A FERAL VALENTINE’S DAY

“Now Alice, ya give me that, it’s yer brother’s breakfast,” I snarled at my wee daughter.

She had a thick piece of bacon in her sharp tiny teeth, midnight-colored fur covering half her little body while she growled at me. I could hear Wallace howling behind me while Daphne tried to get him interested in a different piece of meat but the lad felt he had a claim to the one his sister was currently gnawing on.

The twins had gone from cuddly pups, content to crawl after one another, to feral terrors overnight it seemed. Between teething pains, their shifting abilities somehow coming to the fore earlier than usual, and their affinity for stealth, Daphne and I had been kept on our toes to the point of exhaustion.

I crouched down eye level with my daughter, who was the spitting image of her mother when she wasn’t “wolfing out”, as Daphne said. The glamour mark on her forearm looked like a birthmark, but at a moment’s notice, Daphne or I could activate it so that our twins’ true natures were hidden from the wide world. At home, however, we didn’t see much use hide it and that meant we often saw the twins go back and forth in appearances as their wolf forms broke through.

“Now lass, ya know that was Wallace’s, don’ ya? And ya know we don’ take another wolf’s claim, aye?”

She tilted her head at me and I held my breath. Alice was ten times the trouble maker her brother was, and smarter usually about it too.

“Gimme the bacon,” I held my hand out and pushed just a wee bit of authority into my tone.

Her little eyes narrowed, fur bristled as she resisted the pull. Finally, she opened her mouth and dropped the bacon into my hand.

“Thank ya, now, let’s see if we can’t find ya a breakfast that’s actually yer’s.”

I plucked her up from the floor and she grabbed a handful of my fur, causing me to draw in a sharp breath. How was such a small, chubby hand so damn strong?

A moment later and a rush of wet hit my skin under the fur, thick and familiar. Drool had become a part of our lives in such quantities that it wasn’t even shocking anymore. I glanced down to see Alice with a handful of my fur in her mouth, and pulled her favorite teething toy out of the pouch at my waist. Wolves cut teeth differently than humans, and she was getting her back teeth with a vengeance at the moment. With practiced ease, I tossed the bacon to Daphne, who caught it and shoved it into Wallace’s gaping maw, and substituted my fur for the teether in a series of swift motions.

Daphne was strapping Wallace back into his high chair, cheeks flushed. Our breakfast sat cold and untouched on the counter top, as usual. Morning sunlight streamed golden into our kitchen, falling on her unruly hair and bringing out the red in the dark tresses. The new roundness of her breasts and hips made my hands ache to explore. We’d had few enough moments to ourselves the past two years since the bairns came into the world, and I missed time just to explore her body, to make her moan.

But that ends tonight.

“I have a surprise fer ya,” I said, settling Alice into her high chair with her very own piece of bacon.

“Oh?” she asked, sipping her lukewarm coffee.

I curled my arms around her waist from behind and nuzzled her neck. She giggled and leaned back into me.

“I’m sweaty,” she whispered.

“So?”

“I haven’t showered in two days.”

I licked the skin behind her ear and growled low.

“And ya smell divine.”

“You’re so weird,” she chuckled and turned to plant a kiss on my snout. “What’s the surprise?”

“Dinner out at that new restaurant in town. And before ya ask, I already scheduled our regular babysitter, she’ll be here at seven. We’re going out for Valentine’s Day like two adults.”

Daphne sighed.

“We haven’t done that since the twins were born.”

“I know.”

“Because every time we try something goes wrong.”

“Well not tonight.”

“Fraser–“

“Naw, now ya listen to me, Daphne MacDonald,” I said, turning her in my arms so I could look into her eyes. “We are going out tonight. I am going to spoil ya with food and wine and deserts and as many orgasms as ya can handle, and I don’t care if I have ta buy a dozen spells to do it.”

She grinned at me and shook her head, curls waving around her shoulders.
“Stubborn as ever,” she said. “I’ll be ready by seven then.”

I nipped at the tip of her adorably pert nose.
“Good. Now, I have ta go into the city for a few hours, I’ll be back by the afternoon so ya won’t miss that hair appointment.”

“Oh, thank you for reminding me, I almost forgot.”

