Reese (Pack of Misfits #2) - Raven Kennedy Page 0,26

to drink from, a constant stream of filtered water to keep it fresh. Or the bales of hay that look like they’re used as both extra seating and a snack. Or the various balls lying around the yard, like all sorts of animals pick them up and play with them.

“This is really cool,” I say, admiring it all. “And everything is so big. You have so much space here.”

Addie nods and smiles as she looks around. “We do. We’re lucky. Hugo found us this land with the woods surrounding the property and plenty of acreage to build on. We’ve made it our home. There are over a hundred of us, so we need the space, but even with so many of us now, we still don’t feel overcrowded here, because Hugo planned for it all. This is his vision. A place where all kinds of shifters can live in harmony.”

“Is it?” I ask curiously. “Harmony, I mean.”

Addie pauses as I slightly stumble over a rock in the path. She kicks it out of the way and helps me keep going, not even commenting on it. Most shifters would have snickered or marked the weakness.

“It is. Don’t get me wrong, when I say we’re a family, I mean it,” she says with a chuckle. “We argue sometimes. We get on each other’s nerves. We’re closer to some more than others. But at the end of the day, everyone has each other’s backs. We’re all just so...grateful.”

“For being here?”

She shakes her head. “For him,” she says, jutting her chin toward Hugo. “I’m telling you, there isn’t another alpha in the world like him.”

I believe it.

Lug Nut turns around with a smirk. “You keep talking about him like that, and you’re gonna give him a big head.”

Addie laughs. “He can’t hear me. Old age,” she teases. I flick my gaze to Hugo. He’s not old at all. Older than Addie and I, sure, but as far as shifters go, he’s in his prime and will be for a long time.

Hugo stops and turns, pale eyes narrowed on her. “Listen, you little shit, I’m not old.”

Her eyes sparkle with amusement. “Okie dokie, old man.”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“Nope,” she says cheerfully. “I’m off today.”

He shoots a look at Igor. “Can’t you make her train or some shit?”

“No!” Addie quickly interjects. “I take it back!”

“She hasn’t done drills in weeks,” Igor says, and I realize it’s the first time I’ve heard him speak. If I thought Hugo had a gravelly voice, Igor’s takes the rocky cake.

“Busted,” Lug Nut teases.

Addie groans, and my mouth quirks up. The way they needle and taunt each other is so damn endearing. Like they truly are just a family. As someone who grew up without a mom or siblings, and a dad who died when I was young, it’s heartening to see.

Veering off the dirt path to head up the stone walkway, I continue to listen to the four of them razz each other, and then Igor is opening the door, and I find myself in a giant gym.

Treadmills, stationary bicycles, dumbbells, pull-up bars, plus so many more machines and equipment that I don’t even have a name for. There’s also a padded area where I can see some people grappling, and another area in the back, lined with mirrors, where it looks like people are practicing some sort of martial arts.

“Welcome to hell,” Addie quips, her lips turned up. “Hugo makes everyone do at least a little self-defense training here. If you’re lucky, you can train with one of the nicer enforcers.”

I look at her a little uneasily. “And if I’m unlucky?”

“Then you’ll train with me,” Igor says, and I eye the big bald man. His bicep is bigger than my face. He could crush me—on purpose or on accident.

“I hope I’m lucky then,” I murmur. Addie snorts.

Hugo leads us past the machines where the padded mats are, and he gives a sharp whistle. Immediately, the males and females in the gym stop what they’re doing and head over, all of them in some kind of work out clothing, sweat coating their bodies.

I let my arm over Addie’s shoulders drop, forcing myself to stand without help. When all of the shifters circle around, I count twelve new faces, and I do my best not to fidget under their attention.

“You don’t have to do that,” Addie whispers to me, and I realize right after she says it that I have my eyes downcast, not looking