by Celia Kyle
“Morning,” Eric said sleepily, rubbing his eyes.
“Early riser, I see,” Gavin said, scooping up the kid in his arms and carrying him back inside as he nudged the door shut with his foot. “Just like me.”
Holding Eric so close, breathing in the boy’s scent, it seemed strange to him that Eric couldn’t shift. He smelled like any other pup Gavin had ever been around. Even stranger was the sudden swell of affection he had for the kid. He’d been around plenty of pups, but he’d never felt so fiercely protective of one before. It was almost as if Eric was his own pup, and for some reason, that connection didn’t terrify him. He carried Eric into the kitchen, staring down at the adorable spray of freckles across the kid’s nose, and Gavin knew in his gut he’d do anything to protect him.
As if sensing the new dynamic, Eric laid his head on Gavin’s shoulder, trusting him in a way only a pup could. Before he even knew what he was doing, Gavin pressed his cheek against the boy’s warm head and breathed deeply, savoring Eric’s scent. He rubbed his cheek against Eric’s hair, putting his scent on the child so all wolves would know Eric wasn’t alone. He had a big, bad enforcer on his side.
Blinking away the threat of tears that hit him like a ton of bricks, Gavin cleared his throat and set Eric on one of the barstools nudged up against the kitchen island.
“Hungry?”
Eric yawned as he nodded and then rubbed his eyes again.
“Good, because I’m starving!”
Gavin pulled open the fridge door and peered at the meager contents. All healthy, but there wasn’t much of it. Poor Rachel had been feeding both of them on tips. Though she was obviously careful about what she fed Eric, the healthy stuff always seemed to cost more than the cheap stuff. Shuffling through the drawers, he found the one indulgence no wolf could resist.
“Bacon and eggs okay?” he asked, glancing at Eric over his shoulder.
The pup’s eyes widened, and any hint of sleepiness evaporated. “My favorite!”
Gavin glanced toward the doorway and held a finger up to his lips. “Is Rachel still asleep?” Eric slapped both tiny hands over his mouth and nodded. “Then we’ll have to be quiet, okay, sport?”
As cute as a button, Eric nodded in such an exaggerated manner, Gavin thought the kid’s head might fly right off.
The kitchen filled with the mouthwatering aroma of cooking bacon as Gavin beat and seasoned the eggs, just as his own father had taught him a lifetime ago. For a moment, he considered showing the boy how it was done, but then thought better of it. He didn’t want to push him. Besides, as he quickly learned, Eric had more important things on his mind.
“I love bacon. So, does Rachel. Do you love bacon, Gavin?”
“More than life itself.”
“Huh?” Eric tipped his head sideways, looking every bit the curious pup.
“Yes, I love bacon,” Gavin said with a chuckle.
“Oh good. What about Ashwood?”
“Does Ashwood love bacon?”
Eric rolled his eyes. “No, do you love Ashwood?”
“I love it very much. Generations of Blackwoods have lived there, and I can’t imagine a better place to call home.”
This seemed to give Eric some comfort. Gavin poured them both small glasses of orange juice and waited for the next question. Kids his age always had a ton of questions.
“What are you?”
It was Gavin’s turn to tip his head and ask, “Huh?”
“What’s your job? Rachel is a waitress. Mrs. White is a teacher. What are you?”
“Ah. I’m the… sheriff.”
He had no idea how much Eric knew of pack hierarchy and he wanted to keep it simple. Plus, it was true. Aside from his role as enforcer, he’d been elected sheriff the year before. At least the kid looked suitably impressed.
“So, you take care of the bad guys?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Pups didn’t need to know the dirty details of an enforcer’s sometimes-gruesome duties.
“And we’re going to move with you? To Ashwood? Me and Rachel?”
“Rachel and I,” Gavin corrected as he transferred the rashers of bacon from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate and poured the egg mixture into the pan.
“You and Rachel?”
“No, I mean…never mind. Yes, you’re both moving to Ashwood.”
