Filed To Story: Their Bullied and Broken Mate by Teri Petry
I agreed to meet them in their suite instead of my office since they have been taking care of Adam and Abigail. It was close to bedtime, and I didn’t want to disrupt any schedules that had been put into place. I knocked on their door, and a sweet little angel-faced girl answered. “Good evening, Abigail. Is Caleb or River available?” I asked her. She just smiled and opened the door for me to come in.
Caleb ran towards the door and apologized to me for her greeting me instead of one of them. I laughed at his nervousness, but understood how he felt it looked. I told him it was fine, and that he didn’t need to be nervous with me. I was still his friend first and foremost.
He started to relax, and River came in to greet me. He had finished tucking in Adam, and Caleb was still struggling with Abigail. I decided to lend a hand, and stooped down to speak to the little girl. “You know, Abigail, your old Alpha here really needs to speak to Caleb and River. Plus, it’s way past your bedtime. How about you being a good girl, and let Caleb tuck you in?” I asked. I flashed her a sweet smile, and she promised she would be good.
She hugged my neck, and ran off with Caleb trailing behind her. River invited me into their living room area, and told me I could sit wherever I wanted to. I chose to sit in Caleb’s recliner, just because I wanted to see him sweat a little more out of amusement. There was another knock on the door, and River excused himself to answer it.
When he returned, he had Buck in tow. “Fancy meeting you here big guy,” I chuckled. He plopped down on my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck. “It must be pretty important if they are summoning us both, handsome.” he joked. After climbing off my lap, he sat in River’s recliner beside me.
River nervously sat on the sofa, and stared at his hands. When Caleb finally decided to join us, he wasn’t expecting to see both Buck and me claiming their prized chairs. “Oh, uh, OK. You’re both here now. Good,” he said nervously. He looked at River, and his mate took his hand. “Damian, Buck, we brought you both here tonight because we have made a huge and important decision in our lives. Um, Caleb and I have been caring for Adam and Abigail since they were found, and seeing that their mother has passed away, and their father has abandoned them, we would like to adopt them. That is, if you both approve the adoption,” River explained.
Personally, I was all for it. If they were up to the task of fatherhood, who was I to stop them? However, Buck looked a little more cautious than I did. “Are you sure you are BOTH ready for something like fatherhood?” Buck asked. “Caleb, you are slightly older than River, and River, you are barely an adult yourself. Do you truly believe you are ready to care for not one but two small children?” He asked again.
I saw River’s demeanor change, and he glared at Buck. “Buck, listen, I completely get what you are saying. However, your concerns are valid, and I assure you I have thought this through. Caleb and I have grown attached to both of them. They have become attached to us as well. We really want this, or we wouldn’t have come to both of you for approval,” River stated.
Buck’s jaw dropped and he glanced over at me. I shook my head at my Beta and said, “Well then, seems that you both have thought this through, and if the kids want to be with you, I approve. So does Buck. Right?” I asked. Buck just nodded his head and said that he approved as well. He was just making sure the young men knew what they were getting into.
“I understand we will be scrutinized, and the kids may or may not be teased for having two dads. We wanted to be parents at some point in our lives, and this just feels right. We appreciate the concern, and we love you both for it. Thank you for approving this, and we want you both to be godparents,” Caleb explained.
Buck left the recliner and walked over to Caleb. He pulled his cousin up and gave him a bear hug. “Welcome to parenthood punk! You are going to be a great dad!” he exclaimed. I joined in on the love fest and hugged my brother-in-law. “I’m an uncle and a goddad. How cool is that?” I asked.
We all had a shot of bourbon to celebrate, and for the next hour went over all the details of the adoption. Unfortunately, even though their father had technically abandoned them, we still had to run an ad in the local newspaper for 30 days. Even if he saw the ad and tried to claim him, it would have to go through court. In our world, that meant being in front of the Royal Council.
Declan, the head elder, was close to River’s family and that would fare well for him. However, even if they weren’t close, it would more than likely still rule in River and Caleb’s favor. Wolves are very protective of children, and their father abandoning them in the woods with their dead mother was as bad as committing treason. Even if they were considered rogues.
Buck said he would place the ad in the newspaper of the closest town to us in the morning, and until the 30 days were up, Caleb and River were to document everything. No matter if it was something as little as purchasing a chocolate bar from the local store. All receipts were to be kept, and eventually, we would have to interview the children on video to hear their side of what happened to them. It sucked to have to be this way, but to ensure them being able to keep the kids, it was necessary protocol.
I bid them all farewell, and went to my office. I had a deadline on a few contracts that I needed to go over, and I also needed to deal with a nasty situation regarding my father’s businesses. I had given one of my father’s shipping ventures to my brother Lance, but once he was found to be a traitor and his life was ended, I had to make a decision to put it back in the pack’s name.
It has been brought to my attention that the people I entrusted to run this particular company are possibly working with someone to traffic young girls again. I have only told Maddix about this situation because I know how my Beta is, and I can’t have him going full force after these people without a solid plan. Buck reacts, then deals with the consequences. I can’t allow that.
If word gets out, it implicates the pack since the pack owns the company. I need to enlist someone to go in undercover and find out for sure if this is happening.
I sent a text to Maddix to see if he was awake, and thankfully he was. I dialed his number, and he quickly answered. I explained to him my idea, and he agreed that it would be best to find out first before reacting. I asked if he knew of anyone we could completely trust, and he said he had the perfect person in mind. The man was a rogue, but was working to be accepted into Blood Moon. He wasn’t a rogue by choice but by circumstance, and had been living with the witches in Ruby Meadows.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.