Twin Wolf Trouble (Shifter Squad Six 2) (12 page)

And the fact that you had twins was pretty much a given as well. What I’m saying is, we could have played things differently, from both sides. But it’s not black and white. We’ll make this work. I promise.”

Now there were tears in her eyes in earnest. Thatch’s body had an almost violent reaction to it. He practically flung himself out of the seat, gathering her up in his arms and pulling her to his chest. Spirits above, if seeing tears shimmer in her eyes could do this to him, what would happen if she was actually hurt, or away from him again? He couldn’t even fathom something like that happening again, now that the bond between him, Tex, and Madeline was made that much stronger with the inclusion of the twins.

“Don’t cry, baby. We’ll make this okay,” he whispered, stroking her hair as she clung to him, her heartbeat matching his.

They stayed like that for a long while and Thatch was very much aware that it was him who was reluctant to let go, even though she calmed down. Finally, he let her pull back a bit, but he still kept his hands around her waist, soft and inviting. Her gray eyes sucked him in fast and hard and he took a deep breath, watching her rosy lips part slightly.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything. For being so understanding. For—”

But she never got to finish that sentence, because Thatch’s lips were on hers now, kissing her hungrily and drawing her onto his knee as he knelt in front of her chair. Her hands wrapped around his neck and she moaned into his mouth, the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. It was nearly impossible controlling his urge to throw her down on the kitchen counter and fuck all the pain out of her, to show her how much he had missed her and how his body yearned for her.

His tongue snaked into her mouth and she tasted like coffee and cinnamon, like last time. He growled low and deep, his fingers pressing into her back, wanting so badly to feel her naked flesh against him again. They only broke apart, heaving and wide-eyed, when Thatch heard footsteps in the corridor.

He deposited Madeline back on her seat and sat down swiftly as well, painfully aware of his hard cock. When Mary stepped into the kitchen with the babies on either hip, grinning happily, the expression Mary wore told Thatch that she hadn’t missed any of this. He wasn’t sure whether it was the fact that their lips were red from kissing, or that both of them were breathing harder than they should have, but the knowing chuckle Mary let out made both him and Madeline grin like naughty teenagers caught making out.

“So, Mommy and one Daddy, are you up for breakfast with your two little men?” Mary asked, letting them get away with their shared moment.

“Always,” Thatch said, reaching his hands out for Rhone. “Come here, son.”

The words felt perfect on his lips. Just like she had.
 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tex

Pulling his helmet off, Tex ran a hand through his hair and rolled back his shoulders. It was almost nighttime again and he’d been gone for most of the day, running errands and getting their stories straight between Connor and the rest of the gang.

Hemingway was already out for blood, that much was clear, and Connor was going to show up at some point to pick up the SUV. But as blood brothers do, none of the team had ratted their location out and Tex knew they weren’t going to. It was how it went.

Every single member of Squad Six had already promised that if they were needed, if there was anything they could do, they would show up in an instant and assist in whatever way possible. The heavy bags of gear weighing Tex down as he got off the bike were testament to that alone.

He hauled the bags into the bar, passing through the thick crowd of bikers and the raucous laughter, keeping his eyes down. No sense in getting into a confrontation here, though Barkley would put a swift end to that, Tex was sure. He waved to the big man as he passed into the back rooms and then trundled up the stairs, intent on finding his brother and maybe getting a few minutes in with Madeline and the boys.

It had been hell being away for so long. Tex had never realized how very dependent he could become on someone so fast. Now that he knew that Raze and Rhone existed, any step away from them was a battle. He’d always been close with his twin, obviously, but splitting up with him wasn’t difficult this way—only how it affected their strength and powers. But Madeline and the babies? Hell, it felt like a bad hangover and he’d been queasy with worry all damn day.

Tex was about to walk into the room he shared with Thatch when he heard a high-pitched, exited giggle from another room to the side. Madeline’s. He hesitated at the door for a moment, but then dropped his bags and pushed the door open slowly, revealing a scene that made his heart melt.

Madeline was sitting down on the floor, playing with the boys with stuffed animals. It looked like they were re-enacting some sort of get-together, Raze having a stern conversation that was made up of only the word “no” with a green T. Rex and Rhone was poking the belly of what looked to be a fox. Madeline held up a cat and a crocodile, telling the boys a story, but most of her words seemed to be falling on unresponsive ears.

“They’re going to be turning soon, you know,” Tex said softly, stepping in and smiling wide as both of the boys looked up and greeted him with wide grins. “Won’t be long now.”

“You’re back!” Madeline said, blushing slightly as she smoothed back her hair. “I was wondering if you’d make it back tonight.”

“I couldn’t keep away,” he said, sinking down on the floor and maneuvering Rhone into his lap, inspecting the fox with eager interest.

The baby’s skin was so silky soft against his touch and Tex caught himself being extra careful, so afraid that he might do something to harm the little tyke. But he should have known that wolf shifters, even as young as Rhone and Raze, were tough little kids. He hoped he’d have plenty of time to find all that out.

“Amazing that we all start out so small,” he murmured, admiring Rhone’s little hand. “Can’t believe that he’ll be bouncing around as a little wolfling soon.”

“You can’t believe it? What about me! I don’t think I’d even met a shifter before you and Thatch,” Madeline laughed. “I’ve seen a few babies shift now when they’re around their parents, but it still seems almost absurd, you know? And I don’t even know what they’ll look like when they do,” she said, sounding a bit thoughtful.

