Chapter 4 #2
I’d slept with her in the recliner the first night, hyper-alert for any sound that Barrett had come to hurt or take her.
Getting the second crib had helped. But because I’d wanted it out here and not in my bedroom, I got to sleep on the too-small couch.
It was a fine size, but I was massive, and I had to contort my body to fit.
I missed my bed.
Trevor, one of my enforcers, let himself quietly into the lodge. He looked on edge. “Alpha, some of the enforcers have picked up an unfamiliar male scent.”
My chest squeezed, and I immediately stood, picking up Alanna.
Mathan, Drew, Alistair, Taco, get in here.
They were at my side in moments. “Mathan, the enforcers picked up an unfamiliar male scent. Protect the Lodge and track it down.”
“Yes, Alpha.” He immediately left to do as I asked.
“Drew, Taco, and Alistair, stay here with me. We need double and triple protection for her, just in case.”
“Yes, Alpha,” they said in unison, moving to block every entry point into the living room.
While I paced with Alanna in my arms, my Clan searched our extensive property. After an hour, they found evidence of tire tracks, like those from a UTV, and footprints that smelled like fire—or someone with fire magic—but they didn’t find Barrett.
Mathan came back in, dripping wet from a sudden storm that had started after they’d found the tracks and footprints. Taco tossed him a towel to dry off, and he met my gaze.
“He was here.” His voice was nearly void of emotion, but as his Alpha, I could feel his tension and rage. Mathan was one of the most controlled bears in my Clan. Grumpy, but controlled. To feel his rage under the surface shocked me for a moment—until I caught his glance at Alanna.
He’d already bonded to her. We all had.
Taco, looking unusually serious, said, “Alpha, I think we should all sleep here in the living room tonight. It will give the little one extra protection.”
It sounded like a good idea, but the last hour had made everyone tense and on edge, and as Alpha, it was my duty to dispel some of that when the danger was over. I shot my troublemaker an amused stare. “You snore, Taco. You’ll keep us all up.”
His gray eyes went wide in protest. “I don’t snore!”
“Uh, yeah, you do.”
“My house is next to yours, and I can hear you through my reinforced walls.”
“If Alpha says you snore, you do.” The last was from Mathan.
Taco put his hands on his hips and glared at all of us. “I’m not inviting you all to my birthday party next month,” he threatened.
“You’re having a birthday party again?” Alistair said, rolling his eyes.
Taco pouted. “Yes, Alistair. Again. Birthdays are kind of annual things, you know, and I know you all love to celebrate me.”
I chuckled, and I felt Alanna suddenly relax. I hadn’t realized she’d been nearly as tense as I was. And when I finally realized she hadn’t made a peep the entire hour my enforcers were scouring our property, I nearly broke down and cried.
What awful things had she and Piper lived through for a baby, just a few months old, to understand the need to keep quiet so they could stay safe?
Emotions surged through me while my bear raged.
Kill him, my bear growled. Must put down.
I closed my eyes, fighting for control. Despite my efforts, the walls holding my alpha power back splintered for a moment, and every person present froze and bowed their head in respect. Even Alistair.
It took me what felt like an eternity to regain control. After a few slow breaths through my nose, I managed to shove the power back inside myself, and my bears cautiously lifted their heads, their eyes glowing with their shifter counterparts.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I just realized that during the search, Alanna was tense and quiet, and the reasons for that made my bear fly into a rage.”
“Understandable, Alpha,” Taco said, subdued, and the others nodded.
I tried to loosen my tense shoulders by rolling them. “Okay, I guess we’re all sleeping out here in the living room tonight. Taco, if your snoring keeps Alanna up, I will throw you in the pool,” I threatened.
He grinned at me, though there were new shadows in his eyes, and went to grab his bedding. We could all sleep as bears, but some of us were too big and wouldn’t fit in this space together. Akeno would fit if he were here, being one of the smallest bears in the Clan.
After we all settled in, we were too keyed up to sleep, so we stared at the ceiling as we listened to Alanna breathing softly from her crib.
“Alpha, if Piper doesn’t come back, we’ll help you raise the cub.”
“She’s coming back, Alistair,” I said. Just the idea of her not returning set my lungs on fire and made my blood turn to ice. I needed her to come back. Alanna needed her to come back.
He just sighed and whispered, “Sometimes they don’t.”
I knew where he was coming from, and his history with his mate, but it wasn’t something I even wanted to contemplate.
“She will.” I put every ounce of determination I had into those words—determination to protect her and Alanna, and the hope that one day she would accept me as her bear.