Brandon shrugged. “My brother’s the Alpha. He knows some things before the rest of us do.”
“I thought I was the foreseer,” she said dryly, even as her heart rate sped up.
Brandon dropped a kiss on her lips. “Let’s go, if you’re ready.”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Brandon squeezed her hand before heading to the front door. Parker slid behind her, one hand on the small of her back. It seemed the two were going to walk in this formation as if to protect her no matter what. And considering she wasn’t sure how to fight and didn’t know what would happen, she’d let them do this. For now.
When they made their way to the front gates, Gideon stood there with his large arms crossed over his chest. When she’d been human—still weird to think like that—she hadn’t been able to meet his gaze; now, she truly couldn’t meet this gaze. This man was Alpha. Her Alpha.
And how strange was that?
“Doing okay, Avery?” Gideon asked, his voice deep. He looked between the three of them and raised a brow. No doubt he had an inkling of what had happened the night before. Considering they were all wolves and had enhanced senses, she had a feeling there would be no hiding certain things from anyone anymore.
“I am.”
“Good. If you need anything and Parker and Brandon can’t help you for some reason, you find me or one of the Brentwoods. We’ll help you. I’m sorry you came into the Pack this way, but we’re still grateful you’re one of us.”
She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a woman’s yell.
“Parker!”
A woman with long, flowing hair and a silk and lace dress ran toward Parker, leaping into his arms before anyone had a chance to wonder what the hell was going on. Parker let out an umph and seemed to automatically hold out his arms to catch the woman. He looked over at Gideon, and his eyes narrowed before he set the pretty young thing down.
Avery paused that line of thinking, annoyed with herself for feeling even the slightest amount of jealousy. She had no real claim on Parker, nor did she know who might lay within his past. Just because they’d had one night together and were potential mates didn’t mean she had the right to be petty about a pretty woman with long legs.
Maybe she was his sister, Isabelle.
Then the woman kissed Parker right on the lips, and Brandon had to put a hand on Avery’s shoulder so she didn’t move forward.
Holy hell. What was wrong with her? She’d never acted like this before. She prided herself on the fact that she could usually hold in her emotions and control them to a certain extent. She’d been forced to do that at a young age because if she felt too much, she could bring on a vision when she wasn’t ready. Maybe this was what the men had meant about her wolf pushing at her emotions. There was this new…being inside her, and she had to learn to live with it, or she’d go insane.
Avery let out a breath, trying to control the wolf inside her. It wasn’t easy since all she wanted to do was use her new claws to slash that too sweet smile off the young maiden’s face. Yeah, okay, that was bitchy, and she needed to get a grip. There was seriously something wrong with her if her jealousy was this high after just one night with the man.
“Tatiana,” Parker said in a soft voice. “What are you doing here?”
“She looks like a Tatiana,” Brie mumbled from Avery’s side, and Avery bit her lip to stop from laughing. She hadn’t even noticed that the other woman had waddled up beside them and, apparently, Brie was of a similar mindset as Avery.
“Hush,” Avery whispered back. “We shouldn’t be catty.”
“And you should probably speak lower since we’re wolves,” Brandon added in an almost inaudible whisper.
Tatiana beamed at him. “I was just so worried after you fell ill in our Pack, that I asked my Alpha if I could come visit to ensure you didn’t need anything. I helped you recover, after all. Your Healer might want to ask me questions. I went to the Redwood den first, but the sentries wouldn’t permit me entrance. Instead, they told me you were here.”
Brandon put a hand on Avery’s shoulder again, and she let out a breath. If she didn’t get a handle on the raging emotions inside her, she wouldn’t be able to breathe. It hurt that this woman from Parker’s past seemed to know more about Parker than she did. Yes, she’d met him only a short time ago, but they’d already done so much together that she couldn’t quite keep her thoughts and feelings in order.
Gideon cleared his throat. “Why don’t the two of you talk since you indeed know her? Her Alpha called right as she arrived, so she’s here with his permission.”
