Christ, it was one distraction after the other with Hudson. Ever since she’d shown up, he’d lost sight of what mattered most to him – finding Dominik. And fine, Hudson had unwittingly brought him a step closer to that goal by telling Xander about the Enforcer comm program, but Connor knew he’d be riding Xan a lot harder about hacking it if he weren’t so infatuated with her.
It was time to stop thinking with his dick, damn it. Dominik needed to be his only concern. Vengeance needed to be his only concern. He’d tried his damnedest to be who his wife needed him to be, and though he might have failed her in life, he sure as hell wasn’t going to fail her in death.
He couldn’t let Hudson keep distracting him, and he couldn’t keep indulging her every whim. Allowing her to scrub and organize cabins that were better left empty. To clear out the barn so it could serve as a gathering place one day. And now she was bringing home wolves?
Enough was enough.
“The wolf goes,” he said flatly.
Hudson’s jaw tightened. “If she goes, I go.”
“Fine. Then go,” he shot back. “I don’t have time for this bullshit. I’m not about to have a wolf running around camp and have to sleep with one eye open in case it tries to rip my throat out.”
Hudson’s laughter annoyed the hell out of him. She held up the tiny creature and said, “You think she’ll rip your throat out? She still has her baby teeth! She can’t even bite through the skin of a tomato!”
“She won’t stay a baby forever. How do you think she’ll behave when she’s a full-grown wolf?”
“She’ll behave perfectly, because I plan on training her.” She gave him a smug look, then added, “I’m not giving her up, Con. So you can either throw us out, or suck it up.”
His chest rumbled with aggravation. “For chrissake!”
A chuckle from behind him drew his attention to the porch, where Xander and Kade were watching the exchange in amusement. So was Pike, who was leaning against one of the wooden posts, his dark eyes revealing nothing, as usual.
Connor stifled another curse when Hudson dismissed him by turning to Rylan. “How do we get her some milk?”
“Um…” Rylan’s expression conveyed visible unease, as if he knew how close Connor was to pulling out his gun and shooting his own brains out.
Jesus Christ. He couldn’t believe they were even having this conversation. Wolves didn’t belong at camp. End of fucking story.
Was he the only levelheaded person here?
“Don’t answer that question,” he snapped at Rylan. “The wolf isn’t staying.”
Hudson’s eyes blazed. “So then you’re ordering me to leave?”
He scowled at her, and it was on the tip of his tongue to follow through with the threat. To tell her to get out and take her new pet with her. But much to his annoyance, the words refused to leave his mouth, which led to a heated glare session between him and Hudson.
“I’ll get the milk.” The gruff announcement came from Pike.
Hudson looked over in shock. “You will?” Her tone grew suspicious. “How?”
Pike strode toward them, his heavy boots kicking up dirt with each step. “We get dairy products from a farm about sixty miles north of here. I usually pay them a visit once a month.” His dark gaze flicked to Connor. “I know I’m not scheduled to go until next week, but I can take one of the bikes and leave now.”
Connor was dumbfounded. “Are you insane?” He glanced at the others, none of whom had backed him up. “Have you all gone insane?”
Rylan shifted awkwardly.
Pike and Kade didn’t answer.
It was Xander who finally spoke up. “Ah, come on, Con. Look at that little face. She’s adorable.”
He couldn’t bring himself to look at the wolf. Couldn’t look at Hudson, either. Anger burned in his blood. Anger and frustration and an odd jolt of helplessness that made him want to throw something. Jesus. He was losing control of them.
“Screw this.” He clenched his teeth and took a step away. “You know what? Do whatever the hell you want. Obviously you’ve all lost your fucking minds.”
Then he turned on his heel and stalked off.
Not even Connor’s temper tantrum could dampen Hudson’s spirits. After he’d stormed off, she brought the newest addition to their camp back to her cabin and proceeded to spend the next few hours petting and cooing and snuggling the baby wolf.
It was official – she was in love.
And she wasn’t the only one. Xander, Kade, and Rylan had all stopped by at various points of the day to see the wolf pup, and it hadn’t taken long before they were all equally enchanted.
Maybe it made her the biggest sap on the planet, but her heart squeezed whenever she looked at the wolf. The little furball had let down her guard and was clumsily exploring the cabin, poking her nose into everything and rolling around on the floor, while Hudson watched from the bed like a proud mother.
Connor might not possess an ounce of compassion, but she had too much of it, apparently.