Sentinel (The Lost Pack Book 3)

by Claire Cullen

  Thorn’s stomach rumbled at the smell, but he chided the omega gently.

  “You’re supposed to be resting and looking after Sammy. Not taking care of me. I can cook for myself.”

  “Microwave meals aren’t cooking.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Yet here I am, after many years, still alive.”

  Daniel flushed and fumbled for the cloth he’d dropped, retrieving the dish from the oven. Thorn didn’t miss the omega’s wince as he bent over.

  “Let me take that,” he said before moving closer. The last thing he wanted was to spook the omega and ruin his hard work.

  Daniel set the dish down on the counter and backed off. “I’ll just finish washing these.”

  “No, you won’t. You cooked; I’ll clean. Where’s Sammy?”

  “Asleep. He was tuckered out.”

  “Have you eaten?”

  There looked to be most of the pasta bake left, a child-size portion missing.

  “I… I wasn’t hungry.”

  “Grab a seat, then. We’ll eat together.”

  “I can just have a sandwich.”

  “Why? Trying to poison me?”

  He’d meant it as a joke, but Daniel’s face went white as he shook his head, denials falling from his lips.

  “No, I’d never…”

  “Relax. I’m just teasing. Please, eat with me. You’ve slaved over this. You should at least get to enjoy it.”

  He ushered Daniel over to the table, dished up two portions of the pasta bake, and got them both some water.

  Aware that Daniel was watching closely, he ate his first mouthful, surprised at the burst of flavor. He chewed and swallowed.

  “It’s good. Really good. I don’t know how you did it.”

  Quite a feat, considering the severe lack of fresh ingredients in his cupboards and a mostly empty spice rack.

  “I found some wild garlic growing near the woods, and I think there used to be an herb garden under the kitchen window. I found a basil plant hidden among the weeds.”

  That explained the amazing tastes dancing across Thorn’s tongue.

  “So not just cooking, but foraging? Remember when we talked about your ribs and letting them heal?”

  Daniel shrugged one shoulder. “Sammy wanted to play outside. Besides, I had to do something to repay all your kindness.”

  Thorn could see the omega was still suspicious about that. Waiting for the catch that wasn’t coming.

  “Well, thank you. This is a real treat.” He never ate this well unless he was up at the packhouse, and that was less and less these days. He just felt out of place there. Surrounded by things he wanted but didn’t—couldn’t—have.

  Daniel smiled at him, seeming genuinely pleased that Thorn was enjoying his meal.

  “You’re a good cook,” he added, watching how Daniel’s smile grew wider with those simple words of praise.

  “I like to cook,” the omega admitted softly.

  “And I like to eat,” Thorn joked.

  Chapter Twelve

  Daniel fell asleep that night, content that he’d made Thorn happy with the food he’d made. If he could twist the alpha’s arm and convince him to buy some more ingredients, he could make him something even better. Thorn had insisted on leaving the dishes, but Daniel woke early the next morning and finished them. Then he decided the kitchen as a whole could do with a good clean.

  He was on his hands and knees, scrubbing the floor, when footsteps padded across the tiles and the alpha’s legs came into view.

  “Huh?” Thorn asked tiredly, scrubbing a hand across his eyes. He looked more asleep than awake.

  “Would you like some coffee?”

  The alpha groaned and leaned heavily against the kitchen counter.

  “Daniel, I thought we talked about this.”

  He sat back on his heels. “Talked about what?”

  “About you resting and healing. Not kneeling on the ground and scrubbing floors with broken ribs.”

  The alpha didn’t seem angry, more confused.

  “My ribs don’t hurt much anymore. And it’s not fair for me and Sammy to live here without giving something back.”

  Thorn’s tone turned to frustration.

  “I don’t need you to pay me back, not by cooking, not by cleaning. I don’t need a personal maid. And you do need to mind those ribs, doctor’s orders.”

  “But you have no one to look after you. I can do that.”

  The alpha came right up to him, lifting him off the floor.

  “I don’t need someone to look after me. I can do for myself. So just stop this, okay? Stop.”

