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Chapter Eighteen

I ven didn’t feel comfortable leaving Marric and his son here for the night. Even with the wards, it was a dangerous place to be. Taking the kid away from the only place he’d ever been safe wasn’t a great idea, either.

In the end, it was Riley who decided for all of them. “Cass is on his way with overnight bags and the case file.”

They stood in the foyer. They probably resembled football players huddling for a team meeting.

Kinnison stood nearby with his arms folded over his chest. He could hear every word. He didn’t object to them staying in his house, which was a minor miracle.

“Mom is coming too. She wants to monitor Emery and Marric.” Griffin raised his eyebrows and made his lips stretch into a thin line. “And brace yourself because she’s bringing Maggie with her.”

Riley groaned, which was the response Iven wanted to give, but he didn’t want to alert Kinnison. He deserved to be surprised by that a seemingly sweet old lady had a mouth like a sailor.

Iven smirked. “Great.”

Of course, Griffin didn’t care about Kinnison’s near future problem. He said the thing everyone already knew, except for Kinnison. “Why are you the one sweating it, Dad? It won’t be your problem. It’s going to be his.” Griffin gestured toward Kinnison with his head.

Kinnison rolled his eyes and stepped closer to their circle. “What should I be worried about?”

Iven moved over to give him space to enter their little circle. “It’s nothing.”

“Not nothing. But nothing threatening,” Griffin grinned. “Just our entire family moving in. Temporarily, of course. We can’t be too safe after all. Can we, Dad?”

Iven narrowed his eyes at Griffin.

“What? I’m trying to tell him how helpful we’ll be. Especially Maggie.”

Riley rolled his eyes. “He already knows how annoying you are.”

Griffin pushed Riley on the shoulder, but it wasn’t enough to make him move.

Riley chuckled.

Kinnison smiled for the first time since they’d met. He met Iven’s gaze. “You have your hands full.”

Iven snook his head. “I know, and it appears I have another son to add to the mix.”

Kinnison sighed. “I won’t talk Marric out of pursuing a relationship with you. I can see it wouldn’t work, just in the way he looks at you.”

Iven raised his eyebrows. “If you have a problem with your pack, Marric won’t fix it. Don’t you think he has enough on his shoulders already?”

Kinnison growled. “The pack isn’t any of your business.”

“But Marric is. The sooner you realize it, the better it is for Marric. And Regan.” Iven met Kinnison’s gaze, making sure Kinnison saw the conviction in his expression. “Your pack cursed him. They aligned with the local coven against you. That’s a fact, Ransome. Wrap your head around it.”

“Are you saying it’s my fault?”

“I’m saying your pack has a motive. Care to take a guess what that might be?” Iven didn’t wait for Kinnison to answer. “Maybe Marric isn’t the only one who doesn’t like how the pack picks the next alpha.”

Kinnison growled in Iven’s face. “My pack. My rules.”

“That line of thinking has bought you a heap of trouble. It’s caused Marric a lot of pain and stress.” Iven snapped his fingers and conjured a flame. He let it dance on his palm. “I can be your problem, or we can work together. The choice is yours.”

Riley and Griffin were smiling, which seemed odd because Iven had all but threatened Kinnison.

Marric came down the stairs at the same time someone knocked on the door. And Kinnison was left to stew in his own juices.

Marric went right to Iven and wrapped his arms around his middle. “I heard what you said to my dad.”

“Little eavesdropper.” Iven rubbed Marric’s back and let him bury his face in the crook of Iven’s neck.

“Thank you,” Marric whispered.

“For what?”

“For sticking with me. I know I come with baggage.” Marric made it sound as though it was a hardship, but so far, the only part that was hard had been finding the bad guys and keeping Marric safe and healthy.

Kinnison met Iven’s gaze. He didn’t look happy, but he seemed resigned. “How many beds will your crew need?”

“Four. If you’ve got them.”

Someone knocked. Kinnison answered and let Cass into the house.

Cass sought Riley out with his gaze first before dropping four duffle bags near the door.

