Fighting for her Mate

2

Ellie’s dad and mom stopped beside them. Her dad shook hands with the piece of s**t. “Rocco.”

He looked her dad in the eye and gave a short nod. “Tristan.” Then he grabbed up her mother’s hand and brought it to his lips. The nerve of that sick bastard to touch her mother. “Barbara. It’s always nice to see you.” His snake eyes focused on her. She took her hand back quickly, a frown marring her face.

Ellie was shocked her dad wasn’t all over Rocco, beating him into the ground. On second thought, Dad was sure in Mom’s love for only him. As she glanced at her father’s face, he seemed a bit smug. What was that all about?

Her father wrapped an arm around her mom’s shoulders and cleared his throat. “So, Rocco. Have you noticed an increasing amount of rogue wolves in the area lately?”

Rocco pursed his lips and drew down his brows; a fake contemplation expression if ever she saw one. Whatever came out of his mouth would be a lie. They all knew it.

“Now that you mention it, one of my enforcers may have mentioned seeing a strange face, but nothing other than that. Are these rogues perhaps only in your territory?” His disinterested tone went against the spark of revulsion in his eyes.

Her dad’s brow lifted. “Could be. We should all be watchful. We don’t want them straying into your area either. With you being the interim alpha until Caleb takes over, we wouldn’t want you to have to deal with an issue as touchy as this.”

Caleb’s body stiffened around Ellie. She had to stop her jaw from dropping open. She couldn’t believe her father egged Rocco like this. Rocco shoved his hands into his pockets. The stench of hate escaped into the air. Being this close together, it could’ve come from any of them.

Within the crowd, someone called out Rocco’s name. He excused himself and headed away. Ellie readied to burst. As much as she loved how strong and tough her family was, she didn’t want anyone inciting the asshole further. “Dad, oh my god. You were intentionally goading him.”

Her mother chuffed. “He’s lucky that’s all your father did. Arrogant bastard.”

Her dad wrapped her mom close and kissed her forehead. “Don’t waste mind space on him.” He looked around. “Where are your brothers? They need to be front and center to represent the pack.”

Both Ellie and her mom reacted too quickly, each starting to talk then stopped when realizing how they just blew the cover to Operation Get the Brothers Mated. They giggled at each other. Her dad lowered his head against his mate’s. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know, do I?”

Ellie reached for her mom’s hand. “It’s a girl thing, Dad. But we promise, you’ll be an even happier father soon.”

Caleb and her father groaned.

Caleb downed his bottled beer in two long gulps, then slammed it against the scratched but clean table at Aric’s club, the Wolf Den. Tristan had gathered him along with all his sons for a pre-dinner meeting, men only.

“Hey, go lightly there, Caleb,” Aric said. “The tables aren’t new, but they’re in pretty good shape for as many brawls as they’ve seen.”

Caleb let out a frustrated sigh. “Sorry, man. I’m just so…” A thousand thoughts jumbled in his head, each vying for dominance.

“Let me guess,” Mason said, sitting to Caleb’s side, “you’re worried your mate, our sister, will do something dumb like sisters tend to do.”

Aric immediately laughed. “Remember that time she filled a straw with mayonnaise, then stuck it in a vanilla milkshake and gave it to Nate?” Among loud laughs, Nate scowled.

“Yeah, I don’t drink vanilla shakes to this day. It was gross. But I got her back. One day when she was gone, I turned all the boy-band posters on her wall upside down. She thought a poltergeist was in her room.” He joined the hilarity.

“Mason, do you remember when she put dog food in your Cocoa Puffs?” Jake slapped the table, howling. “I thought I’d pee my pants seeing your reaction.”

Caleb asked, “Why would she do that?”

Jake confessed for Mason. “Ellie used to watch some cartoon every afternoon. She loved that show and would throw a fit when she couldn’t watch it. So one day, Mason took the remote control and hid behind the couch. He kept changing the channel back and forth until she ran out crying for dad to fix the TV.”

Mason laughed. “How did she find out I did it?”

Tristan cleared his throat. “She dragged me into the living room, then picked up the remote on the sofa cushion and sniffed it. She must’ve smelled your scent on the remote.”

Caleb snickered. His Ellie was not just strong of mind and body, but personality and judgment. She stood up for what was right and never backed down when someone needed her help. “And if she were here, she’d kick all your asses for talking about her.” The group quieted, the music from the speakers taking over the barroom corner.

Aric tapped his bottle on the table. “Caleb, I hate to be the one to say this, but it needs to be said.”

Caleb’s body became rigid. f**k, he’d been waiting for this. Trying to figure out how to get his pack back on his own wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped. “Go on.”

“This matter with the rogues and vamps is getting out of hand. I’m not blaming you, but the next time Rocco impedes on our people, we’re taking him down.”

He let out a frustrated growl. “We can’t wait for the perfect time, man. Our women have been attacked multiple times, but we can’t pin it directly on your uncle, so we’re staying out of it until we do have evidence.” Aric squeezed the beer bottle. “We know he’s a low life, but he’s got bigger low lives working for him. We need to catch him in the act and stop all this.”