Thoreau - Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Konstantin
When we entered the war room that Josef and Grey had set up, I was surprised to see far more people than I expected, some whose species I couldn't even identify, such as the women in white with wings that shimmered like frost on snow.
"Peri?" Lanie gasped.
I looked around for Beta Tyler's mate before my brain woke up and told me there was no way Peri James would be here and, even if she was, Lanie wouldn't know her.
"I know someone named Peri, too," I told her. "Crazy, huh? It's such an unusual name—"
"No, those are peri. Good djinn. They may look fragile, but they're hella powerful. I wonder how Josef got them to come. They're usually up to their necks fighting the div. That's the bad djinn."
"I'm sure we'll find out."
"Is that the werewolf king walking toward them? That golden-haired man wearing a crown?"
"No, that's King Brioc with his sons. They're elves from the Woodland Realm. See their pointed ears? And wolf shifters don't have precious metal for hair." I spotted Grey walking with them and pointed to him. "See that normal-looking guy with them? The one with dark brown hair? That's my buddy, Grey Myers. Alpha Jay hand-picked him for Five Fangs' new diplomat corps, so he's here for some hands-on training to be our ambassador."
I'd get her over to Grey later; I wanted Papa to be the first to meet her, and I kept my hand in the small of her back as I guided her toward him.
"Papa, this is Lanie Maria Lopez Molina," I said with a proud grin. "My mate."
Papa's gray-green eyes locked with hers for a few seconds, then he nodded and gave her a small smile, which was more than I expected considering how stressed he was right now.
"Welcome to the family, figlia (daughter). I wish more of it was here to meet you—"
"Kon told me what happened, and I'm so sorry." Lanie held out her hand for him to shake, but he grabbed it and pulled her into a hug. "Oh! Okay. You're a toucher like Kon. Got it."
"Maybe it's the Italian in us." Papa released her and stepped back. "My sister and cousins, Kon's zias, are the same way, as you'll find out when you meet them."
"And your mate?" She tilted her head.
"Emerson's love language is language," Papa told her, "but our cucciolo says he gives the best hugs."
His eyes grew dark, either with anger or worry, and my own heart clenched with a mix of both.
"Cucciolo?" Lanie asked.
"Puppy," I said quickly. "It's Papa's nickname for Reau."
"I'm happy for you both, and we'll celebrate when we get—" Papa paused and cleared his throat. "When we get home. Kon, should I link Dad with the good news, or do you want to surprise him?"
"Let's save it as a surprise for later," I decided. "I'm sure he's not doing too well right now."
"Si. If he wasn't with Luna, I'd be afraid of what he'd do." Papa's face grew even grimmer and more dangerous.
"Then it's a good thing he's with her." Putting an arm around Lanie's shoulders, I hugged her tight and dipped my nose into her thick curls, taking comfort from her sweet scent and the mate sparks.
As one of Josef's many aides scurried past us muttering about alphas, Papa and I exchanged raised eyebrows, then followed him over to the command table, where Josef and King Julian stood looking at a map of the city.
"Drott, your majesty," the aide said, "another ally has arrived!"
"Please, Goddess, no more tigers," I groaned. "Chime Karma's still drunk after killing the last one!"
I am not! my dragon insisted as regally, then ruined it with a hiccup.
"No, it's the leaders of Five Fangs Wolf Pack!"
I didn't know why the aide was so flustered. Did anyone really think my alphas wouldn't be involved when their pack members were kidnapped?
"Good." Papa nodded. "How many of the alphas came?"
"All of them," the aide replied.
"Of course, they did," King Julian snorted, "and how much do you want to bet their luna came with them?"
Papa and I both swung our eyes to him, half wanting her here and half afraid for her to be here.
"Show them in," Josef told him, "then make sure we have enough meat on the menu."
"Yes, Drott. Ambassador Grey already took care of that, and Marty is bringing them in now."
The aide tipped his head in the direction of the front door, and I swiveled to watch my alphas' entry, amused to see the way the crowd rolled back from them. They weren't alone. King Julian had called it. Dad and the other betas walked with them, and the top of luna's head was just barely visible in the center of all those hulking bodies.
"Is that your luna?" Lanie asked.
"Yes. Luna Posy Everleigh, and the five alphas are her mates."
"Five alphas! And she managed to convince them all to let her come?"
"It's more a matter of who's brave enough to stop her," Papa snorted as luna strode across the room like she owned it, Dad and Beta Ty, her two most trusted betas, at either elbow.
