Well, that was a topic of conversation that could knock down Peyton’s chub.“Yeah.Sorry.”
“It is what it is.”
“Look, I’m here.Just go back to bed and sleep, if you can.”
“I thought you needed to be in the office this morning with Trent gone?”
“I do, but I can take Dewi with me and Badger can work from there today.Trent’ll be back by noon.”
A weighty sigh escaped his friend.Beck was an Alpha and a year older than Peyton.They’d grown up here together and were best friends
And Beck had been with him and Trent and Badger…thatnight.
When they found them.
“I mean it,” Peyton insisted.“Don’t make me pull Pack Alpha rank on you, dude.”
That finally earned Peyton a rough laugh from his friend.“Okay.Thanks.Maybe if I go for a run and wear myself out I can curl up and sleep somewhere.”
“Do that.Is she awake yet?”
“No, she—”
They both heard Dewi on the baby monitor sitting on the counter.
Peyton headed toward the hallway, patting Beck on the shoulder as he passed.“Go.In fact, take off from now until Friday, okay?”Badger’s instructions to Peyton hit him again.“You can take over again on Friday.”
“Thanks.”
Peyton walked down the hall and opened Dewi’s bedroom door.She was sitting up in her toddler bed and rubbing at her eyes.When she saw him, she reached up.“Paynin!”But there wasn’t a smile on her face, just that grim determination she usually wore.
She hadn’t smiled or laughed since the attack, no matter how hard they tried to get her to do it.
He smiled.“Hey, Dewster.How’s my princess?”He scooped her up and turned, heading for the bathroom.She was nearly potty trained but they still used pull-up diapers for her at night.
Because Beck wasn’t the only one who had nightmares.And sometimes when Dewi had night terrors, she had accidents.
Another reason they’d already transitioned her from a crib to a toddler bed.She’d started climbing out of the crib on her own almost as soon as she could walk, and when she did it during a night terror they were worried she might fling herself out and get hurt.
Once she was taken care of he carried her into the kitchen.“What’s for breakfast this morning, Dewster?”
She scrunched her little lips together, her brow furrowing in a way that reminded Peyton so much of their mom that he nearly cried.“Ceweul.”She pointed to the top of the fridge.“Pweese.”
“Ah, good girl.”He reached for the box he knew she wanted.“But you need to eat something else, too.”He set the box on the table and turned to the fridge with her still on his hip.He pulled out the milk and then quickly surveyed the meats.“Ham, or—”
“Ham!”
Hell, she packed away twice as much as the average human child a few years older than her.But that was due to her being a Prime Alpha, and Peyton remembered his parents teasing him about that, that he damned near ate them out of house and home while he was a kid.
Five minutes later, she was two-fisting her ham steak, gnawing on it, when Badger walked into the kitchen, fully dressed but looking half asleep.
“We’re tryin’ to teach her manners, ye know,” he grumbled as he walked over to the coffeemaker.“Ye got her eatin’ like a barbarian.”
“Yeah, but she’s cute when she’s in Tasmanian Devil mode.”He made a funny face at her, futilely trying to earn a giggle.“Besides, we’re raising a wolf, not a grazer.”
“Ye won’t think she’s so cute when she’s a tween an’ tearin’ around here.”Badger poured himself a mug of coffee.“Where’s Beck?”
Peyton’s smile faded.“I told him to take off work until Friday.You’re right—he’s fried.Nightmares.Said he’s going for a run and will probably sleep somewhere.”
