Protected Promise by Julie Trettel

Landon

Chapter 26

 

 

 

I hadn’t meant to let things get so out of control in the tub, but damn I couldn’t keep the smile from my face the rest of the day.

I felt a little out of sorts losing all control to my mate. I needed her to stay safely in bed recovering, but ever since Cadence worked her magic over Kaitlyn, there was no way she was going to just lay around in bed. “Unless you plan on laying around in bed with me all day… naked,” she had offered.

In the end, she won. I suspected I was screwed in that department. There was absolutely nothing I would deny that woman. My one demand was that she not leave my eye sight for even a minute. My wolf was feeling particularly anxious, even around our own people.

We headed downstairs for dinner hand in hand.

“Stay by my side,” I warned her.

“Yes, Alpha,” she said sarcastically.

I sighed. “I’m just…”

“Protective. It’s okay. I like when you get growly and go all Alpha mode.”

“I’m really not trying to.”

“I know, but I almost died. If it had been you, I wouldn’t want you out of my sight for a while either.”

I grinned and kissed the top of her head, grateful that she at least understood and didn’t seem to mind.

The last time we’d gone downstairs to eat with the Pack, things had been tense. The others were skeptical of Kaitlyn. She hadn’t exactly had a chance to win them over since, so when we walked into the room I wasn’t at all surprised when everyone stopped talking and stared at us.

Connie gasped and there were tears in her eyes as she approached us first. She wrapped her arms around Kaitlyn and held her.

“We were so worried we’d lost you. Landon’s been an absolute mess. It’s easy to see how much he cares for you. And my Tobi, she sings your praises. She didn’t even want to leave your side while you were recovering. Her loyalty has not gone unnoticed. If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough. But you fought for your place and refused to put others at risk to protect yourself. You could have run, but instead you sent my daughter back to get help. Why?”

Kaitlyn looked trapped being put on the spot, but she finally relaxed and looked over at her friend as she spoke. “It wasn’t Tobi’s fight. It was mine. Even if that hadn’t been the case, it was my job to protect her and keep her safe.”

Connie’s unshed tears ran down her cheeks as she dropped to her knees and bared her neck to Kaitlyn. A line formed as one by one she won over the remainder of my people, no, our people with actions and words.

“Thank you,” I told Connie as I hugged her to my side.

“I know I was skeptical and all, but you chose well, Landon.”

I don’t think she realized just how much I needed their approval and her support. Connie and Shawn had always been like a second set of parents to me. With my own folks gone, it meant everything to me to have their acceptance of my mate.

Mina was chatting with Kaitlyn when her stomach started to rumble, causing the girls to laugh.

“I haven’t exactly eaten in days. I’m starving,” Kaitlyn confessed.

“Well come on, you heard her, let our Pack Mother through. She’s hungry,” Mina announced.

People went back to their tables and settled in for their own meals. Normally they would have waited until I arrived and went through the line first, but they didn’t know I was coming down.

“Go on, eat up,” I encouraged.

The chatter and noise grew as everyone returned to their conversations and meals.

I had an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay.

I followed Kaitlyn and Mina to the line to get my food and then we took a seat with Dereck, Tobi, Connie, and Shawn.

Kaitlyn was talking with Mina and Tobi and seemed relaxed, happy even. I gave her leg a squeeze under the table and she leaned into me but continued her conversation with them.

“Have you given any more thought to my proposal?” Dereck asked.

I sighed. I knew he was talking about the old hotel. “Did you get the estimates I asked for?”

“I did and honestly the inspection went far better than I expected. The bulk of the work needed we can do ourselves and cut costs even further.”

I hadn’t expected that. “Leave them on my desk and I’ll take a look tomorrow.”

“Kyle has a Lodge just outside Westin territory. He opens it up to shifters and humans alike. It’s doing phenomenal and brings in a great deal of profit to the Pack.”

“This isn’t outside my territory though.”

“No, but it’s far enough to the edge that it should be okay. I mean the highway is right there and humans pass through it every day without issue.”

“Pass through. Now we’re inviting them to stay. And let’s be real, I don’t know the first thing about running a hotel.”

Kaitlyn gasped and grabbed my arm. “You’re considering re-opening that old hotel we passed on the drive in?”

“Yes,” Dereck said.

I watched my mate cautiously. I could feel her excitement bubbling up as clearly as if it were my own.

“It’s just a thought,” I said. “I’m not sure we have the resources here to actually make this work.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Well for one, I don’t know a damn thing about running a hotel, especially a human one.”

“But I do,” she said confidently.

“What?” Dereck asked.

“You do?” Connie asked curiously.

“Well yeah. I told you I majored in hospitality and business management. It’s always been my dream to run a hotel.”

I stared at her in surprise. I shouldn’t have been so shocked by it. We’d talked about her major before. She was even going to head to Florida, the vacation capital of the world. Still, the entire time Dereck had been proposing this, I had not once stopped to consider my mate could be the answer and the missing key I’d been looking for.

She bit her lip and stared down at the table as she pushed a piece of potato around her plate.

“It’s okay. I mean, those skills will be just as useful in my role as Pack Mother.”

Her disappointment was tangible, but she was reading my signals all wrong.

“This is perfect. The only reason I haven’t already caved is because I thought I’d have to bring in an outsider to make it happen. The remodeling and construction needed I can handle, but the day to day business aspect just isn’t my forte. It’s going to be a big undertaking. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Kaitlyn’s eyes beamed with happiness and my heart was filled with love.

“Yes!” she yelled, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me all over.

I grinned down at her. “This makes you happy?”

“You make me happy,” she said.

“Get to work, Dereck. We’re doing this.”

