Page 30 of Lightning Strikes

I hope that Adam can pull it off, but I have a feeling he won’t be alpha for long. He used to be a better, stronger man… Not sure what the hell happened to him, but he’s not our problem anymore. If he was struggling, he should have asked us for help before fucking half of Prescott and the traveling packs’ females. He should have broken it off with Ang and called his parents to come back and help him.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Now he will be down four more members and that’s on him.

Well, mostly. I’m sure that Angela would have eventually left the pack regardless of what happened with Adam. Mated or not, alpha mate or not, she’s determined to be further away from humans, especially now that she’s pregnant.

She doesn’t want the life that she had for her pup. She was isolated in Idaho. She was homeschooled and wasn’t allowed out of the house until she was twelve and started working with the pack doctor there. She started high school and their lives spiraled from there. I never heard these stories until recently, when I told her that I knew she was different. Now, every night, I learn more and more about my woman. I learn how lonely it was for her, how close she truly was to her parents, and how she doesn’t blame them for how she felt while growing up. They did their best.

She’s been asking me lately if I’m upset about leaving law enforcement… and I’m not. I know that I can do more in a superior, larger pack than I can on the streets surrounded by humans. Sure, shifters have their issues. But no drugs or alcohol problems. We can get rowdy and some make stupid decisions… But with how low our numbers are and getting lower every year with the disappearances… we’ve stepped up. We’re supposed to care for and protect one another.

Hopefully Adam follows through with his plans, because the Prescott pack deserves what other packs have to offer.

Real jobs, a real life. A community.

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“Thank you!” Angela kisses my cheek and plucks the brown bags from my hands as soon as I walk through the door. I chuckle at her as I watch her skip away. She moans as she stops in the kitchen and pulls down plates and napkins. “Bagels, sausage, bacon, fried eggs, hash browns, and smoothies?”

I nod and grab some orange juice from the fridge and fill two glasses. “Yep, it sounded good and you need protein.” She snorts at me and sends me a look.

“As if you weren’t craving any of this?”

I smirk at her and dish up our meals and slide them in front of two stools on the other side of the island. “Of course I wanted all of that. I wouldn’t have ordered it otherwise.” We dig in and I chug my juice and smoothie after I’m filled. I ordered enough for four people, but I would have eaten almost all of it just on my own. Shifter metabolism, am I right?

“Oh man, that hit the spot. I’m going to go shower, can you feed Scout? She should be waking up soon.” I nod and rub her shoulders before she can get too far from me. I nuzzle my nose in her braided hair. She always smells so damn good. Like love, sunshine, and fresh strawberries. She moans as I dig deeper into her muscles along her spine, I work my way down her back before lightly smacking her ass and sending her on her way.

“I’ll give you a full body massage tonight in New York.”

She glances at me over her shoulder and winks before stalking to the guest bedroom, shutting the door. Hopefully Scout is out here so that I don’t encroach in her space while she’s naked.

Giving her, her space is going to be the death of me… But I know it’s worth it. I’ve never come close to having such wild, passionate sex with anyone else. I’ve slept with shifters and humans… And no one knows my body like she does, and vice versa. She’s asked for us to take it slow, making sure I understand what I’m offering… As if that’s a real question.

I step into the living room and find Scout in her box with Max sleeping right beside her, protecting her. I’m glad he hasn’t had any issues with her. I peek at the kitten to find that she’s wide awake, just laying on her back, staring at the ceiling. I rub her head and stomach, chuckling as she turns her nose into my palm to scent me. She bats at me with her paws, starting to mewl for her breakfast. I scoop her up and grab the baby wipes and wipe her down. I can’t wait until we can train her to use a litter box.

I hold my breath as I wipe her clean and pluck up the soiled blankets, tossing them into my laundry room to start a load. With extra detergent. And some vinegar.

“You must be hungry, runt. Let’s go get your bottle.” I wash us both off in the kitchen sink, then turning my focus onto heating up the formula. I sit at the island, absentmindedly rubbing Scout’s head and back until her food is ready. She immediately falls asleep after finishing her meal and I place some clean blankets in her heated box before lightly setting her down and backing away. “Come on, boy. Let’s go on a walk.” Max perks up and hustles to the front door, spinning in circles around my legs. “Sit.” He plops down on his behind and his tongue falls out of his mouth. Then he yips and barks for attention. “Stay.” I grab his leash, linking it to his collar before throwing the door open, and starting our jog.

This pup has so much damn energy that I run him ten miles a day when I’m home. Five miles in the morning, and the other five before bed. Good exercise for the both of us.

I wonder how he’ll react when I shift into my wolf. I’ll have to have Angela record it so we can laugh about it later. Or every day. It doesn’t take much to entertain me.

I circle back after he begins to slow down, he lays down on the porch as I’m stepping into the house. “Come on, pup. Let’s get you fed and watered before mom comes over to watch your lazy ass.” I pat my leg and he huffs as he drags himself into the kitchen after me. I pour his food and water into his bowls, patting his head before I collapse on the couch and close my eyes.

“Napping already, old man? Let’s go!” Angela kisses my forehead and my chest rumbles when her scent envelopes me. I blink open my eyes to look at her and lick my bottom lip. She’s wearing a long, yellow dress and a pair of slip on Vans. No bra and I hope no underwear. I miss her body. “Stop staring at me and get your ass up so we can get out of this damn town for a few days.” She winks at me as she looks around for her purse and sighs as she rummages through it.

“Should we take them to your parents?” She cocks her head at the pup and kitten.

I shrug. “Sure, I’ll get them ready to go. Go grab some snacks and water.” I stare down at her flat stomach and smirk at her. “I want a strong, healthy pup, wench.” She laughs out loud and shakes her head as she pads into the kitchen.

I head into the guest bedroom, well, Angela’s bedroom, and grab Scout new bedding, pack up more blankets, baby wipes, and the heating pad. Hopefully she will be strong and healthy enough soon to be able to get around on her own. I whistle for Max to wake up and he whines as he stands up, stretching as he follows me into the kitchen to pack up their food. Angela is sitting at the island staring down at her phone with a frown on her face.

“What’s going on?”

She hums and shakes her head. “I’m just worried about the clinic. They’re going to have to work overtime since I’ll be gone all weekend. I hope they can hire more vets and techs soon.”

I lean forward and kiss her forehead, breathing in her calming scent. “They’ll be fine. Scout and Max will be fine. And we… We’re going to have afinetime in New York. You’re going to love it.” She blows out a long breath and nods her head.

“All right… Let’s drop off the crazy babies and have afineday shopping.” She grumbles as she shoves her purse up her shoulder and groaning about shopping. I chuckle as I follow behind her and we walk over to my parents’ house.

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