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“Don’t be telling everyone about my off switch,” Leif huffed.
“Cut it out, you lot,” Damon growled.
Cary stood up suddenly. “If this is a family meeting, Ava and I can go.”
“No,” I said, “please sit with us. You and Ava are a part of this, and we’d appreciate your input.”
Cary nodded and sat down again. Ava glanced at him as he sat awkwardly next to her, but neither said anything directly to each other, as usual. If we could figure out how to turn their sexual tension into electricity, we could light up the entire farm. Maybe even the neighboring town, too.
I turned away from watching them and noticed the entire table watching me.Oh, right? I called this family meeting.
“Damon, can you give us an update on the supply run last night, so we’re all on the same page while I finish my breakfast?”
To his credit, Damon didn’t even falter at letting me take charge. He just launched into the salient points of their supply run while I felt Sam’s eyes fervently focused on my mouth as I ate. I licked some crumbs off my lips and Sam’s scent spiked. I noticed Dio pinch him out of the corner of my eye to get him to pay attention to Damon.
The team had gotten the medicine they needed for our injured people, plus brought back everything else they could find to stock the infirmary. They had also raided a canteen at the base and brought back any canned or packaged food they could find.
Then they raided the small tower and emergency shed for equipment. They’d found a few satellite phones and other useful tech people had left behind, probably figuring they were now useless without the power to charge them. They’d also found firefighting equipment, including water pumps and hoses. Which was helpful considering we could no longer call the local fire brigade if a fire broke out.
We’d used a mix of logged and recycled timber to build most of our infrastructure, so a fire would be disastrous. Making it a possible attack tactic for our enemies if they got angry enough to want to wipe us out, rather than take our supplies.
The team had filled the helicopter with fuel, but they’d also found a small mobile supply truck in a back shed. So they had filled it as well, and grabbed some extra gas for the vehicle, then driven it back in a convoy with a small fire engine and Damon’s ute.
They now had enough aviation fuel for quite a few helicopter refuels and had discussed plans to clear an area across the river from the farm as a landing pad. So the helicopter was more accessible and we could protect it. It would also help create a wider fire break between us and the forest.
I nodded along to everything Damon said, feeling proud of them and the way they were taking care of this community.
“So that’s everything from us. Do you want to explain to us what went down with you last night?” Damon’s tone sounded stern, but he wasn’t glaring at me. He’d fixed his angry stare on Sam instead. Maia and Ava were both now glaring at him, too.
“Uh oh,” Dio fake whispered, mimicking Hunter’s earlier tone. “I think you’re next.” Hunter reached out and high-fived Dio. I bit my lip as I tried not to smile at the both of them.
I jumped straight in, hoping to turn everyone’s attention away from Sam, although he was taking the glares like a champ.
“I got an alert from my safe house.” The guys didn’t look surprised, so I assumed they’d gotten an update about that, at least, from Nick.
“So you decided heading out on your own, as a newly presented omega, in an apocalypse, was the best course of action?” Leif asked.
“Yes,” I said, not feeling like I needed to justify myself. “That’s not the issue. The problem we have is what I found in town.”
I then told them about the alphas taking over the pub, the bribe offers and hunting of women, the group hiding in the museum, Ziggy’s desperate measures to protect his mother, and my friend in the safe house.
“It’s not good enough that we’re safe here and have resources,” I said, “when we can help those people, too. Women and children are starving and being persecuted at the same time. I know we don’t have the numbers to free the omegas at the Palace just yet. That’s a whole other situation we need to talk about soon.
“But we can help the people in town now. They’re our friends and neighbors. We can take them fresh food and trade for the things we don’t have. Most of our suppliers are in town because we always shopped local as much as possible.
“The town is on the bend of the river, too. If we can show them how to generate electricity from the river, or set up wind turbines on their roofs, it will help them survive.
“Even though it’s the right thing to do, helping them also benefits us. It’s no coincidence the Palace has an outpost there. They’re ransacking the town for food, but no doubt they’re also keeping a unit there to monitor us.
“If we take out the alphas in town, we not only create allies, we can leave a satellite phone with a friend in town. We’d then have an early warning system if the Palace comes for us, or them, again.”
I’d been speaking rapidly, trying to get all my ideas out at once and convince them it was a good idea. But I ground to a halt as I realized everyone was just watching me.
“Lexie,” Damon said with a growl. “Have we ever denied you when you’ve asked us to help someone? You don’t need to convince us or pitch the benefits for us. If you think we can help, we will.”
My throat felt tight at his words. I knew Damon, Hunter and Max thought of me as a sister, but I never took it for granted. I didn’t ask for a lot, but when I did, they always stepped up without hesitation. This was a lot bigger than anything I had ever asked for before, though.
“I know,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, “but this isn’t me asking for you to accommodate a simple request. This is dangerous, and the potential consequences could affect everyone here.”
