Chapter 10 The Lost Child
THE LOST CHILD
Killian lunged for the edge of the bed, panic gripping his insides. “Naddie!”
Crush grabbed him around the waist and yanked him back. “We’re still knotted,” the alpha growled in his ear. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
Only then did Killian realize that Crush’s knot was still buried in him; he had grown so used to its presence that he hadn’t even noticed it earlier. He flushed and squirmed. “But Naddie—”
“I’ll get you there. Give me a sec.”
Crush rolled off the bed with one arm anchoring Killian to his chest. He carried Killian over to some wolf-themed hooks on the wall, grabbing the fluffy bathrobe hanging off them.
Killian helped to pull the robe shut around them both. Then they were out of the bedroom, jogging through the cabin. Crush’s knot jerked with every step; Killian tried not to notice the way it rubbed against his prostate.
Just beyond the open front door, they found Hansel and the empty cart. The butler was wringing his hands. “Uhhh.”
“Where’s Naddie?” Killian yelped, already reaching out with his hearing.
Hansel pointed. “You can hear her. She’s not far away.”
Crush narrowed his eyes. “What happened?”
“I opened the door,” Hansel said nervously. “And a little brown shape shot out through the gap.”
“Didn’t you hear Naddie behind the door?” Killian asked.
“The cart was making a racket,” Hansel explained. “I was trying to figure out why—I didn’t realize that even though they were both in the same spot, the pup was not in the cart.”
Killian tracked the rustling sounds to a stand of bushes not too far away. There were no other loud heartbeats nearby—no predators. “How did Naddie escape from the cart?”
The shopping cart made a quiet, squeaky noise, like a whine.
Killian’s heart softened. He reached out and patted the cart. “You’re not in trouble. I just want to know what happened. But we’ll come back to that later, alright? Right now, we need to make sure Naddie is okay.”
Crush carried him over to the source of the sounds—a cluster of blueberry bushes near the trees. When Crush carefully shuffled his feet through the leaves, they found a squirming brown shape under a berry-laden bush.
“Naddie?” Killian said softly. “Come back to Daddy, hon.”
The chewing sounds stopped. A juice-stained snout poked out from the leaves, followed by a furry little head.
Relief flooded Killian’s chest. “All you wanted was a snack adventure, huh?”
Crush’s laugh sounded relieved, too. “She’s adorable.”
She really was. This was the first time Killian had seen Naddie in her coyote shift; she was beautiful.
Crush crouched so Killian could scoop up the coyote pup. It was only when Naddie was safe in his arms, that Killian relaxed completely. “That was such a scare. Gods.”
“Has she ever gotten into trouble?” Crush asked.
“You mean, stealing scraps of tasty food off our plates?” Killian said dryly. “Sometimes Walren and our other friends would leave bowls on the floor for the kids, filled with healthy snacks. Naddie would sniff them out and munch on everything she found.”
“Perks of having a good nose.” Crush grinned.
Killian elbowed him lightly. “Don’t encourage her!”
Undaunted, Crush picked a few blueberries off the bush and—with a careful look at Killian—offered them to Naddie. Naddie promptly gulped them down, her short tail wagging. Crush beamed.
“Naddie,” Killian chided. “You’re going to give your dad a bad rep. I didn’t teach you how to wolf down your food!”
Crush laughed. “‘Wolf’, huh? Looks like she’s further along on that learning curve than you give her credit for.”
Killian pouted. “I meant it as a figure of speech.”
Crush’s expression was oddly thoughtful.
He wet his lips and met Killian’s eyes almost hesitantly.
“Look, I know this might come across as me being an overbearing alpha. But you haven’t mentioned any coyote friends, and I figured.
.. at some point, you might want someone to teach her the ways of her species.
I’m no coyote, but... as wolves, we come pretty close.
My pack would accept you and Naddie as honorary packmates. ”
Killian’s thoughts screeched to a halt. “Y-you don’t mind having a rabbit shifter in your wolf pack?”
Crush hesitated. “Well, there are usually... other reasons why a rabbit would be accepted. But I’m sure my pack wouldn’t mind having a coyote pup and her dad around.”
Then he blushed.
Killian stared. “Um.”
Crush gestured awkwardly. “After we eliminate your stalkers, maybe you’d like to... visit my pack? You haven’t mentioned your extended family. I’m guessing they’re all in Colorado. Do you have plans to go back?”
At the reminder, Killian sagged. “Rabbit families are, well, big. I’ve never felt close to mine because there are so many rabbits. Because we, you know, keep breeding. People even forget how many siblings or children they have. I might be an only child, but I won’t be missed.”
The more he revealed, the more horrified Crush looked. Then, Crush growled, “You’ll never be forgotten in a wolf pack.”
