The Rogue Anthology

Appendix 8 - The Rogue Alpha’s Return and Book 5 (no spoilers given)

~ Eden and Conner take the kids to a summer carnival on Silent Forest pack lands. The photo taken is referred to in book 5, and is how Roman’s nickname comes about. Takes place just before the final epilogue to book 1. Roman would be 9, Yarrow junior (Row) would be 7 and Olivia (Liv) would be 4 ~

Eden

Our day out at the carnival had come to an end, much to the protests of our three pups. They had eaten enough sugar and meat for one day, we’d be lucky to get them to sleep tonight as it was, especially Row. It didn’t take much for my little devil to get all fired up. Olivia wouldn’t take much. Some goodnight cuddles from Conner, and maybe a story, and she would be out like a light; ever the daddy’s girl, his little sprout. And then there was Roman, our sweet, calm and patient boy. Our firstborn, who lulled us into a false sense of security that we had this parenting thing sussed out. Row quickly changed that stance when he came along.

Exiting the carnival grounds, Liv sat up on her father’s shoulders, eating her little pot of nachos. She was determined to keep hold and finish them and Conner was confident he 'had it', so I left them to it, despite telling him she was going to spill them. The wet wipes in my purse were primed and ready for when the inevitable happened. We had cleaned Row up as best we could, though he was still covered in a light coating of grease. How he had managed to consume a whole turkey leg, was beyond me. He was more like his father than any of our pups for his appetite; and his cheek, for that matter. Roman had just finished his ice cream and he and Row were busy duelling with the foam swords I had won them on one of the games. Conner held onto Liv's while she ate.

We had many pictures of the day, but not one of us all together. As we passed the large carved wolf sign for the carnival, I figured it would make a good spot for our family picture to remember the day by. I stopped one of our human pack members to ask, handing her my phone to take a picture.

"Sure, Alpha Eden," she smiled brightly, standing back to squeeze my gigantic mate into the frame.

Both Conner and I gathered up our two loose pups, pulling them close for the picture. Roman stood on his father's right, my mate's arm around our eldest and his left hand gripping my waist, protectively. Row stood just in front of me with my arm wrapped around his shoulders.

The pack member clicked a couple, but just as she took a final one, I heard a startled cry to my right. Row, in front of me, was laughing and pointing at the scene.

"I dropped it," Olivia's little voice squeaked.

I looked to see nacho cheese dripping down the side of Conner's face and the small pot up-ended on Roman's head, cheese coating him and a few tortilla chips sticking up out of his hair. The volunteer that had taken the picture chuckled along too, handing me back my phone.

"I think the last one is definitely a winner, Alpha," she bit back her laugh and turned to leave.

I quickly glanced at the image which had captured the whole thing, wonderfully: the pot, midfall, and Conner and Roman wearing identical shut-eyed grimaces, the bright orange sauce covering them. Out of our three pups, Roman was the spitting image of his father in every way, down to his golden skin, chestnut wavy curls and pale jade green eyes.

Roman shook his head, dislodging the pot, but unfortunately, it made the sauce run down his shoulders more. His little ears were bright red, as always, when he was embarrassed. Row was in full-blown hysterics, dropping to roll in the dirt, laughing. Liv giggled away, on top of her father's shoulders, gazing down at her handiwork.

"This is far better than saying 'I told you so'," I couldn't hold back my laughter, taking another photo of Conner wiping the cheese from his eye.

'Lucky for him, cheese-covered potatoes are my favourite snack,' Era gruffled along. 'Would it be inappropriate if we licked him?'

'In front of our three pups? A tad, yeah.'

'Maybe at home, then,' she propositioned. 'We can break out the cheese whizz.'

"Come on," I pulled at Conner's arm. "Let's get the pair of you back to the car and get you cleaned up."

"Dammit," he swore under his breath. "I think I got some in my eye."

"Swear jar, daddy," Liv called out above, patting the top of his head in a sing-song voice.

