A Bleacke Christmas (Bleacke Shifters 5)

by Lesli Richardson

  Da’von wished he hadn’t asked. It made him a little queasy after Peyton finished telling him the full story.

  “What about Ken?” Da’von asked.

  “He’s a human.” Peyton smiled. “From what Badger tells me, he literally fainted and fell off a barstool when Dewi showed him she could shift.”

  Gillian peeked out the viewfinder. “We should get down to breakfast.”

  Peyton nodded. “Right.” He reached over and patted Da’von on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

  He felt a flood of peace fill him…

  Right before he felt angry again. He looked up at Peyton. “Did you just do that to me again?”

  Peyton sighed. “Yeah. But it really will be okay.”

  Chapter Nine

  December 22nd

  Carl and Mateo had a long-ass day. It started out with an early morning drive down to Sarasota to handle a dispute between two sisters, both of them shifters, who were now having an argument about whose house they were holding Christmas dinner at, since a third sister—who was supposed to be hosting the family dinner—had up and left town at the last minute to go to Vegas with her boyfriend.

  It’d been annoying, but Carl wouldn’t deny it beat the hell out of nearly everything he and Mateo had to do working for Abundio Segura. And it hadn’t been the slightest bit dangerous, either.

  Then, Dewi broke the news to them only a couple of hours earlier that meanwhile, out in Idaho, Brianna had taken a human mate. As a result, Mateo had just gained two of his fellow Enforcers as brothers-in-law.

  Not only that, but the Targhee pack had discovered through research that Mateo and Brianna were distant cousins to Joaquin…who was one of those same new brothers-in-law.

  As Carl suspected it would, once Mateo’s happy shock of finding out he and Brianna were related to the Targhee pack wore off, he was back to irritated older brother mode over the news of Brianna’s mating.

  This mostly manifested as non-stop mental grumblings while they finished packing for tomorrow’s journey before they prepared to go to bed.

  Carl would laugh out loud if he didn’t think it would annoy the crap out of Mateo. “Babe, will you please calm down?”

  “I am calm,” Mateo grumbled as he yanked his suitcase off the bed and set it by their bedroom door. “She’s my little sister. I have a right to be concerned.”

  “She’s twenty-five. She’s not a child. Besides, it’s not like we don’t know Da’von. He’s a great guy.” A disquieting thought hit Carl. “Or is there some reason you don’t like Da’von?” Although his guy never struck him as being a racist before.

  “No, I love Da’von. It’s not him in particular. It’s that she’s mated in general. I’d be reacting like this even if she fell for Tom Hiddleston.”

  “Ooh, Loki Hiddles, or The Night Manager Hiddles?”

  Mateo sent him a dark glare.

  Carl grinned. “I’m just asking. There is a difference. Loki Hiddles is hawwwt.”

  Mateo snorted. “No, you’re humoring me. And you know damn well The Night Manager Hiddles is hotter than Loki Hiddles. Way hotter.”

  “Obviously I’m not humoring you very damn well.” Carl pulled Mateo in for a hug. “She’s an adult, he’s an adult, and they’re surrounded by a loving, supportive pack and family. I don’t think we could’ve asked for any better mate than that for her.”

  Carl finally felt Mateo relax a little in his embrace. “I’m just worried about her. Worrying about whether or not Abundio will send someone looking for us is always going to be in the back of my mind. I can’t help it.”

  “They’ll be living with us. Which I think is a little unfair to them, but we have to think about Tamsin and her baby.”

  Mateo sighed. “No nakey romping time for us anytime soon.”

  “No, babe. No nakey romping time for us.” Carl nuzzled his forehead and held him tighter. “Not for now. We have a greater good to think about. We have jobs, we have a pack, we have family. For the first time in how long, the three of us aren’t alone in the world. Look at it that way instead of worrying.”

  “I know.” Mateo tipped his head back and stared up into Carl’s eyes. “I wonder if this’ll ever get any easier? Worrying about her?”

  “Probably not. But we have to let go sometime.”

