Doggone Daddy

by Liam Kingsley

  After I’d gone over the day’s schedule, I headed into the playroom to feed Bonnie and Clyde.

  “Such good puppies,” I said, rubbing them both between their ears. “Waiting patiently for me. You two are so good!”

  More like they were too lazy to do much more than lie around waiting. I chuckled, and they busied themselves with stuffing their mouths. Satisfied they were well occupied for now, I shut the door and headed back into the main room.

  Suddenly, the door burst open, crashing back against the wall, the bell knocking loose from the door and falling to the floor. I gasped as the two men I’d seen outside earlier rushed into the shop. But that’s not what had my attention. That went to the guns each of them were holding—trained right at my head.

  I’d barely opened my mouth to shout out when one of them darted at me, his eyes going from surprised to afraid to angry.

  “Shut your fucking mouth,” he growled, coming around behind me. He moved so fast I didn’t have time to react. He wrapped an arm around my head and clamped a hand over my mouth. Then all I knew was the cold metal of the gun pressing against my temple.

  My ears rang, adrenaline coursing through me, creating a buzz in my ears. I could hear Bonnie and Clyde going nuts behind the playroom door, barking furiously and scratching to get out. If I hadn’t shut the door they’d be here to defend me, but then panic set in as I imagined the men hurting my beautiful babies.

  “Where’s the money?” The second guy’s gaze darted frantically around the room. “Keep your eye on the door,” he said to the one holding me hostage.

  Shit. If only I hadn’t walked out here when I did. They probably hadn’t expected that. They’d been watching, I realized now. Casing the place. That’s why they looked familiar. They’d planned on coming in while I was in the back and taking what they wanted.

  My heart raced as the guy started toward the cash register, prying it open. His face contorted. Apparently they hadn’t done enough research. I didn’t keep cash on the premises. All my clients paid digitally.

  “Fuck,” he shouted, his eyes filling with anger as he turned on me. “Where’s the money?”

  What would they do to me if I told them there wasn’t any? Would they leave without further incident? Not likely. I’d seen their faces.

  I could barely breathe through the stench of the guys sweaty palms, and my lungs were constricting, my chest tightening. I didn’t think they were killers, but their whole plan had just been turned on its head. People could act unexpectedly when in a crisis.

  “Shut those fucking dogs up,” the guy growled. “Or I will!”

  That’s when I knew I had to do something. I had to fight to protect Bonnie and Clyde. Acting on instinct, I elbowed the guy holding me in the ribs. He grunted, his hold on me loosening slightly, and I tried to duck down and get out of his grasp.

  God, just please don’t let him pull the trigger.

  I managed to get out from under his arms, but as I spun around to run toward the playroom door, the guy swung out with the butt of his gun. I tried to dodge but he hit my cheek.

  I screamed as pain bloomed and my vision blurred. I tried to focus, to just keep moving. But then the guy swung again, this time the hit finding its mark on my head.

  Everything turned black.

  5

  Jason

  Even though I was exhausted from the busy weekend, I was still back in the flower shop early Monday morning. I took a sip of my coffee then got to work in the back, looking over the orders for the week. It wouldn’t be as busy as last week, but I still had a pretty hefty workload.

  Just as I was about to gather some supplies and start the first arrangements, my wolf stirred and began pacing restlessly as if he were trying to tell me something. I looked around, my senses on high alert. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as I stood there I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. But what?

  I put down the shears I’d picked up and looked out into the front of the shop. Everything seemed in order. So why did I feel like something was wrong? My wolf continued to prowl, just beneath the surface, setting my nerves on edge.

  Then I heard the dogs barking. Unlike the irritation I usually felt, my unrest increased. They weren’t barking with excitement, they sounded almost frantic. Urgent. Insistent. Something was definitely not right. Then a terrified scream pierced the air.

  Trevor.

  My wolf howled inside me, and without a second thought I darted out the back door and across the alley to Pampered Paws. All I could think was that my mate was in danger.

