Chapter 26
Sitting cross-legged on the floor in the middle of his living room, Indrik stared down at his lap and the sleeping cub he’d recently rescued from its human captor.
Smiling at the peaceful expression on his face, he ran his fingers through the cub’s soft fur—now snow white after his bath—and thought about the future awaiting the polar bear cub at the Blackwood Pack.
He was still unsure about the reception the bear cub would receive in a wolf pack, but he had no choice now and hoped the Alpha would allow it—at least until he could find a new home for him.
Walking into the room, Owen sat down opposite his friend, gazing at the clean cub for a moment before saying, “He’s gorgeous…did you pick out a name for him yet?”
“No…I want to wait until he feels secure enough to be himself. Right now, he’s still cautious and suspicious of me.”
“He seems to get along with the rest of the kids.”
“They aren’t a threat to him…but you and me…that’s a different matter. He’s still afraid of us since the only adults he had contact with mistreated him badly.”
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
Shrugging, Indrik said, “I don’t know, but we can’t leave here until that happens. I need him to shift into his human form, or I’d have to put him in a cage for the trip, and I can’t do that to him since it would be way too traumatic. Better to wait until he trusts us.”
Raising an eyebrow, Owen asked, “Us? You mean you and your menagerie, right?”
Glancing up at his friend, Indrik said, “I was hoping you’d come along…to help with the kids. Besides, it’s a long trip by car, and we can take turns driving while the other keeps them occupied.”
“Are you gonna drive straight through?”
“No way,” Indrik chuckled softly. “Trust me, it’s better if we stop every night and check into a motel. That way we can change and feed them before they have an hour of wild time to burn off all their pent-up energy from sitting in the car all day.”
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Three, maybe four days,” Indrik replied, looking down at the sleeping cub. “It all depends on how well the kids take to riding in the car. Eight hours is a long time for them to be in a car seat.”
“We could stop at some rest stops…let them run around a bit.”
Glancing quickly at his friend, Indrik grinned. “Does that mean you accepted my invitation to join me on this adventure?”
Shrugging, Owen said, “Why not? I have a vested interest in your kids since I helped rescue them. Besides, I’m curious about your new home…do you think the Alpha would mind if I stayed a few days before heading back?”
“I haven’t asked, but I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
“How do you know if you haven’t asked?”
“Because I’m hiring you as my nanny,” Indrik said, smirking.
Owen’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “A nanny? Are you fucking kidding me? I don’t know diddly squat about being a nanny.”
“Bullshit, you don’t,” Indrik replied. “Whether or not you realize it, you’ve been a regular Mary Poppins to these kids. You’ve already earned your nanny degree and, I’d say, with honors.”
“But…but…”
“But nothing,” Indrik said. “Look, you know you aren’t happy working for your uncle…”
“But a nanny?”
“Why not? You’re a natural with the kids. And I could certainly use your help since my days will be busy getting everything set up for the school. It’ll give you some breathing time to figure out what you really want to do in life.”
“I don’t know…to be totally responsible for the kids while you’re teaching…what if I do something that causes them to go back into their animal forms?”
“First, you won’t be alone because I’ll be there with you.
Second, trust me…there’s nothing you can do that would be worse than what they’ve already experienced.
And third, being in another pack will broaden your horizons…
help you decide what you really want in life, and fourth, you’ll be able to keep the money you earn since your uncle won’t know I’m paying you. ”
“You are?” asked Owen, surprised.
Frowning, Indrik replied, “Of course…I’m not like that greedy asshole.”
“He paid me!” Owen protested.
“On paper…but that doesn’t count if you never received it. Look, your uncle is a prick who sees you as free labor. That’s just fucking wrong.”
Shrugging, Owen said, “He promised to pay me for real once I paid off my debt to him.”
Indrik snorted. “You don’t owe him anything. Your parents left a shitload of money in a trust fund to reimburse him for raising you.”
“I know…but he said it ran out when I was ten because everything cost more than what my parents thought.”
Sighing, Indrik didn’t reply. It was a discussion they’d had many times, but it boiled down to the fact that Owen could not accept that his uncle had lied to him.
Someday, when he had the money and time, he would get the proof that would finally show his friend what a true asshole his uncle was.
