Pippen blushed even though there was no one awake to see it.
He experimentally clenched his muscles, taking stock of how different parts of his body felt. Most of his limbs and muscles felt relaxed, unusually relaxed even, except for a few private areas that were sore.
It had been so long for Pippen since he'd been intimate. And then, the arrival of Silas had messed up his head. Maybe more than he'd known. That had to be why he'd felt vulnerable the night before.
Pippen didn't regret the sex at all. How could he regret something that felt so perfect and made his body sing, even now? But he regretted the vulnerability. Vulnerability was too close to weakness. Pippen panicked, needing to distance himself from the cause of all his weakness as of late.
He didn't wait to think about how a truly brave man would have woken up Conner, thanked him for the lovely night, and went on his way. Instead, he slid down the mattress quickly, like a magician pulling the tablecloth out from under a fully set table without disturbing a dish. He caught his balance at the foot of the bed, wobbling a little at first on muscles that had been used in ways they hadn't been used in a while.
Shit, even his insides felt wobbly. If he thought having sex with Conner was going to get rid of the butterflies, he was wrong. They were still there, flip flopping around, making fucking nuisances of themselves.
He looked around for his clothes and cursed silently. That was right, Conner had a secret larger than Pippen had imagined and he had chosen to reveal it last night while tearing Pippen's clothes from his body. Pippen's cock stirred at the memory, ready for round two. Down boy.
Pippen weighed the pros and cons of looking for a pair of pants of Conner's that might fit him against running down the hallway naked. In the end, he spotted a pair of athletic shorts that Conner sometimes wore. Thanks to Pippen's disgusting obsession with all things Conner, he remembered that when Conner wore them the last time they had been tight and had outlined his bulge beautifully. When Pippen slid them on now, they were baggy and barely stayed up, but they were enough. He found a shirt and slid it over his head. It was also way too large but wearable. Pippen opened the door quietly, desperately trying not to make a sound.
He was about to slip through to freedom when his inner wolf whined. He didn't want to leave. His wolf wanted to jump back in Conner's bed and snuggle against him.
That was bullshit. His inner wolf was a wussy.
Still, Pippen hesitated turning around just as Conner's eyes opened.
Conner found him like a heat seeking missile finds the sun. Pippen imagined his own face looked something like a deer in the headlights.
"Wait—" Conner started, sitting upright with his hand outstretched, but Pippen turned and bolted from him, making far too much noise to be considered stealthy as he ran down the hallway. He heard Conner begin to give chase but Pippen made it to the front door first. He swung it open and slammed it shut behind him. He had probably one-point-five seconds to decide how he was going to get away, but no solution presented itself. Conner was faster and he had alpha tracking senses.
Pippen pulled his clothes off with a speed that would put any backstage model to shame. He threw the clothes as far as he could in front of him, ignoring the cold bite against his skin. He shifted and as he did, launched his body up, landing on the roof of the pack house in wolf form like a ballerina landing a grand jetè.
He had enough time to crouch down and limit his scent spilling over the gutter before Conner bust through the front door. Pippen held his breath has Conner stood there, willing his heart to beat more quietly.
When Conner remained where he was for longer than a few seconds, Pippen was sure he knew where he'd gone. Then, Conner took off in the direction of where Pippen had thrown the clothes. Pippen remained crouched for a few moments more. When he could no longer hear Conner's footsteps, Pippen adjusted his position curling up on the roof. He stayed in wolf form, not really wanting to lay naked on the roof in the freezing morning air as a human. He let his chin fall flat against the roof, for once happy that he was a smaller wolf. Luke in wolf form might have caved in the roof.
He looked up at the cloudless sky. The sun was just beginning to rise and there were still many stars twinkling in the cold sky. What the hell are you doing?
Now that he was sitting on the roof alone, forced to remain in wolf form so he wouldn't be naked outside in winter, he realized how silly he had been. Why had he run? Why couldn't he have just said, "Thanks, I'm good now, bye?"
