Page 16

Chapter Fifteen

Z ack left a sleeping Mo tucked up under Victor’s arm. They’d spent two full days and nights in bed and while some of it was a little vague, no, hell, nearly all of it had been vague. He hadn’t known bears could go into rut—even alphas like himself—but that must have been what happened. He knew that since Victor had been looking after them both and Mo had been in full heat, they would both be exhausted. Guilt crept in, but Zack pushed it down. Victor had wanted to dominate them both, and what they enjoyed in the privacy of their bedroom was their business. Victor hadn’t apologized after checking that he hadn’t hurt him, and he was relieved. That actually made him feel better. Because if Victor didn’t regret what had happened then neither would he.

He paused as he reached the bottom step, seeing their office door open a crack. Good, Riley was actually who he was coming to talk to. Apart from the whole ‘Mo was mated and knotted and if he was an omega, he could be pregnant,’ Zack wanted to get together with all his brothers and work out a plan, or at least find out what had happened while they had been upstairs. A smile curved his lips as he remembered. His mind might be hazy, but his body had felt every second. They were both hotter than hell and, for some reason, were happy to include him.

And always include him from now on because Victor had bitten him. He pushed open the door, just in time to see someone ram the desk drawer shut. Not Riley. “Noah?” Zack smiled his patent, easygoing smile. He’d had no chance to talk to Noah at all and assumed the kid was probably wanting a snoop around while the coast was clear. Not that he blamed him. It was a natural self-protective reaction they were used to with some of the kids.

Noah flushed slightly and mumbled something about paper. Zack pointed to the rather obvious packs of plain paper for the printer. “Do you want lined as well?” he pointed to another shelf with large note pads on it. Noah mumbled again, grabbed a notepad, and ducked out. Zack reminded himself that the best thing was patience. He felt sorry for the kid, especially after being thrown into this mess. Foster care was hard enough without him thinking he wasn’t safe from another type of threat.

Zack pulled the door closed behind him as he left the office, then headed for the kitchen. He could smell the coffee and while his brothers had kept them hydrated and provided snacks, he was hungry and desperately needed a caffeine fix.

He grinned as Riley looked up when he walked in and rolled his eyes at the whistle from Asher. He reached over and shook hands with Martin, ridiculously pleased to see the now ex-FBI agent. Martin had retired, settled into their small community, and was kept really busy with being one of the kids’ favorite uncles. He helped Luke and Oliver over at the school, and took many classes himself with the older children. Daniel was always thankful Martin kept an eye on things for him with his mates while he worked.

“It’s alive,” Asher mocked, looking him up and down. “We were worried. Thinking of sending in reinforcements.”

Zack wasted no time grabbing a mug and filling it. “As I recall, you guys were a good three days yourselves and there were only two of you.” He smirked. “Just goes to show you some of us can get the job done quicker when the experts handle it.” He looked up when he didn’t hear an immediate smart comeback from Asher or the others laughing at his teasing. He glanced at them. No one was laughing. “What? Can’t take a joke?” He took another mouthful. His brothers always ribbed each other. It didn’t mean that they wouldn’t ever have each other’s backs.

Asher tried to stifle a laugh. “Zack, do you know what day it is?”

Zack squinted in thought. “Thursday, Friday? What does it matter?” Then he sobered. “Everyone okay?” Shit, Mattie .

“They’re all fine,” Riley hastened to reassure him. “Having a blast camping just outside of Knoxville. There’s a huge lodge there as well. Dad sent a ton of pictures, and Mom’s having the time of her life. They’re talking about it being an annual thing. I’ll text you the pictures.”

“Knoxville?” Zack frowned. “How the hell did he get there that fast?” He’d have had to drive nearly straight through, and with all the kids?

Martin put his own coffee down. “Zack, it’s Monday. They left last Monday. You guys have been upstairs for six nights.”

Zack was so shocked he nearly dropped his mug, but then irritation replaced it. “Sure. Very funny.”

“I swear,” Asher said, sobering up. “I wouldn’t joke about that. You guys were good to me when I brought Sai home.”

Sai—Asher’s mate—had been placed into the regular foster system without anyone realizing he was a shifter, and more so a male omega. Asher rescued him from a human psychiatric facility and Sai went into heat twenty-four hours later. As they hadn’t realized male omegas were even possible then, it had been a huge shock to them all. Luckily Asher hadn’t managed to screw everything up, and he and Sai were both silly in love, mated, and had given him another niece and nephew. He knew they were hoping for more when Sai next went into heat.

“We’re not playing around,” Riley said. “That’s what was with all the teasing. You guys have been up there six days.”

Zack gaped at Riley.

“Sorry,” Asher said quietly, genuinely, and Zack nodded. He remembered satisfying Mo. He remembered every delicious order Victor gave him. He remembered the bite… but then everything had gotten a little hazy. How the hell could he have lost at least three days?

He got up and went to shut the kitchen door, remembering Noah snooping around and, conscious of Noah, Tyler, Mac, and Alex all being able to hear them, he pulled out his phone to text them. Riley reached over and stopped him, shaking his head. “Office.”

