Or at least tried to.I felt jumpy, so much so that when the early lunch crew came in, I nearly leapt out of my skin when the shop door’s bell rang. But muscle memory took over. I rang up book after book, bagging them up and then handing them over as the guys worked hard to replenish the pile. In the end, they became part of the appeal.Wolf Girlwas an erotic dark romance release that had taken off on TikTok, so anticipation was high, but customers having their books handed to them by two hot alphas?
“How much for the assistants?” one girl joked as I completed her purchase for her. “I’m only joking.”
“No, she’s not,” her friend said, elbowing the first girl in the ribs. “She’d hire one or both of those fine-looking alphas for an hour or two in a red hot minute. Especially if they were prepared to read a few chapters ofWolf Girlto her.”
“Can you imagine?” The girl looked over her shoulders at the guys. “When Brock pins Fifi to the bed and…”
The two of them dissolved into giggles at that.
“Howlr,” I said, handing them their books.
“What, the app?” The girls eyes went wide. “Did you…?”
Their eyes slid to the bite marks on my neck and I could see both of them pale.
“God, we didn’t realise they were your mates. We’re so sorry—”
“Don’t be,” I said, not bothering to correct them, then giving them a very smug smile. “I’m not sorry at all.”
They kept their cool until they made it to the door, exploding in excited commentary as they walked out, but I couldn’t spend too much time thinking about that. Customers were lined up four deep around the counter wanting to buy their own slice of alpha male erotic romance.
But when the customers had reduced down to a trickle, Grace came forward.
“You have quite a lot of customers coming through here,” she said with obvious surprise. “When the boys said you ran a bookshop, I wondered how that would work, with e-books and all.”
“Paperbacks are making a huge resurgence,” I replied. “I’m not sure why, but… bibliophiles.” I smiled as I looked across at Evie. “They love the feel of books, the smell of them and so I make sure I have plenty to sell.”
Logan walked over to stand behind his mother, clearing his throat when he got close.
“We came by to see Evie, obviously,” Grace explained, “but also…” Her eyes hardened then, her lips thinning. “I’ve done my damndest to try and talk that fool mate of mine out of this, but he’s persisting.” Jasper joined me behind the counter, making clear where he was standing on this issue. “As long as the boys are away from Campbelltown, he thinks he has to pursue custody of Evie.”
“We’re not going back,” Jasper said, flatly. My eyes widened at that as, for some reason, we always avoided talking about it. “Lils is here, Evie’s here and so are all their family. They’re important too, not just the Morrisons. We’re not going anywhere, not unless Lils decides otherwise.”
When he stepped into my space, when he wrapped his arm around me and nuzzled his face into my neck, I hadn’t realised I needed that until I got it, and I let out a breath in response. I turned towards him, meeting his silvery eyes almost shyly, trying to communicate exactly how that made me feel.
But he knew. That was the seductive thing about alpha boyfriends. They saw, felt everything. Something that was nowhere near as pleasant for Logan when we turned back. He’d been looking a lot better when we first saw him, but right now he looked pale and drawn, staring at the two of us with wide eyes.
“I know, love,” Grace said. “Logan and I have been looking for a rental to move into.” Her breath came out between pursed lips. “I let your father dictate so much after your dads died. At first, because I could barely lift my head off the pillow. Then it was because it was easier to let him. He seemed to see so clearly a way for us to hang on, to survive, right when I wasn’t sure I would. But now?” Her brow creased then, the frown deepening by the second. “Now I watch him inflicting needless pain on the lot of you and…” She looked up at her son then. “And I see all the ways he’s been doing that for so long. I’m leaving him.”
Grace injected strength into her voice, nodding as she did so.
“I’m leaving my mate. I want to be here, for you all.” She looked back over her shoulder to where Evie and Carmen chattered. “To try and make up for everything that went wrong.”
“God, Mum…”
Jasper pulled away and went around the counter to give her a hug and she gratefully sagged in his arms. I was stunned by her decision, my mind racing as I tried to imagine a reality where I walked away from my pack and… As I pondered that thought, Logan’s eyes met mine, dark and inscrutable.
Chapter 58
Which took us to the mediation meeting.
“We’ll nail this fucker to the wall,” Sophie muttered to me as we walked down the hall of the Morrison lawyer’s office. “He’s not taking our Evie anywhere.”
I just stared blankly when I got inside the room, feeling numb, spaced out and unreal as I did so. My pack filed in, facing down their father and their brother.
I admit I felt a pang when I saw Logan sitting beside his dad, but I guess it made sense. The guys had explained that Logan was seen by their father to be the unofficial leader of the pack and Richard often made him the proxy father in his absence, making Logan parent his own brothers.
Or at least Dick Morrison’s version of fatherhood.