Chapter 9
Six months later
Beatrix
After adding a bouncy soundtrack to accompany the video compilation of the rescue’s dogs available for adoption, Beatrix posted it to Big and Small Animal Rescue’s social media accounts. She waited to make sure they all uploaded, then closed the laptop and stood up to stretch.
Due to Arthur’s funding, she’d been able to quit her regular job and go to work for Titan’s rescue full time. It was amazing! She spent half her time doing social media and administrative stuff, then the rest of the day playing with dogs.
It was the best life.
Arthur had also upgraded and expanded Titan’s original small animal facility.
He’d bought the industrial property next door and had it completely redesigned.
Now they could comfortably house almost twice the animals.
The cattery was twice the original size, and each dog got a big dog run with a giant dog house that was equipped with heating and cooling!
Along with the larger facility, he’d hired full-time staff to help. Titan still did a lot, but he didn’t have to run himself ragged any longer. There were enough staff and volunteers now that all the dogs got one-on-one time with human handlers each day.
She was proud to say these were the most spoiled rescue animals ever!
Arthur had also hinted about another property for the rescue but wouldn’t give them details. It was going to be a big surprise for Titan’s thirtieth birthday.
Thinking of Titan’s birthday made her pick up her phone and check the group chat titled “TSPPC” which stood for Titan’s Surprise Party Planning Committee.
Briar: Are you sure you don’t want strippers? They’re really good!
Maddy: Do you want Titan to die of embarrassment?
Briar: Not die, no. But I bet it’d be hilarious to watch while half-naked men and women used him like a stripper pole.
Maddy: No strippers.
Briar: Come on! What about one stripper?
Maddy: Zero strippers. I mean it.
Memphis: I’ve got the cake ordered. I’ll pick it up on the way over to the Dapper Dog.
Cora: Pike is already over there decorating. Everyone better say all kinds of nice things about the decorations!
Beatrix snorted out a laugh. Cora was very protective of her bear shifter mate. Pike was a sweetheart in the body of a giant, similar to Titan. Pike might be a bear shifter and Titan was a wolf, but the two of them were a lot alike.
She could understand Cora’s protectiveness. She felt the same way. Last week, someone had started shouting at Titan because the dog they wanted had already been adopted. Titan had let them rant at him, but Beatrix had gotten between the woman and Titan and cussed her off the property.
More texts appeared.
Tobias: I’ve verified that the local jazz band Titan likes will be there.
Maddy: What about the food?
Mikey: All the food is vegetarian. I double-checked.
Lex: Never thought I’d ever meet a vegetarian wolf.
Imani: Be nice Lex.
Lex: I’m never nice.
Imani: Lex!
Mac: I’ll make sure Lex behaves or no spanking.
Briar: Wait, shouldn’t that be reversed? He gets spanked if he’s bad?
Imani: Maybe in your relationship, but not ours.
That was followed by a flurry of emojis. Big eyes in a red face from Briar. Laughing from Imani. Finally there was an evil devil from Mac.
She got a bad feeling through their bond. Something was causing her sweet wolf distress. That wasn’t allowed.
Shoving her chiming phone into her back pocket, she rushed out of the building and immediately heard familiar voices.
“I wish you’d at least talk to Arthur about moving to New Mexico.”
“The Lobo Gris has several vampires, and the Clover Pack has Jack. Our pack should have a vampire as well. When a vampire mates to a pack's alpha, the pack is more secure.”
“It’s fine if you don't want to fight. When you become the alpha after us, no one will even consider challenging you.”
Beatrix turned a corner and found that Titan’s parents had him cornered in front of the cattery. They weren’t mean people, but Titan was their only child, and they were incredibly disappointed that he wouldn’t take over as leader of their pack.
He’d moved from New Mexico to San Diego specifically to get away from his family’s pack. Unaware of the pressure they put on Titan, Beatrix had invited the couple to town for Titan’s birthday. She thought the hard part would be keeping them from revealing the surprise party.
It turned out she didn’t need to worry because they didn’t want to talk about Titan’s birthday. The moment they picked Jill and Mathew up from the airport, all they’d done was encourage Titan to move back to New Mexico.
She’d let it go until now, but the look of guilt on Titan’s face made her unbelievably angry.
Marching up to the small group, she put herself between Titan and his parents. Jill and Mathew stepped back and smiled down at her. Both were alphas, which meant they were naturally protective of their pack and those weaker than themselves, which now included her.
Unfortunately, they had a blind spot when it came to Titan.
“Hi, Beatrix!” Jill said, beaming down at her. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Thank you for getting the hotel room for us,” Mathew said. “It’s a nice place. You were right, the restaurant across the street is very good.”
She’d been nervous the first time she’d met them, but like Mikey’s pack, they welcomed non-wolves into their family with warmth and acceptance.
They looked at her as a small, fragile human that had to be treated with care or she might break.
Even after she’d explained that she was a pixie now, they still considered her someone to protect.
She would’ve found it endearing if they weren’t so unnecessarily demanding of Titan.
“I’m happy to see both of you,” she said. “But I never want either of you to ever say anything to Titan about going back to New Mexico. If I find either of you pressuring him to take over as alpha, I’ll do something we’ll all regret.”
The couple’s eyes went wide with surprise.
Jill recovered first. “Beatrix, you’re not a wolf so you don’t understand this, but Titan comes from a long line of alphas, it’s in his blood.
