by Eva Harper
Three guards followed us as we exited the car and walked into a bakery, where I was immediately greeted by the smell of fresh bread.
“Theo!” A woman called affectionately over the counter. Theo smiled back and brought us to the counter while the guards took a seat in one of the corners near the entrance. “Where have you been, boy? I know you’re busy, but I haven’t seen you in weeks! Was it something I fed you?”
“Emily,” he chuckled. “You know everything that comes out of your oven is heavenly. I’ve been traveling, but I’m back now. I promise I’ll come in more.”
The woman smiled; the lines around her full cheeks showed prominently. She was older, maybe in her fifties, her brown hair tied back with a ribbon.
“Margo, this is Emily. Emily, this is my mate, Margo.” Emily smiled at me warmly.
“Oh my gosh, you must be so happy,” she gushed, leaning her elbows on the counter. “I have to call your mother; she must be over the moon.”
“Could you wait to call her?” Theo’s eyes narrowed as Emily placed her hand on her hip.
“You haven’t told your mother, boy?”
“This is only her second day here, Emily. I wanted her to get settled in before I throw her to the shark.”
“Well, okay,” Emily conceded. “But if you haven’t told her by the end of the week, I’m going to have to hit your behind with this rolling pin.”
“Emily, I am a grown man.” His bottom lip pushed out.
“And you’re still afraid of your mother,” she reminded him, setting the rolling pin down.
Theo smiled softly, and we took a plate of raspberry scones and pistachio shortbread to a pastel-colored table. The guards looked at us longingly, but Theo assured me they would get a lunch break after our excursion.
“Theo,” I whispered suddenly, glancing around us. He looked at me in concern. “Whose territory are we on right now? I thought you needed permission to bring a human into a pack’s territory?”
Theo chuckled, leaning back in his seat lazily, and continued consuming his meal. “Little one, this is my brother’s territory. Even so, I can go where I please; I am the Enforcer.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that,” he smirked, wiping a stray crumb from his lip. “I would never do anything to put you in danger.” My head ducked, and I felt a warm blush crawl onto my cheeks from my neck. “How much do you know about Enforcer’s?”
“Not a lot,” I pursed my lips, embarrassed that I didn’t know more. He didn’t seem bothered by my lack of knowledge and proceeded to tell me the inner workings of his job and how his position came to be.
“So all the other Alpha’s voted for you, and now you get to do whatever you want?”
Theo chuckled in amusement. “No, sweetheart. I don’t get to do whatever I want. There are five other Enforcers, one on each continent except for Antarctica. We keep each other in check. There is no one person above everyone else.”
“Well then, what happens if you go rogue and start killing everyone?” I threw the question out, my mind buzzing with hypotheticals.
“Well, the other five would probably come and hold a trial. They would decide what would happen to me.”
“But what if all six of you went crazy at the same time?”
“Is this really what’s going on in your mind all the time?”
“Kind of,” I mumbled, looking away.
“No wonder why you’re so quiet,” he teased.
“That’s mean,” I said softly, not knowing how he would react. He smiled largely and set his food down.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, looking over his shoulder at the guards.
“So, just one brother?”
“Three actually, all younger than me,” he said a little pridefully.
“What are they like?” I rested my cheek against my hand.
“Curious little thing, aren’t you?” He smiled, sliding the plate away from him towards the middle of the table.
“I’m an only child,” I offered, biting my lip. “I never had any brothers or sisters.”
“Well,” Theo began. “Gabriel is twenty-eight, he’s the Alpha of this pack now. I handed the title to him a few months ago when I got this position. He’s a lot like me, we have the same views, but he’s a bit stricter than I was. He takes his job very seriously. And there’s Reese, he’s twenty-five, and the Beta of the pack-although sometimes I don’t know why,” he chuckled.
“Why?”