“Of course, I am,” Tatiana said, her accent soft, her head lowered. “I wouldn’t dream of disobeying my Alpha.”
Avery pressed her lips together and didn’t dare look at Brie since she could feel the other woman’s body shaking with leashed laughter.
“I’m going to take Avery to get something to eat and show her around the den,” Brie said finally, cutting into the awkward silence.
Gideon glowered. “You shouldn’t be on your feet at all.”
Brie rolled her eyes, not looking like a submissive wolf in the least. “Okay, your highness, I’ll be good and just walk Avery to our place so I can feed her. She’s my new wolf, too, your Alphaness. I need to ensure that she’s well taken care of.”
Avery leaned into Brandon as Gideon stormed over, a mixture of worry, exasperation, and intense love in his eyes. She would have felt sorry for Brie for dealing with the giant of a man, but the smaller woman just smiled sweetly before going on her tiptoes to kiss his chin.
“I’ll be fine, Gideon. Go talk to Brandon like you wanted to and leave Avery to me.”
Avery’s heart clutched just a fraction at the sight of the big bad Alpha doting on his mate, but she didn’t dare say anything. The man was seriously scary to everyone else, and there was no way she would get in the middle of that. However, going off with Brie sounded like a fine idea since she really didn’t think she could hold her wolf back for much longer when it came to Tatiana.
“Food sounds wonderful to me,” Avery said honestly. She’d eaten already that morning, but she was still a little hungry. The men had told her that her metabolism would change, and that she’d need more food than she was used to, but the hunger mixed with jealousy and uncertainty wasn’t something she liked nor was it something she wanted to think about.
Parker gave her a strange look, and Brandon slid his hand down over her side, squeezing her hip. As always, she couldn’t read either of them. Parker might be the one who spoke more, but she didn’t know what he was trying to tell her then. As for Brandon, he was as closed-off emotionally as ever. Considering he was the Omega of the Pack, she wasn’t sure what to think about that.
“Good,” Brie said quickly, taking Avery’s hand. “Have fun, boys.” And with that, Brie pulled Avery behind her, leaving the others where they stood. For such a pregnant wolf, who apparently needed to be kept off her feet, the woman sure was strong.
When they were out of hearing range, Avery finally let out a small laugh. “You know, I don’t know if that was subtle enough.”
Brie waved her off, a small smile on her face. “Oh, whatever. You, Brandon, and Parker might not be mated yet, but there’s an air about the three of you. That other wolf isn’t going to get in the middle of that. Parker just needs to not be so nice and tell the girl what’s what. But since he is nice, he’ll want privacy to do it, so he doesn’t embarrass her.”
Avery shook her head as Brie led her into the Alpha’s home. “How can you be so sure?”
Brie smiled widely, her eyes bright. “Because I know Parker. He’s been part of my life since I was a baby and has always been there. I was born into the Redwoods, but he didn’t come along until he was eight or so. He and my cousin Charlotte were the older two cousins running the herd. Finn and I came next, then Micah and the rest of them.”
Avery shook her head, taking a seat at the kitchen bar so Brie would d
o the same. The woman looked ready to pop, and she might say she was doing just fine, but Avery didn’t want to endure the Alpha’s wrath should any harm come to the woman in Avery’s care.
“There sure are a lot of you Redwoods.”
Brie snorted. “Yep, and we keep mating with Talons. That means Gideon and Kade, the Redwood Alpha, are constantly having to deal with one another. It gets a bit growly, but one day, I have a feeling we’ll be one large Pack with two Alphas. There’s just so much crossover it’s hard to keep the lines straight.”
“I’m having a hard time keeping the names straight, let alone the bonds.”
Brie reached out and gripped Avery’s hand, the strength within the woman calming her. Avery didn’t understand it, but her wolf was at peace next to Brie.
“What…”
“I’m a submissive wolf, Avery. My wolf soothes those dominants around me. And though your wolf is still finding her place, I have a feeling you’ll eventually find yourself higher in the dominance scale than you might have thought. Both Parker and Brandon are dominant, as well, so the three of you will be a force.”
