It took a moment for her to respond. Uncle. He was her uncle. She’d never before met any of her family, hadn’t even known that she had an uncle until Ryan told her. And now the guy was standing right in front of her—a guy who was also a part of her mother. She cleared her throat. “I’m Makenna. This is my mate, Ryan Conner.”

At Harlow’s nod, Ryan grunted. If he hadn’t tracked these wolves himself, he wouldn’t believe this guy was her uncle. They shared no resemblance whatsoever. He’d gotten a message to Harlow from Makenna, which had very simply read that she was sorry to inform him that her mother had died many years ago after a vicious attack. The male had very swiftly replied, asking to meet her. She’d taken a few days to think about it before agreeing.

On edge due to his mate’s anxiety, Ryan’s wolf wasn’t comfortable with these strangers on his territory. He also didn’t like that this male claimed to have a connection to her, even if it was familial. Typical of his very jealous wolf.

Harlow cleared his throat. “If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure you were who I’ve been looking for all these years until now. I guess I didn’t want to believe my sister was dead. There’s no denying that you’re hers.”

In his position, Makenna wouldn’t have wanted to believe it either. Pushing past her dread, she asked the question that had haunted her for a very long time. “Do you know what happened to my dad?” Watching the Alpha’s face fall, Makenna was almost sorry she asked. Her stomach knotted.

“The old Alpha hunted your parents. He found them two years later. Your mom got away with you, but he caught your dad. Killed him.”

The news was like a hammer to the chest. “You know for sure he’s dead?” She tensed when he averted his gaze. “Tell me. I need to know.” It would be worse than not knowing, even if it would be a painful truth.

Harlow lifted his chin. “Conrad brought back his head.”

Makenna’s eyes fell closed, and she was glad that Ryan moved closer. She needed his strength right then. Be-fucking-headed . . . and all because he’d loved her mother. Her parents had both suffered awful deaths they didn’t deserve. Her wolf howled in mourning.

“If I’d been old enough to take him on, I would have.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“No, but it doesn’t take away the pain of knowing what you and your parents went through.” He did a double take as something caught his eye. “Is that a child hanging upside down from a tree branch?”

Makenna looked up at Savannah and sighed. “Yes.” The viper waved. She and Dexter were now official Phoenix Pack members. Riley wasn’t yet sure if she wanted a permanent place there, but she’d agreed to stay until the children were more settled. Greta wasn’t happy about that, which delighted Taryn.

Harlow shifted his gaze to Ryan. “How long have you and my niece been mated?”

In Ryan’s mind, they had officially been mates since he first realized what she was to him; he’d known he wouldn’t let her go. But, in reality, as Madisyn once put it . . . “She led me on a merry dance.”

Harlow grinned. “I’m glad to hear it. What happened to your head?”

Makenna inwardly rolled her eyes at Ryan’s “I didn’t want to talk about it” grunt. “It was a Frisbee. He jinxed himself by walking under a ladder.”

Harlow frowned at Ryan. “Why would you do a fool thing like walk under a ladder? It’s bad luck.”

Ryan turned to Makenna. “He’s definitely your relation.”

She laughed.

That night, Ryan sat on the edge of his bed in only a towel, watching his mate putter around in nothing more than a white partially buttoned shirt and hot-pink panties. She was talking about how nice it had been to hear tales of her mother’s childhood, to know about her deceased grandparents. She wasn’t fooling him for a second. Deep inside, she was hurting; mourning the father she couldn’t remember.

He wanted to say something, wanted to somehow make it better. But he was pretty sure that whatever he blurted out would be far from sensitive. He was—

“What did you just say?” He had to have misheard her.

She sent him an enigmatic smile. “What do you think I said?”

“Repeat it.”

“Or . . . ?” she drawled. He snagged her shirt and pulled her to stand between his legs, accidentally tugging it open. “Hey!” she whined.

“Don’t play with me. What did you say?”

“You’re no fun.”

His heart was pounding and his wolf was stock still. “Kenna.”

She slid her hands over his broad shoulders. “I said, we’ll have to move to a bigger room when the baby arrives next year.”

That was what he’d thought she said. “You’re not pregnant.” He’d smell it if she were.

“According to Ally, it’ll happen sometime soon.” Makenna was pretty happy about it. Her mate, however . . . all she was sensing from him was shock. His wolf was smug. “You okay?”

Mouth dry, he swallowed. “Yeah.”

“It’s okay if you’re a little spooked.”

“I’m not spooked.” He splayed a hand on her flat stomach. “I just never thought about having kids.” As such, hearing he’d soon be a father was like a sucker punch. Yet, he wasn’t unhappy or scared. He oddly felt a strange urge to possess his mate so completely that neither knew where he ended or she began.