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I chuckled and nodded. “Fair enough,” I said. “Here’s our baggage claim.”
We stopped flirting for Marley’s sake. I didn’t want to embarrass her further, although I didn’t give a fuck if Jack was bothered. Once we’d done the standard impatient wait for our bags, we went our separate ways from Travis and Jack since Lana was picking them up.
Marley and I got into the car I’d left at the airport, finally making our way back to my mom’s place.
The drive took a little longer than expected. There was plenty of traffic, thanks to some asinine march going on downtown. I thought it’d be related to some political initiative, but when we finally passed the city hall, we found close to a hundred people carrying signs that read “lycanthropy is a disease” and “abolish lawful transition.”
My stomach twisted. “Holy fuck,” I said. “We leave for a week, and the entire city falls apart.”
“Do you think it’s Lanyon Clover?” Marley asked.
“Them or the people they’ve radicalized,” I said, forcing myself to look away from the protest. “I hope this town isn’t falling to shit.”
Marley nodded, worry clouding her expression. “Maybe it would be better for us to move after all,” she said. “I know we talked about just doing a shelter and headquarters, but this feels so scary compared to Georgia.”
“Yeah, it does,” I agreed. “But I grew up here, I’ve raised my son here. We have to try to turn the tide and get the outsiders to stop corrupting our home.”
“I think you’re right about that,” she said. “I just hope this movement doesn’t get violent.”
“We’ll do what we can to be prepared for that,” I said. “I’ll talk to Farrah about getting our security officers trained and recruited. And you can hold your own against a shifter these days, so humans should be no problem.”
“‘Hold your own is a little strong.’” She chuckled. “But yeah, I think I can fend off a grumpy dude with a receding hairline easily enough.”
“Ah, yes. As we all know, the power is in the hair.”
“Explains why you’re so strong,” she replied. “I mean, sometimes you’re covered in the stuff.”
“Ha ha,” I said. “A joke about being furry. Never heard that one before.”
“You have no room to talk when you made that dog-lover joke last night.”
“Fine, that’s your one.”
“We’ll see.”
“God, I love you.”
We laughed, which was a welcome reprieve from the shock and worry incited by the nightmarish picket signs.
Not long after that, we pulled into my parents’ driveway. Marley was still exhausted, so I promised we wouldn’t stay too long. We both got out of the car, and before I could even make it to the stairs leading up to the front door, Noah came running out of the house.
I grinned and dropped to my knees, holding my arms out for him. He careened toward me at lightning speed, then suddenly veered off and wrapped his arms around my mate.
“Marley! You’re home!” he squealed.
Well, I couldn’t say I blamed him. Marley was much cuter than I was, so my son had inherited my good taste.
My parents hovered in the doorway, laughing quietly as they looked on. I shrugged and got back to my feet, approaching them as Marley and Noah enjoyed their reunion. I walked up the steps and hugged my parents.
“Guess he really missed me,” I joked.
“I’d look more forward to seeing Marley, too,” my dad quipped. “Less hairy.”
“Man, everyone’s got a bone to pick with my hair today,” I said. “How were things? Everything pan out all right?”
“He did just fine,” Mom said. “A few tears the first couple of nights, but he settled in after we reminded him how fun Nanny’s house was.”
“How’d the visit go?” Dad asked.