With me, he thought, even though he suspected Rachel might have an opinion about that.
“Do you have a dog? Police always have dogs, and I want a dog real bad.”
Gavin smiled as he stirred the eggs. “Sorry, sport. No dog. There are some kittens running around though.”
Eric frowned. “That’s too bad. I think dogs are the best kind of animals in the whole wide world.”
“Dogs are pretty cool,” he agreed, scooping eggs onto a plate and passing it to Eric. “Now eat.”
Gavin served himself and then leaned back against the opposite counter and devoured his food standing up. Eric watched him carefully and then slid off the barstool and tried to hold his plate just like Gavin. How could one little kid be so damn cute?
“Whoa there, sport,” Gavin said, snatching the teetering plate out of the boy’s hands and setting it back on the island. “I think you’d better have a seat during mealtime. Don’t want to wake up Rachel by breaking her plates.”
Eric looked disappointed but did as he was told. His sullenness only lasted a moment.
“So, do you like Rachel or do you like like her?”
Gavin coughed on his mouthful of eggs and had to set his plate down before he dropped it. Clutching the counter to steady himself during his coughing fit, he gave Eric a worried glance, but the boy seemed completely nonplussed—both by Gavin’s near-death experience and the possible answer to the question.
No lies. It’s what he wanted from Rachel, and he realized with a lurch in his chest, he wanted the same from Eric. Which meant he had to return the favor and telling the boy the truth didn’t bother him in the slightest. In fact, he was proud of it.
“Actually, I like like like her.”
Eric beamed as if that was exactly what he’d been hoping to hear. Moving his plate to the spot next to Eric, Gavin sat on the next barstool. Time to start acting like a proper role model, it seemed.
“What else do you want to know?” he asked, careful to swallow his food first and not talk with his mouth full, as he normally would have. Role model.
Eric turned thoughtful, staring at his plate for a long moment and poking at his bacon before asking quietly, “Do all alphas hit kids? Will your alpha hit me? I didn’t like that very much.”
A fury Gavin had never experienced before filled him like wildfire. If Brian Riverson hadn’t been safely tucked away in a well-guarded cell somewhere near Ft. Lauderdale, Gavin would have hunted him down and torn him to shreds. Hell, maybe he’d ask the NRC to give him the honor of executing the asshole.
Something about Eric pushed Gavin into protective overdrive. No kid should have to go through what he’d survived, and Gavin silently vowed to always take care of him. No matter what happened between him and Rachel, he’d be there for Eric.
He opened his mouth to answer, to tell Eric that he’d kill anyone who tried to harm him, but someone else spoke first.
“Never, little man.”
Rachel stood in the doorway in an oversized baggy t-shirt that hung to mid-thigh, her hair mussed from sleep. A delicious buttery scent hit him like a lightning bolt. Under any other circumstances, he might have been tempted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back upstairs, but now wasn’t the time. Eric needed some reassurance. That was their priority. He was their priority.
She moved to Eric’s side and smiled down at him as she brushed a fleck of egg from his chin. “Forever and ever, cross my heart, hope to get turned into a slug… Nobody will ever hit you again.”
Eric considered Rachel for a long moment and then turned to Gavin. “Do you promise forever and ever, cross your heart, hope to get turned into
a slug that your alpha is good?”
“Forever and ever, cross my heart, hope to get turned into slug poop that my alpha is good.”
Eric broke into giggles and shoveled his last forkful of eggs into his mouth. “Good,” he said, half the food falling back onto the plate.
They laughed together—almost like a family—then Eric clambered down from his stool and sprinted out of the kitchen.
“Hey, little man, where ya going?” Rachel called.
Eric poked his happy face back in the room. “I have get dressed so I can go tell Joey I’m moving to Ashwood too!” Then he was gone.
Shaking his head, Gavin grabbed the dirty dishes and headed for the sink. Then he turned and gave Rachel a sultry look.
“And what would you like for breakfast?”
