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Sylvia chuckled. “True. You’re stronger though. We make a hell of a team.” Her gaze went to Shay. “When we were teens, your father’s parents decided I should be his mate. They pushed hard for Marcus to pursue me. We tried to ignore them.” Sylvia snorted. “When Dean claimed me instead, they tried to force Marcus to cut us off, to never speak to us again. They insisted we’d betrayed him. But Marcus was thrilled for us.”
“He was.” Dean chuckled. “He’s the one who encouraged me to claim my mate when we hit the age of consent, instead of waiting like some couples do. He said Sylvia and I were made for each other, and it was stupid to put it off. He also joked that it would get his parents off his ass if she was claimed already.” His humor faded. “I miss him.”
“Me too,” Sylvia whispered, tears filling her eyes. “He loved you and your mother so much, Shay. Never let those asshole grandparents of yours make you believe anything else.”
Dean teared up too. “His grief when Layla died…” His voice broke. “We knew he wasn’t going to survive. With his last words, he extracted our promise to raise you. He knew we’d love you for him.”
Sylvia nodded, wiping away tears. “He didn’t want his parents to get you. We were going to fight them if they tried to take you from us, but they didn’t.”
Shay nodded. She’d heard that part before. It still hurt that her grandparents had hated her, though. Everything they’d done had ensured she’d never be accepted by some of the pack. “I’m grateful to you both.”
Sylvia smiled. “You’re a joy, Shay. We might have lost our best friend and his mate, but we gained you. Always know that. You’re in our hearts always, as if you’re our biological daughter.”
Dean nodded. “You’re our baby, Shay, no matter how old you get.”
“This is going to become a cry fest,” Marcia sniffed. “Stop. I don’t want Kale showing up unexpectedly to find all of us bawling. He’ll think you don’t accept our mating.”
Shay laughed and wiped at her own tears. “And I have a date with Trayis tonight. He’ll think I’m attacked daily if he sees me with swollen eyes one more time.”
Marcia leaned closer, bumping her shoulder. “Is he protective?”
“Yes. It’s very sweet.”
“Oh, that’s promising.” Her adopted mother winked. “Maybe both of our daughters will get mated.”
“Don’t think that way. It’s just sex.” Shay didn’t want them to get the wrong idea.
“Shay, Trayis hasn’t hooked up with any women in this pack for as long as I can remember—and he’s seeing you again? That’s more than just sex.”
She met Dean’s gaze. “Some pack members sleep together regularly. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“They aren’t you, Shay.”
She frowned. “What does that mean?”
He winked. “You’re special. And Trayis isn’t an idiot. He’s figuring that out.”
“What Dad said,” Marcia added. “I saw the worry in your eyes when I threatened to leave the pack, but it seems you’re the one who might be doing that.”
“What do you mean, you were going to leave the pack?” Sylvia released Dean’s hand and got up, staring intently at her daughter.
“I would have left if Kale hadn’t been mine,” Marcia admitted. “I couldn’t stand the idea of him mating someone else. It would have hurt me too much to see him with someone else.”
“Good thing they mated, right?” Shay forced a smile. “Let’s not discuss me and Trayis anymore. What kind of party do you think the pack will throw for Marcia and Kale’s mating?”
That got the family talking about something else. Shay relaxed, watching them. An hour later, she excused herself, needing to finish her work before Trayis arrived to pick her up for their date.
Chapter Ten
Shay smoothed her hands down the dress, wishing she had a full-length mirror instead of just the small one over the sink in her bathroom. She only owned two dresses, and the black one was the nicest. She’d even dusted off her single pair of heels from when she’d decided to try to date humans a few years before.
The knock at the door had her rushing for it but she stopped, took a few deep breaths, and then unlocked it. She smiled as she opened the door, staring at Trayis. His gaze swept down her body and she liked the look on his face. It was even better when he softly growled.
“You look sexy.”
“Too much?”
