Page 70 of Broken Bonds
He’s right, of course.
“Someone like Randolph Sterling would want that kind of control,” he continues, “but when I started the pack, I vowed our people would be free to do what they wanted within our overall structure and rules: nothing illegal, and nothing that harms the pack. That proved successful during my time in the hot seat.”
I grumble. “No, I don’t want that kind of info or control. Plus, Shawn would strangle me for making a ton of unnecessary work for him and Susan.”
He chuckles. “There’s your answer. How’s he doing? He sounded pretty tense earlier, not that I blame him.”
Guilt slams into me. “I’m not sure,” I admit. “He was pretty upset when he left after the meeting and I haven’t talked to him since. I’m still at the office.”
“Seriously? What the fuck, kid? I taught you better than that!”
“What am I supposed to say to him, Pops? ‘Uh, sorry I told you we could start trying for a pup and now have to go back on that?’ That won’t earn me points with him.”
“You go to him, apologize for being an asshole, and tell him this situation doesn’t change anything. And don’t let it change anything.”
I rock back in my office chair, eyes closed, fingers pinching the bridge of my nose. “You did get the whole vampires, witches, and fae are coming, Sterling’s hunting his son, have to keep those others from killing that same son memo, right?”
“If you wait for there to be a ‘right time’ to have a pup then you’ll never have one. There will always be a crisis, or an asshole you need to defend the pack from, or business deals to handle, or something. You can make excuses from now until the day you go belly-up and justify why it’s not the ‘right’ time to have a pup. I say this next part not as your father, but as a father—having kids is fucking scary. Then add the responsibilities of running the pack on top of that, and it turns out to be ball-numbingly terrifying. And it won’t get better.”
“That’s a hell of a pep-talk, Pops.”
“Go home, apologize to your goddamned mate, and quit acting like an asshole. Love you, kid.”
“Love you, too, Pops. Love to Dad and the rug rats.”
“Sure thing. And fix this.” He ends the call.
I set my cell on the desk blotter, which reminds me that Mal’s other cell phone is on its way to my friend in New York even now. He should receive it early in the morning.
While I hope that lead will turn out to be nothing, I don’t think my luck will be that good this time. But I need to know what we’re dealing with and if they’re actively hunting the kid still.
Because if they are, then I need to figure out how to proceed to maintain the safety of the pack and protect my best friend’s heart.
I just hope I can do both.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mal
All In
“The ‘fun room’?” I ask, then remember it was mentioned the night I arrived.
Todd smiles. “Yeah, that’s what Shawn dubbed it, and it kind of stuck.” He shrugs. “I mean, that’s literally its purpose—fun.”
I have to lick my lips again. “Um, what kind of fun?”
“Sexual fun,” he says, as if I didn’t already realize that’s exactly what he meant.
I just needed to be sure, you know?
“So it’s a… sex room?”
He nods. “Yep. Dungeon, sex room—whatever you want to call it.”
“And Jax?—”
“Not only knows it’s there, yes, but lets me have fun with Shawn there when Jax feels like sharing him and Shawn feels like he wants to be shared. I mean, other people have played there, too. And we frequently use it to help guys ride out mating heats.”
