by April Zyon
“Play nice, or the lady won’t be making you sandwiches.” Like the magic words they were, the threat had all three men plastering on their best angelic looks and sitting there like the model citizens everyone in town knew they weren’t. Shaking his head, Harley ushered Alaska back into the kitchen while mumbling under his breath about the fact the men were acting more like children.
“That went well,” she told him once they were back in the kitchen. She pulled out everything she needed to make the sandwiches for the men and smiled at him.
“You are one very astute little witch, my astute little witch. And you just leaped over your first hurdle, Alaska. Three at once, I am truly impressed. Who knows, next time maybe you won’t plaster yourself up against my fine ass when you meet one. Not saying you shouldn’t, but you have options,” he teased.
“Don’t bet on me meeting them alone. Ever.”
“See, you say that now but I have faith in you. It won’t happen overnight.”
“I can handle Jagger and Ophelia’s little bear cub. He’s such a cutie pie. I’m able to hold him and not freak out when he shifts from human to bear and back again. That’s pretty big, I think, don’t you?”
While he didn’t want to negate the accomplishment, he was having a hard time resisting the urge to point out the cub was only a few months old. Somehow he managed to bite his tongue and turn the oven to her requested temperature. And who said men couldn’t multitask? Ha! “So, is Jagger there when you’re around the cub?”
“Oddly enough, yes. Phi is always there, too. He watches me like a hawk when I’m there, though. He’s a sweetheart. I’ve known Jagger since I came to the Falls.”
“You do realize that you have admitted to being in the same room, without me, I might add, with a bear. Not only a bear but an alpha to boot. The biggest, baddest, and meanest of all the bears. You have also admitted to being under his extremely watchful gaze while playing with his cub, no less. Babe, hate to break it to you, but you are an official bear wrangler.” He might need to kill two birds with one stone and take Alaska over to visit the cub. It would also reassure Jagger that he was fine so he’d maybe stop sending their pack mates to her place of business. “I think we should call up the big bad alpha and see if they’re up for company tonight.”
“Sure. It’s been a few days since I’ve been over there. I like to bring goodies every now and then. Phi loves my homemade macadamia nut cookies and Jagger is a sucker for my honey cookies. I’ve also started to toy around with things that I could feed the baby when he’s able to eat foods. It will be interesting to see what he likes and doesn’t like. Don’t you think?”
“Once he’s sticking things in his mouth it’ll be more keeping him from eating everything he lays hands on for the first while more than figuring out what he likes. Ask my mother. I once, apparently, attempted to eat the remote control. He’ll want something hard that won’t break apart during the early stages of teething. After that, it’ll all be up to the little guy as to what he’s in the mood for day to day.”
“Ah, then that gives me an idea of what to make for him. Hard honey candy pops. I’ll need to make them thick enough that they won’t break and have him choking.”
“Come on, I’d better get those guys something to eat before they start to whine. It won’t be pretty if they do.”
“Can you give me a smooch first?” She turned her face up to him and had that expectant look on her face. Damn, she had his number but good. “I’ll be working on icing the cupcakes while you guys talk. If you need anything, you know where I am.”
“That I do.” Leaning down, he gave her a nice, slow kiss. While he did want to get the guys fed and gone, his girl came first in all things. And right then she needed a little loving. Something he was willing to give her any time of the day. “Call if you need me,” he whispered against her lips.
“I will. I’m good, though. I’m used to moving around these heavy bags of flour so don’t even worry about it.” She winked at him, little minx. “Here, take their sandwiches.”
Since he couldn’t resist her lure, he leaned down for one more kiss. With a little nip to her full lower lip that got a gasp, he scooped up the plates and took them out to the front. Depositing them before his friends, Harley crossed his arms and glared down at them. “What else is going on that you just had to come in here today?”
“There’s been questions about your mate. Ophelia’s heard it in town, more than once, that someone is trying to figure out where she’s been staying,” one of the men stated between bites.
