Authors: Lynnette Bernard
Dean reached out and touched Mia’s hand. He felt the soothing touch of Mitchell’s hand on his shoulder and was grateful for the support that his friend offered. “Mia, we have to make sure no one can hurt them because of us.”
Mia looked at Dean quietly, her struggle obvious on her face as well as in her body language. “Dean, are we going to trade one cage for another? How long have we lived worrying that Patrick would hurt Mom? We can’t always live in fear. That’s no way to live.”
“I agree.” Jace’s deep voice came from behind Laurie, startling them all.
He stepped forward until he was standing in front of the table to look down at the three young people. He admired their courage as well as their concern for their mother and their new pack. He was also proud that they looked up at him with confidence, smiling at the way they refused to show submission. They met his gaze head-on. And that made them outstanding in his eyes.
“Jace?” Laurie’s concerned voice touched his heart as she stepped forward, reaching out to hold his hand tightly.
He squeezed her hand to comfort her as he looked down at her and smiled, his love for her obvious in his eyes. “Trading one limitation for another isn’t acceptable. The three of them need to know they can take care of themselves, and we trust them to make safe choices and look out for each other.” He turned back to face the three who were now his children. “You’ll be going off to college, and we need to be comfortable with the fact that you’ll be away from us but that you’ll be safe. You need to make sure you always have your phones, that they’re always charged, and that you’re always aware of your surroundings and the people around you. Stay in public places if you aren’t sure of your safety. And if you have any inkling of anything wrong, I mean anything, you’re to call us immediately. One of us will come to you as soon as we can, and someone from a pack closer to you will be with you until we can get to you. There is nothing more important to us than your safety.”
He watched the three of them, waiting for their response. He waited silently as Mia turned to Dean, who in turn faced Mitchell. They seemed to come to a consensus, and they turned to face him as a united front. They nodded, accepting his words and direction.
“What about today?” Mitchell spoke up.
“What about it?” Jace asked, confused.
“We wanted to go to the movies without an escort,” Mia told him, her voice strong, irritation evident in her tone.
Jace faced them silently. Laurie could tell he was carefully weighing the need to keep the three of them safe while understanding that they needed their space. He squeezed her hand gently, knowing she was just as concerned as he was.
“Do you have your phones?” Jace asked them.
They nodded.
“Are they charged?” he continued.
Again they nodded.
“Take them out.”
He looked at Laurie, waiting for her to voice any objection, and saw her looking up at him with adoring eyes. He could feel the emotion of her total trust deep within his body as she sent him love through their bond, making him smile as he mirrored her love, sending it back to her to surround her. She smiled and waited patiently to see what he was going to do.
Their three children reached into their jeans and pulled their phones out of their pockets, looking up at Jace and waiting for him to continue. They didn’t have long to wait.
“Program the numbers I give you into your phones.”
They nodded and busily added the numbers for Jace, Jackson, Alexander, Butler, Lucian, Cole, Julia, Adrian, Colin, Doc Barrett, Martha, and the main number to the ranch as he dictated them. When he saw them complete the programming, he nodded, released Laurie’s hand, and crossed his arms across his massive chest. He stood silent and imposing as he looked down at the three young adults before him. In that moment, he could see that the three of them knew and accepted him as their alpha. He looked at them with a seriousness that brooked no argument.
“You children now belong to me and Jackson.” He looked at each one of them, making sure they saw the truth in his eyes. Allowing his wolf to flash golden in his eyes sealed the statement. “And you belong to the pack. As members of our family, you are to follow pack law. The number one rule of our pack is that we protect each other. When you’re not on pack land, it’s your responsibility to look out for each other. I expect you to check in only once when you’re out. Text me the letter
C
. That means check-in. When you’re heading home to the ranch you’re to text the letter
R
for ranch. If you need help you’re to text me the letter
H
for help
. You are not to write anything else in your texts. If someone should force you to contact us and your texts include complete messages, we’ll know you’re being coerced and will take the appropriate action to find you and get you home safely.” He looked over the three of them slowly, seeing the information processing in their brains. “I will respond to every message with my first name. Nothing more. Then you are to delete all the messages so no one will be able to see how we communicate with each other. Are we clear?” he asked quietly, a deep growl escaping from him as the protective emotions he was feeling broke free.
The three of them nodded then turned to look at Laurie and saw her smiling at them. Her eyes were sparkling with tears and shone with love for each of them. Unable to hold back any longer, she leaned into Jace’s side, welcoming his strong arms as they surrounded her.
He smiled down at her and winked, then turned back to face the kids. “Go have fun,” he told them. “Just remember what I told you.”
He turned then and kissed Laurie’s mouth quickly before releasing her to reach out and grab the sandwich from Mitchell’s plate, bringing it to his mouth and taking a big bite. “Thanks, Mitchell,” he teased as he walked away, disappearing down the hallway to head to his office.
Mitchell laughed and reached for two slices of bread to make a new sandwich. “Hurry up and finish eating,” he told his two friends. “We don’t want to be late for the movie.”
