Page 28 of Fae Devoted (Fae Touched #3)

“I’m sorry we’re putting you out like this, Dylan.” Jo grabbed the wolf pendant again, clutching it tight as she tugged on the delicate chain. “I… we want to thank you for agreeing to let us stay in your home and for keeping our presence a secret from Alpha Fowler. I know it’s a lot to ask.”

“No worries, princess,” he replied with a lopsided grin. “The beta can take the guest bedroom, and you can have mine.”

No way was Tucker letting Jo out of his sight when there could be more than just vampires hunting them. Or have her covered in Kincaid’s scent come morning.

No. Fucking. Way.

“She stays with me.” Tucker hooked an arm underneath Jo’s knees, the other sliding from her waist to behind her shoulder blades. He stood in one powerful motion, and she let go of her necklace with a gasp, scrambling to hold on.

“Right,” Kincaid murmured, smile shrinking then slamming back into place. “I put fresh towels in the bathroom.”

“You did laundry?” Jo’s gaze swung to Kincaid, then to the t-shirt crumbled on the floor.

“I said the towels were clean.”

“Uh-huh.” Another jaw-cracking yawn.

“Where?” Tucker was done with this reminiscing shit.

“First room on your left.” He motioned to the short hallway beyond the kitchen.

“Thanks, Dylan.” Jo let her head fall onto Tucker’s shoulder, and warmth spread to his limbs, loosening muscles strung taut since learning Kincaid and Jo had a history. He strode past the male without a goodnight, his female secure in his hold. Exactly where she belonged.

“Johnnie?” Kincaid called as they entered the bedroom. “The reason I was outcast. It’s not how it looks.”

Tucker shut the door behind them with his foot as Jo mumbled against his chest, “I never thought it was.”

“Coffee, beta?”

“Yeah.” Tucker took a seat at the kitchen table, avoiding the chair bathed in sunshine pouring through the sliding glass doors.

Kincaid wasn’t a part of Clan Walker anymore, but the male continued to show him the respect due his Ferwyn rank when the regional title of lieutenan t would have sufficed.

“Here ya go.” Kincaid set a steaming cup of black coffee, a bowl of sugar, and a carton of milk, in front of him then returned to making them a late breakfast.

“Thanks.” Tucker smelled bacon, honey ham, and raw pancake batter.

Jo’s blow dryer kicked on in the bathroom, and Kincaid cocked his head. Tucker showered first, his primal nature rebelling at the idea of leaving his she-wolf alone with any unmated male, but especially this one.

“There was no unusual activity around the cabin last night,” Kincaid said after a moment, adding a heaping spoonful of instant dark roast to a tall mug and pouring a small amount of hot water onto the fine powder.

He mixed it together with a splash of vanilla, set it aside, then pulled a mason jar from the cupboard above the stove.

Tucker added another teaspoon of sugar to his cup and stirred, waiting for Kincaid to get to the real issue. Once Jo finished drying her hair, their small window of privacy would end.

“Can I be straight with you?”

“Spit it out, Kincaid.”

The younger Ferwyn turned to face him. “Is Johnnie in danger?”

Tucker growled low in his throat, the sound a clear warning.

Kincaid broke eye contact and froze, aware he’d crossed a line.

Jo was Tucker’s responsibility foremost by right of the Mating Dance, then in his role as her pack beta, and lastly as her clanmate.

The insult by a male outside Clan Walker, a male who wasn’t a blood relative, would be met with a warning swipe to the offending wolf’s belly under normal circumstances.

The not so gentle reminder meant to put the impertinent shifter in his place.

Knowing Kincaid’s affection for Jo spurred his concern kept Tucker’s claws retracted.

“Nothing will happen to Jo while I’m still breathing,” he pushed the truth through descending canines. His heart compressed as though squeezed between iron clamps at even the possibility of Jo being harmed. Daimhín’s rogues had gotten too close.

“I don’t doubt that, beta.” Kincaid kept his chin down as he retrieved the milk, then left to fill a mason jar a third of the way, his shoulder bunched.

He sealed the jar and shook the liquid inside until it doubled in volume, removed the lid, and placed it along with the concentrated coffee blend in the microwave.

