Sentinel: Reckless Desires (Wolf Shifter Romance) (Alpha Protectors Book 2) (13 page)

I
t was
a couple of hours before we made it back to the main house. The sun had set and the clear starlit sky lit our way home. We walked hand in hand, stopping briefly to don our discarded clothes—new jeans for me to replace the ones I’d shredded, a thoughtful gesture from a pack member—our wandering hands and stolen kisses hindering our progress.

Eventually, she broke away, guilt shadowing her eyes. “We should get back. Maisie will be wondering what happened to us.”

I kissed the tip of her nose, the novelty of being able to do so still thrilling. “She’ll be fine, she’s with your father. I’m sure he’s kept her entertained.”

“But, she—”

“Stop worrying,” I cut in. “She’s going to be happy about it, and you know it.”

“I know. But you’ll quickly realize that being a parent means endless worrying.”

I stopped her, tilting her chin with my finger until she fell silent. “You’re not doing this on your own anymore.”

“I know,” she eventually whispered, and I hated the immediate flare of guilt in her eyes. “I’m sorry that I didn’t—”

“No sorrys, remember? It doesn’t matter. Everything that happened before happened for a reason. If I can believe it, then so can you.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

I tugged her along the path by our linked fingers. “You can tell me again…”

“I love you, Gabriel.”

“And again…”

“I love you.”

“And—”

This time I got a sharp dig to the ribs. “Don’t push your luck, Mister!”

Scooping her up into my arms, I stifled her surprised squeal with a swift kiss. “I’m carrying you over the threshold.”

“Why?”

I shot her a pained look, rolling my eyes at the sky. “Are you going to argue with everything? Humans do it. I like it. End of story.”

She clamped her lips together, but amusement danced in her eyes. Life with Chloe would certainly never be boring, that’s for sure.

Reaching the house, I shouldered the front door open, squeezing sideways through the too-small opening.

“I see you two sorted things out.” David’s disembodied voice boomed out loudly in the dark hallway. A light flicked on. He sat sprawled on a couch, a fast-asleep Maisie on his lap.

Letting Chloe slide down my body, I set her on her feet, but kept hold of her hand. “We did.” I kept my tone respectful, but let him know that I wouldn’t be taking any bullshit. What had happened between Chloe and me wasn’t any of his business.

“Good. It’s about time.”

Chloe stiffened against me. “You knew?”

“That Angel was Maisie’s father? Of course I did.”

“How?”

“The first time I saw him. Also, she carries his scent.”

Something only a powerful alpha would be able to detect.

Seeing my look of surprise, the older man laughed, tapping the side of his nose. “I’m not ready to be put out to pasture yet, young pup.”

Chloe walked forward and crouched down in front of our daughter, an expression of love on her face. “So why did you act all surprised?”

David shrugged, the movement causing Maisie to snuggle deeper into his lap. He sighed, a contented sound, running his hand lightly over her curls. “I thought it might give you two the kick up the butt you both needed.” He glanced up, his eyes lasering into me. “And it did.”

It was my turn to shrug. He didn’t scare me, and he knew it, but there were formalities to be observed. He
was
my new alpha, though I didn’t have any intention of staying with the pack. Actually…

“We never spoke about what we’re going to do,” I whispered, wishing we didn’t have an audience for this, but maybe it was for the best. If David gave his blessing for Chloe to leave the pack—

She turned to me, alerted by my wary tone. “Do?”

“About the pack. I can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

How to explain?
“I’ve never wanted to join a pack, not after having to leave so many. And with the stuff that happened with your mother I thought you might—”

“What are you talking about?” David interjected, a frown on his face.

I held up a hand. “No disrespect, but I don’t think—”

“I told him about Mom. I had to, so I could explain why I’d run away and hid Maisie from him and it all came out. I’m sorry, Dad.”

Shock was painted on David’s face. “That’s why you ran from your mate? I always thought it was because he had to be an asshole.”

I choked back a growl, turning it into a cough.

David glanced at me, his lips twisted in a smirk. “I’d never met you, and my girl came home pregnant and alone, not wanting to talk about it. What would
you
have thought?”

I tilted my head, conceding his point.

“Honey, why on earth would your mother make you abandon your mate? Choose to raise your child on your own?” David’s voice was gentle, reminding me that once Chloe had been his little girl, just like Maisie was mine.

“I found her journals, Dad. I know what happened to her.”

He sucked in a breath, his face paling.

Chloe hurried on, stumbling over her words in an effort to get them out. “I don’t blame you, Dad. I never did. But I thought—I was scared—she sounded so like me in the beginning, and then she changed…”

“She did change. Because of the tumor.”

“
Tumor?”

A shudder of pain ran through him and he gently lifted Maisie from his lap, depositing her carefully on the couch. Waiting a moment to make sure she had settled, he then rose to his feet. “She didn’t want anyone to know. She thought it would paint her as a target and put the pack in a position of weakness. And then it was too late to admit the truth. The tumor had altered her memories, destroyed her ability to form new ones and she couldn’t remember the diagnosis. Every time I mentioned it she called me a liar. It was easier to let her live on in blissful ignorance rather than fight all the time. I loved my mate, I wanted her to be happy. So I lied for her, to her.” His back bowed, his head sagging forward. “You were so young. You wouldn’t have understood the truth, and then later? What difference would it have made? You’d lost your mom, and nothing I could have said would bring her back.”

“She killed herself!”

