Ash
Ash sucked in a shaky breath as he entered Patrick’s old home. Barb and Patrick Sr’s scents still lingered through the house. He stood for a minute to let his mind settle on the fact that he was now a single parent to his cousin. Blood stained their wood floors near the stairs. Clover’s scent remained at the door and the steps, but fainter than the rest of the family.
“Damn.” Ash walked up the steps to Patrick’s room and sat on the pup’s bed. For a few minutes, he let himself cry as memories of Patrick Sr rolling around in the dirt filled his mind. All the times they bailed each other out of trouble and even the times they couldn’t scrape by his mother’s wrath were all good times in Ash’s mind. He shoved his hands through his hair and wiped away the tears, he didn’t have time to let the ache of loss consume him. The longer he stayed in their house the more exposed their son would be and he wanted to honor them by being the best guardian possible. Even if I suck at knowing what kids freaking need or even want.
The kid had one toy box and his clothes were more organized than Ash expected. It didn’t take him long to grab the toys and dresser with all the clothes and get it into his pick-up truck. Ash made a mental note to see if Patrick was in speech therapy since sometimes he sounded younger than three. He scratched the back of his head. That problem would have to be dealt with later.
“Ash?” Raymand’s voice hollered through the house while Ash considered whether to take the smaller bed for Patrick or not.
“Upstairs, first door on the right!” Ash yelled. The steps creaked from Raymand’s weight then he joined Ash in the small bedroom.
“How’s Patrick doing?” He rubbed his hands together.
“Adjusting. Would bringing his bed to him be a hindrance or helpful?” Ash glanced at Raymand then went back to staring at the bed with cars on the sheets.
“Uh, fuck if I know.” Raymand shook his head.
“How do you deal with being a freaking father?” Ash sat on the bed and looked at Raymand who started laughing.
“I’ll let you know when I figure that shit out. With Maple pregnant and Cora running around, my house has become all crazy.” He leaned against the door, a smile still on his lips.
“Shit.” Ash shoved his hands through his hair.
“How’s Clover?” Raymand’s question had Ash’s wolf perking up. The woman drove his beast lust-crazed.
“She’s good with Patrick.” He gave a short nod and sighed.
“Did you imprint?” He raised an eyebrow and this time Ash let go of a short laugh.
“We haven’t touched. She seems to be avoiding it. And I…well let’s just say shit’s complicated.” His wolf liked to chant mate when they were in the same room together. He didn’t know if imprinting with a human was a good idea. They were weak, and Clover already made it clear she didn’t fear trouble when she ran into the house to save Patrick. Werewolves had to be strong and bad-ass and he needed a strong werewolf female.
“Well, she’s good friends with Tara, the woman has to be strong to deal with that wolf.” Raymand tapped the side of his jeans and they laughed together.
“Is Tara still doing the races?”
“That’s a stupid question.” Raymand sighed. Ash had bailed Tara out a few times when it came to the street racing. “She says it helps with the heat.”
“Really? How can being around a ton of guys be good for the heat?” Ash tried to figure out the little wolf’s logic but nothing came to mind. Heat made females sex-crazed and having many guys around seemed like the worst thing a she-wolf could do.
“The adrenaline helps wear out her wolf.” Raymand shrugged. Ash considered the thought for a moment. “But back to Clover, you should go home and see if she’s your mate.”
“I don’t know. I have enough on my plate as it is Plus, she’s human and can’t really protect herself.” Ash needed to adjust to being a guardian before he added a mate into his life. He liked having a schedule and today everything was out of whack. Which, in turn, put him in a sour mood.
“Let me enlighten you. Women love kids and having Clover close with Patrick, it will work to your advantage if they’re bonding and you bond with Clover.” He rubbed his hands together.
“Are you saying the only reason I should see if we imprint is for Patrick?” Ash wrinkled his nose. That sounded like a horrible idea.
“No, it’s for your benefit. If I didn’t find Maple when Cora landed in my lap, I wouldn’t have her in my house.” He pointed at Ash.
“I see where you’re coming from, but I don’t know.” Ash scratched the back of his head.
“Just think about it.”
“Did Patrick’s parents die the same as Cora’s?” He changed the subject wanting to get the alpha off the topic of Clover.
“Almost. I think when Clover interrupted, they killed Barb quicker, unlike Lia and the other mothers.” Raymand growled low. The memory of the blood stain near the stairs filled Ash’s mind and his chest ached. When Patrick Sr. had imprinted, Ash had been the second person to know since they had been so close. Family life had pulled them away from each other but they still had dinner together every Christmas and Thanksgiving no matter what. They would both be missed when the holidays came around.
“What the hell are they doing with the kids?” Ash gripped the bed, he didn’t want anything to happen to Patrick and he had seen first-hand what the hunters did to Cora with the fucking collar around the pup’s neck. A young pup like Patrick might shift on accident and kill himself because of the silver collar. The whole thing had sharp silver points which dug into the flesh as a reminder of what happened if they fuck up.
“I don’t know, but we need to get a lead and sooner rather than later. They might be speeding up their timeline. Last time they waited a month to attack Rayne’s little girl, this was three weeks.” Raymand rubbed his hands up and down his legs.
“I’m trying to track them using the satellite images, but I ran into a snag.” Ash gritted his teeth. He knew if he found their fucking base of operation, the pack could kick some ass and stop them from taking more pups.
“What’s the snag?”
“The archive auto resets after three months. I’m saving as much as possible, but Catty’s leads were deleted a few weeks ago. Now I’m about to lose more.”
“You can’t get it changed?” Raymand asked.
“It’s a safety protocol to keep wolves safe in case the information gets into the wrong hands. I can’t do anything about it.” He threw up his hands. “I’ve been trying different ways to back it up but it’s more complicated than you can imagine. Like worse than shifting with a hard-on.” They both winced.
“Well, fuck me sideways.”
“It worries me though, if both Annmarie, Patrick, and Cora got away, do you think they’ll strike sooner?” Ash paused. “I mean, the last three attempts were all fucked over one way or another.”
“I hope not. Half the city is in a panic and the humans are getting wind of the problem. When they get worried, shit gets bad.” Raymand glared at the wall behind Ash.
“If you can help me load up my truck with Patrick’s bed, I’ll grab Clover’s stuff and go back to work.”
“If you get a lead, let me know right away.”
“I will.” Ash stood and handed the mattress to Raymand. They worked in silence which was fine with Ash. He used the time to think about Clover, Patrick, and the other missing kids. He hated that they already had two kids he couldn’t find.
Once they finished loading up Patrick’s stuff, Raymand tapped Ash’s truck. He glanced back at the house and his throat tightened up, signaling the tears would come unless he pulled his shit together. Ash let out a shaky breath keeping the raw emotions at bay.
“See you later. Don’t have too much fun tonight.” Raymand winked and walked away. While Ash drove over to Clover’s apartment, he debated on brushing his hand on her shoulder or something. A quick touch to see if they were mates. His wolf fucking loved the idea and pushed at the barrier to get home instead of stopping again.
One little touch could change his world all over again.