Suddenly Wallace began to howl and point outside, where a fat squirrel was sitting on the top of our porch rail, munching on something. It took only seconds before Alice also joined in, pulling on her chair strap.

Daphne sighed and gave me a side glance that was full of doubt about tonight as she closed the blinds and tried to get the twins interested in their forgotten breakfast.
When that didn’t work, Daphne produced a pair of stuffed animals that somewhat looked like squirrels. The twins snatched them from her and promptly put them in their mouths, head shaking vigorously side to side.

“I’ll call Izzy, see if she can come around help ya today. They’re extra feisty.”

“Thank you,” her words punctuated by Alice ripping the head of her stuffed squirrel off with her teeth and shaking her head back and forth. “And ask her to bring another stuffy while you’re at it.”

***

“I’m so sorry, Mr. MacDonald,” the voice on the phone groaned. “I think it’s food poisoning.”

I gripped the phone tight, trying very hard not to lose my temper. Our usual babysitter, an older female in our pack that was yearning for grand pups of her own, sounded like death.

“I understand,” I said, proud that I was able to sound at least a little sympathetic. “Take care of yerself, aye?”

“Yes…oh goddess…”

The phone went dead and I was grateful that I wouldn’t have to hear the crisis on the other end. Now I had to figure out a way to fix this before Daphne found out. We were an hour away from our reservation time, most of the Weres that came to mind likely had plans of their own. My brothers were probably occupied with their mates, except for…

Naw…I could never ask Samuel. I don’t think he even likes bairns. But he didn’t flee in five minutes the times he’s been with the twins, that’s got to account for something. And he’s the only one that’s never sat for us.

I dialed my brother’s number and wasn’t at all surprised that he growled at me when he answered.

“I’m in the car, what is it?” he asked.

“I need ya to help me.”

“What’s the trouble?”

“I need a babysitter.”

The line was silent and I had to check to make sure it was still connected.

“That…you what?” he asked.

“Look, Daphne and I haven’t had a date in a year and I made reservations for tonight but our usual sitter is sick. I need ya, brother. It’s fer a few hours and I’ll owe ya.”

It sounded as if he was holding the phone a bit away from himself and talking to someone but I could only the undertones of his usual, growly voice. The exact words were lost, even with my excellent wolf hearing.

“Genevieve will be there in an hour.”

“Who?”

“My secretary.”

“Samuel– “

“I know what you’re going to say but I would never have someone I didn’t trust around my niece and nephew. She knows about us, she’s been with me for almost six years and she helped raise her brother and sister.”

Samuel listed off these attributes as if he were simply conveying information about a new car. It rankled that my own brother would pass off the opportunity to spend time with my bairns to his secretary, of all people.

“Is she the brunette?” I asked.

“No, that was Claudette, and she was the second assistant and is no longer working for me. I don’t do well with people that can’t follow simple directions.”

I breathed a little easier to hear that when a feminine voice with a slight New York accent came on the line.

“Mr. MacDonald? It’s Genevieve, I want to let you know that I’m very happy to help. I’ve sat for Gargoyle parents in my home neighborhood and my nieces are witches. I am perfectly confident that I will be able to watch your children.”

I glanced at my watch. There wasn’t time to keep looking, we’d be pushing to get to our reservation on time as it was. And I did believe that while Samuel didn’t particularly like bairns he’d never do anything to harm any, especially family.

“I would be most grateful,” I finally said.

“I have all the details and will be at your residence in forty-nine minutes with current traffic…although Mr. MacDonald has just informed me that there might be a slight delay that will add approximately four minutes to the estimate.”

I had to chuckle. She was exacting, confident but wise enough to defer to Samuel. No wonder she’d lasted this long as his main secretary.

“That will be just fine. I owe ya one.”

“Not at all. It gives me one more thing to add to my list of reasons why I deserve a raise.”

I heard Samuel mumble in the background and Genevieve gave a low chuckle.

The call disconnected without any further conversation, not even a ‘good-bye’ from my brother. But in Samuel’s case, that was pretty normal.

I climbed the stairs to hear my niece Izzy in the bathroom trying to dry the twins off from their third bath of the day. It didn’t sound like it was going all that well and I made a mental note to be sure and get those football match tickets she’d been coveting as a thank you.

