Love at First Roar (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Werebear Romance) (Grayslake Book 4) (31 page)

Zoey’s murmured “no way” had an immediate effect on Bates. While the male glared at Isaac, Bates also released some of his anger. The wolf realized he wasn’t going to be the one to take down the Arizona pack.

“Now,” Isaac continued, “if the wolves are killed in a fight with a bear, even if his status as a bear is a technicality and not a physical reality… Well, your territorial alpha is just gonna have to suck it up and find a new alpha for the pack.” He focused on Reid. “I don’t know anyone crazier and more deadly than you. Feel like killing a couple of crazed wolves?”

Reid nodded. “Yeah, lemme tell Terrence I’ll need an extra day.”

The wolf was a cocky son of a bitch, but if anyone could destroy a good hunk of that pack, it was Reid.

“You might want to tell him you’re about to take out a pack’s inner circle.” Isaac drawled.

“Eh, I guess I can tell him that, too.”

That was one crazy motherfucker.

Reid turned from the table and strode toward the hallway. Every wolf pressed against the wall, making way for the dangerous ex-alpha.

“That is one crazy motherfucker,” Kira whispered, echoing Isaac’s thoughts. “Do you think he can do it? Isaac, they don’t play fair.”

“He knows.” More than anyone in the world, Reid knew about not playing fair.

At least now it’d be sanctioned. Sort of. Retribution couldn’t be denied and between Zoey’s and Kira’s testimony, he didn’t think there’d be trouble. Well, much trouble.

With the dominant wolf’s departure, the rest of the crowd broke up, wolves wandering away, leaving them alone once again.

“What now?” Kira voiced the question tumbling through Isaac’s mind as well.

“Now, we stay vigilant and keep you two safe.” Bates was quick to respond. “As much as I hate to let Reid have all the fun, we’ll wait to hear from him and be on the lookout for anyone from your pack or other shifters who might be a threat.”

Isaac didn’t like the idea that others from his clan would have been swayed by Mitchell’s smooth talk and convinced to go after Kira or Zoey.

But it’d happened with Vanessa, hadn’t it? An idea planted in a jealous, half-crazed woman’s mind and then the she-bear was going after his mate.

“Do we keep them here? Or back to our own dens?” Isaac murmured the question and noticed both women tense.

“We aren’t going anywhere.” Kira spat the words first and Zoey nodded her agreement.

“We’d be at an advantage on our home turf, baby. I’d have the whole clan to protect you.” He rubbed a hand down her back, trying to rid her of tension.

“And we’d have the whole pack,” Bates added.

“But we’d be separated,” Zoey whispered.

“And we’re not stupid. We know how to sit in a house surrounded by a bunch of deadly shifters,” Kira huffed and turned her ice-blue gaze on him. “He’s already driven me out of one home, I won’t let him steal another.”

“Kira, baby…” He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re set on this?”

His bear snarled at the idea that she’d be exposed to danger. Hell, his human side balked at the idea.

“Yes.”

“Fine.” He took a deep breath and begged his bear to remain calm. “But I’m talking to Ty and having a few guards sent over. He needs to know what’s happening and I need you protected.”

“I can send over a few wolves,” Bates interjected.

“And I appreciate that.” He truly did even if he wasn’t going to take the man up on his offer. “But—no offense—my bear would feel better with a few men from our clan.”

“Fair enough.”

That seemed to signal the end of their small meeting. Bates urged Zoey from his lap and Isaac did the same with Kira. While the two women embraced with promises of phone calls and popping over for breakfast, Isaac shook the wolf’s hand. With their mates being best friends, he figured he’d be seeing a lot of the male.

When the ladies began planning breakfast, lunch,
and
dinner, he knew “a lot” was an understatement.

It took five tries to get them away from each other, but they finally managed to part the chattering women, and Isaac tugged Kira toward the door while he had his chance. He nudged her outside, smiling when a yipping Ebenezer bounded over to them, tongue lolling and butt shaking.

“Hey, Ebie PiffleWaffle.” Kira stroked the pup and Isaac groaned.

“Can’t you give the guy a little respect? You already forced Ebenezer on him.”

Kira squeezed his hand, the touch trembling as she pulled him to a stop. The pup paused along with them, Ebenezer lapping at her free hand.

