Roman's Vow (Riley's Pride #4) - Sandra R Neeley Page 0,98

and went to help them one night when they had problems with Richie’s father — who was an asshole alpha. After we fought them off, Riley welcomed me into his home, his private home where his mate and daughter lived, made sure I was fed and warm. Offered me sanctuary. He’s got a lot of property. It wasn’t much longer until he bought mobile homes and had them put in across the highway from his house. He offered them to me, Lucas, Richie, and Lazarus. Richie’s mom even lives in one of them.”

“It sounds like he’s a good man… er, male,” she said.

“He is. A lot of alphas will charge dues and demand that you give a percentage of your earning back to the Pride, but Riley doesn’t do that. We don’t even have to work for him if we don’t want to. We can work wherever we want. He just wants us to be happy and successful and to be ready to stand with the Pride if we’re needed. And our mates are part of the Pride, too,” Roman said proudly.

“Even if they’re human?” Talie asked, suddenly wondering how she’d fit into all this.

“Of course,” Roman said confidently. “Libby’s human, and she joined the Pride before she mated Travis. Constance is human, too, even though Richie’s a shifter. His father was a shifter. Riley says he wanted a place where anyone who has no place else to go can feel at home and safe. And that’s what he’s built. He don’t care who you are, as long as you’re a good person, and loyal to the Pride and your Pride members.”

“I think I like Riley. He sounds like a great person,” she said.

“He is. And so’s our Reigna,” Roman said. “You’re going to like her a lot.”

“Reigna?” Talie asked.

“Yeah, Riley’s mate. He’s Alpha, so she’s Reigna. You talked to her… Maia,” Roman explained.

“Oh! Yes, I did like her. She seemed so warm and kind.”

“She is, she’s very nurturing. But she don’t take no crap from anybody, including Riley,” Roman said, chuckling.

Talie smiled. “So, is she a Panther, too?”

“Naw,” he said. “She’s a Wolf.”

“Wait, what? She’s a Wolf, like a werewolf?” Talie asked.

“Yep. And I’m a Silverback — which you know,” he said, grinning as he thought of her curled up in his Gorilla’s lap. “And my nephew that helped me find Patrick Rooney is a Silverback, too, but he’s not exactly Pride yet. Richie, Lazarus, Yvette — who is Richie’s mate — she’s the girl that was with us when we met you, and Cristie — Riley’s daughter, are all Panthers. Travis is a Tiger, but his brother Scotty can’t shift even though he has shifter blood… because his mama was human and he got more human than shifter. And then we have Lucas. Lucas is a Kodiak Bear.”

“A Bear?!” Talie asked with her voice raised.

Roman grinned. “Yeah. A Bear. But we’re all good people, and watch each other’s backs and take care of our own. It’s like I said last night — we’re just like everybody else, with a little extra thrown in.”

Talie sat trying to keep straight all he’d just told her, but her mind was spinning.

Roman could feel the tension and anxiety coming from her. “Don’t be afraid, Talie. Everybody loves you already because you’re mine. Nobody wants to frighten you or hurt you.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just trying to remember who does what and how they’re related to who, and I’m afraid I’ll not remember all you’ve told me.”

“Oh, well don’t worry about that. Once you meet everyone and you have more than names to help you keep it all straight, you’ll remember. And if not, I’ll remind you.”

“Alright,” she said, smiling at him as she reached for his hand and threaded her fingers with his. This strange new world she’d stumbled into was somehow more comforting to her than any of her past had ever been. She had no doubt, this was where she belonged. Then she had a thought. “Does Darcie know about the way you can all shift?”

“No,” Roman said, shaking his head. “I didn’t want her to be frightened and thought she’d had enough to adjust to. I figured we’d know when the time is right to tell her.”

Talie smiled at the big, beautiful, dangerous yet kind male she’d pledged her life to and realized for the dozenth time since she’d placed her trust in him just how lucky she was. She squeezed his hand and sat back to enjoy