Feeling refreshed and recharged from the long hot shower gave me a new sense of determination. I am Nikita and no man, even if he is my mate, is going to break me down. With a small smile on my lips I made my way down the few sets of stairs. As I came to the last staircase I took in the scene before me, trying like hell to hold in my laughter. There was quite a big group gathered around the base of the stairs, all watching as the guy from earlier, Brent. He and a beautiful brunette were bickering back and forth as they worked over the small body of a young pup. His large mop of dirty blond hair sticking up all over the place. His chubby little cheeks, red with either embarrassment or pain, I couldn't tell which. Others watched on, snickering as Brent turned the boys head slightly. He then began to pull on his shoulders gently as the women pushed against the top of his head, desperately trying to free his head from in between two dowels on the staircases banister. How the boy got his head in there to begin with was a mystery to me. The spaces between the small poles were at best six to eight inches apart.
Slowly I made my way closer to them, careful not to cause more stress to the pup as he began to whimper. I knew this had to be extremely unpleasant and most likely painful for the poor boy. Brent gave up on pulling with a heavy sigh, his brows furrowed as he tried to think of a new tactic to get the boy free. The women looked worried as she taps her chin with her finger, clearly thinking just as hard as him. If it weren't for the painful whimpers coming from the boy I would have busted a gut laughing at them.
"I don't know what else to do other than break the damn things." Brent said as he tugged on one of the poles slightly.
The brunette quickly slapped his hand away as the pup began crying. Squinting my eyes as I looked closer I could see red angry marks on the boys neck, how the hell did he get his head through if it was that tight on his neck? Biting my lip as I thought, I took another step down the stairs, now only two steps above them. This action caught the attention of everyone because I suddenly found thirteen sets of eyes looking at me. I swallowed the small lump in my throat that formed from the sudden attention but kept my face free of any expression other than worry. The boys was was growing redder by the second and I was starting to seriously worry about his airway. The skin around his neck was starting to swell and I knew that if he wasn't released soon, he would have difficulty breathing as his airway tightened. Brent and the lady were bickering again as they couldn't agree on what to do. Brent gave a frustrated growl while she snorted at him. I came to the conclusion that they must be mates by the way they acted with one another. Another whimper came from the boy, but this one caused even myself to panic. It was so soft I doubt even the rest of them heard it over the two air headed adults next to him. The only reason I even heard it was because I had taken the last to steps and squatted down next to him, my left hand rubbing calming circles on his back.
I responded instantly to his painful whine, my body taking over before I even thought my actions through. I grabbed a hold of the two poles holding the body hostage and yanked. In one swift motion the dowels broke free from the railing, the wood between my hands crushed beneath the amount of pressure I put on them. I quickly released them, throwing them down to the floor below. I instantly wrapped my arms around the boys body before he had a chance to slump forward. His breathing was rough, tears fell from his eyes and quite honestly the image broke my heart. He looked so scared, a look I had seen many times and one that I never wished to see again.
"It's okay. You're okay." I said softly as I brushed the long strands of hair away from his face.
I sat down on the step, placing him in my lap. He turned in my arms, burying his face into the crook of my neck as his little arms wrapped around my neck. His form shaking from fear, the sound of his sobs made my heart hurt. I closed my eyes as my own tears began to build. I wrapped one arm around his small body tightly, the other reaching up to cradle his head against me as I began to slowly rock side to side. I remember my mother use to do this for me when I was scared or hurt and it always seemed to make everything better. After a few moments his sobs turned into soft sniffles, his tears slowing down. He was no longer shaking but his death grip around my neck didn't loosen at all, which honestly I didn't mind that he was basically choking me with how tight he was squeezing me. I opened my eyes now that I was sure no tears would spill. Once I did I was met with fourteen sets of eyes on me now. I was so wrapped up in helping the boy I hadn't even felt the presence of my mate when he joined the group at the stairs. He stood there, one foot on the last step as if he would climb up them any second. His face was a unreadable mask, but if you looked close enough you could see the concern behind his eyes. His left hand was gripping the railing roughly, turning his knuckles white and I was honestly surprised the wood hadn't splintered beneath his hand. Brent was standing on the step below me, shock clear on his face but also a look of astonishment as well which only confused me. It's not like I was holding up a burning building or something.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I quickly scanned the group before me, looking for a worried looking mother. Clearly his parents would be here, wanting to help their pup. My brows drew together as I found no one who fit the bill. Sure there was a few worried faces but not ones that screamed "My baby!" Others just simply looked shocked or relieved. My eyes locked with Conan's as my confusion built, noticing that something was wrong he climbed the stairs, pushing past Brent and knelt down in front of me.
