Read Under the Alpha's Protection (Steamy Werewolf Shifter Menage Romance) for Free Online

off of the bottle for me. I spotted a wisp of smoke rising from the lip as I plugged it to my lips.
     
    After everyone was popping their tops, Uncle Jack leant back against the kitchen counter, with my parents seated at the table. He turned to me with a spry, mischievous look in his eye.
     
    “Now sweetheart, this is the part where we old folks do the whole, boring ‘catching up’ routine. Why don’t you settle yourself in? If you’re done early, there’s a fancy new big-screen in the livin’ room. Break that bad boy in for me.”
     
    Taking the invitation, I left my family to their devices while I flitted up the stairs to the guest room. It was a small, quaint little bedroom, with a twin-sized bed against the wall, a writing desk, a chest of drawers, and a small closet. The wallpaper had been ripped down since my last trip here, and the walls were instead painted with an earthy brownish red. It diminished the room’s size somewhat, but added character.
     
    It didn’t take me longer than half an hour to unpack, hang my week’s worth of jeans and button-ups, set my toiletries in the bathroom, and put a few frames up on the desk. Stripped of things to do, I thought back to the new television Uncle Jack had mentioned. Sliding down the wooden handrail against the wall, my flip-flops connected with a smack against the hardwood floor, and I wandered around the wall to the large, cozy den.
     
    Uncle Jack wasn’t kidding. I hadn’t known him to be much of a TV guy, but this was a NICE flatscreen, easily 65 inches. Perched atop a new, simple entertainment console built from cherrywood, I found the remote and settled down into the leather couch. The cool breeze from the overhead vent told me that Mom had figured out the air conditioning situation, and I heard the soft drone of my parents talking and laughing with my uncle as I flicked on the televisions, channel-surfed for a few minutes, and settled on some old Friends reruns.
     
    There would be plenty of time to adapt to the work, but for now, I’d take the surprise luxury while it was available.
     
    *              *              *              *
     
    My parents popped by to give me departing hugs and kisses before leaving me in my uncle’s care. After we saw them off, he chuckled and scratched the back of his head as we wandered back inside.
     
    “Those two. What a hoot.”
     
    “‘Hoot’ is one word.”
     
    He affectionately patted my head, then led me back towards the kitchen. “Alright then, time to discuss what you’ll be doin’ here. Schedule is as follows: up around 5, milkin’ the cows in the barn, cookin’ breakfast, tendin’ to the house, waterin’ the garden, big supper when I mosey on back home, and then that’s that. Laundry on Saturdays.”
     
    “What sort of ‘tendin’’ do you need?” I glanced around the room. Everything that I’d seen so far of this house suggested that it was already kept in extremely fine condition. Besides a little dust here and there, everything was neat, tidy, and had a proper place. Seemed like the upkeep was going to be pretty simple after all.
     
    “Oh, the usual. Washin’ the dishes. Scrubbin’ the floors. Wipin’ the counters. I’ve been keepin’ it up, but I’m a little on the tired side these days, and I just don’t have the time to carry it all on and keep the ranch a-runnin’. Might ask you for a little extra from time to time, but I’ll make it worth your while, trust me.”
     
    “Oh yeah?”
     
    “That’s right. We agreed on a smooth hundred-fifty a week. No rent, no bills, no nothin’. Extra stuff, I’ll tack on a little more. We can talk ‘bout that when it comes up. But worst case scenario, you’re home with fifteen hundred smackers in the bank, nothin’ to it.”
     
    “‘ Smackeroos? ’ Does anybody even say that anymore?” I teased.
     
    “Kid, you live out here all lonely-like and work off the hand, you pick up all sorts