Silver Daddy
Timberwood Cove: Book 5
Liam Kingsley
Contents
1. Greer
2. Keifer
3. Greer
4. Keifer
5. Greer
6. Keifer
7. Greer
8. Keifer
9. Greer
10. Keifer
11. Greer
12. Keifer
13. Greer
14. Keifer
15. Greer
16. Keifer
17. Greer
18. Keifer
19. Greer
20. Keifer
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Silver Daddy
1
Greer
I heard the rumble of feet on the grass before I heard the squeals.
“Grandpa!” My grandchildren yelled and screamed as they ran across the common ground of the homestead, their fancy outfits shining bright in the August sunlight. Little Lori was three years old and doing a good job of trying to keep up with her big brother, Liam, who clasped her hand tightly.
I grinned and shifted into my wolf form then tackled Liam to the ground as he came close. At eleven, he sometimes pretended he was getting too old for this kind of rough play now, but I heard the sincere happiness in his laughter as I barreled into him. However grown-up he claimed to be, that laugh had a lot in common with his sister’s riotous giggles. Hopefully someday soon he’d realize there was no age limit on messing around and enjoying yourself.
I flopped onto my side and trapped him underneath me, dropping my head into Lori’s waiting, gentle hands as though nothing unusual was going on.
“Grandpa, up!” Lori said, still giggling.
I nuzzled into her hands, still pretending not to notice Liam struggling beneath me. As she tried to push my body up with her tiny, ineffectual hands, I glanced behind me and “noticed” her brother lying there, then finally rolled off him and shifted back into my human form.
“Oh, hey, Liam. Didn’t see you there.”
“Yeah right, Grandpa!”
I grinned and then ruffled a hand through Liam’s hair. “Are you guys having a good time today? Beautiful weather for Jason and Trevor’s claiming ceremony, huh?”
“Byooful,” Lori agreed.
Liam drew his knees up, glancing around with squinted eyes. “Uh-huh.”
I knew that look. Whether he said it out loud or not, I was pretty sure there were thoughts of baseballs flying around inside his head. He was still only young, after all. Being able to knock a ball around probably sounded like a heck of a lot more fun than a claiming ceremony.
There’d probably be a handful of adults there who’d agree with him.
“So,” I said. “Where’s your dad, huh?”
I followed the direction of Liam’s nod, leaving my hand palm-up on the grass to let Lori pile daisies and wildflowers in my hand. Sure enough, there was my son Jaxon, caught up and laughing with a bunch of people. His mate, Bryce, was right by his side. They’d had their own claiming ceremony a few years ago, and they were still tied at the hip at most gatherings. Today was probably filled with happy memories for them, even though Jaxon was busy.
I caught my son’s eye, and we traded knowing grins. I’d done all I could to prepare him for stepping up as lead pack alpha, but nothing really prepared him for the mass of demands it put on his time, especially in social situations. By the time he and Bryce finally managed to make their way over to me, hands raised to shield their eyes against the August sun, he had a playful grin on his face.
“Sure you don’t wanna take the alpha responsibilities back for a day?” he asked playfully. “I could do with stretching out in the sun with the kids.”
“Forget it,” I said. “I’ll do my part socializing, but as for the rest of it… You’re on your own now.”
Jaxon laughed, and I was struck again by the mental image of that poor, abandoned pup I’d held in my arms all those years ago, and adopted. I’d always hoped he would grow up to be happy like this, but seeing it was… Well, it was its own kind of magic.
“Daddy!” Lori cried and ran straight into Jaxon’s arms. I beamed as my son scooped her up and gave her a big smooch on her chubby cheeks. Watching him have his own biological children with his fated mate had given me mixed feelings—I was proud and happy for him to experience a joy I’d never had. And for the same reason, I was jealous. It was a little surprising to experience both feelings at once, especially at my age.
“Speaking of being on your own,” said Jaxon as he balanced Lori on his hip. “What are you doing sitting all the way out here by yourself, Dad?”
“Well, first of all, I’m not by myself. The kids and I actually hatched a plan to gather these flowers up. Didn’t we, kiddo?” I asked Lori.
She waved a forlorn-looking daisy at Jaxon and Bryce. Where the rest of us saw a trampled weed, she clearly saw something of great natural beauty. I hoped she never lost that sense of love and wonder for nature.
“Yeah,” said Jaxon. “And these two kids are the best company you could ask for, but don’t think we didn’t spot you sitting alone over here when we arrived. This is supposed to be a party, old man.”
“Old man, is it?”
Bryce laughed, squeezing his alpha’s hand. “See? You gave him a little bit of responsibility and it’s gone right to his head.”
I smirked. “I made a terrible mistake when I handed the pack to him, huh?”
“Anyway,” said Jaxon, folding his arms. “Don’t change the subject. There are quite a few single omegas attending this claiming ceremony today.”
“Not this again,” I said, shaking my head at Liam. “Doesn’t your daddy ever stop?”
“Nu-huh,” he said, and promptly deposited a handful of grass into my hand. “Grandpa, you should just bite somebody, okay?”
