Son of a bitch.
Declan had come right up to his porch and Jackson hadn’t known his pack mate was anywhere nearby until he’d heard the knock at the door. He’d let his guard slip, endangering his mate. After tonight he’d have to amp up security. His home had a reliable alarm system. The cabin needed one too.
And he wouldn’t keep the location secret any longer.
He and the pack were Chloe’s first line of defense. They had to know where to find her if he expected them to protect her with their lives.
Whipping around, he came chest to chest with his female. She looked delectable in the morning, all soft and sweet. He’d woken her through the night to take her again and again, needing the closeness, knowing the following night they’d cement their union. She hadn’t been shy or tentative, meeting his desire with a passion of her own.
“What did he want?” she asked, her lips slightly swollen from his kisses.
He didn’t want to lie but he couldn’t be entirely honest either. “Pack business. He’ll meet us later tonight.”
She moved aside and opened the door when he stepped forward. He breezed past the threshold, aware of the lingering scent of sex wafting through the cabin. Despite knowing he couldn’t share the truth with his mate, he felt a wrenching sense of guilt. Their mating wasn’t what it should have been. They’d been through enough without adding Declan and Rachel to mix. He’d hoped that after tonight his problems would be solved.
You can give up that hope. No more problems? That would be too fucking easy.
Resolute and unable to do anything else, he took his mate’s hand and guided her to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Like it or not, once Chloe learned what was what, she’d grind his balls into guacamole.
Chloe plopped onto the seat Jackson guided her to, frowning when he turned away without saying a word. Something was bothering him but he wasn’t spilling the beans. She didn’t want to push but she didn’t like being on the outside looking in either. They’d formed a bond the night before, her wolf merging with his. She wasn’t going to let him pull away from her when she needed him most.
“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Not particularly,” he replied and reached for a pan hanging from a rack bolted to the ceiling. “If at all possible I’d like to enjoy the morning.” After he had the object in hand, he glanced at her. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You have my undivided attention.”
“All right.” The redirection actually worked for her. There were a lot of things she wanted to know. She could inquire about Declan’s visit later. “How about you tell me how you’re going to convince Gramps to come to the hunt? You’ll be lucky to get him off his property. He doesn’t like to travel.”
“Is that so?” Jackson turned on the stove and walked to the fridge.
“He’s handy with guns for a reason,” she murmured.
Jackson lifted his head over the door and stared at her, a question in his gaze. She took her time responding, aware it would make her family sound like hermits.
“Grams tends a garden and cans for the winter. Gramps hunts so we have meat to freeze. They’ll go into town to get the things we need, but it’s rare. After Mom died they swore they wouldn’t interact with anyone outside of the family unless it was absolutely necessary. Aside from Rachel, we didn’t have many visitors.”
“Are you serious?”
She nodded, laughing at his shock. “As a heart attack.”
“But they let you attend public school,” he clarified, cautious as he broached the subject. “They sent you to college.”
“They did, but only under the agreement that if anything went wrong I’d consent to being home-schooled. One slip and my entire life would change. As you can probably imagine, if I had a bad day I knew not to tell them about it.”
“You were just a kid.” He looked and sounded pissed off. “Who did you talk to? Where did you go when you needed advice?”
“Rachel,” she answered simply. “She stayed at our house most of the time. After we met I always had someone to talk to.”
“What about her family?”
Uneasiness made Chloe backpedal. Talking about her life was one thing. Rachel’s toxic family history was off-limits. “What about them?”
“If you spent that much time with their daughter, weren’t they weren’t close to your grandparents?”
Oh crud. Talk about awkward.
After Rachel’s father had died her mother had gone on a bender that turned into a lifestyle. Mrs. Gentry wasn’t close to anyone, including her daughter. She preferred to frequent Jasper’s Lounge, taking advantage of happy hour, free drinks and nameless one-night stands.
“Not really,” she responded carefully. “Rachel’s dad passed away when we were in elementary school. Her mom worked a lot.”
Jackson wasn’t going to drop the subject. He closed refrigerator and reclined against counter. “What kind of work?”
Think, think, think.
Rachel would kill her if she told Jackson the truth.
“This and that.” She turned her head, looking toward the living room, gazing at the window.
Cindy Gentry was a horrible woman who used everyone in her life—including her child—to get ahead. Once the social security checks started rolling in for Rachel after her father’s loss, Cindy had taken it as a sign she didn’t need to work unless she wanted to. The wretched woman stayed out most nights, drinking away her daughter’s money. Her best friend—heartbroken over her father and devastated by the actions of her mother—had been raising herself since the tender age of nine.
“Chloe?”
Steeling herself, she returned her attention to Jackson. “Yeah?”
For a split-second she worried he was going to push the issue.
“Never mind,” he said softly. “Let’s get you some food.” He pushed away from the counter and opened the fridge. “I thought we’d drive over to speak with your grandfather this morning. I know he’ll be relieved to see you, and it’s probably best to talk to him face-to-face.”
“So you can convince him to tag along tonight?”
“Convincing won’t be necessary.”
He obviously didn’t know her grandfather as well as he thought. “Oh really? Do you think you can waltz in, tell him what you want and he’ll be happy to help?”
“He’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. Besides,” Jackson glanced at her over the door, “I’m pretty sure he knows what’s coming. Before you joined us in the office I asked Fletcher what he’d do if he ever saw your father again.”
Gramps would kill the asshole. “I’m guessing it wasn’t good.”
“It works for me.” Jackson shrugged, the muscles in his arms bunching as they flexed. “If he wants to take another shot at Gavin, I’m all for it.”
Seconds passed as she waited for him to indicate he was joking. He didn’t crack a smile, gazing in her direction, his attention riveted to her face.
“You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack,” he tossed her words back at her with a playful grin.
“What if he’s hurt? He can’t stand up to a group of werewolves!”
“Chloe.” Jackson’s good humor receded. “Your grandfather has every right to address the male who impregnated his daughter and left her and his unborn child. It doesn’t matter that he’s human. He’s entitled to justice. What Gavin did violates everything wolves value and protect. Our children are the key to our future. When his pack discovers what he did he’ll be lucky if he’s still Alpha.” Obviously trying to calm her, he added, “If it makes you feel better, I’ll make sure to unload Fletcher’s weapon before we go.”