He gently reached out and wrapped his hand around her waist, pushing her back inside her cabin and shutting the door behind him. “No. You look good enough to eat, doll.”
She grinned. “Really?”
“Yes.” His gaze locked with hers. “What’s the occasion?”
“None. I just wanted to look nice for you.”
“I’m glad but there’s one problem.”
“What’s that?” She felt nervous again. Had she messed up? Was she trying too hard?
“Our condoms are in the trailer.”
That made her smile again. “Oh.”
He released her and slowly circled her body, taking in every inch. Another low growl came from him. It turned her on, big time. No one had ever looked at her the way Trayis was right now, as if she were the sexiest woman alive.
Her cell phone rang, breaking the moment, and she startled. She rushed toward where she always left it charging on her counter and stared at the screen. Martin, the head enforcer, was calling her. That wasn’t good.
“Shit.” She unplugged it and answered. “This is Shay.”
She sensed Trayis coming up behind her.
Martin cleared his throat. “I need you to go to Dean and Sylvia’s.”
Fear clutched at her. “Are they well? What’s wrong?” She’d left them hours ago with Marcia, waiting for Kale to get off work to officially introduce him to her family. Had they not liked each other? Had words been said? “Was there a fight?”
“No. Ellis approached a sentry and asked to be taken to their home.”
She frowned. “Who?”
Martin sighed. “The kid, Shay. Elvis and Mildred’s pup.”
She nearly dropped her cell, her hands trembling. Her uncle had come. “Is he alone?”
“Yes. He approached from Frank’s border through the woods. He didn’t ask for you specifically, but I thought you’d want to be there.”
“Thank you.” She ended the call and turned, staring up at Trayis.
“I heard.” He took the phone from her. “Let’s go.”
“What if he doesn’t want to see me?”
“What if he does?”
She hesitated. “He didn’t ask for me, though.”
“Let’s go,” Trayis repeated, wrapping an arm around her waist and tugging her toward the front door.
“Our date—”
“Can wait.”
She allowed him to lead her out of the cabin. He closed the door and helped her down the steps in her high heels. Once they reached the dirt path, she regretted her poor choice in shoes. She stopped to take them off but Trayis scooped her into his arms instead.
She raised a brow. “What are you doing?”
He grinned. “I love the heels. Leave them on.”
“It’s a bit of a walk into the middle of the territory.”
He snorted. “You don’t weigh much, Shay.” He strode toward the main living area. “I’m out of shape if I can’t tote you around easily. And I’m not. Enjoy the ride.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. He might not be a full Werewolf but he seemed to have the arrogance of one. “I didn’t imply otherwise.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No. But I haven’t gone on many dates.”
“Good.”
She smiled wider. They passed a few sentries, who gawked at them a little, but otherwise stayed clear. She avoided looking at the males too closely, afraid to see censure in their expressions. Trayis swore he didn’t care if anyone thought he was slumming by being with her. She needed to have fa
ith in his honesty.
“It’s the one to the left,” she pointed out. “With the bright green door.”
Trayis carried her up the porch steps and put her back on her feet, releasing her. She paused before the door, staring at it. Her heart pounded.
What if her uncle didn’t want to see her? What if he had planned to avoid her?
“Do we knock or just enter? What’s pack etiquette with family homes?”
Trayis’s voice startled her, and she twisted her head to peer up at him.
The door opened, drawing Shay’s attention again. Marica met her gaze and opened the door wider, lifting her finger to her lips.
Shay nodded and entered silently.
Soft voices came from the family room. Shay walked quietly down the hallway and peered through the kitchen toward the lit fireplace in the family room. Sylvia and Dean sat in chairs and the boy she’d met in the parking lot was on the couch across from them. On the coffee table were familiar photo albums. One of them, the boy had open on his lap.
“They were extremely happy,” Dean was saying. “Do you see the way Marcus gazes at Layla? How he’s touching her in almost every picture? He worshipped his little human.”
