by E A Price
“Everything okay up there?” called Marion.
“Yes, mommy,” called Penny – so Marion knew it was true. She wouldn’t necessarily trust Izzy if she had said it.
Then it hit her; she was all alone with Tank who was gazing at her with that impenetrable stare he had. The one he had trained on Marcus and actually had the wolf shifter damn near wetting his pants. Except, she didn’t find it to be a scary stare. Oh no, it got her all hot and bothered for a completely different reason.
Ten
“We need to talk,” said Tank.
He winced as he said those words. They were words he heard from all his ex-girlfriends, and they always resulted in him being dumped. They were words he heard after his girlfriends met his mother and sisters.
What Marion had witnessed so far was just the tip of the crazy, no-boundaries iceberg. While his family liked to ask invasive questions, they also had no problem in borrowing previous girlfriend’s clothes, coming into his bedroom while they were sleeping to get the clothes, or running into the bathroom to do their make-up while the girlfriends happened to be using the shower. That was just a few of the many examples.
Yeah, his family were loud and boisterous, and while all of his ex-girlfriends had found their behavior off-putting, Tank couldn’t really fault them. They just treated his girlfriends like they would their other daughters or sisters. His mom and sisters welcomed his girlfriends with open arms, treating them as a member of the family. Sadly, that severe lack of boundaries had them running for the hills.
Occasionally, Tank had brought a woman home after a few dates, and well, they didn’t know him well enough to want to stick around – they decided to get out quick before they got to know him. So, he started dating them for longer before bringing them home – hoping they were more invested in the relationship. But no, this didn’t work either. He was starting to think that maybe mating wasn’t on the cards for him.
Marion chewed on her lip and gave him a worried look. “I know,” she breathed, “look, thank you so much for last night, but I really need to think about where we’re staying tonight.”
Tank frowned. “You’re staying here.”
“You're very kind but…”
“No, seriously, you heard Mom. It’s slow cooker chili night. She already put it in the cooker.”
He nodded over at the enormous slow cooker – it was an eight to ten person cooker. Generally needed given how much he ate, but he would happily give some of his portion to Marion and the kids – he could fill up on cornbread.
“If I let you go I won’t hear the end of it.”
“We can’t keep imposing on you. Maybe a few nights and we’ll get out of your hair, and we won’t bother you anymore.”
He didn’t like the sound of that at all. Thankfully he had three crazy siblings to use as an excuse not to let her go. “Yeah, I doubt my sisters will let you go that easily. Teena already bought Disney on ice tickets for the end of the month. She can’t wait to take your kids.”
Marion snickered. “Well, good luck to her with that. Temp once had the same urge. She practically had to tape Izzy and Sophie to their seats to stop them from running out onto the ice and telling Pocahontas they love her.”
“I’m actually more worried about Teena running out there to tell Prince Eric she loves him.”
Marion laughed until it fizzled into nervous chuckles. “You know I need to get to work soon.”
Tank nodded, “I’m coming with you.”
“You are?” she asked in surprise.
“Yeah, I’m working security.”
Marion frowned at him. “Since when does the center have security?”
“Since Temp married one of my bosses.”
“So both Harlan and Branch are reindeer shifters?”
Tank nodded shortly. Not much point in denying it. Not when she had three little wolves who could smell pancakes a mile away.
“I’m an enforcer for the herd. I’m assigned to protecting Temp when she’s at work.”
“Oh, umm, so you’re going to be at the center all day?”
He nodded, and her cheeks bloomed with heat.
“What does that wolf want?” he asked.
Her eyes flicked to the ceiling as she heard a bump and a crash.
“We don’t have long. Basically, I was married to a wolf shifter called Jack, but his dad, Marcus, hated me because he thought my human blood weakened the gene pool. After his dad became alpha, it was absolutely awful, and we agreed I would leave the pack, and as long as I didn’t ask for child support, he’d leave me alone. Except Jack died recently and since he was Marcus’ only kid and he doesn’t have any other grandkids, he’s now decided that actually, human blood isn’t so bad. So, since the girls are going to be wolf shifters, he’s decided that the girls are now his and he wants to drag them and me back to the pack for… I don’t know what.”
Marion finished just as Izzy and Sophie stampeded into the kitchen.
She beamed at the twins. “Okay, honey bunnies, let me see those clean teeth.”
The twins bared their teeth with mini growls, and Marion pretended she was blinded by the dazzle of their shining teeth, before steering them outside to the car and calling for Penny to join them.
Tank let out a long breath. Lots of shifters thought bloodlines were important - particularly alphas. This Marcus character just couldn’t bear the thought of his blood dying out, and he didn’t see any problem with kidnapping Marion and her kids, and keeping them prisoner in the pack to make that possible.
One thing was for certain. That was never going to happen.
Eleven
“Mommy, what about Fluffy?” asked Izzy.
“He needs food,” added Penny.
“He’ll be hungry,” agreed Sophie.
Marion glanced back to three very worried faces and grimaced. Oh, how she wished she had never caved about getting them a pet.
Tank grunted as he pulled into a parking spot outside the center. “What’s Fluffy? A cat?”
