Page 20 of Hunting Isla

I turned, looking up into his whiskey-colored eyes. I saw the sincerity there, the promises that would remain unspoken until we could all handle them better. Burying my face in his chest, I just let him hold me. In that moment, I put all my trust in these three men, and prayed they wouldn’t let me down.

The next few days followed the same pattern. By day, we moved around as a family—Bohdie having the time of his life in the Nebraskan wilds, and the guys doting on us both. At night, either Wyatt or Archer would take me to bed and make love to me all night long.

I was sleep deprived, but I was happy. Except Axel refused to go past first base. I’d find myself pressed between his hard body and the wall, getting kissed like I was the last oasis before a desert, but we never got any further than that. I was… frustrated. I wasn’t sure how I could be frustrated when two hot guys worshiped my body every night, but I was. I wanted our little harem to be complete. I needed Axel. But he was stubborn. He just kept saying he was waiting, though he wouldn’t tell me what for.

Just then, Wyatt’s phone rang, scaring the daylights out of me. I was used to being disconnected from the world.

“Wyatt. Yep. Yeah. Okay.” Then he hung up, looking over at Axel and me. “That was Vance. Billy wants to meet.”

“I don’t give a flying…” Archer began, and I cleared my throat loudly. “Uh… a flying monkey what Billy wants.”

Wyatt shrugged. “Can’t hurt to hear what he has to say. Vance offered to come along as a mediator.”

“I don’t trust Winnie the Pooh as far as I could throw his fat ass. I say we go to ground, forget this whole thing exists, and live like we have the last few days.”

That sounded idyllic to me too, but I’d always be wondering when it would end. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. I looked over at Axel, unsure what the right answer was.

“We will go. Archer will stay with Isla and the cub.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Like hell. I’m coming. Non-negotiable. Archer can stay with Bohdie. I deserve to hear what this guy says. I want to see his face when I tell him about you know who”—I tilted my head toward Bohdie up in his fort—“and hear his excuses.”

Archer mimicked my stance. “If Isla’s going, I’m going. Wyatt can stay with the cub.”

Axel huffed out a put-upon sigh. “Wyatt is coming. We need his cool head.”

“What are you trying to say?” Archer sounded dangerously close to being offended, making me appreciate why he was being left behind.

“That you have the temperament of an overtired five-year-old and the pigheadedness of a... well, a pig.”

Archer glared at the three of us. “Fine. But I want to know everything he says and does. I want to know if he so much as twitches the wrong way.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. “You got it. Take care of my baby.”

“Our baby,” he whispered back, and my heart clenched.

“I’m not a baby!” Bohdie yelled from the tree fort. I laughed, and it was chorused by the guys.

Wyatt shook his head. “I keep telling you. Shifter hearing.”

CHAPTER 11

ARCHER

Itried to hold in my laughter, but it was tough. Bohdie was playing in his lion form, and it was cute as shit. The huge butterflies that migrated around these parts made perfect easy prey, and he looked like a damn Hallmark card.

It was doing funny things to my chest. Just like his mama. They’d left an hour ago, and so far, it was radio silence. Every minute felt like an hour. So I focused on the kid and the adorable way he was now chasing a dragonfly.

“You hungry, Bo?” I took his plaintive squeak as a yes. The kid shifted slowly, and I winced. I remembered what those early shifts felt like, before the process became second nature. You had to be aware of each part of you, concentrating on ensuring each limb transformed. Otherwise, you ended up as a boy with a lion’s tail and got your ass whipped.

Not that any of us would ever lift a finger to Bohdie. We were going to be different. We wouldn’t kick him from the Pride at fifteen. He could stay as long as he wanted. Go to college. Mate or not, with a human or a lioness. Bohdie would have the choices that Axel, Wyatt and I never had.

When he was a boy and not a lion again, we walked back toward the house. “How do you feel about grilled cheese?”

“Yummy. Lala makes the best grilled cheese.”

“Lala does everything better, kiddo. Gotta learn that now.” I cleared my throat. “Bo, are you happy with us? With Axel, me and Wyatt? And Lala, of course.”

“Yeah, I like the woods. You guys are good, too. Wyatt comes up with the best games, and Axel helped me build my fort.”