You okay?
Colton comes through loud and clear, checking on me, and for a second it warms me that he does, that
maybe he felt my nervousness. His voice is that sound of home that I never knew I needed, and I find
myself exhaling, like I've been holding my breath, as I lean back into the chair less stiffly.
Just waiting on the others and sitting by the fire.
I reply, setting his mind at ease and hoping I sound as comfortable here as I am pretending to be.
I won't be long, my father kept all the leaders back to talk plans, schedules, you know what I mean. If
you need me, I'll leave our link open. Don't let any of them give you any shit or else they'll have to deal
with me. His deep husky voice has me pining for his presence, and I sigh wearily.
Matteo is being a gentleman and taking care of me; I'm sure he'll intervene. I'm trying to make him
relax, but the overwhelming surge I get back from his emotions that he didn't like what I said, surprises
me. It's a hint of jealousy and I blink at Matteo as though I'm missing the point. He has his back to me,
pouring his drink, and nowhere near me.
Right. Like I said I won't be long.
His tone is clipped, and he closes link before I can respond, despite saying he wouldn't, sounding off,
and moody, and I swear it actually makes me want to laugh at how ridiculous he's being. He sent me
here with Matteo, and now he's what? Jealous, because I said he was being nice. I knew males were
territorial and possessive by nature, worse so when they mate up, but I'm not even his and he has
nothing to worry about. We imprinted, and the fates made sure I have no desire to look at anyone else,
even if he did reject me.
I inhale sharply, shake it off, and go back to staring at the fire, trying not to let him get to me as the door
swings open and two boys stomp in arguing with one another
"You're a liar, I didn't say anything of the sort." The first male snaps, turning and spotting me and
instantly frowning like he's just been faced with a terrible or vile sight. He stops dead as the other
collides into the back of him with an exaggerated 'whooomph' noise. He's unsurprisingly dark haired,
tanned and has your typical Colombian look to him. All the Santos originated from there, before coming
here a few generations ago. They tend to mate up with others like them, so the bloodline stays purest,
and most of the males are sent back in early childhood to spend time in their homelands, so most have
mixed accents, like Colton does.
"Hey, watch it" the voice snarls angrily and shoves him forward, exposing an identical face and equal
build, and I realize these two boys are twins. If memory serves right, I can pull out of Colton's mind that
this is Domi, and Remi. They're younger than Colton by a year, making them eighteen, like me. Both
lanky, tall, athletic boys, with brown hair and soft hazel eyes. More Santos and I know for sure they're
Colton's distant cousins on his mom's side.
"And she is here why?" The first one turns to Matteo with a growl and is met with a snarl in response.
Matteo seemingly growing an inch taller and faces them down.
"Because Colton said so, and I doubt he wants to hear you were questioning it!" It's not a friendly tone
and it has the effect of dampening down the attitude on one of the twins at least.
"He's not questioning, he's just a little shocked that our pack room has someone … not of our pack" the
other chirps in, throwing me a devious side eye and I shrivel back into my chair, aware the waves of
prickling heat coming my way are hostility, even while he is smiling on like it's not.
"Who's not in our pack?" That female voice I've been dreading the arrival of, comes waving in as she
walks in the door. Thick like honey, and sultry, preceding her entry. She sashays in like the Queen of
the manor and stops dead in her tracks when she spots me. Grey eyes instantly storming over, pouty
mouth forming a thin tight light, and porcelain skin paling as rage ignites under the surface. Her eyes
start glowing intense amber as she growls her dislike at me and lowers her chin to move into an attack
stance. Wolves are aggressive by nature and we literally jump to fight for every little thing. Bite, nip,
attack. It's just how we are.
"Why in the fuck, has he let her in here?" Carmen loses her cool, steps at me fast but Matteo zaps
forward using his hyper speed, blocking her in a nanosecond, and standing between us. He stands
firm, lifts his chin, and makes a good show of exerting his dominance.
"Colton wanted her here and will be along soon, so pipe down, go sit over there and behave!" Matteo
has a tone not too dissimilar to Colton's alpha tone, only less effective, and she draws her eyes from
me to him, not as affected as she would be had their alpha said it.
"Don't tell me what to do…. You're not my alpha, hell, you're not even his beta." The undercurrent of a
snarl between them sizzles and I tense, waiting for it to get crazy in here. Surprised that Matteo is not
his second in command and I rake my memories to find out who is. I swear to god it better not be
Carmen, or I'm in trouble.
"Ahora, ahora, que tenemos aqui?" Another female voice floats in, soft, light, and strangely alluring,
with a deep raspy undercurrent as three more wolves stroll in unannounced, and I recognize her as
Meadow, one of the older femmes in her late twenties, mated to the one behind her, Cesar. Her brother
is in tow, Jesus, and they stop to gaze over the little scene in hand.
"Ahora Ninas, go sit down before I break a claw reminding you who is beta in this room when Colton is
not here. Sit!" Her accent is heavy, and thick, clear she's an incomer to Radstone and English is not her
first language. It's not uncommon for wolves with links elsewhere to sometimes bring in family pack
from further away, to live with them, or find a mate, and I know Meadow's been with us for a few years,
maybe even as far back as the war. Her accent has never faded though.
