Kash wanted to stay in the house with Bella and not deal with anything at all. He’d never been a big fan of avoiding problems, but he was currently feeling like avoiding all the issues they were facing.

He couldn’t believe her dad’s reaction to her news. He didn’t even seem happy that she’d finally been able to shift.

She stood in the family room staring out the front window at the big, old tree in the center of the front lawn, but he kind of doubted she was actually looking at anything. She seemed fully lost in thought and that was understandable.

After the call with her parents, she’d gotten up from the table and walked away. She needed time to think. He couldn’t imagine what she was feeling. He wasn’t sure how he’d react if his parents were pissed at him for finding his truemate.

After a few minutes, he joined her at the window.

“This house used to belong to someone from your pack,” he said. “I don’t know who, but when the Garra Pack left Allen, their homes and most of the businesses were closed. Slowly over the years, a new generation had taken over the houses and businesses. This house sat empty all that time, though. When I graduated high school and wanted to move out of my parents’ place, I went with Alpha Jason to look at homes that were available and picked this one. I liked the tree.”

“I like it too.” She sighed and leaned into him. He put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“Do you want to talk?”

“I don’t know if there is anything to talk about right now,” she said. “My parents think I’m betraying them by being here, and they don’t seem to care that I can shift or that I found you.”

“Are you sorry you came here?”

She tilted her head to look at him. “What? No, of course not.”

“I don’t want you to lose your family because of me.”

“Kash,” she said. “I don’t think my dad’s issue is really about you, it’s about Jason and this town. Why would you ask if I was sorry about coming here?”

“Because I don’t want you to regret being with me.” He exhaled deeply and looked out the window, but he wasn’t really looking at anything in particular. He’d always felt a little bit like an outsider in the pack, part wolf but mostly fairy, with powers his friends didn’t really understand. “You could have a different life if you had a wolf for a mate and he wasn’t from this pack.”

He looked down at her in time to see her upper lip curl. “Okay, you need to knock that nonsense off. I’m upset about my parents, but it’s more about my dad being so ridiculously close-minded about this pack. I don’t want my family’s pack if it means I can’t have you. Whether I can shift or not doesn’t have any bearing on anything, it’s a cool bonus. Like the prize in the cereal box.” She gave him a long look. “You’re the real prize, Kash. I came here for something different, for a change of scenery, and I get to start a whole new chapter of my life with you.”

He’d never had anyone call him a prize before. It was pretty damn cool.

Slipping his hands to the small of her back, he pulled her a little closer until their bodies were pressed tightly together. “So tell me about this whole new chapter, sweet wolf.”

She grinned, her eyes dancing. “It starts in the bedroom.”

* * *

Kash parked in front of Jason and Cades’ home. “This house originally belonged to Peter and Tina, the former alphas. Jason took over as alpha when Peter was injured during a hunt and couldn’t perform his duties. It was before he and Cades were mated.”

“She can’t shift, right? Kinley said something about that once.”

“No, she has claws and fangs when she’s emotional, I’ve only seen it happen once though. Her mom was a wolf and her dad was human. She’s a great alpha, though. The pack loves her.”

“Who will take over when they step down?”

“Their son Bram. He recently mated an eagle shifter named Thea. But Jason and Cades aren’t going to step down anytime soon.” He pointed to the side of the house where a structure was in the throes of being built. “That’s their house. Jason and Cades will move into the retirement community and their other son, Gideon, will move into their house most likely.”

“Is it just the two kids for the alphas?” she asked as he opened her door and helped her out.

“Their oldest is Lyric, she lives in Indiana with her two mountain lion mates.”

Bella hopped from the truck and then stared up at him in shock. “Two mates?”

He narrowed his gaze. “You only get one, woman.”

She laughed, her eyes sparkling. “I think you’re all I need.”

“Good.”

He shut the door and took her hand. He knocked on the front door and opened it. “Alpha? It’s Kash.”

“Come on in, we’re in the kitchen.”

He pushed the door open farther and let Bella in, then followed and shut the door. She tugged on his hand when he started to walk down the hall.

“What if he doesn’t like me because of who my family is?” she whispered.

“I promise that won’t happen,” he said keeping his voice low so it didn’t carry. He was sure of one thing: Jason and Cades wouldn’t hold her family against her, they would definitely be supportive of their mating.

