Kat hadn’t realized Cooper had been sprinting for the hospital that night after the battle with Marko and his coven in the park, when he’d taken off like a bat out of hell. It wasn’t until the next morning that she and Connor learned that Everly had gone into labor just as the Pack had stormed the woods. Belle Renee Cooper had been born a little before sunrise. Gage and a few other members of the Pack had gotten a chance to see the little girl right away, but for the rest of them, this was the first time they were getting to meet the precious baby everyone in the Pack insisted on calling by the pet name Mini—as inMini Cooper. Kat had to admit she was as excited as everyone else. She was a little surprised they could bring a baby out of the house so soon, though. She’d always thought babies had to stay inside for at least a few weeks. Or was it months?
It took a while for her and Connor to make it through the crowd around Cooper and Everly. This was the first baby born to the Pack, so it was a very big deal. All Kat could say was that watching a SWAT team full of tall, muscular werewolves cooing and losing their minds over a tiny human had to be the sweetest—and most hilarious—thing ever. When she and Connor finally reached the front of the line and Cooper carefully placed the little girl in her arms, she suddenly understood what all the fuss was about.
“Oh, she’s adorable!” Kat smiled down at the precious cherub in her arms with her beautiful green eyes and way more hair than she’d ever imagined a baby having. “I want one!”
Everyone within hearing distance—which meant every werewolf in the Pack—went completely still. At first, Kat wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t until she looked up from the baby in her arms and saw Connor gazing at her with a wide-eyed expression that she realized what she’d said.
“I didn’t mean right away!” she said quickly in an attempt to clarify. “I was only saying that little Belle is so beautiful and amazing and that I’d like to have one of my own when the time is right.”
Connor seemed to accept that, but then she caught the look on his face out of the corner of his eye—a look that had her thinking he was almost disappointed by her words. When she carefully placed Belle in his big arms, she felt even more sure that her soul mate was already coming up with a mental list of baby names. One sniff of little Belle and he seemed hooked. It made her wonder if babies were addicting. Or maybe Connor was more ready to start a family than even he knew.
Much sooner than Kat would have preferred, she and Connor had to hand over the tiny girl to the next person in line, barely remembering to congratulate the happy parents. But seriously, it wasn’t their fault. Their daughter was as cute as a button.
Rachel and Khaki hurried up to them, dragging Kat and Connor over to the grills to grab some food before bringing them back to sit at their table. The cheeseburger, pulled pork, beans, and coleslaw were even more delicious than she remembered, and Kat said another silent prayer of thanks that she was human again. She was so focused on the conversation going on around her that she didn’t realize Jenna had arrived at the compound until Connor waved, calling out for her to sit with them. His sister smiled and nodded then pointed toward the grills, motioning that she would join them after getting some food.
“I thought your sister was leaving today,” Kat said.
Over by the grills, Connor’s sister was smiling brightly at Trevor. As they talked, Jenna reached out to stir the chili simmering there while Trevor expertly flipped burgers. The whole thing looked so well-coordinated and effortless, it was like the two of them had done it dozens of times.
“She delayed her flight until later this evening,” Connor said, eyeing his sister and Trevor with an expression that was somewhere between curious and suspicious. “Jenna said she wanted to be able to come to the cookout and spend a little more time with the two of us before she left.”
Kat smiled at that. She and Jenna had become fast friends over the past few days. Connor’s sister didn’t remember much from the night of the ritual, but she definitely remembered the way Tatum had used her as bait to trick Kat into opening the door of Connor’s apartment. Even though Kat had repeatedly told her that there was nothing she could have done differently, Jenna had still blamed herself. It took several long conversations over orders of takeout to get Jenna to understand that the confrontation with Marko had been a long time coming.
An unforeseen benefit of those long conversations was that Jenna and Connor had worked out their issues. Well…some of them, at least. The most important part was that Connor had apologized for using that horrible word in reference to his sister, while Jenna had admitted that maybe she hadn’t actually seen Hannah that night in the dark alleys of Skid Row. Jenna had even agreed to stop looking for their sister and instead focus a little more on her own recovery.
Kat was so glad Connor and his sister were on speaking terms again. Connor had even broached the idea of the two of them heading out to California around Christmas to spend more time with his sister. Since she couldn’t see her family now, being part of Connor’s was extra special.
She was still thinking about how much she was looking forward to the trip when she glanced at Connor to find him openly scowling as he focused on something across the compound. She followed his gaze but didn’t see anything in that direction to warrant that kind of irritated expression. Only Trevor working the grills and Jenna standing close by, laughing at something he’d said.
“What’s wrong?” Kat asked softly, leaning close to whisper in his ear so none of the other members of the Pack would hear.
Connor shook his head but didn’t say anything. His expression didn’t change, though.
Kat leaned in and nudged him with her shoulder. “I know something’s bothering you. So spill.”
“Jenna said she was changing her flight so she could hang out with us some more, but it seems like she’s more interested in spending time with Trevor than she is with us,” he said with a slight growl.
Kat wanted to laugh but didn’t. Doing that would only make the situation worse. Connor was being the prototypical big brother, thinking no one—including one of his own pack mates—was good enough for his little sister.
“What’s the big deal?” she asked. “Jenna will be leaving in a few hours, so it’s not like they’re going to see each other again. Besides, even if they like each other, would that really be the end of the world?”
“Yes” was Connor’s emphatic reply.
Kat snorted and went back to enjoying her juicy, perfectly cooked cheeseburger. She could tell from the looks on the faces of the other people at the table with them that everyone had heard their conversation and were as amused as she was, even if they hid it a little better. She was about to call out her soul mate on his childish behavior right there in front of his pack when cries of delight echoed around the compound.
She looked up to see Zane and Alyssa coming out of the admin building, Gage at their side. The couple was moving slowly, and there were still bandages on Alyssa’s arms, but from the smiles on their faces, it was obvious they were thrilled to be out of the hospital and back with the Pack.
Thankfully, Zane and Alyssa’s arrival had smacked Connor out of the grouchy mood he was in about what might or might not be going on between Jenna and Trevor, which was a good thing. Kat didn’t want another argument between brother and sister.
Zane was in full-on alpha-protection mode, first finding Alyssa a seat at one of the tables and then getting her a plate of food. When Zane finally sat down beside his mate, Kat and Connor went over to give both of them hugs.
“We’re both going to be off duty for another two weeks, but the doctor says we’ll be fine.” Alyssa looked at Kat. “Now, tell me about this Marko guy. Gage said we have you to thank for taking him down—and for Zane and me being alive.”
Kat did her best to downplay her part in the rescue in San Antonio and the ritual in the park, though it was pretty clear Zane and Alyssa didn’t buy a word of it. Thankfully, neither of them pressed for more.
A few minutes later, Kat and Connor headed back to their own table, only to be intercepted by Gage. He had a grin on his face and a large manila envelope in his hands.
“I just got finished talking with our friends at STAT,” Gage said, handing the envelope to her. “They wanted to let me know that they’ve found a safe place to keep those magic users we brought in. They’re hoping in time they’ll be able to rehabilitate them, so they won’t have to spend the rest of their lives in a magic-dampening prison cell. They also wanted you to have this information. It actually didn’t take as long to find them as I thought it would.”
