Tonight for the eagle. Griff kept the thought hidden away in the most private depths of his mind, out of sight of his beasts. And tomorrow, a night for the lion. I can give them both one night with our mate, at least.
Before I submit us all to Ash’s fire…and we see how much survives the inferno.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Reiner
“That was the best Halloween ever.” Danny bounced on Reiner’s guest bed, his borrowed T-shirt flapping around his knees. It was the smallest shirt Reiner owned, but it still drowned the boy. “I liked it best when you pounced right on that deer, Daddy, pow! You knocked him right down flat!”
Reiner caught Danny in mid-jump, making him shriek in delight. “I’ll knock you down flat if you don’t get yourself into bed. I can’t believe you’re still so full of energy.”
Pride swelled in Reiner’s chest as Danny wriggled and giggled, trying to free himself. Not even six years old, on his first hunt, and the boy had still managed to achieve a throat-lock on a fully-grown deer. If he’d been just a little older and bigger, Reiner was certain that he’d have throttled the animal all by himself.
Wouldn’t that just wipe the smugness off my dear brother’s face? When none of his own ever-so-perfect pure-bred offspring have managed to lay paw on so much as a rabbit yet…
“You know, I was only able to pounce on that deer because you were holding him for me,” Reiner said to Danny. “Really, the credit is half yours.”
Danny’s eyes widened. Reiner still got a little thrill every time he gazed into those amber eyes—so similar to his own that it was like looking at his reflection in a mirror. “Really, Daddy? You mean I killed the deer too?”
“Absolutely.” Reiner smiled, triumphant. “When we tell everyone back home, that’s exactly what we’ll say.”
Let’s see how my dear alpha brother likes that. I can’t wait to see the moment he realizes that his sons are going to be beta to mine.
His lion flicked its tail in mild irritation. We have our own place, as our cub will have his. We are no less valuable to the pride than any other. Not even the alpha.
Reiner’s jaw tightened a little at his lion’s unquestioning acceptance of the pride hierarchy. Why, why couldn’t he have had an alpha lion, fiercely proud and ravenous for power? No matter how he fought to win the place and respect he deserved, he’d always been hampered by his inner lion’s instinctive submissiveness. It wasn’t fair.
But at least life would be better for his son.
No asshole alpha is ever going to push you around, Reiner silently promised Danny as he tucked him into bed. I’ll teach you to be so strong and dominant, you’ll just have to stare at another lion to have them whimpering and showing you their belly. I’ll make sure you can have anything you want. I swear it.
Danny stretched out like a starfish, his arms and legs not even coming close to reaching the edges of the double bed. “This is the biggest bed ever, Daddy! And the biggest bedroom. Why’s your house so huge?”
Reiner blinked at him, taken aback. “This, huge? This is just a hovel, compared to my real house back home.”
“What’s a hovel?” Danny asked.
/> Reiner waved dismissively around at the bedroom, with its sleek, minimalist furniture and views out over the fishing lake. “This is. You just wait until you see the Ljonsson estates back home. Then you’ll understand.”
When Reiner had learned that Danny was his true son, he’d immediately rented out the best house he could find near Brighton—an old hunting lodge set in fifteen acres of private woodland, half an hour away from the city. Even so, it was barely adequate for a real lion’s needs. He couldn’t comprehend how any shifter could possibly stand to live in built-up Brighton itself.
My poor son has been utterly deprived if he considers this to be a huge house. A prickle of anger ran through his blood. I trusted Hayley to provide at least a minimum level of care. How can she have failed so badly? It’s a good thing I stepped in when I did.
“Wait until I take you to Valtyra,” he said to Danny. “You’ll love it. Everyone knows about shifters back home. We’ll be able to be lions whenever we want, without having to worry about frightening stupid humans.”
Danny looked suitably excited at the prospect. “Are there more deers there? Can we hunt them?”
“There are deer, and boar, and even elk. We’ll hunt them all. I promise.”
A stab of homesickness twisted his guts. He wished that he could just take Danny back on the next flight.
If only that asshole alpha didn’t have his claws in my son!
“I wish we could go there tomorrow,” Danny said wistfully, and Reiner’s heart melted at the unwitting echo of his own thoughts. “But I’ve got to go to school and Mommy has to go to work. Maybe we can go during summer vacation.” He frowned a little. “We’ll have to ask Mr. Griff. Daddy, do firefighters get to take summer vacation?”
Reiner clenched his jaw. Can I not have one conversation with my son without that damned alpha coming up?
“I don’t think they do,” he said, trying not to sound too curt. “So your alpha won’t come. Anyway, wouldn’t you like to take a trip together? Just the two of us?”