20 Rosebud

Ash

As Mase went to help Alpha Quake unload his car, I happily cradled the tiny pup in my arms and walked back to my office. Perching in my new - and hopefully sturdier - chair, I studied the baby"s face and marveled over her blue-veined eyelids with their fine carrot-colored eyelashes. I traced one of her arching orange eyebrows with my finger tip, then her tiny nose, then her bottom lip that pooched out like a fat pink caterpillar.

That made her mouth start working and she began to wiggle around.

Bad, Ashy! Sid scolded me. Shame on you for waking sleeping pup!

It"s fine, buddy. She needs to be fed soon, anyway.

Alpha Quake said he"d given her a bottle halfway here, so at least two hours ago, which was about right for a new baby"s tummy to be empty. And that thought reminded me that she might need a diaper change, too.

Mase, bring all her stuff in my office, I linked him. I"ll feed her and change her.

Sure thing, brother.

If he said anything else, I tuned it out as the pup"s eyelids cracked open. Holding my breath, I waited impatiently until they finally went all the way up and revealed a pair of cloudy blue-gray eyes that most white babies were born with.

"Hi there, little one," I cooed softly, then frowned as I remembered she didn"t even have a name yet. "Tamā is going to call you Rosebud for now. What do you think about that, hmm?"

She stared up at me. Well, in the direction of my voice, anyway, since a newborn"s eyesight wasn"t all that great.

Mase and Alpha Quake came into my office then and set their loads of bags on the floor in a corner.

"All good?" Mase asked.

"Mm-hmm. Go deal with what you need to. I got this."

"I know you do, Tamā," Mase smirked. "I"ll link you when it"s time to bring her in."

I nodded, my attention back on Rosebud as her wiggling became more insistent.

"You may want to find the powdered formula," Alpha Quake said with a grin. "That"s starting to look like a hangry face to me."

"Yep." I stood up and went over to their supplies. "I"d better get a bottle ready before she starts crying."

The pair of them nodded and left for Mase"s office while I rooted around in the bags until I found what I needed, then headed off to the kitchenette.

It wasn"t too long after I fed and changed Rosebud that Mase called me into his office. I watched him go into Papa Bear mode when Bridger broke down, and I let out a sad sigh.

Damn. Posy was right. This kid"s in pain up to his eyeballs.

Mate is always right, Sid purred, and I rolled my eyes at him.

We"d first thought about sending Bridger to Emerson and Angelo, but their house was going to explode at the seams if we sent any more strays their way. They would have welcomed him, but as Posy had pointed out, Bridger needed some intense one-on-one time with a parental figure.

Especially now that Rosebud is in the picture, I thought to myself.

When Bridger demanded to hold her, I had him sit down again.

"Have you held a pup before?" I asked.

"No. Never." His puffy, reddened eyes widened.

"Most important rule, dude: Support her head. Her neck isn"t strong enough to hold her head up yet, so you have to do it. Don"t let it bounce around or flop back, okay?"

"Okay. Um, how old is she again?"

"She was born four days ago," Mase told him.

"Is she okay? She"s not hurt or sick or anything, is she?"

"No. She"s perfectly fine."

Bridger nodded as I laid the little pup in the cradle of his arms.

"What"s her name?" he whispered, never taking his eyes off her.

"I"ve been calling her Rosebud," I piped up with a grin.

Mase shot me a look, and I rolled my eyes. He didn"t want me to get attached to the pup because he was worried I wouldn"t be able to handle it when Bridger left with her.

"She doesn"t have a name," he told Bridger. "Brynn died a few hours after she was born. That"s when Alpha Quake started looking for you since you"re her only living relative."

"How did he know to look for me?" he asked. "I mean, he knew she came from Five Fangs, so it makes sense he came here, but how did he know to ask for me specifically?

"Brynn"s diary. After she died, he searched for anything to identify the baby"s father." Mase cracked a small smile, something he never would have done in public even a couple of months ago. "She looks just like you except that red hair. That"s all her mother."

"Yeah, it is." Bridger nodded, and one tear streaked down his cheek to drip off of his chin and land on the pup"s forehead. He carefully wiped it off with his thumb. "She smells so good. I can"t explain it."

He looked up at me as if I had all the answers, and I guessed I did. Well, at least more answers than he did. Any time Mom and Dad had a pup, I was right there ready to hold him and learn how to take care of him.

"New baby smell." I smiled. "It"s there to help you and your wolf bond quickly with her. We can smell it, too, but to a lesser degree. Enjoy it while it lasts. It"ll be gone in a couple of weeks."

"Um, alpha? I don"t know anything about taking care of a baby."

"You can learn." I shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"Yes. I want to learn how to take care of my daughter," he said firmly, no doubt evident anywhere in his eyes.

"So you"re going to keep her? You don"t want us to find a family to adopt her?" I confirmed, already knowing the answer.

"No one is taking my pup from me," he growled. "I love her already. I will never, ever give her up."

"You understand this is a huge responsibility," Mase said. "This is going to change your whole world, and you need to change with it and grow up fast. No more shoplifting or pick-pocketing. No more disturbing the peace or vandalism. You can"t take care of her from jail."

"I"ll behave, alpha," he frowned. "I won"t do that shit anymore."

"I might need some help with that," he admitted slowly, "but I"ll work hard on it."

"Luna Posy wants you to see Dr. York, so we"ll set that up. For now, my parents are going to get you settled in your new space at their house. Then my father will take you over to your place to pack anything you want to keep." Mase stood up, signaling this meeting was over. "Oh, and Alpha Quake brought Brynn"s things from Cold Moon. We"ll store them until you"re ready to go through them."

"Thanks, alpha," he said in a husky voice.

Mase gave him a nod, then left the office to greet his parents, who had just come in the front door. As for me, I laid my hand on the kid"s shoulder.

"Mrs. Price can teach you how to care for a baby, and Mr. Price will teach you how to keep yourself on the straight and narrow," I said. "It"s not going to be easy, but Rosebud deserves a good daddy. Be that for her."

"I will." His eyes were steady and sure as they met mine, and I read nothing but determination in them. "I"ll do my best for her."

Since Mama"s footsteps were coming closer, I hurried this along. Squeezing his shoulder hard enough to make him gasp, I bent almost in half so we were face to face and he could see Sid in my eyes.

"But I"m giving you this one warning, boy. A bruise, a fingerprint, a scratch, a single mark that you gave her because you lost your temper, and I will end you."

"I would never hurt her, alpha!" His eyes were wide and full of fear. "I swear by the moon!"

With a curt nod, I released his shoulder and stood straight.

"You have a large support system, little dude. You always have. Use it instead of pushing people away. For your pup"s sake, if not your own."

Then Mama"s head poked around the corner, and there was a brightness in her face I hadn"t seen in a long time.

"Oh, isn"t she beautiful?" she breathed.

Bridger and I nodded, and he even smiled at her, a rare occurrence. His face was usually screwed up in an angry scowl.

"Maybe you can help me think of a name for her, Mrs. Price," Bridger invited, and he couldn"t have done or said anything else that would have elevated my opinion of him so quickly.

Mama"s bottom lip wobbled for a second before she nodded with an eager smile.

Satisfied with how this was working out, I gave the kid a light noogie and went to see if I needed to break up World War III between Mase and Papa. As I walked down the hall, my mind lingered on the pure joy I"d seen in Mama"s eyes.

Maybe that tiny pup can comfort more than one broken person in this pack.