“No, Wallace put that down and…come back here!”

My son ran out of the bathroom, red fur sticking up along his head and back, naked as the day he was born holding a tampon of all things. He stopped right in front of me and I grinned down at him, arms crossed.

He bared his little teeth at me and brandished the tampon like a sword.

“Halt…I’m a sword!”

He pronounced the ‘w’ in the word and had a tiny lisp, but his face was all fierce Highlander Wolf.

“Oh aye,” I put my hands up, “I surrender Master Wallace.”

He frowned more and put his little hands on his bare hips.
“Naw, Dah, too soon!”

I knew he wanted to play at Highlanders, a game that my brother Lowell had taught him just to annoy me, I was sure. We had a whole stash of cardboard swords that Wallace liked to use to ‘sword fight’ with me and Alice, which in his sister’s case meant just banging her on the head until she bit him.

“Naw, Issy!” Alice screamed. “I don wanna!”

“The fairies will tie knots in your fur if you don’t.”

“Naw…fairies wike me. Aaaaahhh!”

That sound meant that Izzy was forcing Alice to have her patchy fur and the hair on her head combed, something the child had decided recently was evil and worthy of screaming about as if she were being tortured.

Wallace sighed and shook his head.
“Awice, so dwamatic.”

I chuckled at that and scooped my son up under one arm. His little laugh bubbled up and filled me with a joy I’d never thought possible. For all that the two of them are far more a handful than Daphne or I could’ve anticipated, these wee bairns had me wrapped around their little fingers. I’d do anything for them, as their playroom was proof of.

“I see ya have an escaped Wolf,” I said, still holding Wallace under my arm.

Izzy, a young teen Wolf and Lowell’s oldest, was sitting on the soaked tile floor, her shirt and jeans wet from holding down Alice, and her cheeks flushed. There was a smudge of something on her cheek that was either poop or chocolate, and I sincerely hoped it was the latter.

“Is the sitter here yet?” she asked, voice full of hope.

“Naw, but it’s alright, ya go on.”

“Ya sure?”

“Ya’ve done quite enough today and I’m grateful.”

Izzy nodded, blowing out a long breath. Alice was pouting in her lap, her fur and hair combed as smooth as the curls would allow.

“We still friends?” she asked her cousin.

“No,” Alice sniffled.

Izzy just placed a kiss on top of the bairn’s head and handed her to me. I took her in the other arm and Alice curled into my shoulder sucking her thumb. I placed a light kiss to her forehead and she nuzzled closer.

“Dah…” she murmured, before her little bow shaped mouth opened wide in a yawn.
Her little voice caused my heart to squeeze with the strength of affection that had been there from the day she’d been born.

“Unj-guard, Issy,” Wallace shouted from under my other arm, once again brandishing the tampon.

In spite of how tired she obviously was, Izzy giggled and ruffled Wallace’s fur.
“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

She took the boy from me and combed his fur and hair quickly before returning him to me. Wallace still had the tampon clutched in his chubby fist and I saw no reason to take it, some battles were best left alone. Daphne and I had learned this the hard way the last two years. So that’s how Daphne found me in the twins’ room, attempting to get their night diapers and footie jammies on their bodies.

“Mama…” Wallace waddled over, diaper hanging half off him and held out the tampon. “New sword.”

“Oh, well that’s…creative,” she said with a laugh.

“I’ve almost got them ready for…”

My voice faded as I turned around and saw my gorgeous mate.

Her thick, wavy hair was pulled back in a simple knot at the nape of her neck, wisps of dark tendrils framed her heart shaped face. Her perfect curves were accentuated by a red wrap dress that hugged those breasts and hips I couldn’t wait to get my hands and mouth on. She wore makeup but with the exception of her red lips, it was understated, just how I liked it.

“Sweet goddess, yer feckin’ gorgeous.”

“Fraser,” she warned me, glancing down at Wallace.

She’d managed to get his diaper and jammies on, his little face was tight as if he were working through a problem. I prayed he wouldn’t repeat the swear word I’d let slip.

We set them in their cribs, the light mobile and sound machine on. Alice’s thumb was replaced her favorite paci, and Wallace curled up with a small blanket that he’d named Wally for some reason.

