We don’t know much about the baby’s health. Hopefully, he has been treated well since his parents’ death. I would sincerely hate to kill some pack members. No pup should be mistreated.
We file out of the house into a black SUV, and I get in the front with Damon. Maverick and Brantley get into the back seat, with the car seat between them. Damon sticks his hand out the window, motioning for the SUV behind us to follow.
The place we are meeting the baby’s caretakers is a diner about an hour away. It’s in neutral territory, with no pack in the area. The drive there is excruciating. Damon has his hand curled around my thigh, trying to calm my nerves. Brantley is just as nervous as I am. He is in the back seat sorting the diaper bag, making sure everything is in place. He is so cute. Maverick is silent the whole way, and I can tell he is in warrior mode, ready for anything. Damon is doing the same thing. I am just nervous.
Damon pulls up next to the diner. We look through the windows and see a couple with a baby. Damon gets out of the SUV. I stay still because I know better than to get out before he opens the door for me. He is very protective, plus this could be a trap or something.
Brantley comes to my side; Damon is on the other. The other pack members are going to stay in the SUV unless they are needed.
Maverick opens the door and we walk inside the diner. Damon has his hand on the small of my back, walking slightly ahead of me.
The shifters in the diner sit up straighter. The female shifter—I can tell, by her smell, she is a wolf—is holding the baby. Did I mention it’s pretty chilly outside? The baby is wearing only a T-shirt onesie. I look at Brantley, who isstaring at the baby. He looks at me, and I can tell he has noticed this too. We shifters do not get cold as easily as humans do, but this is a baby. He is probably around three or four months old. I am itching to snatch him out of the shifter’s arms and run out to the warm SUV.
“Damon,” the male shifter says, and he stands up. “We need to get out of here before the pack notices we are gone. They think the baby died in the car crash with his parents. They intended to sell him to the hyenas.”
Fuck me.
I growl loudly. Nothing pisses me off more than the way pack alphas will do anything to get rid of orphaned children of mixed couples. This happens way too often. It’s fucking sick.
I love being a shifter, but the bad people make it rough on everyone. The lady shifter gets out of the booth and hands me the baby. “Thank you for protecting him,” I tell her.
She smiles sadly. “I just wish this wasn't the way of life there.”
I nod and we watch as they hurry out of the diner. I look at the baby in my arms, who is staring at me. He is a very beautiful little baby; it’s a shame that he lost his parents so early in life. I look at Brantley. “Here, Dad.” He smiles and takes the baby from me. Damon puts his arm around me as we watch their first moments together.
“One day,” Damon whispers in my ear.
Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later.
“Let’s get out of here,” Damon says. I will feel more comfortable on pack grounds; that’s for sure.
Brantley tucks the baby against his chest, and I stand next to him, ready to protect him if it comes to that. Maverick takes Brantley's other side, and Damon is in front of us. My skin is on fire; my wolf is aching to get out. Damon pushes the door open, and we walk to the SUV. The other pack members are parked right beside us with the window down, and they look at Brantley holding the baby. “Congrats, man!” they call out.
Brantley beams at them. I can feel the pure happiness radiating off him, and my wolf is pleased about that. It is her mission to make her packmates happy.
Damon stops and sniffs the air, growling deep in his chest. I press my hand to the small of his back instinctively. I see five wolves and the body of the male shifter who brought the baby.
“In the vehicle, Brantley,” I urge. They are here for the baby, and I will not allow anyone to take him. He will not be sold into slavery. Brantley looks back and forth between Damon and me and the other packmates.
“Now,” Damon snarls. Brantley gets inside the SUV. The other packmates get out of their SUV, and they stand behind us as we face the five wolves. They killed the couple who brought the baby; the female’s head was almost torn off.
I knew of the horribleness of their pack, but I never expected them to kill the couple for protecting the baby. Children are protected within packs, except the ones with mixed parentage—and that is something I will never fully understand.
All five of the wolves attack without warning. Damon pushes me back, changing into his wolf form as he runs intothe fray. One by one, the wolves change, and my hair flies around my face as they run past me. Damon reaches them first, viciously and without mercy tearing into any part of their bodies he can reach.
I am shaking with anger. They dared to hurt one of ours. They hurt the people who helped the baby. Now they attack us? As I shift, I stand by the SUV, growling deeply.” I am not going to allow anyone to get close to Brantley and the baby.
My brother jumps over Damon’s back and tackles a wolf that was trying to sneak up on him. How fucking dare he? That was low. They have no morals.
I start to run in that direction, and Damon sees me. “No.” A huge part of my mind wants to ignore him and the other, as an alpha’s wife, wants to listen to him because I could get him hurt. I sit on the ground, growling. My mate is fighting, and one of the wolves bites him on the back leg. I stand up, ready to defend him if needed.
Damon turns around and grabs hold of the wolf, shaking his head violently until he breaks his neck. Only one shifter is left at this point, and he takes off into the woods. I change back into human form, and Brantley opens the door and hands me some clothes.
The baby is resting against Brantley’s chest, covered in a small blanket, fast asleep. I hear something running toward me. I turn around and, before I can jump back, a fist connects with my face, and my attacker tries to reach inside the vehicle.
I change into my wolf form, and I snarl and grab his ankle, dragging him away from Brantley. He screams loudly, trying to kick me in the face, and I only bite down harder. Stupidfucker. What kind of man hits a woman when she is looking the other way? No honor.
Something butts against my side. I look over and Damon is standing next to me. He is in his human form, and boy is he pissed. I ease my mouth open, even though every instinct is telling me to stay and bite down harder. The moment I let go of the guy, Damon picks him up off the ground like he weighs nothing.
