Peyton
laid on the sofa at Badger’s house with his phone in one hand and Dewi asleep on his chest with her thumb stuck in her mouth.
He didn’t feel guilty about going through emails when she was sound asleep. The two-year-old was already giving them fits. It was surprising she was a Prime Alpha, and that meant he or Badger needed to be there for her until they could instill self-control in her.
The last thing they needed was her sending their aunt out into a snowstorm again.
Or worse.
All because Dewi hadn’t wanted to wear the adorable outfit their aunt tried to put her in.
What are we going to do with you, kiddo?
Sound asleep, in her fleece onesie PJs, and with her brown hair in pigtails, she was the picture of innocence and not the intense weapon she’d likely become when she grew older and her Prime Alpha powers fully developed.
Tonight, Badger needed to run to Spokane to do an unnecessary welfare check and settle an overly anxious omega mother’s mind about her independent beta daughter. Fortunately, had been able to stay with Dewi tonight. Beck was sound asleep in his bedroom and would take the night watch shift later, after Badger returned, so could go home and get some sleep. Trent was in Salt Lake City for an overnight trip to handle Enforcer business and would return in the morning.
loved his little sister and would die for her, but he didn’t feel prepared to run their pack much less raise her. Even two years on he felt like an imposter, that at any minute all the plates currently spinning in the air would crash and he’d let the pack down.
Any free time he had was spent taking care of Dewi. Because he didn’t want to miss any more of her childhood than he had to.
And because he’d sworn to their parents at their funeral that he would.
How did we go from celebration to…this?
Their mom had a horrible time when was born barely twenty-two years ago. The doctors said she couldn’t have more pups.
Then came miracle Dewi, the little girl he and Trent always knew their Mom wanted, the little sister they’d always dreamed of doting on.
And six months later…
The phone rang in ’s hand, startling him and almost making him drop it on Dewi’s head. He managed to corral and answer it.
Badger. “How’s she, then?”
“Asleep,” whispered. “Ate a good dinner for me. Everything okay?”
“Aye. As I figured, just a nervous omega mum. On my way home. Beck sleepin’?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. He’s gettin’ a little bare around the edges. If we could set an extra detail to guard the house this week and allow him to take some days off, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll tell Trent to arrange it.”
“Thanks.”
With that they ended the call and started to put his phone down when he had a thought.
Instead, he held it up and took a picture of him and Dewi, smiling as he stared at it.
Miss you, Mom and Dad. Wish you were here.
was still awake when Badger returned home. He’d just put Dewi in her bed fifteen minutes earlier after she woke up to potty, and she was once again sound asleep.
Badger stood in the doorway of her bedroom, carefully eyeing everything as he always did now, making sure her window latch was secure. “She’s an angel an’ a demon,” he whispered, smiling. “An’ she’s gonna be a handful.” He turned to give a hug. “Go on home an’ get some sleep.”
But…
found he couldn’t release Badger, instead taking a long, deep breath, his nostrils flaring.
Badger drew his head back after an awkwardly long time had passed. “Eh, lad? Wassit?”
’s pulse spiked. “What… Who did you see tonight?” He finally forced himself to release Badger and take a step back. He hadn’t caught the woman’s name.
Badger warily eyed him. “Whyyyy?”
Stunned, stood there, staring. “I…I don’t know.”
Badger’s good eyebrow lifted. “Ye don’t know? Or ye don’t wanna say?”
licked his lips and scrubbed his hands over his face. “I… I don’t know!”
Badger pointed to the living room and they headed there so they could talk without waking Dewi.
“Now talk to me, lad.”
felt jittery, the urge to pace.
And the urge to grab Badger and sniff him all over.
More precisely, to sniff his clothes. “I just… I don’t know!”
Badger crossed his thick arms over his chest. “Yer actin’ a might tetched.”
“I feel fucking tetched!” dropped his voice at Badger’s warning shush. “What’s happening to me!”
Badger’s brow furrowed before lifting, a deep chuckle emerging from his chest. “Ooooh, boy.” He clapped a hand over his mouth, turning to go sit as he struggled to contain his laughter and not awaken Dewi.
“This isn’t funny!” hissed.
“Oh, but it is! An’ it’s even funnier yer not puttin’ it together.” He cocked his head at . “Here’s the deal. I’ll tell you on Friday afternoon. You clear your schedule for this comin’ weekend. An’ you spend every night this week here, watchin’ Dewi. Personally. So Beck can take time off.”
“What?”
“Ye want the answer or not?”
was horrified to realize that what he wanted to do was wrap his fingers around Badger’s throat and squeeze him, shake the answer from him. “Fine! Just tell me!”