“Mrs. Jacobs will be shocked they’re down when she gets here,” Daphne whispered as we tip toed from their room.

“Ah, well, ya see…”

Her face fell but she tried to recover quickly so I wouldn’t see.
“Oh…well I, um…maybe we can get take out…”

“Naw, ya misunderstand, I found a replacement.”

“Oh! Well that’s great. Who?”

“Samuel’s secretary, Genevieve.”

She paused at the foot of the stairs, fidgeting with the tie of her wrap dress.
“Does she have experience with pups? You know what happened last time we had an inexperienced sitter.”

If I lived to five hundred, I’d never forget that night. The poor sitter looked as if she’d been through a war, with vomit and feces on her shirt, a hunk of hair pulled out of her head and all of her carefully maintained acrylic nails gone. She hadn’t even waited to be paid. Simply bolted for her car and took off. The twins were awake and crawling all over the house, both of them naked except for their diapers, and Wallace’s was barely hanging on. If they hadn’t been laughing, completely unharmed and somehow clean, I would’ve panicked that something horrible had occurred. But no, nothing had happened, just my bairns.

“She’s sat supernatural children before.”

“But has she sat pups?”

“Daphne–“

“Because if she hasn’t–“

I captured her face between my hands and kissed her slow and firm.
“We are goin’ out and havin’ a romantic dinner that does not involve cleanin’ pureed beets out of my fur or keepin’ them from tryin’ to get outside to capture a damn squirrel. And then we’re comin’ back here to our pups asleep in their beds so we can have some much needed intimate time. Understood Mrs. MacDonald?”

Her smile was tense, but wide enough to show off the dimple I adored. Daphne wasn’t overbearing by any stretch. If anything I was the protective one. But I understood her nerves, I shared them. Despite that, I wasn’t about to let anything keep us from enjoying ourselves tonight.

“Alright,” she agreed. “If you think she’s up to it.”

“I do.”

Goddess please let her be…

***

The restaurant was Werewolf owned and all the staff were Supernaturals. I’d made a request for the Were and Human specific menus and we were escorted to an alcove to the back that opened behind heavy curtains into a small, private room. Above our heads were roses twining around the beams of the ceiling with twinkle lights woven through. The scent of roses was absent; a trick of some spell to accommodate my sensitive nose and not overwhelm the aroma of the food.

The walls were covered in paintings by Werewolf artists, and wood carvings of our history, interspersed with some Gargoyle and Orc mythology, were among the framed works of art. Wall sconces provided low lighting and there was soft string music coming from somewhere.

Our table was in the center of the alcove, with a candle and another rose, and menus laid out for us. A small sideboard contained two appetizers and four different bottles of wine. A Witch in a server’s uniform stood beside the sideboard, ready to take our order.

“This is…Fraser, this is amazing!” Daphne said, her eyes shining as she took in the romantic nook.

“Mr. MacDonald, we are honored to have a member of the Alpha’s family with us,” said the maitre’d, a Gargoyle with his wings glamoured away. “This is our grotto, a private little room that includes a server that will only be at your disposal alone for the duration of your four-course meal. I’ve taken the liberty of choosing a few wines for your perusal, as well as a steak tartare appetizer for you, and a bruschetta for your lovely mate.”

“Thank you,” I said, pulling out the chair for Daphne.

The server brought over the tray of appetizers and placed a few on our small plates. I let the server recommend a pinot noir for us, and he left us in privacy to eat and look over our menu.

Instead, Daphne was entranced by the room and she shook her head at me, a wide smile on her beautiful face.

“You’ve outdone yourself!”

“I’ve got to be honest with ya love, I didn’t know they were gonna do all this. I asked for a good table but…”

“I suppose being in the Alpha’s family has its perks.”

“Ones we have never taken advantage of until now. So let’s enjoy it, shall we?”

“Absolutely.”

We ate the appetizers as we browsed the menu. Mine was specific to Werewolves with plenty of meat dish choices, while Daphne’s was standard Human fare. After we’d placed our orders, I poured a bit more wine and held up my glass to her.

The candlelight was making her eyes and skin glow, and the low cut of her dress had dipped a bit more as we had been sitting, giving me a mouthwatering view of her cleavage. I shook my head as I drank my fill of her across the table.

