Raymand
His heart slammed into his chest as he stared down at Maple. His wolf bounced around while howling up a freaking storm. After he took over being the alpha, he had expected to have a mate in the first year but he had to wait for the fiery woman standing in front of him. I can’t claim her right now, he reminded his wolf of their underage guest. We only have three days, his wolf quipped back. Yes, three days but he doubted it would take so long to claim her. Raymand needed to bide his time till Cora fell asleep.
“I’m okay, sweetheart. I need to use the bathroom before I get the corn.” She turned and smiled at Cora. The little wolf had instantly turned from a pain to a downright cock block. Raymand gritted his teeth and marched into the kitchen to grab the damn can of freaking corn. Maple did have a point about the vegetables, but he wouldn’t admit he always lacked in the healthy eating department.
“Do you want to talk about the imprint?” Maple came out of the bathroom and leaned against the fridge.
“When Cora does her homework, we can talk.” He didn’t meet her gaze, he had to focus on dinner first before he could complete the bond with the sexy wolf. His wolf kept flashing different images of how he would take her.
She slid away without saying a word and Raymand followed a moment later. Cora’s eyebrows knitted together when he sat down. No one spoke as they ate. Maple kept glancing his way, but he only met her gaze a few times. His wolf paced inside his brain, waiting for dinner to be over. He had pictured what meeting his mate might be like and what exactly would happen next but the reality was worse than he had anticipated. Having Cora here was starting to become a big inconvenience.
“Cora, Drake brought over your backpack from school. You will be staying in the guest room.” Raymand dabbed his lips with his napkin.
“What about my stuff?” Cora put down the fork and leaned forward.
“Anne brought over your clothes.” Raymand pointed toward the stairs.
“I need something else.” Cora bounced in her chair. Maple rubbed her back, but she kept bouncing.
“We can get it tomorrow.” Raymand grabbed her plate and put it on his. She ate more than he expected and almost cleared a whole elk steak by herself.
“But I need it now,” Cora whined. Her lip popped out.
“What do you need?” Maple asked, and the pup turned toward her. She moved on to Maple’s seat and leaned in to whisper in her ear. Maple wrapped her hands around Cora’s waist keeping her steady.
“I need my special blanket,” she whispered into her ear.
“A blanket?” Raymand shook his head. Cora dropped back to her chair, her lower lip popping out as she glared at Raymand’s chest.
“Does it help you sleep?” Maple moved Cora’s hair back. The pup nodded vigorously.
“My momma made it for me before I was born. She told me soon, I might have to give it to another pup since mom had her heat last week.” Cora’s words sunk in and his wolf whimpered. Lia could have been pregnant when she died and not known it.
Maple sucked in a sharp breath and glanced at Raymand. “I will go get it from your house. Anything else you need?” Maple rubbed Cora’s back.
“This isn’t really needed.” Raymand folded his arms in front of his chest. He didn’t understand how Cora could ‘need’ so much shit. He didn’t want his home cluttered with kid crap.
“But-” This time Maple stopped her.
“You go check out the spare room and see what you will need.” Maple helped her out of the chair and smiled till Cora disappeared.
“This little girl needs to feel comfortable. She’s dealt with enough last night let alone what happened before we left to come here.” Maple snapped at him.
“What happened when you came here?” Raymand tipped his head to the side and she rubbed the back of her neck.
“Some punk kept trying to get closer to Cora in front of my shop but it’s not my point. She needs stability. Do you think you can provide it?” Maple pointed toward the stairs.
“I’m the alpha. I will protect her, but it doesn’t mean I need to cater to her every want.” Raymand wouldn’t back down on this. The child acted like a baby.
“I-” Maple snapped her mouth shut when Cora dashed in with a piece of paper in her hands.
“Here is the stuff I still need and where they should be.” Cora handed the sheet to Maple then sat in her lap. Raymand grabbed the sheet from her and scribbled the address on the corner. He glanced over the items she ‘needed’ and shook his head. Yes, she needed clothes, but all the fucking toys were just extra shit in his house.
