Page 2 of Shattered

Laughter came from the bedroom Mackenzie had given to Holly, drawing his attention from the cup of coffee in his hand. No one should have been in there but Holly and now, him. He lifted his nose and drew in a deep breath. Feminine with the hint of something spicy. When his body didn’t respond to the scent, he frowned. Rafertys were known for their sexuality. For being virile men. Mackenzie, on the other hand, hadn’t had anyone in his bed since shit went downhill with Marjorie. Sure, the pull of the moon made him a nasty asshole to be around, but it didn’t hold—the same yearning—it once did. He’d figured it had something to do with the trauma and assumed the sexuality of his wolf or the man, would never be normal.

A fucked-up price to pay for ruining his family.

Mackenzie eased down the hall and came to a stop outside the room. The soft sighs and giggles of pleasure between two women filtered through the door. The sweet smell of arousal followed.What the fuck?He shook his head. How had she gotten someone into the house without him knowing? Without him smelling them? Was he that wrapped up in himself that he hadn’t paid attention? This shit could get him—them—into trouble.

With Hayden spending more time there, with them, instead of with her father because of Holly, the chances of her finding out the truth, just grew exponentially—especially since Mackenzie ‘claimed’ her, so Holly and Hayden never had to be apart. If anyone found out what Holly was doing...Damn it.Mackenzie turned away from the door and headed back to the kitchen where he’d left his coffee.

They couldn’t do this. There needed to be ground rules. Parameters. They had to be on the same page, and they couldn’t be if Holly couldn’t keep her head on straight.

When Holly finally emerged with the woman who’d joined her, she wore the expression of a well-fucked female as did the other woman. Mackenzie stared after both of them. They were carefree and oblivious to the world around them, another sign he needed to nip that shit in the ass before it got out of control. He waited patiently, drinking his coffee as Holly kissed the woman again, then closed the door after making plans to meet up later.

Makenzie cleared his throat.

Holly jumped and turned to him. The freshly-fucked glow retreated, exposing her pale skin and dread-filled hazel gaze. “Mac, I thought you went to work today.” She lifted her trembling hand and raked her fingers through her bed-tussled hair.

“Nope. I’m on school duty today. If Hayden needs one of us, I’ll go to pick her up. First time in years she’s been with kids her age.” He didn’t take his eyes off of Holly while he swallowed another sip of his coffee. “So, we need to talk.”

A tinge of green and pink filled her cheeks. “I’m not sure—”

“I don’t give a shit who you fuck,” he snarled. “What I care about is keeping up pretenses around here. We’re doing something mutually beneficial for each other. You’re staying, and I get to see my young niece grow up with her father and her brother.”

Holly slipped into the chair across from him. “You’re right. You’re right. Sorry. I-I wasn’t thinking.”

No, she wasn’t. Couldn’t have been easy finding a side piece while being on the run and being a single mom to a pup. However, jumping into bed with someone after they made their announcement... Not cool, either. Window Rock was a small community, everyone knew everyone’s business. All it’d take is for the girl to talk about what she did at a Raferty home, and boom, their little ruse would be over. “Look, we just need to make adjustments. First and foremost, we need to put a lock on the bedroom door to keep Hayden from stepping inside at the wrong moment. Also, I would prefer you didn’t screw your partners while I’m home.”

She nodded. “You’re right again. I’m sorry. I can put the locks on today.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll get it done.” He placed his cup down. “We have to make this as real as possible. So, from here on out, we’re a happy family.”

She sat there for a moment, not saying anything. Her gaze was fixed on a knot on the polished surface of the table. When she did speak, she surprised him. “Have you given any more consideration on how you’d like to handle the children situation?”

All of his brothers had pups, pretty soon, since he claimed her, someone would be asking the question. “It’s something I have thought about, yes. How to handle it, I’m not sure.”

“You have Royce,” she said. “Do you honestly want any more?”

“A wolf’s inclination is to reproduce to carry on the line. After everything that’s happened to me, I’m not sure I can have any,” Mackenzie answered.

“Then we’ll say we’re adopting, right? I-I don’t want any after what Hayden and I have gone through. I don’t want to carry on the Geithner name,” Holly added.

There was an undercurrent of something else there, what exactly, Mackenzie couldn’t put his finger on. But the wolf deep inside him bristled at the hint of the lie. “Fine, then we’ll adopt from Danielle and Keeley. We’ll be one big happy family if it kills us both.”

Holly frowned. “It shouldn’t kill you to have children, Mac. You should want all of this.”

“I’m too old to want anything like my brothers have.” He glanced up at her then changed the subject. “With us living in such close quarters, our scents will mingle, and no one will notice.”

She picked at her cuticle and tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “I still don’t understand why, Mac. Why are you doing this for me? Us? Make me understand.”

“Let’s just say, this is only a small portion of my redemption in this family. I’ve done things to hurt my brothers and my son. Been blinded to others as well. If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t be the haggard old man you see before you. I also probably wouldn’t have agreed to this arrangement.” However, he couldn’t turn back time. He could only move forward, and he’d prove every damn day to his brothers and Royce that he would do anything to rebuild everything he destroyed.

“I can’t even begin to understand what you’re talking about, but I’ll be right here. I promise if I need that kind of—”

“Fucking,” Mackenzie said. “Don’t be shy now.”

“Right.” Holly gave a sheepish grin. “I’ll be upfront.”

“Good. Then we’ll get along just fine... Mate.” The bitterness of the lie rolling off his tongue, had bile biting at the back of his throat. The wolf would always know the truth.

Which begged the question; was the wolf—his wolf—waiting for his true mate, to fully wake up?

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