“Makes sense,” he muttered. “She was attacked here in the shop. Whoever it was knew she was a witch and brought along iron cuffs. They also knew there were shifters in town, because the actual cuffs had a titanium core. The chain didn’t and was easy to break, but the cuffs I had to actually pick the locks on to get them off her. They also threw a hood over her head. It was well planned and gave her zero warning to protect herself. Whoever it was had her neutralized in seconds. Do we know who’s doing the poking around for Alaska, trying to find her?”
“No idea yet. Jagger has feelers out and he’s called the other alphas to find out if they know anything. So far we are all coming up with nothing. Damn, titanium as well? At least they didn’t use silver.” The metal was deadly to shifters. “So the hood was so she couldn’t see them and spell them, I’m assuming?” None of them really knew how witches worked. They hadn’t dealt with the coven in Shifter Falls all that much.
“I’m guessing the hood was to keep her from identifying anyone. The cuffs would keep her from spelling anyone. Iron cancels out their abilities,” he said. “Not that this is information that is to be passed on to anyone. This is all strictly need to know, got it? God help us if it gets out. All we need is another Salem going down.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep it secret. None of us want your little mate hurt. She means something to you, which means she’s part of our sleuth now. Don’t worry, we have your back. We will do everything we can to protect her.”
“Good to hear.” He could have said more but he was fighting the emotions welling up at their solemn promise. “Alaska has warned the coven, but I’m going to suggest to her we touch base with them. Not in person—I don’t want to out any of them. Whoever this is could be watching with the hope Alaska will expose the others. I’ll see about arranging a Skype session or something like that where we can all chat with whoever is willing to talk with us. We need to know if they’ve heard anything. Someone getting attacked in our town is not something we can afford to let go unanswered.”
After his pack mates left, Harley blew out a breath, shoved his hands through his hair, then went to cuddle with his mate. He needed to have her in his arms, now.
Chapter Six
After work, they headed out to Jagger and Phi’s place. The alpha was leaning against the railing, watching them as they pulled to a stop by Jagger’s truck.
Alaska felt herself starting to panic a little. “Wow, he looks a little peeved off.” For some reason, Jagger didn’t look like the welcoming and friendly man she was used to seeing. He looked every inch the alpha that he was. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
“He’s not angry. That is his resting bitch face.” Harley slid from the truck and walked around to her side. He and Jagger were talking but she couldn’t quite make out the words. Something Harley said had the other man throwing his head back to laugh. Which was the exact moment her door opened and her mate held out a hand to her.
Alaska put her hand into Harley’s and gave it a squeeze. “Resting bitch face, huh?” she teased. “And remember, be very nice to Phi or he will tear your balls off and that would be bad since we haven’t even had a chance to use them yet.”
Chuckling, he yanked her in closer and wrapped an arm around her. “I’ll play nice,” he said. He lowered his head and gave her a kiss before smacking her ass. “Get inside before you freeze. They have goodies ready to snack on while we visit, and apparently the
re’s a little cub waiting to see you.”
She gave Harley another squeeze, then headed away from him and toward the front door, passing by Jagger with a wide berth. Inside, the bear cub was lying in a bassinet and chewing on his paws. When he saw her, a smile lit up his face, and she scooped him up into her arms. “Hello there, little bear.” She scratched under his chin while he gave the cutest little growl ever.
She looked up when Ophelia entered the room a couple minutes later. “Harley and I came to visit,” Alaska said with a smile.
“Hi! I didn’t hear you come in. I was in the kitchen. I had to make a bottle so Daddy can feed him today and give my poor nipples a break,” Phi confided. “Because holy heck he is as bad as his daddy when it comes to my boobs. Loves to bite and even though he only has gums it still hurts.”
“I can only imagine.” Alaska winced. “By the way, Harley is a bit miffed because he was on the site and you didn’t ask him.”
“Shit, he’s the one I forgot to ask.” She looked to the cub and added, “Don’t say that word, okay, baby boy?” She passed Alaska the bottle and said, “Since Jagger and Harley are chatting why don’t you feed the little man?”
