Chapter 4

Rose

We unload our luggage and carry everything over to the waiting black SUV. By the time we finish, I wipe my face. "Welcome to humidity," Ava says before she slams the trunk door.

"Is that what it is? I'm already sweating, and we've only been out here for five minutes."

Ava gives me one of her looks. "Yep. It will only get worse the closer we get to summer." Without another word, she opens the door and climbs into the backseat of the car. I climb in a moment later and sit next to Raechel in the middle row. I glance back at Ava to see if she'd rather sit here, but she's staring out the window so I let her be. Max climbs in behind the driver's seat a moment later, and Blaine climbs in the passenger seat. I study his profile for just a moment. I've seen Blaine before but never interreacted with him. He's one of the shifters that I try to keep my distance from because he's so intimidating and such a big guy. Of course, I really keep my distance from all the shifters...and people pretty much in general. As if he feels me staring, Blaine turns his head toward me, and I quickly look out the window. I stare out the window as the city passes me by. I can't believe how green everything is already. It's all still dead back home, trying to recover from a hard winter.

But here, everything is green. The buildings are new and impressive, and there seems to be something to look at, no matter where I look. What I really can't get enough of, though, are the palm trees. "Huh," Raechel says from next to me. She's busy looking out her own window. "It's not what I thought it'd be like."

I turn to her curiously. "What did you think it would be like?"

She shrugs. "Like Chicago."

"What's Chicago like?" I ask, curious now.

"Dirty, graffitied, people on top of each other."

"That sounds terrible," I can't help but say.

"Chicago's not all like that," Ava says from the backseat.

"You didn't live in a very good area, Angel," Max says from the front seat, but other than that, he stays quiet. We drive for a while and leave the big city behind. We're down to just a two-lane road now, and it's a beautiful drive.

"Max, can we stop at some point and grab something to eat? I'm starving." Raechel's stomach growls right after her words, and I watch Max glance back in the mirror at her. I look out the window because it's always hard for me to know how to respond with each of the different couples. I have to admit, I am completely fascinated by their relationships. Each of the males in our pack would die for their mates in a heartbeat. They're so protective of them, but they're also loving and are so careful to make sure their needs are taken care of. I love it so much, but I never know what to do with myself. I don't want to stare like a creep, but I also don't want to look away like I don't approve. Instead, I always just act awkward.

Not surprisingly, Max finds a place to stop just minutes after Raechel said she was hungry. After a quick lunch at a burger place, we're back on the road again. I feel a headache coming on, probably from everything that has happened. I can't believe I'm in Orlando right now. If you would have told me a few months ago that this would happen, I would have never believed it. But after Samantha left, I knew there needed to be a change. Ava and I couldn't just keep hiding away in the healer house. So I asked Raechel to be our accountability person. She took it quite literally and forced us to go places. First, it was to the clinic for shifts; then it was a drive. Eventually, she took us into town. She's made us do everything from getting our drivers licenses to clothes shopping, eating out, and so much more. She even made us go bowling and mini-putting on two separate outings. As hard as it was to go back out in public again, it was so necessary. And I'm so thankful. I could never do what I'm doing now if she hadn't done that. Ava and I would have probably both been still hiding in the healer house, wasting away in fear and isolation.

"How much further?" Ava asks from the backseat.

"About twenty minutes," Max answers.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. "Are we still in Orlando?"

"No, we're outside the city now." Max answers.

"Then why is it called the Orlando pack?" Ava asks, taking the question straight from the tip of my tongue.

Max shrugs. "Guess they're close enough to claim the city." He turns onto a private road after that, and silence fills the car. We drive quite a way before we see anything that gives any indication that we're headed in the right direction. There's a tall black gate and a small building that looks like a security shack. Max pulls up to the closed gate and stops. A guy steps out of the building and walks over to Max's window. "I'm Max, enforcer for the Northwoods Pack. My mate, a pack mate, and two healers are with me."

The man nods. "We've been expecting you. You can go on in."

The gate opens, and Max pulls through. I'm expecting to see houses, but I don't see anything. Even after Max drives for a few minutes, there's still nothing. "I don't understand," I finally say. "Where are all the houses?"

"It's not set up like our pack." It's Blaine, surprisingly, that answers. He's said like a total of two words this trip. "Most packs aren't as large as ours, so most live in a pack house."

"Like Samantha and Wyatt's pack," Raechel says absently as she peers out the window.

"All the pack lives together?" Ava asks from the backseat. Her voice sounds exactly how I'm feeling right now—a little uncertain. Okay, a lot uncertain. I, for one, am terrified.

"We're all going to live together in one house?" I can't help repeating, trying to keep my panic at bay. Why didn't anybody tell me this?