In the meantime, all he could do was get Owen to a place where his uncle couldn’t find him.
As it was, it was a stroke of luck his uncle hadn’t seemed to care where Owen was going or when he’d return. Dropping the matter, he said, “It’s time we put this little cub to bed.”
“Are you gonna put him in the crib in your room?” asked Owen, lightly petting the soft fur between the cub’s ears.
“Yeah,” Indrik murmured. “He can’t sleep with the others until he shifts.”
Nodding, Owen rose and then reached down to scoop up the cub carefully, cuddling him close to his chest as he headed out of the room.
Indrik remained on the floor for a moment, watching his friend leave with the cub before he unfolded his body and stood.
Whether or not Owen believed him, his friend was a natural with the kids…
something he’d soon realize. Picking up the toys and tossing them in baskets scattered around the room, Indrik thought back to the recent text from Cody asking when he’d be arriving, but that depended on when his latest charge would shift.
He’d figure out what to say to his future employer tomorrow, but now his body demanded sleep.
Turning out the lights, he headed upstairs to his bedroom.
~/~/~/~/~
Dylon stood before Jackson’s study door and took a deep breath before he rapped his knuckles against it. After hearing Jackson give permission, he entered and stopped short when he saw Tristan and Heath staring at him. “Oh…sorry, I didn’t realize you were busy.”
“Not a problem,” Jackson said. “Have a seat.”
“Yeah…we were just leaving,” Tristan said, rising. Then, shifting his attention back to Jackson, he continued, “I’ll text you when we get home…and then you can let me know when to expect them so we can show them around the Alpha house.”
“Will do,” Jackson said. “And thanks a lot. I really appreciate your help.”
“My pleasure,” Tristan said, smiling. Then, turning to Dylon, he added, “Nice to see you again…say hello to Cody for me, will ya?”
“Sure,” Dylon murmured, sitting down in one of the recently vacated chairs. He waited until he was alone with Jackson before handing over the document in his hand. “I made a few changes after seeing Theo’s floor plan of the Ghost Bear Alpha’s house.”
Jackson scanned the document quickly, then went back and read it more slowly. As usual, the plan was flawless. Setting down on his desk, he asked, “When do you leave?”
“It’ll be dark in about an hour, so that will give me time to brief everyone on their roles,” Dylon said.
“How long will you be gone?”
“Two or three hours,” Dylon replied. “It’ll depend on what condition Theo’s parents are in, but with Colton there, it shouldn’t be too long.”
Nodding, Jackson picked up the plan and read it through once again.
He was cautious about sending his pack members into situations that had so many unknowns, but had always been opposed to forced labor—if, indeed, Ollie’s assessment of the situation was correct.
Not that he doubted him, but the fact remained that Ollie hadn’t spoken to Theo’s parents; he’d just assumed they wanted to be rescued.
And from Jackson’s experience, he knew that assumptions—even logical ones—could go south very quickly.
Sighing, he dropped the paper down on his desk, then looked at Dylon.
“Just make sure Sawyer cloaks Theo’s parents before you do anything else.
It’s the only way to keep any noise they make hidden from the Alpha and his enforcers. ”
“Absolutely,” Dylon said. “Once Ollie leads us to the basement window where he saw them, Sawyer will cloak them so no one will see or hear them.”
“Good,” Jackson said. “There’s one other thing…Remy is gonna take Smokey, Theo, and Norm to Tristan’s Silver Point Pack, so you’ll have to wait until he gets back before you leave. Will that be a problem?”
Shaking his head, Dylon said, “Not at all…it’ll give me time to help Cody put the twins to bed.”
Grinning, Jackson asked, “Which one’s yours to handle? Jake or Jessica?”
Snorting, Dylon asked, “Who do you think?”
“Jessica, of course. What’s the problem?”
“My little Alpha princess believes she shouldn’t have to go to bed at the same time as Jake.”
“Why…because she’s older?”
“Only by two minutes,” Dylon said, chuckling. “No, I think it’s because she’s an Alpha and thinks it’s unfair she should go to bed at the same time as someone who’s not an Alpha.”
Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure Jake isn’t an Alpha?”
Shrugging, Dylon said, “Cody thinks he’s not, but I’m not so sure. My wolf can feel Jake’s Alpha spirit, but he won’t use it against his sister…or anyone else in the puppy pack.”
