my mind, I wiggled from Faust's grasp the moment my feet hit the ground. Dog pressed against my legs, and I rotated toward him, pushing my fingers through the fur at the back of his neck. The heat coming from Faust's body remained close.
This way. Mind the steps, pup.
I followed obediently. Faust lingered, giving me a clear view of the hotel. It was massive, bigger than one hundred towers, but it didn't look ostentatious or out of place. Nature had grown in around it, filling in the sharp edges. Someone had done work recently to the entrance. The smell of fresh-cut cedar mixed with the brine from the sea.
The wide front door slammed opened. The moment I spotted three new male bodies, I dropped to my knees behind Dog, using his bulk to hide me.
"It's okay," Faust murmured. "They are who I was telling you about. My pack. That's Knox standing in the front and Huntley and Jagger behind him. They won't hurt you either."
I dared to sneak a peek at Knox while Faust spoke. His face tightened like he wasn't so sure he wouldn't hurt me.
My feet dug into the dirt as my instincts took over. Terror turned what little muscles I had tight and unmovable.
Faust faced his pack, his Adam's apple bobbing as he spoke. "You're scaring him." His voice lacked the gentleness it had when he spoke to me. "Can't we do this inside?"
"If you'd called, I would've met you off the property," Knox grumbled.
Faust stiffened, and the heat coming from him intensified. Was something going wrong? Did his pack not know he'd found me?
Dog let out a long, low growl that I felt against my forehead.
Knox stepped completely out of the doorway, leaving room for the men behind him. "Snarl all you want. We're making sure that man is who you think he is before I let him in our home with my mate, son, and pack."
Faust's jaw tightened, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
His pack didn't want me near them. Was it because they knew what Mr. Grouse had known? That I was a danger? A menace?
The idea that this powerhouse of a man thought I could bring him danger was laughable. What did he think I would do? Hide too hard?
"Knox, he's terrified," one of the others said. I didn't know which was which, and from the few short glances I'd stolen so far, they looked impossible to tell apart.
"Emotions can be faked," Knox barked.
Faust's hands clenched into fists. Perhaps this wasn't going how he thought it would, and I wasn't safe.
Movement from my right brought my gaze to a set of windows where I spotted a brown-haired woman and a man holding a baby. The man had a bright bushy head of red hair. He had to be the curly one.
Maybe it was because Dog had already mentioned him, but when I saw him, I felt a little calmer. Or at least less like I expected to be kicked at any minute.
I wanted to be brave and tell them who I was, what had happened. Maybe then they would believe I wasn't capable of hurting them, despite what Mr. Grouse thought. I could've asked any number of predators to hunt and kill Mr. Grouse for what he'd done, but not only would I have cut off my food supply, I couldn't.
I didn't know if it was my weakness, my soft body leading to a soft mind, but I had never been able to turn on the part of me that made it okay to hurt people.
I tried a second time to say the words that would put the men at ease, but my tongue refused. I whimpered instead and squeezed Dog.
"Have you ever seen Dog let anyone else hang on him like that?" the other of the identical ones asked. He lifted his chin, revealing a thick scar across his throat. I looked away with a shudder as I imagined the violence required to leave behind a mark like that.
There was more movement on the other side of the doorway, and I hoped the curly one was coming. My heart felt light in anticipation of seeing him face to face.
Instead, Diesel emerged, taking in our standoff with bored curiosity. "I figured this was what was taking so long. Jazz is getting restless." He stepped down the steps, coming to Faust's side, making the five of them look like they were at a standoff.
Don't worry, pup. Once they realize you are not