“Really?” She loved to feed the cub and took the bottle gladly. “Come on, little bear, time to be a baby for me. Come on, sweets.” When the baby shifted, Alaska looked down at him and smiled. “You are so adorable.” She stroked a finger over his cheek and began to feed him, walking toward the couch while Phi helped her out of her coat.
“Oh, come on. I was gone for two seconds and she gets to feed the cub,” Jagger whined from the doorway. The large man even seemed to be pouting.
Harley was slightly behind him and clearly fighting a grin. “Your boy is already the ladies man. He knows when he’s got a good thing. Come on, Jagger. Would you rather cuddle up with a brute like yourself or a woman? Yeah, we all know the answer to that.” Smacking the alpha on the shoulder, her mate made tracks her way and plopped down at her side. “Hi, buddy, how you doing?”
She listened to the cub growl and grinned. “He’s too interested in eating right now to be worried about anything else.” She was watching the baby and smiled. “He’s so cute but if you want to feed him, Jagger, I promise I’ll let you.” Even if she wanted these moments to hold on to the baby.
“He’s fine,” Phi told her as she settled herself into Jagger’s lap. “Besides, this way he gets to cuddle his wife instead of his son, who he gets to spend the whole day with tomorrow since I’m going to the spa.”
“You’ll only be at the spa for three hours,” Jagger said. He nuzzled at her cheek and down her throat. “I even promise the house will still be standing when you get home.”
“I have full faith in you, darling,” Phi told him. “Harley, I have to apologize,” she said suddenly. “I should have gotten your permission to be on the site but I completely spaced it. I guess I’m going to have to contact everyone and make sure that I had gotten all of their permissions before someone else comes out of the woodwork ready to kill me.”
Ali felt Harley tense next to her. Five seconds later that tension slipped away. “Probably best if you do,” he said quietly. “I was definitely not pleased to find out I was on there and while I wouldn’t have acted on the anger, there are others out there that might. And they won’t care who your mate is.”
“Believe me, they would care, because my Jagger would tear their throats out,” she replied with confidence.
That had Alaska laughing. “See, told you she just forgot. He’s right, though, you really should get ahold of everyone. I noticed some of the profiles are pretty blank, so I’m assuming those are ones that you maybe didn’t ask?”
“How many are there?” Phi asked with pain evident in her tone.
“Ophelia, it will be okay. Just contact them and then it will be all good, promise.”
“Just call them up and be honest,” Jagger advised. “Tell them that in your pregnancy glow and emotions at that time, you can’t recall if they agreed to be part of the site. If they did, maybe shoot them a formal e-mail that they can sign off on. Better safe than sorry and then you’ll have a record beyond your manic scribbles on everything you laid hands to.”
“Hey, those scribbles have been keeping us on track for the last little bit. And I talked to a buttload of experts when I created the site that would match people. I just can’t believe that it had matched you two and you didn’t even know it. I hadn’t placed updates on the site yet,” she told them.
That was a shock to Alaska, to know that she and Harley had been matched and she hadn’t even known it. She looked to Harley and smiled. “I guess that it was meant to be, one way or another, huh?”
Harley was giving Phi a weird look. “Yeah,” he murmured. “We did all right on our own, though, and that’s all that matters. Little cub is ready to burp, I think, Alaska. At least, that’s what I’m guessing the mad wiggle is for.”
“Yes, okay. Grab me a cloth so that he doesn’t get junk all over my shirt and back?” When he placed one on her shoulder, she smiled at him and winked. “Thanks, honey.” Putting the baby up on her shoulder, she began to rub his back from diaper to shoulders and back up again. She got a big belch out of the little cub and laughed right along with his little giggle. “Well, that was a big one,” she said, then began to feed him again. “So, spa day?”
“Yes, Jagger is such a darling and he’s sending me to the spa for a massage and mani-pedi. Love this man like whoa crazy,” she said with a grin.
