Chapter 6
A NEW ADDITION
Killian spluttered. “How is this my life? Are you seriously asking me if I want to court you?”
“Yes?” Crush’s smile was boyish and bright. Killian had never been on the receiving end of a smile like that. It made him all warm and fuzzy inside.
“Why me? You know I’m broke, right? I could give you... maybe a twist tie ring, and that’s it.”
“Aww, just a twist tie ring? I’m sure you could braid together a few leather cords. Last I looked, those were ten bucks a spool.”
Huh. With Killian’s weekly allowance from his alpha rescuers, he actually could afford that.
Not that he was courting Crush, because What?
“Me?” he squeaked. “What’s there to want about me?”
“I don’t know, your mouth is something special.” Crush was grinning so widely, Killian groaned. “Besides, you did just offer to court me.”
Killian hid his face in his hands. “My mouth is cursed.”
“Or blessed.”
“Why does it sound like you want a blowj—”
A large, calloused hand pressed against his lips, holding back the rest of his question. Killian’s mouth tingled.
“I’m sure you don’t want the whole store hearing that,” Crush murmured, looking so amused that Killian yanked his hood up to hide his face.
Before Killian could think of a reply, Naddie poked her head out of his neckline, looking around with her large brown eyes.
“Awww, aren’t you a cutie?” Crush’s entire face softened at the sight of her. He removed his hand from Killian’s mouth, leaving a trace of his scent—earthy forest, right beneath Killian’s nose.
Before he knew it, the alpha was leaning in to meet Naddie’s gaze, crossing his eyes and blowing a raspberry.
Naddie reached out... and poked him in the eye.
“Ugh!” Crush jerked his head back, blinking rapidly. “Did you just poke me with your baby-spit fingers? Hmm?”
Killian wanted to sink into the floor; this was beyond embarrassing. “Oh gods.”
But Naddie looked up at Crush with a toothy smile and reached for him again, stretching out her tiny fingers.
“I think she likes me!” Crush whispered, looking awed. “Are you sure you want to be friends with this old dog, sweet pea?”
She kicked her legs and smacked his cheek. Crush laughed.
How could an alpha like a baby this much? When she wasn’t even his?
Killian’s insides melted into goop; he was going to become a puddle. “If you get too close, she might chew your ear off.”
“With her four teeth?” Crush grinned. “They’re such cute little teeth, too.”
He stuck his finger out, only for Naddie to grab it and try to gnaw his skin off.
“Naddie,” Killian squeaked, stepping back. But Naddie held on tight like a barnacle, intent on biting a hole through Crush.
“That was my fault,” Crush admitted dryly. “I did offer my finger.” Then he winced. “Kiddo, you have some strong teeth.”
Killian panicked. “I’m sorry!”
“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll heal.” Crush tugged gently on his finger, only for Naddie to give a squawk of protest.
Crush sighed. “Guess we’re shopping one-handed, then.”
“I’m sure you’re good at one-handing a lot of things,” Killian blurted.
A slow smile curved Crush’s lips. “Oh?”
Killian whimpered. “Why do all these terrible things keep falling out of my mouth? We should just wrap up and leave.”
“I agree.” Crush walked more quickly down the aisles; as quickly as he could, anyway, with Naddie still trying to carve out his fingertip with her teeth.
He dropped things into the cart with less care than before—trays of beef, some frozen berries and frozen meals, several boxes of cookies, two gallons of milk, and a few boxes of cereal.
“Are you eating all of that cereal?” Killian asked.
“Yes. You can have some if you want. Or grab a box that you like better.”
“I didn’t know alphas eat cereal for breakfast. You must need a lot of it.”
Crush laughed. “Hey, I eat other things, too.”
He added some canned food, jarred sauces, and pasta to the cart.
After some deliberation, Killian picked up a jar of raspberry preserves, and crackers to go along with it.
In the produce section, Crush helped to hold open Killian’s plastic bags so he could fill them with fruits and vegetables.
With one hand. Naddie was intent on never releasing his finger.
Crush steered them toward the checkout stand, where a friendly old man rang them up.
“She’s got you wrapped around her finger,” the cashier said delightedly.
“Yeah, but the other way around,” Crush replied with a hint of pride.
“Would you do anything she asked?” Killian asked curiously.
“Yup!” Crush had no hesitation in his tone.
When they had everything bagged up, Crush led them back to the car.
Killian’s danger sense kicked up, a low hum at the back of his mind. He gripped Crush’s sleeve. “We gotta get out of here.”
