“My wolf knows better.” I chuckled and lifted my hand in the air above my head. “It would take a shit ton more than three wolves to take you and Leyton down when you’re in your bear forms. Your grizzlies are fucking huge.”
Weighing in at about six hundred pounds, Keane’s animal was about three times the size of mine even though our lengths were only off by a few inches. His lips curved up in a smug grin. “It isn’t just my bear that’s huge.”
A startled burst of laughter bubbled up my chest. “A dick joke? You’re just full of surprises today.”
“Hey, I have a sense of humor,” he insisted as he elbowed me in the side.
If I thought that was true, I might have added onto his joke with something about how he must be a show-er because he couldn’t know if he was a grow-er since he’d didn’t have a mate yet and had never had a hard-on before. Instead, I chuckled again, holding my hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Sure you do.”
“Join our pack, and you’ll eventually see how funny I can be.”
I never thought the day would come that I’d want to leave my family behind, but I found myself wondering if I should take Keane up on his offer.
2
Peppa
I trailed my fingers over the stainless steel counter, enjoying the silence of the kitchen before the staff came in to prep for the restaurant opening in a few days. My life had changed so much over the past several months. I’d been right about how crappy things had gotten at Castagna when William came back from vacation. Our little chat with Armand had only made things worse. It had gotten to the point where each day was more rotten than the last. When I started to dread going to work, I finally admitted that I couldn’t stay there any longer. So I had left Chicago—and a career-making position—behind to start fresh in a small town.
Most chefs would have called me crazy, but not the ones who’d been working at my side for the past four weeks to get the kitchen at Timber Treasures up to my standards. I still couldn’t believe that so many of my coworkers from Castagna had followed me to Timber Ridge. Larken was the only one who’d known I was going to leave before I gave my notice, and she quit about five minutes after me. Word quickly spread through the kitchen, not just that I’d resigned but also that I’d been offered the position of executive chef for a new restaurant. As soon as they heard the news, Bexley, our grill chef; Thora, our roast chef; and Aero, the swing cook, had each approached me to ask if I’d picked my new team yet. I hadn’t expected anyone other than Larken to be willing to leave the big city behind for a job at a small-town startup, but they’d all accepted when I told them I had a position for them.
I probably shouldn’t have agreed to take them all with me, but I couldn’t turn them away after their show of loyalty. Living in Timber Ridge meant drastic changes for all of us, so I’d insisted that we take plenty of time to wrap stuff up in Chicago before we left. Thora and Larken hadn’t understood why I wasn’t anxious to get down there. Not until I’d gotten permission from Kace, the local alpha, to let them in on the secret of shifters since Timber Ridge was a shifter town. Then they’d been glad for the extra time to wrap their heads around the fact that not only did shifters exist, but Bexley, Aero, and I could change into animals.
Another reason for the delay was that the guys had to meet with Kace about joining the pack before moving. Luckily, the alpha was open to having all kinds of shifters in his pack since I was a lioness, Bexley was a polar bear, and Aero was a falcon. Nobody at Castagna had known what we really were, but it was always a relief to find yourself working with other shifters. It meant someone there could cover for you when your animal was close to the surface. But that wasn’t going to be an issue at Timber Treasures, which was one of the reasons I’d taken the position when it had been offered to me.
Another big part of why the job appealed to me waddled through the door with her mate at her back, making me grin even though I’d been hoping to have the place to myself for a while. Trinity Ruslan—Kemp now that she was happily mated—had a killer reputation when it came to launching restaurants. Even though she’d made her career in New York, she had connections across the country, and one of them had given her my name when word got around that I might be open to a new position. The high-end restaurant world was small, and it hadn’t taken long for gossip to spread, which I’d been pissed about at first since I hated thinking about the crap that might be said about me. But then the calls with job offers had started to roll in, and my pride was restored. None of them had felt right, though. Not until Trinity had flown her pregnant butt up to Chicago—with her mate at her side—to lure me away from a position I’d started to hate.
“It’s looking great in here.” Trinity beamed a smile at me, rubbing her hand over her big belly. “Even with all the restaurant openings I’ve been involved with, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chef pull a kitchen together as quickly as you have with this one.”
Her praise meant a lot to me since this was the first time I was in charge of setting up a professional kitchen. “Thanks, but you made my job a whole lot easier with the resources you put at my disposal.”
“It wasn’t me.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at her mate, who’d moved to stand behind her with his arms wrapped around her body so his hands could rest over where his cubs were growing. “Damon was so happy that I didn’t drag him to live in New York that he made sure I basically had a blank check when it came to opening this place.”
Damon chuckled and shook his head. “She’s exaggerating.”
“I’m not sure I believe you.” I lifted my chin toward the Viking eight burner range on my right. “Not when you didn’t blink at any request I made for equipment, no matter how high the price tag.”
“She’s got you there.” Trinity giggled.
“Oh, I blinked all right. You just couldn’t see it because you sent me your list while you were still in Chicago and couldn’t see my reaction.” Damon slid his hands lower, supporting her belly as it bounced. “But I may have had a word with Kace about allocating whatever it took to keep you as stress free as possible until the babies come.”