  I jerked the wooden gate of the doggie daycare’s back yard open, nearly ripping it off its hinges in my haste to get to Trevor. When I realized he’d gone silent, panic overwhelmed me, shooting adrenaline into my veins.

  The next moment, I burst through the back door of Trevor’s shop to find his two huskies growling and barking, clawing at the door that separated what looked like a playroom from the front of the shop. I’d never been in here before, but instinct drove me forward. I could sense Trevor on the other side of the door.

  My fear of dogs forgotten, I ran straight for them and grabbed the door handle, pulling it open and rushing through. What I saw had me stopping in my tracks, dread tightening my chest.

  Two men stood in the middle of the main room, anger and fear coming off of them in waves. One stood with a gun trained toward the ground, pointed right at Trevor’s motionless body. The other hovered over Trevor, rummaging through his pockets.

  Immediately, my wolf clawed to the surface. I wouldn’t have been able to stop the shift even if I’d wanted to. The sight of my mate on the floor—dear god please let him okay—had my primal instincts taking over. A growl ripped from my throat, full of warning. The two men glanced up in shock, their eyes full of the fear they reeked of. I leaped forward, lunging for the man on top of my mate.

  The force of my massive weight barreling into him knocked him off Trevor. I saw red, all rational thought gone. The only thing in my mind was protecting my mate. The man screamed, his eyes flaring wide as he fell to the ground. I lunged for him again, sinking my canines into his shoulder, drawing blood. I wanted to rip his throat out. I’d never felt so vicious, so vengeful. So feral—as if I didn’t have any control over my wolf.

  I barely restrained myself from biting him again. He whimpered beneath me, and I pinned him down with my paws, baring my teeth, another growl tearing from my throat.

  The other guy ran off, the scent of his terror filling the room.

  Through the red haze of my fury I became aware of the guy I had pinned begging me, desperation lacing his words.

  “Please, don’t hurt me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  I growled again, silencing him. I met his eyes, and his terror was what helped me rein my wolf back in. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t they type of person to attack someone like this. But my wolf… He seemed to have a vicious side I was only just now fully realizing. Centered entirely around protecting my mate.

  With what felt like superhuman effort, I shifted back to my human form. But even with my wolf now under control, part of me still wanted to kill this man for harming my mate, and that scared me more than a little. I still had the man pinned to the ground with my hands, and now I hovered over him, baring my teeth. When I spoke, my voice was ragged and raw, not sounding like me.

  “You won’t get away with this,” I growled at him, narrowing my eyes menacingly.

  I glanced behind me at Trevor, who was still lying lifeless, but I could see the faint rise and fall of his chest, and relief like I’d never known filled my chest.

  “Don’t move,” I commanded the man, pushing off of him and rushing to Trevor’s side.

  I placed my fingers on his throat, checking his pulse. It was weak, and I felt a new wave of terror flood my body.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I told him, touching his cheek. A bruise was developing on his cheekbone. Oh yes, these men were definitely going to pay for this.


  I jerked my gaze back to the one I’d told to stay put, ready to deliver him that promise, but he was darting out the door. I’d been so focused on making sure Trevor was okay I’d let him escape. No matter. I’d make sure they were both caught if it was the last thing I did, even if I had to do it myself.

  I quickly pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed nine-one-one, all my attention now on Trevor. I kept a hand on his chest, needing to feel the rhythm of his breathing, trying to calm myself by the fact that he wasn’t hurt worse. Still, I didn’t know the extent of the damage.

  “Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” The operator came on the line, sounding much calmer than I could ever be.

  “There’s been an attack. My…friend. He’s unconscious. Please hurry.” I could hear the desperation in my voice.

  “What is your location, and is the attacker still present?”

  “No, they ran off. I need someone here immediately.” I rattled off the address of Pampered Paws, but then the operator started firing questions at me, and I didn’t have the patience for that. I answered the most pertinent then ended the call and returned my attention to Trevor as I waited for the first responders to arrive.

