Chapter 6 Fenris
Fenris
Fucking hell.
Wyn’s scent lingered on my face and fingers long after I walked out of her office and headed to the mechanic’s bay, where I fiddled with my bike and tried to erase her moans from my memory.
I changed the oil and polished the metal frame and fucked around with the brake pads, but I couldn’t get her glorious taste out of my mouth.
“Yes, sir,” she’d purred.
That did something to me on a molecular level. It altered my brain chemistry. It reached down into my soul and ripped out something dormant and territorial. My wolf wanted to claim her for real. My inner beast ached to clamp down on her shoulder and leave a bite mark for everyone to see.
Mine, it roared.
I shook thoughts like that away. She didn’t feel about me the way I felt about her, and even if she did, she was too stubborn to admit it.
“Hey, where the hell have you been?” said a stoic, grumpy voice from behind me.
Too lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice Mill coming.
I stood, wiped my hands off, and turned to face him.
Since mating Maeve, his complexion and overall demeanor had improved drastically.
This time last year, he looked like walking death.
Now, he beamed sunshine and roses and all that corny shit.
But he’d hate it if I said anything, so I just smiled and patted his shoulder in greeting.
“Busy,” I said. “What about you?”
He shrugged and narrowed his eyes. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
I straightened my shoulders and tilted my head, considering how much to divulge.
Wyn going into heat certainly wasn’t his business, and my decision to help her concerned him even less.
Still, he wouldn’t like it. I knew that going into it.
The only unspoken rule between us was that our siblings were off-limits.
“Mill,” I started, glancing around at the other pack mates in the garage.
Moose raised an eyebrow and looked between us like he was waiting for the right moment to step in.
Kai grinned and crossed his arms, clearly anticipating a show.
Gossip spread through the pack faster than a wildfire, and if the healer went missing for three days while some asshole’s house radiated pheromones, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.
Kodiak would have known, simply by reading the bond we all had to him.
Anyone who got close to my house while we were in the throes of it would have sensed my magic giving off “get the fuck out of here” vibes.
I sighed and stepped closer to my best friend. “You wanna do this here?”
He snorted and shook his head. “You mistake me, brother. I’m not pissed. I’m just…concerned.”
Relief flooded my chest, and I exhaled the stone in my gut. “Oh. About?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded toward the open garage door, indicating I should follow him as he walked ahead. I glanced at the others before going with him. When we were outside, surrounded by flurries and the peaceful blanket of snow, I turned to face him again.
“Look, it’s not what you think,” I said. “She needed help. I was the only one around. You know how these things are.”
“I’m not here to give you some toxic bullshit about putting your hands on my sister,” he said, “though we both know she’s too good for you.”
“Understatement,” I replied with a laugh.
“But you’ll be good to her, right?” he said. “You’ll take care of her and any pups that might come.”
“She seemed pretty certain that wouldn’t happen.
” I cleared my throat to hide the slight rattle of excitement in my bones at the thought of her growing big and pregnant with my children.
Sure, I’d raised Lyra as my own, but I’d never thought of myself as a father.
I’d never considered how much I might actually want that. But now… And if Wyn was their mother?
Yeah, I could get down with that. Hell, I’d be proud to call those kids mine.
“Even still,” Mill said. “We’ve been friends all our lives. I trust you. I respect you. But she’s my sister, and she doesn’t need something fleeting and irresponsible.”
“I know,” I said, clasping his shoulder in a fraternal embrace. “She needs someone to take care of her.”
Mill raised an eyebrow and lifted one side of his mouth into a smirk. “And that’s you, huh?”
I shrugged. “If she’ll let me.”
She let me earlier, my wolf helpfully pointed out, after a little…convincing.
“Gods help us.” Mill barked out a laugh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just…don’t be a dick, okay? I’d hate to kick your ass and burn your entire life down.”
I chuckled and nodded. “Ten-four, buddy.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Kodiak wants to see us. Zion’s making a move, and we need to plan our next steps.”
“Lead the way.” I gestured for him to go ahead of me while I contemplated the whole situation.