“What?” she asked playfully, knowing full well what was in my mind.

“I find myself so grateful,” I said, my voice a bit more emotional than I’d anticipated. “I have the most beautiful, brilliant, compassionate mate. Two of the most adorable pups. We’re safe, happy…it’s more than I ever thought I’d have. And it’s all because you took a chance on my grumpy arse, to trust me even with my feral side. Ya filled parts of my life I hadn’t known were empty, and you’ve loved me so fiercely. I meant it on our wedding day, but it’s only become more true as the days and years have passed. I would do anything fer ya, Daphne. Would stand before any danger, make any sacrifice to keep ya safe and happy. You’re my world, you and those pups.”

Tears glittered in her eyes and she’d wound her fingers with mine as I’d spoken.
“I love you, Fraser,” she whispered.

“And I you, Daphne…my true mate.”

***

Daphne’s laughter floated on the air, her dark eyes sparkled and there was a delightful flush to her pale cheeks. We were three courses in, finishing our entrees and on a second bottle of wine. Everything was perfect, from the food, to the cool breeze coming from somewhere to the relaxed slope of my mate’s shoulders.

“That poor gardener!” she chuckled. “He about fainted when he saw Alice with that kitten in her mouth.”

My chest vibrated with a low laugh of my own remembering that day a few months back.
“And all she was tryin’ to do was take the wee thing back to its mother.”

“Well, she wasn’t using her hands, which was normal for us at that point, but that Human was completely terrified. Especially when Wallace gave a howl inside the house.”

“He definitely ran all the way back to the village after that.”

“And asked for a transfer apparently, I haven’t seen him since.”

“Well,” I shrugged, “it’s a Supernatural area, the company should’ve known better.”

Daphne nodded as she sipped her wine.

“I hope that they grow out of trying to pounce on every small animal they see though,” she said. “It’s been a job and half to keep Wallace from actually killing that damn squirrel in our tree. Well, not that the kids are a job but…”

“I understand, lass. You’ve had a hard time bouncing back and balancing motherhood and your job at the Archive.”

She nodded, slowly twisting the stem of her wine glass while she absently ran her fingernail against the skin at my wrist.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m failing at both things,” she admitted softly. “Actually, more than sometimes.”

“What do ya need, to feel like you’ve got a bit more of a handle on things?”

“Fraser, you’re more engaged than any father I’ve ever known.”

“That’s not what I was askin’ about.”

She sighed and sipped more wine, her mind working behind the furrows on her forehead.

“I suppose that it’s time for a full-time nanny,” she admitted. “I know that I wanted to do it all myself but…well, I think they need more supervision than I can give them, even if I wasn’t working. And I think another adult Werewolf around on a regular basis would be really good for them.”

I smiled at her and brought her hand to my lips, running the tip of my tongue along her fingers. She shivered, her pupils dilating.

“I’m relieved to hear ya say that,” I admitted. “I wanted to approach the subject but wasn’t sure how without making ya feel as if ya were failin’.”

“You’ve been so patient with me, so supportive with the postpartum depression and then wanting to go back to work. I couldn’t have asked for a better mate.”

“I just want…Naw, I need ya to be happy. I need it like air.”

Now it was her turn to kiss my fingers and she ended up nibbling one of them with a playful grin on her full lips.

“How did I get so lucky?”

“Dunno, but whatever it was, I’m damn grateful that having two bairns that think a squirrel is good hunting didn’t sour ya on our mating.”

She threw her head back and laughed, full and throaty.

“Why are they so obsessed? I mean, I thought that litter of kittens our neighbor had would be the death of me but this damn squirrel is really pushing it.”

“Aye, that rodent has no sense of self-preservation the way he keeps coming up on the fence and taunting the poor pups.”

“I really hope they never catch it. I don’t want to have to ask Marie for whatever magical cures it’ll need if either of them kills it with their teeth.”

“Now, now,” I patted her hand across the table, and laced our fingers together, “this is supposed to be a relaxing night. No worries about the bairns. They’re fine and–“

My phone buzzed and Daphne’s eyebrow quirked.

“You jinxed it,” she accused.