“Reese sometimes isn’t as serious as we’d like him to be. He’d rather make jokes than do his job most days, but when Gabriel needs him to be, he’s a good Beta. And then there’s Eli; he’s the youngest, he just turned twenty-three. He doesn’t really know what he wants to do yet. He’s not as rugged or competitive as the rest of us. But he’s only twenty-three, he’s got time.”
“If Gabriel is twenty-eight, how old does that make you?” I said hesitantly.
“Old?” Theo scoffed. “I’m only twenty-nine, I’m not ‘old.’”
“You’re older than me,” I nodded.
“And how old is that?”
“Twenty-two,” I said firmly.
“You and Eli will be best friends,” he chuckled.
“And your other brothers?”
“They’ll love you, too,” he assured me seriously. “Just don’t take anything Reese says seriously. And I promise you, Gabriel isn’t nearly as scary as he tries to seem.”
I nodded, thinking his parents must have been patient to raise a house of boys. Theo stood up from his seat and held his hand out for me to grab. I did, hesitantly, and we said goodbye to Emily before leaving the bakery. The guards followed us out quietly and remained a few feet back as we strolled down the street.
“What would you like to do first?” Theo asked, tugging me closer. “We need to get you clothes, food that you like. I’m sure my mother will want to take you shopping for makeup and dresses and things, but we’ll make a good dent for now.”
“Um,” I stuttered, looking around to the various shops.
“How about we go get you some clothes? You’re falling out of mine.”
“I don’t have any money,” I whispered sideways towards him, hoping the guards wouldn’t hear. Theo’s smile grew, and he squeezed my hand.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing your mate is a very important official with money to spare,” he smirked. “Whatever you want is yours, Margo, just say the word.”
We stopped into a few shops, and Theo began grabbing everything from thick leggings and snow boots to socks and pajamas. I stayed at the sides of the shops near the guards, watching him and the ladies who worked in the stops pick items out.
“Margo,” Theo smiled apprehensively. “Will you please come help me pick out things you want? I’ve got some of the basics, but I don’t know what you like to wear, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want me picking out your undergarments.”
I cautiously walked over to him, trailing my fingers over the racks of clothing. I had never picked out my own clothing. Sure, Caddy had bought me a few things for my birthday or a special occasion, but most of my clothes were hand-me-downs, what little clothing I did have.
Theo held up a crème sweater in one hand and a silk top in the other, looking at them like he wasn’t sure what they were for. I glanced at them and back to the rack in front of us. I ran my hands over a denim shirt, a plain gray sweater, a distressed pair of stone-washed jeans. Theo set what was in his hands down and picked up anything that my hands touched. Nothing I ever owned was sparkly, flashy, or audacious, and I greatly preferred things that were subtle and comfortable.
I didn’t notice Theo’s arms were full until I had maneuvered around the entire shop. I stared at his arms, piled up to his shoulders with clothing, and to the guard behind him that had become Theo’s lacky when his arms grew too full.
“Theo,” I hesitated.
“Margo, whatever you want is yours.”
“It’s just so many things.�
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“Yes, and we have three more shops to go to today, and if you don’t have this much clothing after each, I’m going to take you back out tomorrow. So, you might as well fill up now.”
I nodded, scared that I was asking too much of him. Somewhere in my head, a thought reminded me he took me; he was the one forcing me to stay here. In a new haste, I grabbed another pair of shoes, four pairs of socks, a headband, a soft cotton jacket, and a stack of plain, gold bracelets near the cashier.
Theo smiled encouragingly, not realizing I was punishing his wallet for his actions. He paid for everything, and true to his word, we did the same in the next three shops. He stayed close to me, deliberately watching me to learn what kinds of things I liked or disliked. I had to sneak away to look at undergarments, though when he found me again, he blushed, and called a store worker over to help me.
I decided to make my room in a quiet sanctuary, filled with books, art, and embroidery tools. Theo gathered as much as he could, promising that when we got home, I could pick furniture out online to be delivered.
