White Tiger

After breakfast, Addie as usual started to help Charlie clean up. She found the plates she’d picked up taken out of her hands by Dimitri.

“We’ll d-do that, sweetie. It’s our job.”

Addie let him take the dishes, surprised. “You do the housework for Kendrick? What are you, his maid?”

Dimitri’s chuckle vibrated in his throat. “Ain’t you c-cute. A tracker’s job is to help the leader, in any way p-possible.”

Jaycee hadn’t said a word but simply started carrying plates and bowls to the sink, moving Charlie out of the way to wash them.

“No offense, you two, but you’re human,” Jaycee said, mostly to Charlie. “We look after Kendrick. We do the stupid shit so he doesn’t have to worry about it. He has more important things on his mind.”

Addie watched them a moment, knowing she should not feel offended that someone else wanted to do the dishes. She should hand them the dirty plates and run. It was the way Jaycee took over that was offensive, she decided.

“I didn’t notice Seamus rushing for kitchen duty,” Addie pointed out.

Dimitri, who seemed to find everything funny, gave another chuckle. “Seamus is high on the d-dominance scale. Not much below Kendrick. He and Kendrick f-focus on large-scale plans. Jaycee and me t-take out the garbage.”

“In more ways than one,” Jaycee said, adding a snicker.

Charlie folded his arms and leaned against the counter. “Fine, but you be careful with them dishes. My wife spent a long time putting together that set.”

“No one’s more adept than a Shifter, old-timer,” Jaycee said. “Don’t you worry.”

Charlie did not like being called old-timer, that was apparent. He shot a glance at Addie but jerked his chin in a gesture that told her to go.

Kendrick had disappeared again and so hadn’t been around for the conversation. The cubs had moved to the wide front porch, the morning nice, playing with the toys Addie had bought for them at the discount store.

She sank down on a chair to watch them. “Where’s your dad?”

Robbie shrugged. “Around. It’s okay. Dimitri and Jaycee are here to watch us.”

“Do they watch you a lot?”

“They take care of Dad,” Robbie said. “So does Seamus, but in a different way. The three of them are—what does Dad call it? His inner circle.”

“I see.”

Addie sank into silence. Robbie, after giving her a puzzled look, went back to playing with the cubs.

Kendrick seemed to be surrounded by people who’d do anything for him. Even Robbie readily looked after the two younger boys so Kendrick wouldn’t have to worry so much. Seamus had come charging out here as soon as Kendrick called to him, and so had Dimitri and Jaycee.

Addie thought about the embraces each of the trackers had exchanged with Kendrick, the nuzzling, the blatant demonstrations of affection. She wondered whether Jaycee leapt into Kendrick’s bed every time he needed to work off some tension. She’d certainly intimated that she was willing.

All three Shifters had given Addie assessing stares, wondering how she fit into Kendrick’s world. Temporary aberration? Lover? Babysitter? Seamus had been kinder, but Seamus was now in love with a human woman and likely understood better. Not that Addie herself knew what she was to Kendrick.

Dimitri bounded out onto the porch, evidently done with kitchen work. The cubs greeted him with glee.

“Uncle Dimitri—will you play big bad wolf for us?” Robbie asked him.

Dimitri growled. “I’m already a b-big . . .” He struggled with the next word, and gave up. “Wolf. Mean.” He curled his fingers like claws.