Page 4 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy
I was doing this.
There were rumors that Westin Pack was a safe haven for witches. Unfortunately, it was all the way on the other side of the country. I was going to have to travel in my skin because that was the safest way for me to keep a tracker from finding me.
I had no idea how I was going to make it, but I had to believe I could.
Paradise was waiting for me in California. All I had to do was get there.
One step at a time, Tricia, I reminded myself.
Never in my life had I felt so utterly alone. I hated it. But it was going to be worth it in the end. It had to be.
Brady
Chapter 2
“Brady! Breakfast,” Peyton yelled up the stairs.
“Mom, I’m going to be late,” Meg whined.
“Well, go wake up Uncle Brady so we can get moving.”
“He’s a grown man. Can’t he wake himself up?” Evie asked.
Peyton groaned. “Parker, stop playing with your food and eat.”
I heard it all as I got out of the shower.
Not for the first time, I longed for just a few moments entirely to myself. Being alone sounded heavenly.
Fat chance of that happening around here, though.
I loved my brother’s mate and their pups. Peyton took care of all of us, whether we wanted her to or not. But sometimes I longed for a life of my own.
“Brady!” she yelled again.
“Give me a minute. I just stepped out of the shower.”
I was still wringing water from my hair as I walked to my room. It had grown shaggy. I couldn’t decide if I liked it longer or was ready for a buzz cut. Shaking my head, water droplets shot all around me and I grinned.
Definitely more wolf-like in my human form this way. But out on the range I knew I was going to want to kick my own assfor not making time for a haircut. Though, I didn’t exactly spend much time out there anymore.
Knowing Peyton was getting impatient, I quickly dressed and jogged downstairs to the morning chaos of home.
I still lived with my oldest brother, Oliver, and his mate Peyton. They had three ornery pups that I adored. My baby brother Kenneth still lived at home too, but Tim had moved out into a home of his own with his mate, Jessie. That had freed up a bedroom for Parker while the girls still shared a room, at least until Kenneth or I moved out.
Ollie and Peyton would never tell us to leave. They were more like parents than siblings. But I knew it would need to happen eventually. With the pressures of the new job, having been promoted to oversee the new garden center and greenhouse, I simply hadn’t had time to look for a place.
Hearing the rustle of morning activity in the kitchen put a smile on my face.
My brothers and I hadn’t had the best upbringing. After our mother left, Oliver, being the oldest, tried to shelter us from the abuse of our father. Kenneth was probably shielded the most from that, but even he still had his demons to battle. Being the second oldest, I remembered it all.
I shivered at the memories.
It was weird how those thoughts assaulted me at the oddest of times, like now. Simply hearing my family fussing and squealing over something as simple as breakfast and getting ready for school and work was a stark reminder of the childhood I never had. And I was beyond happy knowing that my nieces and nephew would never face the horrors my brothers and I had survived.
Seeing Ollie thriving as a father and mate gave me hope that just maybe I wasn’t as screwed up as my father had been. I knew I had a bit of his temper, and I remembered how my mother had freaked out and left, calling us all monsters and abominations. It made me hesitant to even date let alone take a mate for myself. Yet, Oliver was making it work despite everything. I just wasn’t certain that I could risk it.
I was happy with my life as it was, maybe not thrilled with my newest promotion, but I was trying to be optimistic that taking on this responsibility could prove to Thomas and the others that I was ready for more around Collier Ranch, Dairy, and Farm.