Crush’s relaxed posture grew tight. “Gotcha.”
He tugged his finger out of Naddie’s grip and began throwing bags of food into the trunk. “Get in the back seat. No time to put Naddie in the car seat right now.”
Killian ducked into the car, his heart thumping.
He didn’t wait for Crush to get in, though.
Instead, he began rummaging through Uriel’s supply bag for the other envelopes.
Uriel had some generic spells that he had prewritten and sold plenty of; Killian had asked for a variety of blood-activated ones that could be deployed immediately.
He found one to suppress their presence—maybe the spell on Crush’s car wasn’t enough? Killian pressed it to the center console and reopened the wound on his thumb, swiping his blood across the runes.
Crush shut the driver’s side door just as the runes lit up. “What’s that for?”
“To hide in plain sight.”
The alpha gave a terse nod and started up the car, driving almost too slowly out of the parking lot. Just as they rounded a bend in the road, a black car rolled up to the general store. Killian’s danger sense buzzed.
“That’s them,” he said shakily.
Crush breathed out slowly. He gripped the steering wheel and waited until they were out of sight before accelerating.
“Where are we going?” Killian said. “You didn’t give any details when I asked earlier.”
“A cabin up in these woods.” After driving for a while, Crush took a turn, then more forks in the road, until they were on a dirt path meandering through the forest.
As the trees thinned, a log cabin emerged. It was large, beautiful, and well-maintained, with a wraparound front porch and wide glass windows that gave a great view of the outdoors.
“Can someone peek in through the windows?” Killian asked nervously.
“They’re spelled to be one-way, even at night when the lights are on indoors.” Crush gave a quick smile and clicked the remote for the garage door. It folded up smoothly to reveal a spacious garage, several tools lining the floor-to-ceiling shelves. Stacks of tires occupied the far corner.
“Why do you need so many tires?”
Crush’s smile turned wry. “Remember my wheels smoking at that intersection? Drifting on dry roads burns up rubber real fast. It puts a lot of stress on the car parts, too. I’ll have to inspect them for damage just in case. Possibly swap out my tires.”
Killian winced. “Sorry. You had to do that because of me.”
Crush parked and cut the engine. Then he reached into the back seat, strong fingers squeezing Killian’s hand. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Killian’s heart thumped at the sincerity in his eyes. “But—”
“No buts.”
Crush sounded so firm about it that Killian gave in. It wasn’t as though he could afford any of the repairs. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
“You don’t have to.” Crush looked thoughtful, though. “Actually, there is something you can do. Make yourself at home. We can start talking about this situation. I need to know how best to protect you and Naddie.”
Killian’s instincts purred under Crush’s intent gaze; he wanted to tuck himself against Crush’s chest, hide under that big alpha so he would feel safe.
Instead of doing that, Killian strained his ears, listening for any odd sounds beyond the cabin. There weren’t any—just the rustle of leaves, and small creatures moving in the undergrowth. Even then, he only felt better when the garage doors had closed fully to hide them from view.
He handed a small waterproof envelope to Crush. “These are basic boundary defense spells from Uriel. I don’t know what protections you have in place, but maybe these will help? I would set them up but I don’t feel safe being outdoors right now.”
Crush straightened. “Got it, sweetheart. I’ll set them up.”
The alpha disappeared through a side door. Killian carefully climbed out of the car, only to realize that the shopping cart had followed them all the way here, and was now curiously bumping into things in the garage.
Had Crush not noticed the cart, or did he not care if it made a mess?
“Um, Crush?”
“Yeah?” Leaves crunched.
“You know that you locked the cart in here with us, right?”
There was a thoughtful pause. “I do know. I couldn’t leave it alone out there. It would probably get lost and stuck, and it might attract the wrong attention.”
“Here I thought you had such a big heart. Turns out, you were just covering your butt,” Killian said, hoping Crush would realize he was joking.
Crush laughed. “Well, I’m covering your butt too. And what a nice butt it is.”
Killian blushed bright red. “I didn’t think you were looking at my—!”
“Sweetheart, you bent all the way over to grab those cookies. In front of me.”
“Oh gods, I need a fountain. My face is burning.”
Crush laughed again, low and silky, the sound stroking down Killian’s spine like a caress.
Killian made a soft, choked sound. Crush’s laugh abruptly cut off.
“Is something wrong?” Killian asked worriedly. “You stopped laughing.”
The alpha’s answer was low and rumbling. “No, nothing’s wrong. You sound good.”