"What is it?" He asked, his voice was tight like he found it difficult to speak. Ignoring the way my body reacted to just the simple sound of his voice I spoke, barely above a whisper so only he and the boy could hear.
"Where are they?" Clearly confused by my words, Conan's head tilted the the side slightly.
I don't think he even realized he did it. His eyebrows drew together as he looked at me then looked at the boy in my arms. Realization flashed in his eyes before he shook his head. Chills ran through me, like someone had pumped ice water through my veins. He had no parents, no one to comfort him, kiss the pain away, tend to his wounds. Something every child desperately needs and deserves. Tears began to fill my eyes once again, my own pain mixing in with the pain I felt for this boy in my arms. I may have been a teenager when I lost my parents but that was still too young, this boy couldn't be more than five or six. How long has he been without them, their love, their care. The thought made my heart ache, my eyes close tightly. Allowing a single tear to slide down my cheek before I turned my head, pressing a kiss to the side of the pups head as I continued to rock him. I could hear the sound of feet shuffling as the group that was gathered, quickly and quietly left. I opened my eyes once more and turned to look at Conan, taking in the fact that it was only the three of us left on the stairs. Brent and the other prying eyes of the group gone, allowing me to relax slightly.
Conan's hand reached forward, settling on my left shoulder. I hadn't realized how stiff I was until then, his touch instantly relaxing me further. The boy in my arms had finally stopped crying, the sound of his soft snores replacing his whines. I slowly stood up, the arm on his back quickly sliding down to his bottom to keep him from falling as his legs hung limp below him. A small whimper left his lips before his tight grip around my neck tightened even more.
"Shh It's okay, I got you." I whispered softly into his hair as I pressed a kiss to his head once again. Conan's eyes bore into me as he watched my every move, his blank expression hiding the concern I could feel coming from him. With the mate bond growing I was beginning to feel small amounts of his emotions. Which honestly was a little weird but I can't lie, I actually liked being able to feel them.
"Where does he sleep?" I spoke softly, eyes looking up to meet Conan's once he stood to his full height.
Even with me being on a step above him, his large frame stood above me by a good six inches still. He simply jerked his head towards the top of the stairs before sidestepping me and climbing the stairs. I turned and quickly followed after him as he led me up to the second floor of the pack house. He turned left at the top of the stairs, walking down the hall until another one had us turning right. He lead me to the last door on the left before opening the door, walking in and holding it open for me. Walking in my eyes took in the small but pleasant bedroom. In the far corner was a single bed, the blankets a mint green color with cartoon wolves on them which made me smile softly. Next to the bed sat a small wood table with a lamp. The walls were a light blue color, the shade of a robins egg. The walls held a few pictures of action figures or cartoon characters like Batman, Iron Man and The Hulk. Next to the door was a dresser and as I looked at it I noticed picture frames sitting on top. Walking closer my chest tightened as I took them in.
One picture was of a small little baby wrapped in a mint green blanket, tuffs of blonde hair sticking up. His face peaceful as he slept sucking on his thumb. I knew instantly it was a baby picture of the boy in my arms. The next picture was of a young couple sitting down on the grass, The man had sandy brown hair and emerald green eyes. A smile plastered on his face as he looked at the women next to him from the corner of his eye. She was beautiful with long platinum blond hair and hazel eyes. She was leaning against the man's side, her legs pulled up beside her. Small dimples could be seen as she had a giant grin while looking at the camera. The very last picture nearly made my heart collapse as a sharp pain stabbed through it. It was of the same couple sitting on the grass but now their smiles were aimed towards the little boy she held in her arms. He looked to me maybe a few months old, his hair was a lighter blond than it is now he was clapping his hands together as he looked at the camera. His eyes identical to his mothers with small dimples on his chubby little cheeks. You could tell instantly that he looked very much like his father but his mothers features were mixed in perfectly. Eyes full of love and joy as they watched their baby boy.