"There's my girl," I praised, reaching up on my tiptoes to lift her from her father's shoulders when we reached our SUV.

"Get the two clean pups in their car seats, while I try and wipe Roman as best I can?" I gestured my head towards the back seats and pulled out the wipes from my purse.

'Do I get a wipe down too?' Conner mind-linked me with that maddeningly handsome smirk that still made my stomach flip.

"Sure," I said aloud, smirking right back at him, and threw the pack of wipes at his head once I had finished with Roman. "Have at it."

I climbed into the driver's seat, once Roman was in his seat booster, waiting for Conner to wipe the thick of the mess off.

"He smells like cheese," Olivia complained from her car seat, pointing at Roman.

"We'll be home soon, sprout," Conner soothed, sliding into the passenger side.

Soon enough, the lights of our home came into view. Our large log cabin sat a short distance from the main central pack house. I pulled us into the drive and began the task of unbuckling the pups and grabbing up all the belongings.

"Everyone out and it's bath time all around tonight," I announced, bringing up the rear and holding onto Liv's hand.

Row, on cue, began sulking, stomping inside and muttering about not wanting a bath. I just knew there was an incoming battle forming.

I ran the hot water to fill the tub for the two youngest. They would have to share it tonight because it wouldn't take long before their sugar energy crashed out and they started to drift to sleep. So, there was no time for separate baths.

"Conner, can you bathe Roman? I'll take care of these two."

Conner

"Dad, I can bath myself," my eldest pouted.

Even though everyone commented he was my double, when Roman pouted the way he was doing currently, I could see so much of my peach reflected in him.

"The last time you did, when your hair was all grunged up, you got the comb stuck in it," I reminded him, adoring how his little ears turned bright red at the memory. "I had to cut it out, and you cried because you had a chunk missing. I'm not taking any risks this time around."

I lifted Roman up under my arm so there was no escape, making him cry out in laughter and his legs dangle behind me.

"But I don't want a bath!" I heard Row stomp from inside the family bathroom.

'Heads up, pup 2 on the loose,' Colt warned.

I was able to grab Row by the scruff of his shirt as he was about to make a break for it.

"No you don't. Everyone is getting scrubbed down tonight. You've got turkey grease all over you."

"Liv! Get back here!" Eden shouted.

My little sprout came running out, giggling away, her chestnut hair bouncing behind her. I managed to stop her with my foot; I had too many pups and not enough hands.

‘It’s only a matter of time before our pups realise they outnumber us. That’s when the real trouble starts,’ Colt shuddered.

‘Really? My worry is when they shift… and mates are on the table,’ I stared down at the silver eyes of my precious little sprout, the dread flushing over me for a split second.

My Eden lifted her in her arms, "come here, monkey," she nuzzled into our daughter's cheek. "And you too, Row, my little escape artist," she grabbed his hand and locked the door this time.

"Come on, cheesy," I ruffled Roman's hair, still under my arm, and carried him through to mine and Eden's ensuite bathroom.

"You wanna steal one of mom's bath bombs?" I whispered conspiratorially, as I set the bath up.

"Yeah!" He hurried over to the bamboo wood shelves, lined with baskets, selecting a bright green one.

The wrapper was a struggle to remove and I had to resort to extending my wolf claws just to get through the damned plastic. How the f**k did Eden get into these things? Roman watched in delight as the water turned a luminous lime colour and filled with little bubbles. I helped him carefully strip his clothing off and steady him as he climbed into the tub. Grabbing a double-ended comb, with both wide and fine teeth, I knelt down at the side of the bath to inspect and untangle my pup's messy curls.

"Ok, let's see your hair," I tried to halt his squirming and poured a jug of water over his head.

"Ow!"

"That's why you keep still, cheesy," I chuckled, tweaking his nose, satisfied he was untangled. "Shampoo time. Let's use mom's fancy expensive stuff."

"I wanna do it," he pushed his hands out, cupping them ready.

