"Isn't two coolers of ice considered overkill?"
"Dad likes to be prepared," Ryker said as he slammed the plastic bag ice down on the porch with a controlled amount of strength; enough to shatter the melted together pieces but not enough to make the bag explode and send ice scattering across the wood beams.
Jo was perched on the porch railing, watching him, her brown eyes curious and dancing. They had been helping out all morning and afternoon with the last parts of preparation for Lexi's party, which would be starting in less than an hour. People were already starting to show up, mostly members of their own pack so far. He caught some of them glancing their way every now and then, probably watching to see how different he acted now that Jo was there. The news that his girlfriend was actually his mate had spread rapidly after the bonfire party, and he was sure that everyone knew now.
Jo had spent the night again last night, which had meant another night on the floor for him. His dad wouldn't have it any other way, and Ryker knew better than to try to get away with it anyways. Malcolm would know. He always knew somehow.
"You could keep a pack of werepenguins happy with all that ice."
Ryker picked up the bag of ice slowly. "Were...penguins...?" He tore open one end of the bag and dumped the ice into the cooler.
Jo grinned. "Yeah, vicious scary werepenguins. Totally a thing."
Ryker's eyebrows knitted together, and he stepped over toward her so he could properly loom over her, arms crossed as he balled up the plastic bag in his hand. "Do you know any werepenguins?"
She smirked, tilting her head back to meet his gaze. "Not yet, but at this point, it seems like anything is possible."
"Jo. Just so we're on the same page. Werepenguins. Aren't real."
"Mhmm, okay," Jo said with a small casual shrug. He was surprised that it didn't look like it hurt, what with the wounds on her shoulder, but she seemed all right. Brett said that her claw marks were actually mending pretty quickly, at least for a human, and it looked like they had been healing for almost a week instead of a couple days. "But when one shows up, you owe me."
It was his turn to smirk. "What exactly am I going to owe you?"
"I'll figure that out when the penguins invade."
A muffled laugh escaped him, and he bent down to kiss her, quick and sweet.
God, he loved this woman.
"I'm going to go get ready real quick," Jo said, hopping off the railing with a grace that made heat rush through him. Several days of sticking to his dad's rules of propriety was really starting to get to him.
"I could join you..." he suggested hopefully. He could do with a change of shirt, he'd been sweating in this one all afternoon.
Jo shook her head, lips fighting a smile, "Nope, Aaliayah and I are also helping Lexi with finishing touches." Oh yeah, that grand entrance thing girls liked to do at big birthday parties. He gave Jo his best wide-eyed, disgruntled look, but she was already developing an immunity to it apparently.
"See you in an hour," she said, resting a hand on his bicep as she stretched on her tiptoes to give him her own brief kiss. And then she spun on her heels and disappeared into the house.
Ryker didn't even realize he was staring after her until an elbow nudged him, followed by a chuckle. Ryker turned to find Brett and Charlie, ready to haul the coolers out to the food area.
"Someone is so whipped," Charlie said, smirking.
"Someone wants to be put back on guard duty."
"Not fair, man," Charlie said, throwing him an annoyed look as he lifted a cooler. "I can't wait till that guy's annoying ass is back in his own territory."
"Oh yeah, what did Duncan say when you told him we had Blake?" Brett asked curiously, as the three of them fell into step together.
"I don't know," Charlie shrugged.
Ryker stopped. "Charlie!" He barked, causing his Beta to stop and turn and look at him in confusion. Brett also turned, but his expression was more worried, probably a lot like Ryker's. Although his predominant feeling was frustration right now.
"You never delivered the message?"
Charlie frowned. "I did, but to Jake. Duncan was busy or something." He scratched the back of his head. "Jake never told me what Duncan said, but I didn't ask him to." He looked from Ryker to Brett, then back again. "Was I supposed to? Jake is his cousin and like third in command."
Ryker had no idea. Duncan seemed to trust Jake, but personally, Ryker cared even less for the guy than Duncan. He just seemed like a self-inflated dick, to be honest. And Duncan's pack dynamics were so odd, if there was truth to what Duncan had shared with them. Ryker set his cooler down and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, nothing's happened yet, so let's hope it's not an issue."
"He's going home tomorrow so the situation should resolve itself soon," Brett tried to reassure him, but Ryker could tell he was uneasy with the situation as well. Ryker just wished he'd known this sooner, not an hour before Lexi's birthday party started.
"Okay," Ryker said, thinking aloud. "Let's spread the word that those on duty need to be extra vigilant. And let's tighten the patrol circle to dwelling areas so we don't leave too many gaps." They'd been trying to have a lighter patrol tonight so more people could attend the party for longer periods, but now that meant holes in the patrol. At least there was a lot of land that was just woods for running and whatnot, so they'd skip patrolling those areas tonight.
"Charlie," Ryker said, turning to his Beta who had the grace to look guilty. "I'm not holding it against you, but try to see if you can get the message to Duncan directly before the party starts, ok?"
Charlie nodded with a grimace. "Sorry, I'll do my best." Ryker clapped a hand on his shoulder in thanks, and then Charlie set his own cooler down and took off running.
"I'll finish with these," Brett said, nodding down at the coolers. "I'm guessing you want to go talk to dad."
"Yeah...thanks Brett." So much for a worry-free party. Well, the one thing he could do was try to spare Lexi the stress. Hopefully with his dad, brother, and Beta's help they could get this handled and the rest of the evening would go off without a hitch.
