16. Ranger

SIXTEEN

RANGER

Finally. My beast had not been so patient this last day and a half.

I undressed in the garage, and according to the thermometer on the wall, it was about as cold as it was outside.

Hurry or I'll freeze out there .

Opening the garage door, I hunched over as the wind hit my face, and goosebumps hurled themselves over my skin as though they too wanted to be done with the frigid weather.

The rain had eased, but the garden near the river had been destroyed. Soil had been washed against the fence, and the gates were leaning at awkward angles, destroyed from the force of the water. The driveway had deep vertical craters running from behind the house to the front gate.

Dad would be pissed about the garden.

I squelched through the mud and waved to Matt who was leaning against the window. His lips, the same ones I'd kissed, were smudged with chocolate, and I pictured me licking off the sugary goodness and kissing him again. He had a bag of chips stuffed under one arm and was holding the soda can.

Take your fur.

My skin vanished as fur unraveled over my limbs and torso. No matter how many times I shifted, this experience reminded me of zooming down in an elevator and leaving my tummy behind. It was thrilling, nothing matched it until… until I met Matt.

My beast stood on all fours gazing at our mate. Matt hadn't moved or run away or shrieked. But he was shaking the can of soda, and his hand movements became more frantic as he gripped the aluminum can. He clawed it while his other hand ripped the pull tab and soda sprayed over the window and himself.

He froze, his mouth in a yawning gape.

I'm taking my skin. He needs me .

Racing into the garage, I ignored my muddy feet, and leaving my clothes where I'd left them, I tramped into the main room. Matt was resting his head on the glass, surrounded by crumbs, soda, and wrappers.

I led him to a couch, kicking the rug back so I wouldn't ruin it, and flung a blanket over his shoulders. I took him into my arms. The phone was nearby, so I called Flint to ask for advice, but he didn't answer and neither did Dad.

If I'd been expecting a magic cure-all solution, I was disappointed. Showing him the real me wasn't a bandaid, but instead, introduced a further complication. I had to get used to the human world viewpoint and come up with creative solutions to explain what he thought of as fantasy.

"What was that?" Matt finally spoke.

"Me. All of me." I explained how until then, he'd only seen one side of me.

"Is this what the mafia is? A bunch of guys who share their existence with a… a… wolf?"

He didn't say dog .

"Shifter mafia, yes."

"Shifter. Shifter. Hmmm, so you shift from one to the other." He grinned, but this wasn't a smile that nuzzled around my heart. It was more manic, and it matched his glazed eyes.

He needed to eat something other than the crap he'd been stuffing in his mouth. But what? Uncle Arnie froze eggs in ice cube containers, but I'd have to get to the pantry.

And you need to clean the floor . My wolf was imagining my dad's reaction to the muddy footprints.

"Am I going to wake up soon?" Matt snuggled into me. "This is one weird dream, but I loved your wolf, every part of him, from the head to the tippy toes." He lunged for my dick. "And your length. Can I snuggle with it?"

Matt needed to get warm and sleep, so I lay him on the sofa and covered him with the quilt. "Close your eyes. The dream will end soon."

"Goody but also not. Will I see your itty-bitty wolf again?" He tickled my chin before closing his eyes.

Itty-bitty? What is that?

I shushed my beast.

The eggs hadn't even begun to thaw after last night's power outage and I put them near the fireplace to thaw and took a quick shower in the downstairs bathroom. Matt was still sleeping, so I added wood to the fire and cleaned up the mud.

But as I was chopping onions for the omelette, there was a commotion outside. Shit, with gates destroyed, I'd had no warning of anyone entering the property. I grabbed an ax from the garage and wished I hadn't left the gun upstairs.

There were shouts from outside. Not Dane but my rowdy family. I opened the roller door, and Flint, Dad, and Uncle Arnie strode in, butt naked, while in the distance, six of our pack were entering the guest house. Luckily, the guest house freezer and pantry were also stocked with food because six shifters would eat a lot.

"Hunter is with Tony and the kids," Flint explained.

"How did you get here?"

Everyone launched into a long explanation of them shifting and leaving the city so they could get past the worst of the water. They got cars from Flint's house and drove, finally leaving the vehicles an hour ago and shifting again before running over the hills.