I knew Papa was as relieved as I was that they were all here. It made rescuing my fratellino and other friends seem that much more likely to happen.
A few others followed luna's entourage, my zias included, but I stiffened as when I caught sight of Arch and Wayne.
"Papi? What's wrong?" Lanie tugged on my shirt until I looked down at her.
"My little brother's mates are here."
"Don't go off on them." She punched her index finger into my chest with each word. "If there was a way for them to stop him from being taken, I'm sure they would have. The blame game won't do any good right now."
"I wasn't going to jump down their throats." I grabbed her hand and laid it flat over my heart. There. Better. Much better than being stabbed by a long red fingernail. "I'm worried about them. They love him so much. There are too many volatile people here now - me, Dad, Papa, and now Wayne and Arch - and no one to calm us down so we can think enough to rescue Reau and the others."
My mostriciattola pulled her hand out from under mine, balled it up in a fist, and socked me right in the abs, then realized what a mistake that was when she winced and shook out her hand.
"Are you okay?"
"Pendejo (dumbass)," she hissed.
"Hey, I'm not the one who—"
"Your luna is here to keep you all calm!" she rattled off, her Spanish accent coming out stronger the faster she talked. "Why else do you think she came?"
"Well, for one, to keep the alphas under control. Two, Reau is her sweetie. And, three, Dad is one of her best friends. I'm sure she wanted to support him and Papa."
"Not going to lie, I'm surprised her mates allowed her to leave their territory. She's so small and fragile-looking."
"You wouldn't be the first to underestimate her and get handed your ass," I grinned. "She's the most powerful luna in the world. She has the moon magic of six packs to draw from. She even knocked King Julian over once—"
"She pushed me back a step when she was still learning to control it," King Julian said from behind me, and I looked at him over my shoulder. "That story gets more inflated every time it's told."
"King Julian." Luna Posy finally reached us and went right to the king and gave him a big hug. "I'm so glad you're here."
Grabbing the front of my shirt, Lanie pulled me down as she stretched up on her tiptoes to hiss in my ear.
"She's hugging your king!"
She's the queen's best friend, and her mates are his best friends, I tried linking her for the first time.
"Motherfucker!" she yelped and had her gun aimed between my eyes for the second time today. "What are you doing in my head?!"
"Ooo, nice Glock," Papa said, making me roll my eyes. Of course, that's all he'd notice. "I prefer a Sig Sauer P365 for a concealed carry, but then my hands are much larger than yours—"
"Angelo!" gasped luna, who released King Julian to stare at us with big eyes. "She's literally holding a gun to his head!"
"Pfft! The safety's still on," Papa smirked as the king hid a grin under his hand, "and it's Kon, luna. She could empty her mag in his skull, and it wouldn't kill him. Young lady, he may look like a man, but there's a dragon under his skin."
"I know that!" Lanie snapped, the gun in her hands not wavering an inch as she narrowed her eyes at me. "What were you doing in my head?!"
"Linking is part of the mate bond." I tried to explain without laughing. "You should have links with me and Chime Karma now, although we'll sound like we're underwater until we complete the mating process. Then, once we do, a few pack links will develop, too."
"Can I close them when I want to?"
"Of course you can. Just picture shutting a door. I can do the same. The link is there for easy communication and emergencies, not to invade your privacy."
"Hmpf." She finally relaxed her perfect shooter's stance and re-holstered her pistol. "A little warning would have been nice, polla (dick)."
This time, King Julian couldn't hold back a bark of laughter, which told me he knew more Spanish than I did.
"Kon," luna hopped up and down with a happy smile, "introduce us to your mate!"
"Everyone, this is Lanie Maria Lopez Molina." I grabbed her hand and brought it up to my lips, kissing her knuckles before adding, "And I'm proud to say I'm hers!"
While all this was happening, Dad made a beeline for Papa, not even glancing at anyone else. He lifted Papa up in a big bear hug and hid his face in Papa's throat. As for Papa, he wrapped his arms around Dad's head and shoulders and rubbed his cheek on Dad's hair.
Even if I had no bond of any kind with Dad, I would have felt the intensity of his fear and anxiety.
Emerson del Vecchio was huge, both in size and presence. Someone had nicknamed him Beta Beast years ago, and it stuck because it was so fitting. On the practice field, only the alphas and his brother betas stood a chance against him, and his stare down was as intimidating as his throw down.
