by Kasey Belle
His mate shrugged as he buckled Leo into his car seat. “It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Trust me on that.”
Mal drove them over to the pack house. He parked behind Cade’s SUV in the circular drive and hopped out. He retrieved the baby bag. Nick had Leo out of his car seat by the time Mal made it around to the other side of the vehicle. He wrapped an arm around Nick’s shoulders as they ascended the steps. Nick raised his hand to knock on the door. Mal rolled his eyes and let them in before Nick’s fist made contact with the wood. He nudged Nick inside, ignoring his protests about how improper it was to just walk into the alpha’s home without being granted permission. Mal escorted his mate and cub down the hallway. He kept his hand on the small of Nick’s back as they walked through the house.
“Anything else need to go in the refrigerator besides the bottles?”
Nick shook his head.
They stepped into the kitchen and Mal smiled when he found his aunt there. “Hello, Aunt Maddie.”
“Hello, boys.” She rushed around the center island and hugged him then Nick before taking Leo from him. “How’s my littlest boy?” She asked Leo in a sing-song voice then kissed his chubby cheek making him giggle. “Everyone is waiting for you in Declan’s office. Why don’t you leave Leo with me?”
Nick jerked his head around to meet Mal’s eyes. His mate didn’t like the idea of letting Leo out of his sight. Maddie noticed, as well.
“I promise Leo will be fine with me, honey. Declan and Cade’s sister Amelia is in the daycare with her son, Jonah. He’s older than Leo, but I bet he’d love playing with him, anyway. Shelly is also in there with her daughter Lily Rose. Fiona and Emma Grace are running around here somewhere as well.”
Anxiety rolled off his mate in waves. Mal reached out and cupped his cheek. “Remember what I said, Nico?”
He nodded. “If it wasn’t safe for Leo you’d say.”
“That’s right, baby. Leo will enjoy spending time with the other cubs.” He looked at his aunt. “Is Lada here, as well?”
Maddie nodded. “That girl practically lives here.”
Mal knew Nick would feel better knowing Lada was here. Leo had taken an instant liking to her. “See? He’s in good hands. No harm will come to Leo.”
Nick took a deep breath. “I know. It’s hard letting him out of my sight.”
Maddie placed a comforting hand on Nick’s forearm. “Honey. I’m a mom. I completely understand the reluctance to leave your baby alone in a strange place. But, we aren’t like your former pack nor are we strangers. We’re family, and sweetheart, that includes you and Leo. We love and protect our own.”
Nick sniffed. The sound broke Mal’s heart. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “If he needs me, you know where I’ll be.”
“We’ll come get you straight away if he does. Promise.” She turned her attention to the cub in her arms. “We got this don’t we, Leo?” Leo gave her a gummy smile and fisted Maddie’s hair tugging it toward his mouth. She gently removed his little hand and gave him her finger to chew on instead. Maddie shooed them away.
“You heard her, Nico.” Mal took Nick’s hand and led him out of the kitchen. “Proud of you, baby.”
“I feel like a wimp.”
“You aren’t. You love Leo and want him safe. After everything that’s happened, there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to let him out of your sight. I would worry if you weren’t nervous.”
Nick pulled Mal to a stop. “Thank you for being patient with me and for waiting to hear the whole story. I know it’s been killing you not to have all the information about what happened.”
Mal cupped his cheeks and placed a quick kiss on Nick’s lips. “We’re mates. We take care of each other. Remember? No matter what that entails.”
Kell stepped from the office into the hallway and cleared his throat. “You lovebirds coming?”
Mal rolled his eyes and Nick snorted a laugh. “Whatever, ass.” He playfully punched his brother in the gut as he passed by.
Kell rubbed his stomach and poked out his lower lip. “Ow.”
Cade chuckled. “Pussy much, Kell?”
Nick giggled. Mal couldn’t help but smile at the light, musical sound. He glanced at the other men in the room and noted the sound had a similar effect on them.
“Thank you for coming, Nick,” Declan said. He indicated the sofa along the wall. “Have a seat.”
