by L. P. Maxa
“Right, Corey and Dom basically raised me the last few years.” Riley wished he could put his connection with them and Hadley into words she’d understand. He’d vowed to keep her away from the supernatural side of his life, though, so her simple conclusions would have to do. “Keller, Linc, and Baze. They were all our coaches too. They are close, best friends, and they took us in. It’s hard growing up away from your parents, but they made it easier. Gave us a family when we didn’t have one.”
Blake nodded. “Linc is married to Madden and they have a new baby?”
“Allison.” Riley turned on his blinker, getting on the narrow road that would take them up into the mountains. “Keller is married to Molly, she’s a yoga instructor, and they’re pregnant with twins. Then Baze is with Pen, they were high school sweethearts and she’s about to pop with their first kid.”
“What does Pen do?”
“She teaches at St. Leasing, Madden is the school nurse, and Corey is the counselor. The only female who doesn’t work on campus is Molly; she owns the yoga studio in town.”
“Female?” Blake laughed, applying more of her bubblegum lip gloss. “You call them that to their faces?”
Riley felt a little dread pool in the pit of his stomach. There was so much that Blake was going to find odd, staying with them in Haxton. The words they used freely as a pack, the way they talked about each other. It was going to be hard for her to understand, but Riley would happily translate all day long if it meant that Blake would be safe from the dangers Jace and Axie were taking on.
“Inside joke.” Riley smiled at her before directing his gaze back to the steep road. “We basically all lived on top of each other for four years. We have a lot of them.”
They rode the rest of the way to Jace’s house in easy conversation, talking about their Christmases and time with their families. Riley was happy to have Blake next to him, even if the circumstances were beyond fucked up.
“Jace owns this place?” Blake leaned forward, peering out of the windshield, her eyes going wide as the gates to Jace’s compound swung open on their own. There was a sensor installed in Riley’s truck, the gate reading his signature and alerting Jace it was him nearing the estate. Jace had to enter a seven-digit code to allow the gates to open. Their pack beta did not take security lightly. “How old is he again?”
Riley pulled his truck down the driveway, parking in his spot in the five-car garage. “He’s our age, but he comes from money, and he’s good at stock market shit.” Easy explanations for a complicated situation. Jace saved every dime his evil father ever threw at him, turning it into a fortune he couldn’t blow through if he lived two hundred years.
Riley got out of the truck, grabbing Blake’s bag and then opening the door for her. He led her into the house with his hand on her back, laughing as her lips moved, counting cars. Jace had one for every situation.
Axie and Jace were in the kitchen, she was on the counter and he was between her spread thighs, his mouth at her ear, no doubt whispering dirty things. When she spotted them, she pushed Jace back and hopped down, a kind smile on her face.
“You must be Blake.” Axie held out her hand. “I’m Axie, and this horny bastard is my fiancé, Jace.”
Blake shook her outstretched palm, nodding. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“We’re sorry that you got dragged into all this.” Axie leaned her head back against Jace as he spoke to Blake. “Thank you for coming to stay.”
Blake shrugged. “Thanks for the jet.” She looked around the large commercial-grade kitchen, taking in the Viking range and the custom soapstone countertops. “Your house is beautiful.”
“You want a tour?” Axie stepped away from her mate, holding her hand out for Blake’s bag. “I’ll show you the room you’re staying in and then help you get a layout for the rest of the place.” Riley let Axie take the bag, giving Blake an encouraging smile.
“You can put her in my room.” Jasper came sauntering into the kitchen, smirking as he picked Blake up off her feet, hugging her tightly before setting her back down.
Riley’s jaw clenched so hard he was afraid he’d crack a molar. He didn’t like Jasper’s hands on Blake. He didn’t like the image of them sharing a bed, let alone a room. His fists tightened at his sides, his wolf demanding he speak up. He shoved his jealousy down, trying like hell to remember Jasper was joking. He was trying to get a rise out of him. Jasper was being Jasper, and Riley needed to stop getting so fucking worked up about it.
