“I’m curious,” Jackson began, studying Theo, “why wouldn’t Castor use you in his army?”
Theo met Jackson’s gaze head-on, holding it for far longer than he should have, the potential of who he would be shining forward. “Because he was afraid of me. I’m Kyle’s nephew, and people tended to follow me instead of him.”
John climbed to his feet as Bass and Jackson stood a little taller, but Katalina beat him to it. Shifting herself forward slightly, she touched Theo’s arm. “Were you fond of your uncle?” she asked.
Theo took her in, and John covered the distance between himself and the alpha pair, shifting Mathew back around to his back. “Hold tight, buddy,” he whispered, patting his linked hands.
“Why?” Theo asked.
“Because the piece of scum tried to kill my mate,” Bass ground out.
Tension filled the air, John’s skin prickling with awareness, his wolf sitting up, ready for chaos to erupt.
“Whatever Kyle did, we were not involved. Castor turned his head at the end, had him walking down a road he shouldn’t have been on,” Josie explained gently.
“He led us to our destruction,” Theo muttered. “I won’t make the same mistake. We’ve not come here to cause trouble.”
“Great,” Katalina replied, overly bright, briefly giving Jackson and Bass a hard look. “Well, that just leaves Oriana and Tilly.”
Bass relaxed a fraction. “We’ve got to take into account they might end up orphans too.”
“I’ll take them to mine. Karen will watch them for now. And then maybe we should both see if any of our families are willing to foster them until the future’s certain?” Jackson suggested.
Bass nodded his agreement. “Well, that wasn’t too hard. Theo, Josie, we’ll leave you to tell them, and then we can get everyone settled in and fed.”
“Thank you, again,” Josie replied, following Theo as he walked toward the playground.
“Well, that could have ended in disaster,” John muttered.
“We can’t judge them on the past. We’ll see who they are as they settle in,” Katalina murmured. “Now, where are you going to sleep, little man?” Katalina asked Mathew. “You look like you’re planning on staying right there.”
“He has a spare room,” Bass said, grinning.
“I’m not sure Eva and John need a child adding into the mix just yet,” Katalina replied, saving John from having a heart attack. He’d only just found his future mate; he wasn’t sure adding Mathew would help in his efforts to get Eva to accept the mating bond.
“Okay, looks like they’re ready,” Jackson said. “I’ll ring you later, Kat.” His gaze met Bass’s, and he nodded his respect before walking away to greet the group, lifting Tilly into his arms and tickling her as he did.
Mathew’s tummy rumbled loudly, causing John to laugh. “Someone needs feeding, I think. I’ll take him back to mine until you find a family for him, Bass.”
“Okay.”
Walking home, John didn’t miss the slight tightening of the little boy’s hands as he’d mentioned finding him a family. His heart hurt for the blue-eyed boy, and as he opened his door and stepped into his home, Mathew struggled out of his arms and raced off to explore the house, leaping on and off the sofa as he went. John wondered how he was getting out of this situation without it ending in Mathew’s tears because it sure seemed like he’d decided he was staying.
The last thing John wanted was to hurt Mathew more than he’d been hurt in his life already, and the truth was, since the moment Mathew's hand clung to his leg, some part of John had felt an instant connection to the little boy. As if there had always been a small barnacle-sized hole in his heart, waiting to be filled.
Chapter 29
Eva
Eva entered the cabin to the sound of splashing water and John’s laughter. She was tired, but in a good way, her brain full of information Oliver had thrown at her. It was like attending a lecture. Only if she made a mistake, lives would be at risk. Walking home, she’d had three things on her mind—John, comfort food, and bed.
“John?”
“In here,” he called from the bathroom.
As Eva approached, she heard a giggle, which was definitely not from John, and more splashing. Frowning, Eva opened the bathroom door wider to find a picture that both stalled her heart and filled her with such love it was impossible to breathe.
“Look at me, Matty. There’s more water on me than you,” John said in a stern voice, which had no effect, because a grin split his face, and his eyes were alight with amusement.
“What’s going on here then?” Eva managed to croak as she took a step.
She was hurtling forward at full speed. As if she’d somehow stumbled into a room and skipped five or more years of her life. Eight years hadn’t seemed like much between them, but it was like an eternity as she watched him interact lovingly with a child. Eva was only starting out in life. Half of the time she completely messed up being an adult. But John… it took only one look at him with Mathew, and Eva knew he wanted things she wasn’t even ready to think about.
Yet her body was moving on its own accord, bending at the knees beside John and smiling warmly at the little blue-eyed, dark-haired boy kicking his legs and arms franticly in the bath. She’d be lying if the sight of John with Mathew wasn’t causing her to imagine a life she was too young for. The fact it sent a rush of warmth through her was as terrifying as being responsible for a helpless mini wolf.
It was too fast. Everything was flying at full speed, and she couldn’t
