Page 3 of Wolf Crowned

Was that right? I wasn’t even sure? It would be awkward, that I was sure of.

He chuckled as he rubbed at his jaw. “I guess I never thought of that. The family logistics would be a little interesting that way to say the least.”

We stood in silence for a few moments, to where it was getting a little uncomfortable. I scraped the toe of my shoe along the wood planks.

Dad was the one to break the silence. “You’ve spent quite a bit of time down in the women’s quarters this week. Have you found anyone?”

My stomach turned at the thought, but this was my out. I forced a smile, which made him laugh out loud.

It wasn’t what Dad thought it was. There were a few girls in there whose brothers were one hundred percent on our side. The girls had helped make the introductions, and we’d been planning. I needed to figure out how to reach out to Lincoln and Sloane and soon.

Dad held his hands out like he needed an explanation. “Well, who is she? Tell me about her. Should we be thinking about moving her up to the house and into your room?”

I ran a hand through my hair. My skin crawled. No woman would be in my room again unless it was Sloane, but I had to play my part.

Think!

If one had to come to the house, who would be the best? The Brightens. Luke Brighten seemed to be the leader of his compound and his sister Ruby was feisty, too. “Her name is Ruby. I’m not sure if I’m ready to move her up into my room yet.”

Dad narrowed his eyes, his smile slid from his face, and the vein by his temple throbbed.

I cleared my throat. “I still don’t like that. We don’t know who is feeding information to Lincoln. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to introduce anyone else into the house with everything going on. But I don’t mind going there to visit her.”

If she stayed there, it would give me all the opportunities to continue going to the prisoner compounds. My actions would never be questioned. I just hoped my dad went for it.

He made a face, and a grin slipped over his features. “You have already started mating with her then?”

Absolutely not!

I flushed. Heat crept over my cheeks, and my stomach turned just thinking about the implication. Sloane was the only woman I ever wanted to be with, but he couldn’t know that. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded.

He laughed out loud. “I’ll take that as a yes, then. Good.” He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “You’re probably right. It’s not a good idea to bring someone else into the house. We have them in those houses under careful watch for a reason. I’m not sure we can trust them. Continue going there, if you don’t mind.”

A weight lifted off my chest, and I exhaled. “I don’t mind.”

My dad patted my shoulder before giving it a squeeze. “This is excellent news. I think I can sleep tonight, knowing that our bloodline is going to flourish in the coming months. Hopefully, you will have your own news to share soon, too.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Maybe. Don’t forget about Willa.”

My dad’s nose crinkled in disgust. “Ah yes. You do already have one child on the way, don’t you?”

I choked on my words, so I nodded instead.

Dad let his hand slide off me to his side. “Hopefully a second sibling to join that one soon, then.” He looked over his shoulder and his shoulders sagged as he blinked slowly.

He waved. “Tell Angel I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

I glanced over my shoulder in time to see Patrick nod and then disappear.

Dad rubbed at his eyes. “She doesn’t like to sleep alone.” He stood up straight and hit his palm on the rail. “Have a good night, Sawyer. I’ll see you in the morning. We still need to discuss a few things.”

I fought back a yawn. “Will do. Get some rest, Dad.”

He mumbled something under his breath and then walked inside, letting the screen door clap against the frame on his way in.

“So that’s really how it’s going to be?” Fiona’s shrill voice pierced the air as she shoved the screen door open so hard I was surprised it didn’t fly off its hinges.

I didn’t want to deal with her tantrum tonight.

---