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“You’re not still on about that, are you?” Dredge asked Brandon. “It wasn’t your fault, remember?”
“No, but it’ll always be a sore spot. I was there with Sandy when Pac tried to kidnap her, and I just couldn’t do anything about it. It’s not like that feeling of helplessness is ever going to go away.”
Dredge slapped his hand on Brandon’s shoulder and gripped it tight. “You’ve got us.”
“And Becca now,” I said.
“Thank goodness,” the four of us said, and we all laughed.
“Well, enough of this morbidity,” Dredge said.
“Easy for you to say,” Luc said. “Dad wants me to start training soon. He’s worried.”
“Yeah, but so far Dad has not lost any of his alpha powers. Trust me, I know,” Dredge said.
“And I don’t feel any different,” Luc added.
“Nor do I,” Brandon said. “No sudden changes to when I have outbursts.”
“And you’ve had plenty of those lately,” Luc pointed out with a smirk.
Brandon pounced on him, and they tussled for a bit while I sat back and absorbed everything that was said. My brothers carried more stress than I ever would. I had nothing to complain about, especially this weird feeling I was experiencing about my mate. There were bigger things going on right now. My mate could wait.
* * *
Becca came up to me as I was leaving Luc’s house.
“Jacob, here’s the gallery’s address. It’s in Tahoe City, and they know you’re coming. Lillian Yin is the curator, and Millie sent me pictures of the art they’re selling so we can get a head start on picking out which ones we like. Let me bring them up on my phone.”
As Becca flipped through her device, I wondered about the jolt that had just gone through me at the mention of Millie’s name. This was the second time it had happened, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Shaking my head, I refocused on the mission in front of me—find Luc a painting for his new home with Jill. He’d live in a stark house if he could, and I bet he’d stay in wolf form and live in a cave for the rest of his life if he had the choice.
“You okay?” Becca asked, looking up from her phone.
“Just fine.” I put on my best smile, but from the scrutiny Becca was giving me, I wasn’t sure I passed the test.
“If you say so. You know, if your brothers are giving you a hard time, just let Jill and me know. We’ll take care of them for you.”
I laughed because I knew the girls would do just that. They had Luc and Brandon wrapped around their fingers.
“Here we go!” Becca announced, tapping her phone. “These are the six the family narrowed the paintings down to.”
“Oh, so I get the final pick?” This was going to be fun.
“Yup. Everyone else just wants a big painting to hang on Luc’s wall so that it annoys him. It was your mom who suggested you get the last pick. She said something about you having good taste.”
“Ah, yes. That’s why I’m also helping out with the interior decorating of your new homes.”
Becca peered up at me, her face serious. “Do you mind?”
She had such hopeful eyes that I laughed. “Why would I mind? It’s for my brothers and their mates.”
“It just feels like the family is asking you to do things without consulting with you first,” she explained.
A sigh threatened to come out because she was right. It used to annoy me, but I’d come to understand it was their way of including me and recognizing my skillset. “I’m part of the pack. I’m happy to do my part.”
Becca just looked at me. Without a word, she looked back at her phone and started scrolling through the photos.
I had to give it to her—she knew when to drop a subject. Brandon was a lucky one. Good thing he finally got his head screwed on right when it came to Becca.
