Damon (Raleigh Texas Wolves Book 1)

by Teagan Wilde

  I make sure to stay with Brantley. I am afraid to leave him alone, honestly. I am not sure how people will react to him. Which is why he will be in the house with us; plus he has a baby, so he can’t very well sleep in a tent.

  Maverick will also be in the house with us, as he is the beta to the pack. A few of our guards are also going to be sleeping inside, for added protection.

  “We need to hurry and get dressed for the dinner,” Damon informs all of us. I set the baby bags in Brantley’s room. I place my and Damon’s bag on the bed, and I grab a pair of jeans and a nice shirt for each of us. This isn’t really formal, but we can’t wear sweats. My stomach is in knots. I close my eyes, trying to relax and let my wolf take away some of my anxiety.

  Damon’s arms wrap around my middle, and his lips touch my temple. “Relax, my Moon, I will not be leaving your side.” I nod and turn around in his arms, resting my head on his chest, letting him comfort me.

  I can feel Brantley is ten times as nervous as I am. If I were in his shoes, I would be too. Introducing something new to the world of people stuck in the old days is not fun.

  I hurry and get ready. We were late getting here, but we do not need to be late to dinner. I grab a couple of knives, stashing them in my pants legs and the back of my waistband. Damon takes my hairbrush off the bed and brushes my long locks. I close my eyes and relax, just enjoying being cared for.

  “Ready to do this?” I ask him. This is a huge moment for him too. This is the first time everyone is actually seeing him, rather than just hearing the rumors.

  “Ready as I fucking can be.” He laughs, perfectly calm. He is too badass for his own good. I stand up on my tiptoes, kissing him. “Let’s do this shit.”

  I turn my back to him, strutting out of the room. “Sexy as sin,” he grumbles and I hide my laughter.

  Brantley opens his door; he is carrying Aiden and a baby bag. “Ready?” I ask. I am concerned for him; he looks really pale.

  “As I can be.”

  I nod and press my hand against his arm, pushing happiness and calm into him as much as I can.

  His eyes drift closed as the power rushes over him. “Thank you, Farren. I needed that.”

  “You will sit by me at dinner,” I say. There is no way I would let him sit elsewhere.

  “Thank you.”

  “Maybe you should be my second-in-command,” I say jokily. He laughs and we walk down the stairs together.

  Damon is already down there talking with Maverick. I hope my brother finds his mate this year. “Ready?” Damon asks. I nod, and he takes my hand and opens the door. Outside the house, our packmates are waiting for us. “Come on, guys.” Damon tells them.

  We walk past them; then they follow us to the center of the property, where everyone gets together for dinners and other activities. I was here last year, but that was a totally different experience. I was alone, I didn’t have a mate, and I sure wasn’t pregnant. It’s crazy how much can change in a short amount of time.

  We reach the entrance of the building, and we can’t help but notice there is not a soul standing outside. Damon pushes the door open, and all eyes turn to us. I push my shoulders back, raise my head, and meet everyone head-on. I am an alpha’s female, and I will not show any kind of emotions to these people.

  We have a table right in the center of everyone. Damon and I lead the group, and we pass by an alpha who glares at Damon, growling under his breath. Damon switches sides with me, shielding me from the angry alpha. He glares down at the alpha, meeting his eyes dead on, and I can feel Damon shaking with anger.

  Seconds pass, and the alpha who growled at Damon is sweating and shaking from the strain of holding Damon’s gaze. Good. His eyes fall and I duck my head to hide my smile. This is good. People know that Damon is not an easy alpha to fuck around with. We may be a younger pack, but we are strong and we will not back down from anyone.

  Damon sits down at the head of our table, and I sit to his right. Maverick is at his left, and Brantley is on the other side of me. Our guards file in before the rest of the guys.

  Little by little, the chatter starts again, but people are still staring. I honestly do not see what has everyone in such a tizzy. I peek over at Damon, and he is staring at me. I smile and reach under the table, grabbing his leg.

