Chapter One
Dax
“I need your help this weekend moving Alia and Myra into their new office building.” Chase mentions right as we are heading out the door for work. I look over at him like he’s lost his damn mind. If he thinks I’m giving up my weekend off he’s got another thing coming.
“Why do I have to help your girlfriend and her assistant move all their shit? You’re her boyfriend, you should be doing all the work, not me. I am mate-less, remember. No mate. Zip, zilch, zero mate for me sir.” I pop off as we get in the truck.
Just because his dumbass got himself a mate does not mean my dumbass is part of the package.
I mean I am, because I fucking love Alia like she was my own sister, but I’m not telling my pain in the ass brother that.
He’ll start getting me to do things like buy her monthly supplies or some shit.
I’m not picking up his slack, he wants to make brownie points with his mate that’s on him, not me.
I mean I do kind of owe him for stepping up when our parents died but that doesn’t mean I’m buying tampons or pads for a woman that ain’t mine.
“Come on, it will just be a few hours tops. Mr. Anderson was going to hire movers, but I told him not to worry about it. We could handle it. He’s already giving Alia this sweet as hell job; I didn’t want him wasting money on something like that.
It’s just a couple of boxes and a few furniture items. The rest of their stuff is being shipped in from wherever businesspeople get their fancy desks and shit.
Mr. Anderson said Alia deserved something nice for agreeing to come work for him.
I don’t think he realizes how much this job means to Alia.
” Chase gives me his best impression of big puppy dog eyes with the lash blink and everything.
“Maybe he does know how much it means to her which is why he gave her this job to begin with. I mean I’ve met that old man and he’s one smart cookie.
I’m ninety-eight percent sure he knows we are shifters, and he still hired Alia because she’s going to kill this job.
I don’t mean literally, because even though some of those assholes she’s going against deserve it Alia isn’t the stabby, stabby murder kind of raccoon.
” Actually, I’m pretty sure Alia would murder anyone who fucked with her people but I’m not pointing that out to Mr. Anderson just in case.
“You’re probably right, but I want to make this as easy on him and her as possible.
So come on bro, broster, broarama, help your brother and his mate out this weekend.
Do I need to play the sympathy card? I can play it.
Are you going to make me say it? Here it comes.
..” I put my hands up in surrender, because I know exactly what he’s about to say.
He’s going to pull the ‘I never told mom and dad you snuck out the house that one time and got drunk and I had to pick you up and you puked in my car all the way home card.
Granted mom and dad are dead so it’s not like he could tell them now anyway. Plus, I’m a grown ass man now they couldn’t punish me even if they wanted to. Who am I kidding if they were still alive, they could totally punish me somehow. I don’t know how, but they could have somehow. Fuck, I owe him!
We could always fight him for it. I like the sound of that, let’s fight. I want to fight.
Well, fuckmeverymuch there goes my tiger chiming in. Shut the fuck up monster, no one asked your opinion.
Fuck you, I’m the best thing that ever happened to you. I come up with the best ideas, and I say let's fight him.
Lies, all lies. You come up with the shittiest ideas that usually involve me getting into a fight with someone. You are the least best thing that has ever happened to me. Shut the fuck up!
“Fine, I’ll help Saturday! But if you start asking me to grab tampons and shit, I’m drawing my line in the sand I ain’t doing that shit for your woman.
That’s on you!” I declare as Chase gives me a side-eye that says he thinks I’ve lost my mind and maybe I have.
My damn tiger wants to fight everyone and everything all the damn time ever since those damn wolves took my sister Evren as a hostage.
He’s confused about who and what is a threat to me and mine now.
“Oookay. I wasn’t going to ask you to but thanks for letting me know, you psychopath.” He says with a glare in my direction while I’m flipping him the bird. He doesn’t know how right he is calling me a psychopath.
Can we fight now? Can we?
God you are such a pill. We are not fighting my brother.
First of all, he’s our Alpha or did you forget that shit, his tiger is bigger and meaner than you.
He will swat your ass into next week if you try to fight him.
Secondly, he’s our brother, the reason we are still above ground, or did you forget that shit too.
