The previous alpha had been a tyrant, an asshole, a rapist, and a terrible, horrible, no-good jackass. In fact, Adrian had been the one to kill Melvin Hayes. The alpha might have died anyhow, but Adrian had to make sure that Melvin died. Otherwise, Melvin would have died from wounds inflicted by a different werewolf. Adrian hadn't wanted that since that werewolf had been the lover of his childhood friend. They deserved to have peace, so Adrian had ensured that was the case.
Only that meant Hazel Park had a period of five years of chaos and war that had only just now ended because of Kiera. He had helped a little too.
The ground beef had finished browning, and he drained the grease. All right, al transferred to a bowl, and he slopped in ricotta cheese and lots of sauce. He had soaked the noodles in water. Should he cook them? No, they seemed soft enough. He laid some in the bottom of the pan, mixed the cheese, sauce, and meat mixture to a soupy pink mess, dumped a fair amount on, added more noodles, and continued until he used up all of the mixture. He laid more noodles on top, added sauce, and dumped cheese on top. He covered the pan with foil and placed it in the oven.
For dessert, Adrian had bought an apple pie. He wasn't ambitious enough to try to make anything. The one time he'd tried to make brownies, they hadn't cooked all the way through, a gooey, gross mess of wasted chocolate. It had been disgusting, and he hadn't tried cakes or cookies or pies or anything since.
He patted his pocket. The ring box there felt like it weighed him down. Should he propose during dinner? Dessert was a bit cliché, and he definitely wasn’t going to put it in the pie and get the ring all dirty. Dinner it was.
As the lasagna cooked, he placed silverware and plates on the table, napkins and wine glasses too. Adrian set the wine bottle on the table but opted to wait until she was here to pour it. As a finishing touch, he put two candles on the table and light them. The faint scent of vanilla was overpowered by the lasagna. At least that smelled good.
Five minutes before it was done, he removed the foil so the cheese could brown. He had just brought the lasagna tray to the table when someone knocked on the door.
Adrian rushed over to the door, took a deep breath, and then opened it. “Kiera, come in.”
His love smiled at him and kissed him, a real quick one as she pulled back, her brows furrowed. “You cooked?”
“I can cook,” he said, pretending to be hurt. “Why don’t you think I can? I didn’t get this body by eating fast food all the time.”
She laughed. “You do watch what you eat a little too carefully,” she teased.
“I do not.”
“At least you don’t work out five hours a day.”
"Just one." He flexed. Adrian was built like a bodybuilder. He'd thought about competing but never had. He lifted weights for himself. He wanted to be strong.
"Hmm." Kiera winked and made her way over to the table. “This looks wonderful.”
“I hope it tastes good,” he said, trying not to be nervous.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”
Adrian plated them both healthy portions. Unfortunately, the lasagna was more like soup. “I should’ve given us bowls,” he said, apologetic.
“Don’t worry about it.” She grinned as he poured the wine. “Want me to make the toast?” she asked.
Adrian hesitated. He had figured he would, that he would use it to transition into his proposal, but he also wanted to hear what she had to say. “Go ahead.”
She lifted hers and waited for him to do the same. “To—”
Another knock sounded at the door.
Adrian winced and wrinkled his nose. “Who can that be?” he growled, frustrated.
“You aren’t expecting anyone?” Kiera asked.
“Of course not,” he said.
“But you made an entire pan of lasagna. I know you can eat, but that’s so much food.”
“Maybe they’ll go away,” Adrian said. He tried to sniff, but he couldn’t smell much over the overwhelming scent of the food and Kiera’s faint perfume. She always smelled good enough to eat.
The person knocked again.
Keira just looked at him. “Go and see who it is. It might be important.”
“Only if the person wants to take you away from me,” he grumbled as he stood.
She grimaced. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
He walked over to the door and opened it. To his shock, his childhood friend, the one who had been the one whose lover had nearly killed Melvin, stood there.
“Alexis,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
Chapter 2
Kiera tried not to eavesdrop, but it was all too easy. She continued to eat as she glanced over and spied Alexis smiling at Adrian. Kiera didn’t feel any jealousy at all. Adrian had already told her that he and Alexis had been close growing up.
“I came back to town,” Alexis was saying. “You made me so worried and anxious that we only just returned. Mandy too and her husband, Clint. I had to make sure they would stay safe too. It wasn’t easy to keep Mandy away for so long, and she had a hell of a time convincing her parents to take a vacation and leave town for a bit but… I wanted to see how everything was going. Are you okay?”
“I was supposed to let you know when it was okay to come back,” Adrian said. For some reason, it sounded like he was on edge. “I’m sorry. Look… I’m sure you have questions. Sure, can do. Later. Right now, I’m a little—”
“Who is it?” Kiera asked, coming up behind him, wanting to find out what was bothering him. She wrapped her arm around his waist. “Alexis, hi. Come on in. Are you hungry? There’s more than enough food. Adrian made lasagna.”
“He can cook?” Alexis asked.
Adrian forced a smile as he opened the door wider to let Alexis in. Why does he look like he swallowed a worm?