The photo album Ellis held was one that her parents had put together. Tears filled Shay’s eyes, and a big warm body pressed up against her back. Trayis, offering her comfort. He wrapped his arm around her waist and lowered his chin to rest on the top of her head. She remained motionless, watching. She didn’t want to interrupt or intrude. Marcia stood quietly next to her.
“That isn’t what I was told.” The boy’s voice held obvious anger. “My parents said my brother was forced to mate her, that he hated every minute of it. They told me that he slept at their home a lot to avoid her.”
“Lies,” Sylvia murmured. “Marcus avoided his parents after he mated. They never accepted Layla, and they were very cruel to her. They told her she wasn’t good enough for him, that he deserved a strong bitch as a mate. The breaking point came when they demanded that Marcus end her life. He was outraged. Layla was his heart, and so was the child she was pregnant with at the time. What kind of parents ask their son to murder his own mate and child? But that’s what your parents did, Ellis.
“Keep turning the pages. You’re almost to the photos where Shay was born. You’ll see the love in his eyes for her. She was his little angel. I’m sorry they lied to you…but Mildred and Elvis were difficult at best. They could be flat-out vicious at worst.”
He turned the pages, and Shay watched his face. Tears blinded her as he touched certain ones. She was too far away to know which pictures, but she was intimately familiar with that album. She had looked at it herself thousands of times. It was the only view into her parents’ lives that she’d ever had.
Ellis finally closed the photo album and stared at Dean as he replaced it on the coffee table. “What really happened when my brother and his mate died?”
Dean cleared his throat. “Mildred had begun to send bitches to their house. Single ones, to try to take Marcus from his mate by any means necessary. Including trying to seduce him right in front of her. Not that it would have worked, because they were true mates, but it still devastated Layla to have those bitches go after Marcus so brazenly.”
“Some would just walk in, strip naked, and tell Layla to get the fuck out. Remember, she hadn’t known Weres existed before your brother. She’d never dealt with such brazenness or cruelty.” Sylvia growled low. “It was insulting and humiliating. They frequently tried to provoke her into attacking, which would have been suicide. Layla was small even for a human. She had to call Marcus or myself to get them out of her home. At its worst, it happened a few times a week. Your mother figured Layla would eventually flee. Our alpha forbid the women of our pack to continue pulling that shit, but your mother just reached out to other packs. Told them her poor enforcer son was miserable and had been forced to mate a human. It was all lies.”
“Marcus seethed with rage every time,” Dean added. “Your parents were slowly driving his mate insane and causing her pain. They were determined to make her life hell.”
“Then somehow…she got some pills.” Sylvia’s voice broke and she sniffed. “We don’t know how. Layla never left her home. They were human pills, normally prescribed by human doctors. No packs had them in their infirmaries because we don’t have issues sleeping. That’s what never made any sense; how she’d gotten them. Marcus swore they hadn’t been in the house previously. She certainly didn’t bring them with her.”
“We had to assume someone gave them to her,” Dean growled.
Sylvia nodded.
Shay let that sink in for the first time in years…and suspicion rose. Had her grandparents given her mother the pills somehow? It made her sick to think about the possibility.
Trayis tightened his hold and pulled her closer to his body.
Ellis stated her exact thoughts. “You think my parents did that, too?”
Sylvia nodded. “They came quickly, before word had even spread that Layla had died. It was too fast…as if they’d been waiting for the news. Elvis and Mildred barged in and said horrible things to Marcus, about how he was better off. Marcus attacked Elvis and accused them of giving her the pills. The enforcers had to break it up and force your parents out of their home.
“Marcus couldn’t survive without Layla. His heart was broken beyond repair. He asked us to raise Shay, to protect her from your parents. It was a relief when they didn’t demand that she be turned over to them—but then they asked our alpha to kill her. He refused to harm a pup, which infuriated them. They wanted Shay to die, too. She was barely two years old, and the sweetest little girl. Arlis had to ban them to the outer perimeter of our territory for her safety.”