“Ebie is…” She shook her head and he realized the dog might just be more than a dog to Kira. “He’s hope for me. You know
A Christmas Carol
when Ebenezer Scrooge was hateful and mean? Then he changes and becomes a good person. One who’s nice and loving and…” Kira stroked the pup’s head and he saw what the animal meant to her.

“I’m sorry, baby.”

“I hoped, you know. That maybe they’d love me. That they’d suddenly be better, but they weren’t. So he became my promise. I promised to find a place where he could have fun and play and he really is the shittiest guide dog ever, but he’s mine and even though I stopped hoping my father and brother would change, I still hunt for happiness with him.” She shrugged. “I know his name isn’t Ebenezer Pifflewaffle or Hufflesnuffle, but they make me laugh. I missed that the most. I have hope and laughter with Ebie, but for the first time I have something else.”

“What?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“A future. Love. Happiness. Everything.”

“That’s more than one thing.” He needed to get the words out while he let her statement run through his mind.

A future. Love. Happiness. Everything.

“Doesn’t make it less true.”

“No, it doesn’t.” He licked his lips, mouth suddenly dry. “It’s true for me as well.”

Smooth Isaac. Real smooth.

Isaac tried again. “Just before you moved in, I told my brother I was leaving town.” He ran a finger down his scar. “I didn’t think I’d find a mate here. And as I held my niece, he told me I’d miss her, that I’d miss the clan and my family. Then I said I wouldn’t have any of my own if I stayed.” He cupped her cheek and wiped away her tears with his thumb. “But then I met you and I’m… I’m glad I was wrong.”

Isaac watched Kira sleep, her body curled toward him, her hair fanned across the pristine white of his pillows. She was beautiful, luscious, and his.

All his.

He couldn’t believe his luck, but he’d keep her just the same.

Sounds of the house’s occupants stirring drew his attention, his bear straining to listen to the murmurs and clang of pots and pans. The higher-pitched voices belonged to his brothers’ mates while their deep baritone offset the ladies.

He hadn’t been able to keep them all away. They didn’t give a damn about danger. Someone in their family was threatened and they circled the wagons. Isaac just wished they’d circle them outside.

Kira whimpered and wiggled closer to him and he readily gathered her near. Those sweet curves molded to him, cushioning his hardness. Dammit. If he could have convinced his family to stay outside his home, he might have gotten laid last night. Instead, he woke with blue balls. Well, went to sleep with them and simply awoke in the same state.

She rubbed her nose against his chest, nuzzling and snuffling until she finally settled in. Her breathing never slowed into an even rhythm and he knew she’d woken.

He leaned his head toward her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “G’morning.”

Kira harrumphed. “No, it’s really not.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” a reverberating clang floated from the first floor. “They’re all here. I love them, I really do, but they are hell on my ears. And nose. And my organizational skills.”

She practically wailed the last part of her sentence and he figured that’s what upset her the most. They’d settled into a routine, a way of living, that kept Kira safe and feeling confident in his home.

His family was currently tearing that hard won peace to shreds.

“As soon as Reid takes care of your father and brother, they’ll leave.”

“Promise?” she grumped.

“I promise. They worry about us.” He tugged her closer. “They’re just hanging around because they love us too. Even if they don’t know how to be quiet to save their lives.”

Another clang followed by a low “dammit” and then Mia’s ever-present chastising “language.”

“At least they left the cubs at home.”

Isaac chuckled, remembering his conversation from last night. “It was a near thing. Parker tried to smuggle Sophia and him in a suitcase. Never mind that no one brought anything larger than a duffle bag. Parker thought it’d be a good idea to see how grown up bears dealt with problems.” He shook his head. “Mia told him grown up bears went to bed without dessert.”

The light sound of his mother’s footsteps reached him and Isaac groaned.

“What?” Kira’s voice was muffled.

“My mother.” The second the word left his mouth, a knock reached them.

“No hanky-panky this morning. We’ve got things to cuss and discuss.”

Now Kira groaned.

His mother still lingered near the door and he called out to her. “Yes, Mom. We’ll be down in a second.”

Isaac waited until Mom fully retreated and then he whispered to Kira. “We probably have time for a quickie.”

“You
do not
have time for a quickie, young man!”