“A goldfish,” she admitted.
His lips twitched. He was trying not to laugh. “Called Fluffy?”
“Yeah,” she said slowly. They had really wanted a bunny rabbit but, well, she had lived with wolf shifters for four years – bunnies never did well around wolf shifters. She thought it best to keep them away from temptation.
Tank cleared his throat. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Yay!” Izzy and Sophie cheered.
“You will?”
“Yeah, if there’s anything else you want from your house let me know and I’ll pick it up while I’m feeding the fish.”
“Oh, I see,” she murmured.
“I’ll take care of your door, too… since I kind of broke it.”
He gave her a sheepish look, but she just smiled at him. She wasn’t really going to chastise him for breaking his way into her house to rescue her. Though her landlady may have a few choice words for him. She blamed Marion when a bird flew into one of the windows, cracking the pane. In spite of what Izzy said, it was just a regular bird – not Big Bird.
Tank turned back to look at the girls. He tried to give them a serious look though it really didn’t have any effect on the twins who were squirming and giggling and Penny probably didn’t recognize his authority.
“Okay, rules, girls. You don’t leave with the center without me.”
“Absolutely,” agreed Marion backing him up, “they’re never allowed to leave the center on their own.”
The three kids nodded in agreement – she’d told them that repeatedly. Tank then turned to Marion, and she blinked at him.
“Oh, me too?”
“Yep.”
“Oh.”
He looked back at the girls. “I need to know where you are in the center at all times.”
“Yes, absolutely,” said Marion.
Her girls nodded, and Tank looked at her again.
“Really? Me too?”
“Yep.”
> “Even if I need to use the bathroom?” she asked in disbelief.
The girls giggled, but Tank merely nodded.
“Oh.”
“If any of you,” his gaze moved between the four of them, “see that bad man from last night…”
“You scream, scream, scream,” said Marion, and before he could add it, she said, “and yes, I include myself in that.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
*
Tank peered through the blinds of Temp’s office. She had her own small office, but a large window so she could look out into the center.
Marion’s desk was right outside the window. She was head bent over her desk diligently working, though he felt the need to check about every thirty seconds.
The girls were currently with Mira, Branch’s mom, Martha and his sister, Ariel. Mira was already helping out with the Easter show, and Martha and Ariel had eagerly offered their services as well. Tank was sure the three of them could handle the girls – even including the rambunctious Izzy. But given that the alpha’s mother and sister were there, the head enforcer and Tank’s boss, Mal was there watching them. Though, he wasn’t entirely sure even Mal was a match for Izzy. He’d almost lost her getting out of the car. She saw a balloon and tried to get it. Thank heavens Marion was on the ball – she saw Izzy’s bid for freedom coming and had taken the precaution of strapping a tether to her in the car. To think, Tank had demurred, wondering if it was necessary. Marion had given him a tolerant look and told him it was very necessary.
Kids were exhausting. Though, he couldn’t help feeling something warm in his stomach whenever they smiled at him. Whenever they clutched his legs and giggled at him. Even Penny was thawing towards him, a little. She was very impressed when he managed to catch the balloon Izzy had been trying to chase. Course, she just let out a sigh as Izzy immediately jumped on it, popping it and creating a large bang that delighted her and Sophie no end.
“Tank,” grunted Branch impatiently.
He snapped the blinds shut, and with a mild amount of embarrassment turned to face his alpha. Both Branch and his second, Harlan was there. Temp was blushing profusely, but Harlan insisted on her sitting in his lap.
“I still can’t believe that Marion was mated to a wolf shifter,” said Temp. “And that her three adorable little girls are all going to be wolves! Though, I don’t know why I’m surprised - I am married to a reindeer shifter.”
“Yeah, you are,” smirked Harlan.
Branch rolled his eyes.
Tank explained over the phone what happened with Marcus, and the reason why Penny knew they were reindeer. Branch was immediately concerned. Like Tank, he knew that Marcus wasn’t about to go trotting home with his tail between his legs. No, he would take Tank’s interference as a challenge, and he’d be especially determined to take Marion and the kids, which put anyone near them in potential danger. He could tell Branch was a little miffed at him for doing so, though, if he hadn’t done anything, he was sure Mira and Temp would have been very upset and vocal about it.
“Since he found her house, he’ll probably know where she works.”
Tank nodded. He’d spoken to Mal, and as well as his cousin, Dozer, on reception and Mal himself, they had a couple of enforcers placed strategically around the center. He hadn’t mentioned this to Marion. She was worried about Marcus, but hearing their precautions may send her into full-blown panic.
“Poor Marion,” said Temp sympathetically. “She doesn’t talk much about her past, but I gather that her husband was a bit of an a-hole.” She mouthed ‘a-hole.’
“Worse than that, he sounds like a complete asshole,” said Harlan.
Temp rolled her eyes. “Can’t we call the cops?”
“No,” grumbled Branch. “Even if they arrested him, he’d contact the council of shifters, and they’d get him released. As far as the council is concerned, he hasn’t done anything wrong. Wolves are very territorial; the council would agree that the girls belong in the pack with other wolves.”
“So they’d just let him kidnap them?” asked Temp in disbelief.
