The pup in Kai’s arms whimpered at the sound of his voice, and Rick took a deep breath before turning back to the kids. The last thing they needed was more fear. He took a step toward Kai and held out his hands. Though his arms tightened for a moment and he clearly hesitated, Kai placed the baby in Rick’s arms without further encouragement.
“Kai,” Sammi hissed, turning her body so the child in her arms was nearly back in the shed. A snarl of blonde curls covered the little girl’s head as she peeked over Sammi’s shoulder, light green eyes more curious than afraid.
“It’s okay, Sammi. Alpha won’t hurt Henry,” Kai said confidently.
After settling baby Henry against his chest and giving his back a few comforting rubs, Rick reached over and ran the back of his fingers down one of Kai’s tear-streaked cheeks.
“Alpha, as you can see—” Mrs. King began as soon as the others had arrived. Her words were cut off by a yelp and a thud.
Rick turned and saw that she and her husband were on their knees once more, and Bennett was slowly lowering his booted foot to the ground. He nodded at his betas and Enforcers, and they moved to form a semicircle behind the Kings, preventing them from making an ill-advised run for it.
“Mr. and Mrs. King,” Rick began, his voice low so as to not disturb Henry, who had fallen asleep alarmingly quickly. “You have one chance to answer this question: Why are your children living in squalor in this shed?”
Calvin audibly swallowed and began to shake. With her head down, Rick couldn’t see Mildred’s face, but he saw her ears turning red. The scent from the shed masked everything else, so he made eye contact with Bennett, who was still behind the Kings, and then nodded to her. With clawed fingers, Bennett grabbed a fistful of Mrs. King’s stylish blonde hair and jerked her head back. After the pain faded from her face, Rick saw the blush wasn’t due to shame.
It was from rage.
Her eyes moved to one of the children behind him, and she opened her mouth.
“Eyes on me!” His roar sent birds in nearby trees flying, but the pup in his arms only snuggled closer. Mrs. King met his gaze and closed her mouth. When she didn’t move to answer his question, he jerked his chin at Bennett, who shoved her head back down. Rick took a step over, so he was directly in front of Mr. King. Towering over him, he said, “Speak. Or lose far more than your home.”
“Sh-she didn’t want them… in the house.”
Narrowing his eyes, Rick moved back to stand in front of Mrs. King. “How could you treat your own children this way?”
“They are not my children,” she spat at the ground. “I could not abide by his… his spawn living in my home! They are lucky I clothed and fed them.”
Sneering, Rick knelt, his face only inches from hers. She kept her eyes averted, proving she wasn’t a complete idiot, and he caught a healthy dose of fear wafting off her. Finally. “No. They are lucky to have survived you and to have found me.”
He heard Kai make a small noise behind him, but he didn’t turn to look at him.
He stood and pointed at Vanessa. “Put them in my car and drive them to the manor. Marcus, bring me the bag from the trunk of the car.”
Vanessa came forward and collected the sleeping Henry. “Come on, pups,” she murmured, gesturing for the others to follow her.
Sammi cast a suspicious glance at Rick, but after only a moment and an obvious avoidance of looking at her parents, she hurried after V, the tiny blonde pup still cradled in her arms.
Kai looked from his siblings to Rick, a deep frown between his brows. Finally, he came over to Rick, placed a light touch on Rick’s leather-covered sleeve, and whispered, “Alpha, can we please stay with you?”
Jesus. This kid was going to be the death of his reputation as a hard-ass. Unable to stop himself, he reached up and caressed Kai’s cheek again. The young wolf’s eyes fluttered shut at the touch. “Go with Vanessa, pup. I’ll be along shortly.”
“Promise?” Kai’s body swayed forward before his eyes opened once more.
Rick felt the weight of something large settle on his shoulders as he nodded. “I promise.”
As Kai began to back away, Marcus jogged up, holding out the black bag from Rick’s car. He accepted it, placed it on the ground, and pulled out the one item he wanted from it. Looking up, he realized Kai had paused near the betas and was now staring at the weapon.
“Go,” he growled, swinging the machete a few times, getting a feel for it. “You shouldn’t see this.”
Kai’s eyes met his, and for the first time since meeting him, Rick couldn’t read his green gaze. Without saying anything, Kai turned and walked away.
Chapter Two
Kai’s entire body felt numb, but he also couldn’t stop shivering in the back seat of the large SUV. He should have been overheated, if anything. Sammi was pressed against his side with Callie on her lap, and Henry was cradled against his chest. Being surrounded by his siblings, his tiny pack of four, usually calmed him, but his heart hadn’t slowed since he’d seen Alpha Kincaid standing over the Kings, holding a machete.
Vanessa, the beta driving them, hadn’t said anything since they’d left, and he wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask questions. He wanted to trust Alpha Kincaid, truly, but now that he wasn’t in the man’s magnetizing presence, some sense was coming back to him. He’d never seen a more handsome man than Alpha Kincaid but that didn’t explain the pull Kai had felt toward him. Sure, he’d noticed how tall and muscular the alpha was and how his brown hair was really short on the sides but long enough on top Kai’s fingers had itched to run through it.
And don’t get him started on Alpha Kincaid’s flashing brown eyes.
When he cleared his throat, Vanessa met his eyes in the rearview mirror and arched a brow at him before looking back at the road. He opened his mouth to ask where they were going, but she beat him to the punch.
“What are your names?”
Her voice was soft and her stature small, but Kai could sense how powerful she was. The other one who’d opened the shed with her had also been strong, and he realized they were probably both Enforcers, not just pack betas. The only thing he knew about Enforcers was that they were an alpha’s special guard, and they weren’t to be trifled with.
“I’m Kai and this is Henry.” He nodded to Henry’s sleeping form. “And that’s Sammi holding Callie.”
“Samantha,” Sammi whispered; her head was down, but Kai could see his sister was watching the Enforcer through her hair.
“Samantha it is,” Vanessa said. She focused on turning onto a dirt road, then glanced back at them. “Do you have any questions before we get to the manor?”
He met Sammi’s eyes for a moment. She shook her head slightly—whether because she didn’t have any questions or because she didn’t want him to ask anything he wasn’t sure—but he couldn’t get the machete out of his head. “Did Alpha Kincaid kill our dad and stepmom?”
Vanessa was shaking her head before he even finished. “No, kid.” She moved the SUV around a large pothole, then continued. “He cut off their right hands as punishment and to let others know they were banished for betraying their pack.”