Max meets my eyes in the mirror. "We'll make sure you're okay with everything before we leave."

I hear his words, but I can't focus on them through the panic coursing through me. It was bad enough thinking about being in a new state, with a new pack; but I thought at least Ava would be with me and we'd be living together. But with a bunch of shifters? "Hey, breathe," Raechel says, patting my leg. "Max is serious; we won't leave you there if you're not absolutely okay with it. Besides, I'm sure you'll still have your own place. That's how it is for Samantha."

"Samantha's pack is like that?" I ask in almost a whisper.

"Yeah. They all live in one big building, but it's like apartments," Raechel explains. I don't turn around to see how Ava is handling this new bit of information. I'm afraid she'll be on the plane with Max and Raechel and Blaine as soon as they're ready to head back. I rub my arms, trying to keep myself calm. We drive for a little while longer before Max pulls onto a road that looks more like a long double driveway. Raechel leans forward and grabs the back of Max's chair. "Good grief. How long is this driveway?" I lean forward too, anxious to see what's coming. And then Max drives around the bend, and the building comes into view. It's absolutely silent for at least sixty seconds. "Okay, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that this pack has some money," Raechel says.

"Or they're into serious gambling," Ava mutters from the backseat. I don't say anything, because I can't. Max parks the car, and he and Blaine open the back door. I climb out of the car and stare up at the...whatever it is. It's too large to be a house, but it's too gorgeous to be called a building.

Raechel, Ava, and I continue to stare. "How much do you think this place is worth?" Raechel asks.

"Fifty million," Ava tosses out.

I turn to her. "You're just saying that." She just shrugs, not convincing me that she's not serious. I turn back to the front of the largest mansion I've ever seen. There are not one but three fountains in front of the house. The house is larger than most apartment buildings I've seen, but a thousand times more gorgeous. Everything is white with large, dome-shaped windows. There's a second-floor balcony that runs the length of the building and wraps around the corner.

"Are you going to go in or just stand there staring?" Max asks, stopping next to Raechel with his hands full of luggage.

"I don't know," Raechel says with a grin. "It's pretty gorgeous."

"Come on, Angel," he says, nodding his head towards the door. "I bet the inside will be nicer than the outside."

"I doubt that," she argues good-naturedly as she walks to the car to grab a bag. Ava and I follow her and grab our luggage as well. We follow Max and Blaine up to the massive double doors that open before we get there.

"Welcome to the Orlando Pack," a guy says a little stiffly. My guess is that they don't get a lot of visitors. That guess is confirmed a moment later when I notice several people have stopped to stare at us. I turn away from the searching eyes and focus on the building. We enter a huge open area with a modern chandelier that looks more expensive than a house. Everything is decorated in white with fresh greenery. There's a huge winding staircase off to the right that leads to the second floor where there's another huge chandelier. There's floor to ceiling windows everywhere letting in the sun, and everything is designer—from the couches to the lamps to the floor rugs. I can just tell it's expensive.

"This place is insane," Ava mumbles next to me, and no less than four heads turn our way. I face her and give her a look, hoping she'll remember that everybody here has shifter hearing. She shrugs and looks away, typical Ava.

"I've been instructed to show you to the rooms you'll be staying in while you are here," the male who met us at the door says.

"Thanks," Max rumbles. We're led over to the ornate stairs. When we get to the second floor, I shake my head in amazement. It looks like the inside of a fancy hotel, one I don't make enough money to even step inside. We walk down the hall quite a way and then turn and walk down another long hallway before the shifter stops at a door. He opens it, and steps back.

"This one is for any of you that are not staying."

"I'll take it," Blaine says and disappears a moment later.

"The next two rooms are for those not staying as well," he says, pointing at two doors across the hall from each other.

Max eyes the man. "My mate stays with me."

The man doesn't even bat an eye. "Got it. You can choose which room you want then."

"Come on, Big Guy," Raechel says, putting her hand on Max. "Are the girls staying here too?"

"No," the shifter says. "The healers will be in another part of the building."

Raechel turns her surprised gaze on us and then shrugs. "Okay. Let us just drop off this stuff, and then we'll come with so we know where you're staying."

She and Max disappear, leaving Ava and I with our guide. I shift on my feet for a moment, trying to build up courage. I take a deep breath and turn to the man. "What's your name?" I blurt out and instantly regret it.

"James." He doesn't seem to be bothered by my lack of social skills.

Raechel and Max join us a moment later. "Okay. Let's go see your rooms," she says, rubbing her hands together.

"The healers' rooms are in the beta wing." With those ominous words, James leads us back down the hallway.