entertaining. The combined force of his pack crumbled when hurled against one stubborn dratsie. No matter what they said or did, Trick refused to sleep inside the house.
A direct attack never worked on an otter shifter. Slippery bastards. Judd could have told them that from the start. It took a half hour of expressive looks and coded phrases, but eventually the pack determined how to cope with Trick.
They would make sure Trick’s beat-up 1982 Rumble Bunny was parked inside the garage. Judd and Kev would move all the motorcycles out. That would at least put a roof over the dratsie’s head. Plus the garage shared that same roof with Max and Bryan. Max owned the property, but he refused to live in the big house. Instead, he preferred the small apartment above the garage. Bryan slept where his mate slept, of course.
So that kept the dratsie safe, for now. Judd mentally organized a guard detail. Who could do extra patrol while Trick slept? Who could provide escort to and from the cafe each workday? He’d have to look over everyone’s schedules. He was both worried and pleased to have a new pack member to care for. Whether Trick liked it or not, he’d been adopted. Judd was enforcer enough to take pride in every new opportunity for protection, and every sign of an expanding pack.
The pack silently agreed that they’d work on Trick. Persuade him into their den and a proper bedroom over time. Judd figured that the best approach would be to get the dratsie inside for showers and dinners regularly. Then they could keep him gossiping as late as possible. Then he’d fall asleep on one of the couches in the den. They were hard to resist, those couches. The poor little otter worked long shifts at the cafe. Judd nodded to himself. He’d mention the scheme to Alec later.
Judd adored their sunken living room. Partly because he’d helped to remodel it. Partly because it was his ideal den. Their shared living area was open plan, which was actually a really old-fashioned idea. Like a longhouse from Viking times. Or the great hall in a certain castle of Judd’s early werewolf days. It had a dining table that expanded to seat twenty, a fancy kitchen (at Lovejoy’s insistence), and the awesome sunken den area.
The den was two steps down into a massive sitting area, around a huge fireplace. It was full of comfortable scratch-resistant leather couches and armchairs, cowhide rugs, stainless steel tables, and outrageous throw pillows. Marvin was into sequins – teal and turquoise. Recently, he’d added a few sea-colored fuzzy blankets and chunky knit floor pillows. Their friendship group continued to expand and it was getting cold enough to move barbecues inside after dark. Kitsune and cat shifters liked to lounge about on floors.
Judd also liked the den because Colin curled up there to do his homework regularly – when he wasn’t at a cafe. Colin always occupied the smallest couches, his books spread around him. Judd liked to join him there. Not on the same couch. That was pushing things. But close enough to be aware of him, and soothed by his proximity and scent.
Colin was such a skittish little thing. After many conversations with Kevin about his brother, Judd still hadn’t managed to coax away his shyness or entirely understand it. Of course, it’s possible Colin wasn’t attracted to a hulking, dangerous-looking dude like Judd. But Judd hoped that it wasn’t that. Or, if it was, that Colin could get over his fear enough to realize they were perfect for each other. It was just taking a lot of time. And Judd had already waited a hundred years for this man.
“He might not be into you, dude,” Kevin pointed out. “Not swing your way, so to speak.”
“Everyone swings my way,” Judd had responded, puffing out his chest. Arrogance was expected of an enforcer.
Kev had laughed. He had his own fair share of arrogance, and a propensity to misuse it. “You know what I mean. I mean he might be scared. What with me for a brother. And our dad for a father.”
Judd nodded. They’d talked about it before. Kevin adored Colin. He worried about him all the time. He hadn’t realized, when he left for college, that he’d abandoned his younger brother to something bad. Since Colin never talked about it, neither of them knew exactly what happened during those four years. Judd suspected that, at the very least, Colin had been profoundly neglected.