“Naw, it’s just…” I glanced at the caller ID and silently cursed.

“Just?” Daphne prodded.

I let out a long exhale through my snout and showed her Genevieve’s number.
“Better put it on speaker,” she said, her shoulders tensing a bit.

I answered the call and put it on speaker. A breathless woman on the other end shattered our romantic evening with a few words.

“They escaped the house and I can’t find them!”

***

The restaurant boxed up our dessert and threw in a bottle of wine as a way to help smooth over our interrupted evening. When I tried to pay, I discovered that Samuel had picked up the tab. If Daphne and I hadn’t been so focused on getting out of there and finding our pups, I would’ve called and thanked my sullen, confusing as hell brother.

The restaurant wasn’t far from home, but the entire drive felt like an eternity until we pulled to a stop on the gravel drive. Genevieve was just coming around the back of the house, flashlight in hand, raw meat in a package in the other.

“Good thinkin’,” I said, nodding at the package. “Where have you looked?”

“The back yard and the next door neighbors,” she said, voice thick with worry. “Wallace was saying something about his…I think it was enemy, but I had a hard time understanding. He had a tampon and was waving it around.”

The fact that she was barely phased at the description gave me incredible amounts of respect for this woman.

Of course, working for Samuel, you’d have to be someone who could handle the unusual.
“The squirrel,” Daphne said with a groan.

I let loose a stream of Scottish swears that had both ladies trying to hide a laugh.

“Alright,” I said, “we need to split up. Divvy up that beef, will ya?”

Daphne and I each grabbed a handful from the package and I couldn’t help snorting a laugh as a thought occurred to me.

“Not the kind of meat I was hoping you’d be holdin’ tonight,” I whispered in her ear.

She flushed the same shade of pink she got after a good orgasm and turned to me with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“You think this will keep me from having my way with you, Mr. Fraser?”

“I hope not, Mrs. Fraser.”

“Good, because I’m riding you like a rodeo horse at least twice before the sun comes up. Now, let’s find our pups before Wallace finds that damn squirrel.”

I decided to recheck the backyard; with my nose I could pick up their trail pretty easily. The bairns had definitely found a way out of the house, through the sliding back porch door if the fresh tracks were any indication. I went over to the tree where their prey lived and that’s where the scent went off in a different direction. Two different ones.

“Daphne!” I called.

She came running in bare feet around the corner of the house and I got an ill-timed flash of the first time I’d chased her through a garden and mounted her under a full moon. I swallowed, shaking off the image though all I wanted to do was recreate it tonight.

“Alice went off in that direction,” I said, my voice raspy. “Wallace went this way.”

“Right, I’ll see if I can find any tracks.”

My mate had become quite the skilled tracker since we’d had pups, a skill of necessity in Werewolf families, truth be told.

I followed Wallace’s scent and quickly found the tampon he’d been using as a sword at the back corner of the yard. I pushed against a loose board in the fence, and it gave way with more than enough room for a pup to squeeze through. With a jump, I was over the fence and running as my son’s scent grew in intensity. I found the wee lad at the base of a tree on the edge of the forest we lived near. He had a long stick, his fur was out and he was snarling and howling with fury at something much higher up than he could climb. Especially since the tree didn’t seem to have any hand holds and Wallace hadn’t learned how to use his claws to climb yet. Thank the goddess!

“Son,” I said, approaching carefully, “ya have ta come back now.”

He turned and snarled at me, his eyes flashing from gold to red.

I swallowed, realizing that the genetic tendency toward going feral had passed to him. Daphne had helped me overcome the guilt and shame of my condition, but there was a jagged slice that went through me at the knowledge that I’d passed this burden to my son.

He’ll be fine. More than I was anyway. I’ll teach him how, and so will Daphne. But first I have to get him away from the tree.

I didn’t often use my paternal voice, or the slight bit of alpha authority I’d inherited from my Da. But desperate circumstances and all that.

So I squared my shoulders and bared my teeth to my son. He growled back at first until I pushed my authority into the growl. He stopped, eyes wide and fading to light brown.

“Wallace Fraser, ya will stop and come back with me. Now.”

