"Yeah, and learn ta' take some more time off," Daelyn said and smacked him on the ass, staggering him.

  "I'm here, aren't I?" he grumbled and rubbed his butt.

  "But for how long?" Daelyn asked with a smirk.

  "Maybe once the barrier's been up for a year or two, I'll be able to breath easy again," he said with a shrug. "Chad's been getting run just as ragged as I have, same for Jack and the other generals."

  "Even Chad takes a day or two off every now and again," Roxy told him.

  "What? He does?"

  "Yup, Max told me. I don't think he realizes you're not. Maybe I need to have a talk with him, perhaps he could help us get it through that thick skull of yours," Roxy said with a sweet smile.

  Sean sighed and looked around at the rest of his wives, who were smiling at him with a look that meant he wasn't going to be getting help in this fight.

  "Fine, I'll take a day off a week."

  "Two," Cali said.

  "Two?" Sean said, surprised. "What, together?"

  "Yes," she said with a nod.

  "I think it's called a 'weekend'," Peg said with a cheeky grin. "You may have heard of them?"

  "I'm doomed," Sean said with an exaggerated sigh.

  "Are all lions such drama queens?" Gloria muttered.

  "He gets it from Dad," Estrella said. "It got really bad when he started paling around with Quintus Roscius Gallus back in Rome. Drove my mom crazy."

  "Who?" Gloria asked.

  "Oh! Sorry, he was some famous Roman actor, back…well back a long time ago, I guess. Was really good at comedy."

  Gloria just sighed and gave Sean a look.

  "You get used to it," he said with a shrug.

  "Well, let's get everyone settled in. At least we have enough open rooms for the kids, now that all of our sons have moved out."

  "We'll get the kids settled, Mom," Roxy said, taking Troy from Sean as the others nodded. "Sean, why don't you take a load off with Mom in the kitchen?"

  "I think I've been dismissed!" Sean grinned and followed Gloria to the kitchen before he got swatted on the ass again.

  Stepping into the kitchen, he found another surprise. "Mom! Sampson! What are you doing here?" he said and gave his mother a big hug as she got up, then pulled Sampson into a hug when he stuck out his hand to shake.

  "I invited them, too," Gloria said. "I thought you might appreciate a family Christmas, seeing as how the girls tell me you haven't been able to have one since all this started."

  "Thanks," Sean said with a big smile. It really had been a long time since he'd celebrated Christmas with anybody, much less his mother.

  "Your wives are right, Sean," Sampson said. "You need to find some more time to relax."

  "Ugh, not you, too!" Sean said with a mock growl as he sat down at the table.

  "Sean, the war's over, and you won. You need to remember that. Now is just the clean up. Sure, it's going to take a while, but working yourself to death isn't going to get it done any quicker."

  "Yes, but, if I hadn't gone out into the field, I would never have figured out our problems with the NSA and the CIA, now, would I?" Sean sighed, putting his head in his hands as he propped his elbows on the table.

  "The problem, Mom, Dad, Mom, and all of you snooping on me instead of helping with the kids, is that things are still a mess. We have human traitors and political backstabbers everywhere, and they're probably worse than the djevels are. Yeah, taking time off sounds nice, but"—Sean gave a small shake of his head, still propped up in his hands on the kitchen table—"I'm not so sure I'm there yet. I am very much the victim of my own success. I've got all these people out there working for me who believe in me, who don't get Christmas off, or New Year's, or Valentine's, none of that. They're out there every day, every single day, and …" Sean shook his head again. "I can't let them down. They know, they all know, that I'm here for them, 24/7, I'm watching out for them, always keeping an eye on them. They know I care; they've seen what I'll do for any one of them. They need someone with that level of commitment to them, and right now, that's me.

  "I mean, I'll try to take some time off, but"—Sean looked up at them—"I can't make any promises, and please don't ride me if I don't. It's not that I don't want to take days off, it's that there are times when I can't."

  "But you will at least try, right, Sean?" asked Louise, his mother.

