Cherry
As we climb into the large, dark blue SUV, nerves fill me. Not just because we’re leaving the safety of their home, but because I’m about to meet the alpha of their pack, whom they don’t seem to like, and it makes me extremely nervous.
The twins climb in on either side of me in the back row, their thighs warm against my fur.
I’m grateful for the contact; it’s a steady reassurance that I’m not alone.
Maddox drives with Bain seated beside him, his broad shoulders tense.
Gage is in the middle row with his laptop open, typing furiously.
He’s been trying to research my symptoms to see if he can find something to help me shift.
I stare out the window at the small town that passes us by. Average-sized homes on large lots. Each property has plenty of space. Westgrove seems like a nice place to live, but I don’t know that anywhere could feel like home again, not without my family.
Ten minutes later, a massive house comes into view at the end of the long driveway, and even from here it feels imposing. It’s practically a mansion, with large windows and giant white columns. It doesn’t look like a home. It looks like Alpha Kane is trying to make a statement.
The SUV slows to a stop, and the engine cuts out. The air instantly fills with tension as we silently climb out.
Maddox takes the lead, followed by Gage, and the twins move with me between them, not touching but close enough that I feel their presence. Bain takes up the rear.
Alpha Kane’s guards line the entrance, and their interested gazes drop to me. It makes my hackles rise as unease moves through me. This home is not a safe place.
Gage steps directly in front of me and crosses his arms. “I would advise you to keep your eyes off her,” he says in a calm voice that sounds very much on edge. Hunter’s leg touches my side, and his fingers gently stroke along my back, reminding me he’s here, that they’re all here.
The guard scoffs but wisely says nothing before turning and leading us inside to a sitting room. Everything here speaks of opulence. High ceilings, large chandeliers, polished floors. I can already tell I’m not going to like the man who lives here.
Bain takes a seat on the large sofa, and Hunter and Gage sit on either side of him. Chase leans against the edge of the fireplace, crossing one ankle over the other as he glances around the room. I can somehow tell he’s trying to act unbothered by being here, but he’s extremely tense on the inside.
Maddox slowly paces the room as I lower myself to the floor to sit between Bain’s feet. Instinct draws me there as I crave the safety and protection he offers.
He leans slightly toward me. “Do you want to sit in my lap?” he whispers.
My heart squeezes at the sweet gesture coming from his deep, baritone voice, but I shake my head. If I’m going to meet the Alpha, I won’t do it curled up like some fragile, meek wolf. I want to at least give the appearance of strength, even if I’m a quivering mess on the inside.
I sit a little taller, and Bain’s hand comes down to stroke over my neck. The touch warms me more than it should.
Ten long minutes pass before footsteps echo down the hall. The man who enters is clearly Alpha Kane, striding in like he owns the air itself.
“Maddox, you’ve finally returned,” he says with a tempered smile, his voice dripping with exaggerated cheer.
They clasp hands in greeting as Maddox responds. “Uncle, it’s good to see you looking so well.”
“You flatter me, boy,” he says with a grin. He looks over the other guys with a hint of trepidation before his eyes drop to me.
The smile fades from his face. “So the rumors are true. You’ve been hiding a wolf from me.”
“Not hiding, Uncle,” Maddox tells him.
“That’s Alpha Kane, to you,” he corrects him with a sharp look. I press my side against Bain’s leg, and his fingers press firmer into the back of my neck, reassuring me.
Maddox sighs before continuing. “Our intention wasn’t to hide her. The situation is a bit sensitive.”
Alpha Kane cocks an eyebrow as he looks down at me. “How so? And why is she in my home in her wolf form? You know how I feel about that,” he says angrily.
“She’s been unconscious since we arrived,” Maddox explains. “She just woke up this afternoon.”
“Unconscious?” he asks in confusion.
“She was injured,” Gage tells him. “Badly. She needed to heal.”
“Why was she injured?”
“We don’t know,” Maddox says, at the same time Chase says, “That’s none of your business.”
Alpha Kane decides to ignore Chase’s statement as he asks Maddox, “You don’t know? Haven’t you asked her?”
“She can’t shift,” Maddox tells him, and I can sense everyone holding their breath, waiting for the alpha’s response.
Kane’s eyebrows slowly rise as he looks at me. “Are you telling me you brought a feral rogue onto my land? Into my home?” He takes a step back as anger fills his face.
