Moon Child (The Year of the Wolf #2) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,31

okay. The scratches are still sore as hell. The infection only just worked its way out of my system.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I peered at her aura, trying to see if I could sense the injury, but I saw nothing.

She wafted a hand. “Don’t be silly. I know you didn’t.” Her smile turned less dubious, a little brighter as she turned to my mates, and I knew that was a prompt.

So, taking it, I declared, “Guys, this is Lara.”

“Figured as much,” Austin said dryly. “Seeing as she’s the only chick who got out of the SUV.”

I stuck out my tongue at him. “You’re such a smart ass.”

“My ass is many things, and smart is definitely one of them.” I knew if we’d been alone, he’d have tapped his butt, and I grinned at the thought of him doing that in front of the strangers who were from a foreign pack.

I must have sent the imagery across, because all three mates were coughing as they hid their own amusement, but I twisted around, saw the others standing there, a tad awkwardly, and I knew why.

I’d forgotten about Berry!

And she was so close to them that it was beyond awkward.

Her haunches were high, her eyes narrowed, and she was staring at them like they were a threat.

More importantly, with her head at the same level as their dicks, it was no wonder they were all standing in a way that shielded said penises with their hands.

The sight had my lips twitching, and I clicked my tongue. “Berry. Stop it. They came to help us.”

“Smell different.”

“They’re from a different place.”

She heaved a sigh. “Too many people. Not good.” Another sniff. “Can scent hyena. Why?”

“Lara was attacked by one,” I explained, ignoring her answering huff.

I knew she was only huffing and puffing because she hated change, but when I whistled under my breath, her two pups, the ones Ethan had saved, came scampering out of the house and darted around her.

I was surprised to see that they were growing at a rate that was definitely not what Wikipedia had advised. But when I thought about how unnatural they were, I guessed it wasn’t that unusual. They were still smaller, not as mature, even though they were a year old at this point and shouldn’t be pups anymore—yet pups was exactly what they were. I liked seeing them together, mostly because it made her chill the fuck out.

The second they were dancing circles around her, she yipped at them to back off, which, of course, they ignored.

As the three of them grew more entangled in play, I eyed the men and said, “I’d move aside now if I were you, before she remembers you’re here.”

One guy blinked, then muttered, “Never seen a natural that big before, ma’am.”

“We breed them big in the boondocks,” Eli called out, striding forward to curve an arm around me. He hauled me into his side, then held out a hand.

The men eyed it warily, but I understood why—alphas didn’t shake hands with just anyone. But these weren’t just anyone. They’d helped bring my sister home and through several packs who weren’t their own.

That was dangerous, according to my mates, so they deserved a reward.

I cleared my throat and murmured, “I just wanted to thank you for helping Lara.”

“It was our pleasure.” The one in the middle was the enforcer, but I sensed beta-type personalities in the other two as well, just not as strong as the middle one. “But we’ll be off now, Alpha,” he declared after warily taking Eli’s hand and shaking it.

Once.

“You must stay the night,” I argued. “You’ve traveled a long time. You must need the rest.”

But they all shook their heads and eyed Berry up like she was a box of TNT.

I couldn’t blame them, not when I’d seen her tear into my brother, Cyrilo, and rip his throat out.

My lips quirked at the thought, because that bastard was the one who’d killed my son, my high school sweetheart-husband, and who had torn my throat out and made me a shifter. Of course, I had a lot to be thankful for, but that wasn’t to say that I had to be happy about how it had all come about, did I?

He hadn’t intended for me to find three mates, to become the female leader of a powerful pack, and to have a connection with the Mother that would see me change the way the pack was governed in more ways