The One He Claimed

Chapter 165: Big Softy

Hunter

I’m so thankful that Sophie is willing to go with me to Owen’s pack. I would have left her here, knowing the pack would protect her if Zahn acted like a fool, but I prefer having her near me so that I can protect her and my pup

When she returns from seeing Jocelyn and lets me know that she’s willing to join me, I lead her into the dining hall where I know that Zahn is having breakfast.

“Alpha Zahn,” I say loudly. The room quiets and everyone looks over at us. Zahn stands up.

“Is something wrong, Alpha Hunter? Is it Jocelyn?”

“Jocelyn is fine and recovering well. Sophie just came from the hospital. I wanted to let you know that Sophie and I, along with my Betas, Lucas and Kinsley, will be leaving the pack overnight.”NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

“Where are you going?” he demands.

“That is not your concern.”

“I came here for you to help Jocelyn, not for you to leave the moment we arrived.”

“You arrived several days ago, Jocelyn has received her first surgery, and she is healing nicely. I wanted to let you know that my Ga**s are in charge, Penny and Jaime.”

Zahn snorts, no doubt because Penny is underage. “I also wanted to let you know, in front of my pack members, that if you go against my G**as, if you try to push yourself into Jocelyn’s space against her will, the pack has my permission to rip you to shreds.”

His face darkens in anger. Brutus and William made sure to leave Zahn bruised when they dragged him back to the packhouse last night.

“You have no right to keep me from my mate,” he growls.

“I have every right if that is her wish and so far, it is.”

“If your pack touches me, it will mean war,” he snarls, trying to threaten me. If his pack is as pitiful in a fight as he is, my pack will barely notice.

“You wouldn’t be the first Alpha to go against me and lose,” I growl, my hand in Sophie’s is the only thing keeping me from getting in Zahn’s face. I watch as the realization of my words hits him. He would know about Elias and Joshua. I’m not sure what he knows about Owen other than he’s dead.

“What the **k am I supposed to do around here if my mate won’t see me?” he asks frustratedly throwing his arms in the air.

“I can give you access to a computer so you can work. That’s what I would do.”

He looks down, shaking his head. “I have a computer.”

“Very well,” I say, as Lucas and Kinsley step up behind me. “Penny, Jaime, the pack is yours.

“Yes, Alpha,” the two say in unison.

“Ready?” I ask Lucas

“Yeah, I just have to make sure that Kinsley can carry our bags while she’s on Dario’s back.”

“I have to do the same with Sophie,” I tell him. Since Ezra is driving, I asked him to bring tents for us to sleep in, just in case the packhouse was destroyed by Joshua. However, I wanted Sophie to have something softer to sleep on, so I’ve rolled a thick blanket up into our bags. It isn’t a lot, but she’ll already be a bit unbalanced riding on Shaw with her large belly.

When we get outside, I put the straps over her body, making sure nothing is pressing against our stomach too tightly and that everything is comfortable. Then I strip and put my clothes in the bag before letting Shaw pull the shift. As soon as he does, he walks over to our mate.

“Shaw, you big softy,” Sophie coos, running her fingers through his fur. Hedda begins purring loudly as Shaw presses his nose against her belly, sniffing our pup. He rubs his face over her stomach, scenting her and trying to scent our pup as well.

When he’s done, he lifts his head and licks Sophie’s face. “I love you too, big guy,” she says, through Hedda’s loud purring. I can hear pack members behind us chuckling at Hedda’s open display of affection toward Shaw, and he is soaking it in.

He finally lays down and patiently waits while Sophie gets on his back and gets settled. He turns his head to watch her, nuzzling her when she struggles to get on his back. Sometimes I forget that my wolf loves our mates as much as I do, but it’s moments like this that remind me that he and I share not only our mind, but also our emotions.

‘Not all wolves are as lucky as I am. Not all humans openly share themselves like you do. But yes, Sophie and Hedda are as precious to me as they are to you. And our son will be just as precious,’ Shaw says, sending me an image of our young son on the floor between his paws as he nuzzles and sniffs him.

I take the image and add our son painfully gripping onto his face and feel Shaw m**lly shrug. I know my wolf is tough enough to take down anyone who attacks our pack, but I’m not sure he’s strong enough to take a baby’s grip on his fur.