“I will, I will.” His grin widened. “I’ll tell ye Friday afternoon at four. Be showered an’ dressed in something”—he waved a hand at ’s old jogging shorts and his worn Seahawks T-shirt—“presentable.”
“Dammit, Badger! I—”
“Shh!” Badger glowered at him. “She wakes up an’ yer not gettin’ any sleep either until she’s sleepin’.”
couldn’t contain his low growl. “Tell. Me!”
Badger smiled again, lacing his fingers on top of his head. “Nope. That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”
was horrified to realize his own cock was…
Well, tenting the front of his shorts.
turned, the older shifter softly cackling.
“Fine!” whispered, stalking out the door and fighting the urge to slam it behind him.
He didn’t even bother getting in his truck, instead running the short distance home, where he left a trail of clothes behind him as he stripped before he hit the shower and quickly pounded one out, leaving him shaky and leaning against the wall, his head resting on his forearm.
What the fuck?
Oh…shit!
His eyes popped open.
Mate!
Fuuuuuck.
He licked his lips as his cock inflated again. He had no clue who the woman was he smelled on Badger’s clothes—goddamn the sadistic old wolf for not telling him—and he quickly rubbed another out.
And a third.
That finally left shakily sinking to the shower floor where he closed his eyes as the water stung his face.
She’s my mate. Whoever she is, she’s my mate.
And Badger knows who she is.
Fuuuuuck!
spent a restless night unable to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. What little he managed was filled with dreams of a faceless woman he chased through the wilderness, just for her to disappear into the darkness while her laughter trailed along behind her.
He gave up before dawn and took a hot shower—masturbating twice—before switching to cold water and forcing himself to stand under it until he finally couldn’t take it anymore.
While his coffee brewed he picked up his scattered clothes and dumped everything into the hamper.
That’s when he froze and wondered if he could steal Badger’s clothes from the hamper over at his house.
had actually started formulating a plan to do just that when he mentally smacked himself.
You’re an idiot. Stop it.
Now dressed in his usual outfit of jeans, boots, and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, he grabbed his coffee and walked through the purple morning twilight to Badger’s, knowing Beck would already be awake. As he reached the property he nodded to one of the four Enforcers who were on duty outside the house. They always had four outside now. When Dewi started school—and still wasn’t sure how that was supposed to work—she’d have an armed guard then, too. Hell, last night he’d left so fast he hadn’t even acknowledged the presence of the sentries.
let himself in the kitchen door with his key. Sure enough, Beck stood leaning with his hands on the counter and his head hanging.
“Jesus, you do look like you need a day off,” said.
“I haven’t been sleeping.” Beck didn’t look at even though he straightened and rolled his shoulders. “Nightmares again.”
Well, that was a topic of conversation that could knock down ’s chub. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“It is what it is.”
“Look, I’m here. Just go back to bed and sleep, if you can.”
“I thought you needed to be in the office this morning with Trent gone?”
“I do, but I can take Dewi with me and Badger can work from there today. Trent’ll be back by noon.”
A weighty sigh escaped his friend. Beck was an Alpha and a year older than . They’d grown up here together and were best friends
And Beck had been with him and Trent and Badger…that night.
When they found them.
“I mean it,” insisted. “Don’t make me pull Pack Alpha rank on you, dude.”
That finally earned a rough laugh from his friend. “Okay. Thanks. Maybe if I go for a run and wear myself out I can curl up and sleep somewhere.”
“Do that. Is she awake yet?”
“No, she—”
They both heard Dewi on the baby monitor sitting on the counter.
headed toward the hallway, patting Beck on the shoulder as he passed. “Go. In fact, take off from now until Friday, okay?” Badger’s instructions to hit him again. “You can take over again on Friday.”
“Thanks.”
walked down the hall and opened Dewi’s bedroom door. She was sitting up in her toddler bed and rubbing at her eyes. When she saw him, she reached up. “Paynin!” But there wasn’t a smile on her face, just that grim determination she usually wore.
She hadn’t smiled or laughed since the attack, no matter how hard they tried to get her to do it.
He smiled. “Hey, Dewster. How’s my princess?” He scooped her up and turned, heading for the bathroom. She was nearly potty trained but they still used pull-up diapers for her at night.
Because Beck wasn’t the only one who had nightmares. And sometimes when Dewi had night terrors, she had accidents.
Another reason they’d already transitioned her from a crib to a toddler bed. She’d started climbing out of the crib on her own almost as soon as she could walk, and when she did it during a night terror they were worried she might fling herself out and get hurt.
