“Ah, I missed a few buttons,” Taco said.
“You have a button where your brain should be,” Mathan retorted.
“You know that’s not possible, right?”
Mathan growled at him in disgust as he picked up Alanna again, cradling her against his chest. She let out the smallest baby growl, imitating him, and Mathan’s entire expression softened.
I chuckled, shaking my head and let them be. The three on the couch nodded respectfully to me as I made my way over and sat down. Well, Alistair scowled, but that was normal for him.
Since Emrie had mated and moved, Alistair had gone a little more feral. I could rein him in, but I walked a careful line as his alpha. I could force him to behave with my alpha powers, but I usually preferred not to do that if I didn’t have to. However, I was sleep-deprived, and he’d been just short of disrespectful lately…
“Alistair.” My gaze was direct, and I let my power unroll just enough to make my point.
After a moment, he looked away and ducked his head slightly. “Alpha.”
Akeno, ever the peacemaker, cleared his throat and asked, “Is Emrie going to make it today?”
“She’s not feeling well, so it’s just us today.”
Sullivan, with hearing that belied his age, poked his head around the kitchen entryway. He was making dinner for our Clan. It already smelled wonderful, and my stomach growled in anticipation.
“Did I hear Emrie isn’t feeling well? I’ll make her my special get-well soup.”
“I think Roarke has her covered, Sullivan. He’s a professional chef, after all.”
Sullivan snorted, waving a flour-coated hand at me. “He doesn’t know how to makethissoup because it’s a family recipe. I’ll make her a big batch and send it over.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it. Thank you. Dinner smells good.”
“It’ll be ready when you get back.” He disappeared into the kitchen again.
It seemed that everyone missed having Emrie on Clan property. We all still got to see her, but it wasn’t the same. As her alpha, I wasn’t as close to her as some of the Clan, because I had to walk a careful line, especially with our only female bear shifter. But I missed her all the same. My gaze traveled back to Alistair. Emrie had been one of the only ones who could tame him. He was just snarly and grumpy without her.
“It’s a good thing Ben found a permanent home for Kona, huh, Alpha?” Drew said, laughter in his voice. He was watching the antics between Taco and Mathan over Alanna. “I can’t imagine how hard it would be to have both a baby and a koala that can turn invisible at the Lodge at the same time.”
I chuckled. Yeah, that would have been a disaster. He had been a cute, cuddly little guy, but also highly mischievous.
I glanced over to see that Taco had stolen Alanna back again. She was growling at him, and Mathan was actually laughing and encouraging her.
I was secretly glad Taco had bought the costume. She was cute in it, and it would probably keep her warmer than regular clothes on our ramble.
I stood when everyone was ready. “I won’t shift today so I can carry Alanna. Let’s head out.” I moved to take her from Taco, but Alistair’s voice stopped me.
“Alpha?”
I turned in surprise. His tone had almost sounded respectful.
He didn’t make eye contact as he spoke. “I’ll hold her. I don’t need to shift today. I just shifted earlier this week.”
I hesitated. “Are you sure?” Alistair wasn’t patient on the best of days, and I didn’t want him to be grumpy with Alanna if she started fussing or crying.
He frowned at my skepticism, still without making eye contact. “I can handle a baby, Alpha. I’ll take good care of her.”
Reluctantly, I nodded for Taco to hand her to him. “Protect her well, Alistair.” The threat was implied. I knew I didn’t need to make it explicit.
“Yes, Alpha.” He took Alanna gingerly, grabbed a thick blanket from her crib along the living room wall, and wrapped it around her. We bears always tended to think she would turn into a block of ice if she didn’t have three blankets wrapped around her at all times.
His expression softened as he stared down at her.
