Page 9 of Lost and Pound

I snorted a laugh and reached over to snag Kenny into a hug. “This is Nico. He’s visiting me for a while. And, Nico, this is Kenny.”

“An omega…” Nico blinked in shock and waved a polite hello. “You must be a really special little boy for your alpha to get you all this.”

Kenny gave me a shy smile, cheeks pinkening. “Not really. Shilo buys all the pups presents.”

Nico’s expression went thoughtful, brow furrowed with the barest of confusion. Likely he’d never seen an alpha care about his pack’s children. Maybe his father only cared if another alpha had been born as potential competition—an omega as chattel, or a sigma as a resource. I cared. My father hadn’t much, but I thanked the goddesses he was never put in charge. My grandfather cared, though, and handed alpha title to me because of it.

“Maybe he’ll buy you presents, too.” Kenny beamed at Nico.

“He already did.” Nico gave me a polite smile.

Kenny reached up, hand outstretched, fingers grasping the air for his hand. “C’mere, Nico! I wanna show you the hole I dug in the yard the other day. It’s real big.”

Blake rolled his eyes, and I snickered.

“Are you supposed to be digging holes?” Nico followed with an encouraging nod from Blake and me.

“No!” Kenny beamed, appearing pretty proud of himself as they scooted out the back door.

Blake shook his head and eyed the two as they wandered around to one of the holes Kenny’s pup had dug, going after some sort of subterranean rodent. “So, what’s his story?”

I stared after them as Kenny led Nico by the hand. “Your old pack bought him for Branden.”

Blake hissed under his breath. “Not good.”

Chapter Six

Nico

“That is quite the hole.” I stared down at what must have been a foot-and-a-half-deep indentation in the soil inundated with the scent of vole. “You catch it?”

Kenny shook his head, toeing the dirt at the side. “Keeps getting away.”

“I think you need two people to get this kind.”

“It’s so itty-bitty. How do I need two people to get it?”

I knelt down and scrutinized the holes exposed in the soil, drawing my hand over the dead grass around it. I sniffed, upper lip curling, as I searched the grass for a hidden hole. Finding it, I pointed to the hole. “You get one pup to go in and snuff in the hole and the other waits here.”

“What happens?” Wide eyes stared up at me.

“Wanna see?” I gave him a conspiratorial grin and glanced toward the window where we were being watched.

“OMG, please!” Kenny jumped up and down.

“Ask your dad and I’ll show you. I’ll snuff it out and you catch, ok?” I grinned and Kenny ran off, shouting.

A minute later, I received a thumbs-up from Shilo, and Kenny came bounding back, shifting as he tossed his clothes on the way.

In a blink, a leggy pup appeared in step, its coat a familiar pattern, something I recognized as a common one in the Silvermoon pack. Even his scent was familiar, and I knew right away that I might know his mother. I didn’t know Blake, but he may very well have been a transplant to the community, granted pack status by rite of mating.

I stripped and shifted in a fluid motion, bringing out the gray of my wolf with a shake. Undressing among shifters wasn’ta sexual thing. Bodies were bodies. A few stray hairs flew about, my scent hitting my nose as I groaned in satisfaction.

Cleaaaan. And breath? Minty.

Perhaps not for long, though. The thrill of the hunt had me by the tail as I nosed at the undisturbed hole and motioned for Kenny to stand in wait and ran to the hole he dug, snuffling and digging into the open hole of a tunnel.

The scent of vole hit my nose, fresh little rodent piss and pheromones all in there. I took a deep breath, shoved my muzzle into the hole, and huffed with a soft woof.

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