  At the alpha’s angry tone, Daniel let go of the cloth he’d been scrubbing the floor with, nodding rapidly.

  “Yes. Yes, sir. I won’t, I’m sorry… I was only… only…”

  His breaths were coming in pants, his heart thudding in his chest. He knew the alpha would just get angrier if he saw him getting upset. So he pushed past Thorn and ran for the door. Sammy was safely asleep in the den, so Daniel didn’t go far, just into the barn and up onto the rafters. It would be hard for Thorn to follow him up there. Besides, Harrison never went after him when he was upset. Not unless the alpha was angry with him or wanted the last word.

  When the door to the barn creaked open a few minutes later, Daniel froze.

  “Just me,” Thorn called. “Do you want to come down so we can talk about this?”

  Daniel didn’t, feeling an ache in his ribs at the thought.

  “I’m not angry, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  He peeked down at the alpha, spotting Thorn’s troubled eyes staring up at him.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Thorn said softly. “But I would like to talk about it. You can stay up there, if you feel more comfortable.” He settled down against a bale of hay.

  “I just want to be useful,” Daniel explained. “I like having someone to take care of. I like feeling needed.” He swallowed a lump in his throat and added, “But I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

  He expected the alpha to agree without hesitation, but there was a long pause before Thorn spoke.

  “Truthfully, it’s kind of nice to have someone looking after me for a change. Seems like, these days, I’m always the one looking out for other people. And I’m not talking about you and Sammy.”

  Daniel heard the note of wistful need in the alpha’s voice. It drew him in, and he slipped down off the rafters, landing with a soft thump on the barn floor.

  “Would it be so bad to let me look after you? Just while I’m here. You’ve taken such good care of Sammy. And you’ve been good to me. I can’t repay you, not really. But I could do that.”

  “I don’t want you scrubbing floors or foraging for food with broken ribs. If there’s cleaning to be done, I’ll do it. If you need ingredients, you write me a list. But I wouldn’t say no to a little bit of home cooking—if, and only if, you feel up to it.”

  Daniel bit his lower lip and took a small step toward Thorn. “Do you like pulled pork? In barbecue sauce?”

  “Sounds amazing.”

  “It’s my specialty.”

  “Then I look forward to trying it.”

  The alpha stood, towering over Daniel, but Daniel wasn’t intimidated. He didn’t feel the familiar urge to run and hide. He took another step toward Thorn, putting himself within arm’s reach. It was a risk, but he needed to know now if Thorn was one of those kinds of alphas. The ones who said one thing and did another.

  “I won’t hurt you,” Thorn said softly. “And I don’t want you hurting yourself bending over backward trying to make me happy.”

  “Okay,” he agreed quietly. “No more scrubbing floors until my ribs are healed.”

  The alpha smiled, lifting his hand slowly to cup Daniel’s cheek. “If I do something that scares you, I want you to tell me.”

  “I’m not scared now,” Daniel admitted.

  The heat of the alpha’s hand seared into his skin, and he leane
d into the touch, pushing up onto his tiptoes to press his lips to Thorn’s mouth. If Thorn was surprised, he hid it well, kissing Daniel back with a confidence that had Daniel humming contentedly. He parted his lips and Thorn’s tongue teased his. The alpha’s hand slid behind his neck, his thumb just skimming the edge of Daniel’s mating gland.

  “That was just amazing,” Thorn murmured to him as they pulled apart. He put two fingers under Daniel’s chin and tipped his head up. “What was that for, huh?”

  Daniel shrugged his shoulders shyly but spoke honestly. “Just… because I wanted to. Was that okay?”

  Thorn grinned. “That was very okay.” His grin faded, his attention turning toward the barn door. “Someone’s up and hungry for breakfast. Come on. I’ll grab Sammy if you put the toast on. Knowing my luck, it’ll be burned to a cinder.”

  Daniel giggled. “For someone who puts out fires for a living, you’re a little too good at starting them.”

  “Why do you think I turned professional? I figured I might as well get some useful experience out of my many kitchen accidents.”

