Page 33 of A Little Red
“I hate you so much.”
Liam snorted a laugh in surprise and watched Paxton’s nose wrinkle and then twitch as he thought things over. It was hilariously the same facial expression whether Paxton was a wolf or not and Liam tried not to smile.
“But… doesn’t it get boring? Being with the same person all the time? I mean, I know when people are mated that it must be different, but I’m not sure… I mean all the time? She’s not really the only one you’ve been with the entire time, is she?”
Liam shifted uncomfortably, then nodded.
“The longest I’ve been with anyone is like a week,” said Paxton. “I mean, there are a few people I’ll bop back around too, but you need to space that shit out. But this is nearly two months. Aren’t you bored yet?”
Liam shrugged awkwardly. “Scarlet’s different,” he said, knowing that it sounded incomplete. “I don’t know. I’m just not interested in anyone else.”
Paxton looked scandalized. “That’s weird.”
“Shut up.”
“I mean, good for you. But that’s weird.”
“Shut up,” said Liam, throwing half a biscuit at his brother. Paxton lunged for it and caught it in his mouth, chewing it thoughtfully, before washing it down with a swallow of beer.
“Mom’s going to shit a brick if she finds out. You know she’s got you pegged as the heir apparent. Puppies are a must.”
Liam sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “It’s only been a couple of months. There’s no reason to make a thing out of it. I know what I’m supposed to do and I’ll do it. But I don’t see what the rush is. Mom always acts like I’m going to suddenly go native and start working for an oil company or something.”
Paxton let out a sharp, joyless laugh. “No, but she knows that when it comes down to it, she can’t control you. And since the two of you rarely see eye to eye on anything, I think she has a hard time predicting you and that freaks her out and makes her try to control you even more.”
Liam opened his mouth to snap out a reply and then stopped, processing his brother’s words.
“Maybe so,” he said at last. “I’m just not sure there’s anything I can do about that. I keep trying to reassure her. I keep bringing her warlocks and she doesn’t seem to give a shit. We busted up the temple here because of me and at least three other packs say the temples near them have fractured to practically nothing. I don’t understand what more she wants.”
“Doofus and Dumbass were impressed. They wanted to form a raiding party and go after the new ones,” said Paxton and Liam made a half-hearted grunt.
“I’m worried about this batch, to tell the truth,” said Liam. “Most of them just moved here. That seems suspicious. I was going to send the rest to the appropriate packs, and then send in debt collectors for the ones that are here. Once we have whatever money they have then we can send out raiding parties if it’s necessary. If they’re too busy trying to not starve to death or stay out of jail they can’t make trouble for us. But if some of them decide to take a shot at us, then we can commit to raiding parties. But even then, I want it quiet. The deaths need to look like accidents.”
He got up to throw another log on the fire. He’d probably go home smelling like a campfire, but he didn’t think Scarlet would mind. Sometimes he caught her sniffing him. From the expression on her face, she liked what she smelled. It made him laugh to watch her tiny nose try and take everything in.
“Sometimes I forget that you’re related to Dad,” said Paxton, startling Liam. “And then sometimes I remember.”
Liam laughed. “What does that mean?”
“Plan first, act second. Strategy, strategy, strategy. Don’t go into a war with just hope and a prayer. Know where the enemy is at all times. Always be upwind of the prey.”
Paxton ripped off all their father’s favorite maxims in a row and Liam chuckled.
“Is that from the Dadisms notebook?”
“Yeah. Although, those ones are pretty much ingrained in my head. But with you, I don’t know… It always seems like you have a plan. I wish I could do that.”
“Yeah, I’ve got planning down, but every time I go to act, Mom blocks me.”
“She’s worried about you. She thinks you’re in danger all by yourself out there in the big city.”
“I am. Of course, I could have some of the pack with me, but she won’t let anyone go. Theresa and Birdie could be in college next year. They could be with me. I mean, we’d have to invest in property there to make room or accept that, gasp, they might have to live among humans. But I won’t be able to do what I’m doing forever. I need more of the pack to step up.”
“You think you can do better?”
Liam whirled at the voice behind him and saw his mother on the edge of the circle.
Episode 17