Was it Killian, or did Crush sound pleased?
“Um, okay,” Killian squeaked, unsure how to deal with this. “I’ll just... say hi to the cart.”
“Of course.”
Slowly, Killian approached the shopping cart. “Hey there. You shouldn’t stay in the garage; it’s not a good place for you. Let’s go somewhere else.”
The cart turned toward him, squeaking its wheels as though asking where they were going.
“Into the cabin,” Killian replied. “But first... Let me do this.”
He carefully transferred some of the grocery bags from the trunk into the cart’s cargo basket. Then he led the way to the only other door in the garage; this door opened into the rest of the cabin.
The moment Killian saw the beautiful hardwood floors, he made the cart roll back and forth on the welcome mat, so it wouldn’t track dirt all over Crush’s clean floors.
“Good cart,” Killian said, patting its side. The cart wriggled, eagerly following him through the doorway.
Crush’s cabin was something out of an architectural magazine.
High vaulted ceilings rose over the open floor plan; large windows let in plenty of light.
The place was furnished with comfy couches and colorful rugs, lots of pillows that Killian immediately wanted to hoard.
Several photographs of fancy cars hung on the walls, and smaller models of cars were scattered throughout the cabin.
As they moved through the space, lights lit up, casting everything in a beautiful golden glow.
Killian felt too poor to be in a place like this. “Let’s get the groceries put away.”
The kitchen was just as beautiful. The cabinets were a rich dark brown, matching the polished island counter. A large fridge hummed in one corner. When Killian peeked inside, he found only condiments, bottled drinks, and some aged salami.
This was why Crush had filled up their cart so full.
Killian unloaded the groceries, his stomach growling. “Dammit! I left the donuts in the backseat.”
Were they even intact? Crush had probably squished them when he’d climbed into the back seat; Killian had shoved them aside in his hurry to leap back into the car.
“I think they’re probably crushed,” said Crush from somewhere in the forest, further away.
“Is that the reason for your name?” Killian asked, suddenly curious. “Is Crush your actual legal name?”
Crush laughed. “Funny story: I was born third in a litter of pups. You’ve met Titan; he’s two minutes older than me.
Anyway, because there were so many of us, our parents wanted to get to know us first, before picking out our names.
One day, they brought us out to the garden to play.
I got away from my siblings, rolled around in the dirt, and crushed a whole row of sprouts.
“My dad picked me up to contain the damage, but I must’ve found my way out somehow; the next day, I was back in that same patch of dirt, rolling around and crushing the rest of the seedlings. So... it became my legal name, yes.”
Killian groaned. “Oh gods, those poor plants!”
“I don’t have any memory of it, obviously. But my parents have photo evidence.”
“I would totally peek at those photos and use them as blackmail material,” Killian blurted.
Crush snorted. “People don’t usually disclose their nefarious plans until after the fact.”
“Aww damn it!” Killian mumbled. “I want to see your baby pics! Uh. I mean, Naddie wants to see your baby pics! No nefarious plans involved!”
The alpha laughed. “For the record, I was rolling around in a bed of dill. Loved that scent as a pup, still love it now.”
Killian poked around in the spice rack and found a jar of dried dill leaves. “Guess I know what to sprinkle on your pillow.”
“Oh?” Crush’s voice dipped. “Are you going into my bedroom?”
Heat flooded Killian’s face. “No! I’m not! That’s your private sanctuary, where you go to touch yo—Uh. Touch your pillows. And blankets. And bed.”
Crush’s laugh was louder this time. It was accompanied by the sound of plants rustling, Crush walking around in the forest.
Killian brought the shopping cart back to the garage, to retrieve the rest of the groceries and the crushed bakery boxes. They cleaned their shoes and wheels on the way back in; Killian put away the food.
Then he stared warily at the crumpled bakery boxes, afraid of looking inside.
His stomach growled. Scarcely had he touched the lid of one box, when Crush cursed loudly.
Somewhere above the forest, something screeched.
Had Killian’s past caught up with them already?
Killian swore and tore off his hoodie, dumping it into the cart’s cargo basket.
He unstrapped Naddie from his chest and hurriedly left her in the cart too.
“Watch Naddie for me, alright? No sudden movements, no crashing into anything, and no wheeling around at high speeds! She’s just a delicate human baby right now. ”
The cart flipped its wheels agreeably.
Crush was yelling again. He was in danger.
Killian grabbed two sharp knives, and dashed out of the cabin.