Chapter 12

T he gentle sounds of the radio babbling away to itself fills the air as we drive from the compound into town. It's not a far journey, about twenty minutes, but I enjoy the quiet of the countryside for as long as I can before the outskirts of the city start to show. The silence in the car is comfortable, and Garett's hand on my thigh is soothing. I try not to let my nerves get the better of me as we drive towards the bear compound, which is based in the centre of the city. The alpha of Garett's pack, Alpha Philips, has requested to meet me.

Bear shifter packs run differently than the wolves. They tend to live in small family groups, as opposed to one big pack, but they're often nearby and work together closely. Garett, as an unmated male, lives alone and chose not to work within the pack, but regularly helps out and keeps in touch. This might have been why I liked him—he wasn't continually under the thumb of his pack.

I worry about why Alpha Philips might want to meet with me. Garett seems calm, and he wouldn't knowingly lead me into a dangerous situation. I'm looking forward to seeing where he comes from though. I've only ever seen his bar, and I won't lie, I'm curious to see more about him and how he grew up. As the countryside disappears and we enter the more built up areas of the city, I can't keep quiet anymore.

"So, what does the alpha want to see me about?" Garett chuckles at my question and gives my knee a squeeze.

"Ari, I've told you already. He just wants to meet you, he's intrigued by the woman who's keeping me away from the pack so often," he jokes, but I can't help feeling uneasy. He was very upfront with me that he was going to tell his alpha about our relationship, and it made me nervous. While mating outside of your shifter species wasn't uncommon, it wasn't exactly approved of.

We pull up outside of the gym the Long Claw Pack is based out of. The Long Claw Pack has a series of successful gyms throughout the country, but their headquarters is based here, and most of their pack business is also run from this location.

I take a deep breath and climb out of the car, it's time to face the music. Garett comes around to meet me and links our arms, guiding me inside the building. From the outside, the gym looks like an unassuming warehouse, and if it wasn't for the large sign outside on the wall stating ‘LC Gyms,' then I wouldn't have known there was a gym here. The car park is packed, so they must gain a good number of customers. As we walk inside and I see all of the latest, state-of-the-art equipment, I can understand why it's so busy.

"Garett!" A pretty, well muscled lady calls out from behind the reception desk. Definitely a bear shifter with a build like that.

"Hey, Molly, I'm here to see Philips. Are my brothers here?" he asks, his voice relaxed and friendly as he slings his arm around my shoulders. The woman from behind the desk, Molly, eyes up his arm, and as her eyes slide to me, I expect to see some judgement, but instead, she just smiles broadly.

"Well welcome! It's nice to see you smiling, Garett. Philips will come join you in the training room. And of course, your brothers are here, they're always here," she jokes with an eye roll. Garett laughs and waves goodbye to her as he steers me through the large gym .

"I didn't know you had brothers," I comment lightly, and I don't know why it's bothering me so much that I didn't know about his family. I try to hide the fact that this annoys me, but he gives my hand a squeeze and his next response lets me know he's noticed it bugs me.

"I don't talk about my family much, don't feel bad. You'll get to meet them today, and you'll soon wish you didn't know about them." I laugh at his comments, feeling a little better, although I hadn't realised that I'd be meeting his family today. Perhaps I should've worn something a little nicer than my old jeans and turquoise knit jumper.

"Stop fretting over your clothes, you look beautiful," he says to me in a low voice and pulls at my hand, which I hadn't even realised was playing with the hem of my jumper. "This is why I didn't warn you that we might bump into them here. I didn't want you to worry." I'm about to retort when we round the corner and see the three biggest guys I have ever seen.

"Gare Bear!" one calls out as he sees us, his shout getting the attention of the other two, who are clearly brothers. My mouth drops open a little at the sight. One of them, the one who called out to us, is a little older, but the other two have to be twins, they look identical. It's obvious that they're all related to Garett, they all have the same bronze skin tone and shaggy brown hair, stubble covering their chins. The twins have green eyes, but the older brother has the same eye colour as Garett. While Garett is muscled, these guys are huge! I had thought that Garett was one of the biggest guys I've ever seen, turns out I just hadn't met his family yet. They drop the weights they were casually lifting with a bang and make their way over to us, their smiles huge as they see Garett's arm around my shoulders.

"Gare Bear?" I ask quietly, trying to stifle the grin that's threatening to burst out of me. His mouth twitches as he fights a wry smile.

