Switch furrowed his brow. “What if I shift? My wolf won’t harm children, and I think they’ll be okay with that. I’ll make sure he knows to keep them in the hall.”
Viktor rubbed his bloodshot eyes. “That is acceptable. But everyone is exhausted, and you won’t have a backup.”
I raised my hand. “If he needs a break, I’ll take over.”
Christian gave me a loaded glance. “I didn’t think you were feeling well.”
Dancing around that topic, I said, “I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I can’t stay awake. It’s not like my core energy is depleted.”
Viktor clapped his hands. “Come, little ones! It is time to sleep.”
Gem closed her book and woke some of the children. Blue lifted a toddler on one hip and a young girl on the other. Most of the kids had their eyes closed and were doing the zombie walk as they followed Gem through the dining room.
Viktor gestured for Christian to join him. “I need your help moving large furniture from upstairs. I would like each child to have their own bed for as long as they are here. I cannot do this alone.”
Christian eased out of his seat and sighed. “Perhaps you should go to bed and let me handle all the hard labor. I need something to keep my hands busy.”
“Place them in the empty rooms. Kira will put fresh linens on them tomorrow morning.”
When Christian passed by Switch, the two men locked eyes. While they were finally getting along better, I had a feeling that Christian still didn’t trust that Switch wouldn’t change his mind about me, and I suppose Switch might have felt the same about Christian.
I scooted out of the booth to head upstairs. “Is your wolf up for this, or are we going to find him sleeping on the job?”
Switch fell into step beside me. “My wolf and I have a symbiotic relationship. As long as he does what I say, he gets to come out whenever he wants. Well, almost whenever.”
“What doyouget out of it?”
He gripped the stone railing as we ascended the stairs. “Nice dreams. That Chitah out there is messing with my schedule though. I don’t like him on the property.”
“Neither does Blue, but Viktor’s taking a hard pass on getting in the middle of it.”
“I can see his attraction to her. Blue’s a badass.”
We reached the second floor and strolled around to the other ascending staircase.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Tired.”
“I know I can’t ask why, but I’m pretty good at putting together puzzles. You got fifteen pieces downstairs.”
“Yeah, we just need to find them a home.”
“What’s their animal?”
“I don’t really know. I’m guessing they’re wolves.”
Switch flipped his hair back when we reached the top of the stairs. “Not many packs have that kind of room or the money. I wish I could help, but you’ll have to split them up.”
I wasn’t certain if that was a good idea, but I didn’t mention it to Switch. The kids might be related, and in any case, they’d grown up together. It didn’t seem right breaking them up.
“We’ll see,” I finally said. Pausing at a hallway entrance, I gave him a skeptical look. “Are you following me?”
“I figure your boyfriend needs help hauling that shit down.”
My lips twitched. Christian hated being referred to as a boyfriend, but he wasn’t exactly my husband or mate. “I think he can manage. He’s got superstrength, you know.”
“Maybe so, but if he doesn’t know how to pivot, he’s going to bust up those beds trying to get them through the doorways.”
