Radley nodded. “I’ll see to it that your home, and any with children, are further protected.” The protections would be expensive, would cost the Clan money they simply didn’t have, but there was nothing else to do. Children must be protected at all costs.
“I’ll take on extra shifts—”
“You’ll take a month off to spend with your children,” Radley ordered, interrupting her offer. Sila would feel the need to repay him, but it wasn’t necessary. Radley was only doing his duty to protect his Clan. “I’ll take care of everything, and your job will be waiting for you when you come back.” His eyes softened. “Enjoy your time with your babies, Sila. There will be plenty of time for work in the future.”
The grateful mother nodded and lifted her young cubs in her arms, the children barely old enough to shift between forms. They certainly couldn’t control it. One of the children was still wearing his pelt where the others were in their skin. It would likely take some coaxing and working with him to help him transform back. Before they’d been stolen, the young male had been unsuccessful in shifting at all. Fear could easily lock a form in place.
“Come on. Let’s go home,” Radley murmured, gesturing for the truck he’d driven in. It was beat up, had seen better days certainly, but it was a good and reliable truck. He didn’t need expensive cars like Snapdragon, didn’t have access to that sort of wealth. A good alpha spread money throughout the Clan. He didn’t spend it on himself.
With one last look back at the lavish Snapdragon estate, Radley Whiteclaw loaded the female and the three cubs safely into his truck and pulled away, returning to the forest he loved. The further away from the fae bastard he got, the better he felt, until it was almost easy to forget the blood debt he’d just promised.
Almost. . .