  The scent of blood filled my nose, and I realized Trevor was bleeding. Fuck. While it wasn’t pouring out, there was dark red blood trickling from Trevor’s head.

  Another round of panic hit me. I wanted to pick him up and cradle him in my arms, to make everything better. But this was out of my hands. He needed emergency care, stat.

  “Trevor,” I said, clutching his arms, his shoulders. “Please wake up.” I gently slid my fingers over his body to see if there were any other signs of injury. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like the damage was centered on his head.

  The bastards. They would really pay for this.

  A low moan escaped Trevor’s parted lips. He was coming to. Thank fuck.

  “Trevor?” I cupped his face, running my thumb gently over the cheek that wasn’t bruised. He was so soft, his skin smooth and warm. I wanted nothing more than to capture his lips in mine, to feel the life inside him, but I restrained myself. Barely.

  His lashes fluttered and he moaned again, weakly lifting his hand to his head. Just as his eyes started to open, I heard the blare of sirens. Seconds later, paramedics rushed in, followed by a couple of police officers.

  I moved out of the way, letting the paramedics get to Trevor, answering their questions as best I could. They worked quickly, checking his vitals and making sure he was stable enough to move. Then they placed him on a gurney and started to wheel him out of the shop. I followed, not wanting to leave his side, but one of the police officers stopped me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

  “Jason, I need to ask you a few questions.”

  That’s when I noticed the officer was one I’d seen before. Michael Watson. He worked with Steve Daniels, one of our pack members, and Michael was one of the few humans aware of shifters. Which meant I needed to tell him what I’d done.

  I sighed. “Okay, but can we make it fast? I really need to get to the hospital.” In the span of a few scant heartbeats, I’d gone from not being sure what to do about Trevor being my mate to not wanting to spend a second away from him—especially when he could be in critical condition.

  “What happened?” Michael asked quietly as he led me to a corner of the shop and took out a pen and notepad.

  I told him as fast as I could, including the part about me shifting and biting him.

  He grimaced but nodded. “I’ll let Steve know,” he said. “I have a feeling this might be the work of the rogue dragons.”

  My eyebrows rose. There had been a few incidents with some dragon shifters that had shown up in Timberwood Cove. Not long ago, one had gotten into an altercation with Gavin, another alpha from my pack.

  “What makes you say that?” I asked.

  “It just has the same look about it some other incidents have. If Steve thinks so, I’m sure he’ll keep you and Jaxon in the loop. Either way, we’ll start an investigation.”

  I nodded, glad we had Michael on our side. Jaxon was the pack leader of the Timberwood Cove pack, and if this was the work of rogue dragons, things were going to get ugly. We’d remained vigilant but basically passive about the dragons since they’d started harassing members of our pack and the town in general, but as far as I was concerned, they’d gone too far, and now we had to do something about it.

  Michael asked me a few more questions, getting my official and unofficial statements. Finally, they finished up and it looked like I could go.

  I was ready to dart out the door, but the adrenaline had started to drain from my body, allowing me to think a little more clearly. I needed to get to Trevor’s side, but first I had to take care of a few things. I made a quick call to Gavin. I knew he and Kyle were good friends with Trevor and would want to know what had happened.

  “Fuck,” Gavin growled the second I gave him a report.

  “I’m going to the hospital,” I said. “Can you and Kyle come hold down the fort here at the daycare until I know more?”

  “You’re going to the hospital?” he asked, but he didn’t sound that surprised. In fact, he sounded like it was the most natural thing in the world for me to want to be by Trevor’s side. I didn’t have time to think about that, though.

  “Yeah. I’ll keep you updated. How soon can you get here?”

  “Don’t worry, we’re on our way,” he said quickly. “Go ahead and go. We’ve got this.”

  I thanked him and ended the call, and then I locked the front door and headed back through the back room. I glanced at the huskies on my way out. They looked worried, pacing around the playroom.

