“He comes anywhere near me and I’ll kill him,” Chelsea growled, making Duncan chuckle.
And if Endquist wasn’t a Prime, Duncan might very well let her talk with the man—with himself and Badger present, of course—to make sure Endquist completely understood with no confusion whatsoever that she didn’t want him.
“No one’s killing him,” Duncan said. “At least, I hope not. But I wanted to make you both aware of it, so that when I place a full-time guard on Chelsea for the next few weeks, at least, you both understand it’s not because I don’t trust you two.”
“Mebbe we should go ahead and announce their matin’ to the pack,” Badger said. “That would put all eyes on ’em right and proper.”
“I was hoping to avoid that,” Duncan said. “Until she’s at least sixteen, or when she decides to announce it. To avoid the usual teasing and friendly joking about it that always happens. I don’t want people thinking me shutting down jokes is giving her special treatment because she’s my daughter.”
“She’s also sitting right here, Da,” she snarked. “Although, thank you. I would rather not go through that yet. I was thinking about announcing our mating at my birthday party. But we’re not getting married yet.”
That was news to Duncan. “You’re not?”
She smiled. “Not until after I graduate from college, Da.”
“That was her idea,” Charlie added. “And I support her decision.”
Duncan sat back, reappraising his soon-to-be son-in-law. “I’m…pleasantly surprised, I must admit.” Although it shouldn’t have surprised him, because Chelsea was a very strong Alpha herself, every bit as strong as a male Alpha.
Just like her mother.
“I applied at the college over in Spokane,” she said. “The acceptance letter came yesterday, but I was going to tell you and Mom at the family dinner tomorrow night. Charlie and I already talked about this. I’ll live in the student dorm during the week and commute back here on the weekends.”
“And I’ll probably spend several nights a week in Spokane,” Charlie added. “One of my friends has a house there with a spare bedroom. He said I can come over and stay when I need to. And no, she won’t be staying at the house with me on most nights.” He wistfully sighed as he stared at Chelsea. “She wants to earn her degree and have the full college experience, so our compromise is that I’m paying for a private phone line in her dorm room so she can call me at the house if something happens and she needs me. I’ll drive her back and forth from Spokane to here, and on weekends she’ll stay here with me at my house. If she can’t make it back to the compound on a weekend for some reason, she’ll spend it with me at the house in Spokane.”
Duncan chewed on that. “So you’ll only be living together part-time? No offense, son, but how are you going to manage that feat?”
“Probably the way I already am—with a lot of cold showers,” Charlie snarked.
“I won’t be a monk, Da,” Chelsea added. “But we’ve talked. We both know that if we live together full-time, I’ll never get any studying done. He’s also agreed that if it’s exam time or I need to study, he’ll support me in doing that. It’s worth it to me to get my degree. I don’t want to have a baby until after I finish college. And if we live together full-time, I know dang well I’ll get baby fever.”
“And I love her,” Charlie said, staring into her eyes. “All I want to do is make her happy. And this plan makes her happy. As long as her safety isn’t an issue, I’ll do whatever I need to keep her happy.”
“Then I guess we should accelerate our plans for building a filling station over in town,” Duncan said, looking at Badger. “Because that’s going to add up to a lot of driving.”
Badger chuckled, pulled out his ever-present journal, and made a note. “Aye. I’ll bump it up on the project list.” Right now, they had two storage tanks behind the small store in the town just outside the pack compound. One for gas and one for diesel. But they were mostly for equipment or emergencies, in case someone didn’t gas up down at the highway. They never sold gas to the public. They could also use an actual mechanic close by now that the population of the town and pack compound was growing, and more clueless humans ventured to the area for hunting and fishing and hiking.
“If either of you ask me to banish Endquist right now, I’ll do it,” Duncan offered.
The couple shared another glance but it was Chelsea who answered first. “No. Like you said, he was raised with humans. He’s never acted creepy to me, the few times I’ve been around him. I don’t want to get a rep as the Pack Alpha’s spoiled baby who will get people tossed from the pack.”
Charlie looked like he wanted to argue the point with her, but she arched an eyebrow at him and he grumbled. “I reserve the right to ask for him to be banished,” Charlie said.
She smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “Thank you.” She looked back at Duncan. “If Charlie’s going to be Pack Alpha one day, since I’m his mate I feel we should set a good example. People should only worry about being banished for cause, not just because they’re a little…odd. What kind of Pack Alpha’s mate would I be if I didn’t set a good example about inclusivity?”
Duncan focused on Badger, who shrugged. “I once ran a guy clean through with my sword for trying to put paws on one of my adult sisters against her will,” he said. “So I’m not the best person to ask. Then again, that was over a hundred years ago, an’ we did things differently back then in the old country. Ye know that.”
“Okay,” Duncan said. “I’ll keep an eye on the situation. But if I feel he steps over a line, I will banish him. Fair?”
Chelsea smiled. “Fair. Thank you, Da.”
The three of them had already left when the old woman’s words slammed into Duncan’s memory.
There will come a darkly eager one. Ye’ll feel it through the center of yer soul. Wanting to be let in. Close him out. Don’t let him near yer youngest—he’s not for her. He’s a Prime and a danger.
Duncan leaned back in his chair, now feeling conflicted. The old woman had cautioned him to be kind and welcoming to others.
But this warning had been specific. And he knew she hadn’t meant Charlie, because she’d specifically told him Charlie was Chelsea’s mate.
