Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

B ay stared at the male who’d dared touch Sonya. The other man stalked toward him, and Bay placed the square carton he’d brought on the railing of the porch. He could probably take the shifter with one hand, but he didn’t want the pie smashed.

“This is my territory,” the man growled. “You are not welcome. Especially since you should have reported to me and asked for visitor permission as soon as you arrived.”

So this asshole was the alpha Bay and Justice had spent the day trying to chase down. He bared his teeth, letting his wolf peek through his eyes a bit more. “I would have, but you hid from me like a scared little pup.”

Claws sprang from the alpha’s fingers, his hands changing into massive paws. “Get the fuck out of Sunbeam before I slice your hide and make jerky out of it. I will not grant you the right to visit here.” The alpha’s beast rose to the surface, and pack magic rippled through the air.

The power would have forced a less dominant shifter to bare their throat in submission. Bay only grinned wider. “You’re welcome to try.”

Taking another step forward, the alpha growled deep in his throat with the voice of his wolf. Bay’s beast rose and answered the challenge.

Suddenly, the door of the house opened. A head covered in black curls popped out, the boy’s eyes huge in his tiny face. “Sonya?” he asked in a trembling voice. “What’s going on?”

“Oh my goddess, Karim.” Sonya rushed to the door and grabbed the boy. She propped him on her hip, her arm encircling him. She brushed back his hair with her other hand, her gaze searching his face. “Are you all right?”

Karim nodded. “Something woke me.” He must have felt the ripples of pack magic.

He wasn’t the only one. Based on the soft paws padding behind him, Bay realized several other wolves had arrived to watch the show. They didn’t worry him—he’d won more than one fight against multiple opponents. But he wouldn’t risk injuries to innocent bystanders. “Take the boy inside.”

Wide golden eyes met his, and then they narrowed as Sonya looked between Bay and the alpha. “Lower the testosterone level a notch,” she barked. “There’s a kid here. Try to be adults.”

Damn, the woman had fire. Faced with dominant wolves squaring off, she was unfazed. Bay wiped his mouth to hide his grin. His wolf rumbled low in his throat, like a fucking purr.

Sonya’s gaze snapped to his. Had she heard his beast? “Calm down, or take your squabble elsewhere. My house. My rules.”

The pack alpha snickered. Bay’s wolf growled, and the other shifter shot him a look but then turned toward the woman and the boy. “That’s another misconception of yours, Sonya.”

She cocked a hip, adjusting her grip on Karim. “What is?”

A slimy smile stretched across the asshole’s face. “That this is your house.”

Bay felt her heart beating faster. How the fuck could he feel it? She frowned. “This was Albert’s house, so now it belongs to Karim and me.”

“It belongs to Karim, but since he’s a minor, his guardians have ownership.” The alpha’s words dripped with malice. Bay wanted to punch him.

“Oh.” Sonya’s shoulders slumped. Bay wanted to go to her. Wanted to make her feel better. What the fuck was going on?

“Your timeline just moved up,” the alpha continued. “We’ve discussed your options. Choose before tomorrow night. That’s when the pack will take ownership of the house and become Karim’s guardians.” He shot Bay a dirty look, headed down the steps, and walked away. Eyes glowed in the darkness as the other wolves took a last look at Bay before following their alpha.

He flipped them the bird but made sure his body blocked the gesture from Sonya and Karim. “Are you okay?” he asked them.

The boy nodded, his eyes still huge. “Why was Dale here? And the other pack wolves?”

“Other pack wolves?” Sonya asked. She obviously hadn’t seen the rest of them.

Bay grabbed the pie carton. “Let’s get inside.” He herded them through the door and closed it behind himself.

Sonya released Karim and took off her jacket. “This is bad,” she whispered.

Bay almost missed the words, because the thin robe she wore clung to generous breasts and flared over hips made for his hands to grab. He swallowed and tore his gaze from her body, focusing on the boy instead.