“You have homework.” Raymand glared at Cora as he gave the list back. Maple glanced over the list and nodded.
“Fine.” Cora hugged Maple before shuffling back toward the stairs.
“Is this how you would treat your own children if I were dead?” Maple asked as she stood. The question shook through Raymand. Before he could come up with an answer she stormed out of the house.
“Shit.” He shoved his hands through his hair. If she didn’t come back, he would have to hunt her ass down. Raymand barely knew his little mate and he had no clue how she would react on a regular basis. He shoved himself out of the chair and strolled into the kitchen. Would she be back soon or take her sweet freaking time? He bit the inner part of his cheek and yanked open the freezer. After staring at the contents of frozen food for a few minutes, he glanced at the clock on the stove. He tried not to think about how long she might take as he yanked out a package of meat not really caring which kind it was. Once he placed it in the fridge he returned to the chair and resumed his staring at the fucking door.
He checked the clock on his phone. Only half an hour had passed. His wolf paced inside. Instead of overthinking it, he cleaned off the table and worked on the dishes. Once he cleaned everything, he checked the time again and did a mental time count of how long it should take her to get there and back.
His ears perked up, hoping to hear the crunch of gravel under tires coming up to the house yet nothing came. What could be taking so freaking long?
After checking on Cora, making sure she was indeed doing her homework, he grabbed his phone and called Drake. He kept his wolf close to the edge and listened for Maple to come back.
“Hello? Shit, Emily, put it down. What’s up?” Drake shuffled around on the other line.
“Should I call back?” Raymand asked. Most parents had a problem staying on track with pups in the house.
“Um, I don’t think so.” Drake sounded unsure of the answer. “Emily go see your mother, I need to talk on the phone then I’ll read to you before your bath.”
“Okay, Daddy!” Emily yelled through the phone. A door closed and more shuffling sounded.
“Okay, I think I’m clear.”
“Do you have Maple’s phone number?” Raymand listened for her truck but nothing resembling it came to his ears.
“Yes. Why?”
“We fucking imprinted and then started fighting over Cora.” Raymand hated the damn words leaving his mouth. He wanted to be a father but not yet. And Cora wasn’t his daughter, of course, he would be more compassionate toward his own pups. Yet the question she yelled at him still rattled his wolf.
“No fucking way. It’s awesome you found her but why would you be fighting over Cora?” Drake asked. Raymand moved into his office and closed the door before telling him what happened after dinner.
“She asked you that. Damn.” Even Drake seemed surprised by Maple’s question. “In all seriousness, Cora is a little girl who does need a lot of attention. I mean Emily’s room is packed with stuff she barely uses but when I try to clean shit out, she goes wolf-crazed.”
“How long do you think it will take to stop these fucking hunters? I mean they are using silver-plated blades, so the silver stays in the wound after being cut.” Raymand had planned on filling Drake in the next day but they were already talking. Might as well use the time while he waited for Maple to return.
“Fuck.” Drake paused. “They’ve been efficient so far and not a lot of good trails to follow. If we don’t catch a break soon… I just don’t know.” Drake sighed heavily. They sat on the phone for a few minutes in silence. Raymand didn’t like the uncertainty.
“Tomorrow I need a list of wolf couples who can take Cora in a week. By then we should have more information to keep her safe in another home.” Raymand glanced at the calendar then the clock.
“A week? I mean I can make the list, but we might need more time to catch them.” Drake had the privilege to be the only wolf to question him from time to time but tonight he didn’t want to hear it.
“No, I need this shit done. She needs a stable place.” The last words came out bitter on his tongue.
“I’ll get it together and email you the list by the afternoon.” Drake tapped on a keyboard.
“Night.” Raymand hung up and strolled out of his office. His phone buzzed with Maple’s number from Drake. After checking on Cora again he headed for the living room while calling Maple. It rang and ended up going to her voicemail.
“Where the hell is she?” Raymand growled.