And he knew his parents were thrilled for him and excited to get to know her. The drama was on her side of things, and he hated that she had to deal with it at all.

“Okay,” she said, blowing out a breath. “If you’re sure?”

“Positive.”

She gave his hand a squeeze and they walked together into the kitchen, where Jason and Cades were seated at the large table, empty lunch plates in front of them.

“Alpha Jason and Alpha Cadence, this is my truemate, Bella Sullivan. Bella, these are my alphas.”

Jason and Cades both stood and extended their hands. “It’s nice to see you again,” Jason said.

“Welcome and congratulations,” Cades said. “Have a seat. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” She picked up the plates and put them in the sink.

“No thanks,” Kash said.

When everyone was seated, Jason said, “So tell us what’s going on.”

Kash looked at Bella and gave her an encouraging smile.

She inhaled quickly, bit her bottom lip for just a moment, then said, “Would I be right in saying that Kinley didn’t tell you where I was from?”

Jason glanced at Cades and she shrugged at him. “She told us you were from Rhone, which isn’t a town we recognize. Why?”

“My parents are the alphas. Brett and Grace Sullivan.”

When that didn’t seem to register with the alphas, she continued, “You know my grandfather, Jake Sullivan, former alpha of the Garra Pack.”

Jason’s eyes went wide, his brows rising. Cades’ mouth fell open.

“I didn’t tell Kinley not to mention it or anything, I think she just didn’t realize it was an issue. I actually didn’t think it would be an issue either, but I also didn’t tell my parents I’d be coming to hang out here for the full moon. I…didn’t tell them I left town.”

Jason’s brows drew down. Cades said, “You just left? You didn’t clear it with your alphas?”

She told them how she wasn’t ever able to shift. “When my grandma was killed by that bullet, my wolf just retreated. I could feel her there, but she wouldn’t come out. No one knew if I’d ever be able to shift, and there was a lot of speculation in the pack that I actually couldn’t shift and would never. I haven’t hung out with my pack in months. It’s hard being on the outside of things, seeing the disapproval from people I’ve known my whole life. I know it rubbed my dad the wrong way, even though he never outwardly said anything. I’m his oldest, I should have been able to shift.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I called them this morning and they were pissed. Or at least my dad is. My mom isn’t from the Garra Pack originally so she didn’t have a strong opinion about this pack one way or the other, but she does defer to my dad.”

Jason settled back in the chair. “Why did you come here in the first place?”

“Kinley thought a change of pace would do my wolf good.”

“You met her at those dances?” Cades asked.

“Yeah. My brother and his friends would go with me sometimes. I’d hoped to meet someone who wouldn’t care that I couldn’t shift.” She looked at Kash and gave him a half-smile. “Kinley was right about me coming here, because I met Kash and he brought out my wolf. I can’t really explain it, but Kash feels like home to me, like my life was just waiting to get started here.”

“That’s all well and good,” Cades said, “but you said your dad is angry. You left town on the full moon and communed with another pack without permission. You potentially put us in a bad position with your parents, especially considering our history.”

Jason grimaced. “Did you think it would be okay for you to come here? Did you think your dad would be fine with it? I can tell you that as an alpha, I’d be furious if a pack member just ducked out without letting me know in order to hang out with another pack, let alone the depths of my rage that would happen if it were a family member.”

Bella closed her eyes and lowered her head. Kash wanted to protect her and tell Jason to fuck all the way off with his disapproving tone, but he knew he was right. Bella had made a choice and now she had to deal with the fallout.

Her hand was ice cold when he linked their fingers, and a fine tremble shook her as she lifted her head and looked at the alphas.

“I know what I did was wrong, but I genuinely didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. My parents have never cared if I was at the hunt since I couldn’t participate. And as far as the issues between the two packs, my whole life I was told that my uncle died during a wolf fight and I was never told any details. When I called my parents this morning, my dad said I betrayed him and called you a…” her voice dropped off and she lowered her head again.

“Called me what?” Jason asked.

Bella wouldn’t lift her head. He could feel her fear like it was a living thing, and he wanted to cover her with his wings and fly her the hell away. Instead, he filled in the words. “I overheard the conversation. He said you were a murderer. That you killed his brother.”

