Page 14

Jonas

A buzzing sound wormed its way into the edges of my consciousness. With a grunt, I rolled over into the warmth Dean offered and drifted off to sleep.

The buzzing sound didn’t stop. My eyes cracked open. The green glow of the clock told me that it was 3:32 am. Ugh. Fatigue pressed down on me. Dean and I had gotten back from our date late in order to give AJ and Grif space.

With everything Dean was getting through his bond with Grif, he’d also wanted attention. Lots of attention. So really, I’d just gotten to sleep.

I worked up the energy to roll over to see who it was, because if they didn’t stop calling, it must be important.

Shit. Was it my sister?

Little Alpha flashed up on the screen along with how many times she’d called and texted.

Verity

I know it’s late, but I need you.

Please.

That wrenched my heart. Fuck.

Grabbing my phone, I tossed on a pair of shorts and crept out to the dark living room so I wouldn’t disturb Dean, who’d passed out on the bed like a starfish. From the sounds–and smells–in the hallway, Grif, and AJ were still at it and had moved to Grif’s room.

Maybe now that they’d bonded, AJ would feel like he was truly part of the pack. Sometimes, I wondered if he was only here for Grif, which was fine. Dean and I valued him, too. We just didn’t show it the way Grif did.

Slumping on the couch, leaving the room dark, I pressed redial.

“Jonas.” Her voice broke.

“What’s wrong, Sweetheart?” My eyes closed as I rested on one of the many cushions littering the sectional. We’d put away the Christmas cushions, but plenty remained. I think they multiplied when no one was looking.

“I’m so scared for Grif, and I can’t help but feel like all this with Chet is partially my fault. After all, he hates me. Still, I’m not sure I can do this again. It’s been riding me all afternoon and evening.” Her voice shook. “I need you.”

“I’m right here.” My brain had trouble processing her rapid and panicked words.

One thing was evident–my little alpha had come to me. Me.

Peeling myself up off the couch, I let myself onto the patio, so the snow and cold could wake my ass up and I could be of use to her.

“It’ll be okay,” I soothed, leaning against the freezing cold railing. The snow wasn’t coming down hard. It was more refreshing than shocking and reminded me of my youth.

“But will it?” Her voice cracked.

My heart shattered. “It will. You did the right thing by calling me. Sorry it took so long for my ass to wake up. We’re not better off without you. You leaving won’t make anything better. In this pack we don’t run from our problems, we talk them out like fucking grownups.”

Did I forget anything?

Her breathing went ragged. “Okay.”

“Breathe, Sweetheart. Breathe with me.” Closing my eyes, I lead her through some breathing to calm her ass down. She couldn’t tell me what was wrong if she was sobbing too hard to speak. “Better?”

“Thank you.” Her voice shook a little. “I… I’m scared. How do we protect them?”

“It’s okay to be scared. Now, walk me through everything again. Please?” I returned inside and got some water from the fridge.

“I don’t want Grif to go through what I did when I fired my coach—or Chet. It was awful. Chet harassed me so much. Not to mention, he riled up a lot of people when I got Coach fired. He came after me again when I didn’t go pro. Said I was ruining my life and if I came back to him, he’d fix my career.” Her words got a bit garbled as she sniffed.

“Chet harassed you, too? Though it makes sense, given they were friends.” I took a drink of water as I stood barefoot in the dark kitchen. Fuck, he was such an asshole.

“Everyone harassed me. Now it’s happening again. The texts don’t stop. Now, the friends of the girl who wrecked my greenhouse are all over the internet accusing me of ruining her life. It’s going to happen to Grif, too. Chet’s rich, so nothing will happen to him. I hate that people get away with awful things because of their money and power.” Her voice grew angry.

“Me, too. I get it now. I’m sorry I haven’t done more about your phone haters. We’ll protect Grif, okay? None of this is your fault. I wish I were there to hold you.” Regret shot through me. I hadn’t even thought about all that. How this might be for her.

I should have fucking done something sooner. She’d been getting these texts for weeks and all I did was have her document and block them.

“We’ll win against Chet. We’ll protect everyone. It won’t be like it was. Promise. We’re stronger together. Three alphas can protect better than two, right?” I tried appealing to her alpha instincts as I leaned against the counter and had another sip of water.

“Yes.”

“That’s my girl,” I praised. If she were here, I’d fuck her good. Though I’d probably need to put her over my knee first to get her out of her head so she could relax. “We’re stronger together.”

“Yes. We’re stronger together, Alpha Jonas,” she assured. “And we don’t let the assholes win.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Alpha Jonas. She was feeling better.

“I’m proud of you.” We talked a while longer, and she seemed to relax with every word. “Do you need me to stay on the phone while you fall asleep?” I suppressed a yawn.

“I’m supposed to be getting ready to go dancing. Mercy and Kaiko became friends with one of the Hawai’i rookies at all-rookie camp over the summer. He’s been taking them to all the best spots today. I think he likes Kaiko. They want me to go out with them,” she told me.

“That sounds good. Put on a cute dress, have a drink, dance. Everything will be okay,” I assured her as I finished my water.

“I hope so. But I won’t drink at the club since I need to keep an eye on them. Maybe Rusty or some others will still be awake when we get back,” she replied.

“That sounds like a good plan. Rusty’s safe to drink with.”

“Thank you. I feel better now. I… I miss you.” Her voice went soft.

“I miss you, too. Only a few more days until you come back.” Once again, I wished she was here so I could hold her.

“Can’t wait. I… I love you.”

She did? Those three words hit me in the heart.

“Sweet Girl, I love you, too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I put my glass in the sink. Really, I should put it in the dishwasher, but it needed to be emptied, and I didn’t want to do that right now. Instead, I filled it back up and brought it into my room.

“Talk to you tomorrow.” She ended the call.

I returned to bed. Putting the glass of water on the nightstand, I snuggled into Dean, who didn’t even move–and took up most of the bed.

Fuck. I needed to take care of my little alpha better. Because while I knew Grif and Dean wanted to bond with her, I think I did, too.