5. Phil #2
It was stupid to ask, to hint that Sedrick didn’t need me, but now that I’d thought about it, I couldn’t let it go.
“Um . . .” I wrung my hands, and another shimmer of pixie dust littered the air.
“I don’t mean to be intrusive, but I thought werewolves had packs, and .
. .” I let the unasked question hang in the air.
Sedrick set his coffee mug down, pushing a litany of others to the side. One of them came precariously close to tumbling off the edge. He ran a hand over his bristled jaw, and his gaze tracked off to the side. His shoulders were tense.
I fretted. I shouldn’t have asked. Waving my hands in front of my chest, I said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried. It’s none of my business. I—”
“No,” Sedrick scoffed. “You’re going to take care of the kids, so it’s valid.
My pack was always small and consisted mostly of family.
Over the past few years, those family members died off.
William was my last packmate. His mate, Kelsie, is a different story.
” Sedrick’s voice rumbled with a growl that did funny things to my chest. Unlike the dominant were from Dusk a couple of nights ago, Sedrick’s rumble warmed my cheeks and plumped my cock.
I ran the latest advertisements for Muriel’s Zombie Cleaning Service through my head, which quickly cooled my inappropriate libido. Memories of zombies picking brain matter off the wall and munching on it like candy will do that.
Sedrick huffed and crossed his thick arms over his chest. Sedrick’s pants looked thicker than mine, his boots for harsher terrain than the ones currently smothering my feet.
Sedrick had a long-sleeved shirt that barely contained his muscled arms. A leather vest completed what I figured was work attire. The clothes were clean but stained.
“I told you I’d be honest and up-front, so I suppose I should let you know who Dillon and Ruthie’s maternal branch of the family is.”
If my hair hadn’t been contained within my braid, it would have flowed over my shoulder when I cocked my head. “I don’t know much about were family lines or packs. It probably won’t do me any good to—”
“Belview,” Sedrick interrupted me with that massive bombshell.
My heart seized before it started an unsustainable rhythm. “B-Belview?” I really hoped I’d misheard.
I hadn’t.
Sedrick gave a single nod, his lips thin. Bushy eyebrows pulled low over amber eyes lit from within. Sedrick’s wolf wasn’t any happier saying the name than I was hearing it.
“I should have said something yesterday.” There was an apology in there somewhere. “I’ll understand if you want to back out of the contract.”
I gasped, and my heart dove to the pit of my belly. “Do you want me to back out?” Fear laced my quivering voice. Had I been fired already?
Sedrick gave a firm shake of his head before he ran his fingers through its thickness. “No. That’s not what I meant. Not gonna lie, I wasn’t thrilled about hiring a pixie.”
My heart dropped from my stomach to my feet.
Rolling his hand, Sedrick motioned toward me. “Every pixie I’ve ever met has been this delicate, flighty thing that looks far too fragile to be in . . . this.” Sedrick’s rolling hand swept around his home. “But you’re different. I didn’t know pixies could be built like you.”
“I think I’m sort of one of a kind.”
Sedrick shrugged as if it didn’t matter.
“Fine by me. My point is that I think it’s pretty clear I need the help.
You’re the only one who seemed willing to take on the job, and, to be frank, I think you might just be the only pixie with the right physique for it.
You’re larger and seem a hell of a lot more practical than the other pixies I’ve met.
” Sedrick snorted and shook his head. “Those clothes . . .” He sounded more confounded than judgmental.
Even so, I wondered if Sedrick realized how much he’d offended me.
The irony was he thought he was doing the opposite.
In Sedrick’s eyes, he was offering up a compliment.
I noted that if this job worked out, I’d need to purchase heavier-duty clothes.
It hurt something deep down inside. Last night I’d allowed myself to dream just a little.
I imagined walking into Engels Fine Fabrics and picking out something luxuriously silky and soft.
I imagined a rainbow of different color choices.
I’d foolishly thought that with a steady job and the pay Mr. Buttons had negotiated, I’d be able to splurge a little.
I squashed that dream under the heavy heel of my suffocating boot.
“Anyway, the point here is that I didn’t reveal the other side of the kids’ family tree. The Belviews aren’t known for their philanthropy.”
“Or their sanity.” The words slipped out before I could lock them in.
Sedrick stared at me for a minute before he answered, “Fair enough. I would have said ruthlessness, but I suppose to a pixie, their actions might seem insane.”
I wasn’t sure what the Belviews were truly guilty of or not.
Rumors flew around their pack like carrion swarmed a dead animal.
It was hard to know what was fact and what was fiction.
Regardless, as the old saying went, where there was smoke, fire was probably around somewhere.
I didn’t know much about werewolf history, but I did know the Belview name, which spoke volumes.
Clearing my throat and thoughts, I asked, “Will they be coming by or—”
“No.” That singular word burst into the room with the authority of dominance. I would have cowered on the floor if I’d been a were. Maybe even pissed myself.
I barely jumped.
Sedrick inhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Sorry, but no, the Belviews will not be coming to this house. They are not to see the children. They are not to contact them in any way, shape, or form. William and Kelsie left me sole custody in their will. They also expressly stated that they did not want Dillon or Ruthie to have any interactions with their maternal relatives.” Sedrick growled again, low and full of anger. “Not that it matters to Arie Belview.”
“Arie?” This was worse than I’d thought. From what I understood, there were a lot of Belviews. They were a large family and pack, and Arie Belview was the head of that pack.
“He’s their grandfather.”
Shit. I swallowed hard.
“And he’s not about to take his daughter’s wishes lying down. He won’t even let her rest in her grave.” Sedrick stared down, and I followed the track of his eyes. Sharp claws scraped the edges of his pants.
I hated to push, but I needed to know everything I could. “He’s fighting for custody?”
“Of course he is. But he’s not going to get it.
” Determination laced Sedrick’s voice, enough to make me think he might actually have a chance.
Typically, someone’s final wishes explicitly laid out in a last will and testament, was final.
I didn’t think that even began to hold true where the Belviews were concerned.
Sedrick pushed off the counter and moved closer. His claws retracted into human-like nails. Pointing one of those fingers at me, Sedrick said, “That’s where you come in.”
“Me?” My voice went up an octave or twelve. How had this job taken such a turn already?