Heart of the Pack

by Fel Fern

  They reached the bedroom now. The house was odd without a crying baby around. Sergio set him on the edge of their bed.

  “Never again.” Sergio promised.

  “I’m picking up Will later. Will you join me?”

  Emotions flickered across his mate’s face. “He doesn’t know me.”

  “We’re going to change that. “

  “Do you think he’ll forgive me?”

  Sergio looked unlike his usual self, uncertain and a little hurt. Ron snorted, grabbing Sergio’s arm. There was a new scar he hadn’t noticed before on Sergio’s left forearm. He traced it from tip to end and realized he no longer wanted to see any more new wounds on his mate’s body.

  “Will’s two, baby. Of course he will. You’re his dad.”

  Sergio wasn’t necessarily a bad father. Before the war between the humans had escalated, Sergio was doing one hell of a job balancing his role as father and pack Alpha.

  “Good.”

  Ron eyed his mate’s dick, which was already hardening for round two.

  “So, Alpha. How do you want me?”

  Sergio beamed. “Screaming my name and on all fours.”

  * * * *

  After, they lay on the sheets, spent.

  “Was that round four or five? I lost count,” Ron confessed.

  Sergio laughed, pulling him close. Ron had missed this part, too—being wrapped in the cocoon of Sergio’s warmth. Sergio pressed his lips on his nape, making him sigh.

  “Baby, we need to get up soon, fetch Will from school,” Ron told him. It was so tempting to stay in bed, though. He’d forgotten how insatiable Sergio’s hunger was.

  “Five minutes,” Sergio murmured in his ear.

  Ron wiggled, feeling Sergio press the tip of his dick into his entrance. “So soon?”

  “Always.”

  Sergio nipped at his ear. Since the Alpha’s cum was still inside him, Sergio entered him with ease. Ron took a deep breath and groaned as Sergio made slow love to him. It didn’t take long for both of them to reach climax.

  “Let’s clean up in the shower,” Sergio told him after.

  They showered, dressed, and in Ron’s car fifteen minutes later. Glancing at the side mirror, Ron spotted Dino parked three cars away.

  “Is Raul with Logan?” Ron asked.

  While cuddling in bed, they had talked a good while about all the problems they needed to sort out. Promises were made, but this time, Ron knew they would both hold onto them.

  “Logan’s getting pretty big now. I told him to spend more time with his mate,” Sergio said. His phone started ringing again. “Ah, hold on.”

  Ron didn’t blame his mate. He knew Sergio received plenty of messages on a daily basis. “Sergio,” he said after the call ended, “let me drive. It’s not safe if you’re answering calls all the time.”

  It was a test, and they both knew it.

  “Let’s switch seats then,” Sergio replied.

  Grinning, Ron caught the keys his mate tossed at him. Finally, in the driver’s seat, they switched positions. He wasn’t surprised Sergio was back on his phone again. After answering one e-mail, Sergio set his phone on the dashboard.

  “Ron, I know I’ve pushed you away, thinking it’s the best way to keep you and Will safe. It’s not. I want you and our son to always be by my side.”

  Warmth filled his belly. “Really?” Ron asked, unable to keep the hope out of his voice.

  “Really,” Sergio confirmed.

  They reached Will’s preschool soon enough. It wasn’t far. That was why before buying their current house, they’d spent hours finding the best place. Their neighborhood was close to Will’s school and the pack house.

  Sergio got out. Ron followed.

  “Will’s going to be surprised,” Ron said, grabbing Sergio’s hand.

  “Not unhappy?”

  Sergio looked tentative again, less of the fierce and protective Alpha and more like a worried dad. It was fucking adorable.

  “Of course not. You’re here.”

  Just then, the school doors opened and toddlers came pouring out to meet their parents. Will spotted them instantly. Their kid let out a happy sequel and ran at them. Sergio instantly caught him.

  “Papa, you’re here,” Will said, beaming. “Special day?”

  Sergio kissed the top of Will’s head. They looked so adorable together that Ron had to take out his phone and take a picture.