“He should be pampering you. You just gave birth to the cutest little cub around.”
“I figured she needed it if she’s going to continue to deal with me on a daily basis. The fact she hasn’t brained me with a pot or pan yet has to be a certifiable miracle.” Jagger smiled down at Ophelia. Then, cupping her cheek, he gave her a kiss. “And she did give me the cutest cub ever born.”
Alaska rolled her eyes and looked up at Harley when the couple started to kiss. She snickered and shook her head. “So, why was it that we came here anyway, besides the fact that you wanted to give Phi grief for not asking your permission to put you on the site?” she asked loudly as a hint to Jagger and Ophelia that they had company.
“To talk to Jagger so he’ll stop sending the others around your shop and upsetting you. Which I’ve done, and he promises to behave himself slightly better. I also volunteered us for babysitting on Saturday night so they can have a night out to themselves. Although that one I was tricked into, figured we could make it work for the couple hours they are planning to be out for.”
“Well, they both know that I am willing to babysit anytime at all that they want me to, so Saturday night is no big deal,” Alaska agreed, then looked down at the cub in her arms. She smiled when she realized that he was sound asleep. “What a cutie patootie,” she whispered.
“He adores you,” Harley told her. “Trusts you, too. They won’t shift in front of anyone they don’t trust completely. The moment between forms is a vulnerability for us no matter our age. You, my little witch, are obviously a bear whisperer. You have two already wrapped around your dainty little finger and without much effort at all. With three more on standby if they get more sandwiches tomorrow.”
“I don’t know about them. They are a lot larger than this little guy,” Alaska said as she stroked the cub’s fur. “This one I adore and you…” She looked up at Harley. “You I adore even more. You are the best of everything for me. You do know that, right?”
“I know it, but you can keep on telling me every chance you get.” Slipping his arm around her, he hugged her in closer to him and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I adore you, too, little mate. I would adore you even more if we were both at my place and naked. Together.”
“Hey, no talking about things like that around the little cub, mister man,” Alaska told him with a smirk. “We will discuss that as soon as you get me home, though. The sooner that we get home the sooner we can get n-a-k-e-d.” She spelled it out as if that wo
uld be a difference to anything.
“You do know that his understanding of the English language is limited to food, Mommy, and Daddy, right? Besides, he’s a cub. He’s going to run around naked like everyone else does at that age.”
“True.” She laughed. “Okay, let’s get this little man put into bed. Phi, did you want to tuck him in?”
“Yes, Jagger and I will take him and tuck him in.” Ophelia pulled Jagger up from the chair. “We have a ritual that we go through every single night and I don’t want to interrupt it. It means too much to me,” Ophelia told them. “We will be back in about twenty minutes. Don’t do anything we would, please.”
“Knowing Jagger, that leaves me plenty of options, Ophelia. You really need to be more careful with your phrasing,” Harley said with a grin. Alaska was starting to know that look and knew it would likely involve mischief. “Don’t rush on our account either. We’re good here.”
“Yes, we are very good here.” Alaska could only look at Harley, a smile on her face as she did so. She was enjoying this. She tossed the towel onto the coffee table, then laid the bottle on it after giving up the cub to his parents. She turned to face Harley. “So, what do you have in mind for the next twenty or so minutes, my darling bear?”
“Oh, I think we could come up with something,” he said. “And really no matter what we do they’ll be wondering the entire time what we’re up to. First I think you need to come over here and settle in my lap. From there we have many options to explore.”
She didn’t waste a moment’s time. Instead Alaska climbed into Harley’s lap, a thigh on each side of his hips, and smiled. “So, now that you have me where you want me, what now?” She did lean in and nuzzle him slightly, her nose to his, forehead to his forehead.
His hands landed on her ass and squeezed, pulling her in closer to him. “I think you should kiss me while I run through some ideas. We need to remember there is someone else in the house, which limits what we can do. Especially since I still need to be able to walk out of here instead of hobbling around.”