by Lynn Howard
Daxon shook his head. “There were a shit ton of them in the trees. Way more than there are in your Pack. And you have the little girls to worry about.”
“How much room does she have in there?” Brax asked, nodding his head toward the house.
“Ryanne’s house? There are only two bedrooms.”
“What about the living room?”
“Why?” Daxon asked his brother.
“We could stay here. The Pride could hang out here for a couple weeks until we figure out their end game and end the fuckers.”
“That shit will never end,” Aron said. His arms were crossed over his chest as he listened to everyone and checked on his mate, Charlie, who stood talking with Ryanne, Campbell, and a few other females.
“What shit?” Koda asked. “The crows?”
“The crows. The rogues. The trafficking. Even fucking humans do that shit to each other,” Aron said. He rubbed his forehead like a headache was building.
They’d had a hell of a time over the last few years trying to save as many women as possible. Including Noah’s and Aron’s mates. And now, Daxon had to worry about his own mate and her baby sister.
He would lay his own life on the line to keep the two of them safe. And it might end up coming to that point if they couldn’t figure out how to prevent the crows from catching Ryanne and Penny alone.
“What about Morse Pack?” Koda asked.
“What about it?” Daxon asked.
“They could stay with us. We have greater numbers. And there are no pregnant females or cubs in our territory. And you can stay with them, too. We have an empty cabin. I know you won’t want to be away from them with this shit going on.”
Daxon silently convened with his twin. Brax apparently thought it was a decent idea.
“Will those cabins fit eight?” Brax asked.
Koda chuckled. “They fit four comfortably. But I’m sure we can find room for the rest of you.”
“A few of us single ladies can bunk together to give the panthers some room,” one of the females from Morse offered.
Morse Pack had been a group of assholes before the laws had changed and Koda had taken over. Now, they were as honorable and trustworthy as the rest of Daxon’s friends.
He was a blessed man. He knew that. He’d found his mate, was gifted with a bonus kid, and had made a whole new group of friends. What more could a man ask for?
An hour later, Daxon and Ryanne sat on the couch with Penny trying to explain why they had to leave for a while. She didn’t want to leave her sand box.
“We can bring a bunch of your toys,” Daxon promised.
“I want my sand box, though,” Penny whined as her bottom lip quivered and tears welled in her eyes.
“I got it,” Brax called from outside.
All of Ravenwood had stayed behind along with the Alpha, Second, and three other males from Morse Pack. Daxon would like to believe the crows wouldn’t come back so soon, but had learned those assholes were unpredictable.
“He doesn’t have to do that,” Ryanne said.
“Thank you!” Penny yelled to Daxon’s twin brother. “He’s cool, too.”
Daxon smiled. He couldn’t help himself. This was way more than any child should have to go through. Especially a human child. This kind of drama and stress wasn’t part of the human world.
All this little girl should have to worry about was who her best friend was for the week at kindergarten. She should be thinking about playgrounds and baby dolls and school parties.
Instead, Daxon had brought hell into their life.
He knew he shouldn’t blame himself. They had been after these two females before Daxon had known either of them existed. But would they have moved on when they realized Ryanne and Penny weren’t easy targets if Daxon hadn’t been in their life?
There might never come a time when he received the answer to that question.
Once Penny ran to the window and confirmed Brax, Aron, and Mason were loading the sandbox and her sand toys in the back of Daxon’s truck, she happily skipped to her room to pack some clothes.
“Can I bring all my toys?” she called from her pink room.
“Just bring your favorites. We’re not going to be there long,” Ryanne called back loud enough for Penny to hear. Then she turned to Daxon and lowered her voice. “Right?”
He stared at her face and had to breathe deep to calm both himself and his panther. The fear and anger in her face was almost his undoing. “I don’t want to lie to you. I don’t know. I hope it won’t be long, but I can’t promise anything.”
Ryanne pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked back toward where Penny was packing. “I thought she would’ve been safer with me than in foster care.”
“And you were right. This will be over. Maybe not today. Or tomorrow. But I promise you, I will keep both of you safe.”
Ryanne turned in her seat so she was fully facing him. “I need another promise,” she said. “If something happens, and you have to choose between keeping me alive or Penny alive…you have to save Penny. You have to protect her. Keep her safe. You don’t have to keep her if it’s too much for you. I’m sure there is some human family out there who would fall in love with her. But please keep her safe.”
He couldn’t speak. He had no words. He couldn’t promise her that. He knew there was nothing that would keep him from protecting these two, but how the hell could he choose one over the other?
“I swear I’ll protect you both with my own life.”
That was the best he could do.
Chapter Eleven
Ryanne helped Penny pull some of her toys out of the duffel bag they’d packed, then laughed as her sister begged to go play in the sandbox Daxon and Brax were currently pulling from his truck.
The place Koda had set them up in wasn’t bad at all. It was fully furnished and had all the things one would need to live, but it was impersonal. And since they weren’t planning on staying there long – or at least she hoped it wasn’t long – Ryanne didn’t bother bringing any photos or art to hang on the walls.