“Golden eyes. Bright white fur with dark gray and black markings. Maybe a bit of rusty brown in the tail. We sometimes get that. Weird genes,” Tex said, shrugging his shoulders.

Madeline burst out in laughter and Tex looked up from Rhone, quirking a brow as he smirked. “Hey, I know I’m a funny guy, but what now?”

“’Weird genes!’ The way you said that,” she giggled, relaxing. “Like someone describing an oddly shaped birthmark.”

“Hey, you’re lucky! We don’t have any messed-up bites or anything in the bloodlines. You know how hard it is fixing the teeth of a shifter kid? Braces don’t shift well, I can tell you that,” Tex said with a chuckle, conversing through the stuffed fox that was being pressed against his face by Rhone.

“Guess there’s a lot I don’t know yet about shifter kids,” Madeline admitted with a sigh.

There was a touch of uncertainty to her voice and Tex tensed, picking up on it like a distress beacon in the distance. He gently lowered the fox from his face and reached a hand over to Madeline, putting it on her knee. It was oddly intimate, being so close to her in a situation like that, even though they’d spent a night together and he knew every inch of her body by memory. But this was different. Something new.

Touching her was like a shot of alcohol to the veins. It flashed through him, claiming his attention for a solid second before he could get back to the words he was trying to speak. Damn, she could mess with his head really easily without even knowing.

“I promise we’ll help you learn everything you need to, don’t you worry. These two will grow up to be tougher wolves and better humans because we’re all here for them, you know?”

She looked at him in wide-eyed wonder and it made him a bit uneasy. Had he said something to upset her? Was he saying the wrong things? He wriggled around a bit, trying to get a more comfortable seating position for himself and to hide the moment of confusion. But it didn’t feel right to him so he forced the words out anyway.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, honestly worried that he had.

“No, absolutely not,” Madeline replied with a smile. “We had a similar talk with Thatch earlier today. About how you wanted to be involved in Raze’s and Rhone’s life. I guess it’s… surprising? I know it shouldn’t be surprising. I know family means so much to shifters. But I figured that after everything that happened, this would never take place. They’d never get to meet you, I’d never really get to tell them who their fathers are… it feels sort of amazing that something so happy is taking place while I should be scared to death.”

Madeline sighed and Tex squeezed her knee, chuckling.

“Fate works in weird ways,” he admitted. For once, he actually believed that fully.

He’d never been a big believer in fate, to put it bluntly. He’d never felt that call to find a mate or settle down. All his life, he’d been happy to stalk around, train, fight, improve. Screwing hot women came with that and it became a sport for him and Thatch at one point. But it took one night with Madeline to make a believer out of him.

And now, sitting with his son on his knee, playing with him and his brother—he couldn’t imagine anything more perfect. Deep down in his very core, Tex knew that this was what he’d been living for. These people, this connection. All he could ever want was for Madeline to really become his and Thatch’s and their family made secure and whole.

It was something to fight for that he would go to bat for every damn time.

“So, what’s going to happen now?” Madeline asked after a while, as if she’d finally gotten up the courage to spit it out.

“You mean with everything? I got some more gear for me and Thatch and our squad said they’d help out as much as they could. We have a few friends trying to figure out where those vans originated from, though I think we have a pretty good clue. Tracking them down to a single location though is tricky. It’s sort of a complicated mess. Think we’re going to have to call in some favors,” Tex mused, shrugging.

A slightly confused frown crossed over Madeline’s features, like that wasn’t what she’d been asking, but she didn’t elaborate further, just nodded.

“I’m sorry I got you two into all of this,” she said, exhaling heavily. “I don’t know what it is that everything ends up going slightly to hell around me.”

“
Psh
, I love a woman who makes my world explode, literally and figuratively,” Tex laughed, throwing her a wink.

Madeline licked across her lower lip, smiling, and it slayed Tex. She was so delectable that keeping his hands off of her was a chore unlike any other. He wanted to pick her up, carry her to bed right away, and have his way with her. But that would be rude, right?

Tex wasn’t sure if he cared.

“I think we’ll call up a guy in the company tomorrow, see if he knows anything. I think it’s odd that they hit you so fast after you showed up on that feed. If they are who we think they are, then they don’t usually have so many forces waiting around in random towns for no reason. I think there’s something bigger afoot here and you might have simply shown up at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Isn’t that the story of my life,” Madeline laughed.

“Yours and mine both, sugar,” Tex chuckled.

Rhone wiggled off his lap, attacking the wide swatch of carpet between him and his brother, and making it exactly halfway before he stopped and seemed to run completely out of steam. Raze was yawning as well, triggering a quick yawn in Tex too.

“Hmm, seems like I need to put all my boys to bed,” Madeline said with a wink.

“Yes, ma’am! Wouldn’t get any objections from me,” Tex said, jumping up as Madeline moved to pick up Rhone.

Mary had set her room up with a big crib that Barkley had dug out of their storage. It was big enough for both of the twins, and Tex helped Madeline put both of the boys down for the night. They stayed by the crib, watching the little ones nuzzle in under their blankies, looking perfectly blissful and happy.

That feeling that Tex had had all day—that anxiety about being so far from them—was now completely wiped away, replaced with utter bliss. This felt right. Everything about this. Madeline by his side, his pups getting a sound rest. It was only missing his brother, and otherwise this picture would have been perfect.

He looked up, grinning like a fool, and saw Madeline’s gray eyes shimmer softly in the low light.