  They prepared for bed, both of them too exhausted to do much more than cuddle. Carl was looking forward to finally meeting their new pack Alpha in person.

  I will hit my knees faster than an overpaid Vegas whore.

  At least all he’d need to do on his knees was bare his throat to Peyton. He’d done it for Dewi—which had probably saved his life—but he absolutely didn’t mind repeating it, just to make sure, for Peyton.

  Because they had a family.

  For so long, it’d been just him and his dad. Then he’d been alone, until meeting Mateo. He’d had Brianna and Aunt Eleana, until she died.

  Then they’d sent Brianna off to school, wanting distance between her and them for her protection.

  And now…

  Life is good.

  He wouldn’t take a moment of it for granted, either.

  “Love you,” he whispered against the top of Mateo’s head.

  His guy sighed. “Love you, too.”

  “It’s all right, babe. Everything is going to be fine.”

  “I know,” he grumbled.

  Mateo was a damned good big brother.

  Now Carl would have to teach him how to let go a little.

  Thank god they’ll be living with us. It’d be one less worry on his plate and on Mateo’s.

  Although Carl wasn’t sure how that worked, Brianna and Da’von having a mate bond. If she wasn’t a shifter, and her new mate wasn’t a wolf…

  He wouldn’t question it. He’d seen a lot of weird shit in his time.

  At least this weird shit was working out in their favor.

  And no one was shooting at them or trying to kill them. Not to mention it meant they’d get to be a family again, without having to be in the closet this time, and they could finally enjoy life for a change.

  Total win across the board.

  Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and hoped they didn’t have any issues during their travels tomorrow.

  And he hoped he could keep the secret from Mateo until they reached Idaho, that he wanted to marry him there, in front of the whole damn pack.

  * * * *

  I miss Bri.

  Mateo lay in bed and stared up at the darkened ceiling of their bedroom in Dewi’s house. Next to him, Carl, soundly slept.

  After his years spent on active duty in the Navy, Carl could pretty much fall asleep and stay asleep anywhere. Including on his feet. Mateo had seen him do it before and greatly envied him that skill.

  In just a few hours, they’d be flying out to Spokane with everyone else. The last couple of months had been a whirlwind of activity for the two men, and now they were officially part of the Targhee wolves. Not just because they’d been accepted in, but because it turned out, ironically enough, he and Brianna were related to the Targhees by blood, too.

  Pack.

  Something Mateo and his little sister never had before.

  They hadn’t seen Bri in months, since before Mateo and Carl traveled from Mexico to Florida with Manuel Segura. When Carl made contact with Dewi Bleacke and offered to give her Manuel in exchange for granting them sanctuary, she’d immediately accepted the offer and inducted them into the pack after both he and Carl had taken knees to her.

  Even better, Dewi had provided Brianna with safe passage to the States, moving her to the Targhee pack’s compound in Idaho. Out in Idaho, Brianna had immediately taken a knee to Peyton, the pack Alpha.

  One of the stipulations, though was that Dewi wanted the men to work to earn her trust, which was another reason why she’d wanted Brianna in Idaho, at first.

  Collateral to ensure the men weren’t playing them.

  Except they had earned Dewi’s trust.


  And now…

  Life was infinitely more complex now, and so much for being able to spend some time during the holidays with Brianna. There’d likely be a wedding for Brianna and Da’von in Idaho, since everyone was going to be there for the holidays, anyway. That was in addition to the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, meeting their new packmates—everything would be crazy.

  Still, he’d gladly take it, because this was their only family.

  With their parents and aunt dead, they’d been alone in the world, except for Carl.

  Carl had been alone, too. Mother dead, father disappeared and possibly dead—and likely not welcomed back to his mother’s pack in Australia should he ever try that. But Carl didn’t know much about his father’s family and they’d never been able to locate the man himself, or discover what happened to him.