He huffed. “I have just been cock-blocked by my mother.”

Annoyed, he rolled from the bed and helped Kira from the depths of the blankets and mattress. He stared at her curved form, wishing he could trace her bare curves with his tongue. Unfortunately, his family was making as much noise as possible, which wasn’t conducive to lovemaking.

“C’mon, baby. I can at least wash your back,” he murmured.

“Nothing more?” Teasing sparkled in her gorgeous eyes.

“Not if I don’t want my mother walking in on us.”

Kira gasped. “She wouldn’t.”

“Are you two coming?” Mom’s voice echoed up the stairs.

“Yes, she really would.”

That had his mate rolling her eyes and sighing before tromping into the bathroom. Isaac was right on her heels, gaze on the sway of her hips and the bounce of her ass. He knew a quickie was out of the question, but his cock still hadn’t gotten the memo. He was hard in an instant, more than ready to slide into her wet heat.

Instead, he got to the shower before her. A twist of a knob had the water flowing and he stepped beneath the spray before allowing the liquid to warm. Sometimes a bear had to do what a bear had to do.

Once the water heated and Kira joined him, he fought to keep his touch casual and not arousing. They had to hurry. He needed to think of non-sexy things like his parents having sex.

Isaac glanced at his now soft cock. Yup, that did it.

Before long, they were clean, dry, and dressed. He strode ahead of Kira, eyes scanning their surroundings as he hunted for anything out of place. When he came to an errant end table, he nudged it back. The discarded pillow was tossed onto the couch and he rearranged the coffee table as well.

By the time he made it to the kitchen, he was fuming on Kira’s behalf.

He lowered himself into an empty chair and tugged Kira onto his lap, entwining his fingers with hers. Holding hands like this, he was able to feel the unevenness of her digits and the fact that things were out of place enraged him further.

His mother placed a heaping plate of food before him and he felt Kira’s twitch of interest. They’d get to eating in a second. First…

“Isaac, you remember how you had me research Zoey? Well, I also looked at—”

Isaac held up a hand for silence. “I love you all, but I’m getting damned tired of repeating myself. And as an FYI, I threw a wolf out of Kira’s window for this. Don’t think I won’t take it out on one of you.” He leveled his angry glare on his family.

In all honesty, he knew the women loved Kira, his mother in particular. So it probably wasn’t them who’d disregarded his mate’s safety. He wouldn’t put it past his oblivious brothers though.
Men
.

“I know Mom and Dad taught us to put things back where we found them, but that seems beyond someone in this house. So here it is: if you move furniture, put it back. If you move a pillow, put it back. If you put anything on the floor or out of its original place. Put it the fuck back.” Mia didn’t chastise him for his cursing and neither did his parents. They must have either realized the depth of his anger or felt the same. When he noticed the glare Mom leveled on Ty, Van, and Keen, he figured it was a bit of both.

Isaac untwined his fingers from Kira and raised her hand, making sure she splayed her fingers. The two on the left were bent at odd angles, one a little more pronounced than the others. “I splinted this, but it’s still a hint more crooked than it was before. And do you know why she broke her finger? Because someone didn’t replace a stepstool.”

“Isaac…” Kira murmured, a rebuke in her tone.

“No.” He shook his head. “I promised not to treat you like an invalid, like you can’t take care of yourself, and I won’t. But making sure you’re safe in our home is another story.”

He stared at his family, gazed on his brothers, and he noted the sheepish expression on their faces. Low “sorrys” reached them, but it was Mia’s tear-filled gaze that snared his attention.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even realize… I didn’t mean…”

Kira didn’t give him a chance to say a word. No, his mate wiggled from his lap and padded around their small gathering, weaving between chairs before she stood before Mia. His mate drew the Itana into a tight hug. “It’s okay. You didn’t know and I’m fine. I promise.”

Mia sniffled and nodded against Kira’s shoulder. “I just…”

“Hush. I’m all healed. That’s no reason to get upset.”

“But it’s
crooked
.” Mia practically wailed and Isaac shot a panicked look at Ty. The man looked just as panicked as his brother.

“So? The only one who’d care is Isaac and he doesn’t seem to mind. Besides, he doesn’t have room to talk in the ‘what’s uglier’ department. Have you seen his face? I think I should get hazard pay or something.”