Page 8 of Tamed Wolf (Rejected Mates of the Shelter #4)

Lark, After

“Ready or not, here I come!”

The giggles behind the tree give him away, but I pretend to be confused for a good few minutes before ‘accidentally’ finding his hiding spot.

“Mommy! You’re too good at this!”

I scoop him up, which is difficult these days, his long legs dangling as I squeeze him. “I’ve had more years to practice. I thought you said you’ve been practicing at school during recess? I bet you could find me in half the time.”

“Oh, you’re on mom-lady!”

I roll my eyes at the weird term he’s coined for me and won’t let go of, waiting for him to spin and begin counting before I sprint as quietly as possible to find a tree with good climbing limbs.

“Ready or not, here I come!”

I sit perfectly still, laying down on the thick branch, waiting for his footsteps to come in my direction. Of course he heads the opposite way first, but that’s okay, I have nowhere to be.

But then I have to throw myself from the tree and run on the ankle I just turned, half tripping the entire way to the parking lot, because they’re back.

They’re back and I think I know why.

I throw myself in front of my eight-year-old, blocking him. “Leave.”

“Holy fuck, Lark, you look smokin’ hot! Last time we saw you, you were in those hideous sweats. These leggings are a fuck ton better.”

“Do not use that language in front of my child. Leave.”

Trevor steps forward like he thinks I’ll want a hug, but that’s a hard no. They look like shit. This makes me happy.

“Mom-lady? Who are they?”

Trevor laughs, “Say hi to your daddies!” and I flinch.

Camden cuddles against my back, gripping onto my sweater. “Can we go inside now, mom? I’m done playing.”

I start backing up, hoping they’ll just leave, but I’m unsurprised it doesn’t work. I’ve ignored every visiting attempt they’ve made, shredded every letter that’s been sent, returned everything they’ve tried to give me. I want absolutely nothing to do with them.

“Time to pack up your stuff kid, you get to come live in a real house now, instead of this dump heap. Wait ‘til you use the bed we hooked you up with. You’re going to love the big ass tv in the room as well.”

“No thank you.”

“Let’s see you then,” Ivan says, staying true to character and being the less abrasive of the two.

“Can’t you see he’s uncomfortable? He wants to stay with me.”

“You know that’s not possible,” Ivan says with something that’s suspiciously parallel to regret.

I can feel Camden’s fingers turning to claws, shredding my shirt because he’s fucking terrified. These two in front of us give off nothing but slimy, menacing vibes, and Camden has such little interaction with men at the shelter. Sure, he sees some at school and we interact with them when we need to go in public for something, but there’s been none in our lives the entirety of our time here at the shelter.

My heart is compressed so tightly it’s fit to explode, and I’m racing through a million different scenarios in my mind, looking for any possible obstacle that might prevent this atrocity from coming to fruition.

“What if we start doing more visits? If you want to get to know him, we could have some outings, maybe? He doesn’t know anything about you.”

Trevor snarls and steps closer to me, nicotine-tinged breath far too close to my face. “And who’s fault is that, bitch? You gonna raise my kid and not tell him about me? Huh? You think that was fucking smart?”

“Please don’t talk to my mom like that. She’s too good of a person. Maybe we should go get the matron and ask for help; she’s really good at fixing problems. We c-could maybe get a soda from the vending machines? I think we still have a few quarters left in our room.”

Hearing my kid beg guts me, and I have to throw in my offer as well. “P-please. I’ll do anything.”

“Absolutely not, Trevor,” Ivan growls as he grabs the back of his packmate’s neck when he opens his mouth to offer me something. “I don’t care how good of an idea you think it is; she’s not doing that shit. I don’t want her anywhere near there. Don’t want anybody looking at her like that.”

My thoughts are racing again, trying to figure out what they’re discussing right in front of me. Trevor doesn’t make me wait long. “You know it’s the best solution. You either want her or you don’t. Since you haven’t rescued her from here like a fucking knight in tarnished armor, I’m going to assume she thinks she’s too good for us now. You know what no woman anywhere is too good for? Making money. I bet you she’d do it in a heartbeat if it meant being around the boy.”

