Walker groaned softly, rousing himself from the bed. His mind was foggy from sleep, but when he glanced over to look at the time, his heart lurched. Riley’s lithe body was tangled in his sheets, and when she felt his intent gaze upon her, she stirred, opening her dazzling eyes and fixing him with a smile.
“That…can never happen again,” she said, her voice soft from waking. She sat up and stretched, the sheet slipping down to reveal the gentle slope of her breast. As much as he agreed–with every fiber of his being, he knew that nothing like this could ever happen again–he felt an urgent pulse of longing shoot through him.
“No,” he said, looking away from her and attempting to repress his desires. “This is definitely not something that should continue. We’re going to be living together now, this isn’t really appropriate. Especially not with the girls…”
“Shit, the girls,” Riley said, scurrying out of bed and dragging the sheet with her to wrap herself up in. “I’ve got to get dressed. I need to see my baby.”
“She’s with my sister,” Walker said as she disappeared from the room. “She’s fine.”
But Riley didn’t hear the last part. She was already in her own room. Walker could hear her rummaging through one of her large duffel bags and finding an outfit for the day.
He sighed and shook his head, vowing to himself not to spy on the girl by taking advantage of senses she probably didn’t even know he had. Instead, he would focus on making them both some breakfast. That would help him keep his mind and hands occupied. He would make enough for the girls in case they wanted some.
With a new goal in mind, he was able to distract himself from the wolf, who was tempting him to keep trying to hone in on what Riley was doing and stalk the human until it got exactly what it wanted. But it had already gotten far more than it should have the night before, and Walker was hardly the type of man to indulge in the things he knew he shouldn’t. He liked to believe he was capable of a higher level of self-discipline, but the fact of the matter was, that sometimes, he simply happened to be a man with needs, and he wanted those needs met.
However, he was not willing to meet his needs at the cost of the best nanny he and his daughter would ever manage to have. Walker just could not afford to be selfish right now. Erin was in a vulnerable place, and the two of them had a hard enough time making ends meet. His sister worked a demanding job, but pitched in whenever she could. Even that was never enough. There were times when Walker just needed to be able to leave the house without worrying about what he was going to do with his daughter, and having Riley there helped to free him up enough to be able to do that.
And now that they were going to be living together, that was going to become even more accessible. No, he wasn’t going to risk any of this by making himself out to be a hornball and letting the wolf have its fill of its sinful desires. He was going to be a respectful alpha and take care of his pack, and make sure Riley and her daughter felt safe and protected in his home, no matter what the cost. Even if that meant he didn’t allow the wolf to roam free, when, otherwise, it would have.
“Tara lives on Maple Street, right?” Riley asked, coming into the kitchen and heading to the fridge. She dug through until she pulled out sour cream, clearly eager to have a fast meal and get to Tara’s house to pick up the girls.
“Yeah. Look, sit down and have a proper breakfast. The girls aren’t going anywhere. Tara knows how to cook as well as I do, they’re getting fed and probably having a ton of fun.”
Riley didn’t meet his eyes, and her energy remained anxious and scattered. She wasn’t sure what to do with him now that they had been intimate. It was painfully awkward for her. Walker sighed.
“I’ll eat in the living room if you want. You can eat at the table. We don’t have to make things all weird, you know. Let’s just pretend none of this ever happened.”
For some reason, this seemed to be the wrong thing to say, because Riley’s face creased in pain. “Fine.”
Walker was surprised by her reaction, and wished there was something he could say to fix things, but apparently, the human was done speaking to him and got her plate of food and sat down at the table pointedly with her back to him.
He shook his head to himself and headed into the living room as he had promised he would, wondering what in the hell the code was to making women happy and why he always seemed to be missing it. Maybe he just wasn’t meant to be in a relationship with a woman of any kind. The only girl he needed in his life was Erin. They were happy enough together without any of that type of mess complicating his life and making his mornings unbearably awkward.
After about ten minutes, Walker heard Riley’s keys jangle and he listened to the screen door slam shut and the engine of her car turn over. He was really going to have to check that out for her. The last thing she needed was to get stranded somewhere, especially when there were people after her.
Walker cursed. He had just let her leave the house without protection! What the hell was he thinking?
He discarded his plate and shifted into his wolf form to run after the car, watching from a careful distance to make sure nothing happened to her. Whether she liked it or not, he would be there to keep her safe, even if she didn’t know he was there. That much was not negotiable.
