“Theo!” Cam’s boisterous voice filled the house. Theo chuckled and greeted him. I adjusted my top and joined Theo in the foyer.
“There she is,” Cam smiled at me and pulled me into a bear hug I was not expecting, lifting my feet slightly off the ground. My face was in shock, and Theo laughed at me but made no move to save me.
“Nice to see you again, Cam,” I greeted him softly. He chuckled and began to take his coat off. Theo was greeting a woman, Gemma, with a small brunette girl stuck to his leg.
“Gemma, this is my beautiful mate, Margo. Margo, this is Cam’s mate, Gemma.”
Gemma grinned cautiously, her full lips happy, but her eyes were weary.
“Hello, it’s great to meet you,” I told her, reaching out to grasp her forearm.
“Hell-lo,” her voice stuttered. “Th-th-thank you for having us.”
“It’s our pleasure.” I tried not to let my face show concern, but I glanced at Theo sadly.
“Once you get-t used t-to th-the st-t-tut-tt-ter, I’m actually quite funny. Funnier th-than th-th-at ass over th-there,” she joked. I looked back at her in surprise and giggled politely.
“This is their daughter, Tansy,” Theo told me, placing his hand on her small head while she stayed latched to his leg.
“Hi, Tansy.”
“Hi,” her twinkling voice called, muffled from Theo’s pant leg. We began walking towards the table, Theo carrying Tansy in tow on his leg. Cam was already sitting down, pouring what looked to be his second glass of wine.
Gemma glared angrily at her mate.
“What?” he asked cheerfully. “It was just sitting there.”
“Well-ll, you could-d’ve at-t l-least poured me a g-glass,” she told him sassily. He chuckled at her, pouring her a glass of wine, and tugging on her hand to sit next to him.
Theo brought the food around, and we started eating, making small talk.
“So, when did you both meet?” I cleared my throat and set my fork down momentarily.
“We met seven years ago,” Cam began telling me, before stuffing his mouth full of steak. Gemma nudged him.
“He caught me tr-trying t-to cross the bound-dary line.”
“Were you a spy or something?” My voice was full of surprise.
“No,” Gemma giggled, looking down.
“Just a cute little rogue,” Cam smiled happily, lifting his chin.
“Cute l-little rogue who you could-dn’t catch,” she said snidely.
“She’s really fast,” Cam grumbled, slightly annoyed. He reached over and took her fork from her hand and kept eating his meal. Gemma smacked his arm lightly and reached for her fork, which Cam held just out of reach.
I extended my arm, handing her the fork from Tansy’s place. Gemma smiled victoriously at me and stuck her tongue out at Cam. Tansy refused to sit in her chair, even though her parents brought her a booster seat as well. She insisted on sitting in Theo’s lap while he ate, climbing all over him and sneaking pieces of his food away.
“Can you hear me when I do this?” she called out right before sticking her fingers in Theo’s ears.
“T-Tansy!” Gemma called in mortification. Tansy’s small buns on either side of her head bobbled as Theo grabbed her around the waist and flipped her upside down.
“Yes, I can hear you, Tansy,” Theo teased, tickling her stomach. He froze for a moment, staring at a spot on the wall while holding Tansy securely.
“Theo?” I called. He stared for a few more seconds, getting a mind link from someone in the pack. He snapped away and turned to look at me. I couldn’t read his face, but he didn’t look happy. He flipped Tansy upright and sat her on his lap, stroking her hair softly. “Is everything alright?” I said quietly, leaning over towards him. Cam and Gemma were looking down at their plates, busying themselves with eating.
Before he could answer me, the doorbell rang. I jumped in my seat, looking pointedly at Theo, who was fixated on Tansy’s hands playing patty-cake.
“You should get that,” he told me, not looking at me.
“What?” I asked, confused, and slightly irritated.
“Go,” he said louder, more firmly. I pushed my seat back loudly; the loud scratch it created almost made me cringe. I shoved my seat back in, not as angrily as I wanted, and walked to the front door. I paused in front of it, not knowing why Theo was ordering me to open the door when he had never allowed me to before.
After a moment, a familiar feeling called to me from the other side of the door, and I threw it open quickly.
“Caddy?”
Succession
He looked up at me through his thick eyelashes. His face was red, blotchy,and tear-stained.
“What happened?” I asked frantically, pulling on his arms and shirt to bring him inside the door. He stumbled in and rested his back on the door as it closed.
“He’s dead,” his low voice whispered.
“Who?”
“My uncle, Dorian,” he whimpered. I dove into his arms, hugging his midframe to me because that’s all I could reach. “He’s dead.”
“I’m so sorry, Caddy,” I soothed, an anxious wave tumbling down my body as I did so. “What happened?”
“We don’t know for sure, but we know it was someone from another pack. We tracked the scent.”
“Come in,” I told him, grabbing his hand and leading him into the room where Theo and Cam sat, almost waiting. Gemma had led Tansy away.
“Theo,” I began to tell him.
“We heard,” he told me sadly. I pushed Caddy’s swaying body into the chair where I once sat.
“Are you okay?” I asked, running my hand down his back as he hunched over.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head and rolled his shoulders. His eyes looked far away. “They started talking about me and that I’m supposed to take over as Alpha now. I’m not ready for that, how could I be ready for that?” Caddy rambled, running his hands over his face three times.
“Everything’s going to be okay.” My words weren’t convincing.
“No, it’s not, Margo,” Caddy wailed.
“We will find whoever did this,” Theo promised.
“What does it
