Page 49 of Starting a New Life

My mate.

Did he know he’d saved literal kids?

“Connie?” I prompted. I needed to know just how much trouble we were in.

“Sixteen,” he whispered, knowing fully that I’d be able to hear him. “I’m turning seventeen in February.”

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Okay. That’s not great. I gather your brother has custody?”

Which would make Connie a runaway. In theory, I was obligated to hand him back over.

“Yes.” He hung his head. “But I can’t go back.”

No, he really couldn’t.

“We have evidence,” Nick said quietly, but his voice was firm, defiance written all over his face. “Connie took pictures of his injuries. We documented everything and uploaded it to the cloud. We even found older photos to prove that Otto was starving him. It’s all there. Please don’t send him back.”

“I’m not going to,” I said, my voice tight. Hopefully, they didn’t realize how much restraint it took not to shift and rant right then and there. “But we need to be smart about this, okay? We have a pack member who’s a part of the Mounties, okay? I want you to talk to him. He’ll have a better idea of what to do than I do. We probably can’t go the human route and involve CPS, but I promise you, there are options, even if I don’t know about them.”

No way would I let this kid go back. Not after what they’d told me. Not after their former pack members had shot at them.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Connie said, voice tight.

Holy shit. Yesterday I went to bed thinking it’d be a regular night. Now, I had two minor wolves and a mate who was also a mage on my hands. My head was still spinning when the realization settled in.

They were teens. Minors. And I didn’t have something like an official foster family lined up. We’d had all kinds of members show up at our borders, but never unaccompanied minors. Did I have wolves who’d take them in?

Yes.

Probably plenty once word about their situation got out.

But how to choose? And did they want to move in with someone else?

Fuck. I needed to talk to Oakley. And Paul.

But first things first. They deserved to be involved in the decision.

“We need to figure out where you’re going to live,” I said, eyeing the pair, looking for a reaction. They looked at each other, another conversation taking place that I wasn’t in on.

“We want to stay together,” Connie finally said. “If that’s possible, Alpha.”

I nodded. I’d figured as much.

“You’ll need to go to school.”

Fuck, how did I get them enrolled in school? If Nick’s parents had really signed over custody to… holy shit. Wait. Panic slammed into me.

They’d signed over custody to me?

Was that even possible?

“I’d be happy to go back,” Connie said quietly. “I always liked school.”

“Okay. That’s good. Uhm…” Fuck. Yes. Living situations. “Would you two like to stay here at the packhouse for now? We have a couple of shifters living here. Or we could find, like… a foster family for you?”