The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,55

somehow managing to look more like the pup I remembered than a soon-to-be teen. Gulping, he gazed at me with red-rimmed eyes. "Dad said you were dead. And when he found out you weren't, he said whoever had saved you would wish they hadn't when he killed them next, and then you'd finally die like all weak mongrels should."

Noah pressed his lips together, his little face turning red as he made fists and shook them over his head. Lucian and Tucker raised their eyebrows, but Matt quietly told him to let it out. As his lips trembled, his hands dropped, and he rushed past Matt and into my waiting arms. While I hugged him, he tearfully began to talk. "Daddy was a bad man. He hurt Scruffy and made him dead." What a bittersweet moment to hear the baby in my youngest brother again.

Matt mouthed 'Scruffy' with a questioning look. His muscles were coiled with tension, ready to battle dragons on Noah's behalf. Saul correctly interpreted Matt's confusion and translated. "Scruffy was Noah's teddy bear. Papa got it for him before he was born, and Noah always slept with it. Dad decided it was time for Noah to quit being a baby. So he…" Saul hesitated, twitching and scratching the back of his head as if delaying finishing the sentence.

After several long moments, Saul finally took a deep breath and spat it out. "He barbecued Scruffy and made Noah watch. Right on the same grill where Elisha always cooked our dinner, Dad poured lighter fluid over the bear and lit a match. When Noah cried, Dad hit him with a belt and locked him in the utility room for three days. There's water in there, and I slipped granola bars under the door. But it wasn't cool to do that to a kid Noah's age."

Looking him in the eyes, I brushed sweat-damp hair from Noah's forehead. "Saul is correct. Dad did bad things to you. It wasn't good when he did it to Saul or when he did it to me. But you know what? You never have to be afraid again. Nobody will ever hit you here or lock you in any closets. If you get in trouble, I'll make you pull weeds or something. But I want you to understand this is your home now, and Matt and I will keep you safe."

Matt rested a hand on Saul's shoulder. "Same goes for you too, big guy. I'm proud of you for looking out for Noah when he needed you most. But now I want you to relax and learn to be a kid while you still can. Your brother is my world, and if you're his family, you’re mine too. Anybody who wants to hurt either one of you will have to come through me first."

"Tell the truth, Matty. Ain't nobody touching either one of these boys unless they can get through all of us." Lucian came close enough to squat down and talk to Noah. “Your new brother Matt is pack to us, and pack means family. So guess what? You and your brother inherited four honorary uncles. You've got the three of us here and Nick, the new Alpha you met at your old place. Why do you think we came and picked you up on our bikes? Because you’re pack. Nobody rides with us unless they belong."

Good God in heaven. Seeing this big, broody alpha act so sweetly and say exactly what Noah needed to hear was enough to be the death of me.

I blinked back a fresh wave of tears as I fanned a hand in front of my face. If my voice was thicker than normal, nobody commented. "Matt, we need to take the kids home. Maybe get out of the heat and let them see where they live now."

"Now there’s the best idea I've heard all day." Matt turned and said something to Devon. The other alpha studied me as he slowly began to grin. The next thing I knew, Matt escorted me over to Devon's bike. "It won't be the same as mine, but I can't let you be the sole member of the family who’s never ridden."

Then a helmet was produced out of thin air and plunked over my head. Matt got me settled on the back of the bike, then slipped on in front of me. I glanced around in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on.

Saul was back on Tucker's bike, while Lucian helped Noah into