Unexpected Mates

Ty surged out of his chair and leaned across the desk. “Say that to me again, pup.”

Chase got out of his own chair, mimicking Ty’s pose. “Don’t be a p--.”

The sound of a throat clearing had them jerking away from each other. They both looked to see Leah standing in the doorway, hands propped on her hips.

“Now, boys. There have been a lot of fights between y’all in this room. A lot of fights in this house. I can’t count the amount of furniture you two have broken over the years. I never minded it much because boys will be boys, and I know it’s how you two get your frustrations with each other out. But do you really want Parker to come in here and find you two brawling like teenagers, instead of the grown ass men you are?”

Both of them shook their heads and Leah nodded, satisfied, before she left the room. Ty shifted for a moment, clenching his hands into fists and finally heaving a sigh.

“Look, Chase. I don’t approve of these fights, and I would rather you didn’t go. But you’re a grown man. You can make your own choices. Just try to stay out of trouble.”

Chase hooked his hands on his hips as he shook his head. “You’ll never understand it if you don’t give the fights a try. They’re not what you think they are. Yeah, they can get rowdy, but they’re controlled. And you’ll never bend on Ian if you don’t see it for yourself.”

“I’ve always liked Ian. You know that. Still doesn’t mean I can let him and his fight club shifters stay here. Especially not with Parker here and expecting a baby. I can’t bring that kind of trouble around her.”

“Then they don’t have to stay in the house. They can stay at the old place over across the river. It’s just sitting there empty anyhow, and this is a good, easy income. You’re always bitching about how we need to work harder to bring more money in. And I’m sure you could use more, with the pup and all.”

Ty laughed but there was little amusement in it. “You call them your friends, yet you’d put them in that shit hole? It’s still a no, Chase. But I’ll think about going to one of the fights with you to see what it’s all about. If it all checks out, I’ll at least promise to stay off your ass about it.”

Chase nodded before walking out, saying that he’d see him in the morning. Ty wearily rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He worried about his little brother, even about Ian. Eagle Creek wasn’t exactly a hotbed of crime, but they had some, and who knew what all the fighters were mixed up in?

Ian had been a good kid, but time changed people. If Ian had gone dark, Ty didn’t want him taking Chase with him.

He’d been weighed down with concerns before. They’d been just a few months away from losing Red Moon when their dad had finally done them all a favor and kicked the bucket. He’d been twenty, and he’d spent the last eight years working his ass off to save the farm and get them to where they were today.

During that time, he’d dealt with losing Cassie. First to Jared, and then to death. Most of the time, he hadn’t thought he would make it long enough to leave the ranch in decent enough shape for Chase. Because after Cassie’s death, he’d been a breath away from needing put down.

The night he met Parker had felt like the first time he could take a deep breath in years. He’d still been sure that it was just a matter of time before his wolf needed ending, but he’d felt like Parker had given him more time to get the farm in order.

That’s around the time that the worry started, too. First it was worry over Chase, because Ian had come back to town with his fighters. Ty had been handling that, though.

Then Parker blew back into his life, shaking his cool with her pregnancy, and now it felt like all he did was worry. And he didn’t know how to handle it. How to handle any of this.

Before, his biggest concern had been for a piece of property, and the money to keep and run it. Now, his concerns were people. Chase, Parker… the pup. They were so much more important than this land or money. How was he going to keep them all safe? His wolf wouldn’t be able to handle another loss.

He needed to find some time to shift, to go wolf for a bit and work through some of his emotions. And his wolf didn’t seem particularly concerned about any of this, so even if he worked through nothing, he would at least get some much needed peace.

Chapter Ten

Parker took a deep breath as she pulled onto the street her parents lived on. She’d been putting this off for months, but she needed to tell them about the pregnancy. Especially since she was back in town. They’d be concerned and hurt if they found out she was back and hadn’t told them. Eagle Creek was a small town. There was no hope that they wouldn’t find out.

Yesterday had been her first full day at Red Moon, and she’d enjoyed herself. The farm was beautiful, and everyone was friendly, even though Tyler, Chase, and Leah were the only ones she could be around so far without her shyness kicking in. She’d worried when Chase hadn’t come to dinner last night, but Ty had said he was out with friends. Parker didn’t want to run Chase out of his home.

Her time with Ty had been a bit of a revelation, too. They’d worked in ease with each other yesterday afternoon and then enjoyed a peaceful dinner before sitting down to watch a movie. Very little movie watching had happened though, because they’d spent the whole time talking. They got along really well, and had a surprising amount in common.

Even if their relationship never progressed past this point, she felt like they would be great friends. And that was what mattered, for the baby. Having parents who were good friends was the next best thing to having parents that were truly together. Everything was looking up.

She pulled into her parent’s driveway and stared at the modest home she’d grown up in. It was a Sunday, and both cars were here, so she wouldn’t be able to put this off anymore. Her parents had always been supportive, but who could say how they’d react to her news?

Blowing out a breath, she shoved her car door open and walked to the door before knocking on it. A few moments later, her mom opened the door with a polite smile that froze when she saw it was Parker at the door.

“Parker? Honey, what are you doing here? Did we know you were coming? What am I saying, of course we didn’t. That’s not something we’d forget. Robert, Parker’s here!” She hollered as she pulled Parker into the house.

Her mom pulled her into a hug, enveloping Parker in her arms and a cloud of Chanel. For a moment, Parker fought tears as she was instantly transported back to her childhood again, when everything was simple and uncomplicated. She was pulled back into the present when her father walked into the hallway.

“Parker? What are you doing here? Did we know you were coming?”

“Of course not, Robert. We wouldn’t forget something like that,” Janelle scolded, disregarding the fact that she’d just asked the same thing moments before. “Come on, dear, let’s go sit in the living room and talk. I’m sure you didn’t come all the way from California just to catch up.”