"Why are you here?" The implication of them arriving was that Dane could get here too. "And why didn't you tell me when we spoke hours ago?"

But I knew the answer. Flint was wary in case someone was listening in, even though the line was secure.

"You needed us." Flint slapped me on the back.

They were all filthy, and Dad refused to allow anyone in the house till they'd showered in the garage bathroom built especially for this purpose. I checked on Matt who was still asleep. Putting a finger to my lips, I told them to get upstairs and get dressed before meeting my mate.

Did they listen? No. I didn't expect them to. They were my family and made up their own rules. My brother and uncle crept over and inspected my mate, while Dad peered at the defrosting eggs.

Now I understood why my uncle came and not Hunter, because Dad couldn't cook worth a damn and Flint had his mind on Matt and Dane.

"Go." I pointed upstairs. "And Dad, Matt has been using your room, though not to sleep in."

Loud guffaws broke out, and Matt turned over though didn't open his eyes.

"Have you introduced him to your beast?"

"Yeah. Didn't go well." I jerked my head at my mate. "He said it was a dream." Or a nightmare.

"It's never easy."

When Flint's mate met his wolf, he thought my brother was a werewolf, which was a reasonable assumption. But Tony got over his shock. Matt's reaction worried me, and he had the added stress of thinking about Dane finding him.

And that reminded me, I had to fill my family in about Matt's purpose with the Obsidian guys and how he could help us. Flint would be ecstatic. Nah, my big bro didn't react that way. He'd be relieved. And the rest of the family would be pleased.

The family traipsed upstairs but not before Flint told me we had a lot to discuss.

I got bacon and bread out of the freezer and put a coffee pot on the stove. But I didn't get very far because I kept checking on Matt.

Uncle Arnie was the first downstairs, and he took over the making of breakfast.

"You've been dawdling, Ranger."

"Sorry, Uncle." I was caught out, knowing he'd cook breakfast. "What would our family have done without you?"

"Starved or eaten out more?"

I poured myself a coffee and sat opposite Matt. If he woke up and three strangers were in the house, he'd freak.

Dad trotted down, dressed in purple, saying Matt had left the room exactly as he found it. "I'm glad he's tidy."

Delicious smells wafted from the kitchen as Uncle Arnie chopped, sautéed, fried, and toasted. But my attention was on Matt who was stirring. When he opened his eyes, I sat beside him.

"Ranger, I had the cutest dream."

Had he been dreaming about pink unicorns and tea parties?

"In my dream, you were naked." He beckoned me closer. "Your cock is magnificent. I've never seen such a beautiful cock."

"Okay." That much was true.

"And you showed me a wolf." He waggled a finger at me. "A really cute one with long shaggy hair."

I am not cute . My beast wasn't impressed at the description.

"You hide him inside you." He poked my belly. "Where are you, wolfie? Come out, come out, wherever you are?" He giggled and flopped back on the pillow.

He was giddy, as though he'd been drinking, but he hadn't. We didn't have a wine cellar in this house and didn't keep much alcohol here.

"You told me you were a shitter." He tittered, and I bit back a response. "It was a weird dream, but you know the best thing? Dane wasn't in it."

I'd hoped the best part was me revealing my true self. We had a long way to go before Matt knew who I was.

My mate made a face. "I need to clean my teeth. Ewww!" He sat up and examined his purple coat. He picked a chip out of the pocket. "Weird. Does your dad keep a stash of chips in his clothes?" He ate the chip. "Ewww, it's kinda damp."

He sniffed. "Something smells good."

"Breakfast is almost ready. Anyone not here will get leftovers," Uncle Arnie shouted.

Matt peered over the back of the sofa. "Who is that? Do you have a chef?"

"My uncle."

Flint thundered down the stairs. "My brother, Flint."

Matt raised his chin, demonstrating the courage he must have shown when working for Dane. "The boss." He wasn't trembling but both hands clutched the couch.

"And my dad who you met at the speed-dating event."

"Hello, Matt. Welcome to the family," Dad said.

My mate glanced around at the new faces, his confused expression betraying his uncertainty. "Your family or the mafia family in general?"