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"How's everyone?" I ask in my phone. I fight the urge to grab onto the armrest as Kevin speeds through the traffic. His driving is smooth, if I close my eyes I wouldn't know we're doing sixty in a thirty zone, but my eyes are open and I can see the blur of cars we pass.

"We're okay overall. The worst of the injuries were dealt with on the way bad. Cuts and bruises are all that's left, and that's because not enough people know the healing sigil."

"What happened?"

"A Gray Church contingent attacked my uncle's mansion. We held them off while they finished Barry's ceremony."

"Actual Gray Church? Or locals they agitated?"

"A mix of both. I recognized neighbors, but some had their armor and insignia. This was targeted, Dent."

"Will be there in two minutes," Kevin said calmly, not taking his eyes off the road. I don't think I've ever seen him stress behind the wheel of a car since Adam granted him his driving gift.

"We're almost there."

"I'm not sure what you'll be able to do, we're all inside dad's house now, I doubt they are stupid enough to attach us here."

"I'm not taking any chances. Is they followed you all the way to Boulder, they might have pursued you back here."

"Dent, the men you assigned me and Dad plus Uncle Octavio's security force was ample. They're all here too."

"And I'll have more people here not long after I get there."

"Dent." Martin said my name like it was a minor curse.

"It's my job to protect your family in the city, I am not going to stop doing it just because your uncle brought his own men. I don't know them."

"Dad does. He grew up with a bunch of them."

"I'm here," I said, as Kevin turned the car into Max's house's driveway. "Talk to you inside." I put my phone away as Kevin eases the car to a stop. There had to be thirty cars parked on each side of the driveway. I couldn't tell how Kevin managed to drive between them without scraping any. There was an empty space before the door three cars wide and I got out here.

I looked in the car. "Head back to Steel Link, I'll ride back with Tom, or one of the others when I'm done here."

"You going to be okay?" Kevin asked and kept on going without giving me a chance to answer. "How about Martin, and his family? Why would the church attack them? They haven't done anything to anyone? Well, I guess it's the church, so it isn't like they need a reason to hate us. They never like gays so this shouldn't be surprising. Oh, did you hear about the epidemic in South America? Do you think they're the one who caused it? It would be just like them to do that, right?" Now he looked at me expectantly.

"No, I haven't heard about any epidemic, and unless it targets only gays, I doubt they are the one who caused it. Not everything bad that happens in the world is because of one of the faction of the church. Now get going, I expect the driveway's going to be needed soon." I tapped the side of the door and header for the house.

The lock was one of the newer model I'd convinced Max to get installed. The scanner camera flashed red and a second later the lock turned green, having recognized me.

I entered the house to the sound of arguing, and sex, and possibly arguing while having sex. I glanced in the living room and a dozen cougars twenty and up were having sex there. I expected that other than fucking to work off the stress of almost dying, they were adding energy to the house's protection.

I headed for the second living room when a naked cougar stepped in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" he crossed his arms over his chest. He was a head taller than me, muscular and hung. He reminded me of a younger version of Max.

"Stan," Martin said, exiting the same room, "Calm down, that's Denton."

"Oh, I know who he is; the Rasia who started this whole mess."

"Come on, Stan. He didn't and you know that."

"Leave," Stan said.

I tilted an ear. "This isn't your house."

"Do you know who I am?" the cougar snarled.

"Stanley?" I guess.

Martin grabs Stan's arm as he winds back for a punch. "I wish you hadn't called him that, Dent."

I shrugged. "He asked me to guess."

"Martin, Stanislas, what's going on?" Max asked, walking from the kitchen. Like everyone other cougar I'd seen, he was naked, looked at him and Stan--who named their kid Stanislas?-- the differences were noticeable, Stan was a little taller, a little wider at the hips, a little bigger at the crotch. Max was the more dignified of the two.

"Stan's showing a bigoted side," Martin said.

Stan pulled his arm out of Martin's grip and turned to face Max. "With all due respect, Maximilian, why are you allowing a Rasia in your house?"

"Because he's a friend."

"Rasia's are no one's friends." Stan stated.

I opened my mouth, but Max shook his head.

"Stanislas, if you ever plan on being an elder, you're going to have to let go of your preconception. Not every Rasia hoarded secrets or looked to manipulate you."

"Then what was he doing being a cop? He knows the edicts don't--"

"Maybe you need to read up on what actually happened before you make accusations," I said. I could tell someone was too set in their ways to listen to reason, so I wasn't going to waste my time explaining myself. I'd had to do it often enough when I went around handing back every secret my family had accumulated. "And for the record, the name is Brislow." I looked Max over, no sign of any injuries he might have gotten getting back.

I might have lingered on his cock a little longer than I should have. He grinned at me. We still hadn't fucked. Things would be going well for a few months, he'd treat me like just another elder, or another guy he knew and I'd think we were finally past this whole 'he had to take care of me because he'd failed my father' thing, and then I'd catch the way he'd look at me. The pain in his eyes and I knew now was not the time.

