Jacque wasn’t quite sure what to make of Elias Gallagher and his nephews. Everything about them rang true. The younger half-breeds looked to Elias, treating him like their alpha. He still couldn’t believe that one of them could actually shift.
He glanced at Gwen and barely suppressed a sigh. If he weren’t careful, his mate would have the boys and their uncle moved in by the end of the day. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel for them, didn’t want to help, but taking in another fully-grown male werewolf came with problems.
Jacque was alpha here and wasn’t about to cede his position to anyone. The rest of the pack didn’t want the job, but Elias might. Their pack didn’t work the way normal packs did. They discussed things as a group, but ultimately, the decision was Jacque’s.
He wasn’t about to bring more bloodshed and bullshit pack politics into the community they were building here.
“I’m sorry about your parents.” Not surprising, it was Cherise who offered her condolences to the twins. She’d lost both her parents, her father when she was a bit younger than Sage and Reece.
Both boys mumbled their thanks. They were obviously uncomfortable. Jacque imagined they’d never been around other werewolves before. They were both tall and strong young men and weren’t finished growing yet. He could see the resemblance to their uncle and figured they took more after their father than their mother with their brown hair and build. But their blue eyes were probably a gift from the woman who’d birthed them. A half-breed female giving birth to twins. He still couldn’t wrap his head around that one.
He’d seen the flash of hope in his brother’s eyes. Knew Louis was thinking about him and Gray. As a half-breed, Gray had resigned herself to never having children. These boys were proof it was possible.
Heck, they even gave hope to Cole and Cherise. Cherish was fully werewolf but couldn’t shift and feared she might pass on her affliction to any offspring she might have. Reece was proof that might not be the case.
Elias was watching him watch the twins. Jacque had no doubt that if he made one wrong move toward either boy, he’d be facing one pissed-off, viscous full-blooded werewolf.
Good. He liked that the man had protective instincts. It spoke well of him.
Most humans would have trouble telling the boys apart, but that wasn’t as much of a problem for werewolves. There was a slight difference in their scent, but even that was remarkably similar. It might actually fool some shifters.
“Where are you originally from?” he asked Elias.
“Alaska. Denali Pack.”
Jacque released a low whistle. “Tough pack.”
Elias nodded. “Yeah. When my brother met Marcie in Anchorage, he knew the old man wouldn’t accept her, so we left.”
“You left with your brother?” Louis had done the same for him. Jacque’s respect for Elias grew. “Why?”
Elias shrugged. “He deserved a shot at happiness, and Rasmus Gallagher wouldn’t accept anything less than a full-blooded female for his son.”
“Shit. You’re the alpha’s son, aren’t you?” Their stories were so similar it made Jacque suspicious.
Elias nodded. “Yeah.” He canted his head toward his nephews. “But he’d kill them before he’d accept them. And I can’t let that happen.”
This was a huge mess. It was one thing to take in the boys. Another to accept a man who might have been alpha of a large pack if he hadn’t left home.
“I don’t want to be alpha,” Elias bluntly stated. “I know you have to be thinking about that. If I wanted to be alpha, I could have stayed home. I didn’t.”
“Why?” Jacque was glad that, for once, the members of his pack were staying silent and letting him do the talking. They’d discuss things among themselves, but right now, they were letting Elias know that Jacque was the alpha. He appreciated the support.
“Let’s just say I didn’t like the way things were being run.”
Once again, their stories seemed to run a parallel course. If Jacque was the suspicious kind, and he was, he might think this was a setup, a way to get someone inside their pack in order to study their weaknesses and strengths.
Gator carried a tray into the living room and set it on the coffee table. Sylvie followed close behind him with another one. Jacque noted the way Gator made sure that he was always between his mate and Elias. No, the male members of his pack didn’t trust these three any more than he did.
“Help yourself,” he told them. The boys eagerly reached for the two tall glasses of milk on the tray, as well as several chocolate chip cookies each. Jacque barely suppressed a grin. He remembered being that age. They were bottomless pits, always hungry.
Elias waited until the women had coffee before taking one of the mugs. He didn’t bother with cream or sugar, drinking it black.
Jacque turned his attention to Sage. “Tell me about yourself?” he ordered.
Elias bristled but held his tongue. Sage swallowed the cookie he was chewing and had a mouthful of milk to wash it down. “What do you want to know?” the boy countered. He was suspicious, like his uncle. It came naturally to him, which meant he was used to keeping secrets, which he would have had to do if their story was true.
