20. Ore

"Martha left some food in the fridge, but if you need anything you can go into town and get it or shoot me or Cash a text and we'll take care of it."

"Are you sure this Martha doesn"t mind us using her house for a while?" his dad asked, eyes locked on where his mate sat on the couch, holding his daughters the same way she"d been doing pretty much since Ore and Cash had gotten back the night before.

"I"m sure," Ore said, shooting his dad a patient smile even though he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go pick up his mate from Jorge"s and go back home. "She and Pops, that"s Cash"s grandfather, they"re going to be staying at Alpha Amato"s house until some new housing can be situated."

His dad finally dragged his eyes off the girls and looked at Ore, eyebrows furrowed. "Why aren"t they staying with you and Cash?"

Ore ducked his head to hide his blush. They"d offered as soon. As he"d left his parents with the girls late last night, he had returned to the cabin to find Pops and Martha waiting with Cash. They very firmly informed him that his family was going to stay in her house and that she and Pops would stay with Alpha Amato, that a family needed space, especially one who had been through as much as they had. They needed time to heal together. Cash had immediately insisted that Pops moved back and Martha come with him, but Pops had dumped his cane on the floor and laughed.

"Move in with two newly-mated shifters? There aren"t thick enough earplugs in the world, son."

Ore had thought his skin would catch fire he was so embarrassed. But Cash had just shaken his head, not bothered at all.

"Um, they just said that it would be nice to give Alpha Amato some company," he lied quickly.

His dad raised a brow at him but didn"t argue. "Where are the others staying?" he asked, looking around the quaint little kitchen. It wasn"t big, but it was neat and cheery.

"Only a few came back," he admitted. "But Marcus and the others will help relocate anyone else who doesn"t want to stay there while they get a new alpha set up. The ones who did come, one of them is staying at the Alpha house too and a few others are bunking with Silver Oak folks who volunteered to share their space."

His dad looked back at him quickly. "People offered up their own homes to share?"

Ore nodded, a little sad at the fact that his father found that so hard to believe. "They did. In fact, more people offered than was needed."

He didn"t share that over a dozen people were choosing to leave, packing up their houses as they spoke, determined not to stay in a pack that was diversifying their ranks. Once they were gone and the places were checked to see if anything needed to be fixed or updated, the others would be able to start moving in.

"Well, that was nice of them," his dad offered.

He touched Ore"s arm and led him out of the kitchen and away from the living room. He closed the door to the laundry room and lowered his voice.

"Has Holly said anything to you?"

His gut clenched. "Not really. I wasn"t sure if I should ask her what had happened. So I decided that I would let her tell us when she was ready."

His dad nodded. "I could kill that Gladstone," he muttered, his scent thickening with anger.

Ore hesitated and then said, "Cash already took care of that."

His dad looked up at him in surprise once again. "He did?"

"Yes," Ore confirmed. "You don"t have to worry about Gladstone anymore and the rest of the enforcers were removed and will be taken back to Michigan with the Kincaid pack members."

His dad nodded slowly, absorbing that information. "Good. I"m glad they were able to help."

"Me too," Ore said, gripping his dad"s arms briefly and then grabbing the door handle. "I"m going to take off. But let me know if you guys need anything. Seriously, and if you don"t want to ask me, you can ask one of the enforcers or betas here. They want to help," he assured him.

"All right, son."

Ore gave him one last smile and then headed out of the house, calling a soft goodbye to his mom and sisters. But only Hannah chirped back, "Bye, Ore," the others still lost in their grief and pain.

He pulled Cash"s keys out of his pocket and headed for the truck. His mate had asked him to drop him off at his friend Jorge"s house so he could get one of his tattoos powered up again. Ore could barely reach the pedals, which Cash had found hilarious and promised to get him his own car that he could drive more comfortably. It would probably be a good idea, though he liked the idea of them sharing one, of them sharing everything. It probably wouldn"t be practical in the long-term though. He glanced at the storefront that still sat empty and for sale when he paused at the stop sign. He"d wait until things settled a bit and then share his idea with Cash and see what he thought. He couldn"t imagine his mate would have a problem with it. He pulled up outside of Jorge"s house, jumped down out of the truck and ambled up the walkway. He didn"t bother knocking. He knew the two of them were just inside in the little tattoo studio Jorge had set up for when he wanted to work on off-the-books projects like Cash"s tattoos.

His formal shop was a few streets over. So he had to wonder how much business he actually got when the pack had been so resistant to outsiders before.

"Hey," he called out shutting the door behind him. "I"m back. How are things going?"

His voice trailed away as he stared at his mate, leaning back in his chair as Jorge worked on a new tattoo on his chest. It was an eagle done in a tribal style, all black and right over his heart.

"What? Why?" He couldn"t figure out what to say. His eyes locked on the new ink.

"Come here, Little Bit," Cash said holding out his hand on the opposite side where Jorge worked.

He stumbled forward, grasping at his fingers. He tore his eyes away from where Jorge was working and met his mate"s gaze.

"You didn"t have to do that."

Cash just smiled at him. "Jorge needs something from you."

"From me?" he asked, raising his brows and then looked back over at Cash"s friend.

The witch had light brown skin and a devilish smile. His black hair swept back from his forehead.

"Just a few drops of blood," he told Ore with a grin.

He shot a look at his mate who nodded encouragingly. "It"ll be worth it. I promise."

Still confused, but trusting Cash, he held out his hand. Jorge set down his tattoo machine, spun around on his stool and ripped off his gloves. Ore couldn"t see what he was doing. But when he spun back around, he had a small, stone bowl in his hand with crushed herbs inside already. In his other hand, he held a small knife.

"Do you want to do it or do you want me to?" Jorge asked, holding out the blade.

Ore looked at Cash one more time and then shrugged, offering his hand once more. "You can do it."

Without hesitating, Jorge pricked the end of one of his fingers and squeezed out a few drops before his body could heal the tiny cut.

"Thanks," Jorge said, spinning back around.

Ore turned to his mate who grabbed his hand and pulled it up to his mouth, sucking the remaining drop of blood off his finger. Sucking in a breath, his belly fluttered.

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"Patience."

Ore rolled his eyes. He was sick of having people tell him to be patient. Jorge muttered a few words, drawing Ore"s attention back to him. The scent of magic flared in the air and then he turned back around, a scoop of the mixture from the bowl in fingers.

"You ready, man?" he asked Cash who nodded.

"Do it."

To Ore"s fascination and horror, Jorge pressed the mixture into Cash"s skin right over the new tattoo. He knew it couldn"t have been healed already and he winced, grateful they couldn"t get infections like humans. Then his eyes widened with shock as the tattoo started to glow, first just underneath where the herbs were smeared. But then it moved outward until the entire thing was glowing a fiery orange. He opened his mouth to ask, "What the hell?" but gasped instead, pressing a hand between his pecs. There was a burning warmth suddenly there, startling him. But as he met Cash"s happy face, he realized what they had done. The burn inside settled into a comforting warmth and he could feel Cash"s happiness and excitement through it. He glanced back at the tattoo.

"That"s a specialty of mine," Jorge said, leaning back and wiping his hands clean.

"You"ve only done it twice," Cash drawled at him, sitting up.

"Yeah, but I"m the only one ever who"s done it. So that makes it my specialty."

Cash rolled his eyes but held out his fist so Jorge could bump it with his own. "Thanks for this."

"Of course, brother." He winked at him. "Now you two go have fun."

Cash couldn"t even be embarrassed at the implication, still reeling from the fact that he could now feel his mate inside him, just like Cash could him after biting him.

"Where are we going?" he asked, dazed.

"Home, little bit. We"re going home."