He slipped his arm around Killian’s waist and pulled him close. With his other hand, he stroked Killian’s hair, ruffling it.
“Crush?” Killian said.
“Hmm?” Crush brushed his palm over Killian’s cheek and jaw, then down his neck.
Killian’s heart skipped. But the alpha didn’t stop there.
He grasped Killian’s shoulder and ran his hand down Killian’s arm, stroking down his side until it felt as though he had touched every inch of Killian that he could reach.
“Um, what’re you doing?” Killian squeaked. “Not that I don’t like it. This feels very, um, welcoming. It’s like you’re blessing me for a virgin ceremony before I get eaten by a beast.”
Right after, he froze. Why the hell did I say that?
But Crush only grinned, the scars stretching around his lips. “You have already been eaten by a beast.”
“I haven’t! Your mouth didn’t go near my butt!”
Crush froze. Then he bit his lip, his chest trembling as though he was holding in a laugh.
Killian rubbed his face. “Mouth: 1, Me: 0.”
In a throaty purr, Crush replied, “I’ll make sure you’re properly eaten the next time.”
Killian covered Naddie’s ears. “Oh, rabbit gods. What did I do in my past life?”
“You were probably just as great, to be honest,” Crush said plainly. He ran his hand over Killian again, just a casual, heavy touch that didn’t seem sexual.
Actually, Killian was starting to smell increasingly like the forest, more like wolf. Incredulously, he blurted, “Are you scent-marking me?”
Crush rumbled. “Yes?”
Killian’s heart thumped. “Why?”
“Because you’re mine.”
Killian spluttered. “H-how? When? You said there wasn’t any weird wolf bonding thing!”
“I didn’t say there needed to be one, in order to claim you.”
“Oh, heavens,” Killian groaned. Secretly, his instincts shivered.
Then his mouth betrayed him again. “How did you get the scars on your face?”
Crush went completely still. Then he blinked, and smiled a little. “I’ll tell you about it another time. Not in front of babies, sweetheart.”
“Oh.” That sounded bad. Then again, all scars were bad; they wouldn’t exist without an injury. What was I thinking?
“Let’s get back into the cabin,” Crush said after a while. “I may have set up defensive spells, but unless I’m mistaken, those were not invisibility spells.”
Killian sagged. “I should’ve thought of that too.”
“No, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t have a lot of time to put that list together, and Uriel didn’t have much time to get those spells to you, either.” Crush dropped a kiss on Killian’s head. “You did great, considering the circumstances.”
Killian’s face grew warm. Aside from Gran, no one in his family had complimented him; no one had seen any value in him, since there were just so many of them. Then there were his kidnappers, but those weren’t the same. “I’m... not special.”
Crush growled. “You are. You’re a fuc—fudging special rabbit, Kil, and I’m going to prove it to you.”
“How? I’m not spec—”
“I’ll prove it,” Crush said, so firmly that the protests dried up in Killian’s throat.
Oh, he thought.
A camera shutter clicked in the quiet forest. Both of them turned.
Hansel was grinning gleefully, phone held up. “That’s going into Howl Master’s photo album. ‘The Very Horny Beginning.’”
Crush bared all his teeth. “Show that to anyone, and I’ll rip off your—”
“You’ll have to catch me first!”
With flailing arms, Hansel disappeared into the cabin. Crush sighed heavily.
Naddie giggled—she had shifted back to a human child.
“This is something she likes, huh?” the alpha asked, peering over Killian’s shoulder at Naddie.
“She likes exciting things,” Killian said.
“Huh. In that case, cover her ears and hang on tight.”
Killian obeyed. With a bellow, Crush chased Hansel back into the cabin, taking large steps so Naddie bounced in Killian’s arms. She squealed and kicked; when Killian peeked up, he found Crush with a roguish smile.
Alpha, Killian’s instincts said.
The shopping cart raced after them. Crush took a moment to lock the front door behind it, and then they were back to chasing Hansel.
“Down with you, scheming rat!” Crush roared.
“That’s what the pirate captain says to save face, when he knows he’ll lose!” Hansel blew a raspberry.
Crush blew a raspberry back. Naddie kicked and blew a raspberry too, and Crush howled with delight.
In moments, Naddie was throwing her head back and howling in Killian’s arms. It felt strange not to join in, so Killian threw his head back, and howled for the first time in his life.
His howl was probably terrible. But Crush rumbled loudly, the sound vibrating through Killian’s body.
Killian smiled giddily. This—This was the best he had felt in a very long time.
They chased Hansel through all the rooms—the living room, the kitchen, the office, the gym, and even the bedrooms. When the shopping cart accidentally blocked Hansel’s way out, the butler shifted into a falcon, grabbed his bathrobe in his talons, and flew over the cart.