12. Radley

Ihave no idea what just happened.

One second, I'm swimming around in the lake, and the next, Margie is yelling at me to get out. I don't second-guess it. I jump out and follow her to her cabin. Another woman, who I'm assuming is Beth, hands me a towel. I wrap it around my body and look at the two women.

"What's going on?" I ask.

They exchange a look, and Margie grabs my hand, leading me to the kitchen. She gently pushes me into a seat, and the two ladies sit across from me. "Have the boys explained what rogue wolves are?"

"Sort of."

"Rogues are horrible. They're mean, ruthless, and have no moral code like regular wolves. Nash and Bryce went out for a run and ran into some."

"Are they okay?" I search the bond but should have known I couldn't feel anything.

"Yes. Luther, Cruz, and Teddy went with them."

Oh my God. "Is that why Teddy came for Mason?"

Margie bites her lip to fight off a smile. "Yes."

"Oh." I'm so embarrassed that he caught us like that. Mason was literally about to sink inside me when Teddy spoke.

"We'll just know to announce ourselves from now on," the other woman says. "I'm Beth, by the way." She's just as gorgeous as Margie, with white-blond hair and big blue eyes.

"It's okay. Is there anything we can do?"

They exchange another look, and then Margie shakes her head. "Omegas don't go into a fight unless we're needed."

"Bryce shouldn't have even gone," Beth says.

"You guys are both omegas?"

"We are." Margie reaches over and grabs my hand. "I want to thank you for being so accepting, not just with the boys but for all of us."

I shrug. "My grandma had a lot to do with that. My mom isn't very understanding, but Grandma understood when I told her what was going on."

"Your grandma fought like hell for us when they kicked us out of town. Don't let her try to downplay it."

"She did?" I ask in surprise. She didn't tell me that when she told me the story about Luther.

"She did," Beth smiles. "She pretty much called the entire town council bigots."

"What exactly happened? Grandma only told me about rumors."

"Luther was out for a run with Teddy out on these lands. We didn't have the cabins or the camp set up; it was just empty land when a hiker wandered onto it. He saw Luther and Teddy shift back to humans. Instead of telling people what he really saw, he told them Luther was trying to attack him. There's always been history in this town with wolf shifters, so the town council believed him. They called a town meeting and banished us out here. The rest of the packs followed for fear they would be discovered too."

"That's awful." I couldn't imagine not being able to go where I pleased, but I have to admit, I love it out here. It's so quiet and peaceful. "I'm sorry that happened."

"It wasn't so bad," Margie smiles. "We became self-sufficient pretty fast. I just hate that the boys could never enjoy the town fairs or carnivals growing up."

Before I can answer, we hear a commotion at the front of the house. I'm out of my seat before I even registered that I moved, searching for my guys. I spot Nash first, and he's supporting Bryce. I rush over, my hands fluttering around him. "What happened?" Someone covered his naked waist with a towel, and there's blood on his thigh. "You're bleeding."

"I'll be okay," Bryce says, his normal smile in place. "We heal fast."

"Family meeting," Luther calls out, and they head down a long hallway. I give the boys a wave and start to head back to the kitchen to wait. "That means you too, Radley."

I turn around in surprise, and Mason wraps his arm around my shoulders. "You're family now. Come on."

My heart flips, and my stomach fills with butterflies. They've only just met me, and they're already accepting me into this family. I already know what my choice is going to be, but this concretes it. "Are you okay?" I ask.

Mason kisses the top of my head and lingers there for a second. "I am now."

Mason leads us out onto a giant back porch. He sits on a wicker couch and pulls me into his lap. Bryce sits beside him and pulls my feet into his lap. Nash sits on Mason's other side, making sure his body is pressed against me.

Luther starts explaining what happened in the woods, and when he gets to the part about Mason's mom, my mouth drops open. How dare she come back here after what she did? Anger that I didn't even know I possessed floods my veins, and I look at Mason. His face is drawn in sadness, but I can see the anger in his eyes. I snuggle closer to him in comfort, and his arms close around me almost too tight. He buries his nose in my hair and inhales. I feel his body relax against me, and I get a giddy feeling that I did that to him.