Laurie smiled, turning to step back and lean against the sink, sipping her tea slowly. For the first time in her life, she finally felt that her children were safe. And she felt the love, acceptance, and protection of the pack for all of them. It was wonderful.
Martha joined her at the sink, turning to watch her silently. “I think I’d better stock up on that tea for you,” she teased.
Laurie blushed, embarrassed by her recent obsession with the delicious blend of herbal tea. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, placing the empty mug on the counter. “I don’t know why I can’t seem to get enough of it lately. I really need to cut back. It’s making me go to the bathroom all the time,” she told the older woman, laughing.
Martha smiled, happy in the knowledge that it was Laurie’s pregnancy that was creating her cravings as well as her constant need to go to the bathroom. It would only be a matter of time before she realized the miracle that was growing inside of her. She knew that Laurie would embrace the pregnancy and love the precious new life that she was destined to share with her alpha and beta.
They worked silently beside each other, cleaning the kitchen as the children left to go to the movies. Once everything was washed and put away, Martha took Laurie by the shoulders and physically turned her toward Jace’s office, giving her a slight push to get her moving.
“I’ve taken up enough of your time,” she told her firmly. “Go to Jace. I’m sure he would appreciate your company right now. He’s been in his office for most of the afternoon, and I bet he could use a break.”
Laurie smiled and walked away from Martha. She didn’t need to be told twice to go to her mate. She craved being with him. Walking to the office door, she knocked softly, opening the door when she heard Jace call to enter. His immediate smile when he saw her made her heart flutter. She was happy to see him smiling more and more and could feel his contentment. She knew that their bonding had made this change in him, easing his stress and making his burden of leading and protecting his pack that much easier.
“Come here, baby,” he told her, leaning back in his chair and opening his arms to welcome her.
She closed the door behind her and walked over to him, stepping between his legs as he made room for her behind his desk. She leaned against the edge of the desk and looked down at him, her eyes twinkling in excitement at being close to him once again.
“You were wonderful with the kids,” she told him softly. “Thank you.”
He nodded, reaching out to take her hand in his, drawing it toward his mouth and kissing her knuckles lightly. He rolled his chair toward her, trapping her between him and the desk. Leaning forward, he laid his head on her stomach and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to breathe in her scent. The baby had changed her scent just enough to make her presence known, and that knowledge made him smile against Laurie’s body, kissing her belly softly.
Laurie giggled as he pushed up her shirt to lick at her belly, nipping her lightly with his teeth. Jace looked up at her and smiled, standing slowly to take her in his arms and kiss her lips softly.
“I think you have way too many clothes on,” he whispered against her ear.
“Do you?” Laurie laughed, putting her arms around his waist and rubbing his back gently.
“Mmmm,” he hummed, kissing the spot just behind her ear.
He reached down and tugged at the purple baby doll shirt she wore until it was pulled over her head and tossed on the floor behind the desk. Leaning back, he smiled as he looked down at the black lace bra that she wore, reaching up to gently trace the scalloped edge over the top of her breasts. His breathing became labored as he caressed the luscious mounds, rubbing his thumbs across her nipples as they hardened into peaks that ached for more.
Laurie moaned and pushed into his touch. When he reached behind her to release the catch on her bra and pull it slowly from her body to throw it on the floor beside her already discarded shirt, she was barely able to catch her breath. She couldn’t prevent the moan that escaped her when he leaned down to capture her breast seductively, drawing her nipple into his mouth and suckling it gently.
“Jace,” she whispered, unsure what she was asking of him. She just knew she needed his touch like she needed air to breathe.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he whispered as he turned to worship her other breast while his hand reached down and palmed her mound through her jeans. He groaned at the feel of her heat.
Rubbing her gently, he pushed his fingers against her core, wanting the material of her jeans to go away so he could sink himself into the warm wetness he knew awaited him. Laurie’s mewl of need made his cock harden near to bursting.
With strength Laurie didn’t know she had, she pushed at him, surprising him as he fell back a step, creating a space big enough for Laurie to do what she wanted to do. Without hesitation, she reached for his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it aside without care. Leaning forward, she latched onto his nipple and suckled furiously, biting down gently, smiling at the moan that escaped him. Reaching down, she unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned the top button on his jeans, and unzipped his fly. She carefully lowered the zipper, caressing the huge bulge behind it as she unveiled her prize.
Pushing at the waist of his jeans, she lowered them, along with his boxer briefs, until she was able to free his engorged and already leaking cock. Kneeling down before him, she drew his jeans and underwear down until he lifted his feet one at a time to allow her to remove his boots and his clothes. Before he could reach down to draw her up into his embrace, she reached up and took his heavy sac into her hand, caressing it gently before leaning forward to carefully take it into her mouth, sucking his balls into the warmth of her mouth. He moaned as she pulled them deep into her mouth, running her tongue around the delicate orbs, worshiping them.
“Laurie,” he whispered, his whole body starting to vibrate with need at her gentle loving.
She released his sac with a pop then reached up to take his cock in her hand and draw it toward her mouth, swallowing it down in one long sweep until he hit the back of her throat, and then she swallowed to take him deeper. His hands held her head as he slowly rocked himself in and out of her welcoming mouth.