"Yeah, I can't shake that fucking nickname. "

I do laugh this time, trying not to let my nerves show as these huge bear shifters stalk towards us. Their grins are predatory as they come to stop a short distance away, eyeing me up and down before looking to Garett. He stiffens as they look me over, before giving them a terse nod. This seems to be some sort of signal they were waiting for, as they let out a whoop, then swoop in. Before I know what's going on, I'm swept into a bear hug, literally, before being passed on to another brother.

"Little sister! It's good to finally meet you!"

"Jake, you're hogging her! I want to meet her!"

"Back off, I haven't finished yet."

I struggle to work out who is saying what as I'm passed around the group, and a laugh escapes me.

"Guys, you're being too rough, back off." A deeper voice cuts through the chatter, and the twins roll their eyes before taking a step back, but their excitement is still clear to see in their movements. I realise the guy with the deep voice is the older brother as he takes a step forward and holds out his hand for me to shake. "I'm sorry about my younger brothers, they're like excitable pups. We have been waiting for a while to meet the wolf that has captured my brother's heart. I'm Max," he says, introducing himself, and I can't help but smile, he reminds me of Garett.

"Nice to meet you, Max. I am surprised to meet you though," I say with a pointed glance at Garett, who at least has the decency to look abashed.

"I didn't want you to worry," he explains before gesturing to his brothers, who are still jostling for who's going to hug me first. "They're a bit overwhelming. I thought it best to just rip it off, like a band-aid."

"Are you saying meeting us is painful?"

"We are a delight!" the twins say at once, before pouncing on Garett. At first, I thought they were attacking him, but at their laughter, I can see that they're just playing.

"Please excuse my brothers. Jake and Ben act like children, but they are actually older than Garett," he comments with a shake of his head, but his smile is fond as he watches his three younger brothers.

"Any other surprise family meetings I should be expecting?" I joke, but when he doesn't answer me, I turn away from watching Garett to look up at Max. His expression is a cross between amusement and pain. "No. No no no. If you tell me I'm meeting your parents—" I'm cut off mid threat as the backdoor slams open and a couple walk through.

"Garett! Son, it's good to see you!" an older version of Garett calls out as he and an older, happy looking woman bustle towards us.

"Nooooo," I groan quietly before throwing a death glare at Garett, he'll pay for this later. I can't believe he blindsided me into meeting his entire bloody family. I thought I was here to meet the alpha!

"Sorry, Ari, I didn't know they were coming." Garett breaks away from his brothers and puts his arm around me, pulling me in close as he whispers to me.

The couple stops a short distance from us and waits for some signal from Garett before they come forward. Garett's dad is the spitting image of him, just an older version with slightly greying hair, but still just as handsome. The woman at his side, who I'm assuming is Garett's mum, is a pretty woman about my height with gently greying brown hair and deep brown eyes. Her face is lined with laughter lines, and it's easy to see why with the amount she's smiling right now.

"Garett, honey. It's so good to see you!" she coos as she sweeps him into a hug. She may be smaller than him, but I have no doubt that she's fierce if you cross her. Never mess with a female bear shifter if you want to escape with your life, especially if her cubs are involved. Garett's smile is warm and genuine as he embraces his mother. His dad steps forward to greet him, and his mum turns towards me. Her happiness is easy to see in her eyes, and I can tell that she wants to hug me. I smile and take a small step forward, holding out my arms a little, and this is all the encouragement she needs to hurry forward and wrap her arms around me.

"Oh, it's so good to finally meet you, Ari. I'm Molly, Garett's mom, and that's Simon, his dad. I've never seen Garett so happy since the two of you mated." I stiffen at her words, but she doesn't seem to notice my sudden tension. "The two of you will join us for dinner tonight, right? I'll cook Garett's favourite!"

"Okay, Mom, we'll be there," he says with a smile, but he keeps shooting me worried glances out the corner of his eye, knowing something's bothering me. "Guys, we need to go meet with the alpha, we can catch up tonight, okay?" he tells them, before giving his mum another hug and patting his brothers and dad on the back. I take a step back and give them a little wave, needing a bit of space. His family is amazing, but they're a little full on.

"I'm sorry, Ari, I didn't know my parents would be here, my brothers must have told them that we were coming. Are you okay? I know they can be a bit overwhelming." He runs his hand along my arm, leading me towards the area where we are meeting the alpha.

