It was too late for Conrad to back away by that point.
His future was altered by his stupidity, and as a result, two people were no longer a part of my pack.
Larissa was, of course—she was still hanging on, but it wouldn’t be for long.
We all knew that. Just like we knew that my mother’s hanging on for two years had been either a miracle or by design.
I rocked back in my seat, uncaring that there was a wall of disapproval staring at me.
Instead, I murmured, “Your time as councilors is coming to an end. I understand you know this. I understand, even more, that you will want to cling onto the seats of power which you’ll hold on to for as long as you can, but don’t misunderstand me.
“I’ll let you stay on until I figure out the best possible plan of action for the pack as a whole. Until then, you hold your positions, and that’s that.
“You do not question me, especially when it comes down to the life of a small boy whose future is at stake. Whose very existence, whose very power puts the pack in danger.
“If he shifts on our territory, or hell, on any other, and a human sees him…” I shook my head at them. “If you can’t see the devastating impact of that, then I fear for your brains.”
When, twenty minutes later, still huffing, they wandered out the way they’d come in, I growled under my breath at their myopic stance.
“The rest of the pack will agree with you,” Ethan said neutrally.
I shot him an irritated glare. “They have no choice in the matter.”
“I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
The small voice had me twisting in my seat, and when I saw the kid Sabina had brought into the fold, I sighed.
He was too fucking small for his age, too fucking small for the power in him, and just seeing that made my wolf howl. It made me think of the twins when they were younger, ostracized by those who should embrace them, but more than that, the wolf could recognize an equal power, and it could recognize that strength and appreciate it—especially when it was in a child so young who was in desperate need of molding.
I beckoned the child forward with my hand and told him, “You weren’t supposed to be listening in on that conversation.”
“They were loud. I didn’t need to do much to listen.” His answer made my lips twitch, and when I shot Ethan a look, I saw he was smirking too.
My brother sat on a sofa, reclining like we hadn’t just had the villagers armed with pitchforks and shovels at our door.
But then, I guessed we hadn’t.
The council meant nothing to me anymore. It was time I figured out how to disband them properly for the good of the pack as a whole.
But for now, Daniel needed me.
And his wolf? Fuck, it needed mine badly.
As he approached with a caution to his step that told me he was wary around me because of my strength, but also attracted to my power because like called to like, I didn’t rush him.
I just let him make his way forward.
When he was near enough, I snatched him up in a surge of energy, made him laugh as I hung him over my shoulder, and then asked, “You want to sit down?”
His giggles made my heart feel overfull. “No! I like this.”
That he hadn’t been played with was another given, so I just wandered over to the patio doors and said, “See this land, Daniel?”
“Nope,” he replied with another giggle. “I see your legs.”
I had to grin as I shuffled around so he could see better. “How about now?”
“I do.”
“The land is all we have. You should remember that.”
He sighed. “I don’t know what that means.”
“Maybe you don’t now, maybe you will when you’re older, but don’t forget I said it, hmm?”
“I won’t, sir.”
“You don’t have to call me ‘sir,’” I corrected, like I’d corrected him every night for the past three nights of his stay here.
“E-Eli.”
Had to figure the kid would loosen up some when he was hanging upside down over my shoulder.
I let him down though, and said, “You caused no trouble. I’m pleased to have you here. If people huff and puff over it, well, it’s what they do, isn’t it?”
His eyes were troubled. “I wasn’t welcome at home anymore.”
I nodded. “Not because of you. Just because of your father.” His tension told me what he felt about him. “But it wasn’t personal.” I needed to ram that home, because otherwise, he’d grow up filled with a bitterness that saw him only wanting revenge on those who’d tossed him out. That was why it was important for him to know that only the land mattered. Not power struggles and strife. The land counted more than anything, because it housed us all, nourished us all, and gave us leave to gather together, to form a community.
Community being the key word.
But I wasn’t about to bamboozle him.
I was having to teach a kid how to be an alpha when he wasn’t ready for it, at all, but shit, what choice did I have?
Not for the first time, I wondered why all this was happening in the order it was.
What had Mom triggered when she’d set that rite into action. Where had the rite even come from?
It was fishy.
And I had a feeling that, at some point, it would bite us in the nuts, but as it stood, I wasn’t concerned, just wary as to what came next for us.
“Your father’s pack might not welcome you anymore, but this one will after a short span of time. They just need to see you’re a good boy is all.”
His eyes were big and bleak in his face. “What if I’m not? What if I’m like—”
I crouched down in front of him. “Did you know I met your dad a few times?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t know that.”
I hummed. “He wasn’t a nice man. You’re nice.”
His smile was shy. “You think so?”
“I know so.” I reached over and scrubbed a hand over his hair. “Now, you go and get some food in you.”
His eyes, so somber before, lit up at that. “Really?”
My lips twitched. “Really.”
When he scampered off, Ethan murmured, “Gonna eat us out of house and home.”
“We can afford it.”
“Surprised you’re being so diplomatic about this.”