“Let’s put our toothbrushes and stuff away and then we’ll go meet everyone. What do we say to Mr. Koda?”
“Thank you?” she said, her little blonde brows pulled together.
“Yep. We’ll tell him thank you for letting us hang out with all of his friends. He must really like us if he wanted us to spend some time with him.”
Her smile beamed as she nodded, her blonde hair still wind blown from her fun with Charlie.
Ryanne led Penny to the small bathroom in the hall where they deposited their toiletries. It was smaller than the one the sisters shared, but it was much nicer and less out of date. There was no plastic wall liner or cracked and stained porcelain tub. The vanity looked fairly new and the toilet didn’t have one of those old school foam seats.
“Can we go play now?” Penny asked.
With a sigh, Ryanne nodded. She was tired. Bone tired. Heart tired. She and Daxon hadn’t gotten much sleep and they hadn’t had the most comfortable bed. Then throw in the adrenaline rush from earlier and she just wanted to take a nap.
But that wasn’t possible when trying to keep up with a five-year-old.
There were a lot more people outside than there were when they’d first arrived. Looked like everyone was curious about the newcomers.
Daxon and his Pride knew everyone, and Daxon trusted them, so she had to trust Daxon’s judgement.
People took turns stepping forward and holding their hands out. A few even hugged her. All of them told her their name. There was no way she would remember all of them after one night. But they were all extremely friendly and welcoming. And none of them treated Ryanne as if her mere presence was a threat to their Pack.
“Hey,” Beth said, jogging over. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Beth,” she said to Penny. Ryanne struggled not to chuckle over how close Penny and Beth were in height.
“Hi Beth,” Penny said.
; Ryanne had no intention of telling her sister she’d left her alone and left Beth and her big brother to watch her.
Mason headed over, a wide grin on his face, and stopped directly in front of Penny. “Hey, squirt. I hear you think Daxon is the coolest guy ever.”
She leaned into Ryanne’s side and partially hid her face, then nodded.
“Yeah, well, did he ever give you a ride on his panther? ‘Cause that’s the best kind of piggyback ride ever,” Mason said.
Again, Penny nodded.
“Wait…he already gave you a ride on his panther. Well, shoot. Okay, then I’ll have to think of something way cooler than that…like some new toys for your sandbox.” He pulled his hands from behind his back and held up two molds for sandcastles.
“You guys are going to spoil her,” Ryanne said as Penny peeled herself from her sister’s side and slowly made her way to Mason.
“Eh,” he said, waving off Ryanne’s concerns with his hand. “That’s my job as an uncle.”
“Hey! I’m her uncle. Not you,” Brax said, stomping over with a genuinely angry face. “If anyone’s going to spoil my niece, it’s going to be me.”
“Are they my uncles?” Penny whispered, still unaware of the fact the Shifters could hear pretty much everything.
Ryanne didn’t know what to say to that. If she and Daxon were going to commit to each other for life – which was pretty much what mating meant to Shifters – then, in a way, Brax would be her uncle.
But Penny wasn’t Ryanne’s daughter. She was her sister. So…would that make them her big brothers?
The whole thing was so confusing.
“Only if you want them to be,” Ryanne said, smiling down at her sister.
Penny studied them for a few seconds, even tilted her head as though she were putting a lot of thought into it.
“Okay. But Uncle Mason bought me toys,” she told Brax.
“Penny!” Ryanne said on a surprised laugh.
“He’s bribing you. That’s okay,” Brax said with a wide grin. “I’m going to get you something way better.” He shot Mason a fake glare and walked off.
“Nah. Whatever he gets you, I’ll get something even betterer.”
“That’s not a word,” Penny said with a giggle.
These guys were going to more than spoil Penny before it was over with.
A couple of the people she’d met from Big River Pack showed up, including the two little girls. Penny was a couple of years older than the oldest girl, but she was more than excited to see other kids.
“Can they play with me?” Penny asked their mothers.
Nova and Lola both smiled and guided Rieka and Grace to the sandbox. Beth joined them. Once they were settled in and playing, the women made their way to Ryanne.
“She’s so stinking cute,” Nova said as she leaned in for a hug.
“Thank you. But I can’t take the credit for that,” Ryanne said, hugging Nova back.
“We figured it might be easier to settle in if you saw a couple of familiar faces,” Nova said.
“She’s lying. She’s been dying to ask you questions about you and Daxon,” Lola said.
“What kind of questions?”
Lola rolled her eyes and shook her head while Nova said, “I’m in a bit of a writer’s block. I need some new inspiration.”
“Details about your sex life. That’s the kind of questions,” Lola said.
Ryanne’s face instantly went hot. They’d only had sex for the first time last night. And as nice as these ladies were, she wasn’t sure she was ready to indulge them with details of her time with Daxon.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to say a word. She’s just an undercover freak,” Lola said, wrapping an arm around Ryanne’s shoulder.
“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing undercover about her tendencies. She proudly displays her freak flag,” Reed said as he joined the ladies. “How you holding up after your own private viewing of The Birds?”
She frowned at him in confusion.
“He’s trying to be funny and making a movie reference,” Lola said. She stepped into her mate’s side and smiled up at him.
