Page 75 of Kidnapping Their Third

Kimble wrapped his arms around Pike’s middle and hugged him tightly. “Be at ease,sloneczko. This pack is like a family to me. As with your parents, they want me to be happy and that means adding you to their lives.”

Annette’s eyes moved from Pike to Cora before settling on Kimble. “Are they your flock then?”

“Yes,” Kimble answered, and there was no mistaking his pride. He stepped around Pike and held out his arm to Cora. Once they were standing on either side of him, Kimble addressed the gathering crowd.

“Meet Cora Walsh and David Pike. My human and my bear. My flock. Treat them as you would treat me.”

Everyone clapped and cheered. Annette smiled and greeted Cora and then Pike with the same words.

“Welcome to the Laske Pack. It’s good to have you home.”

Chapter 28

Kimble

Annette insisted that he walk the grounds and greet everyone who hadn’t been in the room. It was how a wolf would treat the return of a long absent pack member, and Kimble couldn’t refuse. Memory after memory piled on top of each other of every birth and death in this pack over the last hundred plus years. He couldn’t refuse a request as simple as letting everyone see that he was alive and well.

By the time they finished greeting everyone, Cora looked exhausted, and Pike seemed overwhelmed. Kimble didn’t think it was because of the walk itself.

No, it was more likely that his human and bear hadn’t been prepared for any of this. He hadn’t warned them because he’d been afraid that they’d arrive to find the place abandoned. He’d been so scared that he couldn’t bring himself to even say the name of the pack.

Now that he saw the pack thriving, he wished he’d told his flock more about what they were getting themselves into. Honestly, he should’ve put off the reunion for a day or two, so he could make sure Cora and Pike had no cause to be jealous or insecure about his relationship with the wolves.

“I’m going to inform everyone who isn’t living here that you're back,” Annette said. “They’ll probably rush hereas soon as they can, maybe even tonight. Some might already be on their way; I saw a lot of texting going on.”

As he watched, Cora blinked several times as if she was trying to clear her vision. It was a sign that she needed to rest. Cheerful, gregarious Pike hadn’t said a word since the introductions had started. He needed to get his flock alone.

“Can you ask them to wait until tomorrow night?” Kimble asked. “I promise I won’t disappear again.”

Annette chuckled. “They won’t like it, but I’m sure they’ll listen to me.”

He didn’t want to drive all the way back down the mountain to get back to Cora’s house. Hopefully, the pack hadn’t given his place away to one of the families. “Do I still have a house here?”

“Of course, Maksim!” Annette exclaimed. “Right this way.”

She pointed down a path, and Cora and Pike started walking. Kimble and Annette fell in-step behind them. Several other wolves took up lead positions in front of their group, falling into a familiar pattern Kimble remembered fondly. His pack had always been so protective of him, even though he was the most powerful creature most of them had ever met.

A wolf stepped up next to Annette to address him. “We’ve kept your house clean and even re-treated the windows last month. I called in an order for blood, so we’ll be able to fill the fridge for you.”

“Thank you, Dylon,” Kimble said, making the young man beam with pride.

Annette touched Dylon’s arm to get his attention. “Pike and Cora will need real food. Can you see that the kitchen is stocked for them?”

“Sure!” he said and sprinted off. The last time he’d seen the young man, he’d been a teenager. How many years did he spend feral?

“You disappeared five and half years ago,” Annette murmured. She’d always been good at answering questions that hadn’t been asked yet. Moving his eyes from the man’s retreating back to Annette, he noticed more gray in her hair and fine wrinkles around her eyes. She’d always been wise beyond her years, butnow she had an air of calm resilience. It must have been a struggle while he was gone.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Cora and Pike joined hands as they walked ahead of them. Cora’s movements were slowing, and he could see that Pike was resisting the urge to pick her up. “After these two have settled into life here, I’ll make a formal apology to everyone. I let the pack down.”

Annette snorted out a derisive sound. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You didn’t abandon us. You went feral.”

“The result was the same,” Kimble pointed out.

“No, it wasn’t. As a feral vampire, you managed to find your flock and come back to us. Now we get to have you and Cora and Pike as part of the pack. It was hard without you, but five and half years is nothing. I’d rather you go missing for triple that and come back than die because we kept you from searching for your flock.”

Kimble went quiet as he digested her words. Had he needed to go feral to find Pike and Cora? Was it being in a state of almost pure instinct that allowed him to home in on Pike and then rescue Cora?

He’d never know, but he’d be forever grateful that fate worked in his favor.

---