Page 51 of Taming Raptor

“So, when do you think the package will arrive?” I asked.

“Oh, well… shit. Hopefully in the next couple of days. I’ll check back with you to see if it gets there okay.” Something about his tone seemed odd, but I had too much on my mind to worry about my old friend’s idiosyncrasies.

After grabbing all the bags—because I wasn’t making two trips—I went inside. The sight and sounds that hit me sent a pang through my chest. They should’ve been mine and I should’ve been in their lives, then I would’ve heard that sound often.

Sam and Seth were playing pool as Gator gave them pointers. Their groans and laughter as they took their shots and missed most were music to my ears.

The second they saw me, Seth stopped and went quiet. Sam placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. My breath caught in my throat because holy shit Seth looked like me. Evan and I could’ve passed for brothers when we were younger, but it was a kick to the nuts to see it in one of the boys. Sam always looked a little more like his mother’s family when he was younger, now I could pick out certain features of my family, but Seth….

Damn.

“You boys wanna help me unpack these bags?” I asked, trying my damnedest to keep my voice from cracking. Both boys scrambled after me when I headed for the kitchen. It was a lot smaller than the one in Iowa, but there was a big industrial fridge and plenty of cupboards to fill with stuff for the boys—if they continued to come around.

Jesus, I had to quit comparing everything to Iowa.

We’re not in Iowa anymore, Toto.

“Daddy! I want a snack too,” Torque’s son, Rhaegar called out from the doorway. Torque’s ex had not only been a hopeless drug addict, she’d been a Game of Thrones fanatic. Personally, that boy and his cool name might’ve been the two single things she ever did right.

“Rhae, those aren’t for you,” he chided, and the little boy’s face fell. I turned and crouched down.

“Tell your dad that I said they are for all the kids,” I told him with a grin and a wink to let Torque know I was fucking with him.

Torque held up a middle finger and his son turned to him right as he did it. Rhae’s mouth dropped open. “Dad! You said that was a bad finger!”

“Yeah, Dad,” I teased. Torque’s gaze narrowed and an evil smirk twisted his lips. I knew he was going to get even later. Then it hit me. Slowly, they were becoming my family—each and every brother in my small chapter. My chest was a little lighter.

It didn’t take long to see that Rhae had a bit of a hero crush on Sam and Seth. He followed them around and mimicked their actions. Everything was Sam this or Seth that—and they were great with him. It was… pretty awesome.

“Wanna watch Cars with me?” he asked the boys. Seth looked down at him and ruffed his hair.

“Sure, Sport.” Then he looked to me. “Is that okay?”

“Absolutely. If you guys don’t mind, I don’t.”

Rhae dragged the boys over to the new couches I bought for the common area. Yeah, I knew I was supposed to be preparing Seth and teaching the boys about the intricacies of shifting, but seeing them fit in seamlessly with my brothers and Torque’s son, was worth the wait.

Finally, the kid crashed on the couch and Sam approached me at the bar. “Did you want to start now?”

“Whenever you’re both ready,” I told him. He nodded and waved Seth over.

“Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested. I grabbed a bottle of water for each of us and we went out the back door of the clubhouse. For a while, we all walked in silence. When we reached the lean-to that was toward the back of the property, I motioned for then to take a seat in the chairs I’d brought out there shortly after moving to Texas.

“I come out here to think,” I explained as I settled into a chair. With the chairs positioned the way they were, we could watch the setting sun. I cracked open my bottle and took a long swallow. The boys did the same.

One might think the silence would be awkward or uncomfortable, but it didn’t. In fact, things seemed more right than they had in a while.

“Sam said you weren’t really in prison.”

I took a deep breath and slowly released it. The sun slowly sank, and the soft sound of the wind rustled through the hated cedars.

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Then why didn’t you want us?” His jaw worked and he didn’t look at me, instead focusing on the arm of the lawn chair. His dark hair fell over his forehead, and he used the excuse of moving it out of the way to wipe his eye.

Fuck.

Sam glanced at me and nodded. “He’s not a baby. He deserves to know the truth.”

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