"Your mum said we had mated. What did she mean by that? We haven't had a mating ceremony." My voice is deceptively calm, but my insides are a knot of tension.

There are two types of matings in the shifter community, true mated pairs and voluntary bonds. True mated pairs, who are like soulmates, your fated other half who you were designed to love. The most common form of mating in the shifter community is a voluntary bond, which is formed between two shifters, and once made, it's for life. While there is a connection between them, it's nothing like the power of a true mate bond. It is more like marriage, but it's not entered into lightly because the only way out of it is death.

Garett winces slightly but nods at my comment. "You're right. Within bear communities, we don't date. We only settle down with the person we intend to mate with. My family has assumed mating is our intention. I think they believe we're here to get permission from the alpha to confirm the mating."

I stop in the middle of the corridor and look him in the eye, shocked that they would believe this. They don't even know me, and they think we're getting mated? I have more than enough mates, I'm not going to jump straight into another mating.

"You're going to set them straight though, right?"

"Yes, of course," he assures me gently as he steers me towards a set of double doors, which I'm sure is the training room we were told to meet the alpha in. He's quiet, and I can tell something is bothering him. I wonder if I sounded too harsh. With a sigh, I pull him to a stop and force him to face me.

"Garett, what—"

"Garett! Come through! And you must be Ari, welcome to Long Claw!" a booming voice greets us. I guess this conversation will have to wait until later. Squeezing my hand, Garett leads me into the training room, and I gape at the huge open space. Mirrors line the room, and a large rack of weights is covering one wall, it's like a hard-core ballet studio. The thought brings a smile to my face as I imagine Garett and his brothers wearing a tutu. A gentle hand on my lower back returns me to the present, and I smile up at the alpha.

"Alpha Philips, it's a pleasure to meet you," I say as I hold my hand out to greet him. His large hand engulfs mine but he shakes it with care, and his smile in return is genuine and reaches his eyes.

I take a step back and run my eyes over the alpha. He has that typical bear shifter build, looking like he presses fire engines for fun and making most bodybuilders look like children in comparison. He appears to be in his late thirties, but shifters age well, so I place him to be in his late forties. His short, cropped dark hair has a military look about it, and his tank top shows off a myriad of tattoos across his upper arms.

He shuts the doors behind us and smiles at me again, gesturing around the room .

"This room is soundproof, so don't worry about anyone overhearing us," he says, and a nervous chuckle escapes my lips.

"Okay, that sounded a little like you plan to abduct me." Philips laughs, and Garett smiles as he runs his hand down my arm, trying to comfort me. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed from meeting Garett's family, and now his alpha is making a big scene about us not being overheard, it's making me flighty.

"Sorry if this sounds rude, but why am I here?" I cut straight to the point, wanting to know what the heck is going on. That would be enough for some alphas to discipline me, hell, Shadow Pack would have me whipped for a remark like that, but I get the feeling that Garett's pack is different. Philips tilts his head as if he's re-evaluating me before barking out a short laugh.

"You picked one with spirit, Garett. Good choice." I'm about to protest at being talked about when I'm right in front of them, but Philips turns to address me. "I had two reasons for bringing you here. First, I did want to meet the woman that Garett is so enamoured with. We have all heard so much about you, and what you did for him after Shadow Pack took him…" His voice trails off in a deep growl, which seems to fill the room. "You have earned our trust and respect. You sacrificed yourself for him, for a bear your pack had no ties to."

"I love him," I say with a shrug, the only answer I have as to why I did it. I don't need to go into why I would save someone as good as Garett, the guy who has tried to protect me since day one. Philips seems to understand this and just nods at my answer, accepting it as truth.

"Well, we wanted to extend our gratitude to you, and if you ever need us or you ever need somewhere to stay, you're welcome. You are part of Long Claw now." I stare at him in shock. This type of thing doesn't happen across different shifter species, it's unheard of. I glance at Garett, and even he looks shocked. I've gone from being packless to having two, one of those with the bears. My chest feels tight with all the feelings that are overwhelming me, and all I can do is nod at Philips and hope the gesture portrays my gratitude.

