by L. P. Maxa
Introductions were made, drinks were poured. Blake was still on the floor, Hadley sitting in her lap, and Riley was beside them. Jace and Axie were standing at the front of the room by the fireplace, Baze was pacing behind them while his mate Pen was in one of the leather chairs with her feet propped on the ottoman, her hands rubbing her rounded belly. She looked like she’d swallowed a basketball, but Riley had been around enough pregnant females at this point to know comments like that were best kept inside his head.
Keller and Molly shared a couch with Corey and Dom, and Jasper was standing behind Linc and Maddi on the loveseat, rocking the baby back to sleep.
“Okay, let’s get started.” Baze stopped his pacing, coming to stand next to his beta while Axie went and perched on the edge of Pen’s chair. “Mathias got in and recovered all the information this asshole has gathered about our pack over the last few months, and he found out how they discovered the evidence leaks were coming from Jace.”
Mathias was a shifter friend of Maddi’s from a pack she’d met while backpacking through Spain. He and his people were hackers, virtual-age Robin Hoods. He’d been helping Baze and Jace for a while now, doing everything he could to assist them to leak the dirt they acquired from Jasper and Jace’s monster of a father as safely as possible.
The whole pack had agreed it was best to try to take down the Colorado underworld as opposed to turning a blind eye on the corruption. They’d apparently been cocky, thinking that they’d be able to maintain the upper hand until they were done.
“Which is why Blake is here.” Jace stepped forward. “These guys followed us here in Haxton, and they went to Greenly and tracked Riley as well.”
“Why did you think it was best to bring her back here?” Keller shrugged, shooting Blake an apologetic glance. “Not that we’re not all happy to meet you, but I don’t understand why we needed to drag you into our crap, that’s all.”
Blake nodded in understanding, bouncing Hadley in her lap when she started to fuss.
“The photos and videos we found made it look like Riley and Blake were dating.” Jace glanced over at Riley before addressing the rest of the pack. “We know from experience that people like this, people like Constantine, they go after everything they perceive as a weakness.”
“Constantine? Is that this guy’s name? You’ve been referring to him as asshole for the last week, so I wasn’t sure.” Linc took the baby from Jasper, wrinkling his nose as he sniffed her diaper. “Thanks, jerk.”
Jasper smiled, batting his eyelashes. “Anytime.”
“Jasper, change your sister.” Maddi leaned her head back, smirking as Linc handed the baby back and Jasper moved around to the floor in front of the couch with a pretty pink diaper bag slung over his shoulder. “So this Constantine, you were afraid he’d go through Blake to get to Riley? I mean, are you guys dating?” She directed this question at him, wagging her eyebrows suggestively. The more time Maddi spent with Jasper and Linc, the more she sounded like them. That poor baby girl of theirs didn’t stand a chance.
“No, we’re not dating. We’re friends.” Riley smiled at Blake, trying to keep her from feeling uncomfortable in the middle of all this. “We hang out a lot. Basically, she’s my only friend in Greenly, so I can see how they’d draw that conclusion.”
“Why don’t you have any friends, bud?” Corey’s eyes filled with tears. “Are you lonely? You poor baby, I knew you should have stayed here until Jasp—”
“For fuck’s sake, did you knock Corey up again already?” Linc leaned forward, addressing Dom.
“What? No.” Dom paused, glancing at his mate. “Wait, are you pregnant?”
Corey rolled her eyes. “No, I’m worried about my boy. I hate the thought of you not having any friends.”
Molly wiped at her cheeks, sniffling. “It is really, really sad.”
“She has an excuse. She’s got triple the hormones running through her body.” Keller rubbed his hand on his mate’s back, trying to soothe her.
“You guys, stop crying over me, I’m fine.” He was fine, but his pack was making him feel pathetic, for sure.
“Riley could have had a million friends, but he stayed in his room like a hermit all the time.” Blake knocked her shoulder into his. “But don’t worry, I broke into his cave and dragged him out kicking and screaming.”
