Page 42 of Wild Wolf

Nicolina scowled. “We have enough left to feed her again, Richard. Let her wake up and get changed. If we don’t, Declan will whine.”

“Yes, I will.” I forced the pajamas into the woman’s arms. “Your gown is lovely, but why are we doing formal attire for this?”

“We’re making an impression. Hey, Richard? What are the odds the Chinese can rig a suit for him before the meeting?”

“Flip a coin. I’ll ask. It’s not like we aren’t already stirring the pot for the hell of it at this stage.”

Nicolina smirked. “You’re just mad because the more you ask of them, the more they’re going to pressure you into continuing your grand lineage. And with my pedigree? Hah. You’re going to be reminded you’re a hot stud at least once a day. And I will bask in the glow while you squirm.”

“And I will spend the entire time trying to keep your father from killing the Chinese because they’re going to inevitably imply you’re a broodmare who should be in season already.”

“I have learned that if I gush about children and inform the requester that I am making certain I will be the best mother on the planet, they generally leave me alone. And if they press the point, I find growling that at them does a very good job of making them back off. Evelyn promised we could watch her entire brood for one weekend. If we survive that, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be. It’s the final exam.”

Richard grinned. “I see Evelyn is planning on taking Dante out back to work on building her homegrown hockey team again.”

Dante shrugged. “I’m not seeing any problems with this. And Nicolina, if you want kids, just drag Richard out back. He’s not going to complain, and you don’t have to situate the pack perfectly. If Richard isn’t confident, he’ll just call in Sara and your father. And if Declan proves he has a knack for it, you’ll be covered.”

“I just have a hard time resisting the moon, just like my mother.”

“You’re even worse than your mother, but don’t worry about it,” Desmond said, and he smiled, giving his daughter a kiss on her forehead. “You don’t have anything to prove. If Richard needs help, he’ll ask, and there’s zero problems with him asking for help. Hell, your mother needed an Omega and three Alphas to get your little brother into the world. If you need an Omega, three Alphas, and whatever the hell Declan is, that’s what you need, and that’s fine. We’ll have to see how Amber shakes out, but by the time you need her help, she’ll be around, too. And then we have those pesky Anderson twins kicking around, and Dante is pretty damned good at handling pregnant bitches.”

“I can probably handle Nicolina on my own, but that would be a little harder on her than she’d like.” Declan shrugged. “Elliot?”

“I’m fully confident in my ability to put together a team capable of handling you at your worst for the duration of your pregnancy, Nicolina. And if you goad him into an out-of-season pregnancy, you won’t have any competition in the harder part of your pregnancy.” Elliot raised a brow at Richard. “That would be one way to dodge unwanted adoration in Beijing.”

“Why are you looking at me?”

“You’re the stud, and the stud gets saddled with the pressure to perform.” Elliot managed to keep his expression neutral, something I admired, as everybody else lasted a few moments before cracking up laughing. “I’m not sure you’re a good enough pedigree for Nicolina. She’s a prime broodmare, and you’re a scrawny runt.”

Richard bowed his head and sighed. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”

“Would you like me to treat you like a premier stud?” Nicolina asked, and she batted her lashes at her mate. “I bet I could talk to the Russians for hours about how I’ll have to use you as a stud and establish myself as the supreme ruler of Yellowknife.”

“At the risk of being killed by your father, you have my attention.”

Desmond laughed. “You’re an idiot, Richard. If I didn’t think you’d be a good father for my grandchildren, I would have tossed you into the ocean long ago. But if you don’t give my daughter a puppy at her demand, I have a silver cage with your name on it.”

“Now you’re going to stall me before I have to be a stud?” Richard complained. “Thank you for not killing me. I do appreciate that.”

“You’ve even forgiven me for that week I kept you in my basement.”

“Mostly,” Richard muttered.

“I haven’t yet, Father,” Nicolina growled.

Desmond chuckled and crouched beside Amber, giving her a shake. “Amber, darling? You need to wake up before my daughter cruelly attacks Richard and uses him for one of her wicked schemes.”

“I heard,” Amber grumbled. “Is it actually possible for anyone to sleep through your noise?”

“Declan has volunteered his pajamas for you if you’d like to meet the Russians in something other than his work shirt.”

“Do they smell like him?” Amber asked.

Nicolina lifted my pajamas to her nose and sniffed. “I can confirm they have been spritzed with the Cologne du Declan.”

Amber held out her arms, and Nicolina tossed my pajamas her way. With a grunt and a few mumbled threats promising death if we woke her until it was ten minutes before we were ready to leave, she used my clothes as a pillow and closed her eyes.

Richard stepped to my side, and he tugged on my sleeve. When I leaned his way, he whispered, “If you are not interested in Amber as a prospective mate or to court her, now is the time to make that decision. That’s a thing we do. The scent of a prospective mate is comforting, especially when we’re ill like she is.” In a louder voice, he said, “You’re already doing better, Amber. You woke up and didn’t start hacking.”