  "Yeah, I'll try. If I don't, the girls will either yell at me or guilt me, or worse, both. It does bother me at times that I don't get to spend as much time with my kids as I'd like to. When they tossed me in there with 'em when they were all sick that time, I was happy just to be able to be there for them, if only for a little while."

  "That's the plight of the successful working father. Your own father worried about the same things. It wasn't always easy for him to make time for you and me, either, and he was a lot less busy than you are. But still, Sean, if you want your children to have the same fond memories of you that you have of your father, you're going to have to make some changes."

  Sean looked at his mother, who was smiling at him.

  "Ouch, Mom."

  "Well, it's a mother's place to remind her son that he's never too big, or too important, or too powerful for her to spank. Now, you know what you need to do, it's up to you to figure it out."

  "What I need to do, first, is to find somebody I can trust to worry about everybody out there as much as I do," Sean admitted. "Someone they know and respect, or at least know of, someone they can trust is always gonna be thinking about them first, and not himself. That's probably my biggest time sink right now, morale."

  "Aren't there any lions you could ask?"

  Sampson snorted. "Lou, most lions think of themselves first, last, and always."

  "You don't!" she said and leaned into Sampson, who put an arm around her.

  "Yes, but you're my mate, Lou, so of course I think of you. But otherwise? For all that he's an ass most of the time, my grandfather really does care about them; all the first pride does."

  "Oh? Why's that?"

  "Guilt mostly," Sampson said with a snicker, "but apparently the good parts rubbed off on Sean here, because he cares. Hell, even Adam, of all people, is starting to care!"

  Sean had a sudden thought and stood up.

  "I think I need to see somebody. I shouldn't be gone too long."

  "You only just got here!" his mom protested.

  "I'll be back in time for dinner; call me if I'm not," Sean said and headed for the front door.

  "Where are you going?" Roberta asked, looking at him.

  "To see a man about a job," Sean said and stopped a moment to kiss her. "Here's hoping he doesn't turn me down."

  He walked out the door and waved to Travis, who was talking to the rest of Sean's bodyguards.

  "What's up, Sean?"

  "Do you know where Mike lives?"

  "Umm, yeah. Why?"

  "I want to visit him."

  "What?"

  "Now. You can drive. Anybody who wants to come can come."

  "Eileen! You got the home watch, pick five; the rest either pile in the back, or follow in the other van."

  Sean was surprised. Other than the five Eileen picked, everyone wanted to go. Fifteen was a few too many for one van, so they had to take the second van as well, and a minute later, they were on their way.

  Looking around the van, Sean could see that they were all happy, too.

  "When was the last time you guys saw Mike?" Sean asked.

  "When was the last time you were in Vegas?" Travis said with a shrug.

  "That long? Huh," Sean said, thinking about that. It'd been over a year.

  "If Mike asked you all to shoot me, how many bullet holes would there be?" Sean mused.

  "Well, since you can't be killed by a simple bullet, I'd say fifteen?" Travis said with a wink.

  "Nice to know where I stand in the scheme of things," Sean said with a snort.

  The trip to the trailer park wasn't a long one; apparently they weren't living in close to Vegas, but out a ways, where things were cheaper.

  When they got to where they were going, Sean had a strong sense of déjà vu as he looked over the singlewide trailer Mike and Trix, whom Sean assumed was now his girlfriend, lived in.

  "I already told Trix we were in town, so they shouldn't be too surprised," Travis told him.

  "Well, you all can go first, I'll follow, and you can introduce me after you've all said your hellos."

  "Sure thing, Sean. Why do you want to see him?"

  "I need to talk to him for a bit. I have something I want to ask him."

  Travis nodded, and they got up and out of the van, then Travis went up and knocked on the door. A young and fairly attractive woman opened it.

  "Already? I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow, Travis!"

  "Change in plans. Is Mike home? Can we come in?"

  "Who's at the door?" he heard a man's voice, probably Mike's, ask softly.

  "It's Travis and, well, looks like most of his team."

  "Oh! Well, invite them in!" Mike's voice sounded a little stronger.

