic or something."

She'd said the wrong thing, as several individuals inhaled sharply, and Daiyo had shot out of his chair and was staring at her so intently that she could have sworn the man were trying to read her very mind through her eyes.

"You think he's a mage?" Asked Jed softly.

"No," she corrected quickly. "I just…I don't have any other way to describe it." She turned to the dwarf at her side, "Brok, did you ever meet with him? Notice anything similar?"

Brok grunted, and shook his head that he had not.

"I never met with the man personally, never even spoke to him. Emailed with someone a couple of times, but that was from someone at Mercury Shipping."

"If we have a mage running around…we might have no choice but eliminate him," Daiyo muttered, finally taking his harsh gaze from Isabella and sinking back into his chair.

"Because that isn't a gross overreaction at all," scoffed Kassandra. "Outright murder of the town's newest addition mere days after his arrival would spark suspicion. We have no need for the feds to find reason to begin sniffing around here again."

Packard snorted derisively, and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You make a mockery of things you do not understand boy," said Kassandra, her tone harsh and cold. It was a harsh contrast to her usually comforting and light-hearted manner of speaking.

"You all are paranoid old bats who see shadows where there is only moonlight," snapped Packard. "It's been over forty fucking years since the government even set foot here. They. Are. Not. Coming. Back. They wouldn't dare. Not with how powerful we've become."

Kassandra sighed, "If this is the future of Alex's family, then he truly has my pity."

Packard snarled. His head began to elongate, the beginnings of a snout appearing where his nose had been. However, before he could complete the transformation fully, Kassandra waved her hands, and Packard stopped moving entirely. A strange pressure descended on the room, like a heavy weight had begun pressing down on Isabella's shoulders. She watched in fascination as the potted plants marking the corners of the room sprang to life. Vines wrapped around Packard, throwing him to the ground and binding him in place. He tried to thrash and hack at the vines, but they're grip only grew tighter and tighter.

Slowly, Kassandra rose from her seat, her normally bright-green eyes were overwhelmed with a brilliant glow of bright white light.

"Do not mistake your presence on this council with your being my equal," she said haughtily. "And the only reason you continue to breathe right now, is out of respect for your father, and for the peace between the families. But mind your tongue boy, I will not tolerate your childish behavior much longer."

It was moments like this that reminded Isabella that, for all her own strength, for all that she had seen her family accomplish, there were always things out there even more dangerous. Even more powerful. Bradly Packard was a shape-shifter. A powerful one at that. More importantly, he was the first-born son of the single strongest and most powerful wolf-shifter in the country. He was strong, agile, and dangerous.

And had just been man-handled by Kassandra without so much as trying. A dryad, Isabella had never had the pleasure of watching the woman use her inherent gifts in person. She'd heard rumors—they'd all heard rumors—but Isabella had always laughed it off. Dryads were tree huggers. Plant obsessed hippies who spent their time rolling around in dirt and talking to shrubs, the very idea of them being powerful was laughable.

But she wasn't laughing now.

None of them were.

Packard's face was turning a rather interesting shade of purple, as vines crept up along his neck. They squeezed along his skin, small thorns prickling along the thin skin of his neck, drawing blood even as the vines squeezed ever so harder.

"Kassandra," grunted Jed, "I think he's learned his lesson."

"I don't know J," said Kassandra softly as she climbed onto the table, her bare feet dancing softly along the wood. "I don't think I've quite pressed the point home to him."

"I said enough, Kassandra." said Jed again, more roughly this time and he stood up, his hands on the edge of the table. Kassandra clicked her tongue, but obliged. The glow in her eyes disappeared as the vines around Packard fell limply to the ground. Packard coughed and hacked. Blood stained his uniform, and he got unsteadily to his feet, glaring at Kassandra the entire time.

"I…will…tear…your throat out…" He gasped, his voice sounded strained and choked.

"Awfully big words for such a small puppy," Kassandra observed calmly as she got back into her chair. "I'm afraid that I don't quite think you'd be able to back it up."

"We're done!" Snapped Jed, a rather pointed purple vein was throbbing along the side of his neck. He didn't enjoy losing control of the situation like that, Isabella knew. But there also wasn't much that he could do to control the rather…combative nature of the members of the council. It was a miracle, in her opinion at least, that they'd been able to make it work for as long as they had without at least a couple of them killing one another.

"We are not here to squabble amongst ourselves," continued Jed. "We are here…to determine what should be done about the strange new arrival in our town." He looked back at Isabella.

"I know you said that you did not believe him to be fully human. But I have a more important question." He leaned forward, folding his fingers together.

"Do you believe him to be a threat?"

Isabella thought about the question for a minute.

"No…" she said slowly. "No, I don't think so."

"Don't think, or don't know?" Asked Daiyo softly. "It is…an important distinction."

"I don't think," she said, glaring at the man. "I only had one conversation with the man. Of course I can't know a damn thing."

"What makes you think he poses no danger?" Asked Jed, pointedly ignoring Daiyo.