Branch shrugged. “Probably.”
Harlan rubbed her back. “Shifter rules are different, beautiful, and no, sometimes they’re not fair, but they’re supposed to be there to protect us.”
“But they’re just children!”
“Exactly,” said Branch, “the shifter council would prefer they live with other wolves, and learn how to control their inner beasts. How would it be if one of them lost control and bit another kid at school?”
Tank grunted sharply. He didn’t like the sound of that.
“You saying I should have let him take them?” he growled sharply.
Branch gave him a narrowed-eyed look – not liking his tone one bit, but frankly, his alpha could suck it at that moment. Tank puffed out his chest angrily.
“No,” replied Branch tersely. “I would never hand over a human and three kids to an angry wolf shifter. I’m just telling you how the council will view this.”
Tank harrumphed, mildly appeased.
“However, we can’t protect them indefinitely. This Marcus will come back and bring more of his pack.”
“Damn pack hunters,” grumbled Harlan.
Reindeer took a wary view of wolves – they were, after all, their prey in the wild.
“So, what can we do?” asked Temp anxiously.
Branch took a long look at Tank, who stared back with his usual blank expression, masking his inner worry.
“Perhaps if Marion can provide the last name of the alpha, then we can find out which pack he belongs to and reach out to him. Maybe we could find out whether there is anything we can offer him to stop him from coming after her.”
Temp nodded, though she missed the look that passed between Branch and Harlan. Tank didn’t. It was a look that said they already knew what the answer would be. The wolf wanted his grandchildren, and that was that.
“What else?” grunted Tank.
Branch gave him another long look. Tank resisted the urge to howl at him to spit it out. Getting angry with your alpha was never a good idea.
“According to the herd historian, if she were already part of another pack it would be a moot point, he wouldn’t be able to touch her – she’d belong to the new pack, and that claim would supersede his since he allowed her to leave his pack.” He paused for a moment. “Or even if she were part of a herd.”
Tank stood up a little straighter. Meaning if she happened to be mated to a member of their herd, then they couldn’t touch her.
He looked at the window, knowing she was on the other side.
Huh.
Twelve
Marion chewed on her lip. Her eyes wandered over to the window separating her from Temp’s office – the office where Temp and three reindeer shifters were apparently discussing her and her future.
Shouldn’t she be in there?
But oh no, she was relegated to her desk. Apparently, they weren’t interested in what she had to say. It was only the lives of her daughters at stake here!
Marion clenched and unclenched her fists. She wasn’t an angry person. For the most part, she was a quiet person. She was a worrier, not a warrior. She dealt with problems calmly. But oh, she was getting angry now. Or maybe it was all just fear.
She was afraid of losing her girls. They were everything to her. She left that damn pack to protect them. Life in the pack was unbearable after Marcus became alpha. Those wolves were aggressive to her because she was human, and she could ignore that, but she couldn’t deal with them treating her kids that way. Couldn’t run the risk that one day their taunting would be taken to far, that it would become violent.
And now, after all these years of struggling to make ends meet, she wasn’t about to just let that monster drag her back. Wasn’t about to let him get his paws on her baby girls.
No, she had to do something.
With purpose, she rose to her feet and marched toward Temp’s
office door, but just as she reached it, it swung open, and she came face to chest with Tank.
“Marion,” he rumbled.
His deep voice sent vibrations through her frame. “Tank,” she whispered as her eyes crept up his chest to his face. It took a while because he had a lot of chest.
“What’s happening?” she asked a little breathlessly.
She ignored the hard stares of Harlan and Branch and just focused on Tank. He was bigger than the two of them and perhaps gruffer, but he was infinitely more appealing. She wasn’t sure about the two of them, didn’t feel the immediate comfort and reassurance as she had in Tank’s presence. He really was something special.
“My alpha is going to reach out to Marcus.”
Her eyes flickered to Branch, who looked completely unimpressed by her and her problems.
“Oh, ah, thank you,” she murmured, edging a little closer to Tank.
Branch shrugged. “We’ll see if there’s anything we can offer him to stop his pursuit of you.”
“I don’t really have anything…”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Harlan with a wink.
“You don’t have to do this…”
“Marion, we weren’t about to let you deal with this on your own,” said Temp sweetly.
Marion smiled at her boss and friend and then gazed up at Tank. Her knight in… well, black and combat boots.
“Perhaps in the meantime, we should go to a motel, I mean, if Marcus finds out where we’re staying, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to your mom or sisters.” She couldn’t bear it if one of those overbearing yet lovely women were hurt or worse by Marcus and his awful pack.
“No,” said Tank firmly.
“But…”
“My mom won’t hear of it, plus she texted me to say she bought extra eggs for an Easter egg hunt for the girls.”
“She did?” she exclaimed, a little touched by her thoughtfulness. Her girls would adore that.
“She does it every year for my sisters.” He colored a little.
“And for you, too, right?” she rightly guessed.
“I ask her not to, but she keeps doing it,” he muttered.
Marion smiled, ignoring the snickers emanating from Branch and Harlan. She imagined a six-foot-ten reindeer shifter hunting for eggs was a sight to behold.