Like everything else in his life, he loved hard and with all he had in him. He loved Papa, of course, and Beta Ty like a little brother and luna like a little sister and me like a son, but there was a part of his heart that had always been - and would always be - reserved just for Reau.
"Dad, I know the timing sucks," I said quietly, "but I would like you to meet my mate."
He nodded and put Papa back on his feet before he turned to me, and seeing his red-rimmed, bag-lined eyes nearly broke my heart.
"Sorry for ignoring you, Kon." He reached over and laid a huge hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "And I'm so happy for you both."
"This is Lanie Maria—"
"Oh, the rest doesn't matter," she shushed me, flapping one hand at me. "It will be del Vecchio soon enough, si?"
"Si, il mio mostriciattola."
"Mostriciattola?" Papa burst out laughing.
"That reminds me." Lanie twisted her finger in one of her corkscrew curls and gave him a coy smile. "Papi told me to ask you what it means."
"He did?"
"Not exactly," I started to say, but Zia Sara's voice cut me off as the witches joined us.
"My little monster. That's what it means."
"Aw, that's adorable!" Zia Maria chirped.
"Hardly romantic, Kon." Zia Ariel rolled her eyes.
"It's not romantic," Zia Beatrix chimed in, "but it is cute."
"She earned it," I retorted and rolled my eyes at my zias as they fluttered around us, trying to get a better look at my mate.
Sorry, diavolina (little devil), I linked her. They will be pests now.
You called me that before little monster. What does this one mean? she linked me back, and I bit my lips so I didn't laugh at her crossed eyes.
You don't have to try to link so hard. Just let your thoughts flow through it, I tried to help her.
"You've known each other for what? A few hours?" Zia Sara smirked. "What did you do to earn the title of little monster so soon?"
"I put him on his ass," Lanie bragged with a smirk. "Estúpido (idiot) here decided to hide outside my apartment and pounce on me when I got home. Scared the piss out of me!"
"Kon!" luna scolded.
"She threw me on the ground and threatened to shoot me, luna!"
Ha! Take that! I thought smugly as luna gaped at her.
"I get dangerous when I think I'm about to be kidnapped or assaulted." Lanie shrugged, making luna narrow her eyes at me, and I rubbed the back of my neck. "Turns out, Kon thought I was playing with him when I wasn't even aware he was trying to find me. I never would have guessed a neph could have a mate. And Papa, what does diavolina mean?"
"Oh, my Goddess, did he call you that, too?" Zia Maria giggled.
"Did you— Did you call me Papa?" Papa's eyes widened.
"Si." Lanie grinned proudly at both of them.
"Call me Dad," Dad insisted, ignoring my zias who were twittering like the birds they were. "Go on. Say Dad, Lanie."
"Dad," she parroted, then smiled at him. "Does Papa call you diavolina or that monster word?"
"Uh, no." Dad's cheekbones reddened slightly.
"Il mio orsacchiotto," Papa said with a little smile. "My teddy bear, although I think I may have to change it to red cheeks."
"Little devil, Lanie," Zia Beatrix told her. "Diavolina means little devil."
"Such nice compliments I get from my new mate." She gave me a dark side-eye, but I could feel her amusement in our burgeoning mate bond, so I shot her one back.
It might have seemed cold or callous to joke around and laugh while Reau and the others were in harm's way, but we all needed the stress relief or we'd explode. Like the jokes we told during combat, we needed something to take the edge off so we were distracted from the real situation.
The alphas had finished greeting the king and now crowded around us - well, crowded around luna - and Alpha Jay hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. Quartz glittered in his eyes, and I knew why he was draping himself all over her. She was the only thing keeping his wolf in check.
Well, he'll be left off his leash soon enough. Same with Chime Karma and Papa, I thought as I introduced Lanie to the alphas. Not to mention Kerry Harker.
As my mate chatted with everyone, I cut my eyes over to where Kerry stood with Hank Bishop and his friends.
I felt for the guy. I really did. I didn't know all of his story, but the little I did was the stuff of nightmares. Then an angel named Gemma Shepherd saved him, body, mind, and heart.
And now she was gone.
I knew it wasn't the same for people without the mate bond that shifters experienced, but having just found my mate, I knew what I'd be like in his shoes. Blood would flow in rivers and still my rage would be unsatisfied. If he felt even half of that, no wonder he wasn't functioning too well, as Titus Wray so grandly understated.