“Oh. That old Hitchcock movie?” Ryanne asked.
“Ha! See? She got it,” Reed said, jabbing a finger in Ryanne’s direction.
Daxon’s Pride was awesome, but the people from Big River were so silly. It was like nothing got to them or bothered them. And they had little girls Penny could play with.
An arm slid around Ryanne’s waist, and, without turning to look, she knew it was Daxon. She felt him. Felt his energy.
Felt his soul.
So poetic and so damn cheesy. But yeah. She would have known it was him even with her eyes closed.
“She settled in fast,” he said with a nod toward Penny.
“Your brother brought her sandbox. And fought with Mason over who was going to spoil her more and who was her uncle. She feels loved. She’ll be fine.”
“She is loved,” Daxon said. And, if Ryanne wasn’t mistaken, there was something akin to fatherly adoration in his eyes. “And she’s safe here. She knows it. Just like she knew she was safe last night.”
“You two are going to make me cry,” Nova chimed in.
Ryanne had thought she was teasing but there were real tears welling in her blue eyes.
“Here we go,” Reed said, rolling his eyes.
Koda joined them and frowned at Nova. “What happened?”
“Nothing. She’s being her usual self,” Reed said.
Koda looked to Daxon with that same confused frown, but Daxon waved it off. “It’s nothing.”
“They love each other,” Nova said with emotion evident in her voice.
“What’s wrong with you?” Reed asked.
Koda ignored the two wolves and focused on Daxon and Ryanne. “Two of the single women are bunking together to give your Pride room. You three can have the one I showed you. The other six will stay in the spare cabin.”
“Six in one cabin? Two of them can stay with us,” Ryanne said.
“I suggested that, but they said you guys need some time alone.” He gestured toward Penny. “Or as alone as you can be with a cub.”
“She’s not a Shifter,” Ryanne whispered.
“I know. But she’s part of the Pride now. She’s a cub.”
Ryanne looked at everyone standing with her and Daxon. They all looked at her and her sister as if they’d been part of this group forever. They treated them both like they’d been members of the Pride for years, instead of treating them like newcomers and treating Penny like a lowly human or a liability.
These people treated both of them like family.
It had been so long since they’d had even a semblance of family. Even the dysfunctional one the sisters had when their mother was still alive.
But unlike that family, this one actually cared about them and their safety. They cared about Ryanne’s and Penny’s happiness.
Her heart swelled with love for all of them, something she wasn’t aware was possible.
“Thank you,” Ryanne said and felt the tears burn the back of her eyes.
But Nova was already emotional. Ryanne didn’t want to be another crying female among all those big, burly men.
Daxon hugged her closer, cradling her head against his chest in his big hand.
“You okay?” he muttered softly, but his deep voice still rumbled through his chest.
“I’m okay. Just grateful. And still a little scared.”
“We’ll keep you safe,” Koda said, crossing his thick arms over his chest.
All of the men were huge. Not as big as the bear Shifters from Blackwater, but all were six feet or taller. And they were all thick with muscles.
“Are you sure we’re not putting you guys in danger?” Ryanne asked. There might not have been any cubs or pregnant females, but they were still outnumbered if the size of the flock she’d seen was anything to go by.
“We’ll be fine. Everyone here, including the wome
n, can fight. I made sure of that when I became Alpha.”
Ryanne didn’t know the history of this Pack, but, when everything calmed down, she hoped she had a chance to get to know all of Daxon’s friends better. They all seemed like such good, caring people.
And loyal.
None of these people knew Ryanne and Penny. They’d only met both of them a few times, and some of them hadn’t met either female at all. Yet, they were more than prepared to put their own lives and safety on the line to watch over the sisters.
More than likely, they were all more concerned for Penny because she was so young. And that was fine with Ryanne. That was her biggest concern, too.
But as she looked around at all the people in this Pack, all the people who had come to make sure she was okay, to make sure she was settling in okay, she realized she was as concerned for their safety, as well.
And she was more than concerned for Daxon.
He’d made it abundantly clear he would do what he had to to protect Ryanne and Penny, and that included risking his own life.
She couldn’t lose him. She had only just found him. And she knew she would never find someone who made her feel so alive, so cared for and cherished again.
That was the way of her people. The way of Shifters. It was hard enough to find the one true mate meant for a specific person. To find two in a lifetime was damned near impossible.
“Which cabin is yours?” Lola asked.
Her daughter Grace threw sand in the air and the other two girls squinted and held up their hands to block their faces.
“Don’t throw sand, honey. You’ll get it in your friends’ eyes and that will hurt them,” Lola said.
“Sorry, Mommy,” the little girl said in the cutest toddler voice ever.
“She’s so sweet,” Ryanne commented.
“Thank you. So, which cabin?”
Ryanne pointed to the one she, Daxon, and Penny had been given for their stay.
“Go ahead and show them around. We’ll watch the girls,” Daxon said, gesturing to himself and Reed.
“We’ve got this,” Reed said, puffing his chest out a little.
“What am I? Chopped liver?” Beth whined from her seat near the sandbox.