“Only because he didn’t want you going berserk over every little twinge I had.” Trinity rolled her eyes. “From what Calliope has told me, you’re at least twice as bad as any of the other guys have been when their mates were pregnant, which is saying a lot since I’m told they all set a high bar.”
Damon didn’t bother trying to deny the accusation, brushing a kiss against the top of her head instead. “Nobody else had a mate who was opening a restaurant while carrying two of his pups. We’re having the first set of twins in the pack. I think that entitles me to be a little overprotective.”
“A little overprotective?” Trinity echoed softly, shaking her head while she giggled.
Talk about an understatement. Damon hovered over his mate like he thought she was made of glass. They were so freaking cute together, I always ended up smiling whenever I was around them. Gesturing toward her belly, I said, “In all fairness, he has good reason to be worried. You look like you’re about to pop.”
“Don’t you start, too.” She wagged her finger at me, her eyes narrowing. “Neither of you need to worry. I still have a whole month to go before the babies are due. I’ll be fine for the opening.”
“I’m not concerned about the opening,” Damon grunted as he led Trinity over to the office and settled her on the small couch with her feet up on a pillow. “Peppa has everything under control.”
“Of course, I do. That’s what you hired me for.” I grinned as I dropped down on the chair behind the desk.
Damon grabbed a menu off the stack and skimmed the list of entrees. “Damn straight you do. When Trinity told me that she wanted to include rare, hard-to-find proteins that her shifter customers couldn’t find elsewhere, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But what you’ve been able to find is almost unbelievable, and the dishes you’ve come up with are fucking amazing.”
I wasn’t humbl
e about my abilities as a chef, but I felt my cheeks heat at his compliment. “I couldn’t have done it without your mate’s connections. She’s the one who found the source for the wild boar, zebra, and antelope.”
“Yeah, but you’re the one who was able to add yak, alligator, and emu to the menu.” Trinity rubbed her belly, licking her lips. “Although what I’ve been craving lately is that python ravioli in wild mushroom cream sauce that you let me sample the other day. Any chance you have some in the fridge?”
“Nope, you took all the leftovers with you.” When her lips curved down in a pout, I hurriedly added, “But Thora roasted a python loin yesterday, so I could whip up a batch if you’d like.”
She clapped her hands together and grinned while Damon sent me a look full of gratitude. “Yes, please.”
“You do realize that you’re my boss, right?” I asked as they followed me back into the kitchen, Damon carrying the desk chair so Trinity would sit while I cooked.
“Yeah, but it would be so wrong for me to order you to make me something just because I was having a craving.” She shook her head and patted her belly. “If I asked you to cook for me every time I was in the mood for a particular dish, you never would have had time to get this place in order. You would’ve been acting as my personal chef every single day since you got here.”
I pointed the knife I was using to chop mushrooms at her. “If you want something, ask me. I don’t want you or the babies to go hungry just because you’re worried I’m too busy to cook for you. My staff and I have this kitchen running like a well-oiled machine. We’ve practiced these dishes so many times that we’re to the point where they come out perfect each time. Opening day is going to be a breeze.”
3
Peppa
After three days of nearly endless hours in the kitchen to make sure nothing would go wrong on opening day—even though I darn well knew something always went wrong the first time customers stepped foot into a restaurant—the big surprise ended up being completely out of my control. Trinity went into labor with the twins a full month early before we even had the chance to officially open the doors. Not that we had any room for more customers with all of Trinity and Damon’s families, plus the Timber Ridge alpha, beta, their mates, and children taking up every available seat in the place.
She’d tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but the moment Damon realized she was having contractions, he’d carried her butt out of there. Their parents and Trinity’s sister, Tabara, had followed them to the hospital, promising to keep everyone updated. The rest of her crew stuck around to eat dinner before heading out a little more than an hour later to meet the baby.
We had plenty more customers to fill the seats that emptied and kept turning tables until closing. I hadn’t been able to get away until after visiting hours were over, so I didn’t make it to the hospital until the next morning. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one of the precious babies as soon as I walked into her room. “Oh my gosh, they’re so tiny and perfect.”
Trinity was glowing as she smiled up at me from the bed. She folded back the pink blanket covering the baby in her arms so I could see better. “This is Greenlee.”
“And this is Nyx.” Damon angled the baby wrapped in blue so I could get a peek at his face.
“Girl.” I whistled as I dropped onto the chair next to the bed. “You’re setting the bar high for the rest of us, opening a restaurant and giving birth to these two cuties all in the same night.”
“Want to hold her?”
I barely let her get the question out before I reached over to snag the baby from her arms. “I thought you’d never offer.”
Damon chuckled behind me as he paced the floor, rocking his son back and forth. “You’ve been here for maybe a minute.”
“Can you blame me for being anxious to cuddle one of these sweeties?” I whispered in a soft voice so I didn’t disturb the precious bundle I was holding.
“Nope.” He flashed me a grin. “Just so long as you understand that you won’t get to keep her for long. It’s been like a revolving door around here with everyone wanting to spend time with Nyx and Greenlee.”