  “I’ve been busy, kid, but not anymore,” Sergio explained, ruffling Will’s hair.

  They returned to the car.

  “Who’s in the mood for ice cream?” Sergio asked.

  Ron let out a huff. “No way. Sergio. He’s going to be full before dinner.”

  “Ice cream!” Will kept yelling happily.

  “Ugh. At this rate, you’re going to spoil our kid,” Ron mumbled. In the end, he relented. “Fine, but just for today because Papa’s here with us.”

  Ron gave his toddler a look. Will nodded enthusiastically. Ron steered the car to their favorite ice cream parlor. He made a mental note to thank Logan for putting some sense into his mate.

  Over the past few months, he, Logan, and the other Omegas in the pack had gotten close. Keeping one hand on the wheel, Ron absentmindedly touched his flat stomach. Before this mess, he’d consider having hat important talk with Sergio. Will brought so much sunlight in their lives. Ron wondered if Sergio would want a second kid. A daughter to fuss over would be nice. Seeing other pack mates with daughters, a little girl would be more behaved, and he could imagine buying dresses and hair accessories.

  Tiny steps, Ron told himself. How could he be thinking about having another pup with so much going on in the pack? The stress of taking care of so many people and being in charge of missions was dragging Sergio to the ground. Ron should think about the ways he could support Sergio more.

  “What are you thinking about?” Sergio asked after putting the phone down.

  “I—”

  Sergio’s phone began to vibrate. Sergio snarled softly under his breath. “Ignore that.”

  Ron stole a peek. Alessio’s name flashed across the screen. “I think you should get that.”

  Sergio sighed and answered the call. “You better have a good reason to be calling me, Brother. I specifically said I wanted to be left alone today.”

  The stoplight ahead of them flashed red. Ron took the opportunity to study his mate. His heart hammered. Something was wrong judging by the way Sergio tensed.

  “I see. We’ll be there.” Sergio ended the call.

  “What’s wrong?” Ron asked. Seeing the light change, he focused on the road.

  Sergio kept his voice low, probably so Will wouldn’t hear. “There’s been an incident at the pack house.”

  Ron made a turn. Instead of going back home, he steered the car to the restaurant. He knew from Sergio’s tone that something serious had happened.

  “I should call one of my enforcers.”

  Ron knew where this conversation was going. “Sergio, tell me.”

  The expression on Sergio’s face was hard, which scared him a little. “They found a body.”

  “In the pack house?” Ron asked, unable to keep his voice down. In his baby seat, Will seemed more interested in playing with one of his stuffed wolves. He lowered his voice. “Who would dare do such a thing?”

  For one, it seemed impossible. The pack house was always a flurry of activity, but it was also somewhat of a fortress. Enforcers constantly monitored the comings and goings of everyone.

  “I need you and Will to get to a safe location.”

  Sergio’s tone indicated that he would brook no argument, but… “The safest place is by your side if we don’t know what we’re up against,” Ron answered firmly.

  He thought they would end up fighting again, that all their progress would have gone to waste. Sergio only looked exhausted.

  “You’re probably right.”

  They arrived at Esteban’s Pasta Mania later than expecte
d. There was some traffic on the main street of town as normal folks started to emerge from their offices.

  Finally, they reached the parking lot of the restaurant. Ron noted that half the spots were filled. Dino parked his car next to theirs. Ron knew the other werewolf tailed them at a discreet distance. Sergio got out of the car first to speak with Dino. Ron picked up Will from the back seat. The pup sniffed the air in his arms.

  “Hungry, Daddy.”

  Noticing them approaching, Sergio must have heard Will. Sergio softened and reached out to rub at Will’s head. “Maybe you and Daddy could get something to eat first, kiddo. I don’t think we have ice cream, but there’s mozzarella sticks.”

  Sergio met his gaze and Ron understood what his mate was asking of him.

  “We’ll scavenge the kitchen for treats while you deal with the matter,” Ron said.

  Sergio looked relieved.

  “Dino, go with them,” Sergio said. He leaned over to give Ron a quick kiss on the mouth. “You’re right. Knowing you’re nearby makes me worry less.”

