“Bye, John. Bye, Matty.”
Leaving Eva, John exited the building. “Hold on, kiddo. We best hurry.”
Setting off at a run, John crossed the clearing and headed down the track, which wove through the trees and then crossed the stream by Tyler and Regan’s house, to then open up to the shared pack area where Katalina had had the pavilion built.
“Glad you could join us,” Bass teased as he joined them. “And who’s this?”
“Mathew.” Reaching around, John pulled Mathew into his arms. He went willingly but soon reattached his arms around his neck once he was positioned on John’s front. “He’s got a surprisingly strong grip. Ran all the way here on my back.”
“Hey there, Mathew.” Bass reached out and gently touched the boy’s face. “I’m your new alpha, Bass.” His eyes shifted to the midnight eyes of his wolf. “I think you’re going to like it here. Look, we even have a playground over there.”
Mathew gazed at Bass a moment, his wide blue eyes fracturing with silver and gray before he blinked and peered again with a human gaze, turning his head to take in the new playground.
“Wanna go play?” John asked.
He seemed to think it over before shaking his head.
“Looks like you’ve got a new roommate.” Bass grinned.
“Hmm.” John sighed. I wonder what Eva will think of that.
Jackson walked over, Katalina by his side. Ruffling Mathew’s hair, Jackson took a stance beside John, and the other alpha studied the new group—currently either using the playground or supervising those on it.
“Splitting them in half isn’t going to work,” Jackson said. “Unless you want to take on five kids?” Jackson glanced at Bass. “I don’t mind.”
Katalina elbowed her father. “Don’t wind him up. How many actually have parents with Castor?”
John shrugged. “I’m not sure. I got the feeling Theo was in charge.”
“How old is he?” Bass asked.
“Fifteen,” John answered.
“Too young to take on all that responsibility,” Katalina murmured.
“He’s dominant. Got the makings of a future alpha,” Jackson added.
“I’ve got enough strong-headed teen boys. He’s yours,” Bass muttered.
Jackson laughed. “Fair enough.”
“Before you too start weighing up their pros and cons, I think you should speak to them and give them a choice,” Katalina said. “This isn’t a cattle auction.”
“And if they all want to join Dark Shadow?” Bass raised an eyebrow, eyeing Katalina.
She smiled the smile John had seen her use and win Bass over with a hundred times. I wonder if Eva will use her smile against me….
“Then it’s a good job our new builder has decided to stay,” she responded.
“Are we doing this together?” Jackson asked Bass.
Katalina stepped forward. “How about I do it? I’m far less intimidating than the pair of you, and how about you crack a smile?” She eyed both alphas. “The pair of you.”
John stepped to the side and took a seat on a picnic bench, spinning Mathew around onto his knee. “Let’s watch Kat work her magic,” he murmured into the little boy’s ear.
With Bass and Jackson on either side of her, Katalina called everyone over and smiled at the nine newcomers.
“Hi, I’m Katalina, and this is Bass, my mate.” She slipped her hand into Bass’s. “And my father, Jackson. Right at this moment, you’re on land, which is shared territory of Dark Shadow’s and River Run’s, and you’re all welcome to come play here, but we need to decide where you’re to live. While we had planned to divide you in half, that might not work with so many little ones, so hopefully, we can work together and figure out where everyone is going to be happiest.”
Josie stepped forward, Theo by her side. “I didn’t realize you would be splitting us up,” Josie said quietly. “We are all we have left.”
“I know,” Katalina said gently. “Our packs are connected. We have mating bonds linking us together. Even if you follow different alphas, you’ll not be apart.”
Theo placed a hand on his grandmother’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear before Josie turned back to the group, saying, “Go play. We’ll sort this.”
Theo and Josie met Jackson and Bass. “I’m grateful for both of your help,” Theo began. “Alpha at fifteen was never on my to-do list,” he continued with a smile.
“But he did a fine job holding us together,” Josie added, smiling at her grandson. “Willa, Kit, and Mathew are orphans, and while I’ve done my best with Matty, the poor mite hasn’t muttered a word since he witnessed his parents killed. In fact,”—she glanced over smiling at John with Mathew on his knee—“that’s the most interaction I’ve seen out of him in a long time. He seems to have taking a liking to John, so I think he should stay in Dark Shadow.”
“I’ll find him a family,” Bass murmured.
She nodded sadly. “Willa’s seventeen and has been looking after Kit since their parents passed. I don’t think she’ll accept help, though I’ve given it where I can.”
“Willa stays with me,” Theo instructed. “I don’t care where, but Willa’s mine.”
John smiled. Fifteen and already knowing what he wanted… John couldn’t blame him. He wished he hadn’t had to wait so long to find Eva.
“Then there’s Gemma and her two grandchildren, Neo and Kiah. Their father’s with Castor. Mom died giving birth to Kiah.”
“Well, if I take Theo, Josie, Willa, and Kit,” Jackson explained, “and you take Matty, Gemma, Kiah, and Neo that just leaves the two kids.”
“I’m happy with that. Are you, Theo?” Bass asked.
“Fine with me,” he answered.
“Do the other two have parents with Castor?” Katalina asked.
Josie nodded. “Tilly’s mom and both of Oriana’s parents.”
“What’s the likelihood of them standing down if we get the word out their children are safe,” Bass asked.