I shrugged, got to my feet, and turned back to the patio doors. “Sabina asked me. Her logic made sense.”
“So, get her to ask you about all the shitty things we need to do in the future. Gotcha.”
I sniffed at that. “Fuck you.”
He grinned. “No. I’ll ask her to do that as well.”
I sniffed again, but muttered, “Everything’s happening for a reason.”
“You don’t say, Sherlock,” he replied wryly, but he started tapping his fingers on the armrest, rolling them in a rhythmic tap that was, surprisingly enough, not irritating. “You worried?”
“No.” I blew out a breath. “I’m not. Maybe I should be, but I’m not.”
“It all started when Merinda passed over.”
Merinda, not mother. Never mother.
I got it.
I did.
But it prompted me to ask, “You really want nothing to do with Frank and that side of the family?”
He shrugged. “Why would I? Austin feels the same as me.”
“You’ve talked about it?”
His features crumpled with impatience. “What’s to talk about? I know how he feels, and he knows I feel the same way. We’re disinterested because no good can come from learning about that side of our blood.”
“Family’s all we have,” I informed him softly. “Consider yourself lucky you have so much of it.”
“You do now too,” he countered, acknowledging the bond.
I hummed. “Always had it. It’s different.”
“Can’t believe you didn’t tell us,” he said on a sigh as he tipped his head bac
k.
Our eyes clashed and held, but I told him the truth. “Wasn’t the right time. Would only have caused more dissension.”
“I saw the council leaving. The meeting went well?” Sabina murmured, her voice soothing me, even as I twisted to face her in the doorway. I beckoned her closer and sighed when she meandered around the furniture over to me.
“As badly as we could expect,” I said dryly, leaning down and joining our mouths which was far more pleasurable than that particular topic of conversation.
When she sighed into the simple kiss, I took it a little step further, but stopped when her hands tightened in mine, her tongue thrusting against mine too.
I wanted her.
I always did.
But fuck, now wasn’t the time. Nor the place.
Yes, that was because Ethan was present. Maybe in time, I’d loosen up on that score, and we’d roll into things better, but for now, I couldn’t share anything with them where sex was concerned.
It was something to work on. Something for my beast to have to accept. And it would.
I just needed time.
“I felt your anger.”
Her first words as we separated had me shrugging. “Surprised you didn’t wade into the fight.”
“Saw no need to. They were angry, and nothing you said, and nothing I did, was going to change that. They can see the writing on the wall, and they’re waiting for the axe to fall.”
“Mixed metaphors,” Austin chimed in, strolling into the room like he owned the place. “Nice.”
Sabina snickered, and even though Austin’s levity sometimes grated, I liked that he always had a way to make her smile.
Sometimes, I couldn’t do that. I just wasn’t that lighthearted. I knew Ethan was more capable than me because he wasn’t as serious, as bogged down with duty, but Austin was the one who could make her laugh, and I loved to hear her laugh.
Fuck, I loved it as much as I loved her.
I squeezed her hands as she turned around to face her other mates but used me as a prop. I’d once worried that I wasn’t good enough for her, and maybe I wasn’t. But with Austin and Ethan, I knew that all three of us were exactly what she needed.
It wasn’t about us lacking some important thing that made us less, too weak to anchor her, but how the three of us came together as a unit. That was what grounded her. What strengthened her. And for that reason, we were vital.
“Guess what I just found out,” she murmured.
“What?” I asked warily, not knowing what her answer might be. At the moment, those words could beckon anything, and we had enough to deal with.
“It’s Austin and Ethan’s birthday next week! You weren’t going to tell me, were you?” she chided.
“They hate their birthdays,” I responded dryly. “I’m not that big of a fan of them myself.”
She heaved a sigh. “Spoilsports, all of you. Well, birthdays mean a lot to me. As do saint days.”
“Saint days?” Austin clicked his tongue as he leaned against the armrest of the sofa opposite Ethan. “Even more suffering.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m going to write down all the days in Eli’s calendar so they’re set in stone, and we’re going to celebrate each and every one. Do you hear me?”
“Bossy,” Ethan muttered, and she chuckled at that.
“I’m coming into my own.”
Well, there was no denying that.
She most certainly was, and every step forward she took was a step forward for us and the pack.
Considering how muddled things were at that moment?
I was beyond grateful for small mercies.
Fifteen
Ethan
My nose crinkled when I saw the dining table.
I hated most of this house, with its uncomfortable furniture, the antiques that made it feel like a museum, and the formality of it, which gave it more of an air of a corporate office than a home.
Still, we’d barely lived here five minutes. I didn’t think it was time to go to Ikea and bring out the big guns.
So, facing a dining table that would satisfy a royal, my nose crinkled further as I saw the massive birthday cake, and then the silver that lined the mahogany surface, along with the cloches and different platters that were covered with fruits and different foods that were displayed to perfection.
Austin heaved a long-suffering sigh at my side, which Sabina heard and laughed at.
“You’d think I was poisoning you.”