  Ron tried not to look smug. Inside, he was touched Sergio really was not backing down on his promise. Dino didn’t seem surprised by the change in their Alpha.

  “I’m hungry for cheese sticks,” Dino told his pup.

  Will beamed. “Cheese!”

  “All right, pup. I’ll be feeding you soon,” Ron told him. He stole a look at his mate. Sergio had his Alpha mask on now as he met with other enforcers waiting for him by the door.

  “Don’t worry. Sergio’s going to take care of this,” Dino told him, as if the other werewolf noticed his concern.

  Dino didn’t understand. Neither did the others. Knowing one of his wolves had been murdered in his very own pack house would cost Sergio, Ron knew.

  He didn’t know how much more his mate could give without breaking.

  Chapter Six

  Even before the phone rang, Sergio felt the death. One of the bright lights connected to the pack bonds had died out, leaving another hole in his soul.

  His Alpha wolf thrashed inside him. His skin itched. The beast wanted release, to destroy something, to wreck anything to unleash all the pent-up rage building inside them for months.

  Then Ron’s voice dragged him back to reality. Through the mate bonds, Sergio could feel Ron’s submissive wolf calming him, soothing him. For now, Sergio had a job to do. If he let the anger consume him, he wouldn’t be able to bring justice to Abbott.

  Once he sent Dino to watch over Ron, he met with Jared and Garrett at the entrance. Right after Abbott’s body had been discovered, the entire building had been locked down. They sent most of the werewolves—the ones who weren’t fighters—back to their homes.

  “Alessio’s inside,” Jared informed him.

  Sergio could sense both men’s wolves. Garret’s and Jared’s wolves were pissed. When he entered the pack house, more of his shifters nodded to his direction. Some murmured words of sympathy. Others remained silent.

  He didn’t have the luxury to second-guess himself. The men and women under him were loyal, but it had been a pretty tough year. Sergio knew they whispered among themselves, questioning his leadership. An Alpha was born. Anyone could challenge him for the position. Alessio had scoffed when Sergio brought it up in private.

  They can’t handle the responsibilities. They’ll crack. That had been his brother’s answer.

  What about him? It was only a matter of time before Sergio bent.

  No. Ron was going to keep him anchored. Spending with his mate and his son today—no matter how brief—was exactly what he’d needed. Some veteran wolves considered sentiment a weakness. Sergio used to think the same way. His sister had convinced him that it could be strength, that sometimes fear wasn’t the way to keep the others alive.

  They were at the restaurant’s first floor now. Jared led the way to the usually empty second floor. There was private sitting here, but they usually only opened it if downstairs was full.

  Most of the enforcers and other fighters were in the crowded space. Silence met his entrance. Those in the way parted so Sergio could pass. Alessio was talking to Riley and Isaac. He noted his brother had only allowed members who had been with them longer than most.

  Good.

  Sergio didn’t want what they had to discuss to discuss to leak out because whoever did this kill was still in Darkfall. He didn’t want to consider the option and refused to believe any one of his would do such a thing, but he had to face the hard facts.

  Only pack members were allowed in here. Guests were always guarded if they were going to have a meeting with Sergio and his brother.

  Alessio paused from his conversation. Sergio noticed Alessio’s mate was also present. When Alessio had first mated the half-demon, Sergio hadn’t trusted Kelias initially, given he had been a former member of the Order of the Knife.

  “Babe, tell Sergio,” Alessio told his mate.

  The slender half-demon nodded. Sergio tried to detach himself from his rage. There were no other wounds on Abbott’s body, aside from his missing head. Decapitation was a sure way to kill a shifter. So was pumping silver bullets into the heart. He was guessing that whoever had done this needed to make an efficient kill.

  “The cut was clean, fast, done by some kind of bladed weapon,” Kelias told him. “Given the precise cut, I can confirm it might be done by someone of the order.”

  “Or someone good with handling weapons,” Sergio found himself replying.