  Daniel followed Thorn back to the house. He slipped into the kitchen, deciding that he could probably do better than toast with a little effort.

  He heard giggles and laughter as he stirred the oatmeal and turned to see Thorn carrying Sammy on his shoulders.

  Daniel nodded to the pot. “I thought oatmeal might be more nutritious.” He paused, and asked, “Do you like oatmeal? Because I can make something else.”

  Thorn tickled Sammy. “What do you say, Sammy? Do we like oatmeal for breakfast?”

  “Yummy!” Sammy cried, collapsing into giggles.

  “My feelings exactly,” Thorn said, arching an eyebrow.

  He set Sammy down on a seat at the table, moving to help Daniel. Soon, the three of them were munching away. They took turns helping Sammy eat. He was more interested in playing with his spoon than actually getting the oatmeal into his mouth.

  “I have a few errands to run in town today,” Thorn said suddenly. “Do you two want to come with me?”

  Daniel was shaking his head before the alpha had finished his question. If there was any chance that Harrison and his pack were sneaking around, then Daniel and Sammy had to keep a low profile.

  Thorn looked briefly disappointed but shook it off. “Then make a list of anything you need. Not just for cooking, anything you or Sammy need while you’re here.”

  “We don’t need much,” Daniel said. The children’s home had sent clothes and toiletries for them, and that was enough. He wouldn’t take advantage of Thorn’s generosity.

  “Well, my budget can stretch to a little extra. Maybe even a toy or two.”

  “You’ve already been so good to us. And that spinning top you made Sammy is brilliant.”

  “I have a few cutoffs from my last project. Do you think he’d like some cars? Something with wheels?”

  Sammy did have a fascination with all things that moved.

  “I think he’d love that.”

  He was smiling ear to ear, though he wondered how he was ever going to repay the alpha’s boundless generosity.

  Thorn let Daniel make dinner again that night but insisted on preparing all the vegetables. The alpha was a little distracted during the meal, restless even.

  “Are you going out tonight?” Daniel asked him.

  Though Daniel hadn’t been there long, it wasn’t the first time the alpha had left for the evening.

  “Yeah,” Thorn said tightly. “I’ll be gone a few hours. Will you two be okay?”

  “We’ll be fine. I’m pretty tired, and I think all the running around this afternoon will mean Sammy’s ready for an early night.”

  He could see Thorn didn’t want to talk about whatever it was he was doing. It wasn’t Daniel’s place to pry.

  Thorn’s phone rang, and he stepped out to answer it. Sammy chose that moment to lose interest in his dinner, flinging his spoon across the room.

  “Sammy,” Daniel chided gently, going to retrieve it. “You’re supposed to eat your dinner, not throw it.”

  He knelt down to pick the spoon up and caught the tail end of Thorn’s conversation.

  “…I’ll bring them to the packhouse when they’re good and ready, Brax. They’ve only been here a few days. Sammy’s just gotten used to being around me in his human form. I don’t think he’d take well to a whole pack just yet.”

  Daniel froze, listening in horror. Thorn couldn’t be saying what he thought he was saying, could he?

  “No, I won’t be over tonight. I want to walk the border. It’s been a few days since I last did. You know how important it is for the pack.”

  Aware that Thorn’s conversation was coming to an end, Daniel forced himself back to his feet, grabbing his plate and bringing it to the sink. He kept his back to the table when Thorn returned to the kitchen.

  “I’m going to head out,” the alpha said. “Do you need anything before I leave?”

  “No.” Daniel shook his head for emphasis, not turning around. “We’re fine. Thank you.”

  There was an awkward pause.

  “I’ll see you later then. Bye, Sammy.”

  The cub managed an enthusiastic response.

  “Bye-bye, Thorny.”

  Daniel stayed put until he heard the front door close, his heart hammering in his chest. He knew. He knew this was too good to be true. Thorn had lied. He wasn’t just an alpha firefighter who happened to work for a kid’s home. He was part of a pack. Living this far out from the packhouse, he could only be one thing—a Sentinel. The Sentinel in Harrison’s pack was an alpha to be feared. Daniel had made sure to keep his distance.

