28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Kimble

Annette insisted that he walk the grounds and greet everyone who hadn’t been in the room. It was how a wolf would treat the return of a long absent pack member, and Kimble couldn’t refuse. Memory after memory piled on top of each other of every birth and death in this pack over the last hundred plus years. He couldn’t refuse a request as simple as letting everyone see that he was alive and well.

By the time they finished greeting everyone, Cora looked exhausted, and Pike seemed overwhelmed. Kimble didn’t think it was because of the walk itself.

No, it was more likely that his human and bear hadn’t been prepared for any of this. He hadn’t warned them because he’d been afraid that they’d arrive to find the place abandoned. He’d been so scared that he couldn’t bring himself to even say the name of the pack.

Now that he saw the pack thriving, he wished he’d told his flock more about what they were getting themselves into. Honestly, he should’ve put off the reunion for a day or two, so he could make sure Cora and Pike had no cause to be jealous or insecure about his relationship with the wolves.

“I’m going to inform everyone who isn’t living here that you're back,” Annette said. “They’ll probably rush here as soon as they can, maybe even tonight. Some might already be on their way; I saw a lot of texting going on.”

As he watched, Cora blinked several times as if she was trying to clear her vision. It was a sign that she needed to rest. Cheerful, gregarious Pike hadn’t said a word since the introductions had started. He needed to get his flock alone.

“Can you ask them to wait until tomorrow night?” Kimble asked. “I promise I won’t disappear again.”

Annette chuckled. “They won’t like it, but I’m sure they’ll listen to me.”

He didn’t want to drive all the way back down the mountain to get back to Cora’s house. Hopefully, the pack hadn’t given his place away to one of the families. “Do I still have a house here?”

“Of course, Maksim!” Annette exclaimed. “Right this way.”

She pointed down a path, and Cora and Pike started walking. Kimble and Annette fell in-step behind them. Several other wolves took up lead positions in front of their group, falling into a familiar pattern Kimble remembered fondly. His pack had always been so protective of him, even though he was the most powerful creature most of them had ever met.

A wolf stepped up next to Annette to address him. “We’ve kept your house clean and even re-treated the windows last month. I called in an order for blood, so we’ll be able to fill the fridge for you.”

“Thank you, Dylon,” Kimble said, making the young man beam with pride.

Annette touched Dylon’s arm to get his attention. “Pike and Cora will need real food. Can you see that the kitchen is stocked for them?”

“Sure!” he said and sprinted off. The last time he’d seen the young man, he’d been a teenager. How many years did he spend feral?

“You disappeared five and half years ago,” Annette murmured. She’d always been good at answering questions that hadn’t been asked yet. Moving his eyes from the man’s retreating back to Annette, he noticed more gray in her hair and fine wrinkles around her eyes. She’d always been wise beyond her years, but now she had an air of calm resilience. It must have been a struggle while he was gone.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Cora and Pike joined hands as they walked ahead of them. Cora’s movements were slowing, and he could see that Pike was resisting the urge to pick her up. “After these two have settled into life here, I’ll make a formal apology to everyone. I let the pack down.”

Annette snorted out a derisive sound. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You didn’t abandon us. You went feral.”

“The result was the same,” Kimble pointed out.

“No, it wasn’t. As a feral vampire, you managed to find your flock and come back to us. Now we get to have you and Cora and Pike as part of the pack. It was hard without you, but five and half years is nothing. I’d rather you go missing for triple that and come back than die because we kept you from searching for your flock.”

Kimble went quiet as he digested her words. Had he needed to go feral to find Pike and Cora? Was it being in a state of almost pure instinct that allowed him to home in on Pike and then rescue Cora?

He’d never know, but he’d be forever grateful that fate worked in his favor.

***

Cora

The last time Cora had felt this overwhelmed was when she’d started Perfection Connection Electrics. Every night she’d fall into bed exhausted both physically and mentally. Today was worse.

Stumbling over her own feet, Pike’s hand on her kept her from a painful fall to her knees. That was the third time it happened. She didn’t normally have such trouble simply putting one foot in front of the other.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, giving Pike’s hand a squeeze once she was steady on her feet again.

“Cora?” Kimble asked from behind her. Before she could say she was fine, Pike picked her up.

“I can walk.” Even to her ears her words lacked any conviction. It felt good to be held by the bear. For some reason, she felt cold even though the night wasn’t that chilly, and she was wearing a jacket. Being cradled against Pike's warm, muscled chest was immensely comforting even if it made her look like a weak human in front of Laske Pack.

“Please let me carry you,” Pike whispered, nuzzling his face against the side of her head. “Suddenly Kimble doesn’t need me anymore, and you never needed me. I need to feel useful.”

Kimble appeared at their side. His vampire speed had been fast before but now he seemed to appear out of thin air like magic.

“Are you well, kochanie ?”

“I think Cora needs a break,” Pike said. “All of this is a lot to take in.”

She could feel Pike’s need to be alone also. She let him use her as an excuse, this time.

“Of course,” Annette said. “We’re almost to Maksim’s house, it’s right over there,” she said, pointing past an old-fashioned barn. “Once all of you are inside, we’ll leave you alone until tomorrow night.”

