Shifted Love Volume 1 - Fiona Davenport Page 0,25

he always made time for his younger sister, Elora. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and it wasn’t rare for her requests to get him in trouble.

“Jacob Joseph Blakesley, what in the heck do you think you’re doing up there?” I raced across the kitchen floor to brace my hands against his back so he didn’t fall off the counter he was perched on top of.

“Gettin’ Elora’s sippy cup. She wanted milk.” He wiggled the pink plastic cup in my face. “See?”

“If Elora wants a drink, tell her to come ask Daddy or me for one. No climbing on the counter,” I reminded him for about the hundredth time as I slipped my hands under his armpits to set him on the floor.

“But I didn’t climb up there, Mommy,” he insisted with a frown.

“Oh, yeah? How did you get on the counter then?” I asked, taking the cup from him so I could fill it with milk for his sister.

“I jumped!” he exclaimed.

“Don’t be silly, you can’t jump that high,” I chided as I opened the fridge to pull out the almost full gallon of milk. I cringed at the thought of how much would’ve spilled if I hadn’t caught Jake before he’d started pouring.

“Can too,” he insisted in a stubborn tone that had me stifling my grin when I turned back in his direction. It turned out that I hadn’t needed to worry because my lips formed a perfect circle as I gasped in surprise at the sight of Jake in his furry wolf cub form in a low crouch, getting ready to jump.

I had never considered the possibility of him shifting to get on the counter any of the times I’d caught him up there. Looking at the small pile of clothes on the floor, I asked, “How come you weren’t naked when I came in?”

He leapt off the counter and shifted back to his human form. “Eww, bein’ nekked on the counter is gross. I put my clothes on the counter before I shift.”

I rolled my eyes at his explanation and started to pour the milk into the pink cup as he got dressed.

“I’m going to have to disagree,” Zeke whispered in my ear, coming up behind me around wrapping his arms around my body. “I’ve done lots of ungross things to you while you’ve been naked on this counter.”

“What’re you sayin’ to my mommy?” Jake asked, narrowing his dark eyes at his dad suspiciously. His hearing was already better than mine, but Zeke seemed to know exactly how low to speak when he didn’t want little ears to catch what he was saying.

“I’m just telling my mate how much I love her,” Zeke replied as he stared our son down. It had taken me a little while, but I’d gotten used to the dominance games they’d been playing since Jake turned three and his wolf tried to get territorial with me and he’d bared his teeth at his dad. Zeke was an amazing father, but he had no problem putting our little cub in his place when necessary.

“Uh-huh,” Jake huffed, taking the now-full cup from me. “I’ll bring this to Elora for you, Mommy.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” I pressed a kiss to the top of his head, and he flashed a triumphant look at his dad before trotting past us.

“That boy,” Zeke grumbled.

“Is just like his daddy,” I teased, turning around to smile up at him.

“He’s a handful, that’s for sure.” He brushed his lips against mine. “I have a feeling his wolf will end up being just as dominant as mine when he grows up. Be prepared for some interesting times when he’s a teenager and all that testosterone starts flowing through his system.”

I pressed his palm against my slightly rounded belly. “Maybe we should hope for another girl this time around.”

He bent low to press a kiss over the spot where our third baby was growing. “Nah, I’ll take whatever you give me and be damn happy, sweetheart.”

I ruffled my fingers through his thick hair. “Another perfect answer, just like always.”

“Only because fate did me a solid and gave me the most perfect mate in the entire world, and I’ve been thanking my lucky stars ever since.”

I couldn’t agree more since I’d ended up with an amazing husband and the family I’d always wanted. “Me too, handsome.”

Extra epilogue

I laughed as I watched the large gray wolf romp in the snow with a group of young pups before he let himself be tussled to