Page 77 of Wicching Hour

“What does he do in real life?” I asked Tyler.

“Jake’s a writer and I work in cybersecurity. Both are jobs we can do remotely.”

“Nice. Is this gig going to mess up your day jobs?” I tapped Declan’s arm around me. “By the way, how much am I paying these guys?”

“A lot,” Tyler grinned.

Jake stood beside his partner, like nothing had happened. “I just finished a book. I’m plotting the next. It’s head work, so I can do that on guard duty.”

“And I’m between projects, so I’m good,” Tyler added.

“Everything okay, boss?”

We all turned at the voice and found Kenji with two big men I didn’t know. Kenji was a member of the Big Sur pack. When Declan arrived in town, Kenji and Daniel left the pack to follow their true Alpha. Once Declan won the Alpha challenge against Logan, Kenji and Daniel returned to the pack, taking senior positions. I assumed the other guys were the pack members Declan had been referring to earlier.

Declan waved them over. “Kenji, this is Jake and this is Tyler. Have you met them before?”

Kenji shook his head and held out his hand to shake theirs.

“Kenji is my second. He’s a lawyer, but his parents own a large construction company. He’s done construction work all his life, so he slums to check in on the project occasionally.”

“One his sister did the architectural plans for,” I added, knowing Kenji would like her work being acknowledged.

His gaze cut to me, and he nodded before returning his attention to Jake and Tyler.

“Behind Kenji,” Declan continued, “are West and Joaquin. Both are members of the pack and both are excellent construction workers, which is lucky for me.”

They stood straighter at their Alpha’s praise.

“And gentlemen,” Declan said, “Jake and Tyler”—gesturing to each man in turn—“were members of my father’s pack in the Santa Cruz Mountains and are now living in Big Sur. They’re deciding if they want to join our pack.”

“We’re married,” Jake growled, clearly waiting for a negative reaction. Tyler stood serenely by his husband, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Kenji nodded. “It’s always good to have more strong wolves. If you decide to apply, we would be happy to have you run with us.”

As West and Joaquin didn’t react, Jake said, “And what about you?”

The two men looked at each other and then back at Jake, clearly confused as to why they were being addressed when the Alpha and second had already welcomed them.

“Do you have a problem with us?” Jake elaborated.

The men shared a look again and then both shrugged. Joaquin’s eyes widened and he smacked West’s arm. “He thinks we’re homophobes.”

“Oh,” West said, nodding. “Yeah no, we don’t care.”

“Jake and Tyler will be around a lot for a little while. I hired them to guard Arwyn until some current danger has passed.”

I tapped Declan’s arm again. “You meanIhired them, right?”

“Let’s go in,” Declan said, ignoring my question. “I want Arwyn to see the progress and the men to see the apartment. If it works for them, they’ll sleep here when they’re not on guard duty.”

Declan pulled me along.

“Wait a minute,” I protested.

Tyler patted my shoulder on a laugh, taking the lead this time. Jake fell into step behind us.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Declan said. “We’ve just started on the retail space. I wanted the workshop done first, then the apartment.”

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