I gave Jaxon an accusing look. “This is emotional blackmail.”
He held up his free hand in an innocent gesture. “Listen, it has nothing to do with me. Maybe your grandson has just noticed, wisely and correctly, that you’d probably be happier with some gorgeous omega sunning themselves beside you.”
“Jaxon, I’m fine. There is plenty in my life to keep me busy.”
I didn’t like to admit it, but he did kind of have a point. When I was lead alpha, there had been a lot to occupy me. As Jaxon was just finding out, you couldn’t cross an open space as without one task or another falling into your lap.
Now? Well. My days did feel a little…sparse.
“Wouldn’t it be nice, though?” Bryce asked. “Just to have some more happiness in your day to day life, right? Nobody’s saying you’re some dejected old fart.”
“For the record, that is exactly what I’m saying,” Jaxon said.
I threw my head back in a barking laugh. “Is that so? Well, I’m inclined to agree. For starters, I’m not sure I can even detect pheromones any more. And just because I’m not falling apart at the seams doesn’t mean I’m still in my claiming prime, you know.”
“Excuses,” Jaxon muttered.
“That may be,” I said. “But that’s reason one. And reason two is, as you well know, I’ve got enough happy memories with Coral for one guy to deal with.”
Jaxon’s smile softened a little. Playful as our relationship was, he wouldn’t pick on me about my chosen mate who had passed away in childbirth before I’d adopted Jaxon, but I could see he wasn’t ready to cede the point, either.
“There are always second chances. You know she’d want that for you,” he said softly.
“Course. You’re right. She would. She was wonderful.” I took a few seconds to feel the sun and wind on my face and to remember exactly h
ow true that was. It had been long enough now since I’d lost her that I could sometimes do that without sadness accompanying it, and with Jaxon, Bryce and the kids close by me, now was one of those times. “She was a brilliant woman, and I don’t see how anybody else I run into could ever make me feel like that. So, that’s just how it is.”
“Maybe we can compromise, and say you won’t rule it out,” said Bryce.
I smiled at my son and his mate. Just like the memory of Coral warmed me, so too did seeing them together. They were such a perfect team. I’d never admit it, but they were right. It would be nice to have that kind of companionship again. I just didn’t see it happening any time soon.
Or ever. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.
I flattened out my fingers to give Liam more room to add to the now sizable pile of flowers on my hand. “Sure. I won’t rule it out. Hell, I could meet somebody at the ceremony today. As you said, there are plenty of omegas. But would I lay money on it?”
I shook my head.
Jaxon grunted. “Nobody is asking you to gamble. Just to keep your nose up for interesting scents. So, come walk to the ceremony with us? It’s almost time anyway, I guess.”
I kept the gift of Liam’s flowers until I was sure he wasn’t looking, and then returned them to the grass where they belonged. As Jaxon, Bryce and the kids started heading off to the ceremony, I instinctively took one of the wildflowers back from the pile. It was a big, perfect daisy with pink bleeding into its petals, and it had a big, bright honey-yellow center. I tucked its long stem through the buttonhole of my shirt then set off to keep up with my family.
As we approached the clearing where the ceremony would be held, I couldn’t help but reflect on the conversation we’d just had. I wished I could dismiss it like I always did, for the same reasons I’d just explained to them, but it was a lot harder to believe all of that as we were approaching this celebration of love and commitment.
Out of nowhere, I felt someone lace an arm through mine, and a familiar scent bombarded me. It sure wasn’t my fated mate, but it was something more real, a good friend.
“Gavin,” I said without looking at him as we walked together, step by step.
“Greer.”
“How are you on this wonderful day?” I asked him.
“In love with this weather,” he said, turning his face to the sun. “How are you? Another couple coming together. Another human joining the pack. You must be proud.”
I grunted and nodded. “It’s good to see the future of the pack moving forward with such strong pairings.” I let out a deep sigh and gave Gavin a slight glance. “Actually, I was wondering whether Jaxon and Bryce were remembering their own claiming day, and yours was only about eighteen months ago. And, well, I was also remembering mine.”
“A strong memory, I’m sure,” Gavin said kindly.
I chuckled as we came close to the edge of the crowd who were gathering around Wolf Lodge, the large common building at the center of our homestead. We slowed and stopped, just far enough away that we were out of earshot.
“To be honest, the memory has faded to a glossy, rosy picture that was probably half-true and half-dreamed. I couldn’t tell you which was which. Had the sun really been so comfortable on my back or had I begun to itch under the collar? And could I really see her beautiful face so clearly as I held her hands or was the sunlight shining in my eyes and obscuring her a little from my view?”
Gavin simply nodded and listened, as a good friend does. I looked over his shoulder, and my gaze brushed over happy couples and little cubs winding in and out of adults’ legs, making fun and trouble in equal measures.
“You must think about her a lot during these times,” Gavin commented.
“Not a day goes by when I don’t think about her and our two beautiful babies.” I sighed. Coral was a loss I felt very intimately and specifically. I missed her in concrete ways, especially in the first few years after she passed. It was impossible not to. I could see the empty side of the bed beside me, and one coffee mug on the kitchen counter instead of two. I could hear the silence in my house without the warmth of her laugh to light it up.