  Mateo snuggled tighter against Carl’s side and closed his eyes. Taking a few slow, deep breaths, he gave thanks to the Goddess that they’d found each other. They’d been forced to spend several years apart at first, because Carl had been on active duty with the US Navy, and Mateo had been on active duty with the Mexican Navy. Their first meeting happened at a port in the Middle East—not exactly the most conducive place for two gay men to get their fun on.

  Even so, Carl, an Alpha wolf, had still managed to find them a small, hidden alcove to claim and mark him. They’d had a do-over later, once Carl was out and able to travel to one of the ports to meet Mateo there. Mateo had gotten a pass and been able to finally enjoy safe time with his mate in a hotel room and ease the sweet ache within his heart.

  Once Mateo completed his tour of duty, he returned to Mexico, where Carl had already been living for a couple of years. First with Bri and their aunt and helping out, and then Carl taking custody of Bri when their aunt was murdered. But he and Carl had to stay deep in the closet while living in Mexico.

  Here in Florida, and with the loving acceptance of the Targhee pack, they could finally be themselves. Get married.

  In fact, he wanted to talk to Dewi about that once they were out there in Idaho.

  What more fitting place to say their vows than in front of their new chosen family? Brianna and Da’von would likely be getting married, too.

  No, he didn’t mind Brianna and Da’von finding happiness together. It was very difficult, however, to force himself out of his old mindset, of having to watch their backs at every turn, and worrying that Brianna was a weak spot he needed to protect, or else someone could leverage her to get to him and Carl.

  I need to stop worrying.

  Of course Carl was right, and logically Mateo knew that.

  It didn’t stop the illogical part of his heart, the protective big brother, from worrying, though.

  Please, Goddess, let this be the start of a happily ever after for all of us.

  Chapter Ten

  December 23rd

  Mom, I hope you’d be laughing your butt off over all of this.

  Dr. Heathcliff McKenzie Ethelbert—or Ken, to his new friends and adopted family—laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. They didn’t have to be up for another hour yet to get ready to make their flight out of Tampa International.

  As if their usual craziness wasn’t crazy enough, word had arrived from Idaho yesterday that it would appear Nami’s younger brother, Da’von, had also met and mated a wolf while out there. Mateo’s little sister, Brianna.

  Yeeeaaah.

  He now had family and friends coming out his ears.

  I miss you, Mom.

  It wasn’t fair she wasn’t there to see all of this. To enjoy being a grandmother.

  For him to be able to take care of her. Not that he could have told her about all the crazy shit, like that wolf shifters were real, but she would’ve loved the Bleackes. She would’ve loved all the babies about to be born, and she would’ve adored Nami’s family, and little Bebe.

  There were days he wished he could ask Dewi to call upon the Targhee pack’s considerable resources to kill his goddamned step-father, who was currently serving a life sentence in Starke for beating his mom to death.

  Dewi rolled over and snuggled tightly against his side. “You are thinking soooo loud,” she muttered. “What’s wrong?”

  He kissed her forehead, taking a deep breath as he did. “I miss Mom.”

  She sighed. “If that was within my power to fix, I would.” She tipped her head back to nuzzle his cheek. “Unfortunately, I know that feeling all too well.”

  “I know, sweetheart.”

  At least he’d known his mom and dad, although he barely remembered his father. Dewi’s parents were murdered when she was six months old.

  “Should we get up and make the coffee?” she asked.

  “Probably.” Beck and Joaquin had spent the night there to make the logistics easier, plus it meant leaving fewer cars in long-term parking at Tampa International. Reggie would come to the house to ride with them, as would Martin.

  She sighed. “So much for a quiet Christmas,” Dewi snarked. “You damn well know Nami will absolutely go crazy shifting into wedding mode.”

  Ken laughed. “Probably. Can you blame her?”

  “No.” She giggled. “At least it’s not me.”

  “You’re just loving the fact that it’ll be Joaquin who gets to tell Nami, aren’t you?”

  Dewi grinned. “Damn right, I am.”

  * * * *

  Dewi knew this would be a special Christmas, but she’d had no idea how special. Yes, it was slightly evil making Joaquin break the news to Nami about Da’von and Brianna, but she’d get her sadistic jollies where she could.

