Wolf's Fall (Alpha Pack #6)(27)

“He could’ve taken a trip.”

“Maybe,” Hammer said. But his frown indicated he didn’t necessarily agree.

The topic was dropped when Jax and Micah joined them and sat, muttering their good mornings, and then diving into the food. They talked for a while about mates, babies, and Sanctuary, until Micah looked at Hammer and changed the subject.

“So, you knit, right?”

Hammer eyed Micah, as though determining whether the guy was making fun of him. Some of the others gave him no end of shit about it, despite the fact that he could take any of them apart with his bare hands if he wanted.

“Yeah. Why?”

“My granny knitted.” Micah paused. “No offense. Not saying only grannies knit, man. Just heard you did and it got me curious about why you do it.”

Hammer paused. “Stress relief.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Helps clear my mind of all the bad shit. You should try it.”

“Hmm. I’m not very talented with things like that. You know, making stuff.”

“You don’t have to be.” Hammer shrugged. “Read the directions. It ain’t f*ckin’ rocket science. Then you’ll be able to give useful gifts, especially when your friends start having kids.”

Jax grinned. “Is that what you’ve been doing? Making baby blankets?”

“Yeah. So?”

“Nothing, Hammer. That’s just really cool.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Hammer spoke one word. “John.”

Whoa. Nick’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t believe Hammer—John—had finally opened up. Would the rest of the team get what a monumental act of trust this was for the former agent? Activity around them stilled as the others listened, and Jax frowned at John, chewing a piece of bacon.

“Say what?”

“John. That’s my name,” he said quietly. “Former FBI special agent John Ryder, reportedly deceased. And it needs to stay that way, if you get my drift. Spoken outside of these walls, that name could get my ass toasted.”

Nick grinned. That was probably more sentences strung together than anyone on the team besides Nick had ever heard him utter. John—he could finally let himself think the man’s real name so he didn’t accidentally speak it in front of the others—had finally decided to let his team into his world.

Jax’s bacon dropped to the plate. “Wow, man. That’s just . . . I’m honored you decided to trust us with sensitive information like that.”

There was a general round of agreement, and John simply flashed a quick grin.

“Yeah, well, I know you’ve got my back.”

And that was it. No fanfare, though the news was cause for a bit of excitement in the building for the rest of the day. Rowan enjoyed smugly informing everyone she had already known, because John had told her months ago. Clearly, they all needed to get out more.

For a while, John’s revelation served as a distraction from how badly Nick missed Calla. Being away from her, his wolf grew more anxious with each passing day. Keeping the beast’s foul temper in check was a daily struggle. As a man, he wanted to get to know her better—her mind and heart, not just her luscious body. What time they’d spent together wasn’t nearly enough.

And yet. She was a vampire.

The memory of Carter’s seduction weighed heavily on his soul. The vampire had tortured him as well as fed from him, and the events were stuck on a horrible loop in his head.

“Stop it, you *,” he muttered, shoving from his office chair.

He needed to clear his head of the bullshit. Get some perspective. He went straight to his quarters and changed into some loose basketball shorts and a T-shirt. Then he made his way to the gym, strode inside, and picked up a basketball from the rack.

“Who’s up for a game?” he called to the few guys who were getting in their workouts.

Ryon grinned. “Bring it, old man!”

“You’re on.”

If he couldn’t gain some insight, at least he’d be too tired to dream tonight.

He hoped.

* * *

Calla paced her bedroom and brooded until she couldn’t stand it anymore. Until she was sick of her own company.

Hiding out and waiting for Nick to come to her obviously wasn’t going to work. The commander’s issues ran too deep to simply disappear because they’d enjoyed fabulous sex at the waterfall.

No, she needed a plan. But what, she didn’t know.

What she needed was a distraction. After dressing in a pair of black pants and a nice casual blouse, she headed for the stronghold’s school. Vampire children were not great in number, given that most vampire pregnancies didn’t survive to term, but the ones they were fortunate enough to call their own required schooling. Public school being out of the question, that meant they had to handle education internally.

Calla didn’t hold a teaching certificate, but their actual teachers did. Their staff studied at major universities, remaining under the humans’ radar until graduating and returning to the fold to teach the coven’s children.

For Calla’s part, she loved children. She liked to be productive, and substituting two or three days per week to give the other teachers time off suited her just fine. The kids would definitely help take her mind off her troubles.