Page 83 of Kidnapping Their Third

Pike blew out a long sigh and felt his shoulders slump. Shoving his hands in his pants pockets, he stared down at his shoes. “I’m a bear, mated to a vampire and a human, and now I live with a bunch of wolves. Life feels weird.”

Annette made a sympathetic sound and stepped up next to him. “It seems like you need to talk. Let’s walk the path, and you can tell me everything going on in your head.”

“It’s a mess,” Pike admitted, falling into step with the alpha.

“I’ve raised three cubs. I’m good at cleaning up messes,” she offered, making him chuckle.

Annette was a good listener and let Pike pour out all his thoughts and feelings. His love for Kimble and Cora, his worry about being good enough for them, his concern over Cora’s family, and his worry about his own place in the world.

The wolf didn’t give advice, only asked questions and sometimes helped him express his thoughts when he was struggling. She reminded him a lot of his dad; he was a good listener too.

Before he knew it, an hour had passed, and they’d done a full circuit and were starting on the second one. Feeling calmer, Pike stopped at the section where three paths intersected with the circuit. One would lead off to a cluster of houses, one would lead to Kimble’s house, and the third to the barn.

He was hungry and ready to make a hearty breakfast for himself and Cora before she left for work. If he was quick, he could get it done before anyone delivered food. “Thanks for the walk. I think I’ll head back to Kimble’s house.”

“Can I say something before we part?” Annette asked.

Pike braced himself. “What?”

“It’s not Kimble’s house; it’s your house. The three of you might be in different bodies, but you share souls now, that makes you almost a single entity. What belongs to Kimble belongs to you and vice versa. You need to start thinking of this place as your home. And most importantly, they bonded with you, not someone else. You are who they want, that means you could never be a disappointment to them.”

“I feel so useless,” he admitted. “I want to do more than keep house for them.”

“You do,” Annette argued. “You love them.”

Pike rubbed a hand over his head. “It doesn’t feel like enough. They’re both so successful, and I’m just me. I can’t even fight. The only reason I can act as a bouncer is because most of the clients are human, and they’re easy to pick up and carry out of the club. The shifters tend to go because they smell bear, but if any of them challenged me, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Annette blew out a long breath then said very quickly, “I’ve never been in a fight.”

Pike blinked in surprise. “I thought you have to fight to be alpha.”

She snorted. “Alphas that have to fight for their position are shit leaders. Healthy, well-adjusted packs are formed when wolves want to follow an alpha because they know they’ll be cared for. Most packs are small, basically extended families, and rarely have any issues. When they get as big as ours, it’s common for outsidewolves to challenge the alpha. If they win, then they can claim all the pack's wealth for themselves. But I’ve never been challenged. No one has ever even looked at me sideways. Do you know why?”

“I don’t know that much about wolf pack dynamics,” Pike said with a shrug.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. It’s not because of my powerful build,” she said with a twist of her lips as she stepped back and held out her arms. She was a lovely woman who looked to be in her mid-forties, but nothing Pike would call menacing. “It’s because of Kimble. None of our leaders have ever been challenged because we have a vampire. While he was gone, I lived in constant fear that someone would find out and our pack would face challenges. We’re fiercely loyal to Kimble, not because he bought this property and has all kinds of funds and trusts set up for us, but because he’s always made it a priority to keep us safe. That means we want you and Cora happy also.”

Stepping up to him, Annette grabbed his hands in hers. “I will do anything to make you feel better. If you want to spend an hour walking and talking every morning, I’ll set my alarm. If you want to go to college, I’ll help you apply. If you want to start a business, I’ll walk you through the paperwork. Do you understand me, Pike? You are as precious to me as any other member of my pack because you’re part of Kimble.”

Uncomfortable with her intensity, Pike tried to make a joke. “Be careful, I might ask for a blood sacrifice!”

“I know you’re trying to be funny, but I’m going to answer the unasked question: what if you ask for too much, and we come to resent you?”

Pike’s eyes went a little wide. He was impressed at Annette's level of intuition. “I don’t want to upset anyone.”

“I doubt you could,” Annette said, letting go of Pike’s hands. “If Kimble picked you to be in his flock, then you must have the same sense of kindness and duty as he does. I don’t fear the requests because I know they’ll all be reasonable and even tame.” Turning, she pointed at the bare patch of earth behind the barn. “I have a suggestion for you. A project to think about. You should turn that into a garden fit for a bear to forage in.”

It took him a moment to realize she was referencing the garden he was helping his mother create. It was one of the many topics he’d mentioned during their conversation.

“I don’t know,” he hedged, but he could already see the way he’d organize the space.

“We had a kitchen garden there once, but the couple who created and maintained it got too old, and no one else wanted to take over the duty,” she explained. “It would be nice to have one again. I can get you a pack credit card.”

Pike wasn’t surprised by the offer, but he was startled at how badly he wanted to accept. “I’ll think about it.”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he wanted to call them back. There was no thinking. There was only want. The area was calling to him, just like his parents’ backyard. He was desperate to start working in the soil with the knowledge that he’d eventually coax a fabulous garden to grow.

“If it would help the pack, I could probably find the time,” he said before Annette could respond to his lukewarm response. “I’ll have to see when I can borrow my parents’ truck though. I’m going to need a lot of supplies.”

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