Free His Choice by Carrie Ann Ryan Page A

on the defense most days with battles and the threat of war, the health—emotional, physical, and functional—of their members needed to remain high, even if it wasn’t necessarily Jasper’s job to ensure it. Both he and his wolf knew when a Pack member needed something, such as time off or to focus on a new project, but that didn’t mean Jasper had to hold their hand to make it happen.
    He did it because he wanted to.
    Maddox, his twin brother, was the Omega, so he helped with emotional health of the Pack, much like Hannah, his sister-in-law, the Healer, helped with their physical health.
    Jasper was the jack of all trades, doing what the moon goddess needed, even if he didn’t have a clear daily job these days. Between war meetings with the family, actual battles with the Centrals, and his duties as Beta, he didn’t spend as much time with Willow and Brie as he wanted to, and that hurt above all else. He could deal with the lack of sleep and barely scraping by his responsibilities, but he was missing so much with his family, and in that, he knew something had to change.
    He just had no idea what.
    If only the Beta could have an assistant or something.
    “Daddy, I’m done.”
    Jasper blinked and looked down at his little girl, who smiled up at him. He helped her wash her hands, took care of her training potty, washed his own hands twice more, and then carried Brie out of the bathroom upside down. He could have held her correctly, but he loved the way she squealed. He dodged a stray kick to the chin and kept moving.
    As he moved, he caught a newer scent coming from his baby girl, one that had more to do with the magic within her ready to burst free than anything she might have rolled in. Knowing Brie, she could have rolled in just about anything.
    His wolf nudged up against him, and he smiled. Yes, his little girl would be doing her shift soon. His own wolf could tell. All werewolves were born human, and usually, between the ages of two and three, they made their first shift into wolf pups. At that age, they had a little more control over their bodies to make the change, though all pups were a little rambunctious.
    “Down, Daddy, down!” Brie giggled, the high-pitched sound not as grating now that he was awake, but damn, he needed coffee.
    He set her down on her feet, and she scrambled to her chair in the dining room. Jasper followed his nose to the scent of fresh coffee then leaned against the archway so he could watch Willow in her element. No, he wasn’t being a chauvinistic ass. His Willow loved cooking and was freaking amazing at it. He still remembered the taste of the first omelet she’d made for him in this house and how he’d wanted to kneel at her feet and ask her to stay forever.
    Okay, he might have done that anyway because his love and need for her wasn’t only for her omelets.
    He licked his lips at the scent of the cinnamon from the rolls in the air blending with the sugar and cinnamon from his mate’s skin. He and his wolf loved the fact that his mate carried the scent of her famous cinnamon rolls on her skin.
    Yep, she was totally perfect for him.
    He came up from behind her and pulled her close. She laid her head back and sighed. “I’m almost done, then the rolls will have to bake for twenty minutes. I know Brie is hungry now, but I was in the mood for something extra sweet.”
    He nibbled at her neck and hummed against her. “Me too, love.”
    Willow laughed and wiggled away, the motion only making his cock stand more at attention. “Shoo. Go get Brie her yogurt so she at least has something nutritious. She can have half a roll when they’re done.”
    He did as he was told and sat next to his daughter as she ate, laughing and telling him a story about her cousin Finn and how he’d turned into his wolf then tried to climb on a picnic table but had forgotten he had four paws instead of two feet.
    He leaned back, sipping on his coffee, trying to ignore the long list of items he needed to