Tearing my eyes away I turned towards the bed. Conan brushed past me, reaching the bed before I did. He pulled the comforter back and then stepped back, allowing me to step up to the bed. I lean over, trying to lay the boy down as gently as possible but he refuses to loosen the death grip he has on my neck. Soft whimpers come from him causing me to stand up and sigh softly as his little legs try to wrap around my torso. I must say, for his age he was actually quite small, which only reminded me of myself even more. Knowing I won't be able to leave him anytime soon I sat down on his bed. Laying down on my back slowly to make sure I don't crush his feet or legs. The young pup snuggle in closer, his soft breath fanning across my throat as his face is pressed into the crook of my neck. I run my fingers through his hair softly, my other hand rubs slow circles on his back. Conan looks around the room, clearly not comfortable or maybe just unsure of what to do. When his eyes meet mine again I give him a soft smile.
"Do.. Do you need anything?" He ask, voice low and soft. I shake my head slightly.
"No, I'm fine." He nods stiffly before scanning the room again. A chilly draft blows into the room causing me to shiver. The action not missed by Conan as he steps forward before pulling the blanket up, covering the boy and myself up. I smile at him again.
"Thanks."
He nods again, his muscles relaxing just a hair as he finishes scanning the room for the third time. I don't know what exactly he was looking for, or if he expected someone to suddenly jump out and attack. That was one thing I began to notice about him. He was always on edge, constantly on guard as if he was waiting for a fight. Even now as he stands here in a room with only his mate and a small child, he looks ready to go to battle. Normally that kind of thing irritated the hell out of me, made me tense with the feeling that I needed to walk on eggshells. It's odd.. this mate pull. like I said, normally it would drive me up the fudging wall but with Conan I kind of found it attractive. Watching his rock hard muscles flex and coil under the thin material of his t-shirt. God he's so yummy, biting my lip to try and contain myself as dirty thoughts flooded into my mind.
"I must go. Brent will collect you when dinner is ready." His tone was so matter-of-fact, closed off it caused a frown to spread on my lips. I quickly covered it with a yawn before answering him.
"Okay, see you later then." He gave one stiff nod before turning towards the door to leave. He stopped as he stood in the doorway, hand on the door. I could see the muscles in his back flex.
"Thank you." Those two simple words confused me greatly.
"For what?"
"For..helping him." He looks over his shoulder at me, I smile softly at him.
"Of course." His eyes meet mine for a few moments before he turns, closing the door behind him as he leaves.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Using my feet I kick the blanket off, with it still being summer I was quickly overheating under it. The small child laying on top of me wasn't helping either. We've been up here for close to an hour now. I'm sure dinner will be ready soon, maybe I should wake him up? I smiled down at his head of shaggy dirty blond hair, his soft snores are the only thing i can hear besides our heart beats. Nah, I'll just wait until Brent comes, I don't want to wake the little angel. I stare up at the ceiling, letting my mind wander off.
"Hey." In the back of my mind I can hear someone talking but I chose to ignore it, not wanting to leave the peaceful darkness.
"Hey, it's time for dinner." This time I feel someone shaking my shoulder softly. Groaning I open one eye. Brent is standing over me, a small smile on his face.
"What?" My voice is groggy with sleep, when did I fall asleep?
"I said, dinner is ready." I nod yawning as I rub sleep out of my eyes. Brent chuckles as I go to sit up, but find a weight on my chest. Looking down I notice the little boy is still attached to me, his head resting on my chest now. I smile at him, combing some of his hair down with my fingers.
"Want me to take him?" Brent asks, I look at him and shake my head.
"No, it's okay. I got him."
