Otter Chaos

***Read after I Kid You Not.***

I was going to save this for later in the week, but I’m so excited about everyone’s reaction to I Kid You Not that I couldn’t resist! Here’s a bonus short exclusively for the Moonlighters. I hope you enjoy an extra peek at Gabriel and Chase.

Gabriel threw his phone onto the counter and growled. Politics and alphas did not mix. Especially when said alpha was him. Marilyn had roped him into meeting with a group of alphas regarding the orphaned shifter children of the Smith pack.

When word of the attack came in the middle of said meeting, Marilyn and Gabriel happened to be closest to Nick and his hellhound mate and were the only two alphas who made it through the portal with them.

Fine. Gabriel fought. It was great. He’d let off a lot of steam and then thanked his lucky stars he wasn’t Nick Smith. Dealing with the level of bullshit the alpha faced would drive Gabriel to drink.

And then, instead of helping him deal with the fallout, Marilyn had gone and connected with one of the kids herself. They were currently “bonding”.

Bullshit. Marilyn didn’t want to deal with the phone calls and had left Gabriel to clean up the mess.

When his phone rang again, Gabriel snarled and walked out of the cottage Nick had loaned him for the night, leaving the ringing menace behind. It was Marilyn’s turn, and bonding or not, Gabriel was done.

He marched his way over to the dining hall. His mission was clear. One, find Marilyn and tell her he was done. Two, find some food because he hadn’t eaten all damned day.

After pushing open the door and being berated by a wall of noise that came with a pack of shifter kids all eating at the same time– thank the Goddess he wasn’t the alpha of this pack. The noise level alone would kill him– Gabriel stared around the room searching for his target.

He saw her across the room with the little girl who’d claimed her sitting happily on Marilyn’s lap. He narrowed his gaze. He took a step forward. Then froze.

Something had crawled up his pants leg.

Gabriel didn’t actually know he could sing soprano until he screamed at a pitch that likely shattered the eardrums of several of the shifters in the room. Everyone froze for a second, then came running as Gabriel desperately began to pull at his pants.

By the time he got his belt undone and stood with his fly hanging open ready to annihilate whatever attacked his nether region, Nick reached his side and grabbed his arm.

About that time, a tiny, furred head popped up. Gabriel shivered as the creature skittered up his chest and then wrapped itself around his neck like a freaking scarf.

“Chase,” Nick asked quietly about the time Gabriel’s pants lost the battle with gravity and fell to his knees, “what are you doing?”

The furry little thing rubbed its face against Gabriel’s then nuzzled his neck. “What. Is. That.”

“That,” Nick snapped, “is Chase.”

When the alpha said his name the second time, Gabriel went from having a furry creature around his neck to a small child in his arms. He grinned up at Gabriel.

His eyes twinkled with happiness and his tiny little body wiggled with joy. “Mine,” Chase said.

“Uh…”

Gabriel wasn’t a man who normally found himself at a loss for words. He was the alpha of a pack, owned his own business, and made decisions daily.

“Congratulations,” Nick said.

“Uh…” No, but really. What exactly…

“Mine,” Chase said. “My wolf.”

“I…uh…I…what?”

Gabriel then made the biggest mistake of his life. He actually looked into the little guy’s eyes. His heart actually grew three sizes like he was the fucking grinch or something.

“My…what exactly are you?” Gabriel asked.

“Otter,” Chase said proudly.

Gabriel sighed. His life would never be the same.

“My…otter,” Gabriel said.

Nick clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. “Welcome to the family.”