“But is one wolf, no matter how powerful, enough to keep her safe from whatever it is that brought you to my doorstep? Does what you’re hiding from have anything to do with the missing shifters? ”

“No, I’m here to find my brother,” he admitted, a rattle in his chest, the precursor to a full-blown growl. He swallowed it back. He might not be able to divulge Jeremiah’s entanglement with a pureblood Fae, but he could outline the immediate danger. “He got involved with the KoH and was outcast.”

“And you entered the ENC and risked imprisonment to find an outcast looking for a new home. There must be more to the story.”

“I need to speak with him on Guard business.”

“And I don’t have clearance.” Kincaid sighed.

“We were attacked by rogues.”

“Vampires? What did they want?” he asked, spinning around again.

“My brother is also my twin ,” he said, allowing Kincaid to draw the wrong conclusion.

“Why do rogues want your brother?” He raised his palm. “Never mind. Classified?”

Tucker nodded.

“I assume you had no idea they were after—”

“Jeremiah.”

“Jeremiah,” he repeated, his surprise that Tucker was entrusting him with the personal information apparent in his widening eyes.

“I’m sure you didn’t anticipate being mistaken for Jeremiah and endangering Johnnie when you started this journey.

” Kincaid crossed his arms and leaned against the counter.

“How did she get involved in all this anyway?”

“She had a plan.” Tucker felt the prickling heat of a blush hit his cheeks for perhaps the first time in his adult life.

Kincaid chuckled. “Hard to say no to her when she sets her mind to something, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Almost impossible.

“These rogues,” he said, all trace of humor gone. “Is there any way they followed you to the cabin?”

“None.” Tucker was positive they weren’t tailed. Daimhín might guess they’re heading to the UP, but not where they’ll hole up until then. “Only you and Samuel know where we’re staying.”

“I’d uphold my promise to keep your location a secret regardless, but now that Johnnie’s involved…” He didn’t need to say more, Alpha Fowler wouldn’t hear about their visit from Kincaid.

“I’m sending Jo to Memphis as soon as our business with the king is concluded.”

“Johnnie is as stubborn as a mule and loyal to the bone to those she cares about,” he said, returning the milk to the table with a thunk. “Unless she’s changed in the past three years, I guarantee she won’t be left behind or sent home without a fight.”

Kincaid wasn’t wrong.

Tucker knew Samuel’s visit to Michigan would be short because of his mating bond with Abby.

Although a week or two apart wouldn’t do physical harm to a Ca’anam, there was Abby’s safety as the last known Walker to consider.

Samuel wouldn’t tolerate a long separation, and Tucker hoped to persuade Jo to return to Memphis with their Alpha.

It’d be a hard sell, but he had no intention of allowing her to be there when he finally confronted Jeremiah.

“You have a better plan?” Tucker gritted out, flexing his stinging fingers. Maintaining his control by a thread.

Using a spoon to separate the froth from the milk, Kincaid poured the warmed liquid into the oversized mug, combining it with the coffee before adding the remaining foam on top.

He set the drink on the counter and without a trace of self-preservation said, “She could stay here while you meet with Príoh Walker and the king.”

Gray fur sprouted on Tucker’s forearms, his claws and canines elongating as he fought to hold on to his human form. Kincaid rotated his body into a wide stance, his eyes glowing yellow and arms hanging loose at his sides. Ready to defend or shift and fight.

“I’d protect her with my life. I swear it. Johnnie was…special to me once.”

“And still is.” It wasn’t a guess. He closed his eyes, the spoon in his hand bending in half as he breathed through his mouth. If he smelled any desire for his she-wolf in the Ferwyn’s scent, he would convert in the middle of the kitchen.

“Yes,” Kincaid admitted, the dry rot of remorse and brine of resolve the only scents thickening the air between them. “But she’s yours now. I’d have seen it in Johnnie’s eyes, if I hadn’t scented it on her skin. I’m not the threat here, beta.”

Was he right? Would Jo be safer holed up with Kincaid than anywhere with him?

Jo’s cellphone rang, and the blow dryer shut off. The sound of her voice, usually a balm to his soul, made Tucker’s stomach cramp with nausea and his chest ache like he’d been kicked in the ribs.

Could he leave her behind if it was for her own good? And would Jo ever forgive him if he did?