***
“Marcus! Haven’t seen you around in a while!” Walker said, genuinely happy to see his friend. “How is your latest project coming along?”
But Marcus didn’t seem to hear him. He looked distracted and pensive, and kept looking over his shoulder as if expecting to see somebody coming up behind him.
“Marcus? What’s going on?”
A wave of fear spiked out from his human friend, and Walker felt bad for raising his voice. Shifters were known to growl as they spoke if they were passionate or concerned, and sometimes, it put humans on edge. He had assumed Marcus would be more desensitized to this by now, but apparently, he wasn’t.
“Hey, Walker,” Marcus said. His face was pale, and he looked as if he hadn’t been sleeping properly. “Oh, everything’s fine…”
“You’re lying,” Walker stated. He hated it when people tried to insult the wolf in him like that.
“Okay, so I’m lying,” Marcus grumbled, sliding off the hood of his car and walking toward Walker miserably. “I think I might be in some trouble.”
Walker sighed. “Seems like there’s a lot of that going around lately.”
Marcus looked bewildered. “What do you mean?”
“You know the nanny you hooked me up with? Someone attacked her yesterday. The evil bastards nearly abducted her child, too, from the looks of it. It has something to do with Luthor Mays.”
“Shit, really?” Marcus asked. Now his energy changed from fear to anxiety, as if he were guilty.
“Marcus, what happened? Is this related to the trouble you’re in?”
Marcus was reluctant to reply, but from his hesitation, Walker could clearly determine the answer.
“Well, what’s going on, man? I can’t help you guys if I don’t understand the problem.”
“You’re an alpha,” Marcus said. “I don’t know if I want to tell you my problem and have you feel obligated to come in and rescue me. It’s kind of my own shit to deal with, you know?”
“Marcus, it’s not just your shit. My nanny and her child are involved too. They could have been killed. And I need to know why.”
Marcus exhaled deeply.
“All right, but you’re probably not going to like this very much,” he said.
“Of course, I’m not going to like this,” Walker stated. “I have the people closest to me in serious danger and I don’t even know why.”
“It’s my program,” Marcus said, his entire body emanating pain and regret. Walker arched his brow but remained silent, urging his friend to continue with his story. “It’s got the most advanced encryptions of any technology out there right now. But you know Luthor. He wants to exploit that for himself and get access to the information that the royals try to keep to themselves.”
“What does he want with the information?”
“Walker, it’s everything. From their financial accounts to the family secrets and records dating back hundreds of years. Even information about the original shifters and the world we came from. Portals. Everything that could be dangerous should the wrong people get a hold of them. They would probably sell it to the bear shifters, or use it themselves, to wreak havoc in Stonybrooke and try to get the power twisted into their favor. It’s bad news, man. Really bad news.”
“Since when did they put their special secret records in a digital format?” Walker exclaimed. “That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard!”
“I guess one of the head honchos talked to the Council and they thought it would be helpful to create a database. There are other shifter settlements popping up all over the world, and they have a right to the information too. At least, the elders of the packs do, at any rate. So that’s where my IT skills were supposed to come in handy…”
“What did they do to you?” Walker asked, doing his best to keep his voice even and steady. He didn’t want to scare Marcus again. And he would have to try to keep himself under control if he was going to be living with a human. They had such vulnerable dispositions, physically and emotionally, at times. And yet, he sometimes found himself envious of that. Maybe if he had been more emotionally intelligent he wouldn’t have married a horrible, psychotic woman who broke his heart and abused his trust and willingness to accommodate her selfish desires.
“They cornered me in an alleyway, after speaking with one of the royals about how to implement the software for the database. Each royal has their own account on the database, and each has to have a specific version installed by me, personally, to make sure it’s encrypted before they get online with it. I guess Luthor and his guys, whoever they were, found out about it.”
“Did they hurt you?” Walker asked.
From the wounded look on Marcus’ face, it was clear they had. He was not only injured physically, but his pride had been dealt a devastating blow. It was unlikely he would ever fully recover that jaunty bounce in his step that he had before, feeling as if the whole world was his oyster and no matter what he did, he was safe.
“I’m fine now,” Marcus finally answered. “It was just really surprising. I don’t know why they hurt me so much. Even if I explained how the software worked, they would never understand how to use it or to breach it. But they’re doing everything they can to get information about it. Anyone I know, they’ve been going after. That’s why I wanted to talk to you…but I guess it’s already too late.”
