Chapter - Richard

Connall's big strides eat up the distance between us as he crosses the street toward my bar, Bad Axe. I've been standing out front, waiting for him to arrive.

He runs a hand through his auburn waves, green eyes flashing. "Lola's guest house is ready, and I've notified the rest of the pack about the timeline."

I open my mouth to respond just as hoofbeats announce the arrival of Ever's current Keeper, Arkan. He halts next to Connall, who takes one look at his shirt and snorts.

I almost don't look…almost. Because every damn day the innuendo on Arkan's tees seems to get worse and worse.

The dark coated, inky skinned centaur shifts from one front leg to the other, his horse tail swishing around his black-coated sides. He winks pale eyes at me and points to his shirt.

And I look. Despite my best efforts.

Spread cheeks. Not hate.

I groan and slap a hand over my face. "Arkan, the princess is arriving. Princess, as in shifter royalty."

He stomps a foot and crosses his muscular arms over the tee. "I've met Lola a half dozen times through my work with Hearth HQ. She's cool as fuck. She's not gonna care about my shirt."

I give him a stern look. "You know, your predecessor was a little more…" I cast around for the right words to describe our former Keeper, Ever's version of a mayor.

"Stick in the mud," Arkan offers helpfully. "Tortured by his demons? Desperately in love?" He shrugs. "You know I adore Abemet, but just because he did it one way doesn't mean I need to."

And there's the rub. I worked with our former Keeper since right after the Cerinvalla Act created the monster haven system. We've partnered for hundreds of haven-years.

Arkan and I are still finding our footing.

He rips the shirt over his head, revealing an upper body tight with muscle. Flipping the tee inside out, he beams at me. When he throws it back on, I growl.

Jackass, my wolf snaps in our shared mindspace. Break one of his legs.

"Stop it," I growl to myself.

Arkan and Connall cock their heads to the side. Arkan smiles. "And how's Big Daddy today?"

Connall chokes and looks off into the distance.

I groan. "Don't call him that; you'll egg him on."

Arkan beams and stares deeply into my eyes, scanning my face as I resist the urge to follow my wolf's instruction and kick him in the foreleg.

The big centaur sighs. "I'm headed to the portal station. Hana's already there, making sure everything is ready for the princess."

I nod, lost in thought about Lola's impending arrival. Connall and I watch Arkan take off up the road at a canter, his black tail streaming like a flag behind him.

"I like him," Connall states, grinning at me. "Even though he antagonizes Big Daddy."

"Stop it," I hiss.

Connall beams. "Listen, I've never known an alpha whose wolf talked to him. It says a lot about your strength, Richard. If your wolf wants us all to call him Big Daddy, I'm down."

In my mind, my wolf preens and prances like an asshole. That's right, Second, he quips in my brain.

Connall stares deeply into my eyes. "He's saying something about me, isn't he?"

You keep staring that hard, I'm gonna think you wanna suck my dick, my wolf growls.

"Nope," I say aloud. "He's bitching about the weather."

Liar.

"Liar," Connall says with a snort.

The reality is that my wolf has only been talking to me since Leighton died. I don't know why he chose that moment to make himself more present. I can only assume it's because a pack alpha's first and primary objective is protecting his pack, and Leighton's death revealed the threat of dark magic.

It should have been a blessing to receive that level of power with my wolf. But in the short time he's been vocal, Big Daddy has overwhelmed me with commentary that almost never matches my own thoughts. We're still finding our footing too, and it's really fucking frustrating.

Thankfully, he falls silent as Connall and I head up Shifter Hollow's main drag toward the portal station where Lola and Marco will be arriving. By the time we get there, a small crowd is gathered despite the fact that I specifically told everyone not to come. I need to cover some details with Marco, and I don't want to do that in front of my entire pack.

When I growl at the gathered shifters, Connall takes the hint and shoos the onlookers away from the portal station's door. Two stories of windows line the front of the giant one-room building. Inside, it's just an open room, the round green portal on the far side. Its surface glimmers and ripples peacefully. At each side stand members of my pack. It's our job to guard the portal door that connects us to one other haven.

Hana, Arkan's lovely centaur wife, smiles when Connall and I enter the station. "Hello, Alpha and Second."

What a smoke show, Big Daddy growls. We've never mounted a centaur. We should see how Arkan feels about sharing.

Oh my goddess, he's insufferable.

"Hey, Hana," Connall says.

I give her a friendly smile, keeping my lips zipped, lest some of Big Daddy's stupid internal monologue leaves my mouth.

Hana tucks a strand of dark hair behind her pointed ears. "Hey, Big Daddy."

He howls inside my mind, so damn loud, I wince and clap a hand over one ear.

Hana chuckles. "Seems like he's really loud in there, huh?" Her expression goes serious. "Vikand might have suggestions for you. I'm sure he'd love to find a way to be useful, if you wished for some insight into Big Daddy"s…strength." Her dark eyes wrinkle mirthfully at the corners.

"Noted," I say agreeably. I'll find her father-in-law, Vikand, later, because the extra voice in my mind is making me crazy. I always felt at peace with my wolf until I could hear his specific thoughts—they seem to center primarily around sex, something I haven't had with another person in a very long time. For now, I'd like to evict him and get some peace and quiet.

The portal creaks and shifts, the surface rippling outward in waves. Hana, Arkan, Connall, and I take a few steps backward. A green tunnel shoots into the room and then retracts, the portal's surface becoming almost mirror-like. A trio of shifter males walk through carrying luggage. A woman follows, stepping gracefully through the doorway.