  Our food arrives, and they set our plates in front of us. We all decided on steak and potatoes.

  “How did that male get that baby?” a female behind me whispers.

  I roll my eyes. While Brantley is eating his food, Aiden is sitting in his lap, staring at everyone, being so cute. I rub my hand over his hair, smoothing the top, which was barely mussed up. I begin eating my own food.

  Just as everyone is finishing their food, Aiden starts crying. Brantley puts down his fork, opens the diaper bag, and takes out a bottle. He puts the formula into the bottle and shakes it. I can hear the talking building back up, but Brantley ignores it and starts feeding his son.

  “So, how did a fag get a baby?”

  Damon is out of his seat the moment the guy opens his mouth, and anger unlike any I have ever felt hits me like a tidal wave. I spin and face the man in the seat behind us. “I would mind your fucking language.” I feel my eyes change, and I let my power out—all of it. I stare him down, and his face contorts with pain until he slumps over and face plants into his food.

  “No one disrespects my packmates,” I growl. Damon takes my hand and we combine our power.

  One by one, all the people in the room lower their heads, even the alphas. I am sick to my stomach that someone had the balls to say something like that in front of us.

  I look at Brantley, who is clutching the side of the table, and I shake my head in anger. I sit back down beside him. “Don’t even sweat it,” I reassure him.

  He picks up Aiden and burps him. Aiden stares at me and I smile. I can’t wait until my baby is here.

  Damon hasn’t sat back down yet. He is standing right next to me, daring anyone to try something else. I rub the back of his leg, resting my head against his hip for a second. Maverick is pissed; his body is shaking as he tries to control his wolf, and his eyes are completely golden.

  “Everyone done eating?” Damon asks. He wants out of here; I know I do. I want to go to back to the house and get away from all of these people.

  “Yes, Alpha,” everyone says in sync. I stand up—Damon’s hand on my back, helping me get up—and I put the diaper bag on Brantley’s shoulder. We walk past a line of tables and, from the corner of my eye, I see someone’s foot shooting out in front of Brantley. Brantley trips, barely managing to stop himself from falling with the baby. He hands Aiden to me, and I hold him tightly to my chest. I have never once seen Brantley mad, but he grabs the guy by the hair and slams his head on the table.

  “Mess with me all you fucking want, but put my baby in danger? You’re asking to die,” he snarls.

  Oh my god. Good for him!

  Damon laughs and I join in. Brantley stood up for himself, and the alpha of the other pack can’t do a thing about it, because his packmate started it. One by one, the others in our pack join in our laughter. We are all protective of Brantley; he’s had such a rough go of everything. Brantley takes the baby from me, kissing the top of his head.

  I hear the sound of a chair scooting across the floor, and we all turn to see a huge tattooed guy walking toward us. I take a deep breath, and I instantly know he is a bear. Damon moves me further behind him as the man splits the distance between us and, to my utter surprise, he doesn't stop in front of Damon. He heads straight to Brantley. The guy stares down at Brantley, and they both take a deep breath.

  “MATE,” the huge bear says, and Brantley nods.

  A man who’d been sitting with the bear speaks up. “You better find a fucking new pack, your kind is not welcome.”

  So many emotions come over Brantley and his mate, who spins around and pulls Brantley to his side, ready to face us if we try to hurt them. It would take a hell of a person to take hi
m on; he is huge. Don’t get me wrong, most bears are huge, but this guy is really enormous.

  “You guys are safe with us,” Damon says as his alpha powers run over them.

  “In this pack, everyone is welcome,” Brantley says loudly. Many people’s faces reflect pure disbelief, and I smile at everyone in the room. A bunch of shifters are ready to bolt, and I know that they want to join our pack. “Everyone,” Damon says firmly.

  Maverick holds open the door, and we file out of the building. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in a long time. The air in there was suffocating.

  I look for Brantley. His mate has pulled him to the side, away from everyone. He is looking at every single person to make sure they don’t intend to harm them.