The little dude stood with arms crossed over his puny chest, watching Bay through narrowed eyes. “Why are you here?”

Bay had thought they’d become friends at the coffee shop, but obviously ogling his sister, mom, whatever she was, had changed that. “I brought you pie.” He held up the bakery carton.

That put a smile on Karim’s face. He reached out, but before his hands could grab it, Sonya took the white parcel. “It’s way too late to eat sugar.” She frowned at Bay as if this was something he should know. “You’re off to bed again, Karim. We have lessons in the morning.”

The boy groaned loudly but headed up the stairs.

Sonya returned the carton to Bay. “I’ll be right back.”

Bay enjoyed the view of the robe’s silky material gliding across her ass as she followed Karim up the steps. When she’d reached the top, he slipped off his shoes. He flipped the lock on the front door and then walked down a narrow hallway that ended with what he assumed was a back door to the garden he’d scoped out at the back of the house. He locked that as well before retracing his steps and checking out the rooms the hallway led to.

A small but cozy living room held a comfortable sofa flanked by matching armchairs. A big-screen TV hung on the wall above a wood fireplace. Across from that, he found a kitchen, where he put the pie in the refrigerator. The shelves were filled with fresh vegetables and meat, plus two gallons of milk. The appliances appeared dated, and the cabinets could do with a fresh coat of paint, but they, and the counters and round table standing in the middle of the small space, were so clean they shone.

What was it like to grow up in a place like this? Bay’s childhood home had been dirty unless he cleaned it, and the refrigerator contained more alcohol than food. He couldn’t remember his mom. A drunk driver killed her before his first birthday. Which made it even more ironic that his dad drowned his grief in booze.

At the sound of Sonya returning from upstairs, he turned to face the kitchen entry. She’d changed into a long-sleeved T-shirt and yoga pants. Even more disappointing, she’d put on a bra.

“Can I get you anything? Tea?” Her eyes darted from his face to the cabinet and back again. She fiddled with her hair and brushed it behind her ears.

“No, thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say, and the silence stretched into uncomfortable territory. “I put the pie in the fridge,” he said at the same time as she asked, “Sit?”

She watched him for a beat, then said, “Oh, okay. Thanks.”

He pulled out a chair and sat. “It’s brambleberry,” he blurted out. “I went to the bakery.” When he’d finally found Dale’s house, despite the town not believing in house numbers. He’d scouted the place and smelt the dominant wolf’s scent, but the asshole wasn’t home. After, he’d driven around aimlessly. The bakery sign had given him the idea of how to initiate contact with the boy again.

She blinked a few times. “That’s very nice of you. It’s Karim’s favorite.”

He couldn’t meet her eyes. He’d gotten the pie to manipulate both her and the boy. That shouldn’t be a problem for him, but somehow it mattered. He cleared his throat. “What’s going on with the pack alpha? Why is he threatening you?” A quiet growl from his wolf rumbled inside him.

Sonya’s eyes widened. “What is that?” She rubbed her chest. “I don’t hear it, but it’s like I feel a sound.”

Oh, fuck. He was so screwed . “Um. It’s a shifter thing.”

Her eyes welled up. “That’s the cause of all my problems,” she said. “That I don’t understand shifter things.”

“Please don’t cry.” Had he blurted that out loud? Her mouth formed an O, and she blinked rapidly. So he must have. He took her hand, and a spark of awareness sizzled through his body. He snatched his hand back and wiped the palm on his jeans. It could be a pure coincidence. Maybe some leftover pack magic ripples wreaking havoc on his senses.

“You felt that, didn’t you?” she whispered, her eyes even larger.

Since he didn’t want to think about what that weird electricity meant, avoidance seemed the best action. “Tell me about your problems with shifter things.”

A frown marred her pretty face, but then she nodded. “It’s a long story, and I have a lot of questions.”

“I’ll answer as many of them as I can.”

The smile she gave him stabbed him deep in the heart. He rubbed his chest while his wolf purred again.

Fuck .

He was beyond screwed.