Page 71 of The Night Wolf
She opened her mouth, but once again Deke piped up. “When you’re done with dinner, you can wash dishes. Okay?”
“Oh yes, Master. Thank you.”
Though he didn’t say anything, inside Gareth seethed. Who the hell was this man to come into his home and boss Quinn around? He would definitely be talking to him about it.
“Dani, before you serve Deke, I need to have a word with him, okay?”
“Of course, Alpha.”
“Deke, come with me.”
Before anyone could reply, Gareth strode from the room. The soft rubber of the chair’s wheels squeaked on the floor behind him. He led the way to his office, and once Deke was inside, Gareth slammed the door.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Deke grinned. “Giving Quinn what he needs. Lyram told me about him and about what Ryker did to him. I know you want him to be this perfect young man again, but that’s not going to happen. Right now he needs structure. Because he’s had it drilled into his head for so long that he’s worthless, a nothing, that’s how he expects to be treated. When he asked what he could do, what were you going to say?”
“I would have told him he doesn’t have to do a damn thing! He’s not a servant here.”
“No, you’re right. In his mind, though? He is. And coddling him, assuring him he’s fine and safe? That’s all well and good, but he won’t believe it. For too long he was abused, both physically and mentally. It’s going to take time to break down those walls and allow him to see who he is meant to be.”
“And how do you know this? What makes you the expert?”
“Major in forest management, minor in psychology. I wanted to understand why people do what they do when they set fires or screw up the land. I apologize if I overstepped, but—”
“But what?”
Deke’s shoulders slumped. “He’s mine. I don’t know how, but he is. Or at least he’s meant to be. Seeing him hurt and abused makes me want to curl up in a ball with him and never let another person near him again. Another part of me wants to track Ryker down and kill him slowly.”
Deke was the second person who laid claim to a pack member. That had never happened before. Wolves didn’t have fated mates. Or did they? His own wolf knew from the instant it smelled Sean that he was theirs. Why was it so odd that others did too?
“Please, Alpha. Let me help him. I know I can be what he needs but also give him help to be who he wants.”
Gareth sighed. “I’ll need to speak to Sean, but if he agrees, then you have my blessing. Just…. Don’t hurt him, okay?”
“I will guard him with my life. I swear it.”
The words soothed Gareth and let him hope that Quinn would find peace again.
Chapter Twenty
“THE CHALLENGEis tomorrow. Do you think Gareth is ready?”
Dr. Frank probed Sean’s stomach. Inside, Sean could feel the babies as they moved, and it awed him. He’d never considered what women went through when they gave birth. The sheer joy they had to experience with every new thing. Hard as it was to believe, Sean was going to miss being pregnant. Now he wished it had gone a full nine months, because the rapid growth of the kids made him sad that he was going to miss out on new things with them.
“He’s as ready as he’s ever going to be.”
“So are you. The skin over the pouch is thinning, and I think within the next week or so, you’re going to give birth.”
“Already? I mean… I guess I’m happy, I just wish…. You know what? It doesn’t matter. I look forward to meeting my kids.”
“You wish it wasn’t so soon? When we had our kids, my wife felt the same after each of them. It got worse as we grew older and they went out into the world and started lives of their own. Now the only thing that makes it work for her is she has a passel of grandkids to spoil rotten.”
God, Sean hadn’t even thought about the future. He imagined his kids as helpless babies, but what about when they were toddlers and asking all kinds of questions, or when they started running around? God, what about their first dates? When they went away to school? Oh crap, what about when they met their love and got married?
Sean groaned. “I’m so not ready for this.”
“No parent ever is. There’s going to be a lot of times you ask yourself, ‘What if I screw this up?’ and you won’t have an answer. During that time, keep in mind that for countless years, people have been having babies—being parents—and somehow through it all, we survived and prospered. Your kids will too. With Gareth as a father, and you as… well, the other father, what kid wouldn’t know they’re loved completely?”