  “He’s going to be okay,” I told them, hoping my voice was reassuring. When one of them pitifully whined, I realized how distressed they were, knowing their master was hurt. I took a step toward them, accepting they probably needed the comfort of a pat, but the memories of being mauled by a dog flashed through my mind, making me take a step back. I swallowed and shook my head, reminding myself these were my mate’s dogs. Steeling my nerves, I slid my hand between the ears of one, and then the other, patting them gently. It took more courage for me to do that than it had for me to confront Trevor’s attackers, but at least the dogs seemed a little more settled now.

  Satisfied, I rushed straight for the hospital, calling Keifer on speakerphone while I drove. I updated him on what happened and told him I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pick up Stacia from school. Naturally he was okay with it, telling me not to worry. When I arrived at the hospital, I went to the front desk and found out what room Trevor was in. He was in the ER. But they let me in his room, which had to mean he was stable.

  He was actually sitting up in bed. Relief rushed over me when I saw he seemed okay, at least physically. As for his emotions, I could practically feel them washing over me. He was visibly shaken, and I sensed his fear and worry, mingled with shock, probably at seeing me here.

  “Jason? What are— Oh no! Bonnie and Clyde! Are they okay?”

  I nodded. “They’re fine. They were in the back the whole time. And Kyle and Gavin are already there taking care of everything. You don’t have to worry about anything.” I paused, searching his face and the bright emerald green of his eyes. “Do you remember what happened?”

  Trevor grimaced. “Honey, I will never forget. I went into the back to feed the dogs. When I came back out I found two guys with guns trying to rob the shop. I tried to fight them off, but one of them knocked me out with the butt of his gun.” He lifted a hand to the bandage on his temple and grinned wryly.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. God, it could have ended so much worse than it did.

  “What made you think it was a good idea to take on two armed thugs?” I asked.

  Trevor arched a brow. “They threatened my dogs, and I didn’t really think about it. Anyway, everyone keeps telling me I’m thick skulled. I guess I’ve just proved it.”

  I chuckled. A
little surprised he’d joke at a time like this, but glad he seemed to be recovering somewhat. “Oh, right. What was I thinking? I guess you didn’t need me after all.”

  Trevor trained his gaze on me, sobering slightly. “They said you came in and saved the day. Why?”

  I stared back, uncertain how to respond to his blunt question. Should I tell him my wolf had recognized my mate was in trouble? I didn’t know. I hadn’t even really come to terms with the knowledge Trevor was my mate. I’d never expected to find mine, and I certainly never expected him to be someone who loved dogs like Trevor did. Hesitating, I bit my lip. Finally, I lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.

  “I sensed something was wrong and had to check it out.”

  I wasn’t sure if he would take that at face value or not, but just then the doctor came in the room to check on Trevor, saving me from a potentially awkward conversation.

  He checked Trevor’s vitals and asked him how he was feeling.

  “Is he going to be okay?” I couldn’t resist asking, needing to know that there wasn’t any severe damage. Trevor eyed me strangely but didn’t say anything.

  The doctor nodded. “His vitals are strong, but with any type of head trauma there’s a risk of concussion. You’ll need to stay overnight for observations, Mr. Perry.”

  “I can’t do that,” Trevor protested immediately. “I have to get back to my dogs—to my business.”

  “You need to listen to the doctor, Trevor,” I said, shifting into alpha mode almost without thought. If he had a concussion, I definitely wanted him in here where he could be looked after.

  Trevor pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, and then opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue.

  I quickly made a decision. It wasn’t an easy one, but it was the right one. “I’ll take care of the dogs. And the daycare.”

  That seemed to render him speechless. He knew I wasn’t a fan of his shop, to say the least, and I definitely wasn’t thrilled about the idea of dealing with a bunch of slobbery, shedding, potentially dangerous animals. But if it meant I could keep Trevor from worrying, I’d do it. I wanted my mate to relax and recover, not be concerned with the dogs when he needed to be focused on getting better. I didn’t know how to tell him that, though.