"He just seems to want to live quietly," she shrugged. "I don't know, the entire situation is weird and I can't deny that it's…fishy. He never saw the plot or visited the town before moving here. He just got the address and moved. He came by himself, which is another reason I'm pretty sure he's not human. He doesn't even have ranch-hands, but feels confident that he will be able to handle the work on his own. He told me that he's never worked in breeding or horse farming, but he grew up around horses which means that's not just false bravado either. He knows what he's talking about, and that just makes it stranger."

"No family, wife, kids?" Asked Thailor.

"Nothing," confirmed Isabella, "Just him."

"Anyone else feel like that's more than a little suspicious?" Thailor asked the room at large.

"Aye," grunted Brok, "It does strike as odd. But does not necessarily mean he's a threat."

"No," agreed, Daiyo, "But coupled with the other facts in place, it becomes suspicious. A strange man ends up here, of all places. With no friends, no family. He did not even deign to investigate the property before he came here. He claims to have known nothing about this town before arriving, and yet he ends up here. He is, at least in Ms. Connor's opinion, non-human. Potentially magical. All of these factors on their own, would not necessarily be worth anything, but together paint a strange and suspicious picture."

"I do not believe…" said Kassandra slowly, "That he is truly here to cause us trouble."

"You haven't even met him, how could you make that kind of assertion?" Asked Thailor. It wasn't necessarily an attack on the woman, more of a pointed observation.

"Think about it logically," said the dryad simply, "It would not make sense for a man, whose wish was to blend in, to fabricate such an unbelievable story. A man who wished to blend in, to make nice…they would create a believable story. Would have claimed to, at least, have seen the property before moving here. Would have claimed that he had even passing experience working with the creatures…no…I believe the sheer absurdity of his story is what gives it its strength. The feds are…not quite so creative."

Isabella nodded in agreement, that had been her own line of thinking as well.

Brok snorted, "That is certainly some creative thinking."

"I agree with her," said Isabella quickly. "It's actually exactly what I was thinking at the time he told me as well."

"And you believe he poses no threat?" Asked Jed, "That he, in spite of his own supernaturality, is just trying to live his life?"

Isabella thought about it. As always, she ran the nexus test for all problems in her life; how would Percy Jackson's presence in their town affect her daughter? Would she trust this stranger to teach her child to ride a horse? Would she trust this man to spend time with her daughter? Even if she were not there?

She surprisingly found herself believing that she would. She couldn't explain why, didn't understand it and that scared her. Scared her more than Percy himself did. Because she did find herself trusting the man. Or maybe she just wanted to trust him. She didn't know if it was possible for her to genuinely trust anyone after one meeting, but she knew in her soul that he was at least trustworthy. And that was worth something in her opinion.

"I believe that he poses no threat to us right now," she said carefully.

"But you believe he's dangerous," said Daiyo carefully.

"I believe anyone is dangerous if pushed far enough," she replied, meeting his gaze impassively. "And I don't believe in making unnecessary enemies. Especially when I don't know what they are capable of."

"All right," said Jed, speaking up for the first time in several minutes. "I have heard enough." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"When my brothers and I liberated this town, it was done in the hopes that we would become a safe haven for our kind…" he closed his eyes, slumping heavily in the chair. "Clearly…given all of you and the presence of your families…we have failed rather spectacularly."

Had it been anyone else saying it…they likely would have been dead on the floor. But Jed's word still carried some weight in the town. Though not much these days, the few it mattered to were gathered in that room.

"However, I refuse to allow the dream of my brother's and I had to die without a fight. So long as I have the power to do so, I will fight for this town to be the beacon of hope and safety to our kind that we had dreamed it of being."

He looked around the room. Meeting each of their gazes fiercely.

"For now, we welcome the newest addition to our town. We keep an eye on him, we make sure that he is who he says he is, but we welcome to his new home and allow him the courtesy of making a life her. With us."

"And if he's not what he claims to be?" Asked Daiyo. "What happens if he really does pose a danger to us?"

Jed's expression darkened.

"Then we do the same to him, that we do to all trouble-makers." He snarled, showing off several rows of impressively sharp teeth, "And we will make a feast of him and his sorrowful flesh."

BREAK

She was the last to leave the building. Having been one of the few to drive, she was alone as she walked down the street towards where she parked. At least, she had been for a few moments, before a firm grip wrapped around her arm. She tensed, swiveling around as her she felt herself begin to shift. However she stopped, as she came face to face with Packard.

"Oh, it's you." She wrenched her arm free from his grasp and took a step back.

Packard's face soured, but he didn't retaliate. The cuts along his neck from where the vines had hacked into his flesh had already healed, but there was still a faint blue line where he'd been strangled.

"What the fuck was that in there?" He demanded.

"What?" She asked in exasperation

He took a step forward, and she took a step back.

"Why didn't you have my back?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He made to grab her wrist again, but she took a half-step back, keeping just out of reach. He relented, opting to cross his arms and glare at her.

"Why didn't you step in when that tree-hugger tried to kill me?"