Because there was something about Conner that brought out the vulnerability in him. Something in Conner made Pippen want to rely on him, depend on him. That was just as good as setting himself up for agony.
Pippen shook his wolf head. Conner was too dangerous for him, especially while Pippen needed all of his faculties concentrating on finding out why Silas was in town.
Now that he really thought about it, it was Conner's fault that Silas had been able to get to him so easily. He'd rummaged around his head like he had a free pass. Conner had made him that weak and that was not acceptable. At least, not until Silas was out of their lives and the pack was safe again.
Pippen stepped carefully along the roof and leapt off at the lowest point. He sprinted across the street. He couldn't be sure that Conner wouldn't be back to the pack house soon. Conner should realize that he was on a fool's errand soon enough. A scent trail from the pack house to Sorell's house wouldn't be that unusual and if Conner chose to follow it, Sorell would lie for him.
He knocked his snout softly against the door and sat on his haunches, hoping that Sorell would answer before a neighbor drove by. Sorell opened the door, already dressed for the day with a baby on his hip and another wailing in the background.
"Oh, good, Pippen. Help," he said, sparing no word for how unusual it was for Pippen to be knocking on his door in wolf form so early in the morning.
Pippen followed him in and into the nursery. Franklin lay in his crib wailing.
"Felix has been on call all night at the clinic and now he is at the downtown pack headquarters. He got some emergency message. Leading this pack and keeping his shifts at the free clinic, the poor guy is burning the candle from every end imaginable. I would have called him but I need to be able to handle more too, even if it means trying to get morning feedings done before one of these guys has a freak out."
It sounded to Pippen like Franklin was already having a freak out. Sorell threw Pippen a pair of his own clothes, they would still be too big but not quite as large as Conner's. When he was done Sorell gave him one of the two premade bottles. It was amazing how quickly the room went from ear-splittingly loud to peaceful once both babies got bottles in their mouths.
Sorell's face was as serene any father's face would be after successfully satisfying the needs of two infants simultaneously. "So," he said, nearly whispering. "What are you running from?"
"I'm not running, I'm just..." He couldn't even think of a convincing lie. Shit, he was great at lying. You're slipping further than even you know! "Silas..." he said finally, knowing Sorell would get it.
"I expected him to show up last night," Sorell said, leading them both to the living room. "Didn't get any sleep even though Franklin and Kofi slept the night."
"Don't expect anything of or from Silas, Sorell. You know he excels in fucking with—oh, sorry—in messing with your head."
"Exactly. He excels."
"Although, he did try. I ran into him when I left your house. But, er, Conner took care of him." Pippen pulled the bottle out of Franklin's mouth and ignored his annoyed cries as he let the air refill the imploded nipple. He put it back in and Franklin quieted. "I'm surprised that Felix has left you for so long. Not that I don't think you are capable. I just thought an overprotective guy like that would be by your side constantly with your insane brother in town."
Sorell rolled his eyes. "He isn't overprotective, he is just plain protective. And he didn't leave me entirely alone."
As if on cue, there was a
knock on the door. Pippen worried at first that it was Conner. "If it's—"
"Don't worry, Mister I'm Not Running From Anything, it isn't for you." He stood and answered the door, displaying expert-level skill doing so while not disturbing baby Kofi's feeding. "Yes," he said to whoever was there. "We're fine in here. Okay, good job. See you at the dinner." Sorell came back in and sat down where he had been. He sighed tiredly but there was still a content enough edge to it that Pippen figured the sigh was more for his sake. "Felix has a member of the downtown pack stop by once every ten minutes or so. He swears this is just until Silas leaves."
Deep down, Pippen was glad his best friend was being protected and kept safe through this. That didn't mean he would say as much. When Franklin finished his bottle, Pippen held him up and patted his back, careful to point his mouth in the opposite direction in the case of projectile spit up. The baby burped quickly and Pippen set him down on one of his play mats. "Is it cool if I take a shower?" he asked, watching Franklin reach up to explore the brightly colored toys hanging from the brace of his mat.
