AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 110
Killian
Parker Hudson was a fucking genius for a baby-faced kid in charge of a whole goddamn church. In one hour, he had the entire pack feeling shit they weren’t otherwise willing to face. Everyone fucking cried—me included. Watching Genevieve fall apart while Mom spoke to us fucking hurt but watching my wife openly face her grief was what broke me.
I kept her close as the pack gathered, solemn and broken but healing. No one wanted to leave. At least not yet. We gathered on the lawn and filled the house with quiet chatter.
“Have you decided who’s staying?” I asked Declan quietly. We sat in lawn chairs next to each other with both our wives passed out in our laps. There was something oddly comforting about doing something so domestic together.
“Raven and I will stay here,” my brother whispered. “She gave Cade her bracelet—the one you gave her—since he’s going with you.”
“Makes sense,” I said. That bracelet would protect Cade’s wolf from the hunter. One more point in my fucking column.
“Sam’s staying,” Declan continued. Also made sense, considering Sam’s strenuous relationship with his control over his wolf. “Nolan wants to go if Ginny’s going. Plus, he won’t leave the store. I’ll take Raven into town when the kids need her at the center.”
“It’s a solid plan.”
“I talked Lucas into staying.”
“Good. The kid needs time to recover,” I replied. “I’m worried about him.”
“It’s not the first time he’s gone through something like this.” He sighed. “I hate even saying that, but that kid has seen some shit doing what he does. He works down south a lot when the wildfires come through.”
“Fuck. Really?” I frowned. That shit had to be hard to bear. I glanced over to where Lucas sat on the porch steps, eyes closed and leaning against the rail. The kid hid it well. “Is Finn staying?”
“I think he should,” Declan said. “But that depends on you. Do you want him to stay in town?”
“I think he’d be better here,” I admitted. “Maybe figure out something to help Lucas through everything until he’s back on his feet.”
“We can do that.” He nodded slowly. “Connor’s leaving.”
“What?”
“He asked if I could call Baker and put in a good word for him,” Declan replied. “He wants to move down south for a while. Working the ranch should be good for him. He just can’t stay after Charlotte.”
“Yeah, I don’t fucking blame him.” Charlotte had practically raised Connor. Beck and Jane Harvey were stretched thin between the ranch, the vet, and the doctor’s office. Beck believed in the family businesses, which meant the man was fucking stubborn when it came to asking for help and hiring employees. Cecelia had been her mother’s shadow, but Charlotte had kept busy by giving Connor a childhood before the family businesses took over his life. “I’d do the same.”
“Will you be okay?” he asked. The worry in his voice was blatant and unsurprising.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’d like her to fucking stay, but I’m not winning that fight—”
The revving of an engine cut me off and shut everyone up. The whole pack was present. There wasn’t a fucking person left to show up, so who the fuck was driving up the entrance to the pack lot? I was on my feet in a heartbeat, depositing a startled Genevieve back in the chair, while Declan did the same next to me.
“In the house,” Declan ordered as he ushered stunned pack members toward the house. It wasn’t exactly calamity, but it was fucking close as people rushed toward the house. Between the rush of people, I caught a glimpse of a holographic chrome black sports car peeling through the grass with the kind of precision not possible for a car like that. Unless magic was involved.
Fucking Lane.
“It’s fine!” I shouted with hopes it’d calm the chaos. It didn’t. To Declan, I repeated, “It’s fine. I have said I have backup.”
“Backup that can get through the house barriers?” he asked.
“It’s Lane.” I fucking shrugged because I didn’t have a better answer than that. How exactly did one explain Lane? To anyone. Ever.
“Who the fuck is Lane?” A deep growl vibrated in his chest as he came to stand next to me. The car slowed to a stop in the middle of the lawn—way to miss the fucking parking lot, Lane.
“That’s a fucking loaded question.” I weaved through people and approached the car. Lane stepped out, grinning as he made eye contact.
“You look surprised to fucking see me,” he greeted. “I told you I’d be here.”