  Sean had positioned himself so he could look in the door as Trix opened it and he could see Mike, with his eye patch, sitting on a couch. He had the look of someone who was just barely hanging on, but the moment he saw Travis, his whole face lit up with a smile. He got to his feet and hugged him, taking time to talk to him a moment, then moved to Jordan, who was next in line, calling him by name and giving him a hug.

  Sean noticed Trix looking at him, so he motioned for her to come over and join him as he moved away from the door.

  "You're Sean, right?" she asked.

  Sean nodded. "How's he doing, and be honest, I need to know."

  "Why?"

  "Please?" Sean asked and let a little of his lion creep out into his voice, causing her to blush.

  "Not well. Every week, he's a little bit less than he was before. He misses dealing with us, caring for us, even raising and training us. Lycans were his life, and he cared about us more than his old bosses would have liked, if they'd known. When so many of his lycans died, it really hurt him.

  "And"—she looked into his eyes, then quickly away—"with you freeing everybody, he couldn't go back to the only thing he'd ever known. You took his life away from him." She blushed suddenly. "I know you didn't mean it like that, but, well…" She shrugged. "He misses his pack, his wolves. He understands us a lot better than he understands people, I guess."

  Sean nodded.

  "Now, why are you here? That's my man inside."

  "To see if he wants a job," Sean told her.

  "What would you need a lycan trainer for?"

  "Not a damn thing," Sean admitted and went inside.

  "Who's this?" Mike asked, looking at Sean curiously as he finished with Tess, the last of the team who'd come with them.

  "That's Sean," Travis said, "our lion. The guy we all work for now."

  Mike looked him over. "You've been taking good care of them, I hope?"

  Sean smiled. "More like they've been taking good care of me."

  "So what brings you here? I'm guessing this isn't a social call?"

  "I'd like to talk with you for a minute, if you don't mind."

  "About what?"

  "Let's go for a walk," Sean said and smiled.

  "Umm…"

  "We already told him we'd shoot him for you," Travis said.

  "And he still came?"

  "Yup, so you might want to hear him out."

  "About?"

  "No idea."

  "I want to offer you a job," Sean said.

  "There are no jobs for people like me anymore," Mike said with a sigh.

  "Don't make me make sad cat eyes at you," Sean warned with a smile. "Come, let's talk; you can always say no."

  "Sad cat eyes?" Mike asked as he slowly got back up out of the chair he'd just returned to. Sean knew that Mike was only about 10 or 12 years older than him, but standing this close, he could see that Mike had a worn look that made him look so much older. Trix was right, he was just wasting away.

  "I've seen 'em," Travis said. "They're deadly. You'll do anything to make 'em stop!" he added with a snicker.

  "Well, wouldn't want that!" Mike said with a faint smile.

  Sean went out first, and Mike followed, then when they got to the street that went around the inside of the trailer park, he waited for Mike to catch up while also making sure he didn't have a pack of wolves following him.

  "Okay, so what's so important that you couldn't talk about it in front of them?"

  "I want to offer you a job, Mike."

  Mike sighed and glanced over at him. "What do you need an old, washed-up lycan trainer for?"

  "Not a damn thing," Sean said, repeating what he'd told Trix, "but that's not what I want to hire you for."

  "I don't do magic anymore."

  "Oh, that's okay, I can do it just fine on my own."

  "So what do you want me for?"

  Sean sighed. "I have a problem, a serious problem, and I need somebody who'll take it just as seriously as I do."

  "And what is that problem?" Mike asked.

  Sean stopped, turned around, and pointed at Travis and his team, who were standing back by the singlewide, watching him and Mike.

  "Them, they're my problem."

  "Huh?" Mike said, giving him a look. "How are they your problem?"

  "Because they're lycans, Mike. They're like my children. Hell, they are my children! We really are gods. I know it sounds strange, it is strange, but I have all these lycans now that I have to watch over, take care of, and I'm not omnipotent, omnipresent, or any of that kind of stuff."

  "I thought you just said you were a god?" Mike asked with a grin.

  "Yeah, well, the brochure promises a lot more than the reality delivers. But it comes down to this—I've got a lot of work to do, tons of responsibility, more shit than you can shake a stick at."