“I can cook,” he said.
“Really? Those brownies you made were disgusting,” Alexis said as she pulled out a chair and sat down.
“That’s dessert. This is dinner. I can cook, not bake.”
“There isn’t that much of a difference,” Kiera said. “You follow recipes for both.”
“There are more nuances to baking,” he insisted.
“Not really,” Alexis said, and the two female werewolves burst out laughing.
“I’ll get you a plate,” Adrian said, glaring at Alexis. She just grinned and smiled at Kiera.
He rushed to the kitchen. Alexis immediately began to laugh again.
“What’s so funny?” Kiera asked, feeling like she was missing an inside joke.
Alexis waved her closer and began to whisper in tones low enough that even Adrian’s superior hearing would have a hard time making out what they were saying. They were laughing again by the time he returned.
“Why do I feel like I’m the butt of whatever joke was just told?” he asked.
Kiera and Alexis looked at each other and laughed even harder now. Eventually, Kiera calmed down enough to say, “Yes, definitely, hon, the butt.”
Adrian furrowed his brow, perplexed, and then groaned. “Damn it, Alexis. You swore you would never tell anyone that story!”
“I’m sorry!” Alexis said. She shrugged. “You were wearing gray pants that day too. Normally you wear blue or black pants so… I was reminded about it.”
“It’s one thing to have a rip in the butt of your pants,” Kiera said.
“Everyone does at one time or another. You bend over, and it rips.”
“But to not even be wearing underwear…” Kiera giggled.
“Look, I told Alexis it was a dare. My pants ripped right in front of her. I was eleven, in the sixth grade, and good enough at baseball to make the varsity team with the eighth graders. They dared me to go to school with no underwear. Yes, I wore gray pants, but I didn’t go to school in them.”
Alexis laughed harder. She opened her mouth and tried to talk but couldn’t.
“Alexis and I were walking to school when it happened," Adrian said glaring at
her. "Although it was sweltering out, she had on leggings underneath her dress for some reason."
“Hey, that turned out to be a blessing!” Alexis said.
“Yeah, well, we didn’t have time to turn around for me to get new pants so…”
“So I stripped off the leggings and gave them to Adrian.”
“No.” Keira gasped.
He turned to Alexis. “You hadn’t told her the entire story?”
Alexis just shook her head. Her face was bright red from laughing so hard.
“Glad you find this so funny,” he muttered.
“He had to hide behind bushes so he could change into the leggings,” Alexis managed.
Kiera’s eyes bulged. “But his junk…”
“My shirt was long enough to cover my front and back,” he said.
“Wait. Hold up.” Kiera held up a hand. “You fit into her leggings?”
Alexis giggled.
Adrian sighed. “I was eleven,” he repeated.
“He did. He did! Elastic waist, of course, and he wore them basically as long shorts, but he did. Wore them all day.”
“I had practice after school.”
“Another question,” Keira said, smirking. “Didn’t you have gym clothes or baseball clothes in a bag or something?”
“I’m getting there.” Adrian sighed. “Yes, normally, I had my baseball equipment in a bag I kept at school for practice immediately once school ended, but because Murphy hated me, I forgot it at school. Wouldn’t have had to wear the damn leggings if I had it at school. Could’ve taken off the leggings there. Instead, I had to race home, get changed, and hurry back to school. I was late, of course, so Coach had me run laps. That was fun. Not.”
“One last question.” Kiera’s phone beeped. She pulled it out of her pocket, looked at it, grimaced, and looked at Adrian.
“Who is it?” he asked.
She waved his question away. “How did the guys on the team know if you actually didn’t wear underwear?”
“Trust me, they knew,” he said.
Kiera just shook her head. “Unreal. Alexis, you’ll have to tell me more stories.”
“Of course.”
“Another time, unfortunately.” Kiera stood. “I have to go. Alpha business.”
She walked over, kissed his forehead, waved to Alexis and left. As much as she wanted to stay and figure out what was bothering Adrian, because something obviously was, that would have to wait. Duty called. Honestly, she hadn’t realized just how much of her time wouldn’t be her own. Adrian wouldn’t want to break up with her over it, right?
Chapter 3
To say that Adrian was disappointed that he couldn’t propose to Kiera was an understatement. He had gone to so much trouble to make the lasagna, and it tasted delicious if he said so himself, but now how and when was he going to propose to her? And she hadn’t even eaten half of her portion.
He jabbed at his plate.
“What’s wrong?” Alexis asked.
“Nothing.”
She paused and lowered her fork back to her plate. "We might not be as close as we used to be, but something is going on. I understand if you don't want to tell me, but I'm still here for you if you do want to share."
“Everything’s been so crazy lately,” he said. “You and your guy, Jasper, how was it when you two met?”
Alexis blushed. “I was trying to get away,” she said. “Met him at a bar.”
“And…”
"One thing led to another…" She shrugged and glanced away.
Adrian growled like an overly protective older brother. “A one-night stand?”
“I was the one who fled,” she said. “I have to admit that we really hit it off right from the start. You know I’m not one to sleep around.”
“I know,” he murmured. “That’s why I’m surprised you did.”