"Why would I have done anything?" Isabella asked, genuinely confused. "You were out of line, again. I'm not going to step in and clean up your messes for you."

"Probably because we need to be looking out for each other," snapped Packard. "Because we're outnumbered in there, and we need to be looking out for one another."

"Outnumbered?" She asked, now thoroughly confused. "Are you high again? What the hell are you talking about?"

"We're the only shifters on the damn council," he snarled menacingly. The words came out a touch more…animalistic than usual, and Isabella found herself positioning herself a little more cautiously just in case he tried to pull something. Packard didn't have the best control on a good day, let alone when his temper was flaring.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" She asked, "Our families aren't related, and I'd damn well know if we'd suddenly signed some kind of alliance." She sure as hell would know, after all, she'd have to be the one to approve the partnership in the first place.

"That doesn't matter!" Growled Packard, "Do you seriously not get it? Look around you, look at what's happening!" He gestured vaguely around them at the deserted downtown.

"I'm seeing a whole lot of nothing," she said dryly, "Kind of like I'm not seeing the point you're trying to make."

"They're trying to force us out!"

Isabella stared at him. Then she laughed. She couldn't help it. Couldn't help herself. She tilted her head back and all but cackled.

"I'm not joking!" Packard snarled, his voice now little more than a rumbling growl. Isabella abruptly stopped her laughter, and focused more intently on him. He was getting more and more agitated, and the nails along his fingers were already beginning to elongate.

"All right, all right," she tried to placate him, "But seriously Bradly, what the hell are you talking about? Nobody is trying to force us out."

"They are!" He insisted, throwing his hands in the air and he turned his back on her in exasperation. "None of you are taking this seriously. None of you. Not Alex, not Maeve, not you."

"Well maybe because it doesn't make any damned sense," said Isabella, rolling her eyes at his back.

"That's because you're too blind to see what's going on!" Packard whirled back around and jabbed a finger at her.

"No…" Isabella spoke like she had when Cassidy had been a particularly young girl. Taking care to enunciate and articulate each word slowly and carefully.

"It's because it doesn't make sense. This town only exists because we look out for one another. Because we cooperate. If we didn't, then the feds would come back. They'd start poking their heads around and looking into things that they really shouldn't be."

"And here we go with this again." Packard threw his arms into the air in exasperation. "You too Ella?"

"Stop calling me that."

"Why is everyone seeing fed ghosts everywhere they look! They. Are. Not. Coming. Back. Here. And the only reason that they came here in the first place was because the old heads were sloppy!"

"I'd be real careful with your next couple of words," said Isabella cooly. Packard rolled his eyes, and a flare of bright-hot rage washed over her.

"Your grandma was killed because of a blood feud. The feds had nothing to do with it! And now, because our parents and grandparents couldn't deal with their own shit forty years ago, we're stuck with this mess! Hiding out in the middle of fucking nowhere! Pretending to be something we're not, and taking orders from someone, who isn't even part of one of the fucking families!"

She almost hit him. Almost. But that wouldn't have gone over well, and she had better self-control than that. She closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. She was vaguely aware of the scent of sea-water nearby, and it relaxed her. When she opened her eyes, she felt infinitely calmer.

"Okay," she said gently, "You're pissy about the agreement, fine. What the hell does that have to do with the others trying to 'push us' out?"

"Because they already know it's bullshit!" Packard replied, "Because they know what I do! And they're playing the game already! They're trying to consolidate power for themselves! And what better way to do that, than to knock out the heads of two of the most powerful shifter families in the country?"

"You're not the head of your family," snorted Isabella. "And that's ridiculous. Even if the feds aren't watching us like hawks, which they certainly are by the way, that would be suicidal. They'd be declaring open war, and none of them have the firepower for something like that."

"On their own they don't," agreed Packard. "But that's why they're working together! They know that we…that the two of us…we're too powerful to be left on our own. They need to take us down and they're starting now!"

And suddenly she understood what was going on.

She narrowed her eyes, "You've got to be kidding me." She scoffed. "You've pulled some shit over the years, but this is a special brand of desperate. Even for you." She swept her hair over her shoulder and turned, making to leave. "I'll give you points though, this was a hell of a lot more clever than just harassing me and pulling me over for no reason." She glanced over her shoulder, at him.

"A word of advice though, next time, try and not make your little 'pitch,' sound like some dumbass Q-anon conspiracy theory."

"I'm not kidding!" He snarled, darting forward and grabbing her around the arm. Isabella growled. A low and menacing noise that reverberated through the still evening, and she spun around and glared up at the man.

"Get off me," she hissed.

"Not until you listen!" He snarled back, tightening his grip around her arm. Her rage was overwhelming. She could feel herself start to lose control of herself. She felt her nails and teeth begin to elongate. Her muscles and bones began to creak and stretch, but before her transformation could go too far, she was startled out of her rage as a new voice rang out through the night.

"Hey there neighbor!"

She and Packard turned, and her heart froze.

Out of the shadows by the Miller's grocery store, Percy Jackson stalked forward.

His green eyes seemingly glowing in the dark night.