“Whatever you want to tell me.” Jacque leaned against the fireplace mantle and waited.
Sage glanced at his brother and then shrugged. “We turn eighteen next month and just finished our last year in high school.”
“I didn’t ask about the two of you,” Jacque corrected. “I asked about you.” He could see the boy wasn’t used to thinking about himself singularly but as part of a pair. That would make his brother’s ability to shift even more difficult if he didn’t find out who he was as a man.
Sage seemed a little bewildered. “Ah, I like to read and I like computers.” He looked to his uncle for guidance, but Elias remained inscrutable. The boy glanced down at the floor. “I’m not sure what else you want to know.” He raised his eyes and met Jacque’s gaze.
Good, the boy showed courage and promise.
“What kind of books do you like to read?” Anny asked, her voice gentle and calm. As a former librarian and avid reader, it didn’t surprise Jacque that she was the one to ask that question.
“Science fiction and fantasy mostly. But I’ll read just about anything if it’s interesting. Video games are fun too,” he added. When he looked back at Jacque, he shrugged. “That’s about it. I’d planned on college but things happened.”
Things being the death of his parents. Jacque noted the pain in Elias’s eyes and knew he felt responsible for the boy not heading off to college. Their world was an insular one, sometimes dangerous and always secretive. It would have been difficult for Sage to deal with college, along with his hormones. He might not be able to shift, but he was dealing with becoming a fully-grown half-breed werewolf.
That presented its own challenges. The boy would be dealing with growing aggression, the need to dominate in certain situations, along with his fascination with the fairer sex. Add liquor and frat parties and college was a disaster waiting to happen.
Jacque turned to Reece. “What about you?”
Reece glared at him, a young man testing himself against the alpha. Jacque simply stared until Reece dropped his eyes. “Pretty much the same story. I don’t read much though,” he added. “I’m more into sports.”
Yeah, that would be a problem now that the boy was older. He couldn’t compete against humans any longer. Not without the possibility of being uncovered for what he was.
Jacque was surprised the boys had been able to stay in the mainstream school system for so long.
“They were homeschooled their final two years,” Elias added.
“That makes sense.” And, once again, made their stories more believable. Either they were exactly what they presented themselves to be, or they were the best liars he’d ever come across.
Louis opened the door and walked back inside. “Vehicle is parked with ours,” his brother told him. Then he tossed the keys toward Elias, who caught them and slipped them into his pocket. Louis went straight to his mate’s side and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. It was good to see his brother so content.
Jacque rubbed his hand across his chin. He’d made his mind up, but now it was time for his pack to weigh in. “Well?” he asked.
Cole nodded, saying nothing. Gator crossed his arms over his chest and gave a curt nod. Armand looked to Anny, who nodded, before adding his agreement. When he looked to Louis, his brother shrugged. Jacque knew that meant Louis supported whatever he wanted to do.
He didn’t need to ask the women. The way they were staring at the two orphaned young men gave him all the information he needed. They were all in favor.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Jacque began. “You can stay here with us for a couple of days and we’ll try things out. See if you can integrate into the pack. The twins will stay here with Gwen and myself. You’ll stay with Gator and Sylvie, as they have the only house with a guest room.”
Elias was already shaking his head. “I won’t be separated from the boys.”
“Take it or leave it.” Jacque wasn’t having them all in the same spot. If Elias was planning something, he might think twice if he didn’t have his nephews with him. No matter what the man’s motives might be, it was obvious he loved the twins.
“It’s okay, Uncle Elias.” Sage looked at his brother and some kind of nonverbal communication seemed to take place. “Reece and I will be fine here.”
Gwen popped out of her chair. “It’s settled then. Why don’t you and Reece go and get your things and bring them inside. I hope you don’t mind sharing a bed. Or you can take turns between the bed and one of the sofas. Up to you.”
“We don’t mind sharing.” It was Reece who made that pronouncement. Jacque had a feeling Reece wouldn’t be letting his brother out of his sight. He didn’t trust the pack. Good, that meant the boy had some sense. He could also shift while Sage couldn’t. Jacque knew he planned to protect Sage if things went bad.
The more time he spent with them, the more Jacque liked the Gallagher family. But there was only one way to get to know a male werewolf. He turned to Elias. “How about we go for a run?”
Elias was torn between staying to protect his nephews and knowing he had to do this if they were going to have the opportunity to stay. He’d expected the alpha to want him to go on a run. It was a way of testing his strength.