  In all seriousness, though, it was cool that Brianna and Mateo were related to Joaquin. So many widely strewn snippets of family scattered to the winds now all drawn together.

  Plus, Dewi’s aunts and their families were all traveling to Idaho to spend time with them and Duncan. He’d missed so many family celebrations throughout the years.

  Ken got up and used the bathroom before pulling on a robe to head downstairs to start the coffee. Dewi got up and used the bathroom, then went straight into the shower from there.

  She wasn’t a morning person and being pregnant made her even less of one.

  At least the doctor told her since she was a shifter that coffee wasn’t on the forbidden list for her.

  Thank the Goddess.

  Someone might die if they took her morning caffeine from her.

  Especially now.

  Ken rejoined her in the bathroom a few minutes later. “I come bearing coffee, baby. Is my throat safe?”

  She laughed. “Your throat is always safe, sweetie.”

  He stepped into the shower with her and pulled her into his arms. “This is going to be a long-ass day, isn’t it?”

  “Yep. I’m kind of glad we’ll be going right to Peyton’s instead of staying at the resort.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s not…home. I’d rather be right there, with all our family. Then the only people we have to worry about is Lu’ana and Reggie. Not any other clueless humans who might wander into something by accident. Not everyone who works at the resort is a shifter, or part of the pack.”

  “Ah.”

  “Exactly.” She turned to wet her hair. “And I can go for runs at the compound.”

  Ken cleared his throat.

  “Not alone, sheesh. I know, you all would freak the fuck out if I did that, despite the fact that I roamed those same woods, alone, since I was literally a kid and old enough to shift.”

  “When did you shift for the first time?”

  “I was four or five, I think. That’s pretty normal.”

  “Four or five, huh?” he asked.

  She knew where his thoughts were turning. “I know. That’s also on the agenda for this trip. To see if we can figure out if she can shift or not.”

  “How do you do that, exactly?”

  “We’ve never tried to do it with someone like this before. The parents either are shifters, or are
n’t shifters, but at least being a shifter isn’t a secret. They’re raised with it. They have other shifters they can talk to and get advice from. It’s just…part of life.”

  “Why can’t you tell if she’s a shifter or not?”

  “Because she hasn’t shifted. If someone has shifted before, then it’s easy to tell. It’s like I can’t sniff someone and tell if they’re part Italian or part Russian. But I can tell if they ate garlic for lunch. Shifters have this extra…something. I don’t know if it’s a hormone, or what. But until a child shifts for the first time, it’s impossible to know if they are a shifter.”

  “Why can Badger and Duncan and them tell the sex of a baby, but not if it’s a shifter?”

  Dewi shrugged. “Again, there’s something distinct to go on. Okay, here’s another example.” She turned to him. “One of Gillian’s cousins is trans. Her mother bumped into Badger at a Muster not long after she got pregnant, and Badger told her she was having a boy. And she did. But then, by the time she was four, she was telling everyone she wasn’t a boy, she was a girl. Demanded people use female pronouns for her, dressed like a girl, picked a girl’s name, everything.”

  “Wow.”

  “Right? So, thankfully, because Gillian’s family aren’t a bunch of raging assholes, they did that. Now, she also turned out to be a shifter. But Badger couldn’t tell that while her mom was pregnant with her, just like he couldn’t tell that she was trans. Once she shifted for the first time, it was obvious she was a shifter by her scent. Does that make sense?”

  “Yeah, actually, it does. I guess.” He looked into Dewi’s eyes. “So we won’t know, at first, if our daughter can shift.”

  “Nope. I mean, even two shifters can have a baby that doesn’t shift. Especially if one of them was born to two non-shifting parents.”

  He sighed. “Maybe we should wait to have this conversation with Da’von. I have a feeling he’s going to be overwhelmed enough as it is.”

  Dewi snorted. “Gee, ya think?”

  Ken quickly finished his shower and stepped out, leaving Dewi alone with her thoughts.