Zack nodded. It was soundproof, so they all four trooped out. Alex was sitting in the playroom with a book. “We’ve got some calls to make,” Riley said. “We’ll be in the office. Let Zack know if Mo or Victor come down.” He paused. “Talk later.”

Alex nodded, knowing they were going into the office so they had privacy from shifter hearing, and that Riley had just told him he would explain why later.

“Where’s Noah?” Zack asked, expecting him to be with Alex.

“Upstairs with Tyler on his PlayStation. They both have homework to start after that.”

“You good?” Riley asked. Alex grinned mischievously and cracked his knuckles.

Zack chuckled and followed the other guys into the office, each taking a seat. “You’d better update me.”

“We’ve told the school the family is coming down with flu,” Martin said. “Mo included. We have at least another week before the school might wonder where they are. Daniel’s doing his best, but we haven’t got any further.” Martin paused and Zack picked up on it immediately.

“What?”

“Two more of the missing kids have turned up dead,” Riley said.

“Shit,” Zack groaned.

“The only good thing is that no new ones, as far as we know, are missing.”

“Yeah, but didn’t Daniel say that these kids were the vulnerable ones? The ones people might not miss immediately.”

“Raschid went ballistic with his pack. Told them all that what had happened to Amelie Connors was the fault of the entire pack, not just her dad. Reminded them if she hadn’t been a hybrid, her absence would have been noticed immediately. Put the blame squarely on his and the pack’s shoulders and said that if he ever heard or saw hybrids being treated any differently, then the wolf at fault would be shunned and expelled from the pack. He’s bringing who he considers to be at-risk pack members into the pack house until this is sorted.”

Zack breathed out a sigh. Kids being hurt always sickened him, especially seeing the state some of them were in when they arrived in Hunter’s Creek. Then something else occurred to him. “How come we still have Noah? Wasn’t his dad getting back last week?”

Martin made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded like it had come from his wolf. “The bastard has gotten held up on business. He’s back today and coming to see Noah here, along with Helen Reynolds. Helen says they won’t know until he arrives if he’s a shifter or not.”

“Noah's still not talking?” Zack asked.

“No, but he’s keeping out of trouble, mainly because of Alex. I know he only had one session with Mo, but he seems to have taken to him. He’s asked every day where Mo is.” Martin continued. “Alex has told us he explained shifters and heats to him.”

“Alex did?” Zack repeated in astonishment.

“We didn’t know what he knew,” Riley added, “and I’m sure he thought we’d buried your bodies in the yard or something, so Alex and Mac gave him the shifter version of the birds and the bees.”

Zack winced. Asher shrugged. “I think it was better coming from them. I also think he’s got a huge case of hero worship for Alex.”

Zack scoffed. “Every kid we have has a huge case of hero worship for him. It’s like he’s a kid magnet. I can’t wait to see what he does after college.”

“FBI, so he says,” Martin said proudly. “Daniel’s taken him to work a few times, and they’re thick as thieves over colleges.”

“I thought he wanted to stay local like Mac.” Christ, he felt like he’d been missing six months, not six days.

“He does, and he’ll graduate with most of his AA credits under his belt. Daniel’s already talked to him about Quantico, and he’ll have to travel for that,” Riley pointed out.

Zack knew Alex was interested in a bachelor’s in cybersecurity, which meant his two-year job experience—another FBI requirement—could be done with the family.

Riley’s phone sounded with an alert and Zack realized he’d left his upstairs. “Alex says Helen Reynolds just called. She’ll be here with Pearson in an hour.”

Zack stood. “I’ll take some coffee upstairs and warn Victor.” Not that Victor needed any warning.

Martin and Asher left, but Riley lingered, then pushed the door closed. Zack groaned. “Not in the mood for the third degree.”

“Wasn’t gonna give you one,” Riley said. “Just wanted to say I’m really happy for you.”

Zack smiled despite himself. “You had to shut the door to tell me that?”

“I just wanted to check that you were okay and if Victor was treating you right.” Zack gazed at his twin in confusion.

“Of course. Why—”

“Because we can see your bite mark.”

“Shit.” Zack had forgotten. “Everyone?” he asked weakly. They’d all seen it? Alphas nearly always bit their omega, not the other way around.

“Asher would never poke at anyone’s sore spots and Martin won’t understand the significance.” Riley shrugged. “None of my business. Just wanted to check in to make sure it was… consensual .” Even Riley winced at the word as Zack felt the flush heat his skin.

“I—” Zack sat back down. “Yes, it was, but I didn’t expect to want it.” Christ, could this conversation be any more uncomfortable?

Riley slapped him on the back good-naturedly. “I really don’t want details, trust me. I just wanted to check in. Make sure we didn’t have an alpha wolf to beat up.”

Zack grinned and stood back up. “Nah, I think Alex could take him.”

“The disturbing thing is,” Riley agreed. “It’s not going to be long until you’re probably right.”