“And now you’re paying for it.” Molly let out a wail. “You tried to help our boy and now your life is in danger.” She shook her head, her shoulders shaking. “It’s all so tragic.”
Keller stood and lifted his mate into his arms before settling her into his lap. “You guys keep talking, I think we’re going to be spending the next few months pretending Molly isn’t sobbing hysterically.”
“You had to go and be an overachiever, didn’t you?” Linc shook his head at Keller, like he was disappointed in him.
“What?” Keller switched to stroking Molly’s long straight blonde hair. “You want to point fingers at overachievers, how ’bout Dom? Knocked up Corey right out of the gate and threw everything else into fast forward.”
Dom shrugged. “My wolf is virile.”
“Your wolf is a fucking horndog.” Linc rolled his eyes.
“Are you calling someone else a horndog? Isn’t that like your superpower?” Axie crossed her arms over her chest, calling out Linc from across the room.
“Why do they keep referring to their dicks as wolves?” Blake leaned over, whispering in Riley’s ear, reminding him she was sitting in the middle of all this and she knew nothing about the shifters gathered around her.
PART TWO
THE TRUTH
Blake + Riley
Chapter Twenty
Blake
Riley’s makeshift family was something to behold. They were all gorgeous, they were all really touchy-feely and into PDA. But they were kind, and their love for each other and Riley came through in their every interaction. It helped explain a lot about Riley, that was for sure. He was such a nice guy, always a gentleman and never afraid to let his emotions show. Blake was happy that she got to meet them, even if the circumstances were a little hard to swallow.
Before leaving on that road trip home with Riley, Blake’s life was pretty simple. She went to class, she partied when she had the chance, and she hung out with her best friend. Typical college life, exactly as she’d assumed it would be. Then, Jasper had entered the picture, she’d had her first threesome, and now she was hiding in a mountain compound surrounded by gorgeous males who seemed to be willing to step in front of a bullet for the people they loved.
Blake leaned over, Hadley’s hair tickling her chin as she whispered in Riley’s ear. “Why do they keep referring to their dicks as wolves?”
“Uh.” He cleared his throat, shrugging one shoulder. “It’s, um, another one of those inside jokes I mentioned.”
She nodded, trying really hard to follow along with their conversations. All of this was so out of her depth. Blake knew crime was real, but the way Riley’s family was talking, it almost seemed like something out of a movie.
“Can you guys please stop crying over me?” Riley sighed. “I chose to be alone. I was focusing on my workouts and my studies. Blake literally barged into my life, completely uninvited. As much as I hate she’s in danger because of it, I’m glad she did.”
Riley moved his hand, putting it behind her back on the ground and enveloping her in his scent. She always thought Riley smelled good, like guy good. After she’d been with him at the cabin, though, his soap and pine tree scent seemed to trigger something inside her.
“Don’t feel bad for your poor Riley, he has friends and Blake is a strong chick.” Jasper picked up Allison and handed her to her dad now that she was wearing a fresh diaper. “We’ll keep her safe until this is all over.”
Corey glance from Blake to Jasper. “Oh, you’ve met Blake before too?”
Blake felt Riley stiffen beside her. Jasper licked his lips, like he was trying to hide a smile but came off looking wicked ins
tead. “We road tripped home together the other day. I got to spend some time with her.”
“Oh. That’s right, the cabin.”
Blake let out a little gasp, feeling panicked Riley’s family knew about what went down between the three of them. She wasn’t ashamed, and she didn’t regret it. She sure as hell didn’t want the people Riley looked to as parents to know though.
Riley leaned over, his lips against the shell of her ear sending unexpected goosebumps traveling across her skin. “They know we had to stay there because of the storm, doll face. They don’t know anything else. I swear.”
She nodded, her eyes cutting to Jasper, worry etched in his face as well. She sent him a small smile, letting him know she was okay. He was a player, and a shit starter, for sure. He also seemed to genuinely care for his family, for Riley, and for her.
It had been a long-ass day, and every though she’d been able to relax with Axie for a few hours, she was feeling exhausted and achy. All she wanted was to be back in Riley’s dorm room, junk food spread out between them and a dumb movie on TV. She’d packed the clothes she’d stolen from him, so at least when she climbed into bed alone, she would have his scent to comfort her.
