Jarrett
The first thing Jarrett noticed when he woke up the next morning was that Avery wasn’t there. After the initial burst of panic, he listened and could hear his mate downstairs in the kitchen. He then realized that they’d slept for a good fifteen hours. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d slept that long, but he had to admit, he felt pretty good. The other day had been one of the most exhausting, stressful days of his life.
The scent of something delicious filled his senses. With a yawn, he pulled himself out of bed. By the sound and smell of things, Avery was cooking breakfast, though Jarrett couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. He smelled eggs, bacon, but also other, sweeter scents. Lumbering downstairs with all the grace of a bear shifter, he stopped at the kitchen entrance, blinked, and rubbed his eyes, not quite sure if he was dreaming or not.
On the kitchen table, not only was there a rather large plate of bacon, next to it was a loaf of freshly made bread. There was also a plate of chocolate chip cookies, a plate of some sort of oatmeal bars, what he really hoped was a key lime pie, and a chocolate cake. There was another pie cooling on the window, and there was something baking in the oven.
Hugo was standing near the sink, mixing a bowl of something. Avery was wearing an old, pinstripe apron. He hurried over to Jarrett and kissed him on the cheek. “Morning!”
Jarrett realized he’d been standing there with a confused expression on his face. Clearing his throat, he looked around. “So what’s all this?”
“I was still kind of stressed out, you know?” Avery said. “Hugo stopped by with some cookies from Marian. We were talking, and he said that when he’s stressed, baking helps. So he’s showing me,” he finished with a hint of pride in his voice.
“He’s a fast learner,” Hugo said without looking up. “Help yourself.”
“How generous,” Jarrett said dryly. He sat down and helped himself to some bacon. Avery cut him a couple slices of bread and smeared a generous amount of butter on the soft, white surface. Jarrett took a bite and his eyes widened slightly. It was pretty damn good. “So how long have you been up?”
“Since about five this morning,” Avery said. A ding went off, and he pulled a batch of muffins out of the oven. He set another plate down in front of the alpha. “Cake doughnuts,” he said. “With nutmeg and cinnamon. Here’s your coffee.”
Okay. Jarrett didn’t know whether to be concerned, or overjoyed. If this was going to be his life, he decided that he would die a very happy and very full wolf. “So you’ve been enjoying yourself?”
“I love it!” Avery said, and Jarrett could tell he meant it. “I mean, I was pretty good at foraging before. I always enjoyed cooking. But I’d never baked before. It’s fantastic.” His eyes were lit up in an almost manically happy way. “I was thinking, maybe we could invite your brothers over, with Riley and Milo? They could bring the kids. It’d be nice to get some tips. I’ve never even held a baby before.”
Jarrett nodded his agreement. Their brothers-in-law could definitely show him the ropes. Then he popped one of the oatmeal bars into his mouth and almost had second thoughts. This food was amazing. His inner five year old was tempted to hoard it. “Sounds good,” he said, almost reluctantly.
Hugo seemed to be finished whatever he was mixing and ushered Avery over. “So you’ll just want to roll this out, as thin as you can…”
Jarrett tuned the cooking lesson out and continued to sample everything. It was amazing, and he made a mental note to find some way to thank Hugo. He cut himself a large piece of key lime pie and his eyes nearly rolled back. He’d forgotten how much he loved food.
His ears pricked as he heard the door open. He wasn’t surprised to see Cory come wandering in. Unlike himself, the alpha looked like he hadn’t slept for more than an hour. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was sticking up in all directions.
“Hey,” Jarrett said. “You hungry?”
Cory’s eyes nearly bugged out. “Um, okay?” He looked to Avery. “You’ve been busy, I see.”
Avery grinned and rushed up to hug his brother. “Hugo’s been teaching me how to bake! We’re making dumplings now.”
“What kind?” Jarrett asked.
“Apple,” Hugo answered.
Jarrett decided that at some point the end of the world had happened and he had died and gone to heaven. “Awesome.” Cory gave him a look of confusion. He just shrugged and gestured to the plate of bacon. “Go for it.”
“I’m not too hungry,” Cory said quietly. Nevertheless, he took a slice of bacon and took a bite. Jarrett watched in amusement as that one slice turned into another, and within a few minutes, Cory had finished half the plate. His face was creased with worry as he ate. There was just the tiniest tremor to his hands.
Jarrett put a hand on his shoulder. “Wanna come outside for a minute?” he asked. He stood up without waiting for an answer, but he heard the shuffling of the other alpha behind him. Avery looked worried, but Jarrett gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he grabbed a small, thin, silver box off the coffee table as he went.
Cory leaned against the side of the house, scrubbing his face with his hands. Jarrett said nothing as he looked over his father’s old cigar box. He opened it and held it toward Cory. “You look like you could use it.”
