Chapter 9

While Thomas got back to his work, meeting with his clients and whatnot, I took the opportunity to explore the territory—with Morgan's permission, of course. The property was gorgeous. Unlike where I lived, they were enveloped in nature, building only where it was needed. There was a calm to it.

Since there was no one available to guide me, I simply walked the perimeter. It was something I should have done long before now, but prior to being mated to Thomas, I didn't have full free range over the Asilo territory. Now, I was allowed to do more things, and it felt like a new chapter in my life.

Steelwick had been my home for the past year, but something about Asilo and being with Thomas felt even more permanent. Like I'd found the place I was always meant to be. And it wasn't just that he was there, even though that was a large part of it. It was so much more than that.

I removed my clothes and headed out through the screen door that led to Thomas's deck and took my fur. It felt great to be on my paws. I stretched, looking toward the sun and enjoying its heat. After allowing him time to scent the air, we looked at the view from the porch.

The buildings were all arranged in a semicircle, creating a large open grass area where yoga classes or meditation sessions could be held, along with other outdoor activities. There was also a clinic where the healer Mortimer worked, and an extensive homemade children's playset that Gideon had built.

Every time I visited, it seemed like a new feature had been added to the children's area. Now there was a tower that was shaped like a castle crenellation, complete with windows and a painted royal crest on the side. It was growing as their young did, and it warmed my heart. A pride who took care of and cherished their young was a pride who would prosper.

In a few years, maybe Thomas and I would have cubs who would play up there with the other children. My heart warmed at the thought of it. We hadn't discussed having kids formally, but we both had mentioned wanting them one day. But first, we had to find this alpha and take him down.

My beast roamed the perimeter, following the paths that the scouts regularly patrolled. My cat sniffed the area, committing the sensory information to memory. This was our territory now, in a way. In order to protect it, I needed to be familiar with it, to know every nook and cranny.

I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, at least nothing that felt that way to me. I'd learn the nuances of the wild life here soon enough. But for now, it seemed that all was good.

The Asilo territory wasn't massive. In fact, compared to many prides and packs, it was small. It didn't need to be large, given the small number of permanent members. Many of the omegas who were here for rehabilitation stayed within the designated trails or within their own homes, depending on what made them feel most comfortable. It wasn't set that way to control the omegas or anything like that. They could go where they wanted, but having set areas they knew were patrolled more often gave comfort to many of them.

My cat always enjoyed having space to roam, and a forest such as this one was perfect to run around in. It had boulders and downed trees, water, and open areas. It was the perfect mix of places to have fun and those to be completely lazy in. I hoped I'd get a moment to wander with Thomas soon in our cat forms.

When I got back to the clearing, Thomas was still with a few omegas, sitting in a circle. I couldn't hear what they were doing, nor was it my place to. This was them working on their new start, not having a social hour. I didn't want to disturb him, so I walked toward his home—our home.

The clanging of metal on the other side of Gideon's shop drew my attention.

"Beckett? Is that you?" Gideon called.

He and I had met during my initial meeting with Morgan, back when I was named the official Asilo investigator. Since then I hadn't really interacted with the other Asilo alphas much. Except Silas. And that hadn't gone well.

Gideon was the first alpha to move here. He'd been found near dead by his omega, and they fell in love during his recovery. In a way, he was the reason I was even allowed to stay here. He peeked his head around the corner and motioned for me to follow.

"Go ahead and shift," he said, and he threw me some of the extra sweatpants they kept around the pride lands. It was one of the more clever things this pride did and something I was planning to suggest become more formalized at Steelwick. With the humans having easy access to their location, they might find it useful.

And there I was, thinking of Steelwick as them and Asilo as us. It was jumping too many steps ahead. Or maybe it wasn't. Only time would tell.

I gazed at the sweats. I wasn't quite ready to meet with the other alphas. They had every reason not to trust me, and my guess was that whatever conversation was planned, it circled back to me. Not being ready was neither here nor there, though. At best, it would be rude to ignore him. At worst it would be seen as a sign of aggression.

Giving him a nod, I shifted to my human form and pulled on the pair of gray drawstring sweatpants that Gideon had tossed my way. He shook my hand and gave me a wide smile—a genuine one. This wasn't him being pissed at me. That was something.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you congratulations earlier," he said. "And I thought you might like to meet the rest of us."

