Chapter Twenty-Eight
Todd
What if?
I’ve never seen Jax’s jaw drop in shock before.
Until today.
“What?”
“Yeah. You’re not mad, are you? I mean, it’s just business, and it’s legal. It doesn’t involve any of them or theirs entering our territory.”
He’s still staring at me. “Pops said he talked to Marchman about me like only two years ago. When did this other stuff happen?”
“Marchman contacted Mike and asked if he knew of any shifters willing to sell cattle to them and put him in touch with me.”
“Uh, why didn’t Pops tell me that?”
“You’d have to ask him, Jax. He never swore me to secrecy or told me not to tell you. It was a given I wouldn’t have them come to our territory without talking to you first to get your approval. I mean, I ship cattle to humans all the time.”
“I’m still trying to figure out why I’m just now finding out about all this contact Pop’s had with vampires.”
“Again, you’d have to ask him. Marchman and his people are solid allies with a couple of covens and fae colonies.
Mutual aid sort of thing. Working relationships.
And they pointed Marchman to Mike. You do realize we’re down here smack in the middle of the peninsula and aren’t exactly the center of shifter activity, right?
That’s kind of the fucking point of why your father settled here. ”
“I know, I’m just…” Jax slowly shakes his head. “Guess I’m having a looong talk with him when he gets here. To find out what else I don’t know that I don’t know.”
“Are you saying I should have told you?” I ask.
He takes a long swig from his beer. “No,” he grumbles, and I know because he’s my best friend he’s letting down his guard with me in a way he wouldn’t with anyone else except Shawn. “You’re right—you didn’t break any rules.”
“I mean, I do deals with other businesses all the time. That’d be like if Davis had to clear it with you if he was buying special feed from a fae farmer or something.”
He cocks his head at me, his eyes wide. “They have special fae livestock feed?”
I start laughing. “Dude, that was an example.”
“Oh.”
“Sooo…” I don’t want to overplay my hand here. “Any volunteers stepping up to help Mal with this?”
“No,” he says. “And I don’t blame them. Now that they know he’s Sterling’s pup, they are totally paws off. This whole sitch is fucking nuts.”
I go out on a limb. “I’ll do it. If Mal wants me to,” I quickly add, trying to sound nonchalant.
He studies me. “He hasn’t been in the fun room yet, has he?”
I shake my head. “No, I’ve kept my mitts off him. As much as I wish I could plow him. I’ve even tried to keep the flirting to a minimum.”
He rocks back in his chair. “Look, I don’t know what’s supposed to happen, exactly, to trigger his first mating heat. I have a feeling it’s not as simple as fucking him. But if you want to screw around together before then, go ahead.”
My cock stiffens in my jeans, and I fight the urge to adjust myself. “You mean it?”
“Maybe don’t fuck him yet. Blow jobs, messing around in the fun room—try to keep a level of…
emotional distance between you. Okay?” He looks at me.
“Because I need to research this. If we end up needing someone else to do it, or even someone from another pack—or we have to send him away—I don’t want you getting your heart broken. ”
I start to protest when my mouth snaps shut.
Oh…fuck.
He arches an eyebrow at me. “Dude, I can tell you already have feelings for him. Hard not to, given his circumstances and how freaking cute he is. But he’s Randolph Sterling’s son.
” His features darken. “And Pops is right that if the vampires or others find out who he is, his life could be forfeit before we can even try to hide him. And I won’t have you caught in those crosshairs. ”
Protective instincts flare inside me. “Just let anyone try to do anything to him. They’ll have to kill me first.”
“Have you seen how fast a vampire is?” he asks. “I mean, they’re too fast even for an Alpha wolf like me to hold my own. You’re an elk and—no offense—you’re big and brawny but even slower than me like that.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. My preference is to never let them know he’s Sterling’s son. But should that get out, unless Sterling’s already been taken care of I’m afraid that could dump another shitload of issues on our heads that we don’t need.”
I rock back in my chair as I stare out at the property. I love these woods, this land. I know every inch of my pastures, of the pack’s parks and territories, and I could run nearly this whole region at night with my eyes closed.
I love my packmates—some more than others—and this is my home.
My family.
But until now I never realized how much I wish I had…someone.
Someone mine, whose heart belonged only to me and whose love I didn’t have to share. Someone to pull into my arms every night to snuggle with.
Someone to spend the rest of my life with.
Someone like Mal.
“Todd?”
I look over at Jax’s tone and find him staring at me, eyebrow arched.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s not talk to him about this yet, okay?” Jax says. “I don’t want him feeling more pressure. Keeping him here might not even be possible. But feel free to play with him.”
“Yeah,” I quietly say.
“Todd, he might not even want to stay when I bring all this to him. He might opt to leave without doing anything else.”
“You don’t have to let him leave.”
His jaw drops. “Since when have we ever held someone against their will? That’s the kind of shit he just escaped from. And you can’t force him to stay, either.”
“I can if I tighten the straps on the frame enough,” I mutter, only half joking.
Jax glares at me. “Do I need to switch into pack Alpha mode about this?”
I blow out a long breath. “Jax, this kid’s…sweet. He’s a good kid. He just needs a stable foundation under him to support him. Like our pack.”
“Only if he wants one,” Jax says. “And that brings me back to we can’t force him to stay.”
“How long am I supposed to keep this from him?” I ask. “Won’t someone spill the beans?”
“Everyone I’ve spoken with today was sworn to secrecy.”
“I still volunteer to be the one to do it,” I say. “Yes, if he wants to.”
Jax drains his beer, glances at his phone, and mumbles in a disgruntled way. “I need to go,” he says, standing.
I stand with him and take the empty bottle from him. “Any timeframe?”
He shakes his head. “Everything’s in flux. If nothing is decided sooner, I want to hear back from my friend about the phone.”
“What will that prove?”
“If someone immediately shows up looking for Mal based on the phone being powered up and accounts accessed, that tells me we’re up against a timeline that we need to quickly take control of.”
“And if no one shows up?” I ask.
“Hopefully, it means we have a little wiggle room to deal with one thing at a time.” He departs and I return inside, finishing my beer and dropping the bottles in the recycling bin.
Yeah, I stroked one out this morning—unlike me on a work morning—thinking about my cock down Mal’s throat.
About staring into those sweet grey eyes of his, holding his face in my hands.
Except I know Jax is right. I can’t let myself fall in love with the kid. Not right now, anyway.
I mean, not more than I already have.
If that’s even possible.
Because let’s face it—I already have.