Sound muffles as I blink slowly. The omega's black curls are stacked high, framing her face like a halo. Night-black eyes scan the room. Her lips are dark too, a tiny, familiar freckle on one side of her plump mouth.

Hubba hubba, Big Daddy purrs.Let me out.

No,I bark, reality slapping me.

That stunning woman who just stepped out of the portal, the woman whose eyes meet mine as she smiles? That's Lola.

Lola, who I carried in my jaws when she couldn't keep up with the pack.

Lola, who I haven't seen in decades.

Lola, my best friend's daughter.

My mouth goes as dry as a desert.

Connall kicks my foot. "That her, Alpha?"

Lola's longtime bodyguard, Nu?ez, trails her out of the portal. He's the highest-ranking male in this group, apart from Marco, whom I realize with a start isn't here.

But I can't pull my eyes from the female who stalks gracefully across the portal station floor, a soft-sided guitar case slung over her back.

She beams at me and, when she gets close enough, hops up and throws both long arms around my neck, pecking my cheek with lips as soft as silk. She floods my nose with the scents of oranges and sweet cream.

"Richard!" she exclaims, her tone excited. "It's been too long!"

Something deep aches and breaks free inside me. Shock, I think. Even Big Daddy is silent.

I wrap my arms carefully around Lola and squeeze. "Good to see you too, kiddo."

The word hangs awkwardly between us as she eyes me with a curious, careful expression.

Kiddo. Ugh. This woman isn't a child. She hasn't been a child for a long time, almost two decades by shifter standards. And it's been longer than that since I've seen her.

She slips out of my arms with a wry look, placing both elegant, black-nailed hands on her muscular hips. "You haven't aged a day." Her smile falls. "Thank you for agreeing to host me. Papá is swamped with things; I'm sure he told you."

Alaya blessed this omega, Big Daddy croons.Look at those tits.

I swallow hard, shaking my head to clear my thoughts—and his—forcing my eyes firmly above her neck. "So he said. Where is Marco, Lola?"

Her smile falls, dark lips turning downward. She shoves both hands into the pockets of her jeans. "He didn't come. He said he has all the confidence in you being able to protect me." Her lips twitch like she'll say something more, but she doesn't.

I look at the three males who arrived with her. Lola's bodyguard, Nu?ez, frowns. "His Majesty is preparing for a challenge. He wanted Lola safe quickly."

I give Nu?ez a harsh look. "So the king isn't coming?"

He purses his lips and shakes his head no.

I'm shocked Marco isn't here, but I don't want to make it awkward for Lola, so I gesture to her things as I look back at her. "Let's get you settled, alright?"

Nu?ez clears his throat, pulling my attention back to him. "As you might imagine, we've got to return to aid his majesty with the preparations. We're leaving now."

Lola purses her lips and shifts from one foot to the other.

I look between her and the guard. "I'm missing something. You're not staying? You're dropping her off and leaving?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Hana and Arkan back away to give us privacy.

Lola gives me a look that's somewhere between imploring and desperate.

"We're leaving immediately," Nu?ez says on a growl. "Marco needs us. She'll be fine here with you as long as she doesn't leave."

Lola winces and shoots him a look. "I promised I wouldn't."

I bet Marco kicked Nu?ez's ass for allowing her to slip out to put on a concert, given what's going on with Eliel.

He gives her a shitty look that pulls a growl from my throat. Now that she's here under my protection, she's my packmate, and I don't like the way he's fucking looking at her.

Connall reaches for one of Lola's bags with a big smile. "We've got it handled, man, thanks. Hey, Lola, I'm Connall, Richard's Second." He reaches for her hand with a big, friendly smile.

Good boy, Big Daddy purrs in my brain. Second protects. Second welcomes. He's pretty good.

Thankfully, Big Daddy seems to approve of Connall despite the regular chest beating to remind him we're the Alpha.

Nu?ez gives Lola another rough look, then makes the "round 'em up" gesture over his head. "Let's go, team."

I resist the urge to snap about them leaving Lola like they are. She stands beside Connall and me, watching her lifetime protector leave her behind, seemingly without a care. I could never dump a packmate like he's doing, even if I thought I was leaving her somewhere safe.

This is one of the million reasons I left Santa Alaya. Innate shifter instincts like protection and harmony get lost as you go up the pack food chain. I don't miss it at all.

As the four shifters disappear into the portal, I give Lola an assessing look. "You must really have pissed Nu?ez off with that concert trick, huh?"

Her cheeks darken, but she lifts her chin. "Yeah, and the consequences were far worse than I thought they'd be, or I wouldn't have done it. I didn't realize things had changed for Papá. It's never been that big of a deal before."

I soften a little. Big Daddy is silent.

Lola stares into my eyes as if willing me to give her a speech or chide her like Marco probably does. For a long moment, she searches my face. My alpha instincts ping. They've always been good, allowing me to read my packmates and sense their feelings. She's remorseful and worried.

"Let's go," I say gently. "We've got a great little guest house for you to stay in while you're here."

Her lashes flutter against smooth skin.

Holy moons, she's fucking beautiful.

Do you think princess pussy is better than regular pussy? Or about the same?

Goddess, shut the hells up please, I snap at Big Daddy.

After sliding my arm through the handles on three of Lola's bags, I throw them over my shoulder and jerk my head toward the door. Connall grabs the other bags and follows as we cross the cavernous room toward the exit.