It would only egg his asshole packmate on.
“We have plenty of space, there’s no need to share.” Axie eyed Riley, then grabbed Blake’s hand and pulled her from the room. “Plus, Jasper still pees the bed.”
Jace chuckled, the easy sound from his beta relaxing Riley’s tense muscles. Jasper gasped. “That was one time after we drank a bottle of tequila.” Axie’s and Blake’s laughter could be heard trailing behind them as they made their way down the hallway.
“Jasper, stop trying to make Riley lose his shit.” Jace pointed at this twin before turning to the subzero refrigerator, pulling things from it for lunch. “We’re all in this house together for the next few days, and if you spend them all fucking with your best friend, I swear I will beat the ever-loving hell out of you.”
Riley and Jasper were used to Jace’s threats, but Riley was glad to have him on his side. If there was anyone else in the pack who got irritated at Jasper’s antics, it was Jace. Probably because the poor guy was constantly getting tag-teamed by his twin and his mate. They both lived to make Jace loosen up.
“I was being friendly.” Jasper rolled his eyes, gesturing to Riley. “He’s so on edge he’s going to make Blake feel weird.”
“Stop touching her like you have a right to,” Riley growled, causing Jasper to narrow his eyes.
“And you do?”
“She’s my best friend.” Riley couldn’t seem to get the low gravelly sound out of his tone.
Jasper crossed his arms over his chest. “And what am I?”
“Currently?” Riley mirrored his packmate’s stance. “A pain in my ass.” Jasper opened his mouth and Riley cut him off. “If you make one comment about a pain in Blake’s ass right now, I’ll rip your head off.”
Jasper and Riley stared at each other, neither backing down, until Jasper started to chuckle. He stepped forward and slung his arm over Riley’s shoulders. “I love you, man. I swear, I’m not after a round two. I know the stakes. I said I wouldn’t do it again, and I won’t.”
Jasper’s words melted away some of the tension that seemed etched in Riley’s frame. He believed his friend, his brother. He was the only one, out of the three of them, acting out of character.
“I know what I’m doing, she felt no pain in that tight little—”
Riley tackled Jasper to the ground, pinning him down until he tapped out, laughing. He got to his feet, then helped his friend up.
Jace tossed some lunch meat out onto the island. “I’m this close to building another house on this land.” He held up his finger and thumb, millimeters clear between them. “I’m about damn tired of having all you assholes in my space.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jasper hopped up on the island, his hands gripping the edge of the counter. “You calling a meeting with the pa—”
“I’ve texted the family.” Jace shot a glance at Blake, silently explaining to his brother why he’d cut him off. Jasper was going to use the word “pack,” which wouldn’t make much sense to the human helping Axie mix up a batch of batter. The girls had decided they needed cookies after the gourmet sandwiches Jace had made them for lunch. “They’ll come for dinner. There’s no use changing routine, right?”
Jasper nodded. “Right.”
Axie and Blake had come back from the house tour, laughing and sharing a quiet joke. Riley was happy to see Blake getting along with Axie. That was Blake, though, always making the best of a shit situation.
“Riley, can I talk to you for a min
ute?” Jace jerked his head to the hall that led to his office.
Riley looked across the kitchen, checking to make sure Blake was okay with him leaving her alone with a virtual stranger in a house she’d never set foot in before. She smiled her reassurance, silently telling him she was good, so he followed Jace out of the room.
Once they were alone in his office, Jace closed the door and went to look out the large window that faced picturesque snow-covered mountains. There was nothing more beautiful than the holiday season in Colorado. “I really am sorry Blake got dragged into all this.”
“Yeah, so am I.” Riley didn’t even want to think of his life without Blake in it, but part of him felt so damn guilty for allowing her to drag him into this friendship. Being away at UNC coated him in a false sense of security. He was separated from his pack, from the stress and the danger that accompanied the supernatural world. For a moment, he’d been nothing but a college freshman, waiting for baseball season to start.
