My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her

Chapter 542: Chapter 542 THE SQUARE AND THE MENACE (BONUS Chapter 1)

DANIEL’S POV

For the first ten years of my life, all I wanted was siblings.

Being an only child didn’t suck, per se. I was my mom’s world, and my dad, grandparents, and pack members adored me, but at the end of the day, it got lonely.

I wanted to tackle little boys who looked like me and tickle little girls who mirrored my mom. I craved chaos and laughter and...presence.

Well, I got what I wanted—and then some.

First came Sophia.

She was born when I was ten, and from the moment Dad placed her in my arms—all five pounds of wrinkled baby wrapped in a pink blanket—I was hopelessly smitten.

As soon as she could move, Sophia followed me around like I was the most fascinating thing in existence, and whenever I came home from training or school, her little face would light up as if I were a long-lost love returning from war.

She started calling me Dani before she could properly pronounce her own name, and that nickname stuck with the ones to follow.

She reminded me so much of Mom that sometimes it was eerie. The same expressive cerulean eyes, the same stubborn little chin, the same habit of tilting her head when she was contemplating something.

Even the same—

No, that was between an older Sophia and me.

Anyways, apparently one baby wasn’t enough for my parents’ rekindled...enthusiasm, so a year later, I got more siblings.

Twin. Boys.

At first, I thought having brothers was the best thing ever.

I pictured teaching them how to fight, racing them through the forest, showing them the best places for adventure around Nightfang, and nurturing them till they were strong enough to match me.

I had forgotten one important detail: babies didn’t know how to do any of that yet.

They mostly knew how to scream. And poop. And scream because they’d pooped.

Theo and Leon, twice as much.

By the time I was twelve, I had learned how to change diapers, identify the difference between an uncomfortable cry and a hungry one, and how to get the stain of vomit out of a shirt.

Then came my youngest sister.

Lila was born when I was fourteen, and by that point, I’d sent several prayers to the Moon Goddess that my parents were done.

She was barely two now, which meant she had reached the terrifying stage where she could move fast enough to cause trouble but wasn’t old enough to understand why the trouble was a problem.

My parents were hands-on for sure, and we had a ton of help from our grandmothers and nannies, but I liked to be involved, sue me.

They were little disasters, but they were my little disasters.

Sometimes, though, I fantasized about shoving them all into a soundproof room and tossing the key into the deep end of our pool.

Like now.

“Dani!”

I jolted out of bed and raced for my door, knowing the owner of those tiny feet slapping against the hardwood floor did not understand the concept of barriers, and would not stop for anything.

“Daniiii!”

I wrenched the door open in time for Lila to launch herself at me. I dropped the book I’d been reading and caught her just before she collided with my knees, scooping her up with a resigned sigh as she latched onto my neck like a koala.

“How can I help her highness?” I asked.

She giggled and planted a big, sloppy raspberry right on my neck.

I groaned. “Yep, thanks.”

Behind her, Sophia appeared in the hallway with one of the twins hanging off each of her arms.

“Dani, they took my sparkly markers,” she huffed in the tone of an exasperated teacher at a PTC.

I cocked a brow at her. “They’re probably hiding them because you drew on their faces yesterday.”

She stomped a little foot on the floor. “I did not!”

“I did.” Theo gave me a proud, wide-toothed smile.

I frowned. “But there was marker on your face, too.”

His grin widened as his voice became a stage whisper. “So I wouldn’t be a soppet.”

I snorted into Lila’s hair, earning another raspberry. “You mean, suspect?”

He shrugged, still looking extremely proud of himself.

Leon took about two more seconds before it dawned on him. He turned his enraged gaze to his twin, and I winced.

“You?” he snarled, and Theo flinched.

Theo looked more like Dad with the same dark hair and eyes, whereas Leon’s hair and eyes were lighter. But Dad’s temper? Leon came out with heaps.

Theo gulped, and Sophia wisely let them both go.

“Uh, later.”

He dashed out of my room with Leon hot on his tail.

Sophia watched them go, a hand on her hip. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, an act that was so Mom I laughed.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked.

“Up upstairs,” she replied, wiggling her fingers in the air to mimic typing, and I got the message.