  Kelias looked at him curiously. Some werewolves mumbled Kelias had no right to be there, but Kelias was his brother’s mate. He was one of them. The killer, however…

  “What are you implying, Sergio?” Alessio asked as Sergio looked away from the body.

  “Let’s get our healers to examine the body and give Abbott a decent funeral after,” he said.

  Their pack healers also worked as medical professionals. If he had his way, Sergio didn’t want to make their jobs any harder. Over the months, they had probably had to care for so many injured fighters.

  Alessio waited. Sergio met his brother’s gaze. They worked together for many years and knew each other’s thought processes. He had a feeling Alessio had come to the same conclusion.

  “We have a mole.”

  Sergio had said it quietly, but everyone had heard it. They began whispering among themselves. A rumbling growl tickled from Sergio’s throat. He purposely threw a bit of power by tugging at the pack bonds. The enforcers grew quiet instantly.

  “No one could have come in and out of here unnoticed. There’s only one explanation. We let our guard down, but there’s no one to blame. No one would question a fellow pack member,” Sergio said, opening the floor for discussion.

  Two healers had entered and taken Abbott’s body to give the fallen the treatment Abbott deserved. Sergio hadn’t known Abbott well. Abbott wasn’t a fighter. He’d taught high school science by day and went to pack meetings by night. Why would anyone hold a grudge against Abbot? There might be a reason or maybe killing Abbott had been a message from their enemies—that they could end any of his wolves any time.

  “If the humans think they can shake us, they’re wrong,” Jared spoke up.

  Sergio wasn’t entirely sure about that. He already knew his wolves were casting suspicious glances at each other, wondering who to trust. Something this big wouldn’t be kept hidden for long.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll inform other pack members about Abbott’s death,” he told Alessio.

  “Alpha, is that wise?” Riley spoke up.

  “The humans might expect me to hide this information from the others while their spy can spread rumors. We have nothing to hide,” Sergio said plainly. “How was Abbott’s body discovered?”

  Riley looked guilty. “Isaac and I were guarding the room when we heard the noise. No one should have been in here. We found Abbott’s body. Didn’t recognize the scent on him. We did notice that window was open.”

  Sergio walked to the opened window and looked
down. There was no tree beside the window and nothing to jump into, merely an empty space. A human could not have made the jump to the first floor without injury, although a human jacked up on Alpine’s drug Latitude could have.

  He noticed the slight scratches on the window ledge. Claw marks. The killer was smart enough to make the decapitation seem like a kill someone from the order would execute, but the killer left in an awful early.

  “Clumsy,” Alessio said by his shoulder, noticing what he was looking at.

  With only his brother behind him, Sergio shut his eyes for a couple of seconds. “Has Abbott’s family been informed?”

  “We were waiting for you in case you didn’t want his murder to leak out to the others.”

  Alessio looked uncertain when Sergio opened his eyes and looked at him.

  “We’ll get him. This killer,” Sergio finally said.

  Alessio nodded, looking hesitant. “There’s something else.”

  “More bad news?” Sergio asked.

  “Good, actually, but we’ll need to speak in private.”

  “Understood.”

  Sergio finished up the meeting, giving each enforcer there instructions. He couldn’t protect all his members, but at the very least, they had been warned that an enemy was in town. Sergio was pretty sure the murderer wouldn’t strike so soon, not when the entire pack was on high alert.

  “We’ll talk in my office.”

  * * * *

  The five people he trusted most in the world were squeezed inside his private office. Alessio stood with his mate. Ron was by his shoulder. Jared and his sister, Jane, were by the door.

  Looking at each person there, Sergio felt more at peace. This was his immediate family. Jared and Jane weren’t blood, but Sergio and his siblings raised them.

  “Alessio, is it true?” Sergio finally spoke up.

  “Our spies have confirmed where Alpine Industries stores its main databases.”

  “What’s going on?” Ron asked.

  “To our knowledge, Alpine has seven active testing facilities spread throughout the country,” Sergio explained.

  “Over the months, we’ve shut down four,” Jared supplied, frowning. “There’s still seven?”