Mal sat and pulled Nick down next to him. He wrapped an arm around his mate’s shoulders. He knew the next couple of hours wouldn’t be easy for his Nico.
Declan sat in his desk chair. Cade and Kell took the chairs on the other side of Declan’s desk turning them so they faced the sofa.
Nick shot them a timid smile. “Where do you want me to start?”
“Wherever you feel comfortable,” Declan responded in a patient voice. “Take your time. There’s no rush.”
Nick took a moment to gather himself and get a handle on his emotions. Mal was proud of him. His mate was so strong.
“My uncle, Alpha Craden Speer, is an evil man. He killed my parents and my father’s beta and his mate. Summer and I could never prove he did it. Their deaths were ruled accidental, but we knew the truth. In here.” Nick pressed a palm to his chest. “Somehow he arranged their car accident. It looked as though they’d been run off the road. The police investigation determined it must have been a drunk driver. There were supposedly witnesses that saw a car driving erratically close to where the accident occurred. But no one was ever found or arrested.”
“It was no secret among the pack, that my uncle always wanted to be alpha. He was jealous of my father and always wanted what he had. He also didn’t agree with how Dad led his pack. Uncle Craden has his own archaic ideas of what is acceptable and what is not. If he didn’t like a shifter’s mate he banished them from the pack. I’m pretty sure he had some of them killed, as well. Again, no proof. Just basing it on things we’d seen and the whispers we’d heard. He doesn’t allow inter-species mating or same-sex mating.” Nick paused. He cocked his head and appeared to study Declan. “Do you have a common link with your pack, Declan?”
“I do.”
“And one for your family and another exclusive to your triad, correct?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“My uncle doesn’t have a common link with the pack or his family. He was never meant to be Alpha. He took what doesn’t belong to him. The Fates cursed him for it. In the event of our father’s death, my sister should have inherited the position. My father divulged that information to us and his beta, Silas Moore. When our parents died, our uncle immediately took his place. We were young and too afraid of him and what he might do to tell anyone. We also weren’t sure if anyone in the pack would stand against him or if they would even believe us.”
“He didn’t take us in after our parents died in the general sense. He tolerated Summer and hated me. I was the useless runt. He moved into the main pack house with us, but he didn’t treat us like he cared about us. He made sure we had food, shelter, utilities. The basics I guess you could say. Unless summoned, we didn’t interact with him. We didn’t ask for anything. That seemed to make him happy enough, because not only is he an evil bastard, he’s also a cheap one. We worked odd jobs for extra money. Cleaning houses. Landscaping lawns. Stuff like that. We saved every penny so we could survive on our own if we had to. Summer and I lived in constant fear of our uncle and his minions. We never knew what might set him off or make him decide to kill us, too.”
“When Summer turned sixteen, Uncle Craden started making noise about arranging her mating. The way he made it sound was that he was willing to sell Summer to the highest bidder. He put out feelers and got a bite. Alpha Sutter of New River Pack wanted Summer for his son, Heath. The guy is an asshole, both father and son are, actually. Heath wasn’t Summer’s true mate. Not that anybody cared about that fact, except Summer and I.”
Kell stood and walked over to the little r
efrigerator on the wet bar. He took out a few bottles of water and passed them around. Mal took two―one for him and the other for Nick. He unscrewed the lid and gave the bottle to Nick. His mate sent him a smile of thanks before drinking half the water down before continuing.
“Our parents raised us with the belief that matings are sacred. To interfere with that is wrong. With them gone, my uncle could implement his own rules. Heath mating my sister would have given my uncle a major foothold in Appalachia.” Nick breathing increased and his face contorted with anger. “Uncle Craden sold my sister for a fucking meth lab. I hate to think of what he would have done with me considering what an abomination he thinks I am.”
Nick put the bottle to his lips and finished off the rest of his water. Mal took the empty container and tossed it in the trash while Nick continued with his story. “We had several thousand dollars saved up so one night when my uncle was gone from pack land, we packed what we could carry, including the few mementoes we had of our parents, and left. We put as much distance between us, Virginia, and our pack as we could. For a year we worked odd jobs for cash. We didn’t stay in one place for long, a month at the most. We made our way down to Miami before working our way back up to the gulf coast. We hadn’t been in Biloxi long when we ran into Daniel Wexler.”
