Chapter 28 Welcome to the Pack
Welcome to the Pack
The guards nodded to us as we exited the cabin, and two fell into step behind us. Mia kept glancing back at them nervously, but James moved to walk behind her, serving as a barrier between us and them, and she relaxed.
Thorne walked beside him, and I could feel his eyes on me, watching my reactions. This wasn’t how I imagined visiting Thorne’s pack, and the tension was getting to me.
The wooded area was quiet, and I only spotted a few people walking between cabins and the buildings closer to the fancy main house. A long, low building made mostly of glass sat in an L shape.
“This is the security office,” Mia said. “All our client work and our pack security is based in there. It’s two stories, and half is underground, obviously,” she said, smiling sheepishly.
“And past that, there’s a clubhouse. It’s got a movie screen, games like pool and ping pong, and some old video games. A lot of us have newer personal video game consoles in our homes, but it’s fun to play those classic games together with pack mates.”
“That sounds great,” I conceded.
Her eyes brightened. “Yeah, and then the dining is all in the pack house. Come on.”
Pushing open a back door, Mia led us into the mini-mansion. A wide hallway opened to a dining room that held five long tables. Everything was cabin chic, with an antler light fixture hanging in the center of the room and wood planking along the walls.
“It’s takeout for dinner tonight,” James said. “We should grab food while we’re here.”
An archway led to a commercial kitchen, all polished steel and black cast iron. We stopped just inside, and two women in aprons looked up.
“Dinner for two and dinner for three?” Thorne asked.
“Thorne!” the older woman said, rushing forward to hug him. She was barely five feet tall, and the contrast of looming, broad Thorne embracing the tiny older woman was heartwarming.
“We missed you so much. You can’t leave your family like that,” she said, pulling back and swatting him.
Thorne ducked his head. “I’m sorry, Auntie.”
“Who is this?” She squinted at me. “Did you bring back a mate?”
“Yes, this is Autumn. Autumn, this is Auntie Joanne.”
Stepping forward, I raised my hand to shake hers, but Joanne seized me in a tight hug.
“Thank you for taking care of our sweet boy,” she murmured, squeezing tighter. She was shockingly strong for someone who looked so frail, but she was probably a werewolf, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Tell me you’re back to stay,” Joanne said, turning back to Thorne.
He nodded, his mouth curving into a grimace. “Yes, I think so. But I’m concerned about Cole. Hunter dragged him back.”
Her demeanor shifted, her back straightening and her expression tightening. “Yes, I brought him breakfast this morning, and he is not doing well, but I think he will be okay. Especially now that you are here.”
She paused, her gaze tracking to me. “You smell like him. Are you…?” She trailed off, her silver eyebrows arching in question.
“Um, yes, well…” I babbled, having no idea how to explain something like that to a grandma.
“Autumn is mated to me and Sawyer, and Sawyer is also mated to Cole. So yes, they are newly together.” Thorne said it without hesitation, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I held my breath, waiting for this grandmotherly figure to pass judgment. Instead, she patted Thorne on the cheek. “Well, I’m very happy for you all. And not one bit surprised. You’ve always been close.”
James held up the to-go containers, a smirk on his face.
“This was lovely, Joanne, and we’ll make sure he comes back to see you soon,” Mia said, jerking her head at Thorne.
Joanne tittered, shooing us out the door. James and Mia crossed the dining room ahead of us, and I leaned into Thorne.
“So did everyone here think you’d end up with Cole somehow?”
His exhale was long-suffering. “I think a lot of packmates shipped us, but unfortunately for them, we’ve only ever been best friends.”
“Very close best friends,” I said, pressing my lips into a line to keep from smiling at him. The humor was a lifeline in the serious situation we found ourselves in.
“Yes, close friends,” he echoed.
“Like pickles-in-the-same-bun close?”
Thorne snorted, his smile tightening into a half-grimace. “No, I don’t think so. I’ll leave that task to Sawyer and Cole.”
“Ah, of course,” I said. “It would be okay if you had any interest in them. It would certainly make our bedroom time a bit more flexible.” I couldn’t help myself. Seeing Thorne’s ears turn pink was entertaining as hell.
Pausing, Thorne turned and placed his hands on my shoulders. “I’m not interested in them. I appreciate you being open minded, but I only want you. And I’m sure between the three of us, we can come up with plenty of ways to keep you satisfied, especially if you factor in Cole as a pinch hitter.”
“A pinch hitter?” I squeaked, covering my mouth with my hand. “We’re really mixing our metaphors here.”
Thorne threw his hands up. “I don’t know what to say, Autumn. If we weren’t in the middle of my pack’s territory under the thumb of my twin, I’d take you back to my home and eat you out until you can’t think of a single question to ask.”
