Page 27 of The Beta’s Heart (Five Fangs #5)

Peri

As I walked through the forest, the sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. I was looking for River and Sid, who’d been suspiciously quiet all afternoon. Tyler had been exhausted after having two bad episodes in a row last night, and he finally gave in to my badgering and took a nap.

I didn’t know how much sleep could help when your soul was tired, but at least his body would benefit from it.

Since River had said a very definitive no to a ‘nappy-nap,’ I’d given him permission to shift and go for a run with his best friend. I had a big sewing project I wanted to get done before school started and didn’t need him underfoot, whining about how bored he was.

Now, hours later, I was worried. Knowing their penchant for getting into trouble, I had a sinking feeling he and Sid were up to something, especially since neither of them would link with me.

Following their scent trail into the woods near the alpha house, I let my oldest brothers know what was going on, just in case they wondered why I was wandering around on their property.

Since Jay and I are at the alpha offices, let Mase or Cole know if you need help, Wyatt linked back for all of them, sounding unconcerned, and I smacked my lips at him. Why so worried, Periwinkle? They’re nearby, still on pack territory, and no one is picking up on anything but the usual silliness coming from them.

Because you know as well as I do that neither of them have the sense the Goddess gave a goose! I sassed back, quoting one of Dad’s favorite sayings.

Of course, that only made him and Jay giggle, but Mase sighed and said he and Cole would be out to help me in a minute, so I blew a raspberry at the other two rascals and closed the link.

As I walked a little further, the rich smell of wet earth tickled my nose and wolfy giggles reached my ears. I followed the noise, weaving through the trees until I came upon a small clearing where I found River and Sid rolling around in an enormous mud puddle, the muck splattered everywhere as they wrestled, their fur absolutely caked with the sticky stuff.

“River! Sid!” I called out, exasperated. “What on earth are you two doing?!”

They froze, then whipped around faster than a hiccup to stare at me. River’s face was completely covered, only his golden eyes visible as they blinked innocently up at me, and Sid, equally muddy, gave me a shameless grin.

Hi, mate! River said with a little too much excitement. We find mud!

“I can see that,” I replied, trying to suppress a smile. “You two are a mess. Tyler and Ash are going to either bust a gut laughing at you or burst a blood vessel scolding you.”

But mud fun. Sid tilted his head, looking puzzled. It cool and squishy!

I had to laugh at his logic.

“Yes, it’s fun, but it’s going to take forever to get out of your fur. Come on, babies. Let’s head home and get started.”

Then River and Sid exchanged a devilish glance and, next thing I knew, I was flat on my back in the ‘fun, cool, squishy’ mud that seeped into my clothes amazingly fast.

“River! Sid!” I shouted, but their laughter drowned me out, their joy too infectious for me to be mad. After flailing around for a bit, I managed to sit up, grimacing at the wet sucking noise the mud made as it finally released me. “Okay, okay, you got me, but now we’re all in trouble.”

Sorry, mate. River looked at me with wide, apologetic eyes. We just playing. Me good boy. Siddy good boy, too!

“Yeah, yeah, you’re both good boys,” I sighed. “The very best good boys.”

Then a familiar voice rang out from the edge of the clearing.

“You three look like you were dipped in dark chocolate pudding.”

I turned to see Mase, arms crossed and eyebrows raised, with Cole beside him trying—and failing—to keep a straight face.

Pudding! the pups yodeled together. Pudding, pudding, pudding!

“Well, I found them,” I said, gesturing to the mud-covered wolves. “And they decided I had to join in on the fun.”

Cole couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out into loud guffaws. Thankfully, Mase stepped forward, extending a hand, and I took it. As he effortlessly pulled me to my feet, I cut my eyes to the pups and saw them nodding at each other with gleams of mischief in their eyes before they started to creep up on Mase from behind.

“Don’t do it,” he said before I could warn him.

Those eldest brother instincts kicking in, I thought with a chuckle. Man’s got eyes on the back of his head.

Do what, Masey? Sid asked innocently, even tilting his head to one side, but his tongue lolled and his tail wagged like crazy, giving himself away.

“You know what.”

River and Sid looked at each other, then at me, their expressions a mix of disappointment and hope that I’d help them.

“No, pups. That’s enough now,” I said gently.

Awww! they pouted.

Despite the hour of work ahead of me, I couldn’t help but smile. They might be troublemakers, but they were our troublemakers, and I wouldn’t trade them for any other wolves in the world.

“Should I ask how this all went down?” Mase asked as Cole bent double with laughter, and I shook my head. “Well, I don’t really have to, do I? Ty had another nightmare and needed a break or a nap. Man, we’d hoped that finding his mate would help that to stop.”

“I wish I could help him more, but I don’t know what else to do.” I let out a sigh that came from the bottoms of my mud-soaked shoes.

“I didn’t mean it as a criticism of you, Peri,” he said. “We know what it’s like. As much as we wish we could end Posy’s nightmares, we can’t. We hoped, probably as much as you did, it would work that way, but it doesn’t.”

