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More than a boss, Cage was the president of the Howling Devils and one of his closest friends. He and Roark had named Cage the guardian of their pups, Acer and Bowie, should he and Roark ever be unable to care for them.
Only now there was another mate to consider.
And another pup.
“Take all the time you need,” Cage said, cupping the back of his neck and squeezing.
It was the perfect amount of pressure to settle his nerves and loosen his tongue so he could manage coherent sentences.
“Roark’s on the way,” Rusty said. “The mark appeared on his arm while he was in the kitchen getting coffee for him and Baz. The pups are asleep, so he’s going to leave them with Baz and bring the SUV since that Talladega can’t go anywhere. Well, if Logan, um, decides he wants to go with us, anyway.”
“Not a problem,” Cage said. Now breathe and sort out your thoughts.
Cage’s words, spoken mind to mind, helped Rusty settle down further, which was difficult when this was new ground for him. Roark was his best friend since childhood. He’d been thrilled when their bondmarks had appeared. Logan was a stranger who might not have any interest in discovering a mate at all.
“I um don’t know what Brooks had planned for you guys,” Rusty stammered when Wren’s father still didn’t say anything, “but our house was just finished two months ago, and three of the rooms are still sitting empty if you want to save yourself the trouble of having to move again in a few months or weeks. I came in on my 4-Wheeler. I always leave the SUV for Roark and Baz when I need to leave take off early, since they’re the ones watching the pups during the day.”
“Wait…what’s happening?” Wren’s father asked. “I mean, I know what just happened, but are you telling me you’ve found other mates too and have pups?”
“Well…the pups’ part happened a lot differently from the way you’re thinking,” Rusty explained. “Roark and I put our names in to adopt together after learning that there was a shortage of adoptive parents among the pack.”
“They helped to break up the Outlaws portion of the exotic shifter smuggling ring,” Brooks explained before gesturing to Rusty’s new mate. “It’s okay to discuss it in front of Logan, he’s part of the intelligence squad who helped us ferret out who to bring charges against when we go before the High Council of Shifters in May. When Logan told me he was ready to get out of the life and make a home for him and his pup, I offered him one here. Didn’t see anything like this coming, though.”
“The wolves with the devil horns,” Logan muttered.
At least now Rusty knew his name. The wolf had been so freaked out over his car they’d skipped the introductions and popped the hood so Rusty could see the damage.
“Some of the shifters I spoke to mentioned wolves with patches on the backs of their leather jackets who helped rescue them,” Logan said. “They all said that the wolves made sure they got somewhere safe, where they’d be accepted and embraced as members of that community.”
“It was the Howling Devils. They’re also Comet Lake’s enforcers and protectors in addition to running this shop and several of the ones in town.”
“So, your pups are adopted,” Logan muttered. “So is Wren. I found them.”
“Ours were surrendered at the pack clinic,” Rusty explained. “It was a huge litter, so Baz, and his mates, Kale and Charlie, adopted two, and Roark and I adopted two. Others were adopted as well, but Kale, Charlie and Baz were already living outside of town and invited Roark and I to build beside them so we could raise the four pups as the siblings they are.”
“Okay, wait, let me make sure I understand all of this,” Logan said. “Roark is your other mate.”
“Our other mate.”
“And he’s on his way here…”
“Yup, to meet you and to bring you guys home with us if that’s where you decide you’d like to go,” Rusty explained. “I’ll follow on the 4-wheeler, no way am I watching you guys drive off without me.”
“I need to sit down,” Logan declared.
Cage dragged a chair over and slid it under him before Logan wound up on the floor. He buried his face in his hands, while Rusty stared, unsure of what to do as Wren hugged him.
“You okay, Papa?”
It shocked Rusty to his core to hear laughter from behind Logan’s hands.
“I cursed the hell out of the truck that blinded me, the whole last stretch of road, halogen bulbs, my Ford, every car that passed me, the inventor of automobiles, and every rut in the dirt road we bounced over to get here, along with a good chunk of my life choices,” Logan said in between chuckles.
His aquamarine eyes shimmered as he wiped the back of his hand across them.
“And it landed me my mates,” he said, still laughing and shaking his head while Wren clung to him. “Between your reputations and Brooks vouching for you, I don’t see a point in moving twice. Wren and I will go home with you and Roark.”
“Then let’s tarp your girl until I can get back here and work on her,” Rusty offered.