Soon, I thought as I dropped a kiss on the top of Lanie's head. We'll all unleash our beasts soon enough to kill those monsters.
The crowd around us shuffled a little as Arch and Wayne walked over, gripping each other's hands tightly. Dad may be radiating distress, but these two were misery personified with their wolf-lit eyes and clenched jaws.
They came to a stop in front of Dad and Papa, and I half-thought they wanted them to yell or blame them for failing to keep their mate safe. I hadn't needed Lanie to tell me that would be a stupid thing to do, though. They weren't at fault, but they felt guilty nonetheless and maybe even hoped we'd get angry at them to justify it.
Dad and I had the same thought at the same time, apparently, because he grabbed Wayne when I grabbed Arch, then we hugged the hell out of them.
Not going to lie, I was secretly glad I had Arch. Wayne was going to cry, and I was shit with that sort of comforting.
Archer
I stood a little stiffly in Kon's embrace because I'd been expecting to get yelled out and possibly electrocuted, not hugged to within an inch of my life. As for Wayne, he broke down the second Dad Emerson wrapped his arms around him and Papa Gelo joined in on their hug.
I wanted to do the same, but I couldn't lose it again like I did at the diner. Number one, Reau's two dads and older brother were right here, as were my big brothers and alphas. Number two, Wayne needed me to be strong. So did Reau. Our baby boy knew we were looking for him, and I needed to be strong enough to find him.
I was not going to let either of my mates down this time.
Thank the Goddess Mase had made billions playing the stock market and investing his and the alphas' inheritances. If they weren't hella rich, we never would have made it here so quickly. He didn't even blink as he threw down twice what I made in one year for a single plane ride and had us all on a jet within half an hour of Papa Gelo linking us to come to New York City.
So now here we were, in the heart of a nephilim stronghold, waiting for Papa Gelo's contact to come through with a location to attack as our allies rallied around us.
And Kon had found his mate among them.
It was the happiest day of any shifter's life, and I pulled myself out of my rage as best I could to do what I needed to do.
"Congratulations, Kon." I patted him on the back as he released me, then I held my hand out to his mate. "I'm Archer Barlow. It's nice to meet you, new sister-in-law."
"Lanie. I'm glad to meet you, too, even though the circumstances suck." She shook my hand, then looked at Wayne.
"Wayne Black." He gave her a ghost of his usual happy-go-lucky grin. "Welcome to the family, Lanie, and good luck. You're going to need it."
"Why?" She quirked up one eyebrow. "Papi is as sweet as a lamb."
"Papi?" Wayne snickered, and I could have kissed Lanie for that.
Neither of us had had much to smile, let alone chuckle, about since yesterday afternoon.
"It's not Kon you need luck with," I muttered and grabbed Wayne's hand to thread our fingers together, knowing he needed the skin contact as much as I did.
"Aww!" Lanie's eyes zeroed in on our wrists. "I love your matching tattoos!"
"Those are our marks," I told her to cover Wayne's pained whimper. "Did Kon mark you?"
"Si, supposedly so Chime Karma didn't try to pluck the eyes from every male who looked at me."
With a smirk, she pulled down the neck of her shirt and revealed Chime Karma's head just below her left collar bone, his snaky body disappearing across her upper arm, and I was curious enough to wonder if his tail went around to her back or wrapped down her arm.
"Bastard took up so much room," Kon grumbled, and Lanie whapped his chest with the back of her hand.
"Hush, papi! I love it! A beautiful tattoo of my dragon that took two seconds and cost me nothing."
"Well, from what I can see of it," luna said, "it's stunning!"
"Oh, it is," Lanie agreed. "I'll show you the whole thing later—"
My ears stopped listening as something flickered in the mate bond, something that didn't come from Wayne, and my whole body went rigid.
"Reau!" Wayne shouted, getting everyone's immediate attention, but I tuned everything out to prod the mate bond as I hoped with all my heart to hear our baby boy's sweet voice.
"What is it?" Dad Emerson demanded. "Did he link you?"
Wayne shook his head and locked his tear-glazed eyes with mine.
"He's there now," I tried to explain something I didn't even understand myself. "I mean, we could feel him before, just like you all could sense him and the others in the pack bond, but he's there now."
"Those tranq darts did more than put him and the others to sleep," Mason said. "They blocked their links and bonds, too. I don't know how that's possible, though."
