Chapter 16
SAM
“What’s the word on the halfling?” Rob asked as he came into the bunkhouse.
I looked up from my laptop. I was at the big dining table.
It was big enough for eight, the number the bunkhouse could hold, but it was only me, Johnny, and Emma who lived here right now.
The two of them were probably napping after a round of wild fucking that Rob and Willow had probably heard all the way up at the ranch house.
They were my age and newly mated. Emma was a human, like Clio. She had proposed to Johnny with a ring after he’d marked her, saying she wanted all the other women to know he was taken.
I was working on my website, adding new photos and updating the order form. I’d received emails from past clients with Lucifer’s offspring. One of the bulls had even entered the rodeo circuit.
“JT?” I asked, even though I knew that was the only non-pack shifter in town.
“The five-year-old.”
I nodded. “JT. He’s definitely got shifter in him. Even Remy says so.”
Rob’s mouth quirked as he came over, pulled out a chair, and sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “If Remy says so…”
“I haven’t gotten much from Clio yet. Her ex is out of the picture. He doesn’t know about the boy. I guess he dumped her before she could tell him.”
“Does your mate know she’s got a halfling?”
I sighed. “Not sure yet, Alpha.”
“Mark her yet?”
“No, Alpha.”
He nodded. “Well, never knew you to have much trouble with the ladies. I imagine it won’t take long.”
“Yeah, well satisfying her hasn’t been the problem.”
I shoved down the note of irritation that rose. I wasn’t annoyed with Rob, I was frustrated with my lack of progress. Clio’s no strings rule had been a good entry point, but I needed to figure out how to get her to take me seriously.
Rob laughed. “I am quite sure it hasn’t. I think your skills have been rated top notch by nearly every female in the state.”
“Not my female,” Johnny announced, emerging from his room with his mate tucked under his arm. They both looked relaxed and happy after their tumble.
“Pretty sure you got a ten out of ten yourself on that last round,” I teased. “Or did you have any complaints, Emma?”
Emma blushed. “Shut up, Sam.”
Rob stood up from his chair. “Well, I’d still like to know who the father is and which pack he belongs to. Just in case there’s ever a custody dispute or anything. I want to be prepared to protect the boy.”
My back straightened. “With all due respect, Alpha, I will protect him.”
“I know you will, Sam. You’ve done good with your mother and sisters. But everyone needs pack protection. You trusted the pack to help you with your family, and now we need to make sure Clio has what she needs to help JT.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
I showed him my throat, and he nodded and walked out, with a wave at Johnny and Emma.
Fuck. The last thing I needed was pressure from my alpha. I had more to worry about than finding out if Clio knew that her son was part shifter. She was my mate. The female I wanted to mark. The female I needed to protect.
And I couldn’t even get the woman to go out on a date!