He staggered back, his skin gray. “You were never meant to know. Nobody knew.”

Chloe reached for him, laying a hand on his arm. I could see her thoughts flitting over her face as she pieced everything together. “You covered for her. Her mood swings, her outbursts, her depression.”

David nodded, his throat working as he swallowed back the grief. “She deserved to be remembered as she was, not who she became.”

“And to her it felt like you were smothering her.” I voiced what I knew Chloe must be thinking. Everything her father had done had been done in love, and her mother’s recollection of events were twisted by the disease.

“I had to. She was in so much pain, so confused all the time. I took it away through the alpha bond.” There was no guilt, no recriminations. He had accepted what he’d had to do a long time ago and had come to terms with it. And I didn’t blame him. I would do anything for Chloe. If she was in pain? Yeah, I’d do the same.

“I wish you’d told me.” My mate’s voice was small, barely above a whisper.

“So do I. Especially knowing what I know now.”

David held his arms out, and Chloe didn’t hesitate. She threw herself into them with a sob.

“You’ve been so brave, wondering and dealing with all this and not knowing why,” he murmured, smoothing back her hair and revealing a tear-streaked face.

“I’m sorry about Mom.”

“I know. She’s watching over you and I know she’ll be happy with this mating. She always said that you’d need a man who could stand up to you. An alpha of your own.”

“She did?” Chloe’s voice broke, another sob tearing from her chest, but this time a smile was on her face.

“She did. Welcome to the pack, Angel.”

“Uh, yeah. About that…”

“Oh, yes. You were saying something about not wanting to join our pack? You’re the beta—you’ve already joined.”

I grunted. “That wasn’t real.”

“I’m the alpha. It was real,” David snapped back.

“Hey, hang on a minute.”

Chloe placed a hand on my chest, right above my thundering heart. “Why don’t you want to stay? This wouldn’t be the same, Gabriel. You wouldn’t have to leave.”

“I like my job,” I blurted out.

“Okay?” Her reply was drawn out, ending in a question.

“And I don’t want to be alpha.” Just the thought of taking that away from Chloe made my skin itch and stomach churn.

“Who said you’d be alpha?”

My head whipped up at David’s retort. “I just thought—”

“Chloe will be alpha, and you will be her beta.”

“Me?” Chloe’s voice was stunned.

A slow grin lifted my lips, everything suddenly right in the world. “But it’ll be a while before she needs to take over, right?”

She spun around. “You’d do that? Be my second? It wouldn’t bother you?”

“Why would it?” I honestly didn’t get the question. She was my mate. I’d do anything for her. Especially if it involved making sure people paid attention when she spoke and dealing with idiots that got out of hand. In fact, the idea was growing on me.

She turned back to her father, a determined glint in her eye. “Then I’ll share the role. We’ll be an alpha pair. That’s what Macey and Jason are, aren’t they?”

“Perfect. And don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” David’s agreement rang in my ears, a little too quick for my liking. But I consoled myself with his promise of a long life.

“So, we’ll split our time between the pack and the city. It will be good for Maisie, I think.”

I had a funny feeling I was getting railroaded, but couldn’t work up the energy to care. I was way too happy. “Sounds good to me. Are you sure you don’t mind living with a team of alpha wolves? Some of them can be assholes,” I warned her, only half-joking.

“You think I’m letting you out of my sight?” she murmured, stroking a hand down my chest. “And anyway, I can be an alpha asshole too.”

“
W
ow
! I like it!” Chloe’s head hadn’t stopped spinning since we’d arrived at the team headquarters, the place I had called home for the last six months or so.

Maisie ran ahead of us, her blonde head ducking into every room, squeals of delight echoing through the high foyer.

“Where is everyone?” Chloe whispered, darting me a nervous look as if she expected everyone to leap out of the woodwork.

Dropping the last of the bags to the floor with a thud, I couldn’t help but smile. “Out on assignment, probably. Which is good. It gives you time to settle in and get a feel for the place.”

“Will you be going out on assignment?” It was an innocent question, but I could see the worry crowding into her eyes.

“Not for a while. I’ve requested some time off.”

A sigh of relief escaped her as she wrapped her arms around my waist. “Time off, hmm?”

“Uh-huh,” I murmured, bending down to nip at her neck. I couldn’t get enough of her. Our waking hours might be filled with Maisie, but every spare second we got we were ripping each other’s clothes off with what might be described as alarming violence. If you weren’t a wolf shifter, that is.

“Momma? Daddy? Where’s my bedroom?”

I still got a thrill every time I heard my new name on Maisie’s lips. I was also putting my utmost effort into creating a new little someone to call me the same.

“Second floor.” I gestured toward the sweeping staircase, grabbing her little bag. Pink, of course.

“How many floors are there? Are there any other kids? Where will I go to school? Do you have any friends? Where is…” Mouth going a mile a minute, she raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Chloe burst out laughing at my pained expression. “I’ve heard it only gets worse,” she murmured, then raced off to catch up with her daughter.

Watching her gorgeous ass disappear up the stairs, I mentally counted to ten. Just enough time to convince my cock that it wasn’t the right time to come out to play.

That would be later.

For now, it was family time.

I wasn’t really counting the hours. Okay, maybe I was. Just a little bit.

Chloe paused on the top step, throwing me a wink that spoke volumes.

And the best thing? I knew my mate couldn’t wait, either.

* * *

* * *

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Happy Ever After guaranteed
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