Riley thought she saved him, pushing her friendship into his life. The truth was, he’d saved her too. Riley made her calmer. He also made her make time for studying and actual sleep, so there was that.
“We’ll work with Mathias, get this guy neutralized as quickly as possible, and everyone can go back to life as usual.” Baze, she was pretty sure that was his name, was standing in front of the grand fireplace, commanding the room like a general. “I want the guys to go on a run tonight, the girls will be safer here, and then no more until the next time we’re all together again.”
“You guys really like to run, huh?” Blake played with the end of Hadley’s silky hair.
Riley nodded, letting out a long sigh. “Yeah, we’re all addicted to that runner’s high.” He jerked his chin across the room. “The coaches, they uh, hammered that into us in high school.”
Blake wasn’t sure how she felt about staying here at the house with all the girls in Riley’s family. They seemed a little emotional. She was all for feeling cherished by the men in her life, but Riley’s group seemed to take it to a whole new level. Still. She liked Axie, and at least she’d be here too.
“You want to hang out when you get back? You can pick the movie.” Blake smiled as Hadley got off her lap. The kid was getting fidgety and was probably bored with the drawn-out conversation the grown-ups were having, and using Riley’s body as a jungle gym.
Jasper sat down on the floor beside her, sandwiching her between him and her best friend. She’d promised Riley she’d leave the cabin at the cabin. Being between them though, she wasn’t sure if there would ever be a time that their presence on either side of her didn’t conjure up images from the night they’d spent together. She didn’t regret what happened.
At the same time, she couldn’t see herself ever doing it again with them or anyone else. Which was odd, because it’d been the actual hottest, most carnal night of her life, thus far. She’d gone to sleep on Riley’s chest, knowing she’d want them all over when the sun came up. When she woke though, she found all she wanted to do was snuggle deeper into Riley’s arms and fall back asleep.
“I’ll watch a movie with you, Barbie doll.” Jasper smiled in her direction. “Jace has a cool media room down in the basement with a—”
“Let’s go, Jasper.” Jace’s tone was demanding, harsh, like his patience was running thin.
Blake didn’t see the harm in Jasper offering to watch a movie with her. They were destined to become friends after all. They would all be living in Greenly together soon enough, and there was no way she’d ever give up her time with Riley. She wasn’t even sure what her life would look like without him at this point. She and Jasper shared a best friend, literally, at one point, so they might as well learn to be buds.
Riley helped Hadley to her feet, and then climbed to his as he watched her toddle to Corey. He reached down and took both of Blake’s hands in his, ignoring Jasper completely as he pulled her to stand. “I won’t be gone long. You pick the movie.” He placed a sweet chaste kiss on the top of her head and followed the rest of the men in his family out the glass doors leading to Jace’s backyard.
“Have fun.” Blake glanced around the living room, taking in all the still-unfamiliar faces. “I’ll be fine here.”
It’d snowed that day, and there was a layer of white as far as the eye could see. Not one of them reached for a jacket as they trudged through it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Riley
The run was good for him. It was good for all of them. Pen had told them once they needed to shift, they needed to let their wolves out as often as they could. It was what kept them a pack, what kept their old traditions from getting lost in this new age. Riley wondered what Pen would say if she knew he hadn’t shifted once the whole semester he’d been at Greenly. The few times he’d come home for a visit, he’d gone out with his pack, but that was it. He had to admit that being home, being surrounded by the other shifters he called family, made his wolf live much closer to the surface. He didn’t mind it at all. In fact, now that he’d been on a few runs he found he’d missed the constant companion lurking under his skin.
“We’re going to grab the girls and head out. I guess we won’t really see you guys until this is all over?” Keller was standing on Jace’s back patio, his chest bare and his arms gripping the roof as he stretched.
Jace nodded, pulling his sweater over his head. “I think that’s best, for now. Once Mathias digs in and we go after this last asshole again, we need to lay low.”