“What?” Cades demanded. “That’s not accurate at all.”

“Hold on,” Jason said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Brett’s right in a way. I did kill Chris, but I’m not a murderer, I delivered pack justice. Your grandfather was alpha at the time, and he supported my decision. I’m certain he grieved what happened, but he didn’t try to intervene.” He gave them an appraising look. “Do you know what happened? Why I had to fight Chris?”

Bella lifted her head again. “No. They never talked about it.”

Jason and Cades took turns telling the story, about a time before they mated when Alpha Jake, Bella’s grandfather, had given Jason thirty days to claim his truemate Cadence, or he wouldn’t stop his oldest son, Chris, from claiming her for himself.

“The night we mated officially in front of the pack,” Cades said, “Jason went out to hunt and I went to bed to rest until he returned. Chris and a few of his buddies took out the security team and drugged me. He planned to…” her voice stopped as she choked up. Brushing tears from her cheeks, Cades, said, “Shit I didn’t think this would bother me after so many years.”

“He planned to rape and force-mate her,” Jason said. “I gathered the pack and we found and rescued her before anything could happen. It’s against pack law—both of our packs—that interfering in a mating the way Chris did is punishable by death. We shifted and fought, and I killed him. My pack hunted down the ones that helped him.” He shook his head. “Renee was torn up by it of course, no matter that he’d gone off the deep end mentally, he was still her son. Jake decided to take the pack and move. Our packs had shared Allen for decades, so when they left there was a void—empty homes and closed businesses. I never knew where they settled, so when Kinley told me that you were from a pack in Rhone, it didn’t occur to me to ask who your alphas were.”

“Kinley didn’t know, please don’t be angry with her,” Bella said.

“I’m not, “Jason said, waving his hand. “I’m not happy with the way you came here, it feels disingenuous. But it also doesn’t seem that you had all the information.”

“I don’t know why Brett wouldn’t tell you the truth about everything,” Cades said.

“He said I betrayed him,” Bella said. “I didn’t know the whole story, but I’m not sorry I came here.” She squeezed Kash’s hand.

“What now?” Kash asked.

“What did your father say, exactly?” Jason asked.

“He said I had to come home immediately. Without Kash.”

Which had pissed Kash off to no end. Mates should not be split up, period.

“He said there would be repercussions, that I had to come home and face my punishment before the pack.” She shivered. “I don’t know what he has in mind, but I’m genuinely scared to pieces to see him.”

Kash put his arm around her. She leaned against him, her wolf letting out a soft rumble.

Jason drummed his fingers on the table. “I need some time to think. You didn’t mark each other?”

Kash shook his head.

“Keep it that way for now. There’s no need to rush and it most likely would only serve to piss Brett off more.”

Kash and Bella stood, and so did the alphas. Cades came over to Bella and gave her a quick hug. “It’s wonderful that you two found each other, and a bonus that your wolf felt safe enough here to come out. Speaking as parents with a child who made a choice that was tough for us to come to terms with, the gut reaction is often harsh, but just give your parents some grace and time to deal with things. We’ve got your backs regardless, and you’re welcome here as Kash’s mate.”

“Thank you,” Bella said.

They said goodbye and left. Kash turned on the truck when they were settled inside and looked at his beautiful mate. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” She chuckled mirthlessly. “Jason and Cades are really great, though. My dad wouldn’t have been so gracious with a guest of the pack doing what I did.”

“Your mom doesn’t have a lot of authority? You really only talk about things your dad does for the pack.”

She hummed. “Jason and Cades are clearly a unit and work together, even though it’s obvious that he’s the main alpha and she’s an extension of his authority. My mom has little authority in the pack. The females aren’t ranked and everyone falls under my dad’s authority. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him let her talk during a meeting, let alone speak on his behalf the way Cades did. It’s hard to believe our packs that are so different actually used to hang out together.”

“Maybe it was different under your Grandpa Jake’s leadership.”

“Maybe.” She sighed and leaned against him. “Since I can’t go to Rhone and probably won’t be able to for a while, I need some clothes for a few days.”

“Let’s go shopping. I want to take you on a date anyway.”

“Sounds perfect.”

He put the truck into gear and headed out of town to find his mate some clothes and see where the night took them.