7. Nash

Iwatch Radley walk away with Margie and feel Radley's curiosity through the bond. There's still a little bit of fear lingering, but it's mostly gone now, which I hope means she'll accept us for who we are.

Mason jerks his head for us to follow, and he leads us into Luther's cabin. I owe everything to that man. If it wasn't for him stepping up to take care of me, I have no idea where I would have ended up. I could only imagine ending up with a human family and accidentally shifting into a giant wolf in front of them.

We find Luther in the kitchen with one of his mates, Teddy, at the kitchen table. Luther gets up and gives us each a hug before having us sit down. Luther looks at Mason with a smile. "I see you brought the girl out here."

"Radley," Bryce corrects. He sighs and lays his head on the table. "She's so beautiful."

"I think your beta is smitten, boys," Teddy laughs.

"I'm in love," Bryce answers, and I shake my head.

"How's she handling everything?" Luther asks.

"So far, pretty good," Mason answers. "I have a question. Do you know a Dolores Baxter?"

Luther's eyes widen. "Yes. Why?"

"That's Radley's grandma," I reply.

"Dolores has been an ally for years, whether she realized it or not. The day we were kicked out of town, she stood up for us, saying we shouldn't be treated differently because of rumors," Luther says. "Her family has been known for their own gifts, as you've seen with Radley. They know our history."

"There are things that Radley still doesn't know," I admit. "But we don't want her to run away screaming."

"That's probably for the best right now," Teddy admits. He's another person that I'm grateful for growing up with. He helped me control my anger and my shift because he had the same problem. "But eventually, you'll have to tell her."

"She knows about the bond," Bryce adds. "And she still called today. That has to mean something."

Luther reaches over and squeezes Bryce's arm. "You have to remember she can still reject it."

"She won't," Bryce says with more confidence than I feel. I've seen what can happen to a wolf when their mate rejects the bond. It's like grieving a death and like you're missing a limb. You walk around for the rest of your life feeling incomplete. "She could have told us to fuck off when Mason dropped his declaration last night that she was ours."

Luther's eyes cut to his son, and Mason shrugs. "She needed to know. Her grandma gave her the lore, and she's been studying it. She asked to come out here today."

"Where is she?" Teddy asks.

"With Margie," I answer.

"But Margie's bitten. Radley's…" Luther's words trail off, and he's looking at the kitchen doorway. I turn to see what he's looking at, and Radley gives a shy wave. I immediately stand from my chair and offer it to her. She sits and gives me that sweet smile.

"Thank you," she says softly.

"No worries," I respond. I walk over to the counter and pull myself to sit on it.

"Dad. Teddy. This is Radley," Mason introduces.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Luther says. "I've heard a lot about you."

Radley's cheeks turn that gorgeous shade of red. "My grandma speaks very highly of you."

"Who's your grandma?" Margie asks, wrapping her arms around Luther's shoulders from behind.

"Dolores Baxter."

"Oh! I love her. She's a very special lady and very accepting of things she doesn't understand. I see you got that from her."

"I'm trying," Radley responds.

"That's all we can ask," Mason says.

We launch into different topics, and I watch Radley start to relax with my family. Bryce seems to be the one who puts her most at ease, and I love him even more because of it. Mason and I were afraid he would feel left out if we pursued Radley, but he's been all in since the beginning. I'm not even sure he's joking about being in love with her. Mason's eyes meet mine, and he gives me a slight nod, letting me know he's feeling acceptance through the bond the more time she spends here.

The first time I saw Radley, I was in awe, as much as an eight-year-old boy could be. Throughout the years, we've been able to see her grow into a gorgeous woman. We've had to figure out how to handle the boyfriends running through her life and even scared off a few if they weren't good to her. We've had to watch her mother speak down to her and call her crazy when Radley tried to explain to them how real the dreams felt. The only good person Radley has ever really had in her life is her grandma. But we plan on changing that very soon.

Because she'll have us too.

After talking to the family for a couple of hours, we decided to show Radley the rest of the pack lands. She's more at ease, which means she's smiling and laughing more.

