Winter’s Caress(Brac Village 19)(19)

That claim had been a crock of shit. The alpha wanted them gone so he could expand his territory.

Many of the others who lived in the Manchester home had lost loved ones that fateful night. Winter didn’t like to think back on the killings. He missed his parents with an ache that felt as if it would swallow him whole.

And now he had a chance at being happy again. He wasn’t going to let Egbar stand in his way. He wasn’t going to let Dasani stand in his way. Winter was going to hold on to his mate with both hands.

He pulled into the ranch and parked next to everyone else’s trucks and got out. He wasn’t scheduled to work on Sundays, so he knew no one was expecting him. Yet, there stood Malcolm Lakeland— everyone called him Pa—on the porch, and by the steam rising from his cup, he was sipping on something to keep the chill away.

“Why do I have a feeling you knew I was coming?” Winter asked as he walked up the steps.

Pa nodded. “Raised seven sons. My gut tells me when trouble is brewing.”

After raising the mischievous twins, Chauncey and Chance, Pa should have honed his radar for trouble. From the stories Winter had heard, those two kept their father on his toes. They had gotten into plenty of trouble over the years and still did from time to time.

“You didn’t have to wait out in the cold,” Winter said as he removed his Stetson and ran his hand over his hair.

Pa took a seat on the railing and sipped what he was drinking before he said, “Needed some fresh air, son. Living in a house filled with men and children, the noise level sometimes rattles my eardrums.” Pa looked at the window across from him, and Winter could see the love in the man’s eyes. “Though it wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Winter leaned against the porch post as he placed his Stetson back on his head. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. After having seven sons mate, I’m pretty sure you have all the answers.”

Pa chuckled, and Winter smiled. The man was handsome, but when he smiled, his grey eyes twinkled and the bear shifter appeared so much younger. Winter had been working at the Lakeland ranch for a good two years now, and Pa had been nothing but nice to him. Although no one could replace Winter’s father, Malcolm Lakeland made a damn good surrogate. “Ah, troubles of the heart,” Pa said as he nodded. “Had our fair share of that around here.”

“And you dealt with Bryce and Ahm’s mating.”

Pa nodded. “I witnessed the heartache as well as the happiness.” He canted his head to the side. “I hear you mated a Shadow elf.”

News traveled fast. “I did, but he went home. Ahm tells me to wait until Dasani comes to me, but to tell the truth, waiting isn’t one of my strong points.”

“And dealing with the Shadow elves is tricky business,” Pa said. “I’m pretty sure you heard about the time we had to go in to rescue Ahm.”

“I did.”

“It was damn near impossible. If it hadn’t been for Rakeym, I’m not sure we would have gotten Ahm out of there alive.” Malcolm took a sip from his mug before he continued. “What I’m trying to tell you, son, is that going after Dasani might cost you your life or even his. Things are changing in that tribe, but not fast enough.”

Winter had come here to ask Ahm to take him to the marshlands, but after what Pa just said, he felt guilty about asking the elf to put his life at risk once more. Ahm and Bryce had a beautiful daughter who needed both fathers. He couldn’t ask Ahm to do something that might endanger him.

He was at a loss for what to do.

“Do you know for certain that Dasani wants to be with you?” Pa asked.

Winter started to say yes, but he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Twice now his mate had taken off on him. Twice now Dasani had stated that they couldn’t be together. What if his mate said that not because of his father but because that was how the elf truly felt? The emptiness inside Winter grew. “I’m not sure.”

“Yet he keeps coming back,” Pa pointed out. “Sounds like he wants to be with you, son.”

“But he keeps telling me that we can’t be together,” Winter said with a low growl. “If the reason was his father, wouldn’t he have told me that?”

“Maybe not.” Pa placed his mug on the railing and crossed his arms over his thigh. “Abused people don’t tell you they’ve been abused. They’re ashamed of that fact.”

“Abused?” Winter had a feeling Egbar had put that bruise on Dasani’s cheek, but he hadn’t had proof. “How do you know his father is abusing him?”

“Overheard Ahm talking,” Pa said. “Not that I was eavesdropping.”