"Except Phil."
Brynley shrugged. "It's hard for someone like Phil to submit. Dad understands that. Believe me, he'll be so proud when he finds out that Phil acquired Alpha status without the aid of a pack. It's never been done before. Phil is truly amazing."
"I have to agree with that." Vanda yawned as sleepiness tugged at her.
"And since Phil's one of the most powerful werewolves in the country, it's obvious that he has an important future with us."
Vanda rubbed her brow. "You want him to come home."
"Yes." Brynley leaned forward. "He belongs with us. Did you know he was betrothed to a werewolf princess?"
So, Princess Diana was a werewolf? An image flitted through Vanda's mind of a mangy wolf wearing a diamond tiara. "He never mentioned it."
"He was ten years old when Dad arranged his betrothal to Diana. She was two."
"How romantic."
Brynley snorted. "Diana's father is the pack master for Utah. And he owns several ranches. She's an only child, so that makes her a very powerful and wealthy heiress."
"Good for her."
Brynley's eyes narrowed. "She can give him children. The royal line would continue."
Damn. Vanda closed her eyes.
"I'm sure you're a nice person, Vanda. My brother wouldn't care for you so much if you weren't. But try to look at this with an open mind. If Phil comes back, he can be a powerful leader. If he stays with you and your kind—what sort of life would he have? He would always be an employee, at the beck and call of a vampire. What would you wish for Phil: a life as a leader where he has wealth, power, and children? Or a life of servitude where he can't have children at all and his life is in constant danger?"
Vanda swallowed hard. The sun drew close to the horizon, dragging her into death-sleep. But she knew the heaviness in her heart wasn't caused by drowsiness.
"I've heard enough." She stood and trudged toward the trapdoor.
"Think about it, please," Brynley said. "If you love him, you should let him go."
As Phil walked back to the cabin, he noted the pink and gold streaks brightening the sky. The sun was breaking over the horizon, so Vanda would already be asleep. Dammit. He trudged up the porch steps. He would have liked to discuss this new problem with her.
He opened the door, and Brynley greeted him with a big smile.
"Well, did they cheer for you?"
"Yes." He glanced at the trapdoor. "Did Vanda make it into the cellar all right?"
"Yeah, she's fine. We had a nice talk."
He arched an eyebrow at his sister. "You didn't try to scare her away?"
Brynley snorted and strode to the ice chest. "Would you like some breakfast? I could scramble up a few dozen eggs."
"A few dozen?"
She removed two cartons from the ice chest. "I told you the boys are bottomless pits. They took down an elk last night, but I bet you they're already hungry again."
He filled up his coffee cup. "What do they do when you're not here?"
"I leave as much nonperishable food as possible. And they have hunting rifles. They manage."
Phil sipped some coffee. He'd had a good talk with the boys. There were ten of them. The youngest was thirteen. The oldest, seventeen. They'd all regarded him with a look of wonder, as if he were the answer to all their problems.
A surge of anger shot through him that his father would banish children and let them fend for themselves. "How long have they been here?"
Brynley cracked eggs into a mixing bowl. "The youngest, Gavin, came about a month ago. The oldest, Davy, came two years ago."
"He's been here for two years?"
She turned on the gas and lit a burner on the stove. "Davy was fifteen when he came here. What else could he do?"
"He could finish school, for starters. None of those boys have a high school diploma."
She banged a frying pan down onto the burner. "I can't enroll them in school. I'm not their legal guardian. I'd teach them myself, but I'm only qualified to teach elementary."
"You got your teacher certificate? I didn't think Dad was going to allow you to go to college."
She sighed. "He was worried I might get involved with a non-Lycan. But I was able to go to the local community college."
Where Dad was on the board. "Aren't you sick of him controlling every aspect of your life?"
"I'm happy with my life. And in case you didn't notice, Dad doesn't control everything I do. He has no idea I'm helping these boys."