Page 31 of Baby and the Beast

Marnie clucked her disapproval. “But you said bringing back the family runs would be one of your main jobs as soon as you were mated.”

“I’ll let you know,” Kyle gritted out. “Cyrus might not be ready for that.”

Cyrus stared at him for a long second then nodded almost absently before turning his attention to Aiva. He patted her bottom. “How about we go choose a new toy and I get you into a clean diaper, huh?” Without looking at Kyle, he left the kitchen. Kyle groaned and slumped on the counter.

Marnie sighed gustily. Kyle didn’t dare look at her. “I’m assuming you haven’t realized Cyrus is the best thing that’s ever happened to you?” She didn’t wait for an answer. Kyle knew shedidn’t need one. Marnie had been Team Cyrus since he arrived. It was days like this he could happily reenlist.

“I imagine it’s hard being an alpha.” He looked up, immediately suspicious at her understanding tone. Marnie had clipped his ear more often than either of his parents put together. “I mean alpha’s these days have to be so diplomatic. Some packs are almost run by a co-op.” He narrowed his eyes.

She wiped her hands on the dish towel and smiled at him fondly. “Except successful pack’s aren’t a democracy. It’s never worked with wolves, ever. You know that.”

“Meaning?” he asked warily, glad she’d finished with the rolling pin.

“Meaning,” Marnie stressed. “You didn’t become the alpha for the girls or for any of us. You stayed for us, yes. But if you were worried about Chloe and Aiva you could have just taken them to a different pack. Darren made you their guardian. You still could have left.”

Kyle huffed. “Maybe I should have.”

She shook her head. “You stayed, Alpha, because you knew you’d be good at the job. You. Not Martin. Not your betas. You.”

“Which has what to do with anything?” he asked in exasperation.

“If you feel a desperate need to have pups, then go for it. But don’t do it for the pack. This pack needs an alpha who’s happy and yes, one who puts the needs of the pack as a priority, but not to the detriment of his own.”

Kyle frowned. “But that makes no sense. It was always pack first with my dad.”

“Was it?” Marnie asked gently. “Or was it that he could do that because he had his own needs met first by your mom? That his personal life being happy gave him the luxury of making sure the pack was happy.”

“But the alpha can’t be happy unless the pack is.”

“No,” Marnie said gently. “It’s the other way around. In the wild, the alpha wolf always makes sure that the lowest pack member gets to eat off the kill.”

“I know—”

“But the alpha eats first. You know this, Kyle.” She cupped his face. “The alpha always makes sure everyone is fed, but the alpha eats first. He has to be strong for the good of the pack. A strong and happy alpha has a strong and happy pack.”

He swallowed and couldn’t help leaning into her touch a little.

“This pack will be best served by you being happy. You need to be strong and confident for them, and you won’t be unless you are at peace with your own life.” She dropped her hand and nodded in the direction Cyrus had gone.

“If another omega is really what you want, then go for it, but make sure it’s what you really want, not what you think the pack needs. Because if you’re wrong, you’ll just make everyone unhappy.”

Kyle stared at her. Was she right? Did he need to think about what would make him happy or the pack? And was she right in saying they could both be the same thing? Kyle headed in the direction of the girls’ room, still not having any clue what to say. He paused at the door. Aiva was giggling at the silly faces Cyrus was pulling and he doubted they’d heard him. She was on her back, legs kicking in the air while Cyrus deftly changed her diaper. He had no idea when she was supposed to be out of diapers or even how old she should be before they started potty training. It could be a year or it could be another three as far as he knew. Chloe was six and sometimes had accidents at night, especially in the weeks following Darren’s death. At least she had Amanda, though, who had been helping Darren with them part-time. Darren could have taken the pack from his uncle, but he hadn’t dared issue a challenge. He said he couldn’t risk dying and leaving the girls without both parents.

It had been Darren who had told Kyle to leave when they lost their dad in a nasty accident up at the lumber yard. An entire truckload of logs hadn’t been secured and tipped its contents. Dad had been crushed trying to pull two human workers to safety.

Kyle had been so young and stupid then, without the eleven years of conditioning and maturity the Marines had given him. If he’d challenged his uncle then, he would probably have lost. Darren knew that and he’d loved his brother, so he’d told him to go.

Trent had never been interested in the pack. His uncle disgusted him, so he’d spent more time with his human firefighter buddies than he did at home. Was Marnie right? Would Kyle embracing his mate solve their problems even if he couldn’t have pups?

“I’m sorry I’m making a mess of everything. It all just took me by surprise, but I’m not being very fair to you.”

Cyrus glanced over but returned to loving on Aiva. He picked her up and rocked her almost absently as she yawned. “Thank you for saying that, but it’s not necessary. I’m just glad you’re not making me go back to Mike. You’ve been much kinder than I deserve.” He changed his rocking to swaying and kissed Aiva’s head almost automatically. Her eyes closed. A little like Kyle’s throat. Seeing Cyrus hold her like that made him wish things were different. A lot of things.

He took a step towards him, as if he couldn’t help it, his wolf urging him closer, but Cyrus moved, laying a sleeping Aiva down. “She’s still getting sore from those poor teeth,” he murmured, bent to kiss her and stood up. He turned, coming face to face with Kyle. His eyes widened. Kyle inhaled taking in a lungful of his gorgeous scent. All Cyrus. Cyrus closed his eyes and gripped the edges of the crib behind him as Kyle bent his head.

Soft lips met Kyle’s and he groaned in want and need and a million other things. Cyrus tasted as good as he smelled. Kyle reached behind Cyrus and gathered him close, molding their bodies together, desperate for friction, for more, for another taste. The last three days had nearly killed him, was killing him. He nibbled on Cyrus’s lips until he opened them and let Kyle take possession of his mouth, licking and sucking on his tongue. He rubbed his aching cock against Cyrus’s and heard the answering whimper.

“Let’s go to bed,” he whispered and took a step back tugging on Cyrus’s hand expecting him to follow.

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