Chapter 4 #2
I nodded. Wes had also been in the rodeo with me and Boyd.
Their friendship had been what brought Wes here to Wolf Ranch to settle after he retired.
“Thanks. I appreciate the offer. I need a place for all of us. Hell, I owe Boyd a beer or twelve for making me buy that land south of here with my competition winnings. But there’s no house. Nothing.”
I paused, looked at Wes and rolled my shoulders back.
“I need to be worthy.”
He frowned, as if what I was saying made no sense. “You wanted to become the man of the house when your father died. You were, what, twelve? Skipped college to make money in the rodeo circuit to care for your mother and sisters. I’d say that’s worthy.”
I nodded. “Well, Clio didn’t give me the time of day. She didn’t take me seriously, even for a date. She probably thinks I’m too young. Proposing the three of us move in with my mother sure as hell isn’t going to help that.”
Wes laughed. “You’re probably right. Well, you really need to talk to Rob about this.”
“Talk to Rob about what?”
Startled, I swung at the voice, at Rob coming around the corner of the building.
“Christ, you’re stealthier in cowboy boots than you are on wolf paws.” I tipped my Stetson back.
Rob grinned. “How’s the foal?”
He entered the stable, and we didn’t have much choice but to follow.
“She’s doing well.” Wes leaned against the interior wall as Rob looked in on the horse. “Charlie was here a little while ago checking on her.” He raised his brows pointedly at me.
Rob swung around to face me. “What’s going on?”
“You know anything about JT, a half-shifter in Remy’s class?” I led with the part Rob would care about.
Rob went still, a frown between his brows. “A five-year-old halfling?”
I nodded. “They’re new to town. A human mom named Clio. She works at Ernie’s, and I’m guessing they moved into that apartment above the garage that he used to rent out.”
Rob blinked slowly. “Come again?”
“What he’s failed to mention is that he believes Clio is his fated mate,” Wes provided.
Something territorial rose up in me. I was usually the easy-going guy. The player. Young and dumb and full of cum, as they said. Right now, I was ready to throw down with Wes just for suggesting my attraction to Clio might not be real.
Or that I was too dumb not to recognize my mate when I found her.
I bared my teeth. “I don’t believe. I know. Clio is mine.”
Wes grinned and held his palms up. “I was just making sure. I mean, you do have a penchant for all kinds of females.”
“She’s mi–”
“Enough.” Rob threw enough alpha command into his voice to freeze me in place for a moment.
“Sorry, Alpha.” I showed him my throat.
Wes glanced at the ground.
“Back to the kid,” he said, his voice calm and back to normal. “Who’s the father? What pack are they from? Is she in some kind of trouble?”
“Yeah… I don’t know. We didn’t talk about it.” I shrugged. “I follow pack rules.” I was referring to the pack law that said we can never reveal our true nature to humans.
“Kiss ass,” Wes muttered.
I flashed him a shit-eating grin.
That rule had been broken at least a half dozen times in our pack, including by Wes himself, because for some reason, Fate had matched our males with human mates. Looked like I was one of the lucky ones now, too.
I wasn’t complaining. Finding a fated mate was a long shot.
It used to be rare as fuck. When one thought about how many shifters were in the whole world and that there was only one true mate out there–well, that was why the Pack Games were invented, to bring packs together every year, so shifters could mix and mingle.
“What’s the deal?” Rob asked, crossing his arms. “Back up and tell me everything.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah. So I went over to Ernie’s to pick up a tractor part, and he wasn’t there. Clio was working. She’s his new mechanic, and he didn’t work today. There was an incident with her kid climbing up to the rafters of the garage and her freaking out.”
I took a breath before continuing.
“I freaked out at first too, thinking he was human, but he’s definitely part shifter.”
“Wolf shifter?” Rob clarified, arching a dark brow. Like Wes, he wasn’t a man for tons of emotion.
I took off my hat, spun it between my fingers, and put it back on in a trick I’d learned in the rodeo but now happened spontaneously when my hands felt too empty. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure. And then Remy said he’s in her class.”
“In the past, I’d never have asked this, but with all the human mates lately…” He swallowed, and I had a feeling he was trying not to roll his eyes. “So you asked her out on a date, so you can get all the answers?”
I’d have been amused if I wasn’t so frustrated. Shifters didn’t ask another shifter out.
I kicked a stall with my boot. “Yeah, I asked her out. She turned me down. She thinks I’m too young or something.
But I’ll go back tomorrow, and also—” I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand “—I was, um, was asking Wes if I could still take time off to go to that rodeo in Missoula to show off Lucifer and get some orders. I have a family now, and while my wolf is content living anywhere, as long as we’re together, the bunkhouse isn’t going to cut it.
I need to grow my business to grow my income for my mate and pup. ”
A smile flickered around Rob’s lips. “Didn’t expect to hear those words from your mouth so soon.” He came over and dropped a hand on my shoulder. “Instant family, huh? Or so you hope.”
Hope? No, I didn’t just hope. I had to make Clio and JT mine. I was still young, and I wasn’t a pack alpha or anything, but the danger of going moon mad was still there. A wolf who found his mate and didn’t mark her stood the chance of going feral.
I sure as fuck wasn’t going to abandon my family by going wild and forcing the pack to put me down. No, I had responsibilities now.
Big ones.
I gritted my teeth because I had a feeling no one believed I had it in me to be responsible. To provide for a family and be a dad.
Honestly, my head spun around the concept.
Me. A dad.
A part of me thought I’d remain a bachelor my whole life. I didn’t expect to be lucky enough to find a mate and not this young. Even Johnny had been older when he found Emma.
Rob nodded, amusement gone, and his alpha presence returned.
“We’ll figure something out. Right now, you worry about finding out what’s going on with your mate.
We’ve got a pup in our town that we don’t know about.
If they’ve run from their former pack, we need to know.
I don’t want a pack war on our hands over a five-year-old. ”
I nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”
He clapped a heavier hand down on my shoulder. “Good luck.”
Yeah. Fuck. I’d never had trouble with the ladies, but I’d also never really cared about one before. I’d never had my entire future and possibly life riding on getting a date. A date.
I’d never had to date before in my life. Never needed to. Never wanted to. But that was the key to making Clio mine.
I was going to need all the luck I could get.