  “We can’t stay here.”

  Sammy looked up at his whispered words, curious and confused.

  Daniel started pulling open cupboards, searching for food he could take. He found a packet of crackers and wrapped them up, along with some cold meats. He had no bag, but he did have pockets. That would have to do.

  He didn’t want to alert Thorn to their departure too soon, so he cleared the table and did the dishes. With any luck, it would be late by the time the alpha came home. He might assume Sammy and Daniel were sleeping in the guest room and not miss them until morning.

  “We’ve got to go, Sammy,” he said softly, lifting the little boy into his arms.

  “Go see Thorny?” The cub peeked up at him eagerly.

  “No. We… we can’t see him again. He’s pack, Sammy. It’s not safe. We’ve got to run, like before. Far away.”

  Sammy started trembling in his arms, and Daniel wished he hadn’t said anything.

  “Shh, it’s okay. You and me, we’ll stick together this time. We’ll be fine.”

  The moped was still hidden out in the woods near the road. Thorn couldn’t have found it, or he’d have said something already.

  Daniel carried Sammy to the guest room and took a blanket from the bed. They’d have to sleep outdoors for a while, so they’d need it. It would get cold at night.

  He crept to the door and took a good look outside before he carried Sammy out.

  “Going home?” Sammy asked quietly.

  “No, never. But we can’t stay here, or they’ll send us back to Harrison.”

  Sammy started to tremble harder, and Daniel was suddenly trying to juggle a bundled blanket and a shifting toddler. He dropped the blanket and bit back a shout of surprise when Sammy’s claws raked across his skin as the cub launched himself out of his arms and raced off into the woods.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Thorn’s patrol was uneventful, but he hadn’t gone far when he heard the sound of someone crashing through the trees. On alert, he turned toward the approaching noise and waited to see who would emerge. It sounded far too small to be Cole or Duke. And it was coming from the direction of his house, not the packhouse. Concerned, he started jogging through the woods toward it. He was shocked a moment later when Sammy burst through the trees and jumped into his arms. He caught the cub, shocke
d to find him trembling, clearly terrified.

  “Sammy? What’s wrong? What’s—”

  Daniel ran through the trees a moment later, skidding to a stop. He looked panicked and frightened, in a way Thorn hadn’t seen since their first meeting.

  “What’s happened?” he asked, looking past them. He half-expected to see someone chasing them though he couldn’t hear any pursuers. “Is there someone at the house?”

  “Give Sammy to me, please?” Daniel begged, holding out his hands for the cub.

  That only made Sammy cling tighter to Thorn, his claws digging in. Thorn ran a soothing hand through the leopard cub’s fur.

  “Daniel, what…”

  “Please, give him to me. We can’t stay here. We have to leave.”

  Thorn didn’t like the fear on the omega’s face. He tried to gently pry the cub from his chest, but Sammy wouldn’t budge.

  “Tell me what’s wrong, Daniel. Has something happened?”

  Daniel, his hands outstretched, took a step closer to them.

  “I heard you on the phone. You lied to us. It’s not a children’s home, it’s a pack. You’re pack. We can’t stay here. Please, let me take Sammy. Let us leave.”

  Thorn’s heart sank at Daniel’s words. It was far from the first time he’d had that reaction to his pack status. But now he had a terrified cub and an equally terrified omega on his hands.

  “Daniel, take a breath and think.”

  He watched and waited as the omega sucked in a few deep, shuddering breaths. Only when he was sure Daniel was listening did he speak again.

  “It’s late, it’s cold, and Sammy is scared. What’s your plan? Drag him out into the dark on foot, traipsing through the forest?”

  “We can’t stay,” Daniel said with a sob.

  “Look at him. Do you think running with Sammy now is the best thing for him? Let’s get him back to the house, calm him down, and talk this over. It’s not what you think.”

  He saw Daniel hesitate, knew the omega was tempted to try to grab Sammy and run. But he also knew the cub wasn’t going to loosen his grip anytime soon.

  “Please, Daniel. Hear me out. For Sammy’s sake. Look at him, he’s terrified.”