“I’m glad you told me,” Walker said firmly. “If they’re coming after me, too, they could hurt Erin. I am going to have to go on lockdown to make sure nothing happens to the girls.”
“That would probably be a good idea.”
“You should lay low for a while,” Walker said. “Tell the Council about what’s happening with you and see what they say. They may give you shelter at the sanctuary. If they offer it, take it. They will send someone out to try to solve the issue, but if they offer, tell them I’m taking care of it.”
“They trust you,” Marcus said with a nod. “You do good work on Theo’s car; I mentioned you when I was there setting the database up for them. He started raving about you and going on to the others about what a good family you come from and how you’re a credit to the shifter race or some shit like that because of the way you’re taking charge and caring for your daughter without ever being cocky about it or ripping people off. They like you a lot, man. It was kinda gross.”
Walker laughed and smacked his friend on the shoulder. Marcus’ taught features relaxed a little and he smiled. It was good to see him lighten up.
“Really. Talk to the Council. Tell them I’m on it and if they feel the need to send anyone else to investigate, they should let me know so we can compare notes. Otherwise, you stay put somewhere safe until all of this is over.”
“But what about you guys? How do I know they’re not going to go after you and your daughter? They already went after your nanny, and we only saw each other like a handful of times at social events. And those were usually just chance encounters, you know?”
“Well, if they’re going to go after me, they’re going to do it in a way that will set it up for Luthor to get his revenge. Both of us know that well enough by now, don’t we? They’re ruthless. They thirst for power and will step on anyone’s heads they feel they need to.”
“Right…so, doesn’t that mean it’s extra dangerous for you?”
The wolf inside Walker grinned, and he could tell his friend understood right away, that danger wasn’t something Walker was afraid of. In fact, there was some significant part of him that welcomed a good fight. The wolf in him was always itching to gain control.
“It’s going to be fine,” Walker promised. “I’m going to give your car a quick check, then promise me you’re going to seek refuge with the Council. Even Luthor and his boys wouldn’t dare set foot in there. Those guys may be old, but they’re the most powerful shifters on the planet right now, and there are many others in training around the world. So they would be stupid to mess with you there. You’ll be safe. I promise.”
Marcus seemed to relax for the first time since Walker had set eyes on him that day, and he couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself for knowing the right thing to say to help his friend finally find some peace of mind. It was hard enough to live in the shifter world as a human without having someone powerful and ruthless after you. It was shocking that they had let him escape at all.
“Hey, how did you get away from Luthor and his guys?”
“A couple of royals were passing through and they heard the fight. Said they smelled my fear and because of the law not to attack humans in shifter form, they thought they would intervene. It saved my life. One of them got a pretty bad cut but you know how you guys heal pretty quick compared to humans. It probably wasn’t that bad, in retrospect, but at the time, it seemed awful.”
“I’m glad you were in a position to be saved,” Walker said with a sigh. “And now you can go to where it is safest for you. The Council will protect you.”
“Thanks, Walker. I really owe you one,” Marcus said, getting into the driver’s seat once Walker had slammed the hood of the car down and given him a thumbs up. “And hey, watch your back. These guys are insane. They want power and they’re not going to stop at anything. I hid out in Lady Mane’s basement for the past week while my wounds healed, but she didn’t let me stay any longer than that. Apparently, she has a ‘reputation’ to uphold.”
Walker grinned. “Humans in the royal communities aren’t given much priority.”
“Or respect!” Marcus exclaimed. “But that’s okay. I’m all right now. It was a great thing she did for me and I’m grateful. Now, I guess it’s time to move on to bigger and better things.”
“Yes. To the Council.”
“To the Council,” Marcus agreed, turning on his engine.
Walker watched as his friend sped away, a combination of relief and apprehension curdling in his chest. While it was great that Marcus was going to be safe under the protection of the Elders, it was disconcerting to think that danger might be lurking around every corner, ready to grab him, or his child, unawares. He would have to be more diligent than ever. And allowing Riley to go anywhere unattended just wasn’t going to be an option.
His home was secured. He had the best technology available to prevent break-ins and drive away unexpected predators, and it worked well. But there were always times when one was vulnerable. He was just going to have to work extra hard to avoid those incidents and help Marcus put his unintentionally dangerous past behind him.