The Challenge (The Pack 2)

“Good to know,” I said faintly at his gruesome answer. “And Monster? He’s alive, right?” When I didn’t get an answer, I hurried after him. “Seriously, Dom.”

I heard his chuckle right before I slammed into his back. He’d stopped in the doorway and I ducked around him to see Monster sitting on the floor carefully sorting papers. I gazed around the weight room, not seeing any obvious signs of destruction.

“It’s not my first time dealing with a pup who is too clever for his own good,” Dom said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

“You know?” I glanced up at him in surprise and he grimaced slightly.

“It took me longer than I’d like to admit.” He turned to face me, one massive shoulder propped against the wall as he looked down at me. I wasn’t really short, more like average, but it still gave me a crick in my neck to stare up at him. “I wasn’t really expecting him to be a shifter.”

“Me either,” I mumbled, flopping against the wall. “He told me in the Jeep that you weren’t ‘like us’. That’s when I realized.”

“He told you that?” Dom had a puzzled expression as I nodded. “That’s unusually perceptive for one his age.”

“Are you really surprised at this point?”

“No,” he drawled hesitantly. “You’ve blown all of my expectations out of the water. But from a shifter standpoint, he’s young to already have developed that sense of other.”

“You said it’s usually puberty before they….shift,” I stated carefully. He looked uncomfortable and I pushed. “Dom, puberty. Right? Like 14?”

“Most cases, yes.”

I sighed. “But not all cases.”

“No,” he answered apologetically. “There have been times when the shift came early.”

“How early?”

“6-7.” He winced as he said it as my heart dropped.

“6?” I echoed faintly. “Oh God.”

“That’s rare,” he answered quickly and I just stared at him. “Of course, what we have is rare so, yeah we should probably prepare ourselves.”

My thoughts hiccupped at his words and I said the first dumb thing that came to mind. “We?”

He gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah, we.” He brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “I think I might have mentioned this before, but I consider us a long-term thing.”

“You have – mentioned that,” I stammered, dropping my gaze. “It’s just that was before.”

“Before what?”

I steeled myself. “Before I had essentially a stable full of breeding females at my motel.”

He choked and I let out the breath I’d been holding. “A stable?”

“It was that or harem,” I grumbled.

“Both terrible,” he rumbled around a laugh.

“I know,” I sighed as my head thumped against the wall. “It’s a stupid and irrational fear and an insult to the women and you.”

“It’s not a stupid or irrational fear,” Dom answered and my head snapped forward as I glared at him.

“Explain.”

“Shifters want to mate with females that can give them shifter children…usually. There have been a few exceptions. And now, you’re housing a veritable buffet and trust me, the single wolves have noticed.”

“Single, like you,” I stated bluntly.

“No, single like Caleb and Trent, and others.” He reached for my hand, catching the tips of my fingers gently. “I’m absolutely, positively not single.”

“Mmhmmm,” I hummed, squinting at him. “But we haven’t,” I wiggled my fingers between us as he raised his eyebrows, “You know.”

He dipped his head, his nose skimming my cheek. “No, I don’t know. Can you be more specific?”

I growled in frustration and felt his own chest rumble in response. His low growl had my eyes flickering closed. “You have no idea what it does to me when you make that sound,” he murmured, his breath hot against my neck.

“I have an idea,” I whispered faintly, my hands coming up to grip his shoulders as I swayed. “A little weak-kneed?”

I felt his lips curl in a smile as he brushed his lips against my neck, oh so close to the mating mark he’d branded on my skin. “Not exactly, but close,” he agreed, as his mouth drifted closer to the brand burning on my skin.

“I’m finished,” a loud voice interrupted and Dom pulled back slightly as I gazed down at my pesky little brother. “You can do that later. Sissy, you owe me a cookie.” He held his hand out demandingly and I blinked. “I was good,” he added defiantly. He glanced at Dom uncertainly. “Right?” I also glanced at Dom, who was frowning down at Monster.

“Better would have been if you waited five minutes before interrupting,” he grumbled and I bit back a grin. “But yes, you were good.”

I reached into the side pocket on my backpack and dug out a Ziploc with two cookies inside. He reached for it eagerly, but I held it out of reach. “Nope. I’ll only give you both if you promise to behave all the way home.”

“I promise,” he answered instantly, eyes lit up at the sight of those cookies.