Even in Australia they heard stories about the females in America running around with no packs and getting captured by rogues. Well, they had heard about them since Trevor brought Dawn back with him. Once the men started hearing the tales of things going on it the States it became almost impossible to keep too many from making the grocery runs with he and his mum. Trevor had finally put his foot down. The men could trade out the duty, but they had to limit how many made the trip. Billy was almost certain the men wanted to come with him in case a lone female came wandering into the store.
If he was honest, he didn’t mind the extra guards. He knew his dad appreciated it. Rogues didn’t mess with older females too often but that didn’t mean they were always safe, and his mum wasn’t past childbearing age yet. And if a rogue ever found out his mother had birthed an Alpha, even one with no pack yet, his mum would disappear quickly. Not that it would do any good since his mum and dad were true-mates but rogues didn’t seem to care about that sort of thing.
He didn’t scent another shifter, other than the ones in the pack and he didn’t see the blackness that would indicate a rogue anywhere, so he turned his attention to his mum again. “Seriously, he could get a Ute and do his own shopping. It isn’t like he doesn’t have the money to buy what he needs.”
“You brother is an Alpha and alone. He shouldn’t be doing his own shopping. He shouldn’t be doing anything except being an Alpha. As long as he is my son, I am going to take care of him properly. I don’t know why you and Johnathan can’t get it through your heads. I do the shopping for my house and your father appreciates it. I do the shopping for your home and you have never complained. Why do you complain about me shopping for Dylan?”
Billy thought of the boxes of food he routinely gave away to some of the poor people around town. Food he would not eat but his mum insisted on buying. He made a special trip once a month outside the territory for no other reason than to get rid of the extra food he had. He wondered how much food Dylan had to get rid of on a regular basis and what he did with his extra.
“Well? Why do you complain about me shopping for your brother, but you never say a word about me shopping for you?”
“Because Dylan isn’t part of our pack anymore and hasn’t been for more than a decade.” Billy told her while carefully not saying anything about the shopping she did for him. The very unwelcome shopping he dared not mention or his father would flay him alive.
His mum’s lips tightened. “And yet, he is still my son. He will always be my son. He is as much my son today as he was last time we came shopping for him and he will be my son next time we come shopping for him. He has no pack to take care of him. I have to. Who else is there?”
“Exactly my point. He has no pack, so he has no extra responsibilities. He has no Beta to meet with, no mate to worry over, no pack members to be concerned with, no dominance fights between pack members to watch. He has no pack, so he has no Alpha responsibilities. He can shop for himself.” Billy was repeating the same argument he had with his mother every shopping trip, but he didn’t expect her to back off any time soon. It was a shame really; he knew Dylan would appreciate a little less mothering. But no argument Billy had found yet had saved his brother one minute of their mum’s stifling care.
At least he could tell Dylan he tried when he saw him later. Perhaps Dylan could figure out some way to get their mum to back off a bit. If anyone asked Billy, he would say his brother should try his luck in America, it worked for Trevor and Edward. Maybe Alphas had better luck at finding true-mates than others. A mate would be Dylan’s ticket to freedom. No Alpha as strong as Dylan could true-mate to a weak female. A strong female would eventually put her foot down about the overprotective ways of his and Dylan’s mum. As the mate of an Alpha the female would outrank his mum and could absolutely put her foot down and make it stick. He didn’t know why Dylan hadn’t headed for the hills years ago.
Billy gave up the argument and went back to scanning the people in the store. His eyes narrowed as a young man came around the end of the aisle. Not a shifter, much less rogue, but something in Billy’s eyes almost as bad. A drug addict, he could smell the taint of the drugs meters away. He didn’t like the way the young man was eying his mum’s pocketbook either. Pretending to want something from the shelf near his mum while keeping his eye on her stuff the man barely glanced at Billy. His mum hadn’t noticed. She was muttering softly to herself about things she needed to pick up and wondering if she should change the sheets on the bed when they got to Dylan’s.
She didn’t look up until she heard a moan and by that time Billy had the young man down and begging. To anyone watching it would have appeared the man tripped, and Billy had tried to catch him. But the man hadn’t tripped, and Billy wasn’t trying to help him up. What he was doing was threating the rip the man’s throat out if he yelled while letting his eyes shift to the wolf. A moment later the smell of urine and feces drifted up from the druggie on the floor as he babbled his apologies to Billy, his mother, the can of soup he dropped, the trolley his mum was pushing and a few other things Billy couldn’t understand.
“Billy!” his mother’s voice cut through the air like a whip despite the fact it was a bare whisper of sound. “Let him go. You are going to call attention to us.”
“He was about to rob you. My job, my entire job for as long as we are outside the territory is to keep you safe. Not shop, not visit, but keep you absolutely safe from anything and anyone. It is the only job I have when you leave the protection of Trevor’s territory.”
The two males following at a modest distance had closed the gap as soon as the druggie’s knees hit the floor. Billy glanced up at them and with a slight shake of his head let them know the man on the floor was not a rogue. Something they would have known as they approached since the male had no hint of shifter to his scent. But when the mate to the Beta was involved in any altercation, even from a distance, the men moved and moved fast. No one wanted to answer to Johnathan if anything happened to Cathy.
