26. Chapter 26
Riley
The new Pack house was beautiful, and I felt like an imposter as I stood on the front porch with a sleeping infant in my arms. Owen held the diaper bag as Conall unlocked the door.
Owen’s energy vibrated with confusion and resentment. Feeny had woken up on the plane, fussy and unhappy, and he’d tried to hold and feed the infant, but she was having none of it. Finally, I stood and held out my arms.
“Let me try.”
“Do you even know how to hold a baby?” He smirked and turned to Freda. “Here, you try.”
Freda shook her head. “My job is to protect Riley and the Alpha. It’s hard to do that with an infant in my arms.” Owen looked at Conall next, who raised an eyebrow. I wiggled my fingers in a gimme gesture.
“Whatever you’re doing isn’t working. Hand her over.”
When Feeny let out another cry, Owen reluctantly gave her to me.
I cautiously took the little bundle and laid her on my shoulder, terrified I’d drop her.
Then I gently bounced her and patted her back the way I’d seen other adults do.
Feeny slowly settled. Owen glared at me for the rest of the flight.
When we walked into the Springdale Pack house, the scent of new timber and pine oil washed over us. The great room soared with its vaulted ceilings and massive windows, showcasing a breathtaking view of Mount Kinesava. Light poured in, golden and warm, catching dust motes.
“Wow, it’s wonderful. Is it all finished?” I asked.
“Mostly.” Conall closed the door behind us.
Oversized glass sliding doors ran along the back wall, opening onto a large patio with a stone fire pit. The wood furniture and plush couches made the room inviting.
Owen took Feeny, and we followed Conall upstairs to the second floor.
The bedroom directly across from the primary suite had been hastily designated as the nursery.
It already had a crib and a rocking chair, but no changing table yet.
Shopping bags with diapers, formula, and other baby supplies were stacked against one wall.
I’d called Sheila and Milly yesterday, two bar employees at the Thirsty Crow, and told them we’d be bringing an infant home. They’d grabbed a few essentials for us.
Owen hovered in the doorway and looked around. “I’ll take the room next door.” Conall nodded. The air had thawed a little between them, but they were both quiet.
The afternoon slipped into evening. I watched Owen fumble with the tabs on the disposable diaper as he changed Feeny, then I fed her a bottle as he showered. How could a creature so small make me feel so incompetent?
I still hadn’t talked to Conall about the photos sent to my phone, and my stomach tightened at the thought of sharing a bed with him before we spoke.
It was dark when an SUV pulled up. Its headlights swept across the front windows, and a door slammed.
Jamie and Sahara were here. I set Feeny down in her crib, yelled at Owen to watch her, and flew down the stairs.
The front door swung open, and they walked inside.
Sahara’s purple hair was arranged in two messy buns above her ears, and she had a few new lip piercings since I last saw her.
Jamie’s perfect golden blond hair was the same, and he wore an impeccable blue cashmere sweater and slim-fit pants. But the left side of his face had a wicked, still-red scar curving from his temple down to his cheekbone, and his eye had a slight milky cast.
“Oh, Jamie.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
He grinned tiredly, the scar pulling a little. “Don’t worry, Sparky. I’m still prettier than you, and Flint says I look like a badass.” Before I could apologize again, he wrapped me in a hug.
I halfheartedly batted at him. “Hey, no touching.” He grinned, kissed me noisily on the cheek, and let me go. His energy swirled around me, telling me he was tired, in pain, but doing okay.
My throat closed. The implant tried to wall off the guilt, but it flooded through. He’d gotten hurt while helping me. Again.
“It’s my fault you keep getting injured.”
He studied me, his good eye sharp. “Cut that shit out right now. Shifters love someone with a good war story. Sahara, back me up.”
Sahara nodded, her piercings catching the light. “It’s true. The scar is hot as hell, and now you don’t look like Ken from Malibu Barbie.”
Jamie turned to her, appalled. “You think I look like a Ken doll?”
“Not anymore.” She gave him a thumbs up.
Conall appeared at the top of the stairs, Feeny cradled against his chest. The sight of him with a tiny baby made something in my chest hurt.
Jamie’s mouth dropped open. “Holy shit. Is that…”
“Meet Seraphina. Feeny for short. This is Owen’s daughter.” He walked down the stairs as we all stared.
Sahara blinked. “Yeah, we heard Owen was the one who knocked that bitch up. Did she actually let Owen stick his dick in her? Was she even conscious at the time? Because ick.”