Zion used to be a member of the Royal Bastards Helena Pack.
After our previous alpha went rabid, he’d disappeared and abandoned his family, which would have been grounds for a search to drag his ass back.
But we hadn’t had the resources. Recently, we’d gotten intel that he’d formed another pack in Canada and had started to make moves down to our territory.
We weren’t planning anything drastic yet, just keeping tabs on what he was doing.
The minute he stepped on our territory, we’d do what we should have done a decade ago.
He wasn’t an alpha. He had no business forming a pack of his own, and we’d make sure he knew it.
Church went a little longer than expected while we brainstormed scenarios we wanted to plan for and which runs we would make to stock up on artillery. Zion wouldn’t go down without a fight, but we were willing to bring it to him.
After Kodiak dismissed the pack, I stopped by the cafeteria to pack a meal for Wyn, snickerdoodles included, but I got sidetracked by my little sister sitting at a table by herself with a book open in front of her.
I glanced at my watch, realized it was nearly five, and narrowed my gaze before plopping down in the space across from her and stealing a carrot off her plate.
“What cha doing?” I grinned as I chomped into the vegetable.
“Reading,” she said. “What are you doing?”
“Wondering why you’re not on patrol.” I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have the night rotation this week?”
She snorted and flipped a page. “I’ve still got twenty minutes to get out there. Besides, Caelum’s meeting me here.”
“Uh huh,” I said, attempting to keep my tone light and nonconfrontational.
I didn’t ascribe to that toxic bullshit, as Mill put it.
My sister was an adult. She could fuck around with whoever she wanted.
Gods knew I certainly did when I was her age.
But, like any older brother turned adopted parent, I wanted her to be safe and happy.
I wasn’t a fucking idiot. I knew she and Caelum had been secretly screwing around ever since they got trapped in that cave together during the summer, but it was the lifeless glaze in her eyes that gave me pause.
She didn’t look happy about whatever was going on, and that set my instincts on high alert.
“What?” She glanced up at me. “What’s that look?”
I shrugged. “You tell me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.”
“Uh huh,” I said again and reached over to snatch another carrot. She slapped my hand, causing the veggie to plop back down on her plate.
“If you’ve got something to say, out with it. Otherwise, go play with your healer and leave me alone.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. “This pack is a fucking cesspool. Is nothing sacred anymore?”
She sighed and closed her book, finally giving me her full attention. “What do you want, Fen?”
I leaned on the table, bringing myself closer to her. She smelled like Caelum, of course, but also dread and fatigue and sickening anxiety. Something was bugging her, and it seemed like she carried the burden alone. Neither my wolf nor I would stand for that.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked. “You seem…off.”
“I said I’m fine,” she damn near growled, her bright eyes shifting amber with her mountain lion.
Unlike our father and me, she turned feline during the full moon.
We were half-breeds, our mother having been human before her death.
That didn’t make us any less shifters, but old prejudices died hard.
Being a dominant wolf, I didn’t have it as bad as her growing up.
But I knew she struggled with the stigma of being different, of not fitting the perfect standards some of the assholes in this pack still held dear.
“You don’t seem fine,” I said. “You seem like you’re about to fucking implode.”
“Ugh.” She grabbed her stuff and stood. “You don’t have to fix everything, you know.”
“Hey.” I grabbed her wrist to stop her, my hold tightening when she tried to yank it away. “I love you. I’m here for you if you need anything.”
Her features softened, and she nodded. “I’m sorry. I know. I love you, too.”
She came around the table as I rose to pull her into a hug. Even though pack was family, all we had left of our parents was each other. I loved her more than my own life, and I’d gladly lay it down if it meant her happiness.
“I know you’re trying to help,” she grumbled into my chest. “But this isn’t something you can do for me.”
“Just tell me you’re safe, and I’ll leave it alone,” I said.
“I’m safe.” She glanced up and smiled. “I’m okay.”
“Alright.” I conceded, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Something wasn’t right. It sat like a tiny splinter under my skin, annoying and persistent, but I trusted her enough to take care of herself, to let me know if I could do anything.