Leaving Brett behind, Ryker hurried through the backyard, looking for their father. Malcolm was over by the overly decorated picnic tables they had set up that morning, talking with a couple pack members and one of the Callahan men who had gotten there early.
Ryker stepped into their small circle and made eye contact with his father, knowing his hasty entrance would be enough of an alert to his dad that something was up. Everyone else would hopefully assume it was something party related, which it could be.
Malcolmoffered a nod to the others and moved away without offering an explanation. As the pack alpha, it wasn't like anyone would question him. Ryker fell into step beside him.
"What's wrong?"
"I made a mistake," Ryker said, grabbing the blame that could've been thrown at Charlie. "Duncan might not have gotten the message that we have Blake."
Malcolm's face turned stormy. "How?"
"Jake was told about it instead of Duncan, and you know how he can get. Charlie's going to try to fix it now."
Malcolm's jaw tightened. "Did Charlie screw it up in the first place?"
"I should have been more specific," Ryker said, crossing his arms tight over his chest. "It's my fault."
Malcolm frowned fiercely, and Ryker could feel the weight of his disapproval laying heavy against him. He edged back uncomfortably at the reminder that his dad was still more powerful and the one in charge. The completely human side of him didn't mind so much, but the wolf side? It wanted to offer a challenge. "Fix it."
Ryker gritted his teeth and shoved the wolf part down, taming it by force. "Yes, sir. Already working on it."
"Work faster."
Irritation sprouted up again, but he just nodded. His hotheaded nature came from somewhere, and it wasn't his mother. Before he lost his temper and control, he headed for the house, where he left his cell phone charging.
Head down as he focused on finding his phone, he didn't notice the person right in front of his bedroom door until a second too late. A warm, familiar smell filled his senses as he looked up, and instinct had him reaching out, steadying her.
"Well hey there," Jo said, laughing as she gripped his arm to catch her balance.
Instantly feeling calmer with her there, Ryker flashed a quick grin. "I know it's been hard, but if you really wanted me that bad, you didn't have to accost me outside my bedroom..."
She shoved his chest, none too lightly. "Someone really likes his position on the floor."
Ryker groaned, then used his grip on her to tug her close enough for him to lean down and brush his lips across her forehead. "No, someone really, really doesn't."
Jo snorted but didn't push him away this time. "As long as you know what you've done wrong," she muttered, peering up at him. Brows knitted as she studied him with both curiosity and concern. 'Hey, what's wrong?"
Of course his mate would be able to read his tension. Jo was perceptive anyway, but the fact she was his mate–he should know better than to try and hide much.
He wondered if he'd ever manage to plan a surprise anything for her in the future.
"Ryker?"
He sighed and focused back on her. "We realized our message about Blake being okay may have never made it directly to Duncan," he said quietly after pausing to make sure no one else was close enough to hear. "It went through Jake and..."
"Jake is unreliable," Jo finished for him, lips twisting into a grimace of distaste. No wonder, she'd never had any pleasant interactions with him. Neither had Ryker, for that matter.
Ryker nodded as Jo frowned at a vague point on the wall, thinking. "Are we okay to continue with the party?"
"We have to be," Ryker said, glancing down the hall toward Lexi's bedroom. "I don't want to worry Lexi, we'll get it handled."
Jo nodded. "I'm sure she'll be distracted enough not to notice anything's off, but you've let the patrols know, right? Better to be safe than sorry with so many people here tonight."
Ryker nodded, the tension starting to return as he contemplated the logistics. "Yeah, and I notified dad." He sighed. "I think we're okay, we just need to be extra vigilant." He glanced down at Jo, hating to ask her this now that he'd thought of it, but...
Again, she seemed to be thinking in sync with him. "I can keep an eye on Lexi and make sure she doesn't go anywhere on her own," Jo said, squeezing his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry about her."
"Keep yourself safe too," Ryker said tightly. They were both important to him, and he didn't want Jo getting any kind of crazy idea in her head that she didn't matter as much as the rest of his family, that if push came to shove she'd need to put herself in harm's way for the sake of others.
He needed her to be okay.
"I will, don't worry about me," she said, giving him an easy smile. "Did you see what I did to the last wolf who came at me?" she added wryly.
Ryker couldn't help the short bark of laughter that escaped him. That was actually a reminder he needed right now. He hugged her tightly, burying his face against her hair for a moment. She fit perfectly in his arms, against his body–this was his favorite place to have her, and he wished he didn't have to let her go. "Don't be afraid to burn anyone who attacks either of you to a crisp, ok?"
"I was debating between lightly grilled or charbroiled."
"I prefer baked."
Jo giggled into his chest and then looked up at him. "Has our humor grown more morbid?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm dead serious."
"I know." Jo rolled her eyes, although her look was affectionate as she stepped away. "I got this, don't worry. Go handle what you need to and keep your phone on you, ok?"
Speaking of which...his phone started buzzing and Ryker glanced down at it. It was the baker who they had ordered Lexi's cake from, probably checking in to see if their address was correct. All the map apps had trouble locating it since it was off the grid on a mountain.
As he answered it, he looked up to see Jo walking away from him, heading back toward Lexi's room. Maybe they could keep all of this from Lexi. He didn't want to worry his sister about it, especially if nothing was going to happen in the end.
He hoped that was the case.
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A/N: Thanks for the comments and votes! :D