Page 2 of Wild Born

“Touche, mate, touche.”

I was about to offer Lee some Wolf Day head to make up for the polka dots in my aura when the first cry broke through the house. Graylin was four and everything scared that pup. He was always in tears come morning and had been since the day he was born.

“I’ll get him,” Lee and I said at the same time and laughed.

“We don’t both have to get up and it’s your Wolf Day,” I said, swinging my legs out of bed.

“And he’s my pup,” Lee got up too and our day began.

Chapter Two

Lee

It was nearly 10 AM by the time we dropped off Graylin and the other pups at Blake and Jonah’s. Blake’s aura was a soft baby pink. Either he was pregnant or considering expanding their family again. He always turned pink before another kid came.

“No,” Graylin shook his head when I asked if he was excited to see his cousins.

“Why not, buddy?” Bane squatted down to his level.

“Stay you,” Graylin nodded.

“Oh, buddy,” I said, squatting down too. “It’s just for a little while. I bet Uncle Jonah will play guitar.”

“No,” Graylin shook his head and put his hands over his ears.

“Okay, maybe he won’t,” Bane chuckled.

“Stay you,” Graylin said.

I glanced at Bane, ready to give in and take our kids home. We managed to celebrate Wolf Day for more than a quarter century now. One of them spent at home with the kids wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“Stay with your littermates?” Bane tried.

“You stay,” Graylin shook his head.

“You stay,” Bane laughed.

“You stay too.”

Blake glanced over at us as the rest of the kids ran off to the backyard to play. He made his way over and sat down on the floor next to our baby. Graylin plopped down on his lap and buried his face in his uncle’s chest.

“Okay. Bye,” Graylin said a second later.

“Are you sure, buddy?” Bane asked.

“Bye, bye,” he said.

“I got him. He’ll be okay,” Blake laughed. “He’s just the sort of pup who always wants an adult around.”

Leaving my pups with anyone else has never really gotten easier. I trusted Blake with my life and soul, but anything could go wrong when the pups weren’t in my line of sight. Over the years, I grew accustomed to the worry-filled headspace that always followed dropping them off somewhere. Hell, sometimes I still had nightmares that I forgot to pick up Travis and Trista from daycare and they both had mates of their own now.

“He’ll be okay,” Bane said, taking my hand and entwining his fingers through mine.

“I know. He’s such a little guy, though,” I said, letting out a worried laugh. “Everything makes him nervous. He sorta reminds me of Scott when he was little.”

“And look at Scott now. He’s off married to a vampire prince with four pups. He’s running a baking vlog thingy and keeping spirit animals fed. He turned out okay.”

“I don’t know that Terrick would call himself a prince.”

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