I stroked my finger down Greenlee’s cheek. “I guess I lucked out that nobody else was here to hog this beauty before I got a little time with her.”
“While you’re enjoying all those baby snuggles, tell me how last night went,” Trinity urged. “I hate that I missed out on all of the excitement.”
“Yeah, because we didn’t have enough excitement of our own,” Damon chuckled, shaking his head.
Trinity glared at her mate, so I distracted her by bragging about how well things went at Timber Treasures last night. “I know it’s only been a day, but the restaurant is already a smash hit. I think just about everyone from the pack stopped by for dinner, along with a ton of people from the neighboring towns. We didn’t have a single dish returned to the kitchen, and the waitstaff was thrilled with how much they made in tips.”
“I’m not even a tiny bit surprised everyone loved the food. You knocked it out of the park with the menu, and the team you brought with you is better than I ever hoped to hire on my own.” She lifted her hand for a high five but smacked my palm gently so I didn’t jostle her daughter.
“The entire team nailed it last night, not just the ones who came down from Chicago with me.” Greenlee let out a little whimper, and I started to sway her from side to side.
“Trade me,” Damon growled as he reached out to take her from me before gently placing Nyx in my arms.
“Any complaints about the menu?” Trinity asked after I got comfortable again.
Focusing on wild game that most people weren’t familiar with would have been a big risk to take in a small town if Timber Ridge hadn’t been full of shifters. Most restaurants that served exotic meats were in bigger markets or areas where people took their hunting seriously. With their freezers stocked full of venison and buffalo, they were open to giving the wilder side of game meat a try. But with the number of humans we’d served last night, I understood her concern. “Nah, I heard a few under-the-breath comments about the zebra and python, but nobody asked to speak to the chef or anything. They mostly stuck with beef and bison, but a few humans were brave enough to give the alligator in a blanket and yak filet a try after they saw the plates served to a member of the pack.”
“Nice!” She leaned against the pillows and quizzed me on everything else that had happened. Our back and forth didn’t end until someone shoved the door open and stomped into the room. I cradled Nyx closer to my chest to protect him from the big guy with dark hair that was overdue for a cut and intense brown eyes that were frantic until his gaze landed on me.
Trinity and Damon didn’t seem surprised by his entrance, but my lips parted on a shocked gasp as our eyes met. Neither of them reacted when he moved across the room and bent low to take Nyx from my arms. I didn’t know who this guy was, and I didn’t appreciate him ending my time with the baby. Glaring up at him as I reached out for Nyx, I grumbled, “Hey.”
He ignored my complaint, turning to Trinity to place the baby in her arms. I was sorely tempted to kick him in the shin. “I wasn’t done holding him.”
When I turned back to him after seeing how quickly Nyx snuggled into his mama’s arms, he flashed me a smug smile. “Don’t worry, mate, you’ll have your own cub to hold soon enough.”
Mate?
I’d been breathing in the sweet baby smell ever since I got here, and it took a moment for his scent to overpower theirs. My brain was still trying to catch up, and Damon was the first to react. “You’re my brother’s mate?”
“Damn straight she is,” the guy confirmed as he tugged on my hands to pull me out of my seat.
I crashed against his chest and smiled shyly up at him, my body feeling as though it was coming to life for the first time ever. “Hi.”
“Hey.” His lips curved up at the edges, and I wanted to nibble on the bottom one.
Trinity whispered, “Oh, my gosh.
You two are too cute.”
Large hands glided down my back to cup my butt. “I think that’s our sign to get out of here.”
“C’mon, you can’t be all grumpy anymore, Cason,” Trinity complained. “Not only did I give you a niece and a nephew last night, but I also brought Peppa practically to your doorstep since I’m the reason she’s in Timber Ridge in the first place.”
“I’m the furthest thing from grumpy, Trin,” Cason assured her as he lifted me off my feet, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist. “I just want my mate all to myself now that I’ve found her.”
He carried me out of the room, marching past his mom standing in the hallway with a huge grin on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks. Twining my arms around his neck, I stared at his gorgeous face while he carried me all the way out to the parking lot and deposited me in the passenger seat of his car. I shivered when his knuckles brushed against my breast as he buckled my belt for me.
I kept my gaze on him as he circled the car, got into the passenger seat, and started up the engine. He pulled out of the lot so quickly that the tires squealed, making me giggle. “I think you might’ve left skid marks back there.”
His dark eyes were full of sensual promise as he turned his head and scanned down my body. “Are you surprised that I’m in a rush to get you back to my house?”
“Nope.” I rubbed my thighs together to try to ease the unfamiliar ache between my legs. “In fact, feel free to drive faster.”
He pressed on the gas, and we hurtled down the street. “That trip my brother and Trinity took to Chicago, it was to meet with you?”
“Yeah.” I told him about my old job at Castagna and why I’d jumped at the chance to move to Timber Ridge when Trinity offered me a job.
“That explains it,” he muttered, gripping the steering wheel hard enough that his knuckles turned white.
Her Destiny Page 2
