Seven Years

of the friction it created, so it wasn’t uncommon for them to seek out the alpha for relief. An alpha had more self- control, which would allow him to satisfy her without it resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. Most Shifters had no restraint around a female in heat and couldn’t resist the urge to have sex. He could have left Lexi alone to take care of business.

But damn, the idea of having his hands on her was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Her luscious scent was floral, like roses after a thunderstorm, awaking the male within who desired nothing more than to please her. It was an epic internal battle raging, because he wanted to take it a step further. But sex might have pushed her away and left all kinds of question marks about his intentions. It wasn’t like that among Shifters, but he knew how human women broke it all down. Lexi was a complicated woman and too good for a one-night stand.

So when they crawled into the bed after a second round of peach cobbler, Austin turned his back to her and didn’t say a word. He stole a glance over his shoulder and saw she had done the same thing.

Nothing had felt more awkward.

Sleep was an exercise in futility. All he could think about was wrapping his arm around her and smelling the leftover sunshine in her hair.

He remembered how beautiful she’d looked on the porch that night with a storm brewing in the sky and in her rich brown eyes. The way she looked up at him as the breeze lifted a few strands of her hair. He wondered if he fucked it up by staying with her and not sleeping in another room like originally planned.

Then he thought about Lorenzo, who was an attractive choice for a woman looking for money or status. Most women didn’t hesitate to choose him, and Austin had learned that the hard way years ago when Lorenzo Church wooed Austin’s first Shifter girlfriend away from him. Not exactly a way to build up an alpha’s confidence. Regardless of how he felt about the asshole, Lexi had a right to learn about her family. She possessed Native American features, now that he thought about it. High cheekbones, beautiful brown hair, and supple lips. Yeah, supple. The kind that he wanted his mouth all over the more he remembered their kiss on that porch and the sweet taste of sugar on her tongue.

She was no longer the girl he once remembered, but in a strange way, she was. The qualities he loved in her she had never lost, even though her body had blossomed into that of a stunning woman.

Sleeping beside Lexi without touching her was one of the hardest things Austin had ever done. The idea of her being with any other man, or in any other pack, made his wolf pace nervously.

When he had taken her out to The Pit on their date, Beckett had been waiting outside for them.

With a baseball bat.

Austin had picked up a strong scent of adrenaline and instead of walking straight to his car, he’d gone around the back of the building. That’s when he confronted Beckett and they got into a brawl. It was against the law to kill a human, so all he could do was beat the shit out of him. By the time he got back to the restaurant, Lexi was nowhere to be found.

Twice he almost lost her, thanks to Beckett. He shouldn’t have been distracted by his phone when Beckett had crept into her apartment, nor should he have confronted Lorenzo’s guard while Beckett was attacking her. That split-second decision had almost cost Lexi her life. Austin didn’t have any remorse over the murder. Even if they did find the body, he stood a good chance of justifying his actions.

If he didn’t? Then fuck it. She was alive and that’s all that mattered.

Thinking about it made him want to pull Lexi against him and feel her heartbeat, but he stayed where he was, content with listening to her breathe as he stared at the misshapen patterns on the wall. She made sexy little growling noises in her sleep that his wolf loved. He always liked watching her sleep, even when she was a kid. She looked so peaceful, as if nothing in the world was wrong, even when it was.

The next morning, Austin woke up before dawn and carefully crawled out of bed. Lexi rolled over and threw her right arm across the sheets, nuzzling her face against the pillow. After getting dressed, he watched her for a few beats before waking up the rest of the crew. It gave him peace of mind to know Prince was tracking down her father—just one less thing he had to worry about.

One advantage of making allies among neighboring packs was that they looked out for one another, reported suspicious activity, and were more likely to lend a hand than a rogue was. Not many packs occupied the immediate territory, but Austin had spent time building a rapport with the Packmasters, making them aware of his situation with the human family. Something he would have to start all over again in the new house. There were three packs in his immediate area, and one of them belonged to Church.

Ain’t that a bitch.

Austin tucked his shirt in his jeans and peered into his bedroom, lightly tapping his knuckles on the door. He flipped on the light and stared at an empty bed.

“What the… Reno!” he yelled out, storming down the hall to the living room. “Lynn!”

Denver was lying on the sofa with a bowl of cereal on his bare chest while Maizy sat in front of the TV watching cartoons.

“What the hell, Aus? Chill out. The chicks went to redecorate. They were so excited about buying curtains and shit that Reno drove them out to Walmart about a half hour ago. The twins went to the house to crank on the air, and I’ve just been waiting for you to get your ass out of bed so we can meet up with them.”

“It’s not nice to say bad words,” Maizy reminded him without taking her eyes off the TV. She was already dressed as if she were going somewhere.

Denver’s face turned a little red and he stretched his arms behind his head and set the bowl of cereal down on the end table. “You ready? And PS, the next time you want someone to mark a hundred acres of territory, that’s all you.” Denver shot him a hostile glare before slinging his legs off the sofa and getting up, then walking barefoot toward the bedrooms. “Jericho said he might stop by, but I doubt it. You know how he gets after one of his shows; probably lying in bed drunk and stoned with two hot babes on each arm. Lucky bastard,” he murmured.

The clock read 4:35 a.m. Ordinarily, the men would have slept in, but Lynn was already working her magic to whip some of these lazyasses into shape. Now Austin was starting to look like the slacker.

When Austin sat down to put on his shoes, he looked over at Maizy who leaned back on her hands. The mark on her shoulder blade concerned him as to what fate lay ahead of her. Most of the younger generations of Breed wouldn’t know what it meant, but some would. Austin had never felt so fiercely protective of a child, and that’s when he knew Lynn and Maizy had to stay with him, even if Lexi chose not to.

Human or not, they were his pack.

Maizy peered over her shoulder. “I like you.”

His face softened and his chest tightened a little bit. She might not have looked like Wes, but damn if she didn’t have his smile with the dimples.

Austin walked over, squatted down on one knee, and tied her loose shoelace. “I like you too.”

Chapter 27

After I fixed a plate of scrambled eggs and maple bacon for Maizy’s breakfast, I relaxed on the concrete porch step with a glass of orange juice, taking a moment to savor the early morning sunshine before the heat settled in.

In Texas, that meant around ten in the morning.

I had Austin’s cell phone tucked in the back pocket of my shorts so he could get a hold of me if needed. I stressed that he not let my mother overwork herself, but I was glad she had something to keep her occupied after everything that had happened. When my father left us, it destroyed her, and I was worried she might slip into a state of depression like before.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Her ability to find strength through all this allowed me to focus on other matters.

After spending an hour reviewing the documents Charlie left for me, I uploaded the flash drive onto a computer in Austin’s house and emailed a few files to April. I considered having Wheeler review some of the bookkeeping stuff if he had any expertise in this area, which I’m sure he did.