“Mine won’t.” Graham moved to stand by Charlie’s side. “I have family who aren’t Gales. I may not be able to bridge the gap Jonathon Gale drove between us when he murdered my parents, my sisters, and my brothers, but I don’t want my family to die.”

Interesting. Breathing heavily, Charlie straightened, her shoulder brushing Graham’s. He usually called his ex-employer by his alias, Stanley Kalynchuk. By using Jonathon Gale, he’d reminded the aunties that the family owed him. Charlie doubted the family would care, but it was a ballsy move.

Drying her hands on a tea towel, the normality of the action adding weight to her words, Allie stood by Charlie’s other side. “My father isn’t a Gale by blood.”

Auntie Bea waved off Allie’s father. “His only sister died childless years ago. He’s the end of his line as it usually is with those who marry in.” She shot an accusatory glance at Graham, willing to ignore for the moment that arriving at the seventh son of a seventh son required a lot of uncles.

“My point is,” Allie told her, her voice the voice of a woman who wrangled two-year-old twins twenty-four/seven, “the family no longer exists in isolation. We have connections to the world.”

“A very low percentage of the whole,” Auntie Trisha pointed out, “and roughly the same percentage of the world will survive without our help.”

Auntie Carmen nodded. “If we concentrate on saving the family, the family survives. If we try to save everyone, everyone dies.”

Charlie would have pointed out that was a pretty fucking dismal way of looking at things, but since it was Auntie Carmen, that went without saying. “Am I asking you to try and save everyone? No. I’m telling you that you can’t stop me from trying.”

Auntie Bea straightened, shoulders squaring, chin rising. “Are you challenging me, Charlotte?”

“We haven’t enough time to split our resources,” Auntie Gwen said hurriedly as Allie’s hand closed around Charlie’s arm. “We need your power on our side, Charlie.”

Oh, sure. It was Charlie when they needed her. “I’m not taking sides!”

“Because you’re Wild and unconstrained?” Auntie Bea growled. “Another way of saying irresponsible.”

“If you want Wild,” Charlie began. Allie’s grip tightened. Two years of baby lifting had made her a lot stronger than she looked.

“And speaking of Wild, Jack should be here.” Auntie Bea glared around as though she could find him in the shadows. “We’re well aware of who actually spoke to the Courts. Where is he?”

“He’s sleeping,” Allie answered before Charlie could lie. And she would have lied for Jack. “He flew to Winnipeg and back last night to take care of a Siren.”

“Get him.”

“He’s exhausted.”

“And he wouldn’t be if he hadn’t agreed to contact the Courts for Charlotte.”