I did miss it though.

"Martin said you had no casualties."

"That's right. I don't think they were expecting us to be as well protected as we were."

I nodded. "I have men on the way. I'll have a perimeter around the property within the hour."

"Dent, you don't have to. We're back in Denver, the city hasn't seen anything major since this whole debacle started. We'll be safe."

"I'm not willing to take a chance on that, Max. You have most of your family here, right? That's what, sixty, seventy people?"

"Sixty-eight at the moment. I called everyone else. They're locking up their homes and coming here."

"So you are putting your entire family under my protection." I ignored Stan's snort. "You know I take my job seriously. I don't intend on having you lose even one of them under my watch, not even mister prejudiced here."

"Watch your tone, Ra--"

"Stanislas!" Max roared and the younger cougar looked like he shrunk down to my size. I was happy my status as Jeffrey's son protected me from the worse of his anger. I'd done enough stupid stuff since I'd known Max I should have been on the receiving end of that time a time or five.

Stan turned to Max and said in a small voice. "I'm sorry."

"Not to me."

Stan faced me, hate in his eyes, but none of it made it to his voice. "I apologize for my behavior Ra-- Elder Rasia."

I kept from smirking and simply nodded. I also didn't trust my voice not to betray my amusement at this.

"Denton, why don't you come with me," Max indicated the kitchen, "Martin, is everyone healed?"

"I don't know. I need to go look after the mothers and the kids."

"You do that, and take Stanislas, as a potential future elder, he should know how to look after everyone in his family."

Stan opened his mouth, the protest clear on his face, but shut it and followed Martin. I followed Max to what had become our usual meeting room. The kitchen was a lot safer than a bedroom. Less temptation to go horizontal. Not that I hadn't been fucked plenty of time in this kitchen, by Max, Martin or most of our common friends.

"Why is Stan in line for being an elder and Martin isn't? They look to be the same age."

"Stanislas is almost ten years older than Martin. I waited too long before having him. Out tradition if for the next elder to be the oldest of the next generation. Stanislas had two cousins in the running. Both of whom are more open-minded about other families than he is."

"I wish what you said about an elder having to be above preconceptions was true, because the majority of the elders I've had to deal with have his attitude about my family."

Max leaned against the counter. "But most of them have had direct dealings with the Rasias. Stanislas was in his twenties when your family died. I doubt he ever met one. He behavior is built on the stories he heard, rather than from getting to know you. You want something to eat?" he grinned.

Oh, the temptation to say yes as I looked his body over. He was getting hard, so he knew what I was thinking. He would, he was a mind reader after all.

"I'm good," I forced myself to say.

"Suit yourself," the grin stayed as he turned, his tail flicking up, and headed for the fridge.

I sat at the table. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

He pulled out a pre-made sandwich, I saw a lot of prepared food in the fridge. It had to have come back from Boulder with them.

"You, the sidelines, the usual." Max said.

I sighed. "Max, they don't want me telling them what to do."

"Wasn't the point of handing back all those secrets because you knew we'd have to work together, eventually? You said there was a war coming. Don't you think it's here? Don't you think you should do what you set out to do?"

I looked at the tabletop, all shiny and scratch proof. In this household you needed that, considering they didn't always bother pulled the pants completely off before throwing you on it and fucking you silly.

I focused on those memories to keep Max from reading any deeper. From reading the betrayal I felt at my god for allowing my family to be wiped out just so I'd be have access to all that power.

"It didn't really work, did it? No one came together. Pretty much every family is out there, dealing with the church's attack on their own. It's the rare one who is even cooperating with their neighbors."

"That's because they don't have anyone reminding them what's at stake." Max said.

"Don't let Arnold hear you say that, I know for a fact he's been talking with all of them."

Max sighed. "Orrs don't take with you, they talk to you, and a lot of the time they talk down to you. Arnold is doing the best he can, but there are days even I have trouble standing him. You should--"

"No."

He watched me in that way I knew meant he was trying to read me, but I kept the sex on the surface of my thoughts.

"Alright," Max relented. "I wish you'd tell me what happened."

I shook my head. Was it a crisis of faith when you stopped trusting a god you knew was real? Whatever it was, I wasn't burdening Max with it.

Somehow, we managed to keep the rest of the conversation to things other than me and him, or what he wanted me to do for the rest of my time there. He showed me pictured of his nephews, grandnephews and great-grand nephews. The cormorans had kid early it seemed. He and Martin were the exception.

When Tom arrived the badger and Stan got into a glaring match, which Tom won, hands down, and then we set about assigning everyone bodyguards. Of course, that there were other families involved in that caused its own set of problem, but by the end of the day everyone was done screaming and down to glaring.

Over the next week I had adjust half the assignment, but I was finally confident no one would die in my city.