I fall back a step to walk with Mason and watch Bryce animatedly tell her some of the history. "I've been thinking about what Teddy said inside," I admit. "She does have a right to know."

"It's not our place to tell her."

"If she accepts the bond, she's going to find out anyway," I argue.

Mason grabs my arm, so I stop walking, waiting for Bryce and Radley to be out of earshot. "Do you want to look her in the face and tell her that? Because I don't. It will eventually come out."

"Yeah, and then she'll know we've been keeping a massive secret from her. How do you think that's going to end, Mason?"

"She'll understand."

"No. She won't. Not about this," I say. "We have to make sure she doesn't leave us. Her finding out that we're hiding something will ensure that happens."

"Let's get through this first, and we'll do a pack vote." I know that's all I'm going to get out of him right now, so I nod.

We take off walking again when I get hit with paralyzing fear through the bond. Mason and I take off running toward the feeling and skid to a stop when we see Bryce in wolf form in front of Radley. He shakes out his sand-colored fur and lays down with his head on his paws so he's not towering over her.

"Bryce," Mason barks, the Alpha bleeding into his tone. "Shift back."

"No!" Radley says, still clutching her chest. "I asked him to."

Bryce whines, his eyes locked on her face. I watch in amazement as Radley takes a few steadying breaths and slowly reaches out toward Bryce. He lies perfectly still as she runs her fingers through the fur between his ears.

"He's so soft," Radley whispers. She scratches his ear, and Bryce makes a rumbling sound in his chest, making Radley giggle. "Do you like that?"

"You're going to spoil him," Mason says dryly, walking to stand beside her. "Are you okay?"

Radley continues to pet Bryce, almost like it has a calming effect on her. She contemplates her answer and nods. "Surprisingly, yes. Seeing the wolf at first was scary as hell, but I guess it's because I didn't truly understand how big you guys actually are. Please don't be mad at Bryce. I'm the one who asked to see his wolf."

"I guess I can forgive him," Mason answers. Bryce lifts his head and licks right up Mason's face. Radley and I start dying laughing. Mason wipes the drool off with the back of his hand. "You're going to pay for that, Little beta."

Bryce huffs and slowly gets to his feet. Radley's eyes widen, but she doesn't look scared anymore. I see the intent in Bryce's eyes, so I gently grab her arm and pull her to stand beside me. Bryce lunges for Mason, hitting him square in the chest with his head. Mason goes airborne but shifts mid-air, so when he lands on his feet, he's in full wolf form. Radley sucks in a breath and clutches my bicep. Bryce yelps and takes off, running the other way with Mason on his heels.

"Is Bryce going to be okay?" Radley asks worriedly.

I chuckle. "Yeah. They're just playing. It happens all the time."

I lead her to the picnic table and help her sit on the top. She scoots until her leg is touching mine, and my body reacts to being this close to her. Bryce was right when he said that her scent had been imprinted on all of us after the night she watched us chase Bryce through the woods. We watch Mason and Bryce play fighting in the distance, but I'm hyper-aware of everything she's feeling. Excitement, curiosity, happiness, and the one that stands out the most, making it hard to concentrate, is arousal. She's turned on by what she's seeing and feeling. She's turned on by me. She's so in tune with us now that she doesn't even realize when she slips into our subconscious.

"Radley," I rasp. "You know when we told you we could feel you through the bond?"

"Yes."

"It's much stronger now that you've let us in."

"Oh. That's cool…wait. Do you know what I was just thinking?"

"We all do. It's like you're speaking directly to us."

"Oh," she breathes, her face heating. "Why can't I hear you guys?"

"We've learned to shield ours."

Radley laughs, but it comes out husky. "I might need to learn how to do that."

"Please don't."

Radley turns to look at me, and her eyes flash to my lips. She licks hers, and I track the movement greedily. I lean in closer, giving her a chance to back out. She sucks in a breath, and I feel her pulling away.

Then her lips are on mine.