Chapter Six
The only thing Rachel really wanted to eat was Gavin. With whipped cream, chocolate sauce and nothing else. Her wolf panted at the thought, and even her human mind stalled at the image of her lapping up every drop of sweet cream from his body.
And it wasn’t just because he was her mate—if he was her mate. It was the way he’d been with Eric. She’d listened from the hallway before joining then, and Gavin had been so patient. He’d answered all of the boy’s questions honestly and without snapping or snarling. He didn’t treat Eric like an idiot or even a child, really. He’d spoken to him as if he was a person.
Her “I am woman, hear me roar” side wanted to be pissed that Gavin had somehow wheedled his way into her house, but after walking in to see the soft, patient look in his eyes as Eric prattled on… She simply couldn’t muster a hint of frustration. Hard to be angry when your heart was melting.
But she couldn’t tell him all of that. Not yet. “I could go for some bacon and eggs, too.”
Gavin squinted at her and then shook his head. “Not good enough. I’m going to make you the world’s best omelet.”
Rachel wondered how he was going to manage that, considering the meager contents of her fridge, but then she was distracted by the very tempting thought of him in nothing but an apron. Could anything be sexier than a man cooking in her kitchen? She didn’t think so, and as a gentle ache rose between her legs, she cleared her throat.
“Do you need any help with that?”
A little dimple popped deep in his right cheek as he glanced at her from under impossibly long eyelashes. It wasn’t fair that someone so hot already also had dimples and lush lashes! “Just relax. I’ve got this.”
“I’ll just get some coffee—”
“Sit. I got that as well.”
His voice was cheerful, but firm, so she took Eric’s seat and enjoyed watching him pour her a cup of coffee. It turned out to be a bad move because all she could think about was if the island would be sturdy enough for Gavin to bend her over the top of it.
He jolted her out of her intimate thoughts by setting a mug of steaming coffee in front of her. It already had the perfect amount of cream in it, and one sip told her he’d added a teaspoon of sugar, just how she liked it.
“How did you know how I take my coffee?”
He gave her a lazy smile. “I can read your mind.”
Oh shit!
She’d heard that fated mates could sometimes read each other’s minds or feelings, but they’d just met. Surely…
As his smile expanded, she started to suspect he was fibbing, which would be awesome because the last thing she wanted to do was explain why she was fantasizing about turning him into her own personal hot fudge sundae.
“Okay, okay,” he said with a laugh. “I bribed Eric.”
Her glare didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest, and she had to hide her smile behind her coffee cup. Mmm, perfect…
It did feel rather perfect, him bustling about the kitchen, Eric stomping around upstairs, her reveling in the domesticity of the scene. Of course, nothing was perfect. It never was, but she’d also learned to enjoy perfect moments when they came along.
Gavin slid the world’s best omelet in front of her, complete with a smattering of cheese and crumbled bacon bits on top. One bite and her eyes rolled back in her head as she moaned in ecstasy. She rarely had the time to cook for herself, much less go all out on a scrumptious omelet.
“Oh God,” she groaned, stuffing another forkful into her mouth. “Mmm…”
He dropped down on the stool next to her, cradling his own coffee mug and watching with amusement as she devoured the food. As her moans grew louder, he shifted on his seat and she noticed for the first time the impressive bulge in his tight pants.
Fighting the urge to lick her lips and moan even louder, Rachel ignored the rush of heat to her cheeks and focused on her food. Time to get her head on straight. They needed to focus on what was to come, not wanting to come!
“I’ve been thinking,” she started, keeping her eyes trained on the contents of her mug. “I know school’s almost out, but maybe this whole moving thing could wait for a little while. There’s just so much to do around this place to get it ready to sell, not the least of which is packing.”
She continued staring at her coffee as she waited for him to blow up and start shouting at her, but he remained quiet. Maybe he was seething, but she wasn’t ready to find out by actually looking at him. As long as she didn’t look at him, she’d have the courage to continue.
“Maybe after the others have all settled in with your pack… Maybe that’s when Eric and I could move up there.”