For some odd reason I wasn't ready to let him go. Adjusting to the weight I sit up slowly, wrapping my arms around him and swing my legs over the side of the bed. Brent backs up, watching me with an unreadable expression on his face. Standing up, I re-adjust the boy in my arms. A small whine escapes him as he tucks his face into the crook of my neck once again, his arms going back around my neck while his legs curls around my waist.
"It seems he doesn't want to let go either." Brent says, I chuckle softly and nod.
"Seems so. Well lead the way, Mr Beta." Brent chuckles this time as he walks out of the room.
I follow him down the halls to the staircase. As I start down the stairs the sound of overlapping voices hit my ears. Laughter mixing in with the voices as everyone seems to be talking at once, having their own conversations. Once Brent and I walk into the room some of the conversations die down as they look at us. Trying my best to ignore them, I re-adjust the child in my arms and follow Brent to a long buffet style table. My mouth watering as I take in the beautiful site of the food. Burgers, Hot dogs, Steaks and fish are out for the meat options. I can see mashed potatoes, potato salad, peas, green beans, sliced carrots, macaroni and cheese, buttered parmesan noodles along with many options of chips. My stomach rumbles as I breath in all the smells. licking my lips I hold the boy with one arm and reach for a plate. I stack my plate with two burger patties and a hot dog. Figuring I'll probably be sharing my plate with the boy currently wrapped around me. Moving down the table, sliding my plate over with me. I add some mashed potatoes, topping them with some butter and corn. From the corner of my eye I catch Brent watching me with a look of fascination. I look at him and raise an eyebrow, a silent question.
"Oh umm, it's nothing. You just seem to be a natural with kids." He says, a small blush spreads on his cheeks while he scratches the back of his neck. I chuckle at his reaction.
"Back in my old pack I use to help out in the nursery and daycare a lot. I never actually had to do it, but I always loved it and felt like I needed to be there for the kids." I shrug while he just nods in understanding.
I put a serving of potato salad and some carrots on my plate as well before I run out of room. I frown slightly before I shrug it off, I'll just come back for more. I bite my lower lip as I try to pick the plate up, careful not to tip it as I turn towards the tables full of talking people. Suddenly the plate is gone, I look up to see Conan standing in front of me. His face is in it's usual blank mask but his eyes are full of light.
"Um.. thanks?" It comes out as more of a question.
He nods before turning away from me, walking between the two dining tables. I swallow the small lump in my throat as I quickly follow behind him. He stops at the end of the table closest to the door, setting my plate down in front of the last seat on this side of the table. Conan pulls the chair out for me as he gestures for me to take it. I give him a small smile as I tuck myself into the chair, adjusting the boy to sit in my lap. Conan pushes the chair in, leaving me plenty of room between us and the table. The little boy starts to yawn as he wakes. He sits up in my lap, rubbing at his eyes with his little hands. I chuckle at his cuteness and smile down at him as he looks at me.
"Hey there sleepy head, you hungry?" I ask softly. Dimples appear as he smiles and nods his head.
"Good! I didn't know what you wanted so I got a burger and a hot dog. Which one would you like?" He seems to think about it deeply before he points at the hot dog.
"Okay, do you want a bun?" He nods again.
As I reach forward to grab one, a hand suddenly appears before me with a hot dog bun already split open. My eyes follow the hand, up its arm until I find it attached to none other than Conan. He's sitting to the right of me at the head of the table. I quickly drag my eyes away from his as I take the bun.
"Thanks." From the corner of my eye I can see him nod before continues to eat his own burger.
"What all do you want on it buddy?" I ask as I look down at the boy. He bites his lower lip as he thinks. His hand points to a few of the condiments in front of us on the table, I chuckle softly.
"You eat it just like me." I commented before grabbing the Mayo, ketchup, relish and shredded cheese. He smiles up at me as I prepare his bun. I send him a wink as I finish and hand it to him.
"Eat up bud." He nods enthusiastically as I chuckle.
