Just then, the other children came dashing into the room, closely followed by Riley and Tao.
Sienna waved a newborn baby doll at Mila. “Look! Look!” She roughly dumped the doll onto the coffee table and jammed the bottle of fake formula into the doll’s mouth.
Makenna winced. “And that is why we don’t let her hold Hendrix.”
Dominic watched with a smile as Dexter curled his hand around Mila’s fingers and tugged her to the corner of the room, where the boxes of toys were kept. The other kids joined them, showing her the various toys and arguing over who they belonged to.
Sitting at his side, Dante said, “So . . . you’re not at all panicking that imprinting has started?”
“Nope. There’s nothing to panic about. I want this. I want her as my mate.” Dominic put his fist to his heart, smiling. “She’s got me, D. I’m gone.”
Dante smiled. “Yeah, I know the feeling.” He held out his arms. “Hand my boy over.”
Instead, Dominic nuzzled Hendrix’s head. “I’m not done cuddling him yet.”
“Don’t be an ass. Give him to me. I only had him for five minutes before Jaime took him, and now you’re hogging him.”
“You’re just mad because he likes me better than you.”
“Yeah, I’ll own that. But I still want my son back.”
Chuckling, Dominic handed the baby to Dante.
“Rhett’s been keeping track of any mentions of you online, Dom,” said Trey, sinking into a plush armchair. “You should know that someone snapped photos of you carrying Mila down the street yesterday. They uploaded them onto a blog dedicated to ‘shifter hunks.’”
Marcus gestured at himself. “I’m on there, obviously. They constantly whine that I’m mated, see it as a great loss to the single women out there.” He grunted when Roni jammed her elbow into his ribs. “Dammit, woman, did you have to do it that hard?”
“No.” Roni turned to the TV, dismissing him.
Taryn perched herself on the arm of Trey’s chair. “It’s likely that Pierson will see those photos of you and Mila.”
“Only if he’s keeping tabs on Dominic,” said Makenna.
Trey rubbed his jaw. “I’d like to say that Pierson will lose interest in you and back down, but I’m not convinced of that.”
Dominic shrugged, not caring either way. Nothing could spoil his mood right then. “The other two articles didn’t do much damage. I doubt a third will.”
“Which is why he might step up his game.” Trey’s breath hitched as his son literally flung himself at him. “Jesus, Kye.”
“Dad, when I’m Alpha of the pack and you’re a sad old man with nothing to do—”
“Wait, a sad old man?” Trey asked him.
“It’s gonna happen,” Kye asserted. “Anyway, after I kick your butt and take over the pack—”
“That’s how you’re planning to become Alpha? By kicking my butt?”
“You can’t take it personally, Dad.”
Chuckling, Taryn ruffled her son’s hair. Like her own, it was various shades of blond. “Go get your tribe from the corner where they’re harassing Mila. Dinner should be ready.”
While they were eating at the long kitchen table, Dominic watched his mate interact with the pack. She was used to eating meals alone, with him, or with her parents. Now she was sharing a meal with almost thirty people, most of whom she’d only met once. Yet, she was just as relaxed as when she was alone with him, as if she’d eaten at his territory dozens of times before.
The incessant chatter didn’t bother her, nor did the children’s persistent attempts to get her attention. And she handled Greta like a pro. The old woman had insisted on sitting beside her. Each time Greta looked about to dish out a bitchy comment to someone, Mila expertly redirected her attention . . . making it the most peaceful meal the pack had shared in a long while.
He loved that Mila was comfortable here and got along with his pack mates so well. It would make the transition from her apartment to his home so much easier. And he fully intended to have her living with him soon.
As the rain had eased off, he and Mila went to his room after dinner, changed into their animal forms, and then padded out of the caves and into the woods. The soil was damp, the grass was slick with rain, and droplets of water kept dripping from the branches above their heads. Neither the wolf nor the cat cared.
They ran. Played. Relaxed. Enjoyed the clean, fresh scent of the rain.
Back in his room, they shifted.
Dominic was about to topple her onto the bed and ravish her when he got a text message from Trey, summoning him to the Alpha’s office. Cursing silently, Dominic pulled on his clothes. “Trey wants to talk to me about something. It won’t take long, I’ll be back soon.” Dominic bent and kissed her, then turned to head out. “Don’t get dressed,” he added before closing the door behind him.
Not a fan of sitting around naked, Mila dug out one of his shirts and slipped it on. Bored, she walked around the room, browsing the shelves and—
Her phone rang. Fishing it out of her purse, she frowned at the screen. Private Number. Tapping the “Answer Call” icon, she greeted, “Hello.”
“Hey, Mila, it’s Charlene.”
Mila silently sighed in annoyance while her cat let out a put-out hiss. She hadn’t heard or seen anything of the fox since the night that Dominic marked Mila at the club in front of God and everyone. Charlene had hidden it well, but she’d been a very unhappy bunny.
Dominic had stopped taking the woman’s calls, pissed at her persistent interference. Mila had to admit that it was something of a relief—she didn’t particularly like the thought of him being friends with a female from his past, but she’d have dealt with it if said female was a good friend who was at least a little supportive of his relationship with Mila.
It was tempting to end the call, but her catlike curiosity got the better of her. “Charlene. Hey.”
“Are you okay, honey?”
Mila blinked at her gentle tone. “Yeah, fine.”
“I saw pictures on the internet this morning of Dominic carrying you down the street. You were so pale, and it looked like he had blood on his hands. There was a brief mention of him being part of a group of people who chased after a shifter. What happened? I tried calling Dominic to ask him about it, but the call went to voice mail. Is he there with you?”
So, wait, the fox had called in the hope of speaking to him through Mila? Was the bitch fucking high? Biting back the urge to order Charlene to cease trying to contact him—which would let Charlene know exactly how much this pissed Mila off—she replied, “Not at this moment.”
“Oh.” There was an awkward pause. “I, um, I wanted to apologize for the things I said. For warning you that Dominic wouldn’t give you a happily-ever-after. It appears that I was wrong. I shouldn’t have made assumptions. Shouldn’t have interfered.” She sounded genuinely miserable about it, but Mila wasn’t convinced.
It was on the tip of Mila’s tongue to ask why Charlene thought she should care either way. “Apology accepted.” Ha, such a lie.
Charlene sighed in what seemed to be relief. “Thanks. I hope he’ll stop being pissed at me. I don’t want to lose him as a friend. We were always close, and we’ve seen each other through difficult times.”