“Daniel was a good man,” Declan stated. “Only a handful of us knew he mated your sister.”
Nick nodded. “He was careful who he divulged the information to. We lived off the grid. He basically went into hiding with us. But, he couldn’t bring himself to let his work with the council go by the wayside. He said lone shifters counted on him. Every time he Skyped with the council or a rights group from an undisclosed location―” Nick made air quotes. “―it scared my sister.”
“Daniel was careful. I never knew where he called from.” Declan offered Nick a smile. “He was right about staying on. There were a lot of shifters who depended on him and the work he did. He and others like him were the reason the council changed their laws regarding lone shifters. They’re why lone shifters are no longer considered feral or dangerous. Why they are allowed to remain unattached and live a solitary existence without fear of being hunted. He was a good friend to us all. I will truly miss him. We all will. His and Summer’s loss will be felt throughout the entire community.”
Nick nodded in response. Mal wasn’t sure if it was because he couldn’t respond or if he didn’t know how to.
“Well.” Declan cleared his throat. “I apologize for the interruption, Nick. Please continue. You were saying you were in Biloxi and Summer met Daniel.”
“I believe I said ran into. When I say ran into, I mean literally.” Nick smiled telling Mal the memory was a fond one.
Chapter 12
Nick thought back to Summer’s first encounter with her mate and smiled. He would never forget the look of awe and utter happiness on her face. One day, when Leo was old enough, he’d tell him about how his parent’s first met. Nick would explain every twinkle in their eyes, muscle twitch, and smile in great detail. Leo needed to know he was born from fated and forever love.
“Once Summer realized Daniel was her mate, she didn’t hesitate to tell him why we were on the run. Daniel worked on a charter boat at the time and had a little house on the bay. He was a confirmed lone wolf, but all that changed when he met my sister. He took us home with him and we became a pack of three. My sister was only seventeen and he refused to mate with Summer until she turned eighteen no matter how much she begged. It was a pretty tense year,” Nick snickered.
Cade grunted. “I’ll bet. I can’t imagine the amount of control that took. I always knew Daniel was a stand up guy.” He tipped his head in thought. “I’m surprised Summer didn’t just compel him to do what she wanted.”
Nick nodded. “She never would have used her alpha influence for her own personal gain, especially not on Daniel. Our father was the same way. He only used it when he had no choice. Although, if he would have laid down the law on my uncle when he showed how deeply his evil and crazy ran Dad would probably still be alive.” Nick blew out a shaky breath and offered Cade a tremulous smile. “Anyway. When Dad informed Summer she was his successor he sat her down and Ben Parker-ed her.”
“Who’s been Ben Parker?” Declan asked.
Nick stared at the man in disbelief and he wasn’t the only person in the room who did. Declan shocked the hell out of all.
“Dude,” Cade whined. “Seriously?” He shook his head, looking at his older brother with a mixture of disgust and disappointment as if Declan informed Cade he baked everyone a pie made out of puppies. “How can you not know who Ben Parker is? Better yet. How are we even related?”
“I’ve asked myself that question daily since you learned to talk,” Declan responded, his expression clearly mocking.
Cade narrowed his eyes. “Don’t act like your lack of knowledge is insignificant.” Cade blew out an exasperated breath and glowered at his older brother. “This is important so listen up. Ben Parker. Spiderman’s uncle. Known for the famous quote: With great power comes great responsibility.”
“Oh. Yeah. Ben Parker. Of course. Everyone knows who Ben Parker is.” Declan sent his brother a devilish grin. Cade glared at him in return.
Declan and Cade were now locked in some kind of battle of wills. Mal and his brothers snorted and snickered completely unconcerned by their alpha and beta cousins exchange. Nick on the other hand was nervous as hell. He didn’t know them well enough to trust the brothers wouldn’t come to blows. Some alphas couldn’t turn off the need to lay the smack down on anyone who challenged them like Cade was doing now by staring his older brother down. Nick wanted to believe this thing they were doing wouldn’t end in a flurry of teeth and claws. Declan and Cade were good men and felt genuine love and respect for each other that had nothing to do with status. However, their standoff made him uncomfortable to the point where he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to do something to stop this. They hadn’t blinked in like five minutes for fucks sake and it was freaking him out.