It’s not just that Mathew and I are alphas, but both our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were all alphas.
He’ll be the first in four generations to turn down the role of leadership in our pack.
He would be the end of an honored tradition. ”
“Tradition is nothing but peer pressure from dead people,” Beatrix quipped. “Titan doesn’t want to be an alpha. That should be the end of it.”
Neither of them got angry with her, but they both looked frustrated.
It was weird that she was facing down this wolf shifter couple that were both six foot four inches and built like weight lifters, but wasn’t afraid.
She knew they’d never hurt her. But she was done with letting them emotionally manipulate Titan.
“We know he could be an alpha if he only tried harder,” Mathew said.
“Now that he’s mated to you and Arthur, he doesn't need to be an alpha that fights,” Jill said, as if looking for a compromise. “He could be a caregiver, and Arthur could fight for him.”
Before they could continue, she held up a hand. “No is a complete sentence. There doesn’t need to be any further discussion. I like both of you. I want you to be in Titan’s life, but if either of you keep pressuring him, I’ll cut you off.”
Jill shook her head. “You can’t cut us off, we’re his parents and his alphas.”
“You’re his parents but not his alphas. I know how wolf packs work. Mikey is Titan’s alpha, and I know he wouldn’t like what you’re doing here,” Beatrix said.
She could feel Titan’s growing distress through their bond. She pressed the back of her body against his front. When he put his hands on her shoulders, she grabbed them and pulled them around her body.
“We’re still his parents,” Mathew said, a deep frown spreading across his face.
“That’s why I’ve let you get away with so much,” Beatrix said. “But if you keep pushing him, you won’t be welcome here any longer. Mikey won’t give you permission to be in his territory. Don’t ask me what Arthur will do, but I’m sure you won’t like it.”
Mathew and Jill straightened up, and she could feel their alpha power pressing on her skin. She wasn’t a shifter so it didn’t really affect her, but she could feel Titan shrink next to her.
“Stop that,” she barked. She stared both of them down and pointed. “Leave. We’ll meet with you later, but if your attitude doesn't change, that will be the last time you see Titan.”
Mathew wasn’t ready to give up. “We only want him to follow our family’s legacy. Is that too much to ask?”
She could feel the pain his parent’s words were causing him. Each comment they made was a stinging blow to Titan’s sense of self-worth.
“He doesn’t need to be anything but himself!” she yelled at them. “He’s an amazing man. He’s perfect the way he is, and I’m sorry you can’t see it.”
Before either of them could say anything else that might hurt Titan’s feelings, she grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
“I need your help in the east side dog run,” she said and marched off with him in tow.
The moment they had a building between them and Titan’s parents, she stopped.
“I thought we, oh, this is better,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tight. He hugged her back with a happy sigh. “Thank you for rescuing me. They don’t mean to be like that, they just can’t help it.”
“They aren’t allowed to talk to you like that ever again,” she swore, pushing love through their bond. She could feel many of his insecurities eased through their link.
“Did you mean what you said?”
She pushed more of her positive and loving feelings to him through the link. She could feel curiosity from Arthur, but a gentle not now from her quieted him.
“I meant every word and more. I admire you so much, Titan. I only volunteered at the shelter one day a week, and that was the hardest work I’d ever done. You’ve built this up from nothing. You’ve done more good in this world than anyone else I know.”
He looked both embarrassed and pleased by her praise. She put a hand over his mouth before he could start arguing with her.
“I’m so proud to be part of Big and Small Animal Rescue.
You don’t just save animals but people too.
Your youth program gives kids the chance to bond with animals when they can’t have them in their apartments.
I noticed that Igor, the three-legged pittie-mix, was taken off the available list yesterday.
The only reason I can think of is that it would break Yasmin’s heart if he was adopted.
She spends all her time with that dog. He’s the only thing motivating her to keep her grades up.
I can’t think of a single rescue that would ever do that! ”
He pulled his face away from her hand. “Because it’s irresponsible. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Of course you should’ve!” she objected, grabbing his shirt and giving him a little shake. Predictably, he didn’t move because he was so damn massive, but her actions did make him grin.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said, mimicking his deep voice, making him laugh. “We have plenty of room and the funds to keep Igor forever, or until Yasmin can adopt him someday. Those two are important to each other. You saw that, and I love you for it. You care about everyone.”
She reached up and pressed her palms against his cheeks. “I can see your aura so I can tell you with full confidence that you have a beautiful soul. Gorgeous. Stunning.”
He batted his eyelashes at her. “I’m gorgeous and stunning?”
She relaxed, happy that she could feel Titan’s cautious belief in her words. He wanted to be worthy, but too many years of being told he wasn’t enough by his parents had taken a toll on him.
She was determined to undo the damage as best she could every day for the rest of their lives.
“You’re gorgeous and stunning in every way,” she said, then nodded to a nearby building. “That storage room is still empty. We could use it so I could show you how much I love you.”
He chucked and shook his head. “I’ve got too much to do before Arthur gets here. Remember, he has a surprise and then there’s the book club later. I need to make sure everything is done so I don’t worry all evening.”
Beatrix gave him a mock glare. “I can’t believe you’re turning me down for work.”
Titan laughed. “Well, maybe we could have a little fun.”
She pointedly looked down at his crotch. “There’s no ‘little’ anywhere on you.”
They disappeared into the empty room and spent a very pleasant time making Arthur jealous through their link.
Beatrix couldn’t wait for his retribution later that night!