* * *
The movie ended and Sophie had fallen asleep. Her head was propped on my arm and drool had leaked from the corner of her mouth onto my shirt. At least she was cute, so I couldn’t be pissed.
I stood, careful to keep a hand on her so she didn’t fall over. I carefully wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against my chest. “Night,” I nodded at Nolan as I headed out of the room carrying my sleeping wife. I laid her down in bed and removed her jeans. I knew from experience that sleeping in jeans wasn’t fun. I brought the blankets up around her and gazed down at her sleeping form.
A dark brown lock of hair fell over her forehead and her pale pink lips were slightly pouted in sleep. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, and she was mine. That fact would never cease to amaze me.
I bent down and lightly brushed my lips against hers. She stirred in her sleep, making a content humming noise in her throat. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks and she settled once more.
I slowly backed out of the room, careful to keep my movements silent.
I eased the door closed and let out the breath I’d been holding.
I headed to my office and collapsed in the chair behind my desk. This house, this life, it didn’t seem like mine. I’d accepted my dad’s death and the responsibility that came with it. But there was so much more to being Alpha that you couldn’t comprehend until you were living it.
I swallowed thickly, replaying the events of summer and the wolves we lost. I cared for them all, but losing Logan had hit me the hardest, obviously. We’d grown up together and I’d never thought I could lose him or any of them. That had been immature of me. We were shifters but we weren’t invincible. Our hearts beat and blood ran through our veins. We were alive and life can be snuffed out in an instant. I knew Soph still beat herself up over Logan’s death and I did too. I didn’t think there would ever be a day that I didn’t think of Logan. At least I hoped not. I never wanted to forget him—any of them—and the sacrifice he made. I missed him, but he saved my she-wolf, and I’d be lost without her. I owed him everything. I hoped that wherever he was, he knew how grateful I was.
The door to my office creaked open and my head snapped up. I didn’t like being caught off guard. I looked up, expecting to see Sophie, but instead my eyes met Nolan’s.
“What are you doing?” He asked. “Meditating or something? That’s really a pussy thing to do.”
I leaned back in my chair and glared at him. Sometimes Nolan got on my nerves as much as Bryce did. “No,” I drew out the word, “I was thinking.”
“About what?” He prodded with his beefy arms crossed over his chest. For anyone that didn’t know Nolan, he looked like an intimidating guy, but he wasn’t.
“Don’t you have someone else to bug?” I snapped.
I was sick and tired of everyone asking me so many questions. I wanted to be left alone and that didn’t seem like a lot to ask for.
“No, you’re my victim of choice tonight,” Nolan swaggered further into my office with a gleam in his eyes. Great, I’d just given him a challenge.
“Yeah, well, without me you don’t have a roof over your head,” I lifted my arms in the air.
Nolan narrowed his eyes. “Cay-berry, you’re smart enough to know that threats don’t work with me.”
“It was worth a shot,” I shrugged, my sigh echoing around the room.
“So,” Nolan plopped in the chair in front of my desk and rubbed his hands on his jeans, “talk Cay-berry.”
I growled at the ridiculous name.
“I have all night,” Nolan looked around, “and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next—”
“I get it,” I held up a hand to shut him up. Honestly, the dude needed to come with an off switch or a button that switched him from annoying to tolerable. “I was just thinking about Logan.”
“Logan? Why?” Nolan’s brows furrowed together until they looked like a hairy caterpillar sitting on his face.
“I don’t know,” I said sarcastically, “maybe because he’s dead.”
“Dude, that was a while ago,” Nolan relaxed in the chair.
“A while ago?” I couldn’t believe him. “It was only this past summer!”
He gave a small shrug and the movement only made me want to reach across and punch him in the face. “Caeden,” I was shocked he used my real name, “we’re shifters. Tragic deaths is part of the card we’re dealt,” he rubbed his jaw. “You’ve read the legends, you know that packs used to fight to the death over minor disagreements. All shifters are volatile by nature. You might think you’re a nice guy, Cay-berry, but under that sweet exterior,” he looked me up and down, “you’re a beast. We all are. Some of us are just worse than others, like Travis.”