All these years, I hardly ever hear from my wolf because of the rejection. A lot of wolves just die off after their human gets rejected, but because I was fully claimed before being rejected, mine is a bit stronger. She’s weak now and likely always will be, but she’s there when I really need her.

Like now.

I don’t have the strength to go through with whatever half-cocked plan they’ve come up with, and I’m sure this is all a trap, but I wasn’t lying when I said I’d do anything to stay with my child. So, I use the strength of my wolf to hold my shoulders back and keep my voice steady.

“Just tell me, please. You can’t separate us.”

“You’d have to live with us part time,” Trevor says, laying the trap.

Not what I was expecting, but even that isn’t a deal breaker. “Okay. What else?”

“Seriously?” Ivan asks, intrigued.

“Yes. I told you, anything for him. Do I at least get my own room? Or I can share with him. In fact, I prefer it. We’ve been sharing all this time, and I don’t know if I could sleep elsewhere.”

“Don’t really give a fuck where you sleep as long as you take care of the meals and laundry and all that shit you used to do. You also don’t get to comment a damn thing on who comes in and out of that house.”

I know he’s referring to women, but I could even listen to them fuck somebody else if it meant staying with Camden. I will become a fucking maid if it keeps me with him. “Fine. What else?”

“You’re really fucking motivated, aren’t you? Are other things on the table?” Trevor wags his eyebrows, telling me exactly what he means.

“There’s a fucking kid, right fucking there, ass wipe. We’re not going to talk about sex in front of him. Especially sex with his hot mom.” Maybe I should appreciate the sentiment that Ivan is going for, but it falls so far below the bar that all I can do is stave off the tension headache trying to form between my eyes.

I start nudging Camden towards the building, but he’s not at all interested in leaving me here alone. “Just plug your ears, baby. Pretend we’re on the bus and there’s a stranger trying to talk to you. We’re going to get this figured out, okay? I don’t want you to worry about me. Why don’t you head inside and read a few chapters of your book? I’m going to talk to them, and I’ll be there soon.”

“He can’t—"

I glare at Trevor and take a step towards him, blocking him from chasing after Camden, completely over him ruining my life. “You just showed up out of nowhere with the intention of completely disrupting our lives. He doesn’t deserve that. If you want to be involved with him, this is something you must do. You must consider him above everything else. If you don’t show us the most basic of courtesies in this manner, I will fight you fucking tooth and nail every step of the damn way. I may be a nothing rejected wolf, but you haven’t taken my voice.

“I’ve made connections in here and I can get help. So try taking my kid away from me while simultaneously acting like you have no vested interest in his wellbeing and you bet your ass, I’ll take it to the alpha and get your ass in a tribunal. Pack law might say they belong with the fathers, but I’m sure there’s also a clause in there about the child’s wellbeing.

“You want to work through this situation as a fucking adult, then let’s do that. You have already clearly demonstrated that you have no idea what sort of language is appropriate for a child. You want anything to do with him, you will clean up your fucking act.

“You will in no way degrade me in front of him, keep that toxic shit private. You will not proposition me in front of him, but I can make your life real fucking easy and real fucking nice if you give me these basic things. All I ask is that I stay in his life.”

Ivan surges forward, grabbing me and pulling my mouth to his like he thought that was a damn proposal and invitation for fucking around, but I knee him right in the balls to stop that notion in its tracks. “I have no desire to touch either of you intimately as long as you’re touching other women; if you want my body on the table, that’s the rule. I don’t want to sleep with you, but I literally will do anything for my kid.

“I know that’s a lot of fucking power to hand to a couple of assholes who don’t give a shit about me, but Camden is the only damn thing I care about.”

Trevor eyes me up and down, thinking, which must be excruciating for him, before he finally nods. “You’ll do whatever we ask?”

“As long as it doesn’t endanger me or Camden. And you have to be a respectable father. You cannot parade women in front of him. He is eight years old and he’s far too young to learn how to disrespect women.”

“Fucking burn!” Ivan whoops, far too happy right now.

