Page 123 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

Speaking of which...

“So, what kind of job did you want?” Johnathan hedged. Part of the day, while the kids were in school, he was supposed to show Luka around and see about work for him. Everyone in the pack had useful skills.

Plus, because of the mix up when they arrived at the Port of Los Angeles, the money every shifter received once they registered with the shifter society, wouldn’t be available to themuntil at least the middle of November. Obviously, Emersyn hoped it would be sooner and would do what she could, but sometimes bureaucratic bullshit got in the way of helping people. So, until the money came, the pack/pride would do everything they could to help the Novikov family.

“I want to do what you do,” Luka said. “Hunt.”

“A tracker?” Johnathan tilted his head. “Or do you mean help those who are trying to be free? Because I have to tell you, my job has many different titles.”

“Those who are trying to be free,” he replied.

Johnathan nodded. “I have the perfect job for you then.” If Luka was serious about it. He knew Keeley could use some help. With Pasquale moving up in the company to field agent with Tiger as his partner, his original position of answering phones was available. “We’ll check it out after you’ve finished eating.”

“You marked me last night,” Luka said, giving Johnathan whiplash with the way he changed subjects.

“I did,” he agreed. “Was that not what you wanted?” Instinct had taken over. Had Luka not wanted to be mated? No. There was no way. They’d both been into it. The second he bit his mate’s neck, Luka came in thick ropes of cum.

“I wanted it very much,” Luka said. “I never marked you, though.”

Relief surged through Johnathan. To be honest, he hadn’t even thought about it. They were so consumed with one another, everything felt natural. “Well, there’s always the Hunter’s Moon festivities. If you’d like to mark me as yours then...” He took a bite of his food and grinned.

Luka’s gaze turned molten with desire as the scent of his arousal colored the air surrounding them. “I will.”

“Then it’s a date, Luka Novikov.

Chapter

Five

Kalkin stared out over the center of town. Tonight was the first night of the Harvest Moon and Halloween. Life didn’t get any better than this. Faerie lights twinkled in the trees and along the stage Rapier and his brothers set up hours before. Around him and along Main St several booths and stands came to life as the sun set over the ridge. The smell of spice cakes, baked apple and plums, pumpkin and nutmeg filled the air along with the hint of warm cider, mesquite and hickory. The chill in the air had surprised everyone, considering the days still topped out near ninety, but Kalkin had sensed the coming frost a few weeks ago. To him, the weather was perfect for their run and their evening of fun.

Music and laughter permeated the area while children dressed in costumes crisscrossed the area, going from store to store to collect candy and treats. While in the cemetery, candles, sweetbreads, and marigolds lined the pathways. Small altars covered in multicolored shawls and lined with photos of family members. Someone decorated Mrs. Martin’s plot in red and green sashes with white candles and small pots of marigolds, too. The town had come together to make sure even the dead could join them.

This was what he always envisioned for Window Rock. He wouldn’t call it a Rockwell-esque painting of how life should be, but more of what he considered was comradery between neighbors. Where no one feared one another or worried what bomb would drop on them next. Window Rock was alive. Fruitful and thriving. In all the years he had Mrs. Martin by his side, he wondered if she ever saw the town becoming what it was today. Or, if, in the great beyond, she was there with them still, watching as life slowly grew back in like creeping Charlie covering the once barren landscape.

Thinking about the way the town had changed over the years also got him thinking about life. For longer than he cared to remember, he’d been Alpha. Taking Russell’s spot, facing off with several challengers over the years. Then Keeley showed up in his life. Beating Raymond also made him appreciate the position he was in. Made him consider the fact he wasn’t a young buck anymore. Though he may still be in this prime, the years inched in around him. There would come a time when he wanted to retire from the Sheriff’s department and turn the pack over to Colin. The proudest day of his life would be when Colin stood before the pack/pride he cultivated along with Rapier, and both sets of their brothers.

“You’re thinking hard over there.” Keeley joined him after placing Dallas and Denver in their wagon. She tucked herself up under his arm while his other children played around them waiting for the moment, they could go trick or treating. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he replied. If anything, everything was right. For more years than he wanted to count, there’d always been issues in and around his pack lands. Now, it seemed, those trials were over, and they could finally live in peace. Obviously, he wouldn’t say that out loud. Knowing his luck, the Fates would throw him a curve ball, and he’d be right back in the thick ofthings again. Still, the day was coming when he would no longer be the Alpha. Planning for the next stages in his life seemed fitting after everything they’d been through. “I was thinking is all.”

“You and thinking are a terrible combination,” Keeley teased.

Kalkin growled, squeezing her hip. “Keep sassing me like that, and I’ll give you a combination, mate.”

Her hazel eyes flared, and his dick thickened. She stirred him up without even trying. “Promises, promises.”

Sassy little mate.

He bent his head, lowering his voice so only she heard him. “Keep fucking with me, Keeley. I’ll breed your ass tonight. I’ll keep my fat knot in your cunt through the full moon and make sure you stay pregnant for the next ten years.”

Her soft inhale did nothing to settle him down. If anything, it turned him on along with the smell of her arousal. “We had a deal.” The pout in her tone brought a smile to his lips.

“Try me and see if I don’t. Getting you pregnant and keeping your ass knocked up is one of my favorite kinks.”

Truth was, they made a deal. Jerome went to Keeley with a problem he’d encountered after a missing person’s case for the FBI. It had nothing to do with shifters, just a human child taken by her father.

Until Jerome dug a little deeper and uncovered the truth.

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