A knock on the door had us all spinning around. I was closest, so I started along the hall, but before I could press my hand to the panel and activate the unlocking mechanism, I was muscled out by four large pains-in-my-ass. The quads formed a line of defense before Tyson triggered the magical opening. I wedged my way through to find a male standing on the other side.

He was average height – short for a supe – and had a head full of silvery hair, another one of the mystic cloaks, only he was sans cloak, wearing a simple pair of cotton slacks and a loose-fitted white shirt.

“I am Quale.” He did not smile or encourage any sort of warm feelings, but there was something around the dark blue eyes, a few shades off purple, which told me that this guy was pretty closely linked to Louis.

The Compasses backed up a foot or two, and with a wave of Maximus’ hand, he was allowed to enter. It was pretty hard in the supernatural world to prove anyone was who they said they were. Firstly, we didn’t carry identification, and any we had was generally fake. Mostly we judged on power level and whether we could kick the stranger’s ass. If we were weaker, we proceeded with caution. If they were weaker, we didn’t really give a shit who they were.

This male was strong, but there would be very few beings who could take on our pack. We were pretty secure in our awesomeness.

The door slid shut behind him, fortifying our apartment again. I backtracked to the living room, sinking into a sofa, next to Mischa and Grace. The quads spread around the room but didn’t sit. They wouldn’t give up their dominance. My animals were starting to demand I stand too, but before I moved, Quale sat across from us. My wolf settled again.

The male tented his hand in front of him. “I’m glad you made it here safely, Louis contacted me a few hours ago. I have been waiting for your arrival.”

I leaned my upper body forward, trying very hard to get a read on him, but he was like the other cloaks. Some sort of weird hybrid fey.

More than ready for food, I didn’t waste any time. “How do you know Louis? And can we contact our parents?”

His expression remained passive as he focused on me. “There are no traditional contact methods out of the sanctuary, but Louis wanted me to assure you that all of your parents are fine.” No traditional contact, but clearly there was some way. “The Four are still around Stratford, but they have caused no further trouble.”

That was a huge relief and worry at the same time. Those other quad bastards just did not give up.