Nick cleared his throat to get their attention. Their heads immediately whipped around and their eyes focused on him. Goddess, that was intimidating. His mind went blank and he stared at them like an idiot. Declan and Cade each arched an eyebrow asking him without words what he wanted. Shit. Why hadn’t he thought this through? He was going to vomit.
“Don’t do that and stop sitting there like a moron.” His wolf growled. “Say something.”
Mal wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. His inner turmoil wasn’t lost on his mate. The knowledge calmed his mind allowing him to think. What were they discussing before? Oh! “Um. How well did the two of you know Daniel and Summer? She never divulged the extent of your relationship with them, only that you were good men and could be trusted.”
“Good question, Nick.” His wolf praised and Nick mentally patted himself on the back for not ruining Declan’s carpet.
“We met Daniel about ten years ago when he pushed his way into an inter-pack meeting,” Declan explained. “He was barely out of high school, but he had a lot to say about the council and their snotty, elitist attitude toward loners.”
Cade snickered. “I liked Daniel the second he opened his mouth. Anyone with that amount of balls deserved mad respect. He certainly swayed Dec and I. We ended up sponsoring him and his cause at meetings and council retreats. Declan encouraged the council to make Daniel a liaison between the elders and the lone wolf population.”
“The last time we saw him in person was at a conference not long after he mated your sister.” Declan informed him.
Nick nodded. He remember when his brother-in-law attended that conference. To say Summer wasn’t happy with her mate was an understatement. “Daniel worked hard to climb his way out of the dog house after that trip. No pun intended.”
“I can imagine. I spoke to your sister a few times. She was a spunky woman. Daniel explained some of your situation and we told him we were around if he needed us
. No matter what was going down or when,” Declan added. “I liked them. They were good people.”
“Thank you. They were.” Nick cleared his throat. “Anyway, we’d been in Biloxi for about a year and a half when Summer returned home from the grocery store completely shaken. She swore she saw Anders.”
“Anders?” Declan asked.
“James Anders. One of my uncle’s trackers. Summer insisted it was him. She wasn’t sure if he saw her or not. Either way, it was too dangerous for us to stay in Biloxi. We thought my uncle gave up looking for us. Daniel called a friend in Tampa who got him on with another charter boat working day excursions. The owner was a shifter, so he understood Daniel’s reluctance to leave his mate. We stayed there through the season, but Anders found us again. This time I saw him. Daniel decided it was best to change our course to something less predictable. He reached out to another friend. We ended up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. It was then I realized how connected Daniel was. He had friends everywhere. We were able to stay there for a few years, but somehow my uncle found us again.”
Nick’s throat had gone dry, so he gulped down the rest of his water. “Daniel got a job as a hunting guide for a private land owner in Arkansas. Who―surprise-surprise―happened to be a shifter. Hank paid him cash in order to keep us off the radar. It was a great place. Lots of wooded areas and a national forest. Our wolves loved the shit out of it. They could run free. We were there for a month when Summer became pregnant. She and Daniel decided it was best if we didn’t move around anymore. They didn’t want that for their child. They thought it was time to set down roots. At least try to anyway”
Tears stung Nick’s eyes. Mal pulled him close and kissed his temple. “Take your time, baby.”
He took a moment to gather his thoughts then explained their bug out plan. How Daniel had bought the SUV and stored it at the old cabin. About how they stocked up on supplies and mapped the escape route. How Daniel taught him how to shoot. “They came for us just after we put Leo to bed. Summer made me promise to protect Leo, no matter what. She made me promise to leave them behind if that is what it took. I didn’t want to, but she insisted. I kept my promise and ran upstairs to the nursery. I heard them fighting my uncle’s enforcers. Then our connection disappeared. Our pack link was gone. They were gone.”