“Yeah.”

“Come on, Sissy.” Cole finally straightened, wiping tears from his eyes. “Let’s go home so we can spray you three down with the garden hose.”

Hose! River and Sid shouted together. Hose, hose, hose!

“Yeah, but you know what follows the hose, right?” I teased them. “A B-A-T-H!”

It took them a minute to work through the letters, but once they did, they let out yips of distress and tore off like their tails were on fire.

#

Posy giggled herself silly when she came out on the porch and saw three hang-dog faces standing in her front yard as Cole squirted us down with the garden hose.

“Can I help?” she asked as her laughter died down.

“This will just get the first layer off the pups,” I told her. “We’ll need a scrub brush and some shampoo in a minute.”

“I’ve got both,” Mase said as he came out of the house, a bucket in each hand. “You can watch if you want to, little flower, but you don’t need to help. They’ll just get you all wet—”

And that’s something only we’re allowed to do! Ash shouted with glee, and I didn’t know why he thought I had to be included in that link.

“You’ve been awake this whole time?!” I shrieked.

Yep! Hanging out with these two is always hella fun!

“You—You—You—”

A blast of cold water hit me square in the face before I could erupt in enough profanities to fill the swear bear clean to the top.

“Cool off, Sissy,” Cole chuckled in his basement-deep voice. “Honey, can you lend her some clothes? Mase and I will take care of this.”

“Sure. Come on in, Peri. Actually…” Posy paused and held up one finger. “Wait here until I get you a towel.”

Starting to shiver now despite the mid-August heat, I folded my arms across my chest to hold in some warmth.

Just you wait, Ash , I said to myself. There’s a mud pie to the face in your very near future!

“How can you enjoy splashing in the creek, swimming in the lake, and playing in mud holes, but hate taking a bath?” I shot the two pups a narrow-eyed glare, but they were too miserable to notice.

Baf not fun, mate, River pouted.

No fun at all, Per-Per, Sid added.

“Well, there’s more to life than fun! And as for you, River, your fun-filled afternoons are at an end. You know that right? It’s back to school tomorrow.”

Noooo! he wailed, and Sid leaned over to give him comfort licks in his left ear. Hate school, mate!

“Why?” Posy came back and handed me a towel that I quickly huddled into. “School is fun! You can read and learn and—”

BOOOO! both babies shouted.

“Well, I’m excited!” She bounced on her tiptoes and clasped her hands under her chin. “Even if I flunk out after the first quarter, I can’t wait to see what high school’s like!”

“You’re not going to flunk out.” I rolled my eyes as I kicked off my shoes and followed her into the house. “You’re too smart for that.”

“Maybe about some things, but I haven’t had an official class in nearly six years. My math skills especially need work, although I kept up with reading and writing as best I could.” She sighed as she started up the staircase and I squelched along behind her. “I want to improve myself so I don’t shame my mates.”

“Posy, there is no way you could do that,” I assured her. “You could fail every class or run naked through downtown Greenville and they wouldn’t be ashamed of you. Now stop worrying. Mase was valedictorian the year he graduated, and Jay was salutatorian for his class. Between the two of them, you won’t lack tutors.”

“I suppose you’re right. And I’ll have you and Ty, as well as your friends that you introduced me to.”

“That’s right. Bram, Sophie, and Yola are excited to go back to school, too, so the three of you can hip-hip-hooray all day tomorrow.”

That got a little giggle out of her, which got a little smile out of me, despite the mud sliding out of my hair and into my ears.

#

River

Sun goes down, moon comes up.

Poor Ty-Ty! So sleepy! Mate say Ty-Ty need good rest tonight.

Oh! Idea! Me guard Ty-Ty! Me ask Ty-Ty, and he and mate gives ’mission! Yippee!

Beddah stay away, meanie dreams! Grr! Me rip you up!

Oh, here come mate! Slides on silky nightie, slides into bed.

Me like mate. She good to Ty-Ty, good to me. Likes shiny rocks. Sneaks me treats. Plays in mud wif me and Siddy.

Hi, mate .

She rub my head, and my tail wag.

“Hello, River, my sweet boy.”

You make me happy, mate . Me make you happy?

“You sure do,” she say, her nose on mine. “You make me and Dove both happy.”

Me not always good boy. Me sad now. Get scared. Get mad. Get in drubble. But me try harder. For you and for Ty-Ty and for Dovie.

“Baby, you are always a good boy. You can improve yourself if you want to or feel that you need to, but we all love you just the way you are.”

She hug me, her soft bits all over me, and me stare in her eyes. Dey like night sky, sparkly wif stars.

Me love mate. Me love Ty-Ty, too. Den me whisper dah secret-secret! Me love Dovie most of all.

“That’s the way it should be,” she say wif a smile.

Eyes close. So happy, so safe, so loved.

Will try harder, me make promise to me. Never want to lose dis. Never, never, never.