Dana Bell - Howl for Me

“Hell, Jamie, you can’t name a kid Vicente. That’s skanky. I’d never be able to moan his name again without thinking…ew.” Jeff shuddered, trying to hide his wince of pain.

Jamie sniffed. “Then keep your pervy fantasies to yourself.”

Fen growled. The man on the screen was Jeff’s fantasy man?

Jeff turned his head slowly and caught Fen’s eye. He winked as soon as he saw he had Fen’s undivided attention. “Then don’t name the kid Vincente.”

Fen relaxed. The man on the screen might be a fantasy, but Fen was Jeff’s reality.

He could live with that.

“Stay still, elskede .” Fen carefully carried his mate to Logan’s condo. “We’ll be there soon.”

Jeff shivered in his arms. With his injuries he should still be in bed, but Jeff had insisted on going to Logan’s when word reached them that Jeanne Grimm had arrived. He hadn’t wanted to wait even a single second before checking on his mother. Fen had given in the moment Jeff threatened to crawl there if he had to. Fen knew the man was stubborn enough to do it. “God. Mom’s gotta be pissed.”

“What do you want me to do?” Fen would do anything to get that look off Jeff’s face. The visit from his siblings had eased him somewhat, but the raw grief and pain were still there in the dull eyes and lackluster smile. “I will do whatever you wish, love.”

Jeff winced as Fen shifted him. “Don’t drop me.”

Fen smiled as best he could. “I promise.”

The door to his father’s condo opened. Kir winced as he saw how pale and sweaty Jeff looked. Sharing blood hadn’t healed his beautiful redhead, and neither had a visit from Toni. Fen was at his wits’ end. Fen could hear the sound of quiet sobbing coming from the room behind Kir. “C’mon in, you two.”

Fen carried Jeff in. The cry from Jeanne Grimm as she got her first look at her battered son tore at him. “Oh my God.” She raced forward, but Fen moved, keeping her from touching Jeff in any way. He growled, warning her away before she could inadvertently hurt Jeff further.

“Shh.” Jeff reached up with a shaking hand and caressed Fen’s cheek. “It’s okay. She won’t hurt me.”

Fen closed his eyes and tried to get himself back under control. Just the thought that someone could hurt Jeff sent him into a murderous rage. His jaw clenched and it took him a moment before he could speak, a moment where Jeanne watched him warily. “Be careful. He’s hurt badly.”

She frowned, the look fiercely protective. “Then why is he out of bed?”

“Because you came to claim his father’s body.”

Grief tightened her features. “Whatever else he did, Fred Grimm was the love of my life.” Tears pooled in her eyes, eyes the same exact shade as Jeff’s. She tsk’d. “Put him on the sofa before you drop him.” She led the way, pointing to where she wanted her son. “I gather you’re Fenris the werewolf?”

He nodded, watching Jeff’s face closely as he lowered him to the cushions.

“Better, elskede ?” He touched Jeff’s cheek, smiling when his mate nodded. He straightened and faced Jeff’s mother once more. “Yes, I’m Fenris Saeter. Your son’s mate.”

She smiled at him and nodded. “Good.” His brows rose in surprise. “I can already tell you’ll take good care of him.”

“Mom,” Jeff whined behind him. “I’m not twelve and he’s not my first boyfriend.”

Fen held back his snarl. His mate hadn’t come to him a virgin, but the man didn’t have to mention it any more than necessary.

Jeanne wiped her tears away and smiled again. It was easy to see where Jamie got her beautiful smile. “I’ll decide how I speak to my new son-in-law, young man.” She eyed Fen again. “You’re the one who’s supposed to kill Oliver?”

Fen nodded. “I believe so, if Oliver is Odin.”

The fury and determination that lit her face startled him. “Good. Get a bite in or two for me, will ya? And make sure it bleeds a lot.” She tilted her head, a speculative gleam in her eye. “Maybe the groin area?”

Behind him every man in the room choked or coughed. He was pretty sure at least one of them had cupped himself.

Fen nodded, unfazed by the request. “It will be my pleasure.”

She smiled sweetly again and patted his cheek with a maternal hand.

“You’re a good boy.”

“Will he get extra cookies if he bites Grimm’s dick off?”

She frowned over Fen’s shoulder. “Language, Logan.”

“Yes’m.” Fen could hear the suppressed laughter in his father’s voice.

Jeanne settled on the ottoman where she could easily reach Jeff without jarring him. She took her son’s hand in her own. “Tell me everything.”

Fen carefully settled himself behind Jeff, his mate cradled between his thighs, Jeff’s head resting against his chest. Jeff told her everything that had happened to him, only interrupted by Jordan when she told her mother how Fred had passed away. By the time he was done Jeanne Grimm was pale and shaking with fury. “I take it back. I don’t want just his dick bitten off.”

Logan wisely kept his mouth shut.

“I want him where he can’t hurt anyone ever again.” She glared up at Kir and Logan. “Tell me about the prophecy.”

Logan groaned. It was Travis who stepped forward and quoted the prophecy they all knew and feared:

Jeanne blinked. “One of you is going to translate that into English for me, right?”