Avery pulled away, slightly shaken and not wanting to talk about her wolf. Not yet. “We aren’t mated. There wasn’t even a true pull or whatever you guys call it. Brandon said the bonds are different.”
Brie frowned but nodded. “He spoke to us about it on the phone earlier. I don’t know what that means for our people, but we’ll overcome. We’ve conquered so much.” She let out a breath. “I was born in a time of war, grew up in a time of peace.” She rested her hands over the swell of her belly. “Now, my child will be born in a time of war. But no matter what happens, life continues. Don’t you see? We will survive, even if our ways have to evolve with the world in order to do so. The three of you haven’t bonded yet, and there is no mark between you, but you sense the place where a bond could go.”
Avery swallowed hard. “How do you know that?”
Brie shook her head. “I’m your Alpha female. I might not be the most dominant wolf in the Pack, far from it, but I’m still the Alpha’s mate. I can sense when my wolves are at the precipice, looking down at what could be their future or their failure. You’re not mated to the two of them yet, but you’ve only just begun to know them. Take the time to truly understand what mating could mean, or at least get a sense of it. And when you’re ready, when you’ve bonded, we will figure out the lines and Pack loyalties. We’ve done it in the past, and we will do it again. But for now, take the time you have.”
The only problem, Avery worried, was that she wasn’t sure how much time her men had left.
Chapter Ten
Brandon watched Avery walk away with Brie, a frown on his face. He didn’t like the way she’d fled the situation, but he couldn’t blame her. He didn’t like how his wolf reacted to this Tatiana either. However, he’d had over a century to learn to control his wolf, while Avery hadn’t even had a full week. This…jealousy of his was a new and unwanted emotion that he wanted no part of, though. He’d felt it before, of course, but due to other people’s emotions rather than his own.
He’d never wanted someone enough in his long years to truly feel anything other than a mild annoyance when others touched what he thought of as his. Of course, this was the first time he’d found his, so he wasn’t sure what to do about anything anymore.
Parker glared at Avery’s retreating back before looking toward Brandon. He tilted his head in question, but Brandon didn’t say anything. Anyone with the nose of a wolf would be able to scent both Brandon and Avery all over Parker’s skin. They might not be mated, but their night together was fresh enough that the scent layer was still there. One day soon, he hoped, the imprint would never leave—would be so deeply embedded within each of their skins that no one would doubt who belonged to whom. But for now, Brandon would have to trust Parker with this new development.
But, as always for a Brentwood, trust didn’t come easily.
“Parker, you can take your friend over to the clearing near the sentry gate. Brandon and I will be with the others when you’re through.”
Gideon gave both Brandon and Parker pointed looks before walking away, leaving Brandon standing there with his hands in his pockets, feeling slightly off. Once again, he was the brother put in the awkward position and not knowing what to do, so he nodded at Parker before turning away to follow his brother and Alpha.
“Brandon,” Parker called out.
Brandon froze before looking over his shoulder at the man he craved. “Yeah?”
“I won’t be long,” Parker said smoothly. Brandon didn’t miss the way Tatiana’s shoulders stiffened at those words. Nor did he miss the heat in Parker’s gaze.
He nodded before silently following Gideon, his mind on so many things and yet not focusing on one thing long enough for it to really matter.
They were near the tree line when Gideon finally spoke. “She says she’s just a friend. One who helped heal Parker when he was ill.”
There was a question there, though Gideon hadn’t voiced it. “I know he was ill,” Brandon said after a moment. “But I think it’s his story to tell.” Though he hadn’t known about this Tatiana and what she might have meant to Parker. The Voice of the Wolves had come home for many reasons, one of them being that he was in dire need of a mate. If Tatiana had been another potential, he wouldn’t have come back.
And as long as Brandon kept thinking that, he would be fine.
“He came to stay with us because he said it would be safer for his family if he were here. He also said he wouldn’t be a danger to the Talons, and I still believe him.” A pause. “Whatever happened in the European Pack must have been enough that he felt the need to run from the family that has always been there for him.”
