I feel Stone behind me and he pulls me a little from Koda. I roll my eyes. Koda just smiles, seeming to like how possessive Stone is with me.
“Did they get you, too?” The question has been sitting there since everything came flooding back. I remember coming home from school. Two men taking me and shooting me full of tranquilizer darts. When I finally came to in the back of a truck, I managed to escape. I’d shifted and run for what felt like hours and hours, or maybe even days. Until the Gray Ridge pack found me. The trauma and drugs must have made everything in my memory go black.
“Yeah, they got me.” His words are filled with pain. “But you got away. Gwen told me they found you. That you couldn’t remember.” He motions to Gwen, who is watching us. X just keeps his attention on Gwen.
Gwen can talk for hours. I’m sure she filled him in on a lot when I was in the shower with Stone.
“You didn’t, though?” I hold my breath. I have no idea why those men came for us. What their plans might have been.
“No, Winnie, I didn’t. I just got free about six months ago. I’ve been looking for you ever since. I had no idea what happened to you. Or which direction you went in.”
“What did they do to you? They had you this whole time. Oh, my God.” My questions fire out. I feel like the floor has dropped out from beneath me. Here I’ve spent years thinking I was just some forgotten cub whose family didn’t want them. In reality, I had a brother who was fighting God-knows-what.
“That story is for another time. I’m just glad I found you. It’s been killing me not knowing if you were okay. I’d learned you got away but nothing else.”
He reaches out and touches my face.
“You’ll stay, right? Here with our pack?” I plead. I don’t want him to go. Before it was just him and me, but we can have a life here. I look up at Stone, who is looking at Koda.
“You’re welcome into our pack. I know it would make my Winnie happy if you stayed. You’re family now.”
Koda’s hand drops from my face, and he starts to smile.
“I’m not shocked you mated to an alpha. You might have been shy, but you could always make anyone smile and want your attention.”
Stone growls behind me, making my body shake and Koda’s smile bigger.
“I don’t want anyone else’s attention,” I say, not looking back at Stone.
“Damn, this family just can’t stop growing. I love it,” Gwen says, breaking into the conversation. “How about we make something to eat? I’m starving.”
“You’re hungry? Why didn’t you say something?” X speaks for the first time. Irritation is clear in his voice. His mate should never go wanting.
“I’m saying something now. We’ll cook something, then we can all get to know each other a little better.”
“I like the sound of that,” I say, smiling from ear to ear.
16
Stone
I stand in the middle of the room, surrounded by the entire pack, waiting for my mate to walk in. Winnie has no idea I’ve set this all up, but hopefully, if Gwen has done her job, they’ll be walking in at any moment.
I’m dressed in a suit, and it feels so strange, but I wanted this night to be extra special for my Winnie. Looking around, I see our entire pack dressed up for the occasion, including Winnie’s stepsisters and stepmother. Even Koda is looking sharp, standing off to the side with Xavier.
After the past week, we’ve been basically locked in our home together, just enjoying our new life and new love. But I wanted to do something to present Winnie to the pack and to show everyone how proud I am of her.
When I see the front door open, I feel a rush of excitement in my chest. I smell my mate before I see her, and I wait as first Gwen enters the room, taking her place at Xavier’s side, and Winnie follows behind her.
She’s got her brown curls pinned back, and her soft blue dress clings to her every curve. The neckline dips low enough that my mate mark shows, and it makes possessive pride swell in my chest. My eyes travel down her body to see that she’s got on what looks like clear shoes. They sparkle in the light just like her dress, and she looks as if she’s covered in diamonds.
“Am I like a fucking fairy godmother or what?” Gwen whispers from behind me.
I can’t take my eyes off Winnie as I hold out my hand, and she blushes a deep red as she walks towards me. When she gets to where I’m standing, she reaches out, taking my hand and coming to my side.
“What’s going on, Stone?” she whispers, as she looks around at everyone in the pack.
“I wanted to invite everyone here tonight to see your beautiful pictures, as well as show off my new mate. I wanted to officially announce you as mine and let everyone meet you.”
Her eyes go wide as they travel around the room, seeing her photographs displayed on every wall of the town art gallery. “Oh, Stone. You didn’t.”