Series: Werewolves of Wall Street Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“It’s my home, too, and my children have a right to know their grandmother. It’s a holiday, and holidays are family. She’s our family, Brick.”
“Their grandmother is a murderer.”
Ruby sucks in a shocked breath.
“Do you think those kids are safe from her? Do you think any of us are?”
She draws herself up. “Yes Brick. I know we are. She's our mother. She loves us.”
“How can you know that?”
“How can you deny it?”
She’s right. It’s plain as day how much she loves us. The longing on her face when I walked in. The mixture of pride and grief emitting from her was palpable.
Because I have no answer I care to give to that, I glare at Eagle. “Did you know about this?”
He averts his gaze once more. “I'm sorry.”
“I guess mate comes before the pack, hmm?” I grumble. I can’t blame him. A male wolf will do anything to make his mate happy, even risk enraging his alpha.
I pin Ruby with a dark look. “I won’t throw her out, but you keep her away from me. I’m not going to talk to her, so if you don’t want things to get even more excruciating, make sure she doesn’t try me.”
“Uncle Brick!” Ruby and Eagle are saved from more of my vitriol when August comes sliding in on stocking feet. Ruby catches him around the waist, stopping his trajectory to barrel into me.
“Not now, Auggie. Uncle Brick is mad at Mommy.”
Damn her. She’s using my nephew against me now.
“Why?”
“Come here.” I hold out my arms. Auggie runs into them, and I tosses him high into the air. “Know who I'm not mad at?”
“Who?”
“You. You are the only one I'm not mad at right now.”
“What about me?” April appears and stands at my feet, holding her little arms up. My heart twists. It must be the alpha instinct to protect the pack young at all costs that makes me such a sucker for these kids. Just having them near me makes me go soft.
The anger dissipates.
I put August down and scoop her up, tossing her in the air too. "Nope, not mad at you either. You would never ruin your uncle Brick's Thanksgiving would you?" I look pointedly at Ruby.
“Don’t be a dick to her,” Ruby says.
“Mommy said a bad word,” Auggie gloats. “Uncle Brick is a dick, Brick is a dick!”
“August.” The alpha command in his father’s booming voice makes my nephew freeze in his tracks.
“Sorry, Daddy,” he says quickly.
“Apologize to Uncle Brick.”
Auggie turns wide eyes on me.
I crouch down. “Come here, buddy.” I hold my arm out, and he steps into it. I lift him, and my equilibrium starts to return. I love this kid. Both of them.
I know most people who know me–humans, anyway–think I’m incapable of love.
The truth is that I guard my heart like a fucking dragon because once it’s been pierced, I’m utterly helpless. And I really fucking hate feeling helpless.
“You know dick is a bad word, right?” I ask gently. Auggie is the prince of the pack until I have pups of my own. In line to inherit the throne. My father’s alpha lineage runs through his veins.
“Sorry, Uncle Brick.”
“It’s all right, buddy. I’m not mad.” I walk toward the door to alleviate any embarrassment he might have. “Do you think it’s still snowing outside? Let’s go look.”
I take him outside, needing the breather for myself as much as for him. At least a foot of snow has already accumulated, and it’s still falling hard, swirling with a whipping wind that howls around our ears.
Auggie tightens his grip on my neck. “Brr, Uncle Brick. It’s cold out here.”
I go still. Over the howling wind, I hear the sound of a chopper rapidly approaching.
“Is that your helicopter, Uncle Brick?”
“No,” I answer. I look up, trying to locate it, but the visibility is total shit.
Except the sound is getting closer, and then the black chopper comes into view–my black chopper–headed straight for my landing pad.
The dogs race out, barking, followed by Dane, his bushy gray brows slanting down like a grizzled guard dog, himself.
“Expecting someone?”
“No. But that’s my chopper.”
I put August down. “Run inside, bud. Uncle Brick needs to figure out why his pilot flew back in the middle of a snow storm.”
And then I see her.
My fucking assistant in the cream-colored coat I bought her. She ducks her head against the wind, jogging through the thick snow in her knee-high boots, her window dress whipping around her legs.
Madison
My knees shake as I run toward the huge estate house in the middle of the woods. The ride got choppy at the end. Choppy enough that I could see sweat dripping down the pilot’s face as he fought the controls against the wind, and he told me about twenty minutes ago that we wouldn’t be flying back tonight. Not in this storm.