"By all means. With as edgy as you're acting, I'm sure you had a wild night and need some cleaning up," Sorell said, knowingly.
Pippen swallowed his response because it was too laden with curse words and went to the bathroom. The warm water was heaven against his skin. Pippen washed slowly, ridiculously unwilling to erase the proof of his night before. Besides, there were a few tender spots that he washed over that wouldn't be gone right away anyway. By the time he was drying off, Pippen heard another knock on the door and figured it was another guarding pack member from the downtown pack. He pulled on Sorell's shorts when the hair on the back of his neck rose. Pippen ignored the shirt.
He learned long ago never to ignore his instincts and his instincts were telling him something was wrong. He hurried out to the living room and then froze. Sorell had his back to him, his arms were at his front and Pippen assumed he was holding one of the babies. Nothing would have been odd if it weren't for the stiff way he held his body, like he wanted to run away and lunge forward at the same time.
Pippen stepped around him and stopped. Droplets of water fell from his still wet hair and slid down his cheek but he was struck immobile.
Silas sat on the couch, his body relaxed as if he was a normal guy visiting friends. He cradled baby Franklin in his arms, cooing at the little bundle.
Pippen's blood froze. It was like watching a great white shark or a lioness stalking a baby antelope. Every instinct inside of him demanded he get that precious baby away from the terrible predator, but like a wild animal, any abrupt movement might set him off.
"Oh, hey, Pips. You are everywhere I am these days."
"What are you doing here, Silas?" Pippen stood beside Sorell first before edging forward.
"I'm saying hello to my nephews."
Pippen never thought he had many caregiving instincts, he was never a maternal or even paternal sort, but even he felt absolute terror at seeing Silas cradle the defenseless infant. He couldn't imagine what Sorell was going through at that time. Sorell whimpered as if to prove his point. The sound was nearly just breath, but loud enough for Pippen to hear.
Pippen frantically searched his mind for something he could say that would end this standoff peacefully. Sorell was barely keeping it together, not that Pippen could blame him. He had too many memories of cruelties Silas had forced upon his only brother.
"I think Franklin has your eyes," Pippen said finally, hoping that appealing to the narcissist in Silas would save the baby.
Silas smiled. "He does, kind of, doesn't he? What a lucky baby you are," he cooed, bringing Franklin's chubby cheek up to his mouth as he gave him a small peck. When he looked back to Pippen, Silas didn't have as much of the wild edge in his gaze as he'd had.
"You could teach him to do that smolder you perfected so long ago," Pippen said on a smile. He stepped forward as if there was nothing unusual going on. There was a sharp knock at the front door that Pippen ignored. "Here, let me see how close he is already to having it down." Pippen reached his arms out, ready to receive the baby.
Silas sat up, and stretched his arms and the baby, toward him.
For a moment, Pippen thought he'd done it.
Then the front door burst open and Oscar ran inside the living room followed by two of his pack mates from the downtown pack.
Silas hissed, jerking the baby back to his chest. The sudden movement elicited a loud cry from Franklin that continued as Oscar and his pack mates stood defensively around Sorell, who yelled at everyone to stop.
Pippen didn't think. In the chaos, he couldn't think past keeping Franklin safe at all costs. He ran to Silas' side and twirled in front of him, landing in a protective crouch facing off against Oscar and his pack mates. The move was clearly unexpected from the other shifters in the room and gave them pause, enough for Sorell to step forward and speak loudly enough to reclaim some sense of calm in the room.
"You three, cool it. Everything is fine."
"You didn't answer the door, Sorell," Oscar explained without turning to look at him. "We were given clear orders, if you didn't answer the door on the first knock then we were to 'get in using any means necessary, break the damn door down if you have to,'" he said, obviously quoting Felix word for word.
"I didn't answer the door because I was visiting and you bursting in terrified me, my brother, and Pippen. Please, get out. I don't want to be rude, I know you are doing your job, but just, get out."