“And you,” I say, averting my eyes onto Ivan, “shut the fuck up. Don’t kiss me unless…actually, just don’t kiss me. I don’t know where your fucking mouth has been. I don’t do sloppy seconds, and I don’t want whatever incurable diseases are likely covering your dicks from how often you dip them into your employees and goddess knows who else without wrapping them. If any wolf could figure out how to contract an STI when it’s supposed to be biologically impossible, it’d be you two through sheer dumb determination.”

I storm off and head towards the door, typing in my access code to get inside.

“Wait! We still want the kid!”

I flip them off over my shoulder.

“Fine, wait. We’ll… fine.” Trevor catches up to me, followed by Ivan, and they’re looking inside the halls of our home, the one they condemned us to, with the purest form of distaste I might have ever seen.

“Still smells like gravy, and it’s…gross. I think I know why you said you’ll do anything to get out of here.”

I correct Trevor and his stupid mouth immediately. “This building has nothing to do with me wanting to get away. In fact, I’m not getting away from here, not permanently. I need my room here because I know there are going to be times when you don’t want me anywhere near you, or when you make me so batshit crazy that I’ll need somewhere safe to be. I need somewhere I can take Camden if I feel like you’re not holding your end of the bargain and we’re in danger. I don’t trust you two fucks as far as I can throw you, so we’re keeping the safety net. And you sure have a lot of shit to say for a place you’ve lauded as being so highly optimum in the past. Fuck right off. This place kept me alive and fed when neither of you could be bothered.”

I feel their eyes on me the entire length of the halls, and it’s empowering to know that they see me as a woman finally, even if it comes at a point in time where it’s laughably unreturned and purchased with a cost so high it nearly broke me dozens of times.

They might think they’re controlling me and Camden, but they’re still wolves and wolves are ruled by their basest of instincts. Even if they’ve smothered the shit out of their wolves to reject me and fuck other women the way they have, I know I can find ways to get their wolves to take over and piss them off.

“We’re stopping at the matron’s office before we do shit. We are her wards until papers are signed. She also has legal status to create agreements that will be held up in any sort of legal battle, so I need her apprised of the situation so that when you two fucks break your end of the agreement, I have ground to stand on.”

“That’s twice now,” Ivan rambles, “you’ve called us that. Is that the best endearment you can think of to call us? Surely if we have to be civil, you do as well.”

That makes me smile, something that’s usually as foreign to my face as health is to theirs. “I’m sure I can come up with plenty more names, many times better than ‘two fucks’, just give me a bit of time. I’ll absolutely be civil to you in front of Camden but only if you can reciprocate. In case you’re confused, that word means you have to be civil to me if you want to see that action returned.”

“I know what reciprocate means,” Ivan grumbles.

Matron is busy with someone else when I arrive, so I take a seat in the chairs in front of the office where she’ll see someone is waiting, relaxing for a moment because I’ve learned to take things one step at a time. I know right now at this moment that Camden is safe and in familiar surroundings, and if he needs anything until I get back, there are neighbors he is comfortable approaching. We all have to help each other out here.

When it’s finally our turn, I’ve returned somewhat to my inner peace I always try to use as a baseline, throwing mental darts at the faces of the assholes beside me.

“Hey Lark, come on in. Let me get my notary seal, I have a feeling I’ll be needing it for this conversation.”

“These two upstanding citizens would like to request custody of our son. In exchange for me not fighting them on it, they offered me a bed to sleep in at their home. The agreement is I get to stay in Camden’s life if I carry out the domestic duties they’ve requested of me. Don’t need to be specifically outlined. I just want it noted that they are required to treat me with respect in front of our son, and that sexual favors will not be happening as long as they continue to fuck the women they’re so fond of taking advantage of. I would like to require a minimum two-month pussy sobriety before any sort of negotiations happen on mine.”

Ivan is choking, but I’ve got this.

Matron takes this all in stride, because the deals us shelter girls learn to spin when our entire livelihoods are on the line get pretty wild. “Okay, I can do that. Gentlemen, is there anything you’d like to add to the contract?”

She looks up at them, eyes full of condemnation, and I fucking love her for it.

“When the boy turns 16, the extra stipulations are void. I’m only dealing with her bullshit as long as I absolutely have to and that’s the age wolves are considered adults in our community.”

“Fair enough,” she mumbles as she types everything up.