“Get up.” Billy’s voice was barely more than a snarl of rage as he watched the man stagger to his feet. He curled his nose at the puddle left behind on the floor. “Go find someone and asked for a mop and come back and clean that mess up. If you don’t come back and clean it up, I will hunt you down and rip the flesh from your throat before feasting on your heart for dessert.”
He watched the man back away then whirl and run for the exit. His smirk didn’t last long as a stinging slap landed on his arm. He turned wounded eyes toward his mother.
She wore a look of fury on her face as she poked him in the chest. Backing him up against the shelf she scolded him. “You are not a cannibal. How dare you cause such a scene. Are you trying to bring attention to our people? Wait until I tell your father about this.”
“Mum. Mum. Stop. The only one causing a scene is you. No one else noticed anything. Look around you.”
“And if that man goes running to the cops? What then?”
“Mum, I am not a child. I haven’t been one for decades. Do you think I would risk our people for a petty theft? Which is what the man had planned by the way. He was trying to swipe your pocketbook. As for what ifs, I don’t play with what ifs. But let us, for a moment, entertain your worry. If he goes to the cops what could he tell them? He was going to rob you and some strange man stopped him. He is high on drugs; do you think they would believe anything he had to say? As far as telling father, go ahead, he is right behind you.” Billy nodded to his father.
Cathy whirled around, “Johnathan, thank goodness you are here. Do you know what your son just did?”
Johnathan tapped his temple. “Why yes, I know exactly what he did and what he said. For the record I approve. Now, I think we have been here long enough, and I do believe, yes, I am certain, it is time we were going.”
“But, dear, I don’t have everything I wanted to get.”
“I don’t think Dylan will starve if you miss getting him some groceries.” Johnathan answere
d her, a wry twist to his lips.
“But, darling, just a few more things.” Cathy reached out a hand to pat her mate’s chest.
Johnathan captured her hand and brought it to his lips. After bestowing a kiss on her palm, he released her and said. “No. You know the rules. At the first sign of trouble or when faced with an incident, whether the fault lay with our people or not, we leave. Now come, gather what you have, and we will pay for them then we can go visit with Dylan.”
“You did this on purpose, Billy.” His mum told him as she whirled around to face him before latching onto the trolley. Pushing it toward the cashier her mutterings were full of dire threats of starvation, for Billy who rolled his eyes and gave a half shrug.
As he fell behind the other two caught up. “Do you think,” Brent whispered, “that she remembers at times like this that you have your own house, and you don’t rely on her cooking?”
“Are you kidding? Of course, she doesn’t. Tell ya what Billy, if I were you, I would make a run for it before it is too late. Your brother didn’t run far enough. Head for America, find us all mates, and bring them back. Maybe your mum will be too busy to meddle.” Gary said.
Billy ignored the two. The banter was familiar and followed much the same line as it did every time they went out shopping. They would pay for the items then he would take the lead to his brothers with his mum and dad in the middle car followed by Gary and Brent. The others from the pack who were watching the store would head for home.
***
Company. Has company.
We have, not has, we have company. And, no, we don’t, it’s just mum and dad.
Dad in?
Not bloody likely.
Good. The Mum in?
Of course mum can come in, she has food. Wish she wouldn’t bring so much.
Food good.
What am I going to do with it?
Eat.
We can’t eat all of it. She brings too much. She always brings too much.
Seeker.
I know. I feel him.
Want him.
Yeah, we tried to get him to follow us. Trevor wouldn’t have let him go even if he wanted to come over to us. Besides, it is better he stays with the pack. They have females to protect and we have no one.
Dylan had the door open before his brother could knock. Dylan didn’t have a problem with his dad coming over but him being a Beta drove Joseph crazy. Joseph didn’t want the stench of other males inside his home. For some reason Dylan had never figured out his brother coming over didn’t bother his wolf. If anything, the wolf loved having the Seeker on the property. His dad, not so much. Joseph had a special place in his heart for his mum, not just because she was a female and must be protected at all cost but because she provided the food. From the time Joseph became aware the mum had always been the one who fed them. It mattered not one jot to Joseph that Dylan could do the shopping. To his wolf it was what mums did. Not because it was their job, but because mums did it better. The Mum, as Joseph called his mother, could come over anytime she wanted. The only reason the wolf put up with his dad was because The Mum needed protection when they left their territory and before they reached his territory. Despite the need for protection Joseph would not allow the two males, who accompanied them, inside his territory. It didn’t matter which two males came with his mum and dad; they were not allowed to cross the line. As a result of Joseph putting his foot down about the situation Dylan had long ago built a small hut across the road from his territory and back in the woods where the two guards could relax until it was time for his mother to leave.
“How ya going?” Dylan asked Billy while giving a quick nod in his dad’s direction. His dad nodded toward the boot of the car as he settled in the gazebo with a book.