  "And this involves me, how?"

  "I need someone to help me look after all these lycans, Mike. I got over half a million who report to me. Half a million! And that's just up north of Reno! I need someone to check on them, make sure they're okay, answer their questions, take care of their problems. Someone who cares, Mike. Someone who'll take it personally when there's a problem. Someone they'll trust. Someone they'll put their faith in, like they put their faith in me."

  Mike snorted. "What makes you think I'm the man for the job?"

  "Two things," Sean said, looking into Mike's eyes. "The first is, you're dying here without anyone to watch over and care for. You may not be a lycan, Mike, but they're still your people. I saw how you lit up when Travis came into the room. You need this as much as I need the help. Come back with us, Mike. I really need someone like you."

  "And what's the second thing?"

  "I'm their god, Mike. Their god. I can order them to do shit, and they can't refuse. I can do all sorts of mystical shit to them if I have to, and they know it."

  Mike looked at him, a little confused.

  "Travis, who knows this better than anybody, told me he'd shoot me if you told him to. He'd shoot his own god, because after all, it won't kill me, it'll just hurt like a bitch—which he also knows—and then I'll be mad at him."

  Mike laughed suddenly. "Okay, I think I see your point, but that's just Travis and his squad. That's like twenty and you just told me you've got half a million."

  "There's still a lot of Vesti lycans around, and most of them are either working jobs, or part of the armies around Reno. They all know you, and some of them still talk about you. If you come back, they'll spread the word more than fast enough. I'll even assign a couple of the guys you worked with back at the kennels to help you so they can make sure everyone knows you're on the level."

  "Sounds interesting…" Mike looked back at the group standing about a hundred yards away and called out, "Travis, would you really have shot Sean here for me?"

  Sean winced as Travis whipped out his pistol, quick as a flash, and fired, hitting Sean in the leg.

  "Dammit, that stings," Sean growled and looked down at his leg. "Ah, shit, Roxy is gonna kill me when she sees that hole in my pants."

  "Well, I need to ask Trix, but if she's okay with it, then yes, Sean, I'll work for you. If for nothing else, to keep you from punishing Travis for what he just did!" Mike said with a laugh.

  "Just as long as he doesn't do it again," Sean grumbled as the bullet pushed out of his leg and dropped onto the ground. Picking it up, he stuck it in his pocket.

  "Well, come on back to the house and relax a bit while I talk with Trix."

  Sean nodded and followed him back, doing his best to ignore the smirk on Travis' face.

  A half hour later, Travis drove Sean and a few others back to Roxy's parent's place so those who'd been left on guard could spend some time with Mike, who'd accepted his offer after Trix had agreed to go.

  "Why'd you shoot me, Travis?" Sean asked with a heavy sigh as all the wolves in the van snickered.

  "Well, he asked, didn't he?" Travis said with an innocent smile on his face.

  "A yes or no would have sufficed, I'm sure," Sean grumbled.

  "Well, maybe I didn't want there to be any doubt in his mind. You have to understand, Sean, I really wanted him to take this job. Sure, you're our god, but Mike raised most of us, and I'll risk pissing you off if it means saving his life."

  "You're lucky I'm not a vengeful god, or you'd be on store-bought kibble for a month!"

  "That's a relief!"

  "Instead, I'll just let you explain to Roxy why there's a bullet hole in my pants leg, along with a bloodstain."

  Travis paled. "Umm…is it too late to opt for the store bought?"

  No Rest for the Weary

  Sean kept Roxy from giving Travis too much grief, but Sean felt he deserved at least some sort of punishment for being a smartass, mostly because he didn't want to give the others any ideas.

  "You really made them all very happy," Cali said to him later that night after dinner. "I can feel it; it's quite strong in all of them. What exactly did you do?"

  "Remember that guy from the Vestibulum? The trainer a bunch of them risked their lives to save?"

  "Mike," Jolene supplied from where she was sitting next to Roxy. "He was their trainer, and apparently their protector from the other Vestis, as well."