Forgoing the buns I grab a fork that was next to my plate and dig into the Burger patties, adding a little ketchup when I was already half way through one of them. When I finished eating both I looked over at the boy to see he was almost done with his hot dog. Looking around I spotted a un-used fork next to Conan. I looked at him and watched for a few moments as he bite into yet another burger. Noticing his plate I frowned slightly, he had no vegetables, nothing other than burger patties and two hot dogs. This man is definitely asking for an early grave. I cleared my throat, trying to get his attention and sadly it did not work. He continued to tare into a double decker burger like he hadn't eaten in weeks. I know we werewolves eat enough to feed an army but damn, where does he put it all. So far I've counted four burgers and I'm honestly not sure if he was already eating before we got here or not. I cleared my throat again but got the same result, so I did what any normal person would do. I kicked his shin... yep, I kicked the bipolar Alpha's shin. I think I might be slightly mental already. As soon as my foot connected with his leg I realized what a stupid idea that was, my heart rate spiked by twenty beats I swear.
Conan's eye's locked on to mine as he stopped halfway through the bite of his burger. Shock and anger were clear on his face, and I had no doubt that mine showed every once of stupidity and fear that I felt. Instead of blowing his top like I thought he would and I honestly wouldn't have blamed him for. He calmly and slowly placed his half eaten burger back down on his plate, his eyes never leaving mine. I gulped as he leaned towards me, stopping only inches from my face.
"What the hell was that for?" His voice was deadly low, sending pleasurable chills down my spine.
"Uh.. Um. Sorry, I honestly was not thinking. Yeah definitely, who in their right mind would kick an Alpha..." My free hand reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"Ha ha I mean hell, who in this god forsaken place would ever even think about kicking Alpha Conan..." I paused, gulping as I felt the lump in my throat returning.
"Uh. Well. You see.. I tried to get your attention a couple of times but you didn't notice, so I acted on impulse and did what I always do to Maddie.." I rambled on as he continued to stare into my eyes.
Biting my lip to stop my word vomit, I watched as the corners of his mouth twitched before he bellowed with laughter. Everyone stopped talking, all turning to look at their Alpha. Many with shocked expressions or even slight fear. Conan continued to laugh as his fist hit the table, causing me to jump slightly. It's not that I was afraid of him, it was just so loud and unexpected. I looked to the person sitting across from me only to see that it was Brent. He was watching Conan, a smile playing on his lips before he turned to me, sending me a wink and a grin. Leaving me very confused as to what the hell was going on. I don't know what was so funny, why everyone looked like they've seen a ghost. Once he got his laughing fit under control Conan turned to me.
"What was it that you needed?" He asked, amusement clear in his voice. I bit my lip again before looking down at the table and pointing at the fork.
"I was wondering if you were going to use that?" Conan's eyes landed on the fork before he picked it up and handed it over to me.
"Have at it."
"Th-thanks." I stuttered. Grrr. Conan smiled at me, a real smile before his face was back to that damn blank wall. Great, now I'm irritated and I don't know why. Sighing softly I turned back to the little boy in my lap, he was staring up at me with big wide eyes. I smiled at him before holding out the fork for him.
"Go ahead, eat whatever you want, okay?"
He nodded slowly while his eyes flickered between Conan and I like we were some sideshow or something in a circus. I rolled my eyes when he wasn't looking before grabbing my own fork and taking a bite of my corn covered mashed potatoes, mm mmm mmmm so good! Once he started to eat some of the veggies I cleared my mouth of food, looking at him.
"So bud, what's your name?" He looked up at me, his hazel orbs seeming to peer into my soul. Slowly he opened his mouth to answer.
"J-Ja-Jac" He stopped, swallowing hard. "J-Jackson." His voice was small, cracking as he answered. Again the chatter in the dining room ceased, all eyes on the little boy named Jackson as he stared down at the plate of half eaten food.
"Well hello there handsome Jack, my name is Nikita but my friends call me Nik." I wink down at him, pretending not to notice the way he stuttered and the way his voice sounded weak and frail. He looked up at me and smiled again before turning back to the food, shoveling potato salad into his mouth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Please remember to vote, share and if you would like to get notified of the new chapters please follow me. Any feedback is welcomed. My stories are roughly edited and may have some grammar mistakes, please let me know if you see any. Thank you!
WORD COUNT: 4,701