Chapter 14

Karter

T wenty minutes later, we’re cleaned up, dressed, and walking hand in hand through the woods to the house. Out of the corner of my eye I see movement, three wolves darting through the trees to circle behind us. I pull Valery closer and wrap my arm around her waist, my jaw set as I scan the trees for threats.

“Show yourself, asshole.” I project my thoughts to anyone listening.

Siren pushes through the bushes, walking toward us with the swagger I loathe. He’s in the same dark jeans from last night, still shirtless, a cut on his cheek and a black and blue bruise decorating his otherwise handsome facade.

“What happened to your face?” I say out loud, a lead weight settling in my belly. We don’t bruise or break easily, so nothing short of a shifter brawl would leave marks like those behind.

Koran’s Code Red flashes through my mind.

“Have you not talked to your brothers?” His eyes narrow as he tilts his head up and sniffs the air, a knowing smirk twisting his lips. “You know it doesn’t count if you don’t mark her.”

Valery frowns. “What?”

“Shut up, Siren.”

His grin widens. “You know my motto, Karter: eat it, fuck it, or marry it. You may have had a taste and sunk cock-deep inside of her, but if you don’t mark her, she’s available for the taking.”

I lunge forward but stop when he shakes his head and tsks, “Do you really want to leave her unprotected by coming after me?”

Considering Shylor, Statham, and Serranna are lurking nearby, I back down.

“What’s going on?” Valery places her hand on my chest to ground me.

“Nothing, babe.” I tighten my arm and pull her into my body, wishing I could envelop and protect her.

“Isn’t that sweet?” Siren chuckles. “But you don’t belong here, Valery. Deep down, you must know that.”

“Fuck off, Siren,” Valery chirps back without a thought, and pride swells in my chest at her potentially misguided bravado. While the wily little shit is no threat to me, his wolf could do serious damage to her.

He flicks his canine with the tip of his tongue. “I do like you, cupcake.”

“We’ve always had our differences, but fuck with my mate, and I will kill you.” I growl, every muscle in my body poised to attack. If it wasn’t for the other wolves nearby, I’d have shifted and pounced already. He can’t beat me one on one, but my odds against four aren’t great.

Siren raises his hands and takes three steps back toward the bushes. “You can’t think the wolves are going to let humans waltz into our world, Karter. My orders come from on high, and while I genuinely do like your pretty little human, you know I can’t let her stay.”

“She’s the Pack Alpha’s mate. What you think means nothing.”

“We’ll see.” He turns his eyes to Valery. “See you soon, cupcake.”

Tension radiates through my limbs as we finish our walk to the house. Valery quietly sticks to my side, as if she knows there are ears hanging on to our every word. When we enter through the front door, I hear the triplets bickering in the living room while the intro credits to Halo Infinite play on the TV, but all conversations cease as we round the threshold and lay eyes on each other. Kade is here too, sitting in the recliner normally reserved for our father, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. Kason and Kit turn to face us, a myriad of cuts and bruises to match Siren’s on their faces.

“What the fuck happened?”

Dinah walks out of the kitchen and flashes Valery a tired smile. “Good morning. Would you like some coffee?”

Valery looks up at me, her confusion and—Fates forbid—fear written all over her face. “Would you like some coffee?”

“That would be great.” I pull her close and kiss her temple before letting go, watching as she retreats with Dinah into the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” I lock eyes with Kade.

He leans back in the recliner, his eyes going to the triplets on the couch, but says nothing.

“It wasn’t our fault,” Kit starts and I hold my hand up, purposefully glancing over my shoulder toward the women in the kitchen within earshot.

Koran takes over the conversation. “There was a bit of a scuffle last night, but we kept it civil by fighting in our human forms ? —”

“Until Serranna, that sneaky fucking jackal, shifted and pounced. Then I had no choice but to shift to protect myself,” Kason adds.

Closing my eyes, I shake my head, rage simmering in my belly. “Was this the Code Red?”

Koran nods. “Yeah.”

“Who started it?”

The boys look to Kade who works his jaw back and forth before answering. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll take care of it.”

“It does matter, especially if it has to do with the interaction I had with Siren in the woods ten minutes ago.” I glance up at the ceiling and realize I don’t sense our sister in the house. “Where’s Ky? Was she hurt?”

Shame paints Kit’s cheeks. “She was knocked down, but she’ll survive.”

“Fucking hell!” I turn and punch the nearest wall, the wood and plaster splintering under my fist.

Kade jumps out of the recliner and is gripping my bicep before I know he’s moved across the room. “Outside, now.”

He pushes me out the front door; the triplets following behind us. “You never show your temper in front of your mate.”

I hang my head, my knuckles throbbing and bleeding. “Was the fight about Valery?”

The boys exchange glances and look at Kade again, who shakes his head.

“What?!?” My temper is raw and I’m on the verge of shifting just to work out the rage boiling over in my belly. Why do they keep looking to him for answers?

Koran sighs. “I overheard Shylor and Statham talking shit about you, not Valery. I couldn’t let it slide, so I called my brothers to have my back.”

“Hell yeah, he did. So we ran in there to stomp their asses.” Kit fist bumps Kason.

“But only after I folded your damn clothes.” Kason rolls his eyes.