“Alpha.”

Kinnison nodded. “I’ll need to talk with you about your pack. I might need their help with security around here.”

Cass frowned even as he drew Riley against him. “What about your pack?”

“Looks like they’ve turned on me.”

Someone knocked again. Marric went to answer the door. Zinnie and Maggie walked in.

“I have your back, Ransome. I might be old, but my aim is still good and I ain’t afraid of prison.” Maggie held out her hand and waited for Kinnison to take it. “I’m Maggie. The Gran to this lot.”

“Might as well add one more to your count, Maggie.” Griffin met Iven’s gaze and winked. “We gained a little brother in the last hour.”

Marric squeezed Iven even more.

Maggie shrugged. “The more the merrier, I always say.”

Cass shook his head and whispered to Riley, but it was in a loud, playful way intended for everyone to hear. “I’ve never heard her say that. Not one time while growing up.”

“That’s because we hadn’t expanded our family yet.” Maggie met Kinnison’s gaze. “If you’re not aware, our lot are all smart asses. You’ll just have to get used to it.”

Kinnison smiled for the second time since meeting Iven. It was Maggie who made Kinnison come out of his angry shell.

Marric met Iven’s gaze, pulling him away from the happenings around them. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t really have to. The longing in his eyes was enough to let Iven know he was unsure of Iven’s emotional state.

“What’s wrong?”

Marric bit his lip. “Can we talk about it in private?”

“Sure.” Iven turned to grab his bag, but then he let Marric pull him toward the stairs.

“Good night, everyone.”

Kinnison sighed. “I guess I have beds to make up.”

“You will do no such thing. Point me in the right direction. I’ll do the rest,” Maggie said.

Iven figured she’d take over the house. He’d also figured Kinnison would object, but Kinnison just led Maggie up the stairs. They filed past them.

Kinnison narrowed his eyes as he passed.

Marric made the same face. It was then that he saw the resemblance. The shape of their eyes was similar. Everything else about Marric was more delicate, even down to the shape of his nose. It was thin and had a slight upturn to it at the end.

Kinnison cursed.

Maggie pushed his shoulders. “Leave them alone.”

“You don’t know—"

“Oh, I know a thing or two about alpha types. Always wanting control when you need to learn how to let go.”

Kinnison growled, but it had no heat to it. Maggie was a cute little old lady whose feistiness was fabulous. No one could stay mad at her for very long, although people have certainly stayed annoyed with her for far longer than Kinnison could.

Marric opened his mouth to say something, but Kinnison cut him off. “Shut it, kid.”

Marric finally laughed, which made Kinnison chuckle. “You’re as stubborn as your mother and sister were.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I meant it as one.” Kinnison rubbed his chest and averted his gaze. His sadness was almost palpable.

When they were at the top of the stairs, Marric patted Kinnison’s shoulder. “I miss them too, Dad.”

Kinnison pulled Marric into a hug. “You won’t listen to reason, will you?”

“You’re not reasonable. So no, I’m not listening to it. Not anymore. And certainly not now when my life is at stake. I just want to be happy. Is that so wrong?”

Iven wanted to forget for a moment that they still haven’t solved the problem.

They were a lot closer to apprehending the perpetrator, but not all the way there yet.

Hell, Iven had narrowed it down to the Timeston pack and coven.

But was it the entire pack and coven, or just a couple of people? One? Seven? More? He didn’t know.

“It’s not wrong at all.” Kinnison cupped Marric’s cheek and met his gaze. Whatever he saw in the depths of Marric’s eyes made him concede. He sighed and his shoulders sagged. “I don’t know how to let the pack go.”

“They’ve let us go, Dad,” Marric said.

Kinnison released him. “All of them?”

“Iven and I will find out. We’ll continue investigating in the morning.” Including Iven in the statement drove home just how bonded they already were.

Kinnison nodded. He rubbed the back of his neck as if stress had gathered there. Maybe that’s where the grief lived for Kinnison.