Matteo and Carmen give one last snarl and separate, walking to the couches, chastised, and
surprisingly not defying her. They're followed by the twins, who avert eyes from their new member and
instantly go into sulk mode, slumping together on one sofa and stare at me with lowered eyelids. No
hint of warmth, which adds to my growing uneasiness as I sit stiffly where I was. Meadow strolls into
the room fully, confidently, eyeing me up, unashamedly, and I get the sensation I'm being weighed up
as prey.
She's a sight to behold, at five feet eight, strong, graceful, and very Latino. Black hair, the most
amazing pale blue eyes under sculpted black brows, and deeply tanned skin. She has full lips, catlike
eyes with perfect make up, and an outfit of clingy denim with a blouse that shows off her ample
cleavage.
She's beautiful but has an aura of terrifying. She doesn't stray out of the Santo side of the lands much,
but it's obvious that Matteo is not Colton's second in command. Meadow is. I wouldn't argue with her,
her natural nails are long, sharp, and pointed, with a nice shellac of blood red, so I can't imagine what
her wolf claws would be like. She puts the fear in me with just her presence.
"Hi. I'm Cesar, this is Jesus…. and the infamous Meadow here." Cesar nods at me, no hint of either
dislike, or friendliness in his blank statement. He's another tall stocky type and I'm starting to see a
pattern with this pack. Best of the breed and all alarmingly alike, except Carmen, the only blonde
among them. They're all big, strong, and have lashings of both aggression and attitude, common
among our strongest. I'm sure as a pack they have many a battle of wills and lots of spats.
"She knows who we are, don't you, Amiga? She has Cole's memories and I'm sure she knows how to
access them." Meadow strolls in front of me, heels clicking on the hardwood floor, her eyes wandering
over me as she takes me all in without caring how uncomfortable it's making me. Devouring my
appearance with a critical eye.
"I do" I answer sheepishly, aware another has entered the open door and praying that has to be all of
them. This is getting crowded and I'm starting to feel like raw meat being lowered into a hungry lion's
den. I don't even glance their way, as Meadow has a commanding quality that demands you give her
our full attention.
"How, oh how, did the fates get this so wrong?" Jesus sneers at me, appearing beside her, not too
dissimilar in looks to his sister, only masculine where she is feminine, and instantly shuts up when
Meadow throws him a pointed glare with a subtle growl.
"The fates are never wrong! Don't you know that?" She snaps, before taking a calming breath, lifting
her hands, making motions in the air as though to accompany deep breaths. She smirks when she
catches my eye and bends towards me, almost dropping her massive boobs from her low-cut top in my
face. "I don't know. I sense something in this one. You think, Papi, she has a little summin, summin?"
Cesar doesn't seem impressed, or not impressed, totally blank, and I can only assume he is who she
calls Papi. I know it's a name for your lover or mate. She reaches out picking up a strand of my wild
unbrushed hair and runs her fingers through it slowly, tingling my scalp as it tugs gently. Putting me on
edge and making me so uncomfortable I feel like calling on Colton, but I don't. I have to expect his pack
are going to be like this at a first meet. I mean, he just threw me in with them amid all that happened
today, and they're sizing me up to see how much grit I have. I can't show them weakness, or they'll
shred me.
"Is it true she came from the home for the rejects? The ones the Vamps all slaughtered." One of the
twins can't conceal his disgust, and Carmen sneers, a look of anger crossing her face and darts him a
side eye glare.
"Yes. And our formidable alpha lowered his standards and tried to mark this mutt. He needs his head
read." Carmen is quick to chirp in with her dislike of me, seething hatred my way. The room feels like
it's closing in as anxiety builds and my panic grows, and I wonder how long before I get cornered and
chewed on.
"Ai…" It's a sharp sound given out to shut her up, Meadow standing to roll her own hair between two
fingers and facing them with an air of 'I'm getting so pissed'. "Don't disrespect our alpha's companera, I
won't tolerate it, and neither will he. Don't make me mad, Chica, I don't like when I get mad."
Meadow is by far the scariest femme I have ever come across and I don't know why she's unnerving
me so much, because she seems pretty sane on the surface. It's just, she has an aura that screams
'certified psycho' and every single time she moves, I flinch internally, getting antsier by the second as
she stands so close to me.
Carmen recoils, obviously knowing only too well that Meadow doesn't make empty threats and Matteo
clears his throat to distract her. He too seems like he knows he should diffuse things and it only
heightens my wariness. Some of the femmes in our packdom are worse than the mates in terms of
volatile aggression and ability to maim and I'm starting to think Meadow is one.
"Drinks anyone? While we wait on him." Matteo glances around for takers and gets a couple of quiet
nods.
"No, nosotras have other plans for our little companera. She needs a little help over here." Meadow
clicks her tongue at me to catch my attention and when I look up at her she extends her finger and
motions me to come. It's creepy and yet an order, and without question I slide up in my chair, heartbeat
elevating and wondering what the hell she plans on doing to me.
"You look like a bag lady who dresses out of the trash, Novia. If that's what Colton has you looking like,
you ain't gonna last long here. It's not a good look. Come, we have to fix this before I can sit and look at
you for any length of time. You're offending my eyes… What he do to you? You look like you been
working out on our man, huh? Maybe practicing getting marked, huh? Saying goodbye to your poppies
and letting his seeds blow up your wind tunnel, heh?" It's a dirty raspy laugh, following a dirty remark,
and I flush with embarrassment at her brazen statement as I catch her meaning. Knowing I probably do
look a little disheveled and I can almost taste Carmen's seething rage winding my way.
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