Page 3 of Her Fake Mate

“No. You don’t know how hard it is because when you were my age, you still had them around!”

This clearly has nothing to do with Tony, or his moonshine. And, as usual, Josh has found the weakest part of my armor. I’m terrified that I’m fucking everything up with him. That he, and the other six kids, are enduring traumatic childhoods because of me.

More than that, though, grief clutches my throat. I breathe, trying to loosen the fingers it has on my windpipe.

The silence gives Josh a chance to swoop in.

“Besides,” he says with a distinctly teenage sneer. “You’re not my mom. You’re not my dad. You’re my big sister, and you don’t have any right to tell me what to do. You’re not in charge of me!” he ends on a yelp.

Then, suddenly, there’s a big red fox in front of me.

Josh barks at me before sprinting into the woods.

I resist the urge to shift and run after him. Currently, he’s probably a lot faster than I am, fueled as he is by righteous teenage rage and a hormone cocktail that would terrify a human endocrinologist.

I also just don’t want to run after him. Because he’s being a dick.

The comment about our parents bothers me. I know I’m not a great substitute as a parent. I’m sure that my dad would know exactly what to say to put Josh in his place. He was good about stuff like that. Mom was, too, but she died when Josh was five and I was fifteen, right before my first shift. I had my fair share of teenage angst about that, for sure.

But for him to just come out and say that…

I sigh and pick up the pieces of clothing that he shredded in his hasty shift. I hope that when he shifts back, he’s got some sweatpants or something. Maybe I should leave some out on the porch…

Movement at the edge of the woods catches my eye.

We’re right at the edge of Oakwood pack territory. There are some elk shifters who live nearby, and though I’ve smelled them, I have yet to see them. Could this be…

The wind shifts, and I smell wolf. Then, steel-blue eyes blink at me from the darkness.

I can’t help the chill that runs down my spine. Zander Black.

What the hell is he doing here?

Alpha Thorne removed Zander from fox-watching a couple of weeks ago. Previously, the pack’s beta, Thorne’s brother Evander, had tasked him with it after he…

Well. After he was a total asshole to us.

He was supposed to guard us for a while, against naysayers in the pack. But the alpha’s word is law, and even begrudgingly, the pack has started to accept us.

So no, I haven’t really seen Zander around for a while. And the fact that he’s here now…

I put my hands on my hips and glare at him. “What?” I holler.

He blinks at me once, dips his head in a motion that looks like a barely visible nod, then disappears into the woods.

“Do something useful and send my stupid brother back!” I yell after him.

Behind me, in my little cabin, I hear one of the babies start to cry. I sigh, then turn to head back into the house.

I need to get those water deeds. If I bring those before a human court, then the Supernatural Bureau will have no choice but to force the mountain lions into paying us. Then, if I’m a terrible pseudo-parent, at least I’m one that can give my little leash some options.

With a lingering glance, I look at the spot where steel-blue eyes hovered just minutes ago.

The baby screams louder. I grit my teeth.

Then, I put on a smile and go to help.

Chapter 2

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