“If you would please call me by my new name,” Kimble requested as he curled an arm around Pike’s lower back and walked with them. “Pike gifted me the name, and I like it. It’s fitting I have a new name for a new era.”

Annette didn’t blink at the request. “Of course. I’ll let everyone know. Will you keep your current last name?”

“I don’t know yet,” Kimble said, putting a hand on Cora’s leg so he was touching both her and Pike. “I might take the name of my flock, but we haven’t decided that yet.”

It was a sweet thing to say, but Cora didn’t have it in her to care at the moment. The three of them were surrounded by about twenty people, all friendly but also loud and noisy. It was like being at one of her family's BBQs but surrounded by strangers.

“Here we are,” Annette announced as they rounded the barn. Cora had expected a grand chateau or at least some kind of large, opulent house. Instead, she was faced with a medium sized, single story Spanish style house. It was nice, but nothing like what she expected.

“Come, my flock,” Kimble said, urging them up the short flight of stairs to the porch. A wolf was already there, opening the door for them and shutting it as soon as they were inside. The change in sound was notable. The house must have amazing soundproofing because the moment the door shut; she couldn’t hear anyone outside.

“The house has four bedrooms so each of you can have your own personal space,” he explained as he guided them toward the back of the house. “My bed is only a king, but I’m sure Annette is already rushing home to search for a larger, custom-made bed for all of us to share. We’ll probably have something new within a few days.”

Cora could feel the tension in Pike’s body ease now that they were alone. Neither of them talked as Kimble told them the history of the property and why he decided to settle the wolf pack here instead of somewhere else in San Diego county. Honestly, she wasn’t listening to Kimble’s words but focused on the pulses of emotions she was feeling through the bond.

Their vampire was nothing but love and enthusiasm, but Pike felt unsteady, like her.

They followed Kimble into the main bedroom which seemed to take up about a quarter of the house. Like the rest of the place, it was nicely furnished but nothing was as fancy as she expected.

Where were the Persian rugs, esoteric artwork, and bookshelves full of weighty tomes? No, the books wouldn’t be in the bedroom. He should have a library full of dark wood shelves, lit by a large fireplace bracketed by leather wingback chairs.

“There is no place like you’re picturing in your head,” Kimble said with a slight frown. “But I could build it if you desire.”

Cora patted Pike’s arm to indicate she wanted to be set down. She could feel his reluctance, but he gently set her on her feet anyway.

“Can you read my mind?” she asked.

“Only when you project that strongly,” Kimble said with a smile. He stepped close so Cora was the meat in a vampire/shifter sandwich. “I can teach you how to keep your thoughts secure in your head so I don’t pick up anything you don’t want me to. Will that make you feel better?”

She nodded her head, enjoying the warmth of being snuggled between the two of them, their heat seeping into her, chasing away the earlier chill.

“Are we staying here tonight?” Pike asked .

It was obvious by the way Kimble stiffened that he heard Pike’s reluctance. Or maybe he felt it. “We don’t have to stay in my home. We can return to Cora’s house or your apartment.”

“Not the apartment,” Cora said quickly in case Pike didn’t realize that wasn’t an option. Her adamant words make both men laugh and hug her a little tighter.

“I need to go back some time to get the rest of my stuff,” Pike said. “But we never have to spend another night there.”

“We can split our nights between here and Cora’s house,” Kimble offered. “Or spend the week there and weekends here. I have to spend some time here or the pack will feel neglected, but how much time is negotiable.”

“Bears don’t have packs,” Pike said, his tone shifting to uncertainty. “What if the Laske Pack decides they don’t want a bear in their territory?”

“A healthy wolf pack often has members that aren’t wolf shifters,” Kimble explained. Cora felt movement and looked up to see Kimble rubbing his hand up and down Pike’s back. “I think there are a few humans in this pack and of course there’s me, a vampire. Adding a bear won’t be a problem for any of them.”

Cora caught a hint of emotion from Pike. It took her a moment to sort it out, but finally she realized he was intimidated. His family was small and mostly calm, he wasn’t prepared for the type of controlled chaos that came from a large family-like organization.

She might not know wolf packs, but she did know what it was like to have a family you loved and avoided, sometimes in equal measures.

“Don’t worry,” she said, snuggling down between the two of them. “The first time anyone does something mean to you, I’ll show you how to set up booby traps. They’ll live in fear of putting their shoes on for the rest of their life.”

There was a brief pause before the guys roared with laughter. Pike’s emotions calmed and started moving back to their normal happy state.

Seeing that Kimble’s house wasn’t some fancy mansion with servants helped her feel less intimidated by the whole thing. It was going to take some time to get used to all this, but at least she didn’t have to worry about dressing for dinner or which fork to use .

Still, she was mentally and physically exhausted. “Can we go to bed now? I know you’ve got hours of night still left, but my body is done.”

“Anything you wish,” Kimble agreed, pulling away from them to start stripping her of clothing. Pike hurried to get naked, and they all climbed into the bed.

Cora was asleep before Pike even finished wrapping his big body around her and Kimble.