  “Trust me, this pack is not like the others,” Brantley reassures him, and his mate relaxes and focuses on him. I am so happy that he found his mate! This is exactly what I wanted to happen—well, not the people being bitches—but I want my pack to be happy.

  Everyone is on edge; it was very intense in there. I could feel the hate coming off many members of other packs. Others were curious, and some were fearful.

  I want to add more females to the pack. Tomorrow I will try to speak with them and offer them a place with us. Many of them, especially the ones with mixed breed parents, have not had many opportunities. I notice them way back in the corner, because they are not welcome among the others.

  When we reach our house, Brantley’s mate asks, “Where is your tent?”

  “I am in the house.”

  His mate looks shocked. I take my cue. “Come on, guys. Let’s get inside and relax.” I let my power out, wanting to calm everyone down. Brantley smiles at me, thankful. Damon holds open the door, and we walk inside. Our three guards go upstairs to rest until it’s their shift.

  “What is your name?” Damon asks Brantley’s new mate, who is standing in front of Brantley, looking around the room. I love how protective he is. Brantley needs someone to put him first at all costs. I wink at Brantley, who is trying to hide his smile,

  “Jackson.” He looks at me, then at Brantley.

  “Please sit down, Jackson,” Damon says. “You guys will not be harmed. You are welcome. You guys are fully accepted within my pack. If someone has a problem with it, then they are out.”

  Jackson studies Damon for a minute before he sits beside Brantley on the couch. “It is not this way in my old pack.”

  We nod. “Most packs are not like this, but love is love in our book.” I smile at him.

  Little Aiden lets out a cry, and Jackson’s head snaps around like he is just noticing the baby.

  “I adopted him.”

  Jackson smiles at Brantley. “I have a son.”

  I swoon, laying my head against Damon’s arm as I watch their reactions. My heart may just explode.

  “You do.”

  Jackson takes little Aiden out of his arms and rocks him from side to side. My heart! Brantley looks like he is a pile of goo, and Damon kisses the top of my head as we watch this new coupling together.

  Aiden falls asleep within minutes. “Want me to lay him down?” Jackson asks.

  “I will show you the way,” Brantley says.

  “One day, many more to go,” I tell Damon, watching their retreating backs. I can feel the happiness coming off of both of them.

  The next morning, Damon and I are up early. We have plans today to recruit more members into the pack. Plus I want to spread the word that everyone is welcome, so they know they have a safe haven if they need it. We don’t have to worry about unintentionally recruiting anyone from the pack Aiden is from—they do not come to these events. They are considered to be rogues of a sort and not welcome.

  Seeing Brantley and Jackson together is fine example of that. I don’t even want to think of the life they would have had if it weren’t for our pack. Speaking of the love birds, they walk down the stairs, grinning ear to ear. They sit down at the table next to me.

  “I believe some people had a very good night.” I laugh at the expressions on their faces. They moved into the room beside ours—leaving Aiden in Brantley’s room, I guess—and they were very loud. Damon laughs out loud, and Brantley is probably blushing right down to his toes. I can’t help but tease him a little; he is like my little brother.

  Damon breaks the mood. “Did Brantley tell you the danger Aiden is in?’ I can feel the room darken.

  “No.” Jackson looks around at all of us.

  “I forgot, honestly,” Brantley tells Damon.

  “Aiden is from a mixed parent coupling in another pack,” Damon says. “This pack is just mean and, apparently, his parents died in a car accident—but my gut says that is not the case. The pack attempted to take Aiden back, because their alpha had sold him.”

  Jackson stands so fast his chair hits the floor. “I will kill them all.” He snarls, and his body gets bigger as he almost starts to shift.

  “They are safe, but we have to be cautious,” Damon reassures him.

  Brantley touches his arm, and he settles back into himself.

  I think Jackson is going to be a good dominant to have in the pack. Aiden starts crying, and Jackson takes him in his arms and puts the bottle in his mouth like he has been doing this his whole life.

  How cute are they?

