But the few times it had been Kai?
It felt like someone had shoved their fist into his chest and was squeezing his heart, making it so he was unable to breathe.
Rick ran a hand through his hair and tugged on the longer pieces on top, his scalp stinging in protest. He looked up and met Bennett’s sympathetic gaze.
“I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything you want, Alpha.”
Rick failed to stop his slight grimace. What he wanted couldn’t be helped, but hopefully, with Bennett and Vanessa’s stepping in, he would start making progress on what he could actually have.
A pack that felt whole again.
Chapter Four
Kai stared at the alpha’s closed door for a few moments before hurrying Callie down the hall and to the kitchen. Sammi was bathing Henry, having already been to breakfast and come back. Callie had been slow-moving that morning, so Kai was only just bringing her down and it was nearly ten o’clock. She seemed to have snapped out of her mood and was chattering away as they hustled through the house, completely unfazed by what had happened outside their bedroom door.
His heart had started pounding at the sound of Alpha Kincaid’s growl, and he didn’t know how his Enforcer had stood there without shaking. Since the night Kai had… gone to Alpha Kincaid’s bedroom and been thrown out, he’d lived in fear of that growl being aimed at him and his siblings as they were tossed out on their ears.
As scared as the alpha and his giant Enforcers made him feel, the idea of not being able to keep his siblings safe out in the world was far more terrifying.
Samantha had tried to press him about leaving a couple times since their conversation right after they’d arrived, but Kai kept reminding her they had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. As much as they were scared now, going off on their own with no money or a place to live was unthinkable. Sammi always let it go eventually, but Kai sometimes saw her eyeing the exits or a steak knife at dinner. He didn’t blame her and didn’t say anything when one of those knives found its way under her pillow.
He just snuck it back into the kitchen later, praying no one had noticed it was missing.
He and his siblings had been given two bedrooms to stay in, but it was too hard trying to sleep away from any of his siblings while everything felt so unsettled. Each night, he lay awake next to them, listening to their breathing and thinking about all of the things that could go wrong or what they would do if the Kings came back for them.
The uncertainty of living in Alpha Kincaid’s home was better than pretty much any alternative, so he tried to put on a brave face for Henry and Callie. Neither of the pups seemed at all scared of the alpha or his Enforcers or betas, and now that Callie wasn’t hungry all the time, she’d turned into the sassy, happy little girl Kai had only seen glimpses of their last month or so in the shed.
As they entered the kitchen and Callie saw Ms. Beth stirring something delicious-smelling on the stove, Callie ran right up to her. “Ms. Beth! I’s hungry!”
“I’m, my sweet pup, not I’s. And aren’t you always.” Ms. Beth smiled fondly at Callie and gently caressed her head and then neck.
Kai had seen some of the others do that to each other, but Ms. Beth was the only one who had done it to any of them since the day they’d arrived at the house and V scented him. He knew what scenting was for, and the reminder that the others didn’t view them as real packmates always caused his chest to hurt.
“Why don’t you and Kai sit on down at the table, and I’ll bring you some breakfast.”
“I can get it, Ms. Beth,” Kai said, his voice soft but firm. It made him uncomfortable having her wait on them all the time, especially when they were so late coming down. She had already moved on to making lunch for the manor; she definitely didn’t need to stop so she could cater to them.
She removed her long spoon from the deep pot on the stove and placed it on a shallow bowl she kept next to the stove. She turned and smiled at him, approaching slowly. He tensed when he realized what she was going to do, but didn’t move away. As her arms wrapped around him carefully, his breath hitched and his eyes stung, but he couldn’t get his arms up to return the gesture. He was frozen in place.
Her short, round body didn’t press into his too firmly, but she did rub her hands on his back for a moment before she stepped away and gently held his forearms. “Good morning, Kai. How did you sleep?”
He blushed and looked at her bright pink apron with white polka dots rather than her knowing eyes. “Good morning, Ms. Beth. I slept fine, thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
He could tell she was smiling by the sound of her voice, but he didn’t raise his eyes. He also knew that she knew he was lying. It was sort of like a game, this ritual they did every day, where she’d ask and he’d lie. She always smiled and never said anything about the deception.
“How does this sound? I’ll get you and the starving pup something to eat, and when you’re done, you can give me a hand getting ready for the coven meeting. Would you like that? I could really use the help, and it won’t take too long.”
That got Kai’s eyes up. “Coven meeting?”
“Oh yes,” she said, ushering him to the kitchen table.
Callie was already sitting and waiting patiently, short legs swinging as she traced scratches on the table with her finger. He sat next to her and gave her a half hug for being so well behaved.
Ms. Beth hurried over to the fridge and began pulling things out. “Once a quarter, the witches and seers in the pack come and meet with Rick. There’s only about a dozen of them, but they can be… boisterous, that’s for sure.”
Kai wasn’t sure what to say as Ms. Beth scooped fruit into bowls and pulled a plate from out of the oven that turned out to be scrambled eggs and sausage links. She split the heaping plate into two servings—one much smaller than the other—and brought everything over.
“You let me know if those eggs aren’t warm enough, dear.”
He smiled and dug in, ignoring the lukewarm temperature. He’d eaten much worse.
As he ate—and tried to keep Callie’s food from getting all over her clean clothes—he contemplated what she’d said. He’d never met a witch or a seer, only read about them in some of his mom’s books… but he wasn’t sure how accurate those had been.
After he finished his eggs and sausage, Kai asked, “What’s the difference between a witch and a seer?”
He chanced a glance as he popped a piece of watermelon in his mouth and saw Ms. Beth’s grin. He smiled back shyly and was surprised when she plopped down on the other side of the table.
“Well, be sure not to ever ask any of them that question, unless you want a two-hour lecture on the history of both witches and seers,” Ms. Beth said with a chuckle and a grimace. “Learned that the hard way.”
Kai nodded and kept eating, hoping she’d continue telling him about them and about the pack in general. He’d wanted to ask so many questions since they’d arrived but hadn’t felt like it was his place. But since she’d brought it up…
“Now, my understanding is witches can have a couple different abilities, including active powers, but not all of them do. But they all can do spells and such, though how powerful they are as an individual will determine how powerful and effective their spells will be.”