And thirdly, because I said so you fucking monster. I respond, shaking my head.
Fine, we won’t fight him. Maybe Liam or Roman will want to fight.
Sure, let's start a fight with our allies, the raccoons. That’s an even better idea than fighting our Alpha and brother. God you are an asshole. All my tiger did in response to my sarcasm was give me a wicked Cheshire Cat grin.
“Good, I’m glad that’s settled.” I state, turning my head to look out the window, watching the town fly by.
“Dax, are you alright? You know you can still talk to me about anything. Just because I’m mated doesn’t mean I’m not here for you.” Chase eyeballs me with concern in his eyes, but I just give him my megawatt leave me the fuck alone smile, and he just shakes his head and continues driving.
If he only knew how often I wanted to fight everyone and everything, he’d probably kick me out of our ambush. He would blame himself, he’d think he didn’t do something right while he was raising me. That’s what Chase did, he took on the full responsibility of everything on himself.
The truth was my tiger was an asshole from day one, and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it, including me. I’d come to terms with my monster inside me years ago, and I fought to keep him under control every damn day.
Chase had become mother, father, and brother to me and Evren when our parents were murdered by a rival ambush.
He’d worked two and three jobs to keep a roof over our heads and food in our belly over the years.
There was no way in hell I was going to let Chase beat himself up over my monster’s bullshit.
Nope, I would keep that little nugget of information to myself and let him start living his life without me as a burden.
“Yes, of course I know that. What the fuck, has this become therapy hour now? Is that what we are doing on the drive into work? Because I’ll be really honest with you brother that sounds like some chick shit right there.
” I respond in disgust, rolling my head against the headrest staring at him indignantly.
Chase huffs out a laugh as we pull into the lumberyard that we both work at.
“Okay asshole, point taken. It was Alia’s idea, she feels like you’re pulling away from us.
She thought maybe you felt like we were pushing you out now that we’re mated.
” Ah hell, now I feel like shit, because Alia is fucking amazing.
Best thing to ever happen to my brother, not that I’m ever going to tell him that.
I’m still positive he will fuck the whole thing up eventually.
Also, she is the only person other than Evren that my tiger doesn’t want to fight all the damn time.
Nope, they are girls. Momma said beating up girls was bad. Also, Evren would totally kick our ass, she’s a beast.
Now you want to bring up Ma, really? And Evren is not that tough. Okay so she totally kicked that wolf's ass who thought he was in control, but that doesn’t mean she could kick my ass. When all my tiger does is chuckle in response it makes me wish I could throw something at him.
“Nah man, I don’t feel pushed out. I’m just trying to give y’all some space.
Being mated is serious business brother, don’t fuck it up.
No one else will put up with your bullshit like Alia does.
” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. Chase gives me a sad smile right as he pushes the door open to get out.
“I just don’t want to lose you.” I barely missed the whispered words as he slid out of the cab of the truck.
Damn it, I need to do better, he deserves better from me after everything he’s done.
Fuck! Scrubbing my hand down my face in frustration I get out of the truck and follow closely behind Chase.
“I’ll do better; I’ll do better for Alia.
She deserves to have a good ambush at her back.
” I rush out as I catch up to him. And she did, but even more than that Chase deserved for me to have his back.
He had sacrificed everything for us, and I would do everything in my power to make his life easier from now on.
“You deserve that too you know, you deserve to feel like you have an ambush that has your back. I know we haven’t ever really had that, moving from place to place so much.
But we do now, we have allies, and we have a place to call home, a place to put down roots.
You just haven’t figured that out yet, but you will.
” Chase declares as he grabs me by the shoulder, pulling me in, slapping me hard twice against my back.
I return his manly affection back to him with my own back slaps.
Maybe we shouldn’t fight him today, maybe tomorrow though, yeah tomorrow sounds good.
I just roll my eyes in response to the deviant’s ramblings.
“Alright, alright, none of that mushy shit now. We got manly work to do up on the jobsite. Xander will have our asses if we don’t get moving.” I say as I shove him away from me and make my way toward the building.