Page 35 of Unknowingly Adopting the Alpha
“Damn,” I chuckled, petting his adorable head. “I really missed you.”
I got a lick across my face in return.
“So, is this normal, or?” I asked Ria, who was one of the shifter parents.
“Oh, yes,” Kamille, another mother, said, smiling widely at Red and seven wolf cubs running around playing. “It helps build their bond with the pack, spending time like this with the Alpha.”
“Oh, so it’s like bonding time?” I asked, smiling at them, too.
“It also teaches them who to submit to, should the need arise for that,” Hans, a father explained. “Wolf instincts are always to follow the leader, so it’s important that they know their alpha while they’re young. They won’t follow us just because we’re their parents.”
Huh, that seemed like a lot of responsibility. No wonder Jeremy seemed so stressed by it all.
“Mine is the black one that chases Jeremy’s tail,” Denise, yet another mom gushed, pointing like I would have any doubt who she could mean. It was kind of hard not to know, considering there was one black wolf in a pile of browns.
“They’re all so cute,” I said in response, not wanting to leave any of them out. Look at me being all considerate and stuff.
“They really are,” Milo said, causing the parents to smile wider at his approach. He seemed so confident around everyone, like maybe he had been trained to become Alpha one day too. Maybe it was a thing every Alpha did with their kids? I would need to ask Jeremy about that.
“Milo!” Ria gushed. “Are you here to play with the cubs, too?” she seemed overtly excited about that possibility. Was Milo a sought-after man? He seemed so young, it was a tad icky, but who was I to shame people for who they found attractive.
“Sadly, not today,” he answered, sounding genuinely saddened by it. “I came to speak to Cass, actually. If you’ll excuse us.”
He led me over to one of the trees, still in view of Red and the wolves, but where we could talk more privately. I had no clue what he wanted with me, and from the tension between the brothers, I hoped I wouldn’t be put between them. Milo would lose that fight.
“Anything wrong?” I asked as soon as we stopped walking.
“No, not at all,” he assured me. “I just wanted to hear how you’re doing with everything.”
“Um, you mean the pack? Because I think that’s going well enough.” And I truly meant that. We’d been here since early morning, eating breakfast with the pack. Jeremy wanted me to see what a normal day for him looked like. Since I was his mate, it was my job to be there with him, helping out on pack land as he called it. Cooking, cleaning, babysitting, whatever was needed. I liked knowing I had a purpose here, and even if the babysitting was only for Red and the small cubs, I hoped to one day join in on the fun.
“It looks like that to me, too,” he chuckled. “But I was thinking more about you and Jeremy. It can’t be easy finding out shifters exist, and that you’re fated to be with one.”
I frowned at that. I wouldn’t call it fated, but it seemed to fit well enough so I just shrugged. “Everything between me and Jeremy has been easy ever since I became his.”
And it had been. He’d been honest about things with Darius, letting me know I could fully trust him.
“So, does that mean a claiming ceremony is in order?” he teased.
“It does,” I smiled back, taking him a tad by surprise.
“Oh? When are you having it, then?”
“As soon as possible,” I replied with a wider smile than was necessary. I had the feeling he was trying to create tension between me and Jeremy, likely believing I had no clue what a claiming ceremony was. But Milo had underestimated my skills in picking out fake friendliness. I’d worked under my father for too many years not to notice when someone acted sweet to cause drama for their own gain.
A fast red blur came for us and I giggled with delight as I was jumped by my lovely Red. “No licking!” I laughed, trying to dodge the face kissing. He seemed to like that much more ever since I became his mate.
He shifted back on top of me, both of us laughing. That was, until I remembered something. Flipping us both so I was on top, I hurried to sit on his groin, shielding him from view. He got way too excited though, and it made me excited in return.
“Gross!” Milo groaned, hiding his eyes behind both of his hands.
Giggling, I slid out of my denim jacket, then held it around where I sat on Jeremy, trying to hide as much of us as possible.
“You hiding away the goods?” Jeremy laughed.
“I told you those were for my eyes only,” I reminded him, ignoring Milo’s presence.
“I’m totally okay with that. You flipping us around that easily before? Hottest thing ever.”