“Does she look feral to you?” Chase asks in exasperation.
“I don’t care,” Alpha Kane says, shaking his head as he eyes me warily. “I don’t want any rogue here. You should know that better than anyone,” he says to Maddox. “Now get rid of her before I have her killed.”
A whine voluntarily escapes me as I drop my head, fear filling me. Bain stands and steps in front of me, blocking me from Kane’s view.
“If you touch her, I’ll kill you,” Bain says as the other three join him, forming a solid wall of muscle in front of me.
“She’s a rogue,” Alpha Kane seethes.
“I don’t care,” Maddox says with more venom than I’ve ever heard from him. “She’s part of the Silverstorm Pack now.” I hear Alpha Kane’s sharp intake of air at that declaration. “If anyone tries to lay a finger on her, they die.”
He just claimed me as part of his pack.
If I was in my human form, my jaw would drop open. I didn’t exactly understand how the five of them could run their own pack within Westgrove, but I was starting to understand they had much more sway here than I initially thought.
“You can’t just add some little stray wolf to your little pack.” The way he says that last tells me he doesn’t think much of them.
“We can do whatever we want,” Hunter says in defiance.
“Not while you’re part of my pack, and living in my territory,” Kane growls back.
Chase huffs out a laugh. “We all know the only reason you’re still alpha is because Maddox doesn’t want it yet.”
Is that true? Could Maddox run this Westgrove if he wanted to? Why would he let his uncle do it instead?
“I know nothing of the sort,” Kane says, and even I can tell he’s lying at this point. “Besides, why would your pack of five alphas want to keep some pathetic, tiny, broken rogue?”
I try not to let another whine out as I press the top of my head into the back of Bain’s leg. A torrent of emotions floods me. Is that how everyone sees me? Do the guys see me that way too?
Several low growls fill the room, although I’m not sure which of the men they’re coming from.
“Insult our pack mate again,” Chase seethes. “I dare you.”
Kane is silent for a few moments before he scoffs. “Look, son, I understand you feel something for this tiny wolf, but she can’t even shift. She’s clearly not strong enough to be in the only all-alpha pack, let alone the Westgrove Pack.”
“You’re wrong,” Maddox argues. “She’s the strongest female I’ve ever met.
” My heart fills with warmth as I try to peek around Bain’s leg to see him.
He’s standing between Kane and the others, his hands resting casually in his pockets as if he doesn’t even see his uncle as a threat.
As if he knows he could beat him easily in a fight.
“What if she never shifts? Did you ever think of that?” his uncle asks in exasperation.
“I don’t care,” Maddox fires back, surprising me with his sharp tone toward his alpha.
“What about Juliet?” Kane asks, making my hackles rise at the mention of another female. “You know she’ll marry you in a heartbeat, and she’s perfect for an alpha’s wife, but she won’t be happy to find out you’ve adopted this rogue.”
I try to restrain the growl that wants to come out at the thought of Maddox with another woman, but he beats me to it.
“I have no interest in her or anyone else, you know that.” The way Maddox phrases it makes me think it’s half for my benefit. Or maybe that’s just me hoping.
“So you’d choose a rogue wolf as a pack mate over the strongest female in our territory?”
Maddox leans slightly forward as he calmly tells him, “Every. Damn. Day.”
A strange feeling of comfort fills me. Is that what he really thinks?
It’s not like I’ve been able to ask them about their feelings, or if they see me as a pack member or something more.
The fact that there are five of them, and they’re all treating me equally well, makes it ten times more confusing.
Kane is silent for a moment before he finally concedes.
“I’ll let this go for now. But I want weekly check-ins to see how she’s doing, and I expect you all at the monthly pack BBQ.
” He glances down at me behind Bain before he adds, “And Maddox? If there is a single word of her acting feral, I will have her removed. Do I make myself clear?”
The tension grows so thick you could almost cut it with a knife as several growls ring out from the men in front of me. Chase pulls out a switchblade from his pocket, but keeps it down at his side, his body practically radiating with anger.
Maddox's voice turns deeper, as if his wolf is straining to get out. “If you touch a single hair on her head, I will rip you to shreds. Do I make myself clear?” My body starts to tremble, and I have to press myself further against Bain to stop myself from falling over.
“I think we’re done here,” Kane says before his retreating steps echo down the hall. After a minute, Maddox finally turns around and sees me cowering behind Bain.