“You disrupted pack dynamics and bruised up your pretty faces—for me?” Of all the things to scuffle about, I wouldn’t have bet they’d do it to stick up for me. Yes, we are family, but most of the time the triplets are bitching at and about me to anyone who will listen.

“We’re blood and therefore allowed to give you shit, but they are not.” Koran states as fact.

“Damn straight.” Kason and Kit murmur simultaneously.

I glance at Kade who shrugs with a small smile curling his lips and I told you so written all over his face. He knows I feel like the boring, responsible outsider—not just in our family, but in the pack. And even though he constantly tries to reassure me otherwise, this is the first time I believe it.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean against the front fender of my International. “Thanks.”

“No problem, bro.” Kason looks at Kit who has a shit-eating grin on his face.

“So… what’s sex like?” Kit chuckles.

Kade has his hand around Kit’s throat and pins him to the driver’s side door before I have a chance to react. “You will never again ask personal questions like that about our mates—understand me? Ever. Someday, when you get your own mate, you’ll understand why this is one line you never cross with any shifter. This isn’t some random hook-up on a Friday night, Kit. Our fated bonds are sacred.”

Kit puts his hands up. “I was joking.”

I roll my eyes and slap Kade on the shoulder. “It’s okay. He doesn’t know any better. Honestly, none of us in Fortune Falls do.”

Kade huffs and pulls Kit into a headlock, mussing up his hair until Kit bucks out of his hold. “You guys go inside. I need to talk to Karter alone.”

We watch them jog into the house, and listen to them bitch about food, showers, and sleep—in that order.

Kade says nothing, moving to my tailgate and dropping it to take a seat. I follow and stand in front of him, dreading the conversation I suspect he wants to have.

“You didn’t mark her,” he says after a full minute of silence.

Shaking my head, I wince as I shove my bloody and bruised hand into my pocket. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know how to bring it up.”

He runs his tongue over his teeth and looks up at the sky. “Does she know about your bear yet?”

Sighing, I nod. “She met him this morning when she woke up in his arms. When she understandably freaked, he dragged his claws down her thigh before I woke up and shifted back.”

“Fuck.” Kade closes his eyes and drags his hand down his face, his chin hitting his chest. “Is she okay?”

“Remarkably, yes. It was a scratch but drew blood, nonetheless.” I hang my head again. “She’s amazing and so in tune with my mood that she spent her energy comforting me instead of running away.”

“That’s a good thing,” he says carefully, the silence hanging between us deafening. He knows as well as I do that—once again—I’m lucky I didn’t hurt her.

“I don’t trust my bear,” I state with an air of defeat.

He sighs. “We should have socialized you more, brought you to Broken Falls for the summer or spent long weekends hitting the town in Great Falls or Bozeman or something. I’m sorry, Karter, but I’m only now realizing how beneficial my time in the military was in preparing me for a human mate.”

“We should take this lesson and apply it to the triplets.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

Rubbing my lips together, I listen for my mate’s voice in the house. She’s laughing at the terror trio who are telling stories and carrying on.

“Any word on Kash?” I ask for the hundredth time.

Kade shakes his head. “No, but Cricket is working an op now, so I think I’ll use him while he’s on the inside to find intel on our brother.”

I nod and bite the inside of my cheek while shuffling my feet. My whole body is a live wire, uncomfortably agitated. The conversation with Siren is playing in my head, mixed with images of Valery in my arms and underneath me. I can’t cave to Siren and the wolf pack’s bullshit, but at the same time, I can’t risk Valery’s safety. And if I don’t mark her soon, my bear will make another surprise appearance, which is dangerous for everyone. “How do I ask Valery to let me mark her? It seems wrong to do it without permission.”

“Yeah, I thought the same thing when I met Dinah. You have to explain the bond to her and trust that her feelings for you are as strong as yours are for her. Did she ask you about being a shifter?”

“A bit, but she was more focused on whether or not our pairing is forbidden. I guess her interactions with everyone has left her wondering if she’s supposed to be here.”

“That’s a shame, but unavoidable until we can change the culture of the community. The more of us that find our fated mates, the better for all of us. Trust me, when I mated Dinah, I was positive the pack was going to turn on me. Luckily, a couple of the shifters in the motorcycle club also met their mates, most of which are also human. Now with Wiley’s mate, Dinah has a community of humans who know and understand us. They keep our secrets, just as we do.”

“Hey,” Kylian says as she crosses the yard with her beekeeping supplies in her hand. I’m so out of it right now, I didn’t sense her approach. My thoughts and ears are tuned to my mate in the kitchen and nothing else. Is that normal? Is this how it will be for the rest of our lives?

I quickly scan Kylian’s face, relieved to find no cuts or bruises. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” She glances between me and Kade. “Is it done? Are you mated?”

Looking away, I glance at the house. “Not yet.”

Kylian takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Does she know?”

I nod. “She knows.”

“Is she inside?”

Kade nods. “She’s with Dinah.”

“Okay. I guess it’s time to introduce myself.” Kylian smiles, lifts on her toes, and places a kiss against my cheek. Then she does the same to Kade. “I love you both.”

“We love you too, squirt.” He smiles and watches her walk away before turning to me. “This is good. Let the ladies talk. Dinah has a way of bringing people into her way of thinking.”

“You think so?”

He snorts. “I know so. Now, what are we going to do about Siren?”