“Yeah? I got a call that said you’re moving in here and I should, and I quote, get my ass over here and help my mate?”
“So I’ve been told.”
Brooks raised a brow. “Ahh, that’s how it went down.”
Toby glanced over his shoulder at the house, trying to appreciate the gesture more than the way it was handled. “It’s perfect, isn’t it?”
Brooks put his arm around Toby’s shoulder, and they looked at the front of the house together. “It really is. And I would feel better about being inside the wards, especially with the girls.”
“Yeah, no more date nights in town with them for a while.”
Brooks nodded. “Yeah, Nick’s put the kids on lockdown. Not that they go many places anyway, but for now it’s safer for them to stay put.”
“Yeah. This isn’t a great life for them, though. I mean, it’s a great life, but… they need to be able to see the world too. To experience it. To go to libraries and museums and restaurants and school.”
“I know, love. We’ll make it happen for them. Just not right now.”
Toby sighed. “I don’t understand why all of this is happening. It makes it hard to settle anything in my head. How am I supposed to make decisions about my future when everything is so up in the air?”
“I don’t know. I just know I will give you as much time as you need.” Brooks squeezed him a little too tightly for a second as he looked into the house. “Would you like help moving your things?”
“Yes,” Toby said softly. “And Brooks?”
“Yeah?”
Brooks couldn’t seem to look at him, and Toby hated that he’d hurt him. He wouldn’t lie and say he was ready to stay forever, though. “I’d really like it if you’d stay with me.”
It was as much as he could give at the moment, and he hoped it would be enough.
Chapter Thirteen
For the first time since he’d arrived at the compound, Toby found himself alone with about a dozen of the pack kids. Sure, there were vampires galore patrolling the trees that surrounded the land, and he’d caught a glimpse of the mysterious tiger earlier, but all of the pack leaders had left for what Toby had begun to think of as the Mean Alpha Meeting.
On top of Nick, Jedrek, Victor, and Riggs being way, Brooks had a job that morning. So basically, as Nick had informed him as he prepared to leave, Toby was in charge.
It wasn’t that Toby minded being the only adult in the room—or in the field, as it were. He’d been the only teacher in his classroom any number of times, and actually enjoyed watching over the children as they played.
And if he were totally honest with himself, it had given him a huge sense of pride that Nick trusted him enough to leave him in charge of the kids. That… said something. Something big that had filled Toby’s chest with happiness. The responsibility and trust made him happy.
No… it wasn’t the responsibility that had the hair on his neck standing on end and his skin crawling.
“Toby?” Jeremy looked up at him, big eyes filled with concern.
“Sorry. I’m distracted.”
Jeremy shivered and leaned in close. In fact, all of the kids who’d come outside with him had drifted closer. Usually they spread out and played games like tag or chase or whatever they were in the mood for that day. As Sam had explained, shifter cubs had tons of energy, more so than even human kids, so they needed lots of playtime to burn that energy off.
“No pixies,” Jeremy observed, looking up toward the sky.
And no, there weren’t any pixies. Toby had been obsessively checking for them as well. He wished he could call Nick and ask him to come back, but that wouldn’t help the whole Mean Alpha problem. And there wasn’t anything for Nick to handle except Toby’s fear.
“Maybe we should go inside?” Toby suggested.
No one argued, which told Toby more than he wanted to admit.
Something was wrong.
Daisy hurried over to him and grabbed his hand. Marigold wasn’t far behind her. Little Gus toddled over as well, having refused to take his usual afternoon nap with the other little ones. Toby had made the executive decision to let him come out and play, hoping the extra outside time would wear him out a little. If nothing else, it might win him a few brownie points with Victor.
Toby lifted Gus into his arms before resuming his hold on Daisy’s