Page 12 of Broken Wolf

“He’s right,” Carter agreed.

“If it was me and with the money you have,” Harris continued. “I’d get some franchises in there. You could have Taco Bell, Krispy Kreme, and whatever cool fit in there. A smoothie bowl place you love, but places safe for the kids to get after-school jobs who would be protected by managers we know. They’d have to interact with normal people not the bubbles they work in now.”

“That’s brilliant, Harris,” I praised. That was one of my biggest frustrations trying to gently acclimate even the boys to life. They were thriving in their current situations, but there was no on-ramp to more. Even Ashley who was ready but we couldn’t just drop into real life.

Well, more than college, and there had been too many blowups there already even with all the “safety” we were promised.

“Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizza would be great too,” I muttered. “We could sneak in some sort of reward card for supes. I’m sure there’s something we could do for discounts.”

“I will get on all of this with Dain to start especially on a human attorney for us to use as a shield as we have been using Jimmy Havers,” Simone promised. “Enjoy your night and food.”

I thanked her and apologized for interrupting her fun before hanging up.

We finished food and then Carter talked me into some fun… That wasn’t sex. He gave me a shower that was actually focused on getting clean.

Mostly. There were kisses and a lot of touching, but he wanted to spoil me. That was clear. Then he had me wear some facial mask thing while he took care of my hair. I dozed off because I woke when he tucked me into bed.

And I had pretty nails. He knew my secret that I loved having pretty nails but hated the annoyance of getting them done or that I always, always messed them up when I left the salon.

I held up my hand and frowned. “This isn’t normal polish.”

“No, I bought gel polish for you and then a lamp thing so it sets perfectly and you can’t ding it,” he told me. “I’ll make room to tuck it away in your bathroom, I promise.”

“Thanks, Carter.” I gave him a soft kiss.

“Thanks for not being mad at me,” he whispered, not letting me hide when I wanted to. “I didn’t know the right answer. I’m sorry, Sera. Please don’t shut me out when I try so damn hard.”

“You do. You try so much harder than they do and they say they love me forever,” I admitted, letting out the petty and hurt I felt. I pulled his arm around me once we were in bed and blinked back tears.

But at least I slept soundly in his arms feeling his love.

4

Most people got to rest on their weekends, or certainly after having such a crazy productive Saturday they deserved Sunday off… Except it was Father’s Day and we had a whole party planned at the club for the dads of the pack and even supes of Chicago. We were extending it to the others, but they were only allowed to use the dining area while we were up in the club.

So it was more having the safe spot to gather that would be cleaned up after but we wanted to do our own thing as wolves. At least for this.

Ashley had come to me months ago about a conversation she’d overheard of her dad’s. Freddie was much better paid now as a Beta from the tithes given the state of the pack and how much income we were making, but he was still prudent. He focused on paying down the credit card debt they’d gotten into under Engle. Their house being mortgaged to its limit.

The important stuff with interest rates. Also, saving.

Which meant he and his wife—who also worked full time—Jessica were prudent with their spending. I knew they were focusing on necessary improvements to their house now that they were above water.

But Ashley had overheard Freddie saying he felt awkward being at the fancy events in his old suit especially with the twins having expensive custom-tailored ones. Plus, Dain always dressed sharp and… He felt lacking.

And I’d never wanted that. That had never been the goal of me trying to be good to the twins.

I thanked her for bringing it to my attention and also had a conversation with Joan who was mated to another Beta, Nestor. She admitted he felt lacking as well, and Theon came from money, so he was always fancy too.

Our last Beta, Christos, did not come from money, so we’d have to work it on the side or as a bonus. He was single and… We’d make it work. The Betas of Chicago should have a nice suit for formal gatherings.

We talked to some of the others who were looking for Father’s Day gifts and put a whole idea together. It took some effort, but then we realized it couldn’t be done in advance because they all needed specific tailoring and might have different styles—we could at least have some fun with it.

Once everyone had plates for brunch and were sitting, I moved up front and smiled when people politely quieted down.

“I’m glad we can gather like this and are able to celebrate the dads of the pack—that we have good dads to celebrate,” I greeted, nodding when people clapped. “You’ve done a good job, dads. We’ve got some really great kids in the pack—even the ones who are adults now. I interact with those ones more; plus, they can speak.”

I gave a little wave to the Martin’s baby who let out a squeal while everyone chuckled.

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