Jace, Axie, Jasper, Riley, and Blake would be here in Jace’s house. Baze and Pen lived a few miles away on Jace’s secure mountain compound. The rest of the pack lived in town, all pretty close to each other with Jace’s impeccable security setups.
“If anything changes, we’ll let you know.” Baze opened the patio doors, the sound of music and laughter filtering out into the yard where they’d gathered in the freshly fallen snow.
Jasper pushed forward, a wicked grin on his stupid face. Riley followed his gaze, his breath hitching in his chest. Axie and Blake were dancing, half-empty crystal tumblers in their hands. Hadley was twirling along, holding on to Corey’s fingers. Maddi was twerking, holding her infant in her arms, laughing with her head thrown back.
“Your girls are a terrible influence.” Dom shook his head, playfully glaring at Riley and Jace in turn. “My toddler is dancing to some explicit-ass music.”
“Isn’t Corey the one who taught you all the lyrics to ‘Blow Job Betty’?” Linc danced his way passed them and into the living room, grabbing Maddi’s hips and grinding against her ass.
“He’s got you there, bro.” Keller shrugged. “If anyone is a bad influence, it’s your mate.” He chuckled as he made his way into the house and helped Molly and her big belly get up off the couch.
Before long Jasper was inside, never one to miss an opportunity for a good time, dancing between Axie and Blake. Riley felt looser after his pack run, less on edge, less pissed at his friend. He watched the three of them, enjoying how much fun they were having. Enjoying the easy smile on Blake’s face. He wanted her to be herself. He wanted her to let loose. He hated she’d been brought into this, and he hated that his unease about the night at the cabin was still lingering in his bones.
“A run helps a lot, huh?” Jace was standing next to him, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his mate and his twin laugh together. “Dissolves some of the anger, the jealousy from taking over.”
“I don’t like hating him.” Riley swallowed thickly.
“You love him as much as you hate him, so that makes it okay in my book.” Jace cocked his head to the side when Axie bent over and shook her ass against Blake’s. “Jasper would die before he hurt you on purpose, you know that.”
“We should
n’t have touched her.” Riley’s words were quiet, whispered and drowned out by the music coming from the hidden speakers. “It’s like he can’t help but play the game, you know? No matter how off limits I told him Blake was.”
“Did it ever occur to you that, for once, he wasn’t playing a game?” Jace sighed, cutting his gaze to Riley. “Maybe he simply missed his best friend? Maybe he was jealous and confused as to why you kept her all to yourself? He wanted to understand what you felt, understand why she was so special to you, and he wanted to feel close to you again.”
Jace’s words hit Riley in the gut. He’d missed Jasper every day until Blake had come barreling into his world. Riley never once thought Jasper could be feeling the same loneliness since he was here with Jace and Axie, and was surrounded by pack. Riley been envious his friend was with their family when he wasn’t. He never thought Jasper could be feeling the same emptiness he was.
“He’s your best friend, man. He’s your brother. He missed you the same way you missed him. He brought up Blake more than once, joking you were replacing him.” Jace paused, snorting as Axie shoved Jasper off the table and made him refill their drinks. “Then he gets to Greenly, and Blake is a hot chick who you don’t want him to fuck? Nah, man, you got him riled up and handed him a gift-wrapped ticking time bomb.”
“It wasn’t supposed to go down like that. That wasn’t my intention. Ever.” Riley wanted Blake protected from his life here in Haxton. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that eventually she was going to meet Jasper. Though he’d hoped to avoid exactly what had transpired. Best laid plans and all that utter bullshit.
“You could’ve said no. You could’ve put your foot down. Jasper would have thrown a fit, sure, but he’d never have crossed you.” Jace stepped through the doors, glancing back over his shoulder. “He loves you. Stop punishing him for something you allowed him to have.”
Riley stayed on the porch, the cold at his back and the warmth from the house at his front. Jasper handed Axie and Blake fresh drinks, laughing good-naturedly as Jace grabbed his mate around her waist and hauled her into his lap and away from his always flirting twin brother.