He’d been more human than shifter.
“What did you tell her? How did you convince her to come to Haxton?” Jace sat at his desk, his fingers steepled under his chin. He always looked so collected, so in charge whether they were fighting off bad guys or brainstorming ways to take down the underworld.
“I told her you put away bad guys and one of those bad guys is fighting back. That we have people who want to hurt us, and those people have been staking out UNC.” Riley straightened in his chair, letting his fingers tap the shiny metal armrests. “I said the bad guys think she and I are dating and I was worried they’d use her to get to me.” He hadn’t lied to her, not at all, he’d simply left out the supernatural aspect.
“She’s going to be here for the week. She’s going to be surrounded by shifters.” Jace leaned back, relaxing a bit. “You think she’ll be able to handle it?”
Riley sighed, shrugging because he truly wasn’t sure how all this would play out. That was one of his biggest fears. “She’s human. Like all the way, one hundred percent human. It’s been a while since we had someone around who didn’t already know who and what we are. Madden knew about shifters before she mated with Linc. She was friends with a whole pack. Pen and Baze bonded when they were eighteen, and Axie’s father was a shifter.”
Jace sneered at the mere mention of Axie’s father. The man had treated his daughter like crap her whole life, slapping her around and kicking her out of her house as his final fatherly act. The pack had used him as a scapegoat, making it look like he was purposefully leaking information about his criminal clients. The last Axie heard, he’d gone into hiding. But the last Jace and Jasper heard? The man was screaming as they tore him limb from limb. It was the only secret Jace kept from his mate.
“You haven’t been here, day in and day out. Baze has gone full-blown asshole alpha now that Pen is nearing the end of her pregnancy. He’s demanding and possessive. He’s even starting to irritate me, and that’s saying something. You were on FaceTime when Keller announced he and Molly are pregnant with fucking twins, so he’s a mess. These guys are all on edge. So again, what’s your plan with your blonde Barbie out there? How do you think she’s going to get through all this without some serious questions?”
Riley had to smile at Jace’s description of Blake. Even he’d picked up on her Barbie resemblance. “I can keep our secrets. It’s been done for generations.” Blake wasn’t someone’s mate, and she wasn’t born into this. “She’s here for a week and then it’s back to Greenly, back to her normal very human life.”
“Well, that’s not altogether true, is it?” Jace got to his feet, his beta wolf unable to sit for too long. “Her best friend is a shifter. After what happened between you, her, and Jasper at the cabin, she’s pretty well acquainted with aspects of this life.” Jace narrowed his eyes. Riley could feel him assessing his every reaction.
“What happened between us at the cabin has nothing to do with us being shifters.”
“No, but we both know she noticed the sex was otherworldly, two dicks or not.” Jace waved his hand in the air like that point wasn’t important. “You ready to give her up? Make some excuse about why you two can’t be friends anymore? Hell, you could let Jasper keep fucking her, he’d run her off eventually without you there to stop him.”
“You are such an asshole,” he said with conviction.
“It’d be easy enough, and you know he’s probably chomping at the bit to get back in that sweet little ass.” Jace smiled cruelly, his dark eyes glowing. Riley gripped the arms of the chair, his jaw locked tight. He wouldn’t give in to this stupid game. “It wouldn’t be a hardship. I’m sure he’d enjoy every second that he got to be inside your gi—”
“Stop.” Riley shot to his feet, taking one menacing step toward his beta before he could stop himself.
Jace gave him the slightest shake of his head, making him stand down without a word. “If you don’t plan to give her up, then you need to fucking come clean. She can’t exist in the in-between, she’ll end up hurt because she won’t know how to navigate. She’s human, I get it. But just because she doesn’t know about our world doesn’t mean she doesn’t belong in it.” Jace opened the door, letting the sounds of Blake’s laughter filter into the office. “Figure your shit out. The pack meets tonight, and then your ass is going with us on a run. You need it.”