"Something to figure out later," King Julian said in a firm tone. "Once we get our people rescued."
"Coach Hall linked us about ten minutes ago. He and Sophie are with Yolanda, and she said something similar happened with Bowie and Beckham," Cole added. "I think it's the drugs wearing off."
"That's good, right?" Wayne blinked the tears from his silver-shot blue eyes and stood straighter. I felt his excitement rising in our bond and didn't have the heart to tell him he could be getting his hopes up for nothing. "They'll be able to link us soon, and their wolves will be waking up!"
I cut my eyes over to our other brothers to see what they were thinking and found Jay staring at me.
Wolfsbane? I whispered.
Posy smelled it as soon as she entered the diner to heal Bridger, he confirmed. Not enough for the rest of us to smell until we held the darts right up to our noses, so we know it was only a small dose.
Was it enough to— I swallowed hard. Reau would not survive losing Spring. Enough to kill a wolf?
No. No, Arch. Jay unwrapped himself from our little sister-in-law and came over to wrap himself around me. I promise you. Bridge got hit by two of them, and Max is fine. In fact, about half an hour ago, Briar let us know that Max is awake and alert.
But Bridge almost died. I clenched my jaw hard.
Because one of the darts hit him right in the jugular. If Briar hadn't been there... Well, let's just praise the Goddess she was.
What if one hit Reau in the—
It didn't. You would have felt it, right?
We felt pain, I insisted.
You didn't feel him bleeding out. Jay pulled back a little and stared me in the eyes, Quartz glinting gold in his, and I scolded myself for bothering him when he was struggling with his wolf. And just now you felt him wake up. Don't give up, Arch, and don't give in to negativity.
"What are you two linking about for so long?" Wayne grumbled as he nudged Jay away so he could hug me and stuff his face in my throat.
"Briar said Bridge and Max are awake and fine, too," I told him part of it, not wanting him to spiral into dwelling on all the what ifs again.
I draped my arms loosely around his waist and clasped my hands at the small of his back. While I was rubbing my cheek on his soft blond fluff, a man with short blond hair, a matching beard, and dark eyes walked over.
"All right, everyone, there's someone I need you to meet." Papa Gelo nodded at the newcomer. "This is my best friend, Hank Bishop."
We all greeted him, already knowing who he was. Dad Em had caught us up to speed during the flight, sharing everything that Papa Gelo linked him, and I knew Wayne and I owed the guy an immense debt. We owed his ward, Kerry Harker, a greater one, and I hoped we'd get to meet him, too, even though it might not be a good idea right now. He was in the same boat we were and handling it worse.
Then again, Reau had only been missing for about twelve hours. Kerry's girl was taken nearly three weeks ago.
I guess I'd be losing it, too, I thought to myself.
"Can we meet Kerry?" Wayne asked before I could stop him. "I'd like to thank him personally for all he's done for us so far."
"Yeah, sure. He's pretty stable right now because he has hope again." Hank grimaced and scratched the top of his head. "Couple of warnings, though. Don't say his girl's name, Gemma, or ask him anything about her. That'll set him off in a heartbeat. Oh, and do not crowd him. Do not even offer to shake his hand. Touch is a huge trigger for him."
After we all nodded, Hank looked across the room and caught someone's eye, then waved, and I turned my head to watch as a guy who looked about my age broke away from a small group and walked toward us.
Dude had a bad scar that stretched from the corner of his mouth to his jaw, and his brown hair was a mess, as if he'd run his fingers through it a thousand times today. He was my height, but not nearly as bulky, his build more like Wayne's: all lean muscle and little to no body fat.
As Kerry Harker came closer, unease rippled through the pack bond, and all the betas, including Dad Em, gathered around Posy and pushed her behind them, but she wiggled her way out of beta jail with a huff.
I could understand the betas' reaction when I looked into a pair of startlingly pale blue eyes.
I'd always considered myself brave. I'd held Papa Gelo's gaze when he had a gun pointed at my head and his finger on the trigger with every intention of pulling it. I'd stared down Dad Em when he threatened us more times than I could count, but meeting Kerry Harker's eyes sent a shiver down my spine.
Wayne the Rattle Brain was his usual oblivious self, although my boy was at least smart enough to heed Hank's warning and keep his distance.
"I'm Wayne Black and this is Archer Barlow. Our mate, Thoreau, was one of the shifters who was kidnapped yesterday. We want to say thank you for helping us. If there's anything we can do to return the favor, just ask."