Brandon blew out a breath before stopping to lean against the trunk of a large tree. Gideon leaned against the one across from him, folding his arms over his large chest.
“I don’t know what we’re doing,” Brandon said softly.
“Of course, you don’t,” Gideon said with a dry laugh. “You’re in the middle of the mating urge, and you didn’t even have your wolf around to tell you that you should be going that way to begin with. You’re not only going through a crazy time in your life during one of the craziest of times in our history, but you’re forging a new trail as you do it. It’s not going to be easy, but you’re a fucking Brentwood. You’re going to figure it out.”
Brandon stared at his brother, his Alpha. Everything the man said sounded so easy coming from Gideon’s lips, and yet Brandon knew it was anything but.
“How am I supposed to trust the journey, trust the moon goddess, when I feel as though the connection we should have is gone?”
Gideon shook his head. “It’s changed, maybe not completely gone. My mating bond with Brie hasn’t altered, and I have a feeling the other mating bonds haven’t changed either, or we’d have heard about it. But what has changed is how we find our mates. Maybe there are no such things as true potentials anymore, and we make our own fate? Or maybe we’ll have harder times in the future, but we’ll persevere.” Gideon’s gaze was bleak. “If we don’t, then I’m not sure what else we can do.”
“We fight,” Max said as he made his way to the clearing where Gideon and Brandon stood.
Max grinned after he said it and moved out of the way so the other males in their family who stood behind him could join the group. Of all the brothers and cousins in Brandon’s family, Max was the one that smiled the most. He wasn’t the youngest of them, but he had that carefree air. He was Mitchell’s brother, Brandon’s cousin. And because there was that distinction, Brandon had a feeling Mitchell had shielded his younger brother from the worst of their childhood. Though Max had been through his own hell, he’d come out of it with a brighter attitude than the others, as if that had been his coping mechanism instead of the brooding distance so many of them favored.
“We’ve been fighting,” Mitchell grumbled. He was their Beta, and as such, knew
the ins and outs of the daily needs of the Pack.
While the Heir and Alpha positions always went to the firstborn son of the eldest of the family, the other positions could go to any of the Pack members. Statistically, the Enforcer, Omega, Healer, and Beta went to other family members, but not always. And while for most Packs, men held those positions, there were more women in each upcoming generation. In fact, the newest generation of Redwood hierarchy had more females than ever before. And for some reason, Brandon had a feeling the Talons would be following in their footsteps soon with Gideon and Brie’s child. The couple had chosen to keep the gender secret from everyone but Walker, their Healer, and the man wasn’t saying a damn thing—no matter how high the pool got. Most assumed it would be a boy, as the Alpha always had a boy first so that child would one day wear the mantle of Heir once he was ready—or in some cases when the Alpha died unexpectedly. Yet times were changing rapidly, so Brandon wasn’t sure of anything anymore. One day, Gideon and Brie’s child would be Heir, taking the burden from Ryder’s shoulders, and eventually, maybe even in a century or two if the goddess were willing, that child would be Alpha.
“We’ll continue to fight,” Kameron said with a growl. Brandon’s fellow triplet and the Pack Enforcer growled with each word he bit out these days. Brandon didn’t know what was going on with his brother, but knew he’d have to find out soon. All the Brentwoods had long ago learned to shield their heavier emotions from Brandon, and he’d given them privacy for as long as he could stomach it. Soon, though, he’d have to find a way to help them—before it was too late.
He was the Omega. It was his calling to help those in need—even if they didn’t want it.
Walker sighed as he sank down to the ground at Brandon’s feet, weariness in his features. While most of the Pack had healed from the last battle with Montag, not everyone was out of the woods yet. There was only so much their brother could do as Healer, and some things just took time.
Ryder sat next to Walker, a frown on his face. “I have a feeling the fighting won’t last much longer, not with how close we are to the breaking point.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just had a lovely meeting with the Coven, and they’re ready to mount an assault if any more of their witches are taken into custody for questioning.”
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