‘I’m sure I’ll manage,’ he purrs, using his face to push Sophie up just enough that she huffs and settles on his back.

“Finally! This is ridiculous!”

‘Our pup is getting big, baby. It makes it harder for you to move easily.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ she grumbles in my mind.

‘Ready?’

“Ready,” she says out loud, looking over at Kinsley.

“It wasn’t that hard for you,” she says.

“First, I’m a week or two behind you, Sophie. Second, I’m carrying a Beta pup, you’re carrying an Alpha pup.”

“I don’t think that matters,” she grumbles as Shaw stands and nods at Dario. The two of them take off at a slow jog, moving as easily as they can so they don’t jostle our pups. I let Shaw focus on our surroundings, and I keep focused on Sophie, making sure she doesn’t seem too uncomfortable or starts to bounce too much. About halfway, we stop. We’re higher on the mountain, and it’s a good spot to let our mates get some water. Sophie chooses to stay on Shaw’s back, worried about getting back on, but Kinsley gets off and stretches her legs.

“I forget how beautiful it is up here,” Sophie says.

“When I was bringing food up here, I was always nervous, so I didn’t really take the time to enjoy it, but you’re right, Sophie. It’s gorgeous. Once the packs around us are settled, we really need to start thinking of that community area where all the packs can bring their families to relax.”

“Like a park,” Sophie says. She opens up the mind link to Lucas and Kinsley and we can all see her ideas. Kinsley begins to add hers as well.

“Yeah, a park with some picnic benches or maybe some swings for the kids.”

Shaw and I watch the images flash through their minds as Sophie looks around the space.

‘I love that idea. I love that we’d have a place to bring our pups as they grow up. Once they get their wolves, they could run around up here. We could cut some trails for them,’ I tell them.

‘Maybe put some fire pits up here for star-gazing on cooler evenings with the family,’ Lucas adds, sending more images to our growing picture.

“We should sit down with Nikki, Allison, the twins, and Amelia and really determine what we want up here, since this mountain is centrally located to all of our packs,” Kinsley suggests.

“I’ll set something up,” Sophie says.

After they’ve rested, we begin to make our way down the backside of the mountain toward Owen’s pack. I can see that we’re not the first ones here, which doesn’t surprise me. Some of our pack members who want to compete left earlier this morning so they could look around. Robin, Kayce, Ezra, and I are. planning to put stakes on the borders of the pack lands. Since this pack is like mine, not bordering any other packs, it will be important for those interested in competing to know how large the pack is.

I see Ezra and Jake. Lucas and Kinsley break off to go talk to our pack members, but Shaw moves toward Ezra. When we’re close, Ezra turns and smiles.

“Shaw, good to see you. Hello, Sophie.”

“Hello Ezra,” she says sliding off Shaw’s back. “Did Margot join you?”

“Of course I did,” Margot says from behind him, walking our way.

Sophie rushes over to hug her as I shift. “Hello Ezra, Jake,” I greet them, moving to grab the bags off of Sophie’s shoulders.

“Look how big your pup has gotten already, Sophie,” Margot says, looking down. I feel the wave of her excitement and watch her smile broadly at Margot. I kiss the side of her head before getting my clothes and pulling them on.

I turn back to Ezra. “Who’s here? Or should I ask who’s not here?” I ask, seeing a large number of people milling around.

“Robin and Nikki just got here, they’re checking out the packhouse to see if we can sleep there. It’s a mess, but I think it’s a better option for those of you with pregnant mates,” Ezra says. “Kayce and Allison haven’t arrived yet.”

We hear a howl, and I turn seeing several wolves heading our way. The largest is carrying Allison.

“That would be Rodion carrying Allison,” I say.

“Who are the others,” I hear Jake ask, his nose going up in the air.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t met their wolves. I know Allison’s friend Letti was planning to come, so I’m guessing she’s one of those wolves.”

Jake takes a couple more steps forward, his gaze intent.

“Jake?” Ezra asks, watching him closely.

I watch as one of the wolves rushes right up to us, shifting into Letti.

“MATE!” Jake growls.

Letti’s eyes go wide. “Mate.”