Pippen could tell Sorell was using every ounce of his strength to remain calm in the face of possible danger to his child. Harming Franklin right now would not help Silas in any future cons he had in plan for his brother or the pack. That didn't mean Silas wasn't a danger if he felt endangered or irritated enough. If they handled the situation right, Silas wouldn't hurt the child.
Pippen looked over his shoulder at Silas who despite facing off with three unknown shifters didn't look scared at all. Instead, he seemed half annoyed at the crying child he held at one shoulder and amused at the hectic scene unraveling before him.
"Aw, Pips, you didn't have to come to my rescue."
Oscar and his pack mates filed out of the room. Pippen waited until they were gone before responding. "Now that I see them more clearly, I probably didn't. I just reacted." Franklin let out a particularly ear-piercing squeal. "Let me take that noisemaker off your hands," he said, reaching and grabbing Franklin without giving Silas the choice.
Pippen bounced him a few times, patting his bottom.
Silas put a finger in his ear like he was trying to plug it and block out the sound.
"Why don't I just take the two of them out for a while so you can catch up with Sorell?" Pippen said, reaching for Kofi. Sorell handed him over quickly, having caught on to Pippen's plan to get the babies out of the house as quickly as possible. As soon as he turned back to Silas, Pippen knew he'd made a mistake, overplayed his hand. Silas stood in the middle of the path to the front door, his arms at his side, ready to restrain or fight.
"I think I want to get a look at Kofi first, see if he has my eyes too, since he doesn't have my name. What kind of fucking name is Kofi anyway?"
Pippen didn't know the whole story but knew there was some sentimental value to the name. That didn't matter, there was no way Silas was getting his violent hands on another of the children.
"No," Pippen said, is voice as quiet as it was deadly. He handed the children to Sorell quickly, knowing he was vulnerable as he did so. Sorell clutched his children and stepped back, away from where Pippen and Silas stood off.
"What happened to coming to my rescue?" Silas said sarcastically, his eyes flitting around the room. No doubt he was weighing his odds, deciding his next move.
"I don't know how many times I have to tell you to leave," Pippen said. "Whatever your plan is, whatever you are peddling, we don't want any. There isn't a pack member in this town who trusts you, from either pack. Why won't you just leave?"
&nb
sp; Silas closed the space between them in the time it took for Pippen to inhale. "Because, lover, I'm not done yet." He moved like lightning, his fist coming at Pippen's face quicker than a bullet. He made contact with Pippen's jaw and the pain radiated out from that space, covering his entire face. His vision darkened and his head got fuzzy, but Pippen blinked his eyes rapidly, refusing to lose consciousness. He shuffled back, regaining his composure. Silas was on him, like a dog on a bone.
"You've gone soft, Pips," Silas said, slipping in another solid punch to his gut. "I never would have been able to land so many before."
Pippen was going to disagree, until Silas landed one more swift hit to his eye.
Pippen doubled over. A drop of blood landed on the carpet, followed by another. Behind him, he heard Sorell's shallow, panicked breathing in the other room nearly drowned out by the twin's muffled cries. He inhaled and felt a sharp arrow of pain. For a moment, he wanted to wallow in it.
Weakness.
This was what he'd feared, his new life would make him weak, and it almost had. Pippen harnessed the pain. He concentrated on it, letting it fill his limbs. Pain was life, he'd learned that very early on. Pain had been his daily meal and he'd gotten too accustomed to not feasting on that particular dish.
He stood straight and immediately ducked down, dodging a blow that would have landed against his temple. Silas lurched forward and Pippen stepped to the side, jabbing him in the kidney. Silas grunted in pain and turned to face Pippen. But now that they had switched sides, Silas was closer to the room Sorell had escaped into with the twins, a fact that didn't sit well with Pippen. He lunged forward, leaping through the air with a snarl. Silas was ready for him though and caught him, holding him to his body like a lover would. Pippen wiggled and jerked his body, but Silas was too strong. His breath smelled like alcohol.
"There are easier ways to get back in my arms, Pippen," Silas said, leaning in.
Wolf's Mate Mpreg Romance Box Set Page 55