Gavin swallowed, and I watched as fear flashed over his face. I gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his shoulder.
“Don’t waste your time worrying about losing your mate,” I told him. “Besides, you two are fated. Coral and I never were.”
Gavin’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Really,” I said as I nodded. “Chosen mates. They say fated love is the deepest, but I can’t imagine anything deeper than what I felt for her. I just can’t.”
I looked out at the crowd before us. Just like Jaxon had guessed, the Wolf Lodge was absolutely brimming with people. There were plenty of wolves I recognized, all from our pack, and some I didn’t, probably from some of the surrounding packs. No doubt Jaxon had asked Jason and Trevor if they could be invited to keep the packs mingling with social niceties. It was a good political move, making sure the local packs stood united, especially with the trouble we’d all recently had with the rogue dragons. What a fantastic turnout for Jason and Trevor. I wondered how Jason’s little six-year-old girl, Stacia, would be feeling today. She was quite a little firebrand herself, and I could imagine her leading Lori into all kinds of fun and games after the ceremony.
Suddenly, Jaxon turned back and looked through the crowd. I raised my arm and he smiled. “I’ll meet up with you later,” I said to Gavin. “Jaxon is calling. Give my best to Kyle, Brock, and Raina”
“Will do. Thanks, Greer. Talk soon.” Gavin slapped my back as I headed toward my son.
“We’ve got to go and take care of a few things. You’re gonna stay in the thick of things, right? Like we agreed?” Jaxon asked.
“I don’t think I agreed to anything, but sure. I won’t isolate myself.”
“Promise?”
I shook my head at Bryce, pointing at Jaxon. “Tell your alpha to go fulfill his duties instead of fussing at me, will you? Apparently, I didn’t raise him right, but maybe you’ve still got a chance.”
“Got it,” said Bryce, tugging Jaxon’s hand. “C’mon. Leave your poor father alone. Liam, Lori, this way, please!”
I watched them go, brimming with pride for my wonderful family. I was still thinking about how lucky they were while avoiding diving into the social aspect of the ceremony when I caught a distinctive and unusual scent. It was a waft of cinnamon and clove, with a hint of something sharp like yuzu.
I turned, trying to guess which direction it was coming from. With so many new wolves milling around, it was difficult to pinpoint. For all I knew, it was all in my head. No doubt, all that talk of pheromones and finding love had probably poked some renegade hope in me. As much as I didn’t often admit it, for every part of me satisfied with the family I already had, there was also an equal part that believed I was missing out on the mate it was destined to find.
The battle between the two raged now. I was happy to be content, but I also wondered what would happen if I followed the scent. I couldn’t deny the spark of attraction I felt to this scent felt good. I’d been so focused on being a lead alpha, a father and a grandfather for so long my body had almost forgotten what it felt like to want.
Almost, but not quite.
I let my instincts take over as I waited for the ceremony to begin. I followed the cinnamon fragrance through the crowd, moving with my shoulders back and my chin held high, like a prowling, dominant alpha. It probably wouldn’t come to anything, but what if it did?
2
Keifer
I sat back in the comfortable old leather of my writing chair and folded my arms, rereading the last few sentences on the screen—in particular, those beautiful words “The End”.
Finishing a manuscript was a unique pleasure, especially after creating a happily ever after for two fated lovers. I took a long sip of iced coffee and let waves of satisfaction sink in, and then almost jumped out of my skin when the phone started buzzing.
Danette Dempsey calling.
“It’s done,” I said to my agent as I answered the call.
“What’s done?” Danette asked in her sharp New York accent through what I assumed was a mouthful of food.
“Uh, the book?”
“Excuse me? You’re done with it? Like, you’re giving up?”
I laughed and shook my head. Just then, I heard the tell-tale creak of Stacia’s wardrobe door opening.
“Hang on, Danette,” I said as I spun around in my chair and craned my neck to peer out of my office door toward the hallway.
“What are you getting?”
“My dress.”
“Stacia, honey, it’s too early to get dressed for the…wedding.”
“Why?” Stacia asked, sounding downright confused.
I groaned. Oh, boy. “Why” meant trouble was ahead—and a whole lot more questions to answer.
“Hang on,” I said to Stacia. “I’m just on the phone.”
“So it’s actually done? Like, finished? It’s written?” Danette asked again.
“Wow, ye of little faith,” I grumbled as I saved the document again. “Yes, it’s done.”
“Daddy! Where my dress?” Stacia asked with such intensity I almost jumped out of my seat.
“Hang on just one minute, Danette,” I said before putting her on mute then calling down the hall. “They’re all in the closet!”
“No!” Stacia cried.
“No?”
“Trevor’s dress!” she exclaimed, and my stomach sank.
Shit! I took Danette back off mute. “Danette, I need to call you back.” I hung up on her then immediately dialed Trevor, the groom-to-be, and prayed he’d pick up. Thank god, he did.
Silver Daddy Page 1