  “Ready, Moon?” Damon breaks me out of my swooning. My hormones are all over the place, but mostly I am a hopeless romantic. I stand up and take his hand, and he leads me out of the house. Maverick and a guard are at our backs.

  My eyes immediately go to the group of shifters who are the outsiders. “I am going over here.” We walk together to the group, two girls and three guys. They are watching us with curiosity.

  “Hi, I am Farren. This is Damon, the alpha of our pack.” Damon nods at them, his arm curling around my back until his hand is resting on my stomach.

  “Is it true that you guys accept gays and all breeds?” the female bursts out. I can tell that she was dying to ask.

  “Yes, we do. No discrimination at all,” I tell her, and they all look at each other.

  The guy steps forward first. “Can my sister and I be transferred to your pack? Our parents are a mixed couple.”

  “Yes, you can. You can leave with us if you wish, or we can arrange transportation later.”

  I can tell they are kind of shocked. “I don’t want to leave our parents.” The girl stands next to her brother. He is around eighteen years old, and she is a couple of years older. She is tiny—around five feet tall—and very beautiful, with long red hair and freckles. If my brother saw her, he would flip. She is exactly his type.

  Wait a minute...

  “Of course,” I tell her.

  They look at each other for a few seconds. “We drove here, so we are going to leave now and tell our parents,” she tells me.

  Damon reaches inside his pocket and hands her a card with his number on it. “Here, contact me anytime.”

  She holds it to her chest like it’s a lifeline. “Thank you.” She bows her head and they both run off. Why do I feel like something bigger is happening?

  Damon smiles at me, and I kiss his cheek. I love seeing him so happy. One by one, people approach us. I guess they don’t feel like we are going to eat their faces off anymore. We are approached by more guys than girls—there are fewer females than males at this gathering, for some reason.

  In a way, deep down, I’ve always known that this would be my position. Damon was made to be alpha, and we fill each other’s needs perfectly.

  This is fate.

  When the day winds down, we have talked to a lot of people, and it’s time for the wretched dinner again. I couldn’t help but notice Damon was the only alpha talking to people. Without a pack you can’t be alpha. I think many of them have lost their humility.

  When we enter our house, Brantley is lying on Jackson’s chest, fast asleep. Aiden is in a small bed beside them. I smile, tiptoeing past them. Aiden is going to be so loved and cared for, and he
is going to grow up in a supportive community. I love being a part of this pack. I love every bit of it, and I love the fact that Damon has built this pack, making it different from all the others. I have tasted freedom, and I want other shifters to feel the same thing.

  Damon closes the door behind me, and I pull my shirt over my head and turn around to face him. “Everything off, Moon.”

  I smirk, unbutton my pants, and slowly pull them off my body, taking my panties with them. His eyes darken as he takes me in. I run my hand up my side and pull my hair out of the bun at the top of my head, letting my hair flow around me.

  “You are made to be fucked, Moon. I shouldn’t even look at you, so perfect.” I smile at his sweetness, and he splits the distance between us, his hands going to my face. “All of you is just perfect. Sometimes I think that you are part of a dream. That I would never be blessed with someone as amazing as you.”

  Tears fill my eyes at his words. “You say you are blessed, but it is me that is blessed, Damon. You are the sweetest, kindest man I have ever met. You have completed my life. You’re my world.”

  He lowers his head, resting his forehead against mine, and we stare into each other’s eyes, “Together we will take over the world.”

  “What are you saying, Damon?” I lean back, staring at him.

  “I am saying that I am going to challenge alphas and make this shifter world the way it’s meant to be.”

  I sit on the edge of the bed, letting his words wash over me. What he wants to do is completely insane, but if anyone can succeed it is Damon.

  “I don’t want to raise my baby in a world like this, Moon.”

  I get it now.

  “I want him to have choices, live as pleases as what and who he wants to be.”

  “I will be with you every step of the way.”

  He smiles before he bends down and takes my mouth. I grab his hair, pulling him further into me. I want to feel him on top of me, moving inside me, filling me up to the brim. I shiver at my thoughts, and I can feel myself getting wetter and wetter.