Page 22

22

WES

Rob’s distinct howl was a summons, and we all stopped and made our way to him. The moment I caught the scent of horses, I knew something was wrong. The women must’ve ridden up here because something happened. There was no other reason for them to do so. They knew it was a distraction, and it also made the horses skittish.

I raced to the crest where Rob stood, in human form, with Charlie and Natalie.

“Remy’s out on the mountain,” he said tersely, not waiting for me to shift. “She said she wanted to run with the wolves. The women are trying to find her. You go now, I’ll send the rest after you.”

I wheeled around and raced down the mountain, my paws scrabbling on the rocks with my speed. I stopped when I heard the call of voices. It was the women, calling Remy’s name. I pricked my ears, listening for my daughter’s answer.

There.

I wasn’t sure whether I heard her voice out loud, or if it was just wolf instinct guiding me, but I was certain which direction to go.

I turned and galloped down the mountain. The frantic sound of Joy’s voice calling Remy’s name grew louder. My mate was on the right trail, too.

Of course, she was. Because she was my mate. Human or not, she had instincts for her pup. And, yes, I now believed Remy was Joy’s pup, even after less than a week of knowing her. She had more love for my daughter and took more responsibility for her care than Soraya ever showed.

But I couldn’t think about Remy’s biological mom right now.

That was a separate cluster fuck.

Right now I had to find Remy.

“Joy!”

There.

I heard it–my daughter’s voice. The sound was weak and thin, but I was sure it was her. I stopped only long enough to howl and let the pack know I was on her trail, then charged in the direction of her voice.

“Remy?” Joy had heard her, too. “Where are you, baby? I’m coming!”

I skidded to the edge of a crevice and peered over the ledge. My little girl was down at the bottom. Naked, except for her little sandals.

Fate had to help me.

I lifted my snout to the moon and howled, letting the pack know I’d found her.

“Daddy!” Remy shouted, recognizing my wolf. She waved her little arms. “I’m down here!”

“I see you, Remy!” Joy was already skidding and sliding down the opposite edge of the drop-off. Shit, she could get hurt!

I leaped down to the ledge below me, then another, taking the sheer cliff face in small bites until I was down.

I raced to Remy, and she threw her arms around my neck and started crying.

“Remy–don’t move!” For a brief moment, I couldn’t understand the tension and fear in Joy’s voice.

Then I realized. She was afraid of me.

Her own mate.

She hadn’t seen me in wolf form. Still didn’t know what I was.

The yips of my packmates arriving and gathering on the ridge above only added to Joy’s fear. She shot a quick glance at them as she stooped to pick up a large rock, advancing slowly toward us with stealth. She gripped the rock out in front of her body, as if ready to use it.

“Slowly move away from the wolf, Remy,” Joy warned her. Her voice was calm and steady, but I heard the thread of fear. Sweat dotted her face, and her eyes were wild. She weighed the rock in her hand like a softball.

“I don’t want to,” Remy whined, not understanding why she should leave her father.

“It’s okay. Come toward me,” Joy beckoned with her free hand, still creeping toward us.

Then she wound up, just like a softball pitcher, and hurled the rock at me. I had to dodge to the side to avoid getting hit in the head. If it were anyone else, I’d be pissed. But I was proud of my fierce mate. She had hidden talents!

Remy screamed. “Stop it!” She threw her arms around my neck. “Don’t hurt my daddy.”

“Remy!” Joy cried out in alarm.

Fuck it. I didn’t care if Rob and the entire pack were watching me break pack rules. Joy was my mate. I wasn’t going to let her go. But I had no idea what she’d do to protect Remy from a supposed threat. I already had a rock come at me. I could survive it, but if she got more desperate, she might do something rash and get hurt. And hurt Remy with her.

I was all in with her, and we were going to figure out how to be together as a shifter, a shifter pup, and a human, or I’d die trying.

That meant she needed to know what I was.

I shifted and stood beside Remy.

Joy screamed and stumbled backward, landing on her ass.

“It’s okay. It’s me.” I lunged forward and lifted her to stand, pulling her roughly against my body. She was shaking and sweaty and breathing hard.

In my periphery, I saw my pack wolves slinking away to give us privacy. “I won’t hurt you.”

Joy gaped up at me and then, like the time she had giggled in the middle of her tears, she laughed. “Wes?” Her smile was broad, like this was some funny coincidence meeting out here on the mountain with me buck naked, having just changed forms.

“You’re… you’re not scared?”

“Of you ?” She laughed some more, throwing her arms around me. “Why would I be scared of you?”

Remy wrapped her little arms around Joy’s waist from the back.

“Um, you know. Because of the wolf thing?” I ruffled Remy’s hair, then stepped back to hoist her into my arms, so I knew she was safe.

Joy included her in our little circle and started laughing for real. “You’re a wolf.”

Laughter seemed to be her default when she needed to get emotions out of her body. Laughter or sex. She definitely didn’t prefer crying, but I’d help her with that. I wanted her to feel safe expressing all her emotions, even the sadder ones.

She’d have excess adrenaline in her body later, and I could definitely fuck it out of her again. For now, though, I’d hold her. Hold both my girls.

“Daddy’s a wolf!” Remy cried proudly. Then she turned to me, clapped her little hands against my cheeks. “I wanted to run with you tonight, Daddy.”

“Yeah, baby, that was a problem.” Shifters were used to seeing each other naked, so Remy didn’t notice the state of my undress. “You can’t shift yet. Not until you hit puberty when you’re bigger. A lot bigger. Until then, you have to stay back with the humans on the full moon runs. You know this.”

She sighed. “But I wanted to see the wolves.”

I glanced up at Joy. I had so much to explain to her. “Well, we didn’t show you tonight because Joy didn’t know we were wolves. Remember how we’ve talked about it being a secret?”

“But Joy’s one of us,” Remy insisted, nodding her head. Her hair was snarled, and her face had dirt smudges on it.

For some reason, that made my eyes smart. I looked at my beautiful mate, wrapping my arm tighter about her waist. “She is. At least I hope she will be.”

Joy had tears in her eyes, too. “I don’t know what that means.” She was laughing again. “Are you asking if you can turn me into a wolf or something?”

It was my turn to laugh–a foreign sound that rocketed from my throat and surprised me.

That made Joy giggle more. And Remy.

I shook my head. “No, honey. I just want you to be my mate. Keep our pack secret. Carry my scent.”

“Um…okay.” There was still laughter in Joy’s voice.

I wasn’t sure she was taking this seriously or understood what she was getting herself into, but I’d explain it all when we were back home. Right now I needed to get my two females out of this gully and off the mountain.

As if to punctuate that thought, Remy whined, “I wanna go home.”

“Climb on my back, baby, and I’ll take my girls home.” I said before I dropped to all fours and shifted into wolf form. Remy was on my back and Joy followed along beside me as I took the direct way back to the ranch house. And then we’d go home.