Chapter One
Seth was trapped; nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. He had known this moment was coming and despite his best efforts, he hadn’t been able to avoid it.
“It’s a baby, Seth, not a bomb.”
Joe was standing next to him, holding out the little boy.
“Do you have a bomb? Can I hold one of those instead?”
“He’s family,” Joe replied, not taking no for an answer and setting the baby into Seth’s arms. “Watch out though, if he scrunches his nose, it means he’s about to change form. You want to have a good grip when that happens. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Wait, Joe, don’t—” But he was already gone.
“Hi… um, Brody. Or are you Milo? I’m Seth. I’m your Dad’s cousin. So technically your second cousin. And… you’re like two months old so you have no idea what I’m saying. Okay.”
There was laughter from outside and a moment later, people spilled into the room, including Hunter and Cade, each holding a baby.
“Hi, Brody,” Cade said, tickling him under his chin. “Are you having fun chilling with Seth?”
Brody gurgled and smiled then made a strange face. “Uh-oh. He’s not going to change, is he? Because…” The baby spit up, all down Seth’s T-shirt, and too quick for Cade who’d reached over with a cloth.
“Whoops. Sorry, Seth,” he said, wiping his T-shirt down with the cloth. “Here, let me take him and burp him. You hold Anna.”
Seth had no idea how to hand over one child while taking a second, but Cade was an old pro, whisking Brody away and settling Anna into his arms. Anna yawned, rubbing a fist over her eyes.
“Someone’s ready for a nap,” Hunter said, appearing next to him. The baby in his arms was already snoozing. “Come on, we’ll settle them down in the nursery.”
He followed Hunter into the quiet, darkened room.
“Sweet dreams, Lily,” Hunter said, pressing a kiss to the sleeping baby’s forehead and settling her down into a crib. She woke and let out a soft cry and Hunter leaned in to settle her.
That left Seth to his own devices with Anna, who continued to yawn, struggling to keep her eyes closed as she looked up at him. He remembered something his mom had said, about babies liking the sound of a heartbeat, so he eased Anna around the other way, her head against his chest just over his heart. He rocked her gently back and forth until she settled down to sleep.
“You’re a natural,” Hunter whispered, and Seth looked up to find him grinning. “You don’t flinch when they throw up on you and you get our most stubborn sleeper to drift off.”
He shook off his cousin’s words, “Beginner’s luck, Hunter,” and settled Anna down in the crib next to Lily. They went back outside to join the chaos.
“Almost done,” Hunter said. “Two down, three to go.”
“How many times a day do you do this?” Seth said, wondering how anyone functioned with five tiny babies needing their attention.
“Only two. Cade shifts and feeds them the rest of the time. But even he needs a break and they need to get used to spending time in human form.”
“Speaking of time,” Cade said, pushing open the door. “How long are you staying?”
“Two weeks.”
“And your Dad’s okay with that?” Hunter asked the question offhandedly, but Seth knew he was very interested in the answer. Whatever had happened in the recent past, they were still family.
“He’s not dancing on the rooftops, but he can’t exactly say no. Well, he tried, but I ignored him.”
“He is your father,” Cade said.
“Yeah. And I’m his eldest alpha son. We’re stuck with one another unless he plans to disinherit me for my six-year-old brother. Besides, I’m still hoping he’ll come around. Mom will help with that. I just have to feed her a steady diet of baby pictures and gossip. I know she’d love to be here with me. But she doesn’t want Dad to feel we’re ganging up on him. He’s stubborn, but handle him the right way and he’ll come around. Eventually.”
Seth’s phone rang, startling the nearest dozing infant. Wincing, he silenced it. “Sorry. Speaking of family, I’d better take this.”
When he stepped back into the room two minutes later, he felt like the world had just been turned upside down and shoved inside out.
“Hunter—”
His cousin turned to him. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“There’s been an attack. By Red Fang. Lucas and my Dad…”
“Are they okay?”
“Shane says it's bad. I need to get home. I should never have left them.”
“I’ll go with you.” Hunter turned to Cade. “I should go with him.”
Cade nodded readily, handing a baby off to Joe. “Of course. They’re family. Go.”
Hunter pressed a kiss to Cade’s lips then went and grabbed a bag, throwing some stuff into it while Seth stood numbly by the door. Hunter clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
As they walked out to their bikes, Seth tried to get his head around it.
“I never thought they’d attack outright. Not like that. Not with no warning. Shane said Dad had taken Lucas fishing.” Father-son bonding. Like he’d done with Seth many times before. Like he’d done with Hunter before he’d exiled him.
“Is Lucas okay?”
“Dad tried to hold them off so Lucas could get away, but they caught him before he could raise the alarm. He’s missing.”
They managed the journey back to the Cove in record time, arriving just as the evening was setting in.
“Seth!” His sister Angie called, waiting outside for them to arrive.
“How is he?”
She shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand.
He gave her a quick hug before heading inside, Hunter on his heels. Shane, his uncle, was in the living room.
“Sybil is with him, in their bedroom.”
When Shane caught sight of Hunter behind him, his face hardened. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Seth wasn’t up for any stupid infighting. “He’s family. He has as much right to be here as you.”
“I wasn’t exiled by your father.”
“Yeah, well, if Red Fang decides to launch another attack, I’d rather an exiled bear at my back then anyone in this pack.”
“Seth,” Hunter said quietly. “This isn’t the time. I’ll go wait outside.” He slipped out through the door.
“How bad is it?”
His uncle wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“He’s not going to walk away from this.”
“Will he die?”
“Not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon. If he’d been human, he’d already be in the ground.”
Seth, unable and unwilling to hear anymore, went through to his parent's bedroom, knocking quietly on the door. His mother opened it, reaching for him and hugging him tightly. She didn’t make a sound, but Seth could feel her tears soaking into his T-shirt.
“Grant did everything he could. We even called in Laura from the Weir. They said his injuries are just too severe.”
She dissolved into quiet sobs and he held her tighter, looking over at his father, still and silent on the bed.
“They gave him something to knock him out for a while. He was in a lot of pain. Go to him, Seth.”
Seth took a deep breath, letting his mom go and stepping slowly forward. His father had an angry gash across his face, one eye swollen shut. The rest of him was covered with a blanket, hiding the injuries he knew were there.
He sat down on the side of the bed and took his dad’s hand in his.
“Dad, I’m sorry. I should have been here.”
Angus coughed and opened his eyes.
“It wouldn’t have made any difference, Seth. Bastards snuck in and came right to us. They must have had someone watching or someone telling tales. They knew where Lucas and I would be. They came to kill our alpha line. Which means they’ll be back, he’ll be back. They’ll come after you, to finish the job.”
“Dad, who? Who did this to you? Who took Lucas?”
Angus looked paler than Seth had ever seen him. “Seth, you need to look after the pack now. That’s your priority.”
“Who, Dad?”
“Zane.”
“That bastard. He’s dead, I promise you. Dead. We’ll find Lucas and—”
“No,” Angus said, trying to sit up. “It’s a trap, to draw you out. You can’t go.”
“Dad.”
“No, Seth. No.”
His father’s eyes closed, and Seth’s mother Sybil was quick to step in, sending him from the room.