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“You like it, Miss Molly?” I asked her, planning on finding out where Zi bought it so I could buy her ten more in every color if it made my pup happy.
“Pwetty Fowers,” she pointed down to the daisies. A pair of beautiful hazel eyes identical to my mates’ looking up at me as she waited for a response.
“Very pretty flowers, but you want to know a secret?” I whispered. Her eyes widened, and she nodded with an excited smile on her little face, so I looked around to see if anyone was listening before I whispered in her ear, “You and Mommy are prettier than the flowers.”
My reward was a giggle and another hug that seeped into my soul and made me feel like the luckiest wolf in the world. I didn’t care if my DNA wasn’t found anywhere in her little body. Molly was as much mine as her mother was. As far as I was concerned, the Moon Goddess made sure that asshole was erased from her genetics, because Molly was the spitting image of her mother and destined to be mine from the moment I met them.
We walked down to breakfast together, and I held Zi’s hand while I carried Molly. Zi dragged her feet the closer we got to the dining room, but I pulled her closer to me, ensuring she felt my presence at her side. She relaxed more when she saw that the broccoli asshole wasn’t there. Yes, I remembered his name, but I wasn’t about give him the honor of using it. Not when he was related to someone that caused my mate so much pain.
We were nearing the end of breakfast, and alphas were beginning to leave, so Cory and Evie left the table to start seeing them off. In times like these, I was glad I was only a gamma and not expected to do much of the political bullshit involved between packs. I love Guardian Moon and Blue Moon almost as much as Crescent Moon, but I always fuck myself in the mouth with my foot when I have to tiptoe around any other pack.
“Shit. Molly, sweetie, why?” Zi drew my attention from the side, and I saw Molly covered in the orange juice that used to rest in Zi’s glass.
“Let’s go get her changed,” I offered after I helped clean the table.
“James, can I borrow you?” Cory called a moment after we stood to leave.
“Go. I’ll head home and change her,” Zi gave me a reassuring kiss and patted me on the butt, pushing me toward Cory when I hesitated.
“Alphas,” I greeted both men respectfully when I approached Cory and the man standing before him.”
“This is Alpha Richard. He has some questions about the training regimen for the warriors. The ones he contracted for his own luna ceremony a few months ago appeared to have impressed him,” Cory explained, pride in the pack clear in his voice.
“Impress me is putting it mildly. Even the scrawny-looking ones beat some of my best warriors. What’s your secret, and what can I do to convince you to come out and teach them for a few months?”
I grinned because no, they couldn’t convince me to teach them, and no, they couldn’t know our secret. Aunt Kassie preferred people not to know how good she was. She didn’t want the headache.
“I’m afraid my mate wouldn’t be too happy if I were gone for so long, Alpha Richard, but we have a few more tiers of training than just basic, warrior and advanced.” I began to go into a bit more detail, but Max began pacing in my head and distracted me.
What the fuck is wrong? I asked.
I don’t know. I feel... afraid.
Afraid of what?
I don’t know, he growled, confused and agitated.
I stopped talking and looked around. Dread began to fill my chest when I realized Zi wasn’t back yet, and the broccoli asshole was walking inside the dining room.
“Shit. Would you excuse us for a few minutes, Alpha Richard?” Cory didn’t give the man a chance to respond before he led me to the side.
“Where’s Zi?”
“She went to clean Molly up.”
“Tell her to stay there. If he’s here, she’s safe there. I’ll send Jo and a few guards to make sure no one—”
I stopped listening because the moment I tried to connect with Zi, all I felt was her unfiltered fear coming through the bond despite her not connecting with me, and I saw the way the asshole smiled when my eyes connected with his. Without a second thought, I let Max take over, and we bounded out of the pack house without giving a single shit about who had to dive out of our way.
We were at her house less than two minutes later, and we almost stumbled going up the steps to the house when I heard her scream. Max pushed forward and through the shattered door, my blood almost freezing when I saw a man standing over Zi, his hand on her throat. One of her eyes was already swollen shut, and she was bleeding from somewhere above the hairline. The man raised his arm to strike her again, and Max roared, surprising both of them. Zi began to sob, relief flooding her face. The surprise in the other man was brief before he shifted when Max slammed into his side.
‘Where’s Molly?’ I mind-linked Zi, even as we scrambled up and charged at the man.
‘I shut her in the bathroom,’ she answered through her sobs.
‘Get her and get out! Go find Cory. He’s probably on his way here!’ I ordered.
‘But—’