When she wasn’t fulfilling her Luna and maternal duties, Mom was a prolific writer, and when she was working, she could stay in her office for hours without even coming out for a fire.

I knew Dad had business at the packhouse, so I was on my own.

“Ow! Stop, that hurts! You’ll break my hand!”

“Good. Then you can’t use it to draw on my face.”

“I’ll learn to use my left hand, genius!”

“Then I’ll break that, too!”

I groaned and handed Lila over to Sophia. “Think you can get her cleaned up for me?”

She gently took her younger sister, who immediately started rubbing snot in her hair. “Yep.”

I smiled and gave her a small kiss on her nose. “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

Her dimpled smile was the most beautiful thing ever. “What are you going to do?”

“Wrangle the would-be murderer and his victim,” I said, grabbing the keys to the minivan. “Then we’re off to the packhouse to become someone else’s headache for a bit.”

***

The drive wasn’t much better.

The twins (Leon had been mollified by the bright pink mustache Theo was sporting) argued over who got to sit closest to the window.

Lila loudly and very tunelessly belted out what might have been Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the top of her lungs.

Sophia wanted to know whether I could teach her a new fighting move when we got to the packhouse, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her I planned to ditch them on the first poor victim I came into contact with.

Besides, whenever she saw her best friend, Mira, Beta Gavin’s seven-year-old daughter, no one else existed for Sophia.

I slumped against the headrest and sighed. Even though I was tempted to bang my head repeatedly on the steering wheel, I couldn’t help but smile.

I grumbled about them all the time, but honestly, I didn’t mind half as much as I let on.

I loved them. Every loud, sticky, exhausting piece of them.

And, if I was being completely honest with myself, there was something else putting a smile on my face. Something else bringing me to the packhouse today.

It was the first week of summer, which meant she should be back by now.

A buzz of excitement zipped through me, and I had to resist flooring the gas, reminding myself I had four mini Blackthornes in the car.

At last, I rolled into the packhouse driveway, and before I could even unbuckle, the back doors burst open.

“Wait!” I barely managed to shout before four kids spilled out, launching themselves into the arms of waiting pack members.

The twins were immediately swept into a game with some of the younger pups. Sophia darted off, screaming “Mira!” at the top of her lungs. Lila disappeared into Grandma Leona’s arms with a delighted squeal.

I lingered by the car for a moment, staring at the suddenly empty seats.

Silence. Beautiful, glorious silence.

I could have kissed the ground.

“Daniel!”

My eyes widened, and I turned at the sound of a girl’s voice, expecting—

Cindy.

I couldn’t stop my shoulders from slumping.

She came toward me with a bright smile, her brown hair bouncing around her shoulders as she walked.

I pasted on a smile to hide my disappointment as she stopped in front of me, breathless.

“Hey!” She beamed. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “Been busy.”

“No doubt.” Her gaze swept over me appreciatively before returning to my face. “You’re getting taller.”

I shrugged. “Here I thought I’d be shrinking from stress.”

She threw her head back and light musical laughter filled the air as she touched my arm.

I forced myself not to stiffen. Cindy was pretty and perfectly pleasant whenever we spoke, but there was something about the way she looked at me that made every conversation feel like I was acting in a role I never auditioned for.

“I was wondering if you’d be at the packhouse today.”

“Why?”

She smiled coyly. “Maybe I wanted to see you. Hang out with you this summer.”

I gave her a polite smile. “That sounds...nice.”

You’d think I presented her with a jewel, the way her eyes lit up.

She continued talking, asking about training and my parents and whether I’d be attending the next bonfire the teenagers were planning, but my attention kept drifting.

I counted the seconds until I could finally search for the person I actually wanted to see.

Then I heard the voice, coming all the way from the training grounds—too far away for normal ears to hear and difficult for werewolf ears to separate from the chorus.

But I was attuned.

“That all you got? You hit like a wittle baby. Would you kick better after your nap? Or would you prefer a bottle?”

A grin broke across my face, and Cindy gasped in delight, clearly thinking it was meant for her.

But I’d barely heard what she’d said.

Because nothing else mattered.

Ava was back.