She prints a few copies and presents them to us all. “I’d like you two to know that this is a legally binding contract. I need your signatures on this line signifying that you agree to these terms presented therein.”

“That means you have to write your name there,” I say slowly as if they’re absolutely stupid. Let’s be honest though, I might actually be helping them out here. “And by doing that, you’re saying you will follow the things she typed up already.”

“Dumb bitch,” Trevor snarls under his breath. It doesn’t hurt me though, I’m too happy with myself currently.

While they’re reading over and signing, I address my other needs with Matron. “Since I’m still rejected, Matron, I would like to retain my rights to keep a room here. I don’t have enough faith in them that they’ll uphold the contract, and I need to know there’s somewhere else that Camden and I can get to if we’re endangered.”

“I was going to suggest that, actually. Normally I’d be an advocate for cleaning out rooms so we have them available for new tenants, but this is a different sort of situation. Your room remains yours as long as you need it, Lark. To do that though, you will need to pull a few shifts each week to contribute. Is this something we can make work?”

“I can bring her,” Ivan mumbles.

“Excellent. Lark, if you need alternate transportation, give me a call and I can help you figure out a bus route or something.”

“Thank you, Matron. I appreciate it.”

When we start heading back to my room, Trevor adopts a troubling sneer, but I need to start steeling myself for whatever games he’s going to try to break me with. “You’re going to have uniforms when you’re with us, I hope you know that.”

“As long as said uniforms don’t come with your fucking slimy fingers all over me, I can manage.”

“And you’ll be dancing at our club. Just a few times a week to start while you train, and we’ll increase the frequency as we see fit. You’re going to rake in so much money.”

I stumble and have to catch myself on the wall. I did say I’d do anything, and if I tell myself I must do this to support my kid, it’s completely fine. I have no problem with people that dance for money, I just hate that my mates are taking advantage of me and forcing me into it.

“Patrons will not touch me.” That’s a hard and fast rule. That’s how strip clubs operate, right? I’ve never been to one other than the few times I was at theirs with them, but I kind of remember that being a thing.

“Nobody fucking touches you,” Ivan spits, glaring at Trevor who I’m pretty sure was going to say something ungainly.

It’s interesting to me that there’s such a wedge pitched between them. I feel like I could work with that knowledge and try to sway Ivan to my side more just so I have some sort of protection.

I have to pause and take a few deep breaths before I walk into my room and pretend like my world isn’t falling apart again. The important thing though is they aren’t taking me away from him.

“Camden, honey, I’m back,” I announce as I slip inside. The two fuckers step inside and look around, seemingly fascinated by the hovel we call home, but they don’t exist to me right now. “We need to talk, baby.”

“Is this about them being my daddies? I thought daddies spent time with their kids; how can they be my daddies if I’ve never met them?”

“Well, there are all sorts of types of families Camden, you know that. You know that I used to be…mated to them before you were born, and that was wonderful because it gave me you.

“It’s very important to them that we go live with them. I’ve seen their house, and unless it’s changed a whole bunch, I think you’ll be much more comfortable there. You’ll have to switch schools, but I’ve told you that this was always a possibility.”

He thinks about this for a few moments, looking at his fathers and trying to make a decision on them. “Are you nice?” He asks them, going straight for the throat.

Trevor tries to speak, and I snort, try to cover it up with a cough, then wait for them to figure out how to get themselves out of this hole they’ve dug by forcibly injecting themselves into our lives.

Ivan squats down and tucks his hair behind his ear, honestly trying to be decent. “I think we need to spend some time getting to know each other. We weren’t a good fit to be partners to your mom, but I think she’s done a really great job raising you, just like I knew she would.”

“Yeah?” Camden asks, a little smile on his face.

Ivan meets my eyes and answers, “Yeah.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere without my mom.”

“I know, buddy,” he falsely sympathizes. “She fought pretty hard for you, and we think it will be good for you to have her around, too. I really think you’re going to like our home; there’re a few kids on the street you could play with, and you’ll have a bunch of really nice things.”

“I guess that sounds okay,” Camden says, looking to me for approval.

I give him a nod. “Let’s just pretend it’s a new adventure, okay C? We’ll find all sorts of new quests to complete when we get there.”