As talks began about a new venture that I knew was going to secure finances for the Pack for a very long time, I couldn’t help but stare at my mate in amazement. God definitely knew what he was doing when he brought her into my life.

“I’m going to have to file some paperwork with the humans. The place is going to need a name. You don’t have to think about it right now,” Dereck said.

I shook my head. “Kaitlyn’s Place.”

He grinned and nodded.

“It’s perfect,” she said. “Thank you. I love you so much.”

I kissed her for all to see. “I love you, too.”

Our table fell silent and I assumed it was because we were on full display for the Pack to see. They had never even witnessed me dating anyone before, so I knew it would take a little getting used to. I wasn’t going to hide my affections though.

Dereck caught my eye and nodded to something behind me.

A few growls echoed through the room.

My head whipped around to find Cadence and Abby standing there staring in surprise.

Before I could address the situation, Kaitlyn was on her feet and walking towards them.

“Please come, have some dinner,” she said.

“They aren’t welcome here,” Margie said sharply on Tito’s behalf.

Kaitlyn glared at the couple. “They have done nothing but help me. The least we can do is show them a little hospitality.”

“But they tried to poison you,” Margie insisted.

“That wasn’t Cadence and Abby, that was Clover,” she informed them.

I sighed. I had been so caught up in Kaitlyn’s full recovery and the distractions she provided that I hadn’t fully addressed the Clover issue yet, though the other girls had informed me that she had left in haste shortly after breakfast.

“Please, everyone listen up. Kaitlyn’s right. Cadence and Abby have my full protection as long as they remain in my territory. No one will threaten them here. Are we clear on that fact?”

Heads nodded around the room. “Yes, Alpha,” a few people mumbled.

“It is my understanding that she-wolf Clover was the cause behind the delays in Kaitlyn’s recovery. She, and she alone, is responsible. I have it on good authority that she has fled my territory and I’m in the process of identifying what Pack she belongs to in hopes of addressing it with her Alpha. In the meantime, I’d like a few of you to head out this evening on a run. See if you can pick up her scent and make damn sure she isn’t still in our territory.”

“What should we do if we find her?” someone asked.

“Bring her back to me,” I said in a lethal tone.

I still didn’t know what I would do if she returned, but the more I thought about it, the better terms I was coming to the idea of having to kill her.

“She’s from Maxwell Pack,” Abby blurted out. “Or at least that’s what she told me.”

“Thank you, Abby. I’ll reach out to the Alpha there right away.”

Tito and Shawn finished eating and rose as Shawn started barking orders to the others and they both began assembling parties for the hunt. If Clover was still in the area, they’d find her.

I knew I should have done this the second I returned with the proof I needed. Kaitlyn definitely had ways of distracting me from even my most focused goal. I’d been so surprised by her recovery that finding Clover had taken a backseat to my mate’s needs.

It was time to rectify that.

While the others moved on attending to their mission at hand, I instructed Abby and Cadence to fix a plate and join us.

“How are you feeling?” Kaitlyn asked Cadence the moment the girls sat down.

“I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.”

But Kaitlyn did worry and it showed in the way she fussed over the girl. I hadn’t yet seen this nurturing side of her. She was a natural Pack Mother and as I watched her care for the one that had saved her life, I couldn’t help but think of how wonderful she would be with our pups one day.

Pups? I nearly choked on a piece of chicken just thinking it. When had I ever thought about pups? Staring at Kaitlyn, I knew I wanted a whole litter of them with her and I hoped she felt the same.

We had both been only children, but at least I’d had Tobi. She was every bit the sister I never had and always wished for. I didn’t want my own children to know how lonely it could be growing up without siblings and kids their age.

I needed to find a way to grow our Pack if I were to ever provide them with that.

I knew that Kaitlyn’s Place could open the doors for just that. As shifters around the world came through my territory for vacation, or just passing through on the way up to Alaska, some would inevitably want to stay. The Canadian backcountry had a way of seeping into your soul, making a person never want to leave. It was what caused my great ancestors to set roots here. It’s why my great, great-grandfather built the hotel to begin with and now, we were going to carry on that legacy and use it to strengthen our Pack and prepare a true home for our pups’ futures.

“What are you smirking about?” Kaitlyn nudged me and asked.

“Nothing.”

“Liar. What is it?”

I smiled and kissed her forehead. “Nothing bad.”

“I know. I can feel that.”

“I was just thinking about our future together.”

“That makes you happy?”

“Of course.”

“And what exactly were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that you are going to make an amazing mother someday.”

She frowned. “What if I don’t want pups?”

My heart nearly stopped. She didn’t want kids?

“Oh my gosh, I’m just kidding. You should see the look on your face. I mean I don’t want them any time soon, but maybe someday.”

“You better. It’s your job to produce the next Alpha heir,” Tobi pointed out.

“I hadn’t really thought about that,” Kaitlyn admitted.

“There’s no rush,” I insisted.

“What if we have a daughter and not a son? There’s no way to guarantee I’ll have a boy.”

I considered that for a moment. “Does it matter?”

“Huh?”

“Why must the Alpha be a male? This is the twenty-first century. I’d be just as happy to pass our Pack on to our daughter, provided she is as strong and stubborn as her beautiful mother.”

I leaned down and kissed my mate.

“That’s really sweet, but that’s not how things are done,” Abby insisted.

“I really thought this would be a bit of a backwoods pack. No offense,” Cadence said. “But that’s about the most progressive thing I’d ever heard. I wish more Alphas saw females that way.”

“Maybe they should,” I said.

“I think I love you even more,” Kaitlyn said.

“Well, I guess that’s a good thing because you’re going to be stuck with me for a very long time.

“I can live with that,” she said with a grin.