Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
Daddy’s Innocent Mate Chapter 5

Elias

Everything was out on the table. Entire gears gutted from an old clock-some small mantelpiece owned by my alpha-clattered around as I rooted for one thing or another. As much as I was irritated with my alpha, I couldn't say no to helping him with this thrifted clock. By all accounts, it was just fine. It just needed some TLC and tinkering.

He's going to make this a lesson somehow, I thought bitterly. I just know it.

My cousin had a bad habit of turning normal things into bigger things. Most of us were more than content figuring out our issues without using metaphors or fancy-a*s comparisons. But Troy was a different breed of alpha. He was a pacifist. Which also meant he was capable of great violence.

While adjusting the goggles on my face, the ones I wore to see the fine, tiny details of the guts I was rearranging, I heard the door open behind me. Footsteps crept across the room. What little finishing touches I had wanted to make to my home were left undone- like the floorboards left bare without any carpet.

And the only reason it even came to mind was because my cousin was now walking across those bare floors in his work boots. He was probably smiling. The smug jerk.

"What?" I snapped. "I'm not done yet. Clearly."

"I can see that."

I snatched the goggles off my face and swiveled half my body around. "Then why are you here?"

Like every time Troy offended me, he wore a peaceful grin and kept his hands folded behind his back. That was like his universal way of approaching someone cautiously. It had been a day since his petty announcement that Francine and I were mates. Only three hours later, he'd requested the repairs on this thrifted clock.

I had been working on it since.

I squinted at my cousin. That was probably his plan the whole time. Keep me busy so he could do something else behind my back.

"I'm here to check on the pairing progress," Troy explained, "and to spend time with my beloved cousin."

The snort I let out was mostly uncontrollable. Acting like this around Troy wasn't natural by any means. Yet I found myself incapable of reining any of my emotions in. "I don't know about this whole thing, Troy."

"What about it?"

The couch creaked under his weight. The couch was the least sturdy thing in my house, being something that I had lifted at the thrift shop in town to tide me over until I could get something better. Although I'd much rather build my furniture from scratch, I hadn't exactly had much at my disposal when we got this land. We were scraping by with help from Blake. I didn't want to ask for much more from the Beaufort Creek alpha when he had already given us so much.

Troy touched my shoulder. "What worries you, dear cousin?"

"Everything." I dropped my tools on the table, the gears and tools clattering together. "Nothing-but it's everything."

"Tell me about your concerns."

Unlike my emotions, what spilled from my lips was calculated and well-thought. Mostly because I'd spent the entire evening on this couch either tinkering with the clock or thinking about Francine. The things I had to say were largely in order, and Troy accepted them all, including my criticism of his new alpha buddy.

"Don't you find it odd?" I questioned carefully. "Don't you feel weird being a co-leader instead of just a leader?"

He shook his head decisively. "I don't see myself as having lost any power at all, Elias."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

The smile that played on his lips told me he wasn't being rude about it. He truly meant the statement as a genuine observation. He knew me, and he knew me well. What I didn't say was probably splattered over my face more than my words.

I sighed. "I don't mean to doubt you. I just-"

"Have a lot of hang-ups about Francine. I understand."

"How did you handle it?"

He retained his grin while glancing at the portrait hanging above the television. "I had to learn to set my ego aside."

"I don't have an ego problem. I have a Francine problem. The woman is just going to be up my ass all the time." "Yet you want her."

I stared at my cousin. I had followed him into the very bowels of medical perversion, had stood by his side when he joined forces with Blake, and witnessed his mental undoing in private when fifteen members of our pack reappeared. Everything he did for his pack he did with gusto. There wasn't a moment's hesitation for our safety and security.

Lately, he'd started prioritizing the same for himself. His leadership had only improved as a result. Part of that was due to him setting his ego aside, if I were to use his words. Maybe there was something to it that I just didn't understand, because I couldn't fathom the possibility.

My alpha would never lie to me. He had my best interests in mind. Even while my emotions did a weird plank-walk dance, I trusted him, unquestionably so. These emotions would soon pass like a bad storm. They just needed to move on quicker so I could get back to the clock and away from this Francine business.

He reached for one of the gears and twirled it between his fingers. "Your doubts are loud and clear, Elias."

"I don't doubt anything."

"I know you don't trust Blake like you trust me. That's alright."

I hung my head. "It's not that, Troy. I feel a strong pull to him. I just..." Was it that obvious that this situation was bothering me? "It's new. It's different. That doesn't make it bad." I agree."