"All right, I will." Kerry's voice was deep like Cole's. "I've heard nothing beats a werewolf's nose. We'll call it square if one of you wolves will dedicate yourselves solely to searching for my angel when we raid the lab."
"Grey probably could. His wolf—" Dad Em started to say, but King Julian cut him off.
"King Brioc's already claimed Matthias' nose to find Princess Rhys."
Surprised, I whipped my eyes around the room and found Grey standing right next to the Woodland king. My friend was listening intently to something one of the elves was telling him, and I wondered what that was about.
"How did Grey get into his good graces so fast?" Beta Matthew asked with wide eyes.
"That's a long story he can tell you himself," King Julian said with a little smile, "but for now, just know that he impressed King Brioc, and his sons have taken a liking to him."
"I would volunteer Chime Karma's nose," Kon told Kerry, "but he needs to ride herd on a bunch of tiger warriors."
"Tiger warriors?" Half of us asked while the other half stared at Kon with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's what happens when you kill the tiger khan and eat him," snickered Drott Josef, who we'd all kind of forgotten was there.
"Emerson, you didn't tell us anything about that," my big brother Cole scowled. "Did you leave out all the good bits?"
"I shared everything Angelo shared with me," Dad Em protested.
"It's part of Grey's story, anyway," Kon shrugged, "so I'll let him tell it later."
"Back to your bargain, Kerry," Wyatt intervened before we veered off topic again. "My wolf will be happy to act as your nose."
"No, Wy," Wayne tried to protest. "It's our debt to pay—"
"It's all our debt," Posy intervened. "Reau's not the only one who was taken, so Kerry's helping the whole pack. Besides, Granite is proud to do it."
"But Posy—"
"I said, your alpha will pay the cost, Wayne Black. End of."
Although Wayne scowled, he wouldn't go against our luna.
And not only because she's our precious sister-in-law and we both loved her to death, I thought wryly, but also because our older brothers would pound us into the ground if we upset her.
Speaking of those possessive bastards, they all growled a little when Kerry seemed to have trouble taking his eyes off of Posy, and Kerry smirked at that as he raised both hands, palms out.
"I mean her no harm. She reminds me of my angel, that's all."
Wayne opened his mouth, and I knew as surely as I knew my name that he was about to ignore Hank's advice and ask Kerry about Gemma, so I wrapped my arm around his neck and not so surreptitiously covered his mouth with my hand.
"Granite needs her scent to track her," Posy told him. "Do you have something of hers for him to smell?"
Kerry dropped his arms as something like agony flickered across his face for a split-second, then he nodded and reached into his pocket. When he pulled out his hand, it was clenched in a tight fist, and it took him a good ten seconds to turn his wrist and open his hand to show us a thin braid of carroty red hair.
"I'll shift so he can do it now, but fair warning: He'll stuff his whole nose in your palm," Wyatt cautioned him.
"I love dogs." Kerry's eyes dropped to his hand and hesitated over his next words. "I know wolves aren't dogs, but could I— Do you mind if I— Would it be all right if I petted him?"
"Sure. He'll love that." Wyatt gave him a kind smile. "He likes pets, and Ash's wolf, Sid, lives for them, so if you don't mind being mobbed by two wolves, he can shift, too."
"You should ask Ash first," I muttered and looked at Ash, then rolled my eyes. "Oh. How long's he been asleep?"
"Sid's been running his body since midnight or so," Cole sighed.
"Been lots of fun riding herd on him," Wyatt added with a fake bright smile. "Come on, Sid. Let's go shift so you can get some pets."
"Pets!" Sid yodeled. "Pets, pets, pets!"
And he ran in excited circles around Wyatt all the way to the restroom.
"That guy's an alpha?" Kerry's head tilted to one side.
"Ash is," Cole snorted. "Sid? Not so much most of the time."
"Ash can't stay awake all night," Posy explained. "He fell asleep on the plane ride, so his wolf has been in charge ever since."
"Just to let you know," Jay added, "Sid is a baby when he isn't escalated. He may be huge, but his mind is like a pup's unless something really bad triggers him into a killing rage."
"Fortunately, that rarely happens." I looked over Wayne's head at Kerry. "He's going to want you to love all over him."
"That's fine with me."
And I was willing to bet every penny I had that the smile spreading across Kerry Harker's scarred face was one few people ever got to see.