“Woah.” Mia stood in the doorway, her mouth open. “Do you guys want to go back to your cabin? Maybe the dining room isn’t the place for this?”
She motioned her thumb over her shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” I quipped. “He’s just making idle threats. Please show me more of the pack.”
“Come on,” Thorne said, taking my hand and dragging me a few steps before my feet remembered their function.
We peeked into a large common room with seating areas and a big-screen television, and I spied conference rooms through open doors.
“I thought the office was that separate building?” I asked Thorne quietly.
“Yeah, the security company, which handles the pack’s security too, but the alpha’s personal offices are here. This is where pack business is handled.”
“And you grew up in this house?”
Thorne’s shoulders rose and fell a fraction, his expression flickering. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go before Hunter decides to see what everyone is twittering about,” Mia said, gesturing for us to follow her and James back outside.
She wasn’t wrong. The people milling about were whispering and watching us, and anxiety bubbled up in my chest. Their expressions were a mix of hope and worry, matching my own feelings.
“Thanks, friend,” Thorne said, grasping James’s hand after we reached his cabin and he took our to-go containers of dinner. They gave each other bro nods, and James clapped him on the shoulder.
Mia wrapped me in an unexpected hug. “I can’t wait to get to know you better.”
“Me too,” I said awkwardly, smiling as she released me and stepped back.
“See you tomorrow!” Mia waved as she and James headed away through the trees.
Thorne’s tight expression softened. “Hungry, baby?”
Nodding, I pushed the door open and went to retrieve Sawyer for dinner.
While we were eating, an envelope was delivered via a grumpy guard. Scrawling handwriting I would bet twenty bucks wasn’t Hunter’s invited us to dinner the next afternoon and specifically said that Cole would see us at that formal meal.
Knowing we would see him tomorrow gave Sawyer a new rush of anxious energy. He paced around the cabin and finally settled for cleaning up dinner, gathering up plates and heading into the kitchen.
“Can we sit outside?” I squeezed Thorne’s hand.
The rustling branches and pine resin scent calmed my frayed nerves, and Thorne seemed to feel the same. He eased the back door open and peered around. No guards were visible, but that didn’t mean they weren't watching.
Sinking onto the steps, I leaned back on one hand and exhaled. Thorne settled beside me, but soon he was stretching out, the forest working like magic to relax him too.
Thorne laid back, his head in my lap. His gaze tracked over the swaying tree branches and the stars twinkling beyond.
Slowly, the tension in my gut unraveled, and I just felt tired.
Exhaustion weighed down my limbs, threatening to drag me into a dark place of hopelessness, but as long as I had Thorne and Sawyer, it would be okay.
Absently, I rubbed my thumb over his cheek and down his jaw, feeling the stubble there. “So, tomorrow, we see Cole?”
“Yeah.” He swallowed, his lips slowly dragging through his teeth. “As long as Hunter stays true to his word.”
“I’ve been worrying about that,” I admitted.
“Me too.”
His eyes closed, his head tipping to the side, and I obliged, carding through his hair with my fingers, over his ear and down to the nape of his neck.
“I’m scared what my brother will do,” he said after a long moment. “Because if it comes down to it, I’d hurt Hunter to protect Cole. To protect us.”
“I know.”
“I wish he wasn’t putting us in this position,” Thorne said, his voice barely above a whisper. “He could just let us go.”
“He wants Cole more than he cares about you, more than he respects any of us,” I said quietly, trying to analyze the situation.
“My hope that he will come around and be a reasonable alpha has been dwindling. If I’m honest, I think it died when he threatened us at your apartment.”
“That wasn’t great,” I said, smiling down at him. “But you protected us.”
The back door squeaked, and I could sense Sawyer’s presence behind me. He sank down on the porch beside me, his arm wrapped around my back.
“Dishes are all clean.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked. We both understood what else I was asking—how does Cole feel through your bond?
Sawyer nodded. “Decent for now. Better tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” I said absently, leaning into him. “Tomorrow.”
Sawyer’s fingers splayed over my waist, his other hand coming up to cup my jaw and turn my face. Our eyes met, and I saw the same worry and pain reflected back. His knuckles brushed over my cheek, and I turned to kiss the backs of his fingers.
“Come on, let's go get some sleep,” he said.
There was no debate over where anyone would sleep. I followed Sawyer into Cole’s room, and Thorne trailed after, his hands rubbing down my arms.
We tumbled into the bed, a mess of limbs, huddling together for comfort. I drifted off with Sawyer nuzzling against my neck and Thorne curled around my back.
It felt so natural, except for the massive hole left by Cole’s absence. It wasn’t until he was missing that I felt what a huge space he took up in our relationships. But soon, we would have him back. I would make sure of it, no matter what.