Giving him a tired look, Cory took one of the cigars. Jarrett lit up his own with the small pack of matches at the bottom of the case before lighting Cory’s. They stood in silence, watching the plumes of smoke rise into the sky.
“It’s going to be okay,” Jarrett said finally.
Cory looked miserable. “I’ve spent my whole life trying to keep him safe. I really didn’t think Brenton would chase us this far.” He scoffed. “I don’t know why we stayed in the Wolflands. I should have seen if the bear shifters would have put us up a long time ago.”
“Maybe I’m biased, but I’m glad you didn’t.” Jarrett grinned. It faded slightly when Cory didn’t so much as twitch. He sighed. “JJ’s sending packmates to neighboring packs to ask for help. If your father tries to take us on, he won’t know what hit him.”
“You shouldn’t have to do this,” Cory said.
“Do what?”
“Go through all this trouble for us.” He dropped his cigar to the ground and stamped it out. “I just wanted to keep him safe.”
Jarrett patted his arm. “We will. He’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.”
When the others returned from scouting, Jarrett and JJ exchanged looks of relief. Brenton’s scent had been followed just out of their territory. There was the barest hint of a couple other wolves, but no sign of a pack. Kain reckoned they were looking at three or four wolves. Five at the most. After facing down the Blackhound pack, these guys were nothing to worry too much about.
“Just in case, we’re giving Foxhold hunting privileges here so that we’ll have backup close by.”
“An awful lot of trouble to go to just for one wolf,” Avery murmured.
Milo gave him an understanding look. “I thought the same way. But if it helps, remember you’re not just a member of the pack, but you’re mated to the pack alpha’s brother.”
“Not that it makes a difference,” JJ added. “It wouldn’t matter who you were mated to. If you’re a member, we’ll fight for you.”
The whole family was packed into the house. Riley and Jack’s kids were gathered in a playpen in the middle of the living room. Milo and JJ’s twins were sitting in a twin stroller, content to sit back and watch the small crowd of people.
So far, Jack had done a pretty good job on his own of working through the bakery in the kitchen. JJ, who prided himself on being more reserved, ate one bar, complimented Avery, and sat down. Jarrett pretended not to notice the bulge in his jacket pocket, or the way it was absent after a prolonged bathroom break. The key lime pie was hidden in the basement. Immature or not, Jarrett was not sharing it with people who couldn’t appreciate it properly. He’d go make love to it later.
“I guess,” Avery sighed. “I just…if he’s hunted us for all these years, he’s not going to let you guys get in his way. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” He had his hands in his lap, fiddling with his fingers. Jarrett caught Riley’s eye and nodded toward his mate.
Riley immediately got the message. He picked up his son Remy and dropped the toddler on Avery’s lap. As the triplets got older, their personalities were becoming more apparent. Maria was a bit cold with strangers. Jarrett honestly found it hilarious. He had a distinct memory of Bright ruffling her hair, only to be rewarded with a cold stare. How a pup who wasn’t even two yet could look so serious was beyond him. Little JJ was shy and took a long time to warm up to people. She’d most likely cry if Avery or Cory tried to pick her up. Remy though, he was incredibly friendly. And curious.
When he’d first started walking, Riley had slept even less than when they were first born. He’d managed to climb out an open window once, in the middle of the night. They’d found him in the chicken coop the next morning, curled up with a bunch of chicks, the mother hen sitting on his stomach. They’d added locks to every door and window after that.
Remy looked up at Avery and gave him a wide grin, reaching up to give his hair a tug. Jarrett watched with a smile as Avery looked nervous at first, before gradually relaxing. He looked up at Jarrett with a large smile. In six months, they’d have kids of their own.
Todd, Milo and JJ’s son, started to wail. His brother Johnny soon joined. Riley, gave his own children a panicked look. Milo scooped up Todd. “He needs to be changed,” he said. He looked over at Avery. “Come on. I’ll show you how.”
“Fun,” Avery said, nose wrinkling.
“So that’s all of us,” Jack said with a grin. “Can you believe it?”
“Barely,” JJ said. “It’s been almost a year and I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it.” He looked to Jarrett. “And you’re gonna love it.”
“Yeah,” was all Jarrett could say. He wondered how many pups they’d have. Three or four? Or maybe one or two. He couldn’t contain the smile that stretched across his face.
Let Brenton come, he thought to himself. Let him see what happens when he tries to touch what’s mine. He couldn’t bring himself to worry. Brenton could bring dragons for all he cared. He’d take on a hundred dragons for his mate and pups. Maybe he was being overconfident. Maybe he should be a bit more worried. But he couldn’t bring himself to waste energy worrying about that bastard.
His mate, his pups, and his pack. That was all that was worth thinking about.