"Unfortunately, the other reason I needed to see you is less pleasant." Philips sighs and rubs his hand across his face, causing me to frown at his change in attitude. "As Garett has probably told you, one of our bears was kidnapped and the body was left at the spot he was taken from, mutilated with Shadow Pack's symbol. We have followed all the laws, we took this to ASP and let them handle it, even though our nature is screaming at us for vengeance. But going to ASP is not getting us anywhere, and now they are denying to return the body of our pack member. They refuse to give it back, we need to bury him properly, put him to rest, but they refuse. We will not stand for it. They have always been less active in investigating crimes against shifters."

Unfortunately, what he's saying doesn't surprise me. ASP are quick to investigate when the person committing the crime is a shifter, but their prejudices against us runs deep. I'd always hoped though, that if someone was murdering shifters that they would step in, especially seeing as other supernaturals are being affected. Instead, they're completely denying that shifters are being taken and killed. If they aren't careful, they will have an uprising on their hands, or perhaps that's what they want? It would give them an excuse to hunt us all down. I try to clear these dark thoughts away, they're not helpful.

"How can I help, Alpha?" I ask, wondering how I fit into this turn of conversation.

"The other alphas are going to be meeting to discuss this, and we wanted you to come as the peacekeeper."

I laugh at the alpha's comment. I know it's rude and I should be more respectful, but he really doesn't know me well if he thinks I can be the peacekeeper. I'm the opposite! I cause more fights than I fix!

"Hear the alpha out, Ari," Garett's quiet voice urges, but I can hear the smile in his voice .

"Ari, you have connections with not only the wolves, but the bears too. Plus, your best friend is a witch and you have an incubus living with you." I wonder where he got the information about Eric living with us, but I choose to ignore that for the time being and try to focus on the alpha's words. "You're living proof that we can intermingle and still thrive. Plus, you have extensive knowledge on the Shadow Pack. We know they're involved now, we just don't know how they fit in with all this. We need your help."

I close my eyes and rub the bridge of my nose as I think over his words. He's right—they do need to know more about the Shadow Pack, and it's a good idea for them to be united, sharing information. ASP clearly isn't helping them. But do I really want to get involved in politics when I have worked so hard to stay out of it? I blow out a deep breath and glance at Garett, who is smiling softly at me. I know he'll accept whatever decision I make and won't make me feel bad if I decide not to help. I bite my lip, knowing what I should do, but not wanting to do it.

"Okay, I'll help you."

The house we pull up in front of looks cosy and just like any other in this suburban area. It's two stories and has a neat little garden with colourful flowers lining the flowerbeds along the front of the house. I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it. However, the more I look at it, the more I can imagine a little Garett and his brothers growing up here. I chuckle as I glance at him now. I guess I had expected a larger house after meeting his brothers earlier. I step out of the car and smile at Garett as he comes to my side, holding his hand out to me.

"Don't be nervous, they already love you," he whispers in my ear, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of my head. I smile at him and nod, but I can't deny that I am nervous. Throw me up against shadow beasts and evil alphas and I'm fine, but being invited to Garett's parents' house for dinner has me quaking in my boots.

Arm in arm, we walk towards the front door, and Garett knocks before letting himself in.

"We're here!" he calls out before helping me take off my coat and hanging it on the rack. After we met with the alpha, we went back to Moon River so I could get changed. There was no way I was turning up to Garett's family home in my casual jeans and jumper. This is the second time in a week that I've worn a dress, and I hope this isn't becoming a habit. I play with the skirt, feeling uncomfortable, but what else was I going to wear to meet his family? Seb and Alex had teased me all afternoon about being nervous. Garett, trying to put me at ease, told me that they'd already met me and couldn't care less what I was wearing as long as we were happy.

I hear cheerful chatter and laughter from within the house as a voice calls out to us.

"We're in the kitchen, love, come on through!" Molly shouts.

I look around the hallway as Garett leads me through the house. It's warm and cosy, and photographs of Garett and his brothers line the walls. Walking into the large, open kitchen, I can see where all the noise is coming from, and I grin at the scene in front of me. Simon and Max are setting the table, talking about some football game that had been on today. Molly was trying to serve dinner, and the twins kept stealing bits of food and garlic bread from the plates and generally causing havoc. I would've expected Molly to be shouting at them, but she's smiling as she scolds them. It's like I'm watching the happy family scene in one of those soap dramas. I've never once thought that something like this would be possible for me, but as Garett squeezes my hand and pulls me into the room, I wonder if it might be possible. Everyone turns around as we enter and calls out a greeting.