Page 24 of The Quiet Alpha and His Fox

Stella held onto his hand as her eyes darted between her dads, Joe, and me. She looked up at Mateo. "Dad, where are the foxes?"

I suddenly remembered the prisoners in the root cellar. Just then, a box truck that I recognized as one of Este's pulled into the driveway, and several of my packmates climbed out.

I was surprisingly happy to see them. I even went over to say hello and hug each of them. When I turned to introduce Joe, he was busy introducing the chickens to the toddlers.

Este ordered Mateo and Stella to stay with the twins, then he motioned for me to follow him to the root cellar. I opened the doors and led him down the stairs. The foxes were sleeping in the corner, all curled together. It seemed that they were starting to feel comfortable here.

They'd certainly been well fed.

Este gracefully shifted to his fur, and I followed. When he let out a commanding bark, the foxes jumped to attention. I was a large coyote, but next to Este, I looked average. The foxes were instantly on their feet and backing away from him as they quivered.

Este looked at me and rolled his eyes. I told him it would be easy, but even he couldn’t have anticipated that the foxes were that spineless.

I circled around the back of the pack and herded them up the steps behind Este. They were kinda cute, I had to admit.

Este quickly loaded them into the back of the box truck before his kids could see. That’s when I realized Stella had been asking about the foxes because she thought they would be cute too. It was hard to envision the bleary-eyed men they became when you were looking at them in their fur.

Este and I went back to the cellar and shifted back. As we got dressed, he told me his plans for the foxes.

"Let me know what you find out. I'd hate to think of other shifters knowing we're back here."

Especially now that there's a baby coming. I kept that thought to myself. Este would find out soon enough, if he hadn't already sensed it.

Chapter 14

Joe

I watched Waylan and Este load the foxes into the back of the truck as we distracted the children. Este was a lot bigger than I expected. If I'd seen him in the wild, I would have thought he was a large wolf.

Waylan was different around Este. I could see the submissiveness in him, and it made me angry. I definitely didn't have pack nature in me if it meant submitting to someone like Este.

When the two alphas disappeared into the root cellar, I felt a pang of jealousy. Looking around at the other men almost hurt. They were his pack. I didn't fit in.

The toddlers were the only ones who didn't seem to notice how different I was. They were feeding the chickens with the feed I had given them, though I had to watch like a hawk because they kept trying to eat it themselves.

I'd always liked kids, and they'd always liked me.

Adrian and Sammy were no different. They quickly learned they could get a reaction out of me every time they acted like they were going to eat the chicken feed, so they’d bring it to their mouths, then pause and wait for me to notice.

Playing along, I'd wave my hands dramatically. "Stop! That’s not for kids or coyotes. That’s for chickens.”

Then they'd jump up and down and laugh.

Stella, the older sister, couldn't quite tell if I was joking or not. She just looked annoyed with her siblings. "Joe keeps telling you to stop. Why do you keep doing it?" But her little brothers ignored her, too delighted with the game.

Finally, Stella turned to her dad, Mateo. "Why do they keep doing that, Daddy? They're so annoying!"

Mateo took her hand and grinned. "Come on, sweetheart. I'll show you the foxes." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "You okay with these two, Joe?"

I nodded, surprised he trusted me with his babies so quickly. When he smiled, I felt myself blush a little. He was handsome in a different way than Este, in a way I liked better. Those two made beautiful babies.

I looked back at the twins, wondering who my baby would look like.

Waylan and Este came out of the cellar and went to talk by the box truck with the other men, Mateo, and Stella. They looked serious, and I was glad I had the twins to look after so I didn't have to decide whether to join them or not.

Even still, I felt left out as I wondered if Waylan had told Este who I was yet.

Most of the other pack members climbed into the box truck and backed it slowly out of the driveway, but a few stayed behind with Mateo, Este, and Stella.

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