“When I found out I was pregnant… All of this was before I remembered what Melvin had done to me, but I couldn’t hang around, not in the pack. I ran back to Jasper, and we gave us a chance… I think we would have gotten together even if I hadn’t gotten pregnant.”
Adrian snorted. “From that look on your face, you know you would’ve.”
“Yes. Why? You getting cold feet with the big bad female alpha?” Alexis teased. “That’s awesome. I’m so glad the pack is getting turned around.”
“Slowly,” he corrected. “It’s a work in progress.”
“Still. With Kiera and you at the helm, it’ll be great.”
“I’m just a banker.” He rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously.
“You’re not just anything. You’re Adrian Hawkins.”
“Thanks, but right now, I kinda feel like I’m out of my element.”
“If you want to get back to banking, do it.”
“I don’t want to. Dad will be furious—”
“But your happiness means something too.”
“I just don’t know what to do.”
“Aside from loving Kiera you mean,” she said slyly.
He coughed and laughed and shoved some food into his mouth.
“When are you going to propose?” she asked.
“Right about now.”
Alexis’s jaw dropped, and her eyes widened. “Hell, Adrian, why didn’t you get rid of me? I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t know, and it’s not as if I can’t propose to her another night.” He shrugged. “Besides, maybe I should figure out what exactly I’m gonna do with my life. Dad’s not gonna let me be on leave for much longer. He already isn’t happy that I’ve taken all of my sick and vacation time for this sabbatical.”
“You’ll work everything out,” she said confidentially.
“How well do you know Kiera?”
"Not super well but you love her, and she loves you. That makes her a friend in my book."
“I was more wondering why you didn’t tell her about Melvin. Even before you remember everything, your senses warned against him, didn’t they?”
Alexis hesitated. “By the time I remembered, I was head over heels with Jasper. There was no point. Before… I didn’t even tell Mandy were I went. I just wanted out. I didn’t think anyone would believe me. Or if they did… challenging him…”
“You were afraid I would challenge him,” he murmured.
She nodded, tears in her eyes. "Seeing you show up with him… I knew I had made the wrong choice to run away. He had to have preyed on other women, and I was a coward to run—"
“No. He was the coward to abuse the werewolves he was meant to protect. I’m sorry you didn’t tell me.”
"You killed him, in the end, to protect me after all."
“And I would do it again.”
Alexis grinned. “That’s why I say you’re more than a banker.”
“Maybe I am.”
Chapter 4
Kiera Turner groaned. She was used to being on call and helping out with various matters when she had been just a werewolf cop. It was worse being an alpha. Calls at all times of the day and night. Being pulled away from dinner to help an elderly werewolf pick out which nursing home to go to was important. There were hardly any werewolves who worked in the homes, which could lead to problems since humans subconsciously knew werewolves weren’t like them and hated them.
But now that this issue was dealt with, Kiera had another to face, one she had been struggling to since she had first become alpha. A combination of factors had left the police force severely shorthanded.
First, she was no longer a cop.
Second, several cops had been killed during the turmoil following Melvin’s death.
Third, that same turmoil had caused several of the human cops to ask to be transferred. She didn’t blame them one bit.
Still, it left her in a bind, one she wasn’t certain how to fix.
* * *
The next day, Kiera held a meeting with as many werewolves as possible. She had already held three meetings so far, a way for her pack to keep her abreast of any issues
or problems. Ideally, that should’ve meant fewer phone calls but no such luck.
First, though, she brought up her issue.
“We have many opening on the police force that must be filled,” she said bluntly. “I know it has been a dangerous option in the past, but the violence has come down substantially.”
The truth. While some weren’t the happiest about a female alpha, none had wanted the violence to continue. The threat of exposure worldwide had also served to bond them. That she and Adrian had played a role in keeping their secret helped to secure her role.
“If anyone is interested in learning more details, please see me after the meeting.”
She glanced around at the crowd, hoping to see at least a few eager faces.
Kiera saw none. Not one. Worse, not even Adrian was here because he had an important meeting with his father about the future of the bank.
She helped teachers and bus drivers and restaurant owners, all facing bigotry from humans, a few neighborly issues too, and the meeting drew to an end.
Was Kiera surprised when none approached her?
No.
But she sure as hell was disappointed.
Chapter 5
The traffic was a nightmare, especially with the werewolves all driving away from the meeting, and eventually, Adrian just threw his hands up, put on his flashers, and exited his car. He dashed inside, trying to move past the crowd shuffling out.
When one of the werewolves at the bank meeting received a text about the werewolf one and Adrian learned Kiera was trying to recruit new cops, Adrian knew what he had to do.
Now, he was here, looking for Kiera. She stood at the front, watching the crowd, clearly frustrated.
Her eyes widened as he broke past the people and approached her. “Hey. How did it go?”
“It went fine.” She gave him a wan smile. “I didn’t think your meeting would be over yet.”
“I ended it. I wanted to know if I was too late.”
“Too late?” Kiera raised an eyebrow, confused. “Too late for what?”
Protection (To Love And Defend Book 5) Page 10