“We hate birthdays,” I muttered, as I’d been muttering all day.
Austin had too, and he’d woken up with a birthday BJ and a long slow fuck that, according to him, made him realize that power ballads weren’t talking bullshit.
I knew my birthday gift was for tonight, so I’d admit I wasn’t pouting too much over that, but a party?
Cue grumpy face.
Eli was already seated at the head of the table, but Sabina darted over to us, pulled Austin and me into the room, and dragged us over to our chairs.
Normally, we ate in a room just off the kitchen. It was small, looked over the woods, let in a lot of light in the morning which sucked, but in the evening, the way the moon trickled in through the trees? Perfection.
This formality was uncalled for, but she looked so goddamn excited that, what? Was I supposed to ruin her joy?
Yup, not gonna happen.
So I let her drag us to our chairs, and when she stood between us, I decided there had to be some perks to today, so I settled my hand on her ass as she reached down, put her hands on the lids of the cloches, and revealed our birthday dinner.
I grinned at the sight, and I had to admit, she’d done good.
Burger. Steak. Fries.
No veggies. And no, I didn’t consider fries to be a vegetable.
“I knew you were perfect,” Austin told her, and I grinned wider because he wasn’t wrong.
When she beamed a smile at me, I felt my heart melt, and even though I was looking forward to later, I wasn’t too upset about this now.
“I got the same!” Daniel’s small voice made me jump. It was easy to forget about him, since he was so quiet, but the kid was a good one.
And he loved books, which made him popular with me too.
I smirked at him. “This is a feast fit for alphas.”
Eli snorted, and I saw he’d pulled off his own cloche, revealing a similar meal, but his had a little pot of blue cheese dressing on it.
I laughed and muttered, “Someone knows I’m the one getting laid tonight.”
He let out a chuckle, but didn’t get mad at my statement, instead, just upended the sauce onto his steak.
As she took her seat between Daniel and Eli, I asked, “How did you even find out today was our birthday anyway?”
She shrugged. “Overheard it.”
Overheard it?
“From who?” Austin pressed.
“Couple of maids.”
I rolled my eyes at that, guessing, “Hayley and Bridget.”
Austin nodded. “Bitches.”
Sabina frowned. “Why?”
“They were mean to us in school.”
Sabina snorted, because I’d admit it sounded pretty childish, but it didn’t stop me from huffing, “They were!”
Daniel’s eyes were round. “Someone was mean to you in school?”
I wasn’t sure if he sounded impressed or terrified.
I shrugged. “We weren’t always this big and nasty.”
His nose crinkled. “You aren’t nasty.”
My lips twitched. “Thanks, kid.”
Figured he’d know what nasty was with an evil bastard like his for a dad. Jesus, even if I hadn’t agreed wholeheartedly with bringing him in to the fold, I’d have done so just because of his past.
“Why were they mean to you?”
“Because we’re twins,” Austin explained.
Daniel hummed. “I think that’s silly.”
Sabina’s reply was strident. “Me
too.” She frowned. “Weren’t twins disliked in your pack, Daniel?”
He shrugged. “There weren’t any.”
“But if there were some,” she reasoned, “would they be disliked?”
Awkwardly, he shuffled in his seat. “Yes.”
His unease told me he’d been raised to dislike twins too, but the way we’d treated him, our kindnesses, spoke for us.
Well, at least we had one convert.
I forked up some steak as Sabina grumbled, “I don’t get why twins are so hated. It makes no sense to me.”
“We told you. We’re like a broken rule.”
“It’s not your fault, though, is it?”
“No. But it’s just seen to be a curse.”
“If your line begets twins, then we’re going to have some, and I refuse for my kids to be treated like that.” She huffed, plunked her knife and fork down, and glowered at us like we were going to argue.
But then I sensed her genuine distress, and it hit me square in the feels. She was such a mother. I didn’t know why or for what reason, but it was the truth. Everything about her was protective, defensive of the young. I’d picked up on it, thinking she was unhappy being a predator now, but it went deeper.
She was a natural nurturer for a reason.
Daniel mumbled, “I’ll protect them, Sabina.”
She twisted to look at him. “You will?”
“Of course!” He beamed a grin at her now that he had her attention. The second she was looking at him, the kid lit up like a firework. I couldn’t blame him—it was how I felt whenever she glanced my way. “When I grow up, I’ll be real strong.”
She reached over and squeezed his wrist. “You already are.”
He squirmed at that. “Not strong enough.”
“Plenty strong,” she countered. “For your age.”
“She’s right, Daniel,” Eli intoned. “Best not to walk before you can run.”
He eyed Eli, studying him with a gravitas I understood. Sometimes, Daniel had a way of looking at Eli with pure hero worship in his eyes, and it always made me want to laugh. Eli was so repressed, the last thing we needed was Daniel to emulate him.
Not that I was much better as a role model.
The best of us all was Austin. At least he knew how to let his hair down.
WOLF CHILD: A PNR RH Romance (The Year of the Wolf Book 1) Page 33