Nutter Nero [Brac Pack 12] by Lynn Hagen

want any of the Sentries distracted. Birdie had threatened them if they didn’t take the job seriously.
    Nero just scratched his head. He listened as the humans explained how to use the monitors, how to zoom in, and how to make the cameras move to follow someone.
    Nero took notes so he would remember. He even made small labels to attach to certain controls so the others would know what they were for until they got the hang of things.
    It took a full week to get all the sensors installed. At least now they didn’t have to worry about someone sneaking in, especially another vampire.
    A light on a panel next to the screens would indicate which room it was if a sensor went off. Nero felt better now that the Den had a little more protection besides the wolves.
    Even Ricky praised him for such a great idea.

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    Lynn Hagen
    Nero sat with Gunny when it was his turn to man the monitors.
    Gunny chuckled when Nero covered his eyes when the Sentries began stripping down to shift in the backyard. “Come sit on my lap.”
    “No, no, no. You have to watch the monitors,” Nero protested.
    He could see sitting here with his wolf wasn’t such a good idea.
    Nero wouldn’t be able to tell Gunny no for long. His wolf would start touching him and Nero would lose his mind. It happened every time.
    “I’ll be back.”
    “Spoilsport.” Gunny laughed as Nero left him to do his job.
    Nero grabbed a pair of his gloves. Gunny had boxes of them under the cabinet in their bathroom and another haul of them in his office.
    His wolf knew that was the only way he interacted with everyone else. It seemed only Gunny could touch him without him running to grab his sanitizer.
    Keata’s bedroom door was open, so Nero took one step in as he knocked.
    “Hey, buddy.” Cody smiled at him.
    “Hi, uh, I hear Keata has mangas.” Nero played with his gloved hands.
    It was hard for him to make himself vulnerable like this. He had always made a conscious effort to stay away from people, and now he was trying to interact.
    It was a huge step for him.
    “Sure does.” Cody laughed as Keata jumped up, ran to his dresser, grabbed a handful of books, and then ran over to Nero with excitement in his eyes.
    Keata placed the books in his hands without touching him. Nero liked Keata.
    “These are my mangas.” Keata smiled proudly. Nero wondered why the man was so proud of comic books.
    “He’s learning to speak English in whole sentences, and he gets excited when he gets it right,” Cody explained to him.

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    Nero nodded. He walked to the center of the room, sat down, and crossed his legs, Keata mimicking him. Nero opened the back of the first book, starting to read aloud. Keata’s eyes grew wide as Nero suppressed the urge to run.
    He wasn’t used to speaking this way, and he always tried to stay out of the limelight. But if Keata had difficulty communicating, he would suffer through it.
    “You speak Japanese?” Cody asked in surprise.
    “My–my–my grandmother was from Japan, and she taught me.” The larger men of the house made Nero nervous and made him trip over his words.
    They still reminded him of his daddy. That was something Gunny had been trying to help him work on, and he was always assuring him no one in this house would hurt him. Nero was starting to relax more around them, but he just wasn’t to that point yet. Maybe he never would.
    “Well, I’m sure Keata would appreciate someone to talk to besides Kyoshi.”
    Nero hadn’t thought of that. Keata would probably stay glued to his side now. Nero groaned inwardly. Taking a deep breath, he began to read again, Keata hanging onto his every word.
    “I’ll leave you two alone.” Cody left the room as Nero felt Keata scoot closer. He still didn’t touch him though.
    It was a little difficult to turn the pages with his gloves, but he managed.
    “Hey, nutter, can you and Keata follow Gunny?” Nero looked up to see his wolf standing in the doorway. He didn’t like the look