"What are we going to do?" Margie asks. "We have too many kids and elderly here to fight."

"We can't just let them take over our land," Teddy argues. "Today was just for show. They have a bigger plan."

"Your mom?" I ask Mason. That thought blows my mind. How can a mother do that to her son she willingly left? My mom might not win any Mother of the Year awards, but I don't think she'd ever do something like this.

"She's not my mom," Mason growls. "She gave up that chance the second she left."

"But are you going to be able to fight her if it comes to that?" Luther asks softly.

"Are you?" Mason throws back. "She attacked my beta." His mom attacked Bryce? "I'll do whatever is necessary."

"I'll do what I have to do to protect this family," Luther answers. "The other packs are preparing as we speak. We need a plan."

"We need to patrol the area more frequently," Nash responds. "We can leave some alphas to protect those who can't fight."

"For how long?" Beth asks. "Are we just supposed to wait for them to attack?"

"There were at least ten of them," Bryce says quietly. "And they aren't afraid to attack first."

Mason's body goes rigid again. "I'm so damn sorry, Little beta."

"It's not your fault." Bryce shifts until he's pressed against Mason's side. Mason slings an arm around his shoulders and drags him closer.

"No. It's not," Luther agrees. "She brought them back here for a reason."

"Maybe she realized what she gave up," I say quietly. "I can feel how much you care about each other. I get the feeling she doesn't get that anymore."

"Not if they have omegas fighting for them," Teddy says. "Omegas and betas are meant to be protected. I spotted at least four. The rest were alphas."

"We need to check the area out. See if we can find where they're hiding," Luther says, running his fingers through his hair. "No one goes out alone."

Mason nods and lifts me to stand. "We need to go back to the cabin."

Bryce grabs my hand and leads me back through the house. I notice that he's not even limping anymore, and the blood flow stopped. He wasn't kidding about healing fast. When we get to the bottom steps, he frowns at me. "Where are your shoes?"

I look down at my bare feet and back to him. "I didn't have a chance to grab them."

Bryce turns around and holds his arms out behind him. "Hop on."

"What? No! You were just hurt. I can walk."

"I'm fine, and you aren't walking through gravel barefoot. Hop on."

"Fine, Mr. Bossy," I grumble, grabbing his shoulders and jumping onto his back.

Bryce laughs and tucks his arms under my ass. "I have to take care of my girl." His girl?

I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his curls. Even though he's smaller than the other guys, he's still big compared to me. Mason flashes me a grin and falls back to walk with Nash.

"I know you guys are looking at our asses," I call out over my shoulder.

"They are about to see all of my ass if this towel falls," Bryce jokes.

I hook my toe onto the side and pull. It takes a couple of tugs before it puddles at his feet. I hear one of the guys growl, and Bryce takes off running with a laugh. I hold on tighter and laugh with him. His joy is so infectious. He was just attacked by one of his mates' mom, and he still finds little things to laugh at.

Bryce runs up the steps to the cabin, and I reach out to open the door. He slams it with his foot behind him and keeps moving through the house. He sets me on my feet in the kitchen and spins around. The smile dies on my face when I realize he's standing naked in front of me. His cock is jutting proudly between his thighs, and he's staring intently at me.

I don't know who moved first. Our lips land against each other, and Bryce cups my face, controlling how he wants the kiss. His kiss isn't as rough or demanding as the other guys, but it's just as good. I run my hands up his pecs, and his body shudders under my touch. Bryce lets his hands trail down my body until he gets to my thighs. He hooks his hands on the back of them and lifts, sitting me on the kitchen table. He steps between my spread thighs and rubs his cock against me.

"I've wanted to do that since the night I met you," he mumbles against my lips. "You're so beautiful."

"So are you." I run my fingers through his hair and tug his lips back to mine.

I can hear Nash and Mason moving around the kitchen but can't pull my lips away from Bryce's to figure out what they're doing. I want them so bad. My body is literally calling to them.

And I don't think they'll have a problem answering it.