"I

"Why didn't Geraldine come back?"

His gaze softened to a mournful glow as he rested his hand on my shoulder. For a moment, it was just the two of us, much like old times. Understanding and comfort passed from him to me, a subtle glow that turned my attention to the portrait above the television. Nothing had survived the raid except for our memories. So, I'd had someone paint our family-the pack family. Read more at FindNovel.net

Troy stood next to me with Wendell and Isaiah. At my side was Geraldine-holding Archie's shoulders, her face alight with joy. Although it had cost plenty to get the recreation done in the supernatural flea market, it was worth doing.

"She lives on in your heart, Elias," Troy whispered. "She wouldn't hate you for moving on. This match is your opportunity for happiness."

I frowned. "She's nothing like Geraldine."

"That's precisely the point, Elias. That's why you called her name."

I met his gaze. "How did you hear it, anyway?"

"As I said in Miss Elwyn's classroom, I heard it as plain as I hear you speak now. I can't describe the feeling. I was simply sure of the sound, and my decision quickly followed."

"So, it wasn't Blake's decision?"

He shook his head. "It was mine. Though Blake agreed it was a smart match."

"He didn't even know Geraldine."

"That's why I trust his judgment."

Irritation crossed my gaze like one of those eye floaters-and then it was gone. Because loving, soothing energy flowed like a steady stream from Troy's fingers, chasing away the doubt, the fear, the agitation. Every alpha was imbued with such a skill. And none of us were truly immune to it.

I could never stay mad at him for longer than a few seconds. "Do you think I'm a fool?"

"Yes."

Growls vibrated my throat. "You didn't have to answer that!"

The door swung open, spilling light all over the living room. Archie proudly marched inside with his backpack slung over one shoulder and a massive paper rocket in his arms. "Hi, Dad!"

The rest of my anger melted like a steel fortress in the path of a nuke. "Hi, little man. What's that you got there?"

"Miss Elwyn gave me a super special project to work on."

"Is that a rocket?" In seconds, I was across the room helping him with the thing. Glue stuck to my fingers. "Uh, it's still wet."

"We were doing art, right?"

I set it on the table. "Right..."

"And like, I told her that I want to be a rocket scientist, right?"

"Uh-huh. And...?"

He beamed. "And she said I could build this rocket with paper muh-shay."

"It's papier-mâché, bud."

"Yeah, pap-yay muh-shay."

I laughed. "Close enough. Tell me more about it."

"She's so cool, Dad. She gave me a list of things to do while everyone is reading."

"A list of things to do?" My eyes landed on my alpha, who seemed a bit more sheepish than usual. What had he done? "Well, that's-"

Archie propped himself on a chair and started digging back into his project, making a glob mess with the glue and strips of paper that he'd somehow managed to smuggle in his backpack. I didn't even want to peek into his bag. I was sure there was a mess in there

too.

But instead of being upset, I just felt proud. Archie had something greater to do with his time, rather than being punished. That was a big deal.

Studying Troy told me he had perhaps chatted with the willful teacher. What was his endgame? To get me mated and happy?

I guess there were worse things he could have as goals.

"Dad, look," Archie said, grabbing my hand. Glue stuck to my knuckles, and I wasn't even mad about it. My little guy was quickly turning into an artsy carpenter. "She showed me how to do it, so it doesn't slide around."

As he recounted his instructions from my announced mate, I couldn't help but wonder if the woman was trying to smooth things over by being good to Archie. Well, it was her job to make sure he was properly educated and situated appropriately in her classroom. But it did earn her some points in our relationship that she hadn't just sent him home.

And she gave him more tasks to do. That was probably for the best.

"Do you think she'll be a good mom?" Archie asked in a low voice as Troy played with some gears on the coffee table. "Like, will she ground me and stuff?"

My heart skipped a beat. A good mom-that had been Geraldine. I wasn't sure about Francine being a good mom, but there was a sliver of hope inside me that I couldn't ignore.

However much I couldn't ignore it, I tried to shake it off. "She'll be a supportive presence and nothing more."

Troy snorted.

That amused response from my alpha was much easier to ignore than my emotions, fortunately enough. If only I could have done the same with everything else.

What if that's the problem? I thought. Maybe I should just face this thing head-on.

Seconds later, I had my phone in my hands. Was I really doing what I was thinking about doing? There wasn't much time to consider it-because I was doing it regardless of what I thought or didn't think.

I was texting Francine. I was telling her to move in and get it over with. To my shock, she replied that she agreed.

That was something I simply couldn't ignore even if I tried.