My gaze swept across the other alphas, wondering if any of them would object to my being here. "I'd like that."

He led me over to them. My beast wasn't on alert. He just laid back and chilled. That was a great sign, one I needed before I let my nerves get the best of me.

"I'm Dean, resident chef. Give me a few days and we'll put together a celebration dinner."

That was unexpected.

Cooper and Silas nodded at his offer. It all seemed so welcoming, so normal. There had to be a catch. They couldn't just forget what I had done to Silas. Could they?

I opened my mouth to say something and was cut off by Silas.

"Nope. Not another apology." Silas shook his head and held up his hand. "Leave it in the past, man. We all have," he said. His eyes were kind, and there was no scent to him that indicated he was lying or being disingenuous. "Every single one of us is here because something went less than perfectly in our lives."

The others chuckled. From what little I knew of them, I understood why. Asilo was a place where omegas came to heal and work on a new beginning. Of course the alphas did too. Not that any of them arrived here the usual way.

I nodded, overwhelmed by the way he was willing to let go of what I'd done to him. "Thank you."

"Good. That's settled." Dean had a notebook in his hand. Did he think we were going to plan the meal now? I mean, I would gladly help, even if it wasn't necessary to have such a celebration, but there had to be more to today than that.

And sure enough, there was.

"Well, since you're here, you can help us break this tie," Gideon said.

"It's not a tie if there are five of us." Dean rolled his eyes. "Three have never heard of this game you speak of and you are outnumbered. That's that."

Gideon rolled his eyes right back at him and then looked to me. "Have you ever played horseshoes?" He held up two large metal horseshoes that looked like they might belong on a Clydesdale.

"Yes, a long time ago," I said. "It's a human game, isn't it?" If I remembered correctly you had to throw it across the yard with an eye on hitting a railroad spike or something like that.

"It is. I thought it'd be fun to add to these pits since they are already there, and now that I have," he indicated the sandpit at his feet and then down to the other one a little ways away, "these guys are acting like they've never heard of this game."

"Because we haven't," Cooper said.

Gideon put a hand over his heart. "Betrayed by my closest friend. What has the world come to? I'm wounded… distraught even."

"You're dramatic, is what you are," Dean said. "But I am up for learning this new game and kicking your ass at it. Sounds quite fun, now that I think about it."

"You don't even know how to win," Gideon replied.

"You'll teach me—or Beckett will, right, Beckett?" Why was Dean looking at me? I was hardly an expert. At best, I sort of kind of knew what the goal of the game was.

"It's worth a shot, I suppose," I replied. It wasn't as if we were playing a challenge to the death or anything. Probably. No one had explained the terms. "But fair warning, I sort of half remember it. We might need to practice before getting good."

"Naw, I got skill on my side." Dean winked.

Gideon gave us a quick tutorial. I wasn't sure if he got the rules right, but it didn't really matter as long as we all played by the same ones. And based on how our practice throws went, scoring was an issue. We were all horrible at it, even Gideon, the one who was all gung-ho about it.

As we began playing for real, the others asked me a few questions about my and Thomas's future—questions I did not have answers to. They weren't being nosy or anything like that. It was just normal get-to-know-you chitchat, but it highlighted just how new all of this was to me and to my mate.

I wished for us to stay here. I knew that would make my mate the happiest. And his happiness came before mine. Of course, we'd have to see how it all played out. There were a ton of factors, including both of our jobs.

"Thomas went to Steelwick to report that letter he received, right? That's how he met you?" Cooper asked.

I nodded. "Actually, as fate would have it, Thomas and I had a previous connection that we didn't know about. He and my younger brother hailed from the same pride. The alpha that is threatening Thomas killed my brother."

Saying that out loud was always rough, but given my history with this pride, it was best for them to know the entire story.

"Sorry, man," Gideon said, clapping me on the shoulder. "Really sorry to hear that."

"Thank you," I replied. "It's why I became an enforcer and why it's so important to help those who abuse their power to be brought to justice." And why I was the asshole that treated Silas as the bad guy when he was anything but.

"We can respect that." Silas squeezed my shoulder. "And I get it now."

He didn't clarify what he "got," he didn't need to. He saw why I'd been the way I was with him in a new light. I didn't want his pity, but understanding? Yeah, that was nice to have.

"Thank you." For giving me a second chance, when I didn't really deserve it. I vow to prove that I've learned my lesson.