Once again, it was Sage who made his decision for him. “We’ll be fine,” the boy reiterated. Sage might not be able to shift, but his nephew was smart. He watched everyone and everything. He’d probably already picked up on pack dynamics that Elias might have missed.
He glanced at Reece, who gave him a slight tip of his head. The boys would stay together. “Okay. Behave,” he warned them.
Gwen smiled as she reached out to take Sage by the arm. “They’ll be fine. Come with me and I’ll show you your room before you get your bags. It used to be Louis’s before he mated and moved into his own place with Gray.” Gwen kept up the stream of pleasant chatter as she led Sage away. Reece followed and Armand was right behind them.
Elias knew at least one of the male werewolves would be with them at all times. Fair enough. He wouldn’t want his nephews living in a pack with lax security.
Jacque jerked his head toward the back door. Elias set down his coffee mug, nodded at the women and followed the alpha. Cole took up his position right behind Elias. It seemed to be the wolf’s favorite spot.
Gator and Louis joined them as well. Joseph stayed behind with the other women.
This was a pack that functioned well together. Jacque hadn’t had to give anyone any orders. Everyone just fell into their assigned roles without having to be asked.
More than an alpha and his pack, this felt like a very protective group of friends. This was exactly the kind of environment he wanted for is nephews.
But there was still one final question that had to be addressed. Elias waited until he was outside with the four men before asking. “I have a question before I leave my boys.” He stood with his hands lose by his sides.
“What?” Jacque asked. The alpha’s jaw tightened and the muscles in his shoulders bunched.
“Sue told us that Anny was attacked and left for dead by a wolf.” He didn’t come right out and ask if any of them had attacked the woman. He didn’t have to.
Gator swore and Louis growled. Cole went completely silent. Elias had grown up in a pack filled with deadly shifters, but he didn’t think he’d met a group of more dangerous men than the ones surrounding him.
“That was a problem with our former pack.” Jacque’s eyes narrowed. “They’re no longer a problem.”
Which meant that this pack had killed whoever had hurt Anny. Elias had no problem with that.
“Do not bring that up around Armand or Anny,” Jacque cautioned.
Elias figured this was his one and only warning. Still, he wasn’t about to back down. “I had to ask. If you’d been the ones to attack her, you wouldn’t be the right pack for us.”
“Fair enough. Now shift.” Jacque had obviously run out of patience.
Elias stripped off his tank top and tossed it over the railing. He toed off his shoes and shucked his jeans. The other men did the same. All except Jacque. He watched Elias with his arms crossed over his chest and an unreadable expression on his face.
Elias enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his skin and then embraced his wolf. The animal jumped to the fore, eager to run. His bones cracked and reformed and he fell forward as his hands and feet became paws. Brown fur pushed out from under his skin. His jaw elongated and his ears grew.
He wanted to howl at the glorious sensation of freedom. His wolf wanted to challenge all the others. He wrestled with his instincts until he had them contained. The last thing he needed was a fight with a member of this pack.
He wasn’t sure he could actually take all of them. Or any of them for that matter. It would be a hell of a fight. They were all big and strong and gave off a vibe that told him they weren’t strangers to fighting to keep what belonged to them.
And Cole was the biggest wolf he’d ever seen. Massive was the word that sprang to mind. Gator was a large black wolf and Louis was covered in shades of brown.
Jacque slowly stripped off his clothes. One second he was tossing aside his jeans, the next he was in mid-air, completely shifted and heading straight at Elias. Elias held his ground, not moving when the alpha landed right in front of him. It was an impressive show of power. The kicker was that Elias didn’t think the guy was intentionally showing off. It was instinct to shift fast and put himself in a position of power.
Elias now knew why such impressive males followed Jacque. Not only was he smart and progressive in his thinking, he was also strong and fast. Elias would wager he was one hell of a fighter.
Jacque jerked his head to one side and the five of them headed toward the woods. Elias glanced over his shoulder one final time. He hated leaving Sage and Reece, but trust had to start somewhere.
And he wouldn’t leave his nephews if he thought they were in any real danger.
His protective instincts appeased, he gave his wolf free rein. The beast gave a full body shake and began to run. It was an incredible feeling to be a part of a pack, racing through the woods at full speed. He didn’t have to hold back with the men around him. They ran fast and hard. He hadn’t had a run like this since he’d left his pack with Everett all those years ago.
Elias gave himself over to the pleasure and simply enjoyed being what he was—a werewolf.