I squeezed the sweet and fruity-smelling liquid out and helped him lather it up, working it into his scalp and spiking his hair up into a mohawk as he usually did at bathtime.

"What about you?" He waved the bottle.

"Don't worry about me. Your mom will wanna make sure I'm thoroughly clean before bed, herself," I grinned inwardly, knowing exactly where I wanted her to start first.

"Aren't you too old for mom giving you a bath?" My cheeky pup inclined his head.

I quickly dumped a full jug of water over his head, rinsing the shampoo out. "Sorry, didn't hear that."

My wolf howled in laughter, 'our pup called you old!'

I combed his hair once more, to make sure he was clear, and scrubbed the rest of him down. He pulled out the plug and I wrapped a huge towel around him, ruffling him up and down to make him giggle. With the towel still around him, I marched him out to his room so he could pull on his pyjamas.

Row ran out of the bathroom and around the hallway, bare-ass, as usual. You'd think this pup would have learnt from the last time he ran around naked. He was five years old at the time, refused to wear his pants and, after chasing him down in the forest, I found he had brushed up against some poison oak and had a red rash all up his ass. Of course, I had the pictures to prove it, and a copy in our family photo album, ready to use and embarrass him when he got older.

"Come on, Row. Bedtime," Eden called out, losing her patience.

"I'm not tired!" He whined, yawning loudly and swaying on his feet.

'Not tired, my ass,' Colt snorted.

"Roman and Liv are gonna get all your stories," I threatened in amusement, watching how he stopped instantly.

"No way!" He ran to his room, jumping into his pyjama pants. His pale green eyes, like mine, lit up for his favourite nighttime treat.

"Can you do stories while I marinade the roast for tomorrow?" Eden called over her shoulder as she headed down the stairs.

"Daddy, daddy, read this one," my little sprout answered for me, shoving a thin book in my hand and trying to pull me to Roman's room. Her tiny fingers could barely grasp around my index finger.

I easily scooped her up in my left arm, avoiding my cheese-stained right side, peppering her cheek with kisses. Once I had plopped her down on the mattress, she was quick to pull me down too, to sit in my lap and lie against my chest. Roman snuggled down under his blanket, his head on his pillow and Row jumped up to hang over my shoulder so he could see the pictures. Roman's bed was a small double, since Olivia and, from time to time, Row would creep in at night if something scared them, wanting their older brother. The more violent summer thunderstorms still had all three running to our bed to curl up between Eden and me.

It wasn't long before all three were sound asleep, Row dangling and limp over my shoulder, drooling, and his dark blond curls tickling my neck. I eased myself down the bed and slowly made sure all three were tucked under the blanket. I gently pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads, smiling down at my eldest, who naturally curled himself, protectively, around his younger siblings.

'They're so perfect like this… silent and unconscious' Colt sighed. 'Now where's our mate? I want our playtime.'

My bond with my sweet peach tingled, her footfalls sounding on the steps. I quickly entered our bedroom, waiting for her so we wouldn't wake our pups up. The only 'daddy' I wanted to hear for the rest of the night was from Eden panting it.

"You're still covered in cheese," Eden frowned, throwing her hands up a little when she entered our bedroom.

"I was waiting for a certain peach to come help," I took slow, deliberate steps towards her. "I just don't think I can manage to clean myself up."

"I take it you want more than a wipe down?" She raised a brow in challenge. Her dominance only excited me more.

"Oh, I need a thorough scrubbing."

She led me back into our ensuite and started up the shower.

She stripped slowly, maintaining eye contact, sliding the straps of her sundress off slowly. Her bra popped off easily and she wiggled out of her panties, turning away in a deliberate show to bend over in front of me. If Colt wasn't a drooling mess in my mind before, he was now.

"Well?" She questioned when I hadn't moved to join her in the shower.

I almost ripped my clothing apart to get them off faster, and slammed the glass door closed behind me with more force than was necessary in my enthusiasm. Over a decade of her silver eyes and beautiful face, and she mesmerised me as much as the first time I saw her.