I choked to hide my laugh as Owen called from somewhere upstairs, “Fuck off, Sahara!”
Jamie smiled at the infant. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m your Uncle Jamie, the fun one.”
To my astonishment, he reached out and took Feeny from Conall with an easy confidence, and started walking her around, murmuring something low and soothing.
I stared. “Why do you know how to hold a baby?”
“Because I have three nieces and a nephew, and my sisters breed like it’s an Olympic sport. Babies have a shifter’s metabolism. Are you feeding her every two hours?”
“We feed her when she starts fussing.”
“She needs to be fed every two hours. Shifter infants burn more calories. Show me her room.” It was a relief to have someone around who knew what the hell they were doing. We all walked up to the nursery, and Jamie looked around, clearly not impressed.
Owen appeared in the doorway, his arms crossed. “What other nuggets of wisdom do you have?”
“You’ll need a lot more stuff than this, but it’s a start. When you buy clothes and toys, make sure they’re durable. And you changed her into a flannel onesie at night?”
“What’s wrong with the onesie?” I asked.
Jamie sighed as if we were all hopeless. “Shifter babies run hot. They need to be in something lighter, or they’ll overheat and get cranky.” He rummaged through the diaper bag and pulled out a lightweight cotton onesie without legs. “This is better.”
I blinked at him. “How do you know all these details?”
“My sisters’ kids love me, and I’m their favorite babysitter.” He handed the sleeper to Owen. “Let’s get her bathed and changed before you feed her. I’ll supervise.”
Later, after Feeny was fed and asleep, I stood in the nursery doorway and watched her as the wolf mobile above her bed turned slowly in the night breeze.
When I walked into the bedroom, Conall was already there, his jacket gone and shirt untucked. The bed was made up in dark linen, and only the bedside lamp illuminated the room.
We stared at each other, then he crossed the room and took my face in his hands. He thoroughly kissed me, his thumb brushing my jaw, and the bond flared warm against my sternum.
His mouth was delicious and familiar, and his warmth and scent surrounded me. But those photos on my phone swam behind my eyelids, and I pressed both hands to his chest. His brows furrowed as he stepped back.
I let out a breath and silently asked my implant for help. “We need to talk.”
“Okay,” he murmured slowly.
I walked to the window and looked out at a sky full of stars. My hands felt awkward, so I crossed my arms.
“A few days ago, I got a text from an unknown number with some photos attached.” My heart rate kicked up, and the device came to life.
“What were the photos of?”
I sent out a tendril and prodded his energy. Curiosity and impatient lust swirled around him, but no anger or guilt.
“The first photos were of two beautiful women in short dresses standing at your hotel door, then a photo showed them walking into your suite.”
Something moved across his expression. Recognition, and then anger. He put his hands on his hips. “What about the second text?” He didn’t try to deny or explain away the photos.
“I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer. Then I sent a text. It also went unanswered. You have a history of that.”
His energy went from anger to frustrated fury. Old wounds buried deep under my ribs had been ripped open, and I hated that he could affect me so deeply.
“What do you think you saw, Riley?”
I answered his first question. “I got a second text a day later. This one had just one photo of only the blond woman this time, standing outside your suite, smiling up at you.”
He took a careful step forward, but I moved back. He tilted his head. “You think I’d fuck someone else?” I sent a tendril out, but he’d locked down his energy this time. He used to do that when we first met.
“We’ve never really talked about what we expect from each other. Not since you came back and allowed your Pack to start talking to me again. Whether we’ll be exclusive, or even live together or not. And whether being a ‘mate’ means the same thing to you as it does to me.”
“Do you think I fucked one of those women?” he growled softly.
“Those photos show you letting them into your hotel suite, not just once. You didn’t call me back for two days, and then you only called me when you needed help.
” Conall opened his mouth, but I held up my hand and kept going.
“I know the Pack Council is a mess, Wilson is spinning lies, and your Pack needs you. But I needed a few minutes of your time, too. You disappeared for months during the mate bond sickness. The other day, when you didn’t return my call or text, it all came back. ”
“Are you done?” he asked softly as he moved forward, slow and measured, as if he didn’t want to startle me.
No, I wasn’t done. “I’m not a wolf shifter, and like Owen pointed out, I’ll never be part of your Pack that way. I’ll never shift and run with you during a full moon.” I straightened my spine and met his eyes, even though my heart was breaking.
“Anything else?”