Page 79 of Alpha Wolf's Arranged Bride
Jarrod launches himself through the air, smacking into both of us as he wraps his tiny arms around his mom and me. He’s crying and talking all at once, so fast that I can’t understand the words. Scarlett just whispers nonsense under her breath as she rocks back and forth, and I hold them both, love pouring through me so powerfully that I feel paralyzed by it.
“I’m sorry, boss,” Cody says, breathing hard as he finally arrives. “He got away from me!”
“It’s alright,” I answer. “I know how much trouble he is.”
“Dad!” Jarrod chirps. “I saw the snake! It was so tall. Were you near it?”
“Yeah, I was, son. We got real close.”
“But not that close,” Scarlett says, frowning at me. “It was full-on in there, but we’re okay. You don’t have to worry.”
“Your mom’s right,” I say quickly. “It’s all fine now, and the snake’s gone.”
“It looked kind of cool,” Jarrod says.
“Yeah, it did,” Scarlet answers. “But he was not a nice snake. He killed a lot of people.”
“Well,” I say, thinking out loud. “Technically, the snake didn’t kill anyone. Azarian and Vanessa did.”
Scarlett gives me a furious look over Jarrod’s head.
“Yeah, he was a bad snake,” I say quickly. “That’s all you need to know. A big, bad, scary snake.”
“Is it over, though?” Jarrod asks.
Scarlett nods, looking right into his eyes. “It’s all over, baby boy. We can go home now. All of us.”
When WS deployed, they left equipment trucks on the nearest main road. All of us hike back there, with the warriors from Rose Hollow and the injured Shadows nursing their wounds and mourning fallen friends. We pass Eccles without investigating. Our forces are too depleted to deal with another fight.
“We need to find out how involved the rest of the pack was in this shit fight,” I say as we jump into the back of a truck. “And if anyone else in town feels like summoning an ancient snake.”
“I’ll work on it right away,” Cody says. “Once I debrief the other elders and assess the damage to our forces, I’ll make that our first priority.”
“You’re a good beta, Cody,” I say, settling into a seat with Jarrod on my lap.
“I’ve never been happier to be beta,” he answers. “I don’t want to be on the front lines of that action. No way.”
“It was scary,” Jarrod says against my chest. “But my dad is the toughest alpha in the world.”
“He sure is,” Cody agrees.
Jarrod quickly falls asleep, and even I end up dozing a little as the movements of the truck lull me back and forth. When the stopping of the vehicle wakes me, I’m surprised to find us parked out front of my house.
“That went quick,” I mutter, getting out slowly so I don’t wake Jarrod.
“You were out of it,” Scarlett says, climbing down after me. “But to be fair, I took a decent nap, too.”
I wave goodbye to the guys, who keep going to drop off their other passengers and give reports to the head office. I take my son inside and tuck him into bed, and Scarlett gently kisses his forehead before we sneak out back to the kitchen.
I immediately head for the whiskey, and Scarlett pulls some cheese and salami out of the fridge as well as a big box of crackers. She makes sandwiches out of the crackers as I pour the whiskey and shoves one in my face before I can take a sip.
“Food first,” she says.
“I need a drink,” I protest.
“So do I, but eat a few of these first.”
I don’t feel hungry, but I take a cracker piled with cheese and salami, anyway. Scarlett keeps handing them to me, and before I realize it, we’ve demolished half the box.