Once she was taken care of he carried her into the kitchen. “What’s for breakfast this morning, Dewster?”
She scrunched her little lips together, her brow furrowing in a way that reminded so much of their mom that he nearly cried. “Ceweul.” She pointed to the top of the fridge. “Pweese.”
“Ah, good girl.” He reached for the box he knew she wanted. “But you need to eat something else, too.” He set the box on the table and turned to the fridge with her still on his hip. He pulled out the milk and then quickly surveyed the meats. “Ham, or—”
“Ham!”
Hell, she packed away twice as much as the average human child a few years older than her. But that was due to her being a Prime Alpha, and remembered his parents teasing him about that, that he damned near ate them out of house and home while he was a kid.
Five minutes later, she was two-fisting her ham steak, gnawing on it, when Badger walked into the kitchen, fully dressed but looking half asleep.
“We’re tryin’ to teach her manners, ye know,” he grumbled as he walked over to the coffeemaker. “Ye got her eatin’ like a barbarian.”
“Yeah, but she’s cute when she’s in Tasmanian Devil mode.” He made a funny face at her, futilely trying to earn a giggle. “Besides, we’re raising a wolf, not a grazer.”
“Ye won’t think she’s so cute when she’s a tween an’ tearin’ around here.” Badger poured himself a mug of coffee. “Where’s Beck?”
’s smile faded. “I told him to take off work until Friday. You’re right—he’s fried. Nightmares. Said he’s going for a run and will probably sleep somewhere.”
“The lad needs it.” Badger sat at the table and sipped his coffee. “Ye like that ham more than me now, ye wee fuzzball?”
“Sowwy, Badda.” Dewi leaned in to give him a ham-flavored kiss on his grizzled cheek. “Mo-nin.”
He chuckled. “Good mornin’ yerself.”
This was ’s reality—the pack, and her. Dewi.
And his friend, and his brother.
Those had to be his priorities. And despite what he now suspected, he couldn’t get ahead of himself.
“Friday, huh?” muttered to Badger.
He chuckled into his coffee mug. “Aye. Ye figured it out, hmm?”
“You could say that.”
“Besides, it’ll give ye a chance to clean up that shipwreck ye been callin’ a house.” He lifted his good eyebrow at . “Because if I were ye, I wouldn’t want anyone to see the way ye been livin’. Talk about a barbarian.”
“It’s not that bad.”
Actually, it was. He was never a neat freak but at least he’d kept up with everything.
Before.
He’d had more pressing matters than housekeeping to deal with over the past two years.
“Lad, call Lucille Parker. Today. Give her, oh, at least two hunnert, an’ let her have a go at it. She’ll have it sparklin’ by tomorrow an’ ye won’t have to lift a paw except to keep up wi’ it. I’ll even call her fer ye.”
The Alpha wolf woman and her human husband lived in the pack compound. She was over a hundred, if remembered correctly. When she aged out of her previous job the couple moved back to the compound. Now she was semi-retired but helped out at the pack school, babysitting, giving an extra hand to new parents, things like that to feel useful and do her part.
“Fine,” said. “Tell her four hundred if she doesn’t give me a hard time and does the laundry, too.”
Badger chuckled. “I’ll tell her to come pick up the key from the office when she can do it.”
Once Dewi finished her ham and cereal, and cleaned her up and dressed her in tiny jeans and boots and a shirt, brushed her teeth and her hair and redid her pigtails, the three of them headed to the office in ’s truck with three of the Enforcers trailing along in their vehicles. One would stay behind at the house.
They always had one stay behind at the house now, just in case.
Always.
With Dewi happily coloring in the small play area in the corner of ’s office, he tried to focus on work and…
Couldn’t.
Now that he had a chance to sit down, his mind wanted to wander.
But he also knew there was no way he could compel Badger to reveal the woman’s identity before he said he would. was a strong Prime Alpha in his own right, but not nearly as strong as Badger.
And Badger was, what, ten times older than him?
There was no contest.
also tried not to think in terms of “when” but “maybe.” Because there wasn’t a guarantee the woman would even want to be his.
And one of the rules his father had heavily impressed on him was that you didn’t force someone. Ever.
Even if it meant forcing yourself to walk away from them.
But yeah, a clean house would be bonus points in his favor, sure. If the mystery woman said no, maybe he could at least convince her to come over for dinner. Spend time with her. Maybe something would…develop on her end.
But it wouldn’t if she was too worried about what might crawl out of his couch.
And having sheets that he honestly couldn’t remember the last time he changed weren’t exactly conducive to romantic interludes, either.