Wallace cowered and whined up at me. A war waged inside of me at the sight. I wanted to scoop him up and cuddle him, but it was time he learned to listen to his Da, especially with that feral tendency.

“Come on then.” I turned away from him and started to walk back.

I knew, after that little bit of interaction, that Wallace would follow me, but still it was hard not to turn around and carry him. We walked a few minutes in silence, him whining behind me before I stopped and faced him.

“I know ya want that critter, I know that ya feel in yer bones that he’s yers.”

“Want it…want it!” he cried out, bottom lip pouting around his tiny fangs.

“I know, but ya can’t. No more chasin’ that damn squirrel, ya understand?”

His gaze hardened, and there was the tiniest hint of a growl before he bared his throat to me in a show of acceptance and submission. The last thing I wanted was to break either of my bairns’ spirits, but in a pack, there was a definite order to things. And as a part of the Alpha’s family, my pups would need to especially learn this.

“Good, lad. Now,” I scooped him up and gave him a lick on his nose, “it’s time fer bed, ya wee terror.”

***

Daphne found Alice curled up under a bush not far from the house and already had her in a clean diaper and jammies when I walked in with Wallace. He burst into tears and reached for her with his chubby, furry hands as if I’d scolded him the whole way. Daphne grinned up at me and shook her head as she took him in her arms.

“Someone had quite the adventure, didn’t you?”

“Mama…want swirl!”

She cuddled him close and sat in the rocker to give him some comfort. I figured after all that, he’d likely be hungry and went to get him some milk. Wallace gulped it down and was so drowsy by the time he was done that he barely moved when Daphne changed him.

I walked in and put my arm around her as we both stared at our sleeping pups. Their little snores were out of sync and I was pretty sure that Wallace would be back outside tomorrow trying to catch his prey. But for this moment, there was peace and contentment knowing that my mate and my bairns were safe and warm in our home, that I could and did protect them.

We reassured Genevieve that we didn’t blame her in the slightest for the pups sneaking out. She looked relieved as she smiled at me.

“If you’d like me to stay for a bit longer…” she offered.

I was about to turn her down, when she slipped me a note. It was in Daphne’s clear script: “Are you up for a chase? I’ve snuck out the back. Come find me…if you can.”

A surprised laugh rolled out of me and I looked up at Genevieve’s embarrassed face.
“That would be very nice of ya,” I answered.

She gave me a short nod before sneaking up stairs to watch over the twins.

My cock swelled as I made my way to the back door. I walked with purposeful strides off our porch and to the grassy yard. It didn’t take long to pick up her scent. My every instinct was aroused to hone in on my mate. She was already wet, her musk was on the air, thick and delicious. My knot pulsed as I tore off across the back lawn and to the tree line. I took a deep breath, the leaves tinted silver from the nearly full moon above.

A flash of red peeked out from between two trees before it disappeared and I heard her sprinting through the underbrush. She was teasing me, tempting me, calling to me with a primal language I had no immunity to.

I never had it around her, my raven haired mate with the adventurous streak.

Instead of running after her, I stalked, slow and careful. She would be listening for me, and disappointed that I wasn’t pursuing. That’s when she’d circle back around and I’d get her.

Sure enough, in a few moments, her red dress stood out in sharp contrast to the green of the woods, and her pale skin fairly glowed from the moon. Daphne looked out from around a thick tree and her eyes widened.

I grinned at her and took myself in hand under my kilt.

“Ya should know better than to tempt me, lass.”

My voice had dropped several octaves, and there was a gravely quality to it, a growl at the end that was riding the thin line between blood thirsty and aroused.

Her breath picked up, a slight fear tanged her wet cunny, and I was helpless to resist the pull of it.

I was just setting a foot down to lunge toward her when Daphne took off at a gallop. I was faster than her, and I didn’t want this to end too quickly, so I gave her a bit of a head start before sprinting after her.

She wove through the trees, her breathing sharp, sweat breaking out on her luscious body. The scent mixed with her arousal and set my skin on fire. She burst through a break in the tree line and I tackled her on soft grass. We rolled but I was in complete control. I may have wanted the chase, but hurting Daphne was the last thing I would’ve done.

When we stopped, I was on top of her, my hands pinning her wrists to the ground. Her chest heaved in deep breaths and the pupils of her eyes were blown. I ground down with my hips and a shocked gasp blossomed from her lips.

