Marilu Mann - Changing Focus

“You are telling me…” Micah heard his voice break and growled. “You say Talia is Curtis’ daughter? That he and Shelly were lovers? And because of some will you just found, the Turn Skins, now called the Compound Pack, have guardianship over her?”

Julia sighed. She spoke slowly, gently, “No, Micah, not exactly. Yes, she is Curtis’ child. We found letters from Shelly confirming that. Wolfboy here is the anal type and has been going through all of the paperwork Slade never worried about. Talia has been remanded by the courts back to the Compound Pack. I’m here to make sure she’s properly taken care of. I’ll also help you find a good lawyer.”

Micah blinked rapidly. He hadn’t shed tears since his father’s death, though the pain he felt now tossed him back to that time. “Lawyer? Why do I need a lawyer?”

Frank barked a sharp sound of disgust. “What’s happened to you, Micah? You can’t invoke Pack law on this one. Because you ignored all the overtures we made, this is in the Louisiana court system. If you want to challenge for joint custody, you’re going to need a lawyer.”

He leaned in close. “A very good one. Don’t think I’m here of my own accord. I work for the Pack will. And my Pack wants this child. They think she won’t learn about Pack law with you. They see you as a lone wolf, Micah.”

The words burned into Micah’s brain. He’d said the same to Gareth not so long ago. And a month ago the Compound Pack would have been right. He hadn’t wanted the responsibility of his local Pack. He didn’t have a mate or a child to worry about.

Olivia and Talia had changed all that. For a brief moment he wished the old Turn Skin Pack still ruled. They would have just tried to steal Talia. Then he could have used the rage building in him to destroy them. But with Frank at the helm of the newly named Compound Pack, things had changed.

For them to approach him this way-legally-that took the wind out of him. Numbly he nodded at Julia. “Let me tell her.”

And he turned to Frank with a sneer. “Prepare for the fight of your life, Alpha.”

Micah held on to a post on the porch as the car pulled away. He could still hear Talia crying for him. Even though he’d told her he would come for her, she’d clung like a drowning child to a life raft. Rubbing his arms where her fingers had dug in, he let himself weep.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back to the painful realization that this wasn’t a dream but a true nightmare. He looked at Gareth.

“What are you doing here, Gareth? I thought you would leave too.”

“Not now, Micah. I took some time to clear my head and let you see the truth in my words. I’m sorry for what’s happened. Some of those messages were from Julia. I expected you would get them when you checked the phone.”

Raw with grief, Micah rasped, “I didn’t listen to them. I didn’t want to hear Olivia saying she needed me to return her things.” He looked up at Gareth. “She left some clothes here, you know. And now they’ve taken Talia.”

“I know, Micah. What are you going to do about it? You know you can’t do this alone.” Gareth stared at Micah briefly then looked away. “You have to step up to the plate, Micah. You’re going to have to get help from the Pack on this one.”

“I’m going to go to New Orleans. I will bring Talia home even if I can’t bring Olivia back. I can’t lose them both. And don’t talk to me about this Alpha crap. It’s not important to me at this moment. Getting Talia back is what matters.”

Heedless of the disbelief in Gareth’s face, Micah went inside to make phone calls and start redeeming favors owed. He would do whatever he had to do to get his daughter back where she belonged. With him. Then he would go convince Olivia where she belonged. But first, he had to get Talia.

That day seemed endless but finally he put the phone down, assured that he had the best possible legal team available on such short notice. He still had plenty of friends in New Orleans, some of them members of the Pack trying to steal his daughter. Those he hadn’t called, but he’d reached almost everyone else he knew in the Crescent City and solicited their advice and help. Only one person hadn’t answered his call and he wasn’t a legal aide.

No, that particular wolf was a swamp-dwelling bad boy who Micah intended to use if the courts didn’t see things his way. He clamped down on what was right and what was wrong. Talia was his Pack and he would have her home no matter what.

He went upstairs, knowing that sleep would not come easily. Toying with the idea of a whiskey nightcap, Micah shoved the thought aside. He didn’t need sleep badly enough to self-medicate. He was no weakling to use that crutch.

Morning sun burned against his lids. Micah groaned as he forced himself out of bed. Three hours of sleep would not make him the most intelligent shifter in the world. He vowed to try to sleep on the flight he’d booked that afternoon. Once he was in New Orleans, he could make himself rest so he wouldn’t snap under pressure.

At the kitchen table, hot coffee in hand, Micah jotted down a list for Gareth. Micah grimaced as he shoved his hair back. When a family had booked one of the cabins for the spring, there’d been an affirmative answer for their question about other kids for their daughter to play with. Shaking his head, he clenched his teeth. Talia would be here. There was no other possible outcome.

Micah raised his head, glancing toward the front door. He moved toward the porch and watched as an unfamiliar car pulled up to the front drive. A small smile broke across his face as the driver exited the car. Well, I’ll be damned. Speak of the devil and that swamp wolf shows up on my land. Tall, tan with brown hair falling below his shoulders, the driver stared at the front door for a moment until the passenger door of the car opened.

Micah watched as the small auburn-haired woman got out of the car. She smiled at the man, said something he couldn’t make out and then moved to the back car door. The man shook his head at her, opening the back door on his side of the car. Within moments the couple was heading toward the lodge, the man carrying a child carrier and huge diaper bag, the woman holding two toddlers by the hands.

Micah opened the door just as they stepped onto the porch. The woman released the children to throw herself against his chest with a huge smile as the man behind her growled softly. Micah knew it was instinctive, knew it wasn’t a challenge, so he ignored it to hug the woman briefly.

“Hello, Joie, Slade. Welcome.”

“Micah, it’s so good to see you!” Joie’s soft Southern accent charmed him, as always. Slade simply nodded, uneasy with the relationship they were still carving out after nearly three years. Besides, he had a hard time with other Alphas and he was out of his element on Micah’s territory.

“How are you? It’s been way too long, you know. Tante Kay asks about you all the time.”

“How is your godmother?” Micah smiled at the memory of the ancient traiteuse who lived deep in the bayou.

“Kay’s fine. She sent you some herbs. They’re in the trunk. Had a hell of a time getting them on the plane. Damn drug-sniffing dogs.” Slade’s gravel-laced voice gave evidence of his discomfort. A soft squawk from the carrier drew Micah’s eye to Slade’s burden and to the twins who stared up at him with matching grins. He moved back, opening the door wider for the family to come inside.

Micah swung one of the toddlers up in his arms as she stepped over the threshold and looked into eyes as green as moss. “Hello, little sister.”

He couldn’t stop his grin as the child’s twin brother tugged at his pants leg. Micah scooped the boy up in his other arm, seeing the same green eyes in this face. “Hello, little brother.”