Page 28

28

WES

Joy left. She ran out the front door. Crying.

My wolf raged. I wanted to beat the walls of my house down. To rampage. To fight for her.

But I had my daughter to think of, too.

Joy or Remy.

Soraya was giving me that choice.

Except Joy had decided for me.

My wolf was freaking the fuck out with her being gone.

Ached. Howled. Prowled.

My vision was shifting between wolf and human, like I was about to spontaneously shift and fight off the threat to my pup and mate.

“Daddy, I got gurt on my shirt!” Remy called, running inside with a dirty spoon and fingers covered in white yogurt.

I sucked in a sharp, harsh breath to regain control. I needed to get my wolf on leash, so I could think.

“Okay, let’s get you washed up.” My voice sounded hollow to my ears. I got a wet cloth and wiped her down, my moves wooden.

All the light that Joy had brought to my life had drained. Everything was black and white and red. I was…joyless.

Fucking literally.

“Where’s Joy?” Remy seemed to read my thoughts.

I cleared my throat, but it didn’t remove the sensation of a tight band squeezing the life out of me. “She had to go.”

“But she was going to braid my hair,” Remy whined.

And she was going to spend her life with me.

Rage built within me again.

How could Soraya do this? Why? Was it really about Joy? I hadn’t heard back from Johnny with any updates, but I hadn’t cared before. Now? This was a fucking shitshow.

I grabbed my phone that slid behind the toaster.

“Go get your brush and hair ties, and I’ll do it after I make a call.” I spun her about and gave her a little pat to head toward the bathroom.

Then I dialed my alpha.

“Wolf,” Rob said.

“Rob?” My voice was a bark. “I, uh, I need your help.” It was hard to get the words out. I was a proud alpha male wolf. I barely communicated with the guys I worked with all day long. Asking for help was out of my wheelhouse, but if ever I needed it, the time was now.

“Name it.”

“Remy’s mother is coming tomorrow to take Remy. Says she’s bringing a council member to back her up, and they’ll uphold it because I’m with a human.”

“That’s bullshit,” Rob growled.

His words gave me a sliver of relief. “Are there laws governing custody?”

“No. If there was an inter-pack dispute, it would be resolved with the council members’ decision.”

That didn’t relieve me at all.

“Soraya had made it sound like the council already made a decision. Without me even presenting my side of the story.”

I heard his growl through the phone. Felt it resonate in my chest.

“Maybe she’s bringing a council member to make the decision on the spot instead of waiting for their next meeting. It would be unusual, but if time were of the essence, the council might send one member to resolve a dispute like that.”

Fuck.

“Did you mark your mate?” he asked.

“Yes.” I had to push the image of my beautiful mate’s face streaked with tears from my mind because it made me shake with fury at having her taken from me. “Will that play against me?”

“I don’t know.”

Snakes coiled in my stomach.

“Johnny and I will back you up at the meeting. We don’t have a representative on the council, but I’m alpha of a strong pack in the region, and whoever comes should respect my presence. My pack has multiple males mated to humans. If they’re going to start to discriminate against us based on that fact, they’re going to have problems, and I will make that clear.”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t alone in this. My new pack wouldn’t abandon me in my time of need.

“When are they coming?” Rob asked.

“Tomorrow. Ten a.m.”

“We’ll be there.”

“She’s gone, Alpha,” I added.

“Who?”

The question was valid after Remy ran off the night before. My daughter was a runner, and I had to work on that. Another time.

“Joy. My mate left, so she wouldn’t stand between me and my pup.”

“Fuck. One thing at a time. We’ll take care of Remy, and then you can go after your mate. Come to the ranch now, and Johnny and I will be waiting for you in my office. We’ll come up with a plan.”