While the week was busy and that helped pass the time during the days, at night he gave up trying to sleep and usually spent it stretched out dozing on Badger’s couch.
For starters, if he was going to be awake he might as well be there to watch over Dewi.
And secondly…
Well, Lucille had not only done an amazing job, he was loathe to risk messing anything up. He’d given her an extra hundred because she’d gone above and beyond.
And because she’d kindly offered to clean…the other house. For free, when they were ready to.
The house next door to Badger’s.
The one he and Trent grew up in—where Dewi was supposed to have grown up.
A house neither he nor Trent could stand to walk into now. A house he hadn’t let Dewi be taken back into since the night they scooped her up and rushed her to the hospital when they realized she was the sole survivor of the attack. Badger had everything from her nursery moved next door to his spare bedroom, where she’d lived ever since coming home from the hospital.
He knew Badger and Beck made sure there were no water leaks, did basic maintenance, kept the pipes from freezing, and made sure the AC and heat kept mold out of the place, those kinds of tasks. But neither he nor Trent had the heart to clean it out beyond what they’d all done in the immediate aftermath.
The…blood. And…everything from the living room. Removing everything that had been drenched in blood and gore.
Cleaning out their fridge.
Even his dad’s stuff still sat in his home office, barely touched other than the files Badger had retrieved for them. Their mom’s sewing room with a half-finished dress for Dewi that she’d already long outgrown still under the sewing machine’s foot, the seam partially sewn.
One day, I need to nut up and clean it out.
But today was not that day.
Tomorrow didn’t look so hot, either.
Beck looked marginally better Friday morning when he walked into Badger’s kitchen. “Did you sleep at all this week?” asked.
He slowly nodded. “Finally. Thanks. I didn’t realize how bad off I was.”
squeezed his shoulder. “Next time, don’t let it get so bad. Talk to one of us, please?”
Beck nodded and poured himself a mug of coffee.
Badger also emerged but Dewi was apparently still asleep. He looked up and down and then made a shooing motion with his hand. “Go getcher work done. Meet me back here, four sharp. Dressed sharp.”
Beck turned, scowling. “Huh? What’d I miss?”
Badger smiled. “Our boy here might have hisself a mate come later tonight.”
“And someone won’t tell me who she is,” grumbled back.
Finally, Beck could laugh about something. “Jeez, Badger. That’s just plain mean.”
“Oh, that’s not mean,” Badger said. “I could easily—”
“No! Please!” held up his hands. “I beg of you, don’t drag it out any longer. I can’t sleep. I can barely eat. And I’m about to—” He remembered where he was and dropped his voice. “I’m about to rip my goddamned cock off,” he whispered.
Badger waggled a finger at him. “Four. Not a minute earlier.”
Beck leaned back against the counter. “Ooookaaay, why do you look like you’re immensely amused about torturing him, Badger.”
Badger grinned. “Because it’s the only way I can finally get ’im back fer eatin’ the last two pieces of my birthday cake I was savin’!”
’s jaw dropped. “Badger, I was ten fricking years old!”
Badger’s smile widened. “And revenge is a dish best served cold, lad. Yer mum made the best red velvet cake in the pack an’ ye damned well knew it!”
“Fuck me,” muttered while Beck cackled.
Gillian
Friday afternoon, Gillian had just left her last class of the day when she received a text from Badger.
Ye workin’ tonight? I’m feelin’ a might peckish.
She quickly responded.
Yes, heading there now. I’m on until nine.
He sent her a thumbs-up in reply.
Good, maybe she’d get another great tip.
But by six o’clock she’d completely forgotten the text exchange. They were busier than usual, even for a Friday night.
At 6:14 she carried a very heavy tray full of entrees she was delivering to a party of eight when a scent slapped her in the nose so hard her ancestors smelled it.
Hell, just the friction of her shorts and panties against her clit suddenly felt so intense she thought her ancestors might have actually climaxed, too.
It was by sheer strength of will—and wolf shifter strength—that she didn’t drop the load of food right there and start sniffing the air to figure out who the fuck smelled so damned orgasmic—
Oh! Fuuuuckkk!
Mate!
Somehow, she also resisted the urge to frisbee the fuck out of all the plates to clear them off her tray and onto the table. Fuck the customers, fuck the tip—
She wanted—NEEDED—to be fucked.
Right.
NOW.
She’d just emptied the tray and was about to begin searching the dining room when the cook rang the bell. “Gillian! Order up!”
“Goddammit!” she hissed, forcing her legs to return her to the pass-through window to collect the food.