kids.”
Nick snorted. “Shut up, assface.”
Brooks leaned back against the front wall of the house and took another bite of his danish.
“What’s that?”
Brooks didn’t bother responding.
Nick sniffed toward Toby’s cottage. If he’d been in a better mood, maybe he’d have told Nick there were several more pastries on the counter. As it was, he took another bite while swirling his coffee around in the cup.
“I didn’t realize you had a fucking evil streak a mile long. Good to know.”
Brooks shrugged.
“Came to see how Toby was. The guards let me know you stayed out here all night.”
“I figured.”
“You didn’t think I’d keep an eye on him?” Again, it wasn’t a serious question. If anybody understood, Nick would.
“No way I was leaving him alone. Just found him.”
He took a drink of his coffee and tuned his ear to inside the house. The water turned off. Toby would be out soon.
“Mind if I grab a shower somewhere?” Brooks asked. “I don’t want to go all the way home.”
“Nah. Grab one at our place. Jedrek’s helping with breakfast this morning, so he’s already up.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s he doing?” Nick asked.
The teasing tone changed into that of a concerned alpha. It helped Brooks breathe a little easier, knowing Nick was taking Toby seriously.
Problem was, Brooks honestly didn’t know how to answer the question. Toby hadn’t really said much, and he was still skittish and unsure. Not that Brooks could blame him.
“Sam says it’ll take time.”
“Yep. Now go get me a damn danish already before I die from starvation. Fuck. I’m drooling over here.”
Brooks laughed and pushed away from the wall. He listened and heard Toby bustling around in the bedroom. “Nick’s here,” he called as he led the way into the kitchen.
He heard a thump and a muffled curse as Nick shoved him out of the way and made a beeline for the extra pastries. He was halfway through one when Toby emerged from the bedroom wearing a faded pair of jeans and a slightly wrinkled polo shirt.
“Hi,” Toby said nervously. He glanced at Brooks, his eyes questioning Nick’s appearance.
“He can smell baked goods from a mile away. It’s one of his gifts.”
“R-really?”
“Okay, it’s a slight exaggeration, but you need to know the alpha only has a few weaknesses—his mate, the kids, and his sweet tooth.”
Nick made a muffled noise of complaint. Not that they could understand it.
“I… I thought you were going to ask me to leave,” Toby said softly. He moved a step closer to Brooks when he said it.
“No fucking way,” Nick said. Then he brushed away the crumbs he’d spit everywhere. “Fuck.”
“Say it, don’t spray it, Nick.” Brooks took another innocent sip of his coffee while Nick glared at him.
“Remind me to murder you later.”
Brooks laughed before winking at Toby. His teasing lightened the mood, though, and Toby didn’t seem anywhere near as nervous as he’d been a moment before.
“Would you like a… um… water? I don’t have anything else.”
Nick stared longingly at Brooks’s coffee cup before turning to face Toby. “Nah, I’m good. I’ll get something back up at the house. Suppose we should talk about that whole teaching thing, huh?”
Toby nodded. “I see you’re using a Montessori approach. I’m certified—”
“Whoa, whoa. Mont-a-what now?”
Toby glanced at Brooks before straightening his shoulders. “It’s a child-led approach to learning. It’s a very common method, but is generally only found in small private schools here in the States.”
“Walk with me,” Nick said. “Tell me more.”
Brooks followed them as they left the cottage, pausing at his truck to grab the bag of clothes Ollie had dropped in the back earlier.
He couldn’t stop watching Toby, who clearly had a passion for education. As Toby walked with Nick, explaining exactly what a child-led method entailed, he waved his arms around to emphasize his points. Nick barely blinked, absorbing one more thing that might help the kids under his care.
They paused at the wards, and Nick turned to Brooks with a beaming smile. “He knows his shit.”
“I’m not surprised.” And he wasn’t.
The Goddess had brought Toby to them for a reason. He was special, not only to Brooks, but to the pack as well. It would take time to figure out what his full role was meant to be, but like Riggs, Victor’s mate, they’d found him because he was meant to be part of the pack.
Toby blushed again as they waited for Keziah to come down the hill to lower the wards. When Keziah arrived, he was out of breath, his dark hair messy and unkempt. Brooks frowned and