The Merry Moose’s Mates (Male-Order Mates #16)

Chapter Seven

Briar

Things were working out much better than they could’ve. Nothing about the situation was ideal. My brother pretending to be me and convincing two strangers to uproot their entire lives to come live here was deceptive and pretty freaking shitty, especially with sweet Alice in the mix. But none of that changed the fact that messing with people’s lives—especially when your own was a mess—wasn’t the best idea.

It took some time, but finally everyone was settled in, giving me a chance to get away to talk to my brother. I made an excuse to go out to the woodshed, saying I needed to check our supply. The front porch was loaded and between that and the shed I had more than enough for the entire season, but it was the best reason I could think of. When both Austin and Shay offered to help, I assured them that if I did need help, I’d come and get them.

What I really needed was to talk to my frickin’ brother and figure out what the heck he thought he was doing. He bugged me about being alone all the time, but at least his nagging only impacted me. This completely messed with other people’s lives.

Had it just been Shay at the house, I would’ve made an excuse about wanting to go shift in the snow instead of phantom wood needs, although he might have wanted to go with me. But there was a human here and a human child, so I couldn’t even take a chance on that. How had Martin not considered the implications? Such an irresponsible prick.

I walked all the way out to the woodshed and worked my way through the snow and behind the rickety building, not wanting them to see that I was on the phone and feel any less welcome than they already did. They were gonna be stuck here for, well, I didn’t know how long, and honestly, it wasn’t fair to them to worry that I didn't want them here. Especially Alice—she had no say in any of this.

I fumbled with my phone as I fished it from my pocket, nearly dropping it from my cold fingers. That would’ve been a disaster and a half. Thankfully, I caught it and pulled up my brother’s name to video call him. It wasn’t the first time I was grateful I lived in a sweet spot for cell service.

“You’re welcome.” He was wearing a hoodie and a smirk. The hoodie was cute—the smirk? Not so much. I wanted to reach through the phone with an eraser and wipe that smug smile from his face.

“You’re welcome? Really? That’s how you want to explain this away?”

He sort of made a half-ass attempt at a shrug.

“I did not give you permission to sign me up for that app. You told me about it. I said I wasn’t interested. That should’ve been the end of it.”

“That’s not what you said.”

I growled. I wasn’t even a wolf, but you’d have been hard pressed to know that the way I let the feral sound out.

“What you said is you weren’t going to do it, and that if I wanted to, it was up to me.”

And he understood exactly what I was saying.

“Meaning for yourself, and you knew it.” I was officially seething. I wasn’t sure what I expected him to say when I called, but it wasn't that.

“Potato, potahto. Doesn’t matter because I signed you up, and I got you not one but two alphas, both of whom seem to be very into you.”

“You mean they were into you because you were pretending to be me.” How did he not see this was a problem?

“Well, yeah. But you were being a dick and were going to end up alone.”

I counted to ten in my head before beginning again.

“I can’t believe you had someone move all the way out here with his daughter. His little daughter. He packed up their entire life to move out here because he thought he knew me, and I didn’t even know about the stupid app.”

“When you say it like that, I sound like an ass.”

“In what way would it sound different?” At least, he seemed to feel empathy. That was a win.

“And here you go, Brother—I found you some mates so you’re not alone because I love you and don’t want you to live your life in that cabin all by yourself.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Something like that?”

I wasn’t going to acknowledge that nonsense.

“And what have I told you time and time again about living in this cabin?”

“That you love it, you love your life, and you just want to be left alone.”

So, he was listening.

“And what part of that don’t you believe?”

“The part about being left alone.” He let out a long sigh. “And you’re right, I shouldn’t have messed with people’s lives. But I want what’s best for you.”

“How about in the future you let me decide that?”

“Fair. Are your mates at least hot in real life?”

“For the record, my mates are both gorgeous and sweet, and the little girl is a ball of sunshine.” I don’t know why I felt the need to make him feel better, but I did.

“At least I didn’t get you smelly jerks.”

“Speaking of living, do you have everything in place for the snow? It’s already getting deep, and the wind hasn’t even started kicking in yet.” There was still time for me to get to his place if he needed supplies. He wasn’t known for being the most prepared of us.

“Yeah, fine. And I really am sorry.” If his voice had held the least bit of regret, I might have bought it. Or if his eyes weren’t dancing.

“No, you’re not.”

“Fine. I’m not. But I love you.”

“Well, that part’s probably true. And I love you too.” Even if he drove me bonkers. “Listen, Martin, we’ll talk later. I gotta go in. I made an excuse to come out here to call you, but I’m getting cold.”

I hung up, pocketed my phone, but, when I walked around, I saw that Shay was on the porch, blushing a little bit. At least I thought it was blushing. It was hard to tell in the snow and darkness. But the color of his cheeks didn’t matter as much as the use of his ears.

With my luck, he’d heard the whole stinkin’ thing.