He frowned as I moved to walk around him down the dirt road to the old house.
“Ox,” he said quietly as we were shoulder to shoulder.
I held my breath and waited.
“Are we—” He stopped. Shook his head. Let out a frustrated groan. “We have to talk. About everything I need you to know. Everything. There are things you have to hear. From me. I need you to—just. I need you.”
I tried to ignore the heat along my skin to focus on what was important. “Is he coming?”
He knew who I meant. “I think so.”
“Are we safe for now?”
“Yeah. Yes. It can wait a few days. But—”
“Then the rest of it can wait too.”
“Ox.”
I said nothing.
He sighed. “Okay.”
Somehow I was able to walk away.
THE SKY was darkening the next day when my pack gathered at the old house, standing in the kitchen. I still avoided the living room whenever possible. Elizabeth and Mark still slept at the house at the end of the lane, but Robbie had moved back to the old house, taking over the spare bedroom, knowing Mom’s room was off-limits. Apparently, him being there didn’t sit well with Carter and Kelly, and they told me as much. I didn’t know what Joe thought.
“Are you sure about this?” Robbie asked me. “We don’t even know them.”
“I’d like to think I do,” Elizabeth said lightly. “I gave birth to most of them.”
Robbie grimaced slightly. “Sorry.”
“For giving birth?” she teased.
He blushed and mumbled something incoherent.
“He’s got a point,” Jessie said. “Full moons with you are different. We know these wolves. Most of the humans here don’t know them. Are you sure they’re in control enough? Have you even seen them shift since they’ve been here?”
I hadn’t and said as much.
“They broke away,” she said. “How is that different from them being Omegas?”
“They had an Alpha,” Mark said. “They still do. They may not have… been here, but they still had an Alpha to draw strength from. They tethered themselves to him.”
“Just as long as there are no wolves gnawing on my ass, I’m okay,” Rico said.
“Succinct as usual,” Tanner said, smacking him upside the back of the head.
“Pendejo,” Rico muttered.
“No one is gnawing on anything,” I said.
“Really?” Chris said innocently. “I’m sure Joe’s going to be disappointed to hear that.”
I glared at him as most everyone in the room snickered at that.
“We’re going to be fine,” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “We’ll run with them, there will be no gnawing on anyone—Chris, keep your mouth shut—and we’ll figure this out. Okay?”