Page 24 of Claimed By the Alpha Pack

Mom raises a hand and shh’s me before I can open my mouth. She motions to the other side of the den to set the baby’s things down. One by one, we bring the salvaged items in and then hush Andrea when she arrives with her haul. Barrett is like a little kid on Christmas as he looks through what his cousin had bought our mate. Out of the thirty or so items, there are only two or three pieces he’s not sure Grace would like. Barrett and his cousin made wagers and now they are waiting for the outcome.

As if on cue, Ashina wakes up and cries. Grace doesn’t even open her eyes as she strokes her daughter’s back, then rolls onto her side. Deftly, she undoes several buttons on her shirt and gets Ashina to latch on. Yawning, she lowers her head and presses her nose to the crown of her daughter’s head, then kisses her. It’s a very wolf move, I don’t think she’s aware that she did.

Mom clears her throat and Grace’s eyes pop open. Mom soothes her again before helping Grace to sit up. “I’m so sorry.” Grace moves to cover herself up better, then turns back to face everyone.

“Don’t be sorry little one, you’re a momma. Your baby needed you.” Mom tells Grace, and she seems to settle down. It’s then her eyes settle on the pile of belongings across from her.

“Is that my stuff?” Her voice wavers as she stares at the hamper and the garbage bags sitting in it.

Stepping forward, I kneel before Grace, placing myself lower than her. “It appears that Roxy sees you as a threat and trashed the house.” Grace visibly winces, and I instinctively reach out and touch her hand.

“Andrea went shopping to replace what she destroyed. Consider it a mating present from the four of us.” As Grace passes Ashina off to my mother, I pull a Griffin and submit to our mate. I take the submission one step further. I close my eyes and put my hands behind my back.

Fabric of the couch rustles then I feel hot breath on my neck. “What is it with you guys baring your neck to me?” Her lips caress the skin over my artery and my heart pounds furiously, as if I am running a marathon. Her hands run up my chest and rests at the base of my throat. I’m paralyzed, afraid to move a single muscle.

When she pulls away, I feel like she took my heart with her. It’s insane to think that a single being can hold that much sway over me. Grace blushes furiously then retrieves her daughter from mom. Walking on the pads of her bare feet, she moves towards the bags that Andrea bought. She peeks into each one, then moves and hugs Andrea and thanks her for the clothing.

“Little one.” Mom call’s to Grace, and she immediately stops what she’s doing and turns to face my mom. “It’s time to pick a room for you to sleep in. Say good night to the boys, then I’ll take you down the hallway so you can choose where to sleep.”

Grace nods and moves between the four of us, give each of us a hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to follow mom. We get ready to follow and mom holds up and hand stopping us in our tracks. “Stay put.”

Grumbling, Griffin flops onto the couch. “Doesn’t matter how fucking old or how fucking strong we get. Mom still can make us heel.” Shaking his head, he leans back to stare at the ceiling.

“This is a very important moment for Grace. We’ll know exactly where her head is by what room she chooses.” Barrett offers.

“What do you mean by that” Ethan snaps and growls.

“Settle big guy, I’ll explain.” Barrett moves to the middle of the room, watching for when he has all of our attentions.

“I’m the safe one, gentle.” He points to himself.

“Conrad is a close second. He doesn’t have the temper or violence issue of the twins.” He motions to me and I can’t help but agree with him.

Biting his bottom lip, he motions to Ethan. “You have violence issues. You hunt humans for the bounties on their heads and always come back with your target.” Ethan smiles proudly. “With Grace here, you seem settled. It’s a delightful change.” Ethan arches an eyebrow and shrugs his shoulders.

“That leaves our head, Alpha. Captain, I’m pissed off at being pissed off.” Ethan barks out a laugh and I have to bite my lip at Griffin’s reaction to Barrett. “You know I’m right. You’re worse than a grizzly with hemorrhoids wearing burlap underwear.” I burst out laughing at the statement and barely register mom returning.

“Who’s gonna go look and see where Grace chose to sleep with Ashina?” Mom has the biggest smile I’ve seen in a long time. Being the adult males that we are, we decide to pull out the card deck and draw cards. Whomever has the highest card gets to go check.

After shuffling for the last ten minutes, Griffin drew a two of hearts and went on a tirade about how the deck he shuffled is stacked. Barrett draws second, and gets a nine of clubs and smirks looking at Griffin, who’s still carrying on. Ethan and I draw one right after the other. Glancing down at my card I know I’ve won, I hold the ace of diamonds. Ethan flips his and has the King of hearts. I drop my card on top of his and smile. Time to go see where Grace is.

I tiptoe through the house on my way to the hallway that holds our bedrooms. Poking my head into Barretts first, I search the room and come up empty. Up next is my room and I look in hopeful and find it empty as well. It’s down to the twins. My gut tell’s me she’s in Ethan’s room because of the way she had been clinging to him. Shocked doesn’t even describe how I feel when I find Grace curled up in Griffin’s blankets, with Ashina sleeping on her chest.

Creeping back down the hallway, I make it back to the living room. My brothers and Barrett look at me expectantly. “Grace and Ashina are sleeping soundly in…” I pause for dramatic effect. “Griffin’s room. Apparently, being the first to submit to her meant a lot to her, even though she probably doesn’t understand the full weight of it.” He nods slowly and strips out of his clothing. Shifting to his large black wolf, he pads down the hallway and lays in front of his bedroom door.

Being an Alpha is tough, being the oldest brother, and the head Alpha must be hell. Our mate and her baby sleep soundly under our roof for the first time. I want to rejoice that she’s finally where she belongs. But, I can’t bring myself to. She hasn’t formally accepted any of us as her mate. To make matters worse, her psycho ex is on the loose and Griffin’s psycho ex is also running amuck. I foresee many sleepless nights ahead of us.

Chapter 17

Griffin

A Thousand Years - Christina Perri

As my siblings go to bed, I lay as my wolf by the door to my room. Soft breaths and two heart beats echo like thunder from within my room. An inch and a half of wood separates me from my destined mate. She’s too human, I keep telling myself. My wolf argues she has a pup and will love us as she does her child. I remind myself that her baby daddy is a rogue alpha that tried to attack her. What if she fears us because of him?

My heart sinks thinking about what would happen if she rejects us now. The last thirteen years have been hell on my nerves and heart. So many females have warmed my bed in hopes my wolf would choose someone. His rejection has caused the issue with Roxy. She chose us, made the announcement to the entire pack she had chosen us. I almost went along with it until Barrett told me that Grace was coming back.

Our Grace needed protection from a crazed ex. The moment I caught the baby’s scent, I knew her father was a wolf like us. More than likely, a rogue Alpha hell bent on creating an heir to keep his wolf sane. He’s probably realized too late that his daughter could have saved him. By now he’s probably lost to his wolf and on his way here the minute Ashina shifts for the first time.

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