LITMIR.BIZ

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of water out of the refrigerator. Alex accepted the one offered to him, but Ronni waved hers away. Anything in her stomach might come right back up.

      Rafe sat in the chair directly across from Ronni, concern weighting his gaze. “Whatever is eatin’ at you, just spit it out before it chokes you.”

      “Remember how we thought you were our only blood-kin?”

      Nodding, Rafe swallowed a gulp of water.

      “Well, Zeke had an older brother.”

      “Uncle Jeb,” Alex announced. “Dad said he left the Pine Ridge pack and was killed in a bar fight before I was born.”

      “That’s what we thought, hon. But I got a letter from the Woelfesenat.” She handed it to Rafe. “Jeb isn’t dead.”

      Alex blinked and gave a slight shrug. “What do they want us to do? Let him live here? Like Rafe did for us when Dad died?”

      “Jeb doesn’t need a place to live. He’s the Pine Ridge Alpha now.”

      No emotion registered on Alex’s face. The loss of his father, relocation to a new pack, a devastating home fire and nearly losing Rafe, whom Alex idolized, in a deadly wolf fight... How much more could a teenage wolfling handle?

      On the flip side, plenty of emotion flickered in Rafe’s laser-intense eyes. She didn’t need to explain the gravity of the situation to him.

      “Well, he can’t be any worse than the last Alpha,” Alex said.

      Oh, he certainly could. Jeb had been a terror in his own right. He liked to hurt people, something he learned from his abusive father. Jeb hated his sire and eventually put him down, but the fallen apple hadn’t rolled away from the tree in his case. Those violent seeds took root and Ronni doubted the years had wormed out those traits.

      “The Woelfesenat said Jeb wants to get to know us.” Ronni’s brain silently screamed furious defiance and she had to force herself not to shake.

      “When?” There was a cold edge in Rafe’s voice. Likely, he was sensing her outrage and his protective instinct had kicked in.

      “Soon, I imagine.” The thought of running had crossed her mind more than once, but she had no doubt that Jeb would track them down. Better to face him in Walker’s Run where she had the protection of her pack. “I asked Brice to schedule a video conference with the councilman he knows.” The Alpha’s son was highly respected within the Woelfesenat and he had promised to do all he could to keep the situation from escalating. “I’ll know more after speaking with them.”

      “If you want me to be there...” There was a pregnant pause.

      “Of course I do.” Ronni’s heart squeezed. As the oldest male blood-kin in her family, he could make significant decisions concerning her and Alex, until she took another mate or Alex turned eighteen. However, Rafe allowed Ronni the freedom to make choices and act in her and Alex’s best interest without interference. “I’d appreciate the support.”

      “Where do you think he’s been all this time?” Alex toyed with his empty water bottle.

      Not dead and buried as she had believed. “I don’t want to imagine where he’s been or what he’s done. Jeb isn’t like your father, Alex. Your father was a good man. The only decent thing Jeb ever did was leave Pine Ridge.”

      “Why did he go back?” Rafe leaned in his chair, arms crossed high on his chest, his default posture when mentally digging in his heels on an issue.

      It warmed Ronni’s heart to know he really cared about them.

      “I guess he finally heard about Zeke’s passing. Alex is now his only blood-kin.” And Ronni was the she-wolf Jeb had been dead-set on claiming, until Zeke beat him to it.

      Finally understanding the significance of Jeb’s return caused the bright blue of Alex’s eyes to turn icy. “I’m not leaving Walker’s Run. If Uncle Jeb wants to see me, he can come here.”

      Ronni would inform the Woelfesenat of the same. Both she and Alex had finally settled into a comfortable routine within the Walker’s Run pack. It wasn’t fair to uproot them because a stranger with a closer genetic relation to Alex had suddenly risen from the dead.

      Regardless of wolfan law, she was Alex’s mother. It was her right to decide what was best for her son and that definitely wasn’t Jeb Lyles.

      * * *

      “What’s going on?” Stepping into the camper serving as their temporary residence, Bodie nearly choked on the tension between Willow and his mother, Mary.

      “Enisi!” Willow ground out the Tlanuhwa word for grandmother. “She never lets me do anything fun!” Willow sat at the small dining table, her arms folded across her chest, an uncharacteristic, cross look on her angelic face.

      Equally visibly vexed, Mary took a plate of food from the refrigerator and shoved it into the microwave.

      Really, Bodie could warm up his own supper without his mother’s assistance, but the last time he tried, she’d gotten upset. A full-time homemaker when Bodie was growing up, Mary continued to fulfill the role after his daughter was born. Now that Willow was on the cusp of early adulthood, Bodie guessed his mother was feeling like she was no longer needed.

      “I’m almost sixteen.” Willow’s jaw jutted, reminding Bodie of himself.

      Even without hearing both sides of the story, he was sympathetic to Willow. At her age, he’d been eager to stretch his wings, too.

      “What is it that you want to do?” he asked her.

      Still frowning, she watched him with guarded eyes. “There’s a football game Friday night and Lucas asked me to go.”

      Bodie’s first instinct was to agree with his mother. His little girl, out with boys? He shuddered, remembering very well what teenagers were like.

      But his mother had tried to keep him under an iron thumb and he had rebelled, sneaking out at night, keeping secrets. Bodie didn’t want Willow to engage in similar behavior.

      “Just you and Lucas?” Bodie sat across from Willow.

      “Alex and Ella are going, too. Alex said his mom will take us.”

      Now Bodie’s interest was definitely piqued. “Is she staying or dropping off?”

      “I guess she’s staying.” Willow bit her lip, her eyes growing wide. “Please, Dad. I’ve never had friends before and I want to do stuff with them.”

      “How about I take you to the game and meet your friends? Afterward, I’ll consider taking everyone out for pizza.”

      Sunshine burst on Willow’s face. She squealed and slid out of her seat to hug him.

      He squeezed her, wanting to hold on to his little girl. But she wasn’t little anymore. Soon she’d experience her first shift and in a few years, she’d likely take a mate.

      His heart sank. The Tribunal would select a match for her, as it had done for him. Bordering on extinction, the Tlanuhwa had one priority: increasing the flock.

      Bodie had resented being forced into an arranged match. He’d wanted to choose his own path, his own mate. In the end, he’d been forced to submit. Still, he never regretted his decision. How could he when he’d been gifted with Willow?

      As Tlanuhwa, he understood the dire need for the propagation laws. But as a father, he had a difficult time supporting an archaic mandate that might not be in the best interest of his child.

      Willow gave her grandmother a triumphant look. “I’m going to call Lucas.” She grabbed her phone and plopped on the pullout couch in the small living area which also served as Bodie’s bedroom.

      Shaking her head, Mary retrieved the plate from the microwave and placed it in front of Bodie. He nodded his thanks without meeting her gaze.

      “You’re

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