Page 12 of Broken Chains

"Why's that?"

"This is Collier territory, Peyton. I'm not supposed to be here, it's against pack law."

I wasn't sure anything he could have said would have shocked me more. I had been certain he was human. I breathed in deeply and I could just vaguely smell it on him.

"You're a Larken?" I asked.

He shrugged. "It's complicated. My mother was human. Oliver and Brady both got their wolves. So far Tim and I haven't. I don't really know what the hell I am, but I'm still bound by pack law and I'm not supposed to be here."

"That does complicate things a little, but it'll be fine. Seriously, let me make a phone call and I'll get it all sorted. In the meantime, while Evie's happy in her stroller, why don't you take a look around. Tell me what you see and what you think."

"Okay," he agreed.

I picked up my phone and first dialed Thomas.

"Hey Pey, what's up?"

"I need you to approve a Larken wolf for me."

"What?"

"I'm serious. I hired a kid in town to help me with the greenhouse project. I didn't realize at the time that he was Larken. I thought he was human. He's a good kid, Thomas. I'll take full responsibility for him, but he's terrified he's going to get in trouble just being here."

"Hold on, let me get Luke on the line. I'll three-way him in."

"Okay."

Kenneth's eyes were about to bug out of his head.

"Thomas?" he asked. "As in Thomas Collier?"

"Yeah. Uh, probably should have mentioned sooner. I'm Peyton Collier. The Alpha is my brother."

"What? You serious?"

I laughed. "I'm serious. We'll get it sorted so you won't have to worry."

"Worry? You just told the Alpha I'm here, in his territory. He's going to throw me in jail."

"He won't, Kenneth, I promise."

"Kenneth who?" a voice asked over the phone. It wasn't Thomas's so I assumed it was Luke Larken.

"Kenneth, what's your last name, sweetie?" I asked.

"Smith. Kenneth Smith."

I relayed the information to Luke.

"Honestly, I like the Smith boys. There's four of them. The oldest, Oliver practically raised the younger three. Kenneth's the baby of the family. Their father's a raging alcoholic, complete asshole. I'm pretty sure he beat the boys a lot growing up, Oliver especially, but Jedidiah refused to step in and do anything about it. They're half-breeds so they were a waste of a good trailer, as far as he was concerned. Oliver's done right by those boys, though. Brady's gotten in with a bit of a rough crowd lately, but I've never heard of any problems from the rest of them. Ultimately, it's up to you, Thomas. Times are tough in the pack and morale is low. If you're okay with the Smith kid being in your territory, then I have no reason to complain or deny that."

"Thanks, Luke. Say yes, Thomas. You know I never pull the sister card and ask anything of you. And while you're both on the phone, approve all four brothers and little Evie."

"Who's Evie?" they both asked.

"Kenneth's baby niece. I think he said she's Oliver's kid."

Luke sighed. "I'd heard the rumors but hadn't caught up with him to see if they were true. It's a shame, really. His girlfriend was human, and I heard she skipped town and left the kid."

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