Chapter Nineteen
Riley was sitting on Jace’s back deck, staring off into the fading sunlight. The day had gone smoother than he’d anticipated. Blake was tired after the last-minute flight to Haxton. Axie took her upstairs and they spent the rest of the day in the master bedroom watching old movies. Axie told everyone it was because she was sick of being around boys all the time and was going to soak in the girl vibes while she could. Riley knew she did it to help them all out by keeping Blake from feeling the underlying tension in the house.
There was a threat, once again, to their safety. Not to mention Jace giving Riley an ultimatum.
When Riley had come out of Jace’s office, Jasper was tickling Blake mercilessly, powdered sugar sprinkled all over the usually immaculately clean kitchen. Riley had immediately taken a step forward, his hand balled into fists. He didn’t know what his endgame was. All he knew was he needed Jasper’s hands off Blake. Jace had grabbed him by the shoulder, holding him in place while he did that silent communication thing with Axie over his head. She’d broken up Jasper and Blake by setting a fresh pan of cookies between them.
Riley didn’t understand what was happening, he didn’t understand his jealousy. He could tell himself it was because he didn’t want Jasper to ruin his friendship with Blake…but the excuse was getting more and more difficult to believe. His feelings were an unwelcome surprise, to say the least. He’d spent the last three weeks of school with Blake, and he’d never felt jealous when she danced with other guys. Did shots with the basketball team. Flirted with randoms at bars. Never one single time.
There’d been no reason for it then, and there was no reason for it now.
“Hey, sourpuss.” Blake walked out onto the deck. “Jace wanted me to tell you your family is driving up.” Blake sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder like she’d done a dozen times before. “What have you been up to all day? I feel like I haven’t seen you in hours.”
“Catching up with the guys. Helping Jace figure out his next move.” He lifted his arm, wrapping it around her petite body. “Did you have fun with Axie?”
“Yeah, she’s great.” Blake followed his gaze, staring out into the dying light of the sunset. “When did she meet Jace? They seem so young to be engaged and living in this dream house.”
Riley was glad she couldn’t see his smirk. They were young, but that was shifter life. When a shifter found the female for him, the one he’d spend forever with, age didn’t matter. “They met over the summer actually.”
“And they’re already getting married? Wow.”
Riley hopped to his feet, his ears picking up the sound of Hadley’s little baby gigg
les. “When you know, you know, I guess.” He held his hand out, helping Blake to her feet once she put her palm in his.
“I’m nervous.” She stepped closer and pressed her forehead to his chest. “Your whole massive family is in there. All the people in the picture on your desk, and I’m going to meet them.”
Riley laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her into the house. “They’re going to love you, no worries, okay?” He felt her nod as they joined the growing crowd in the living room. There was a fire going in the fireplace, the bar cart was fully stocked. The whole scene made Riley feel at peace, even with all the turmoil going on inside him.
Corey smiled when she saw him, setting Hadley on her feet and letting her wobble her way across the space. “Look who’s here, baby girl.” Hadley followed the finger Corey was pointing at him as he crouched down with his arms wide.
“Come here, sweet girl.” She giggled, flew into his embrace, and he peppered kisses all over her chubby cheeks.
Riley stepped back into place beside Blake with Hadley still in his arms. “Uh, this is my friend Blake. Blake, this is Corey, Dom, and Hadley.” He bounced the baby, making her giggle again. She was such a happy little girl, always laughing and smiling.
“It’s really nice to meet you all.” Blake shook hands with Corey and Dom, then tickled Hadley’s tummy. “And it’s nice to meet you too, Hadley. Riley talks about you all the time.”
Riley and Blake sat on the floor and played with Hadley. Eventually the rest of the pack started to filter in. The only time he got up to leave his sister and his best friend was when Madden and Linc came in with their newborn baby girl. He took her in his arms, rocking her gently. He was able to cuddle the newest member of the pack for all of five minutes before Jasper came into the room and stole his cosmic sister away. Riley understood though. He’d been that kind of obsessed with Hadley when she was born, and he never wanted to share.