“Hmm…interesting,” Jackson mused, thinking about his nephew for a moment before asking, “Have you spoken to Oracle about it? Or Frank?”
“Not yet,” Dylon said. “Cody wants me to spend time with Jake out in the woods in our wolf forms while Jessica does her magic lessons. Hopefully, my wolf will find out what’s causing Jake’s wolf to act like a beta.”
“Or an Omega,” Jackson murmured.
“Yeah, that too,” Dylon said. “Personally, I’m not that concerned because Jake has plenty of time to grow into his Alpha role, but Cody worries about our son being taken advantage of when he’s older.”
“Jake is still young,” Jackson said, “and as my mother always said…kids advance at their own pace. However, I think Cody has a good idea about you spending time with Jake, especially since your wolf can sense your son’s Alpha spirit, but Cody’s can’t.
If that doesn’t help, then the next step, I think, is sitting down with Oracle and seeing if she can shed any light on it. ”
“We will,” Dylon replied.
“Good…let me know what happens,” Jackson said, smiling.
“Absolutely,” Dylon said. “And if you have no more questions about my plan…”
Waving his hand in dismissal, Jackson said, “Nope…it’s good.
Now go see your little Alpha princess.” He watched Dylon leave his study before swiveling his chair around to his favorite position when he needed to think.
Leaning back and staring out at the fading light, his mind was a whirlwind of activity after hearing the new information about Jake.
An Alpha wolf could always sense another Alpha wolf, but that wasn’t the case with Cody.
And thinking back, Jackson admitted to himself that his wolf hadn’t sensed an Alpha spirit in Jake either.
Of course, lately he’d been so busy that, other than at mealtimes, he hadn’t seen Jake very often.
But that wasn’t an excuse for him failing to notice the lack of Alpha traits in his nephew.
Maybe the next time he and Danny went for a run, Jake should come with them.
It would give Jackson’s wolf time with his nephew’s wolf and hopefully he would either see his Alpha spirit or find out why Jake’s wolf was keeping his Alpha spirit hidden.
~/~/~/~/~
After spending the morning and early afternoon struggling with how to use his computer, Cain needed a break.
Getting up from the table, he wandered around the sitting room, finally deciding to take a nap.
Sofia had promised to spend the evening with him, so he wanted to be rested before she showed up with his dinner.
Heading over to the sofa, he removed his shoes and plopped down on it, sighing at how comfortable it was.
Tucking one of the puffy throw pillows under his head, he closed his eyes, remembering his prison time.
There, he was lucky even to get a pillow, much less a blanket.
And the mattress, if it could even be called that, had been two inches thick and usually lumpy. Those were bad times.
Cain gave himself a mental shake to get rid of those terrible memories and forced his mind to count his blessings in the present.
It was something Sarge had taught him one day when they were standing around a steel drum, trying to find a little heat from the dying fire inside.
He’d never been so cold in his life and was sure he wouldn’t make it to morning.
When he’d voiced his thoughts, Sarge had snorted and told him there were too many good things Cain had in life for that to happen and made him spend the rest of the night reciting them.
When the morning came, Cain had realized Sarge was right, because he had survived.
That lesson stood him in good stead when things got bad in prison.
It was one of many lessons he’d learned from Sarge that he used to get him through his time behind bars.
Those, along with the ones he’d learned growing up in foster care, had kept him alive even in the most dangerous prisons—until he ended up in the paranormal one.
There, none of those lessons helped him—but a beautiful woman did.
He still found it hard to believe, but life was growing easier—especially because of his new friends, Sofia and David.
Finding new friends after Sarge died was something he never wanted to do since the pain over his buddy’s loss was almost too much to bear.
He built a wall around his heart, vowing never to let anyone in again, but it was harder than he thought it would be since loneliness replaced the warmth of friendship.
As the years went by, Cain slowly learned to live with it because, as he’d learned the hard way, there was no such thing as a friend among prisoners.
But now, it was different. That beautiful woman somehow cracked open his heart when she treated him like he mattered. Warmth flowed into his heart as sleep found him, but just before sinking into oblivion, he whispered to himself, “Sarge, I have friends…just like you promised I would.”