“That’s right, you like it when I chase ya,” I nuzzled her cheek and transferred both wrists to one of my hands. “You want me to fuck ya out here, under the stars, where anyone could come upon us. Don’t ya, lass?”

“Y-yes…I want you so bad…it’s dripping down my…” another sharp intake of breath and her eyes widen even more.

My hand had slipped under her skirt and into her panties, finding her indeed dripping for me. I rubbed her tiny bud with my thumb, careful with my claws. Though, my mate liked to ride that edge of danger, so I let my claws scratch her mons a bit. I loved how she let her hair grow so full down here, how she was unashamed of her curves and rolls of soft skin.

“Fraser!” Her back bowed as I worked her, shoving up her tits.

They were half out of the top of her dress and I freed one of them with my teeth, tearing the fabric. If she cared, the words were cut off as I took her large, round nipple into my mouth and bit her, though gently. I hadn’t had her breasts in my mouth in almost two years, not with her nursing the twins. She hadn’t wanted them touched, much less suckled by me when the twins were latched to her so often. But tonight, I couldn’t resist trying. I’d missed these gorgeous mounds, missed making her whimper as I played with them.

“I-I’m…coming…” she gasped, rolling her hips up in a rhythm I knew well.

But before she could reach the peak, I stopped and turned her over. Daphne whined in protest until I flipped her skirt up and tore off her lacy black panties. Without any other preamble, I lined my weeping cock up to her glistening pussy and thrust in to my knot. She screamed while I let out a growling roar that made the night creatures silent in their dens.

She looked back at me, hair in disarray, eyes gleaming and I wanted to tell her that she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. She was the air I breathed, the beating heart in my chest. But my words failed as her cunny quivered around me and she tried to push back, seeking friction.

“Ya want to be fucked then? Alright, lass…” I pulled out slowly, letting her feel every thick inch of me before thrusting back in swiftly.

I went on like that, controlled then hard, until she was a panting mess under me. It took a herculean effort to make myself take this slow, but I wanted to savor this and make it so good for her. So when she started to make that noise that only I could drag from her lips, when her cunny started to tighten around me, I let her go over the edge.

When her trembling had eased, that’s when I let loose. No longer pulling out gradually, everything was harsh and primal. My wolf was now off the leash and I was fucking her like the animal I was; snarling, bodies slapping against one another until my knot slipped into her tight opening and I spilled myself into my mate’s perfect pussy.

I shivered and roared, on and on, until I fell in an exhausted heap onto the cool ground, curling myself around Daphne. My knot was nestled so well inside of her and she was shaking in the throes of either the same orgasm or another one. I shushed and petted her, licking the sweat off her neck and face while she pushed back into my heat.

“Are ya alright?” I asked when I could speak again.

“So good,” she murmured against my arm.

“I forgot to bring a blanket, but my kilt is around here somewhere…”

“No, don’t move. Just lay with me here. Let’s pretend that we don’t need to get back and enjoy this.”

My arms tightened around her, and we laid there in silence, savoring one another. We’d had so little time to do this the last few years, I wasn’t going to rush it. But when my knot deflated, we both knew we should return. Genevieve had been amazing tonight, and she deserved to go home at a decent hour.

When we finally stood up, Daphne’s dress was more ruined than we thought, so I activated my glamour, which included clothes thank goodness, and wrapped my kilt around her. She was about to walk back when I scooped her up in my arms and her trilling laugh filled the moonlit clearing.

“So Mrs. MacDonald,” I said just as we neared our home, “did ya have a good Valentine’s Day?”

She looked up, pretending to think very hard while her fingers traced patterns on my glamoured skin.

“Yes…”

I arched my eyebrows at her hesitancy.

“But?” I asked.

“I believe there was some dessert we brought home?”

“Aye, that chocolate cake.”

She bit her bottom lip and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“Do you think you’d like to eat it off my tits before you fuck them?”
My steps stuttered to a halt and I groaned.

“Lass, do ya have any idea how hard it’s going to be to face Genevieve with the erection ya just gave me?”

She giggled and left a trail of hot kisses on my throat.
“Worth it.”