Ellis leaned forward and covered his face with both hands. Even with her limited abilities, Shay could feel his grief. “They’ve lied to me my entire life…”
Shay wanted to go to him and give him a hug. Trayis held her in place.
It was Sylvia who rose and took a seat next to Ellis on the couch. She wrapped an arm around him. “They let hatred of humans blind them. You’re old enough to see how it is with some members of a pack. Old ways die hard. They won’t be swayed from their hatred. It’s not a reflection on you, Ellis. You came here to learn the truth. That proves how different you are. It’s their shame. Not yours.”
“That’s right.” Dean stood and went to the other side of the boy, taking a seat. “Marcus was a brother to me. We were best friends. I’d be honored to call you a brother—or a son.” He patted the boy’s back lightly. “You’re always welcome here. If you want to visit…even if you need a place to live. Our home is yours. We accept you with open arms and hearts. Arlis is a compassionate and loving alpha. He’d accept you into our pack if you ever want to come back. You were born in our territory.”
“Yes,” Sylvia agreed. She turned her head then, meeting Shay’s eyes. “Shay’s here. Do you want to see her?”
He didn’t answer and kept his face covered.
“We’ll give you a few moments alone,” Sylvia murmured. She released him and stood. Dean did the same. “Come into the living room when you’re ready.”
Sylvia approached their little trio, motioning for them to go back down the hallway.
Trayis led her to the living room down the short hall, Marcia proceeding them. Dean and Sylvia followed. They stopped near the front door and Shay wiped her tears.
“You were right. He came,” Sylvia whispered. “We showed him the albums of us growing up with Marcus, and all the ones we took from your house after your parents died. Now he knows the truth. It’s up to him what he does with it.”
“Thank you.” Shay gave her a sad, grateful smile.
“It’s breaking my fucking heart,” Marcia murmured. “Poor kid.”
“He has us,” Dean reminded them. Then he gazed at Trayis. “Speaking of all things family, what are your intentions with Shay?”
“Dad!” Marcia hiss
ed.
Shay just gawked at her adoptive father.
Trayis smiled. “We’re figuring that out.”
Dean gave him a sharp nod. “I know you could flay me alive in a fight, but Shay is my daughter by heart. It’s my responsibility to look out for her.”
Sylvia snorted. “You’re not much of a fighter to begin with.” She winked at Trayis. “We’re a family of taskers for the pack. Only our Marcia is aggressive.”
“Taskers?” Trayis glanced at Shay.
“Performing tasks that help the pack. You know…like what I do for Arlis,” Shay informed him. “Marcia trains young female pups how to fight. Her older sister Valley cooks for the elders, to keep them fed. Most of them don’t want to learn how to use modern appliances. Sylvia helps with that as well, and teaches them how to use computers and whatnot. River, Rod, and Reed keep all the sensors and cameras up and working in our territory. They’re also great with computers.”
Trayis grinned. “River, Rod and Reed?”
“See?” Sylvia lightly punched her mate.
Dean chuckled. “I love to fish at the river. And I got to name the boys.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes. “My mate does roof maintenance and he’s a plumber. Anyone who has a water issue calls him. That is, when he’s not catching fish. He gives a lot of them to the pack to make sure everyone has plenty to eat.”
“Taskers are important to a pack.” Marcia sighed. “At least that’s what I was told when I got turned down to be an enforcer.” She grabbed her breasts. “Having tits sucks. There are no female enforcers in our pack.”
“I see.” Trayis looked amused.
“Are there any female enforcers where you’re from?” Marcia peered at Trayis with interest.
“I can honestly say none have asked to be one in my clan.”
“Hmm.”
“Drop it, Marcia,” Dean ordered. “I wouldn’t allow it anyway. I hate when you get into fights.” He gave Shay a pointed look. “Usually over you.” His tone softened though. “But I’m very proud of that. I know I’ve wanted to kick some ass a time or two for the same reason Marcia was always getting into fights.”