Chapter 202 A Broom and a Grudge

The SUV pulled up in front of Number Nine.

Mrs. Jones stood on the porch with her phone in one hand and the two German shepherds at her side. Both dogs were still staring at the driveway, alert and restless.

Her expression softened when Eira and Lila climbed out.

"There you are. I was starting to worry."

Then Alpha Killian stepped out from behind the wheel.

Mrs. Jones blinked. "Alpha Killian. This is a surprise."

"Good or bad?"

"The jury’s still out."

Eira smiled and crouched to greet the dogs. Both shepherds crowded around her, tails thumping against the porch.

"What happened here?"

"Margaret Hale happened." Mrs. Jones planted the broom against the railing. "She came over demanding that you talk her son into eating."

Eira glanced at the dogs. "Did she leave quietly?"

"That’s what she says. Apparently, he won’t touch his food, and somehow that’s Miss Eira’s problem."

"It isn’t," Alpha Killian said.

Mrs. Jones gave him an approving nod. "Exactly what I told her. Well, my version had a few more words in it."

Eira glanced at the broom. "And that came into it how?"

"Margaret wouldn’t leave. She started yelling, the dogs didn’t like her tone, and things got a little lively."

A strip of camel-colored wool clung to one shepherd’s collar.

Eira pulled it free. "Is this from her coat?"

"Just the hem," Mrs. Jones said. "Nobody bit her."

"Good." Alpha Killian glanced at the dogs. "A bite would mean lawyers and animal control."

Mrs. Jones snorted. "That woman had it coming."

"Maybe, but let’s stick to barking next time." Eira scratched both dogs behind the ears. "Designer wool isn’t good for you."

They gazed up at her with matching looks of innocence.

As they went inside, Mrs. Jones lowered her voice. "I don’t like the Hales knowing where you’re staying. Margaret came alone tonight. Next time, she might bring the whole family."

"The work at Ten Ashford Lane is almost finished," Eira said. "We’re waiting on the security system. Mrs. Jones and I can move in once it passes inspection."

Alpha Killian had known about the house, but he had never seen it.

"What kind of security are you installing?"

"Cameras, motion sensors, reinforced locks, and a monitored alarm. Professor Davies recommended the contractor."

"And the property?"

"Fourteen hundred square feet. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a home office. It’s in a quiet neighborhood."

Alpha Killian frowned. "Fourteen hundred?"

Eira hung her coat by the door. "It’s plenty for two people."

"Two?" Alpha Killian and Lila asked at the same time.

Mrs. Jones laughed. "Relax. She means me."

Lila stared at her. "You’re moving in too?"

"Someone has to keep Miss Eira fed and keep the Hales off the porch."

"What about me?"

"You can stay whenever you want," Eira said.

Mrs. Jones smiled. "You two can share the primary bedroom."

Lila brightened immediately. "Even better."

She shot Alpha Killian a victorious look. She had a standing invitation and a spot in Eira’s bed. He did not even have a key.

Alpha Killian read every smug thought on her face.

"Fair warning," he told Eira. "Lila steals the blankets."

"I do not."

"She also kicks in her sleep."

"You’re making that up."

"And she snores."

Lila stared at him. "Wow. This from the guy who growls in his sleep."

Alpha Killian’s eyes narrowed. "I don’t growl."

"You absolutely do. The whole west wing used to hear you."

Eira covered a laugh with her hand.

Alpha Killian looked at her. "Don’t encourage her."

That only made her laugh harder.

Lila grabbed a throw pillow and fired it at him. Alpha Killian caught it without looking.

Their voices filled the living room, easy and ridiculous. Once, that kind of noise would have worn Eira out.

Tonight, it made Number Nine feel like a home.

--

Southridge Estates, Number Eleven.

Alpha Sebastian had discharged himself from Mercy General and come home against medical advice. Ethan tried soup, toast, even food from Alpha Sebastian’s favorite steakhouse. He refused all of it.

By evening, Ethan had run out of patience and called Alpha Roger and Luna Margaret.

They found Alpha Sebastian pale and running on fumes, taking calls from Hale Group between waves of stomach pain. He could barely stay on his feet, yet he still refused to let his Beta handle the Pack reports. With the board watching and patrol issues piling up along Hale territory, he could not afford to look absent.

When Luna Margaret learned Eira was staying at Number Nine, she drove over to get her.

She returned twenty minutes later with mud on her boots and a tear in the hem of her camel coat.

Alpha Roger looked her over. "I take it she said no."

"I never even saw her. That housekeeper threatened to call estate security, and those dogs wouldn’t stop barking."

Alpha Roger glanced at the torn wool. "So you made a scene."

"I asked Eira to come talk some sense into Alpha Sebastian." Luna Margaret stripped off the damaged coat and tossed it over a chair. "She probably wasn’t even home. It’s after ten. God knows who she’s out with."

The insult came out by habit. For four years, finding fault with Eira had been second nature.

Then Luna Margaret remembered that Eira was no longer a Hale. She was free to date, join another Pack, or come home carrying another male’s scent. None of it was Luna Margaret’s business anymore.

That only made her angrier.

"She’s divorced," she muttered. "Let’s see how long Sterling keeps playing the hero."

"Mother."

Alpha Sebastian stood in the doorway, his phone still in his hand. His face was bloodless, but his eyes had turned cold.

"Why do you keep talking about her like that?"

Luna Margaret’s expression changed at once. "I didn’t mean anything by it. I made chicken noodle soup. Why don’t you try a few bites?"

"I’m not hungry."

"You haven’t eaten all day."

"I said no."

Luna Margaret finally lost her patience. "What exactly are you trying to prove? Eira isn’t here to see this. You’re only scaring the people who still care about you."

Alpha Sebastian tightened his grip on the phone.

Luna Margaret saw the guilt on his face and pushed too far.

"She walked away, Sebastian. She doesn’t care what happens to you. When are you going to get that through your head?"

His eyes reddened.

Luna Margaret fell silent.

Alpha Roger watched his son from across the room. Alpha Sebastian looked terrible, but at least he was still answering company calls and reviewing Pack reports. He had not abandoned his responsibilities as Alpha.

Still, Alpha Roger had decided that the family would stay at Number Eleven until Alpha Sebastian recovered.

As for Eira, Alpha Roger did not believe four years could disappear with a signature.

If asking her directly had failed, Alpha Roger would find another way to reach her.