By the time we got home, we had eaten dinner and filled up the entire car with my new belongings. Theo and the other guards carried everything inside and set the bags in my new room.
Theo had paperwork to finish, so he left me upstairs to sort through my new things. There was a box of hangers to hang my clothing in Theo’s closet, where he had cleared out half of the rectangular room for me. I stacked the books and paintings against the stone wall and began sliding my clothes on hangers when I noticed a faction of men walking quickly through the woods towards the house.
Blood Ties
They looked up and saw me in the window, and their smiles grew. They quickened their pace as I raced to the stairs and called Theo’s name loudly.
He rushed to the stairs, climbing them in three motions, and grabbed my shoulders to check if I was injured. I stepped out of his reach and pushed his hands off me.
“Theo,” I panted. “Men were coming toward the house.”
He turned his head quickly, listening to the sounds outside, and then went down the stairs in the same motion as before. The door flew open, and three men, along with a nervous guard, came in. Theo growled loudly, but the three men only laughed.
“Why are you in my home?” he fumed.
“Emily told Mom you had a human girl with you today, buying her all sorts of things,” one said humorously.
“Got yourself a little human plaything, have you?”
“She’s none of your concern,” Theo shot back.
“Theo, we just wanted to make sure you aren’t torturing the girl,” the smallest one said, peeking his head around the tallest. “We saw her in the window. She’s really pretty.”
I took two steps down, peeking over the banister to look at the men. They were tall with the same dark brown hair as Theo; I assumed they were his brothers from the way they spoke.
“She is nothing to worry about for now,” Theo said calmly, straightening his back.
“Come on, we’ve never met a human girl before,” the middle one said. “What’s she like?”
“She is a human, that’s all you need to know for now.”
“She is not just a human,” the middle one rolled his eyes. “You’ve never had an interest in them before, so why is she here? Come on, tell us.”
“Maybe she’ll tell us,” the smallest one pointed towards me, spying from the stairs.
“Human girl,” the biggest one called. “Come down here; we won’t hurt you.”
They chuckled while I shivered and looked to Theo, who only nodded his head sadly. I slowly descended, and my eyes never left their faces.
“My, our big brother has such a sweet pet,” they joked. Theo growled, turning to find me standing close to his back.
“Reese,” Theo warned.
“Oh, we’re just messing around,” he laughed, reaching a hand out. “What’s your name?”
I gulped and whispered back, “Margo.”
“Margo,” he grasped my arm roughly. “I’m Reese, Theo’s favorite brother. Has he been treating you kindly?”
I nodded, grabbing the back of Theo’s shirt hem. He noticed my distress and quickly wrapped his hand around mine, giving it a light squeeze.
“Well, she certainly seems like more than just a girl,” the smallest one noted.
“Don’t worry about her,” Theo scolded, moving to sit me in a plush chair out of view. The men followed, throwing themselves on the couches comfortably.
“I mean, Margo is very pretty. If he doesn’t want her, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind spending the night with me, hey Eli?” Reese joked, kitting the smaller one on the leg.
Theo growled again and moved closer to Reese. He grabbed the boy’s arm and hauled him up to his feet.
“You. Will. Not. Touch. Her,” he heaved out, body shaking, veins expanding.
“Theo,” the biggest one called calmly.
“No one touches her, Gabriel!” Theo screamed as his brother struggled to escape his grasp. Theo began shaking, and I knew from experience this happened when they were fighting the urge to shift.
“Okay, Theo. But you need to calm down,” Gabriel warned.
Theo’s head snapped over. His usually blue eyes were a dark onyx. I shrunk back in my seat as far as I could, blocking my face as I pulled my knees up to my chest.
“Theo, you’re scaring her,” Eli said softly. That was enough to stop him. He released his brother in a clumsy drop and relaxed his shoulders. He started moving towards me slowly, keeping his hands in front of his innocently.