Johnathan couldn’t go inside and Dylan did not want his stench on the groceries his mother brought him and he couldn’t feel if a stranger crossed the territory line so he usually took the hour or so visit time to catch up on some reading. Sometimes Dylan sat outside with him but usually not. It wasn’t because Dylan didn’t want to spend some time with his dad but more because Dylan knew his dad, as the Beta of Trevor’s pack, had limited times he could read a book in peace. Dylan had come by his love of reading honest. His dad had read to him every night growing up no matter what was happening in the pack. Dylan still remembered the time a young idiot, his dad’s words, was acting up and needed to be put in his place. Rather than interrupt the time he spent with his youngest son Johnathan had forced the young man to fight until the young idiot cried and begged for mercy then he used him as a footstool while the he healed while he sat and rocked Dylan and read a story to him. After story-time was over Johnathan had proceeded to send Dylan to bed and forced the male to fight again. The first time was to put the young man in his place but the second was for interrupting his story time with Dylan. It took little time for word to travel the pack that you absolutely didn’t make Johnathan miss reading time with his son, ever. Dylan spoke frequently with both his parents on the phones and somewhat less often with his brother.
“Not bad. Been doing some snooping around for rogues.” Billy told him as he carried some of the groceries inside and headed for the kitchen with them. Dylan moved to the side as his mum came rushing past him into the house but before he could get more than a step from the door his mother stopped him.
“Don’t bother. This is all of them. You can thank your brother for whatever you are missing. He caused a dust-up in the grocery store and we had to leave before I could finish the shopping.” Cathy said.
Billy, coming through the kitchen door, hugged the door frame to allow their mother through to the kitchen while rolling his eyes. Dylan’s lips twitched at the sight.
“I stopped mum from getting robbed.”
“Mum? Are you alright? You weren’t hurt, were you?” Dylan demanded.
“No, of course I wasn’t hurt. But you father insisted we leave immediately. Your brother, for some reason, thought it would be appropriate to tell the young man he would eat his heart or something like that. Maybe he said he would eat his liver?” Cathy stuck her head through the door and glared at Billy as she explained to Dylan just why she wasn’t able to get all the groceries.
Billy rolled his eyes again and told Dylan, “I said I would rip the flesh from his throat and eat his heart for dessert.”
Dylan looked at his mum questioningly, “But he let the man go?”
“Well of course he let him go, what else could he have done. We were in the grocery store and the man hadn’t done anything wrong. He wasn’t a rogue you know; he was human.” With a sharp nod and another glare toward Billy she turned her attention back toward the kitchen and they could hear her putting the groceries away.
Dylan glared at his brother and motioned him outside. As the two retreated to the shade of the gazebo he rounded on his brother and his dad. “You let him live? You both just let him walk away after he tried to rob mum?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you honestly believe we would let anyone go, male or female, rogue or not, human or shifter, who could have caused harm to your mother?” Johnathan asked him without looking up from his book. “I sent Darius to follow him. We will find out where he lives and visit him later. When your mother is not around to stand up for him.”
“Sorry. I should have known.” Dylan turned and motioned Billy to follow him and soon the two were walking in the small orchard behind the house.
“Have you come across any rogues snooping around my territory?” He asked his brother.
“No, not really. You see them sometimes going by on the highways, but I don’t snoop much around here. I will when you ever decide to build your own pack. I can’t let a rogue sneak in on my little brother, now can I? One tried sneaking in on Trevor a week or so back. Dad didn’t tell you about it?”
“I haven’t talked to him in a couple of weeks. Been a bit busy trying to get this last book nailed down with the author. I swear sometimes herding authors has
to be like herding cats.”
“Oh, well, dad was the closest one to where the rogue popped up. The bloke was strong and on some sort of drug, it smelled like, but what drug would stay in a shifter’s system long enough to affect us without being metabolized? Dad was hurt, Trevor called mum and told her dad was on pack business and wouldn’t be home for a few hours so he could heal. Not that it did any good. Dad told him it wouldn’t. Then he, Trevor that is, had to put up with mum blowing up on him cause of course she felt the attack. The rogue had a knife and some training not to mention, some sort of drugs in his system. Trevor sent the blood off to be analyzed. Not that knowing the drug will help next time it happens unless someone has a counter to the drug.”
“Great, rogues on drugs. How is the wolf not pushing the drugs out of their system? It is good to know we don’t have a rogue problem here like we hear they have in America.”
“Something is going on in Edward’s pack, but I can’t figure out what I am seeing.”
“A rogue?” Dylan asked.
Billy shook his head. “No, at least, my wolf insists not rogue but it is damn odd, that’s what it is. Edward has a kid, doesn’t look much younger than you—”
Dylan’s growl interrupted his brother.
“Oh, knock it off. To me you are still a kid and this kid looks even younger than you. Although maybe a bit past his teens. I don’t know why you even bother growling. You and your wolf both know he won’t attack a Seeker. His bluff falls on deaf ears, tell him so.”
Blood of the Wolf (Safe Haven Wolves Short Stories Book 1) Page 13