Her wolf whined at her words, not at all liking the idea of being parted from the bulk of the Fields pack. And then there was Gavin. Every animal instinct she possessed urged her to never let him out of her sight again. But she was still a human, and humans had the unique ability to resist their animal urges, just as she’d resisted her own for so long.
Rachel simply needed to remember a tiny portion of what she and Eric had endured for the past six years. The memories of all the pain, heartache and torment cooled her innate need to be with Gavin or near her pack—at least for a time. Bottom line, hedging her bets before jumping in with both feet seemed the wisest course of action.
One absolutely massive paw of a hand inched into her narrow view and folded over her own. Though that hand could probably crush a man’s skull effortlessly, it clasped hers with such tenderness her heart skipped two—or ten—beats. Heat sizzled up her arm to her cheeks and then down to her core.
Her wolf growled low, pleading with her to give up the nonsense and succumb to the inevitable. The zap of electricity from his touch made the idea all too tempting, but she only had to remind her wolf about the pup they’d sworn their lives to protect and treat as their own. Her baser instincts could never come first when Eric’s safety and happiness depended on her.
Gavin will protect us all, her wolf insisted. As much as she wanted to accept that as fact, life had shown her the only person she could trust was herself.
“Look,” he said, his voice soft, “I know you have no reason to trust me, but the National Circle does. For that matter, one of the strongest alphas I know, my brother, Mason, trusts me. “
She snorted before she could stop herself and gave him a wry look. “Sorry, but a family recommendation doesn’t count for much.”
“Yes, Mason, my brother, will love me no matter what. But let me assure you, Mason, my alpha, doesn’t put his trust and faith in anyone unless they deserve it. My brother loves his family, but that love is immaterial when it comes to his pack. He will always do what’s best for his pack. He chose me as his enforcer because I’m the most qualified person for the job, not because I’m his brother. I earned it,” he flashed a rueful grin. “And I can tell you it wasn’t easy.”
Tipping her head, Rachel listened to Eric tromping around upstairs to gauge how much time they had before the little boy came running downstairs, insisting they leave right that minute so he could tell his best friend the good news. From the sounds of it, he was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. He never brushed his teeth with his sh
oes on—she could never figure out why—so they had a few more minutes, at least.
Their fingers had somehow interlaced a little, and though part of her wanted to pull away, she was powerless to do so. His touch gave her strength and comfort, and what was about to come would require a lot of both.
“What do you know about what happened here?” She kept her voice low.
It wasn’t a subject she enjoyed talking about, but he if he wanted to step into their lives, he needed to know what those lives had been like before he came along.
“Everything.”
She met his sympathetic gaze with a steely one of her own. “You know nothing.”
He blinked in surprise but then nodded his understanding. “You’re right. Here’s what I do know. Brian’s father, Frank, did some kind of mad scientist shit on his mate to turn her more docile, but it ended up turning her feral instead. After she killed some humans—the parents of Mason’s mate, by the way—the truth came out, and Frank was arrested by the National Ruling Circle. The way I see it, the NRC dropped the ball by not monitoring Brian, so he was able to collect his own motley crew and managed to take over the Fields pack.”
“That’s a fairly sanitized version of events, but technically correct. Of course, those of us who were here call it a massacre…” She shrugged and focused on his big, calloused thumb stroking hers gently. “I’m not sure why he chose us—maybe we were just in his way or maybe we were an easy conquest. I don’t know. I do know my uncle was distracted with his new baby and that made us a target. He tested our defenses in the weeks leading up to the slaughter. Sentries would find mutilated deer on our borders, then closer and closer to the pack house, until…”
This was so much harder than she’d thought it would be. She’d never had to actually talk about it before with someone who didn’t experience the horror firsthand. “I was babysitting Eric that night in the pack house. The rest of the pack had gathered deep in the forest, so Alpha Fields could make a big announcement. As his niece and chief babysitter, I already knew. He wanted to announce the birth of his son and his intention to officially mate Eric’s human mother, Jenny.”