“Hey,” he whispered as his eyes returned to their normal hue. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, Margo. I’m not going to hurt anyone. I’ll never hurt you.” Slowly, he made his way to my side, moving cautiously.
“Brother,” Gabriel beckoned. Theo turned his head but didn’t move from his place in front of me. “Is she?”
Theo nodded his head before turning and kneeling by me. His eyes begged for my forgiveness, but I was still shaken from seeing him in his raw stare.
“Is she what?” Reese whispered to Gabriel.
“His mate,” was all he said.
The room fell silent until I unraveled myself from my contorted position, allowing Theo to sit on the edge of the large chair with me.
“No one can know,” Theo said.
“The pack should know,” Gabriel insisted, leaning forward over his knees and interlaced his fingers.
“They can’t, not yet.”
“How are they supposed to protect her if they don’t know about her?” That made Theo think.
“I don’t want anything to happen to her before I can put security measures in place. I need to hire and screen more guards, I need to go over safety procedures with her, I need to-” Theo rattled off, only to be interrupted by Gabriel.
“Theo, I can’t think of a better security measure than introducing her to the pack. Fifty thousand wolves will be protecting her; there would be no safer place for her.”
Theo closed his eyes, weighing his options. He never once asked me for my preference and made the decision to introduce me at the end of the week. His brothers nodded in agreement, perking up at the talk of a pack meeting. No one noticed my discomfort.
“I don’t want to meet any more wolves,” I murmured, blocking my face with my hair. Theo set a hand on my back, gently brushing the long curls that rested against my spine.
“Did we really make that bad of an impression?” Eli joked softly.
“No,” I said quickly, afraid to offend them.
“Then what is it?” Theo asked.
I fidgeted with my fingers while they stared at me. “It’s just all a bit much. I know shifters like to do things fast, and I get why you want to introduce me, but could we please wait a few more weeks?”
Theo’s eyes softened, and he instantly nodded his head. “Of course, we can. I’m sorry, Margo, I wasn’t even thinking about how stressful this has all been on you. We can
take all the time you need.” My frantic heart stopped beating quite as fast, and I settled back into the chair.
“Mom’s going to kill you,” Reese spoke, breaking the silence. “You didn’t introduce her to your own mate. Emily was the first one to meet her and see you after you’ve been gone for weeks.”
“Mom can wait. No one was supposed to meet her yet. You bunch just came barging through my door.”
“Rightfully so,” Reese joked. “You were hiding something from us. Isn’t that punishable, Gabe? Hiding a human from the Alpha?”
“You know very well Theo can do as he pleases,” Gabriel scolded his younger brother.
“Big, bad, Enforcer man,” Reese grumbled. “Thinks he’s all that.”
“I can still take you down with one arm, kid,” Theo snorted, watching Reese’s face turn to a scowl.
“So, what are you going to do with her?” Eli asked suddenly.
“What do you mean?” Theo asked.
“I mean, are you going to turn her?”
Theo narrowed his eyes at the question. “No,” I answered for him. My eyes got wider as Theo looked at me in confusion. “No, you aren’t turning me.”
“Margo,” Theo whispered.
“You aren’t turning me.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to be a shifter.”
“Margo, it’s not a bad thing,” Gabriel assured me.
I continued shaking my head as my heartbeat sped up again. My hands shook as I tried to brush the hair from my clammy forehead. Theo reached his hand down to steady me, but I shot out of the chair and turned around to face him.
“No,” I panted. “No, I won’t do it.”
“Margo, calm down,” Theo said softly, eyeing me nervously.
“I can’t ‘calm down,’ Theo. Please don’t make me do that. Please.”
“We aren’t bad people,” Reese said with a slight smile on his face.
“Why don’t you want to be a shifter?” Theo questioned. I didn’t reply. “Tell me,” He prodded more when I remained quiet. He stood and moved closer to me, grabbing my chin between his thumb and finger, forcing me to look at him.