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Mom reached out and patted my thigh. “It’s okay, my love. You’ve had a lot on your plate.”
Mark shifted on the couch so he sat up straighter. “But she’s right too, Mom. Those men are there willingly. Mostly, I suppose. At least Sawyer is actively working against the alpha, even if he was doing things while there.”
Mark fisted his hands in his lap. “Some of those guys are doing everything without questioning it, without doing anything to better the situation. I don’t know how we are supposed to trust them when they can follow Alpha Dane so blindly.”
Dad rubbed his chin. “All valid points. I don’t suppose that we can really make a judgment until we meet any potential people. I do think that we should consider accepting them, but we need to be cautious. My thought is we will handle them on a case-by-case basis.”
Mark looked at my dad for a long moment before he nodded his approval. Mom gave her consent too.
Then Dad turned his attention to me. I squirmed under his gaze. What if there were more men there like Sawyer secretly plotting? It would be hard to say something. No one knew who they could trust, and speaking out of turn to the wrong person would get you killed.
I mashed my lips together. “We’ll need to think of a careful line of questioning.”
Dad shifted on his feet. “Agreed. We need to be careful. We can all think about that and discuss in a few days.”
Mom patted my thigh again. “I was just telling Sloane over dinner that she needed to get out and go shift. She hasn’t shifted since the day she came home, and I think it would be good for her.”
Dad’s brows pinched together with worry. “Sloane, I know things have been hectic, but you have to take care of yourself.”
Heat scorched my cheeks, and I looked down at my lap. “I know. I’ll go as soon as we’re finished here.”
Dad closed the distance between us and put a hand on my shoulder. “I believe we are done here for now. I have a lot of thinking and strategizing to do with the other alphas, and I still have to think about what I want to tell them about what we’ve learned. You should go now, though. We’re not going to be discussing anything further this evening.”
I blew out a breath and stood as my dad moved away. He was always careful and cautious, taking his time to think through situations. He’d mull over everything that we’d discussed here before meeting with the other alphas in the morning.
Mom got up too and wrapped her arms around my shoulder. “Come, my love. I’ll walk you to the door unless, of course, you want one of your brothers to go with you.”
Mark looked like he was shellshocked. He had a fine sheen of sweat on his brow, and he kept running his hands through his hair. Brandon just stared absently at a spot on the couch. This was too much for them.
I couldn’t blame them. It was too much for anyone.
Mom tugged me a little closer as she led me to the door. She pressed her head against mine and gave me a gentle nudge so I had to go through first, and then she followed me out, closing the door behind her. Without a word, she followed me through the house and onto the front porch.
She reached up and brushed some hair from my face. “You carry all this weight on your shoulders, my love. You are so much like your father. I need you to go out there and relax. Run. Enjoy the freedom of your wolf. Can you do that for me?”
I threw my arms around my mom, hugging her tight.
She grabbed me and murmured in my ear, “Oh, my love. Everything is going to be okay.”
In my mother’s embrace, I could almost believe her. There was something about the safety of her that made me think that I could take on the world. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that was true anymore, though.
Alpha Dane was coming, and people were going to get hurt.
But she was right. I couldn’t keep carrying all of this on my shoulders.
My mom pulled back and kissed my forehead. “Go for a run. I promise you you’ll feel better afterwards.”
I closed my eyes briefly and sighed. A weight lifted from my chest that I didn’t even realize had been there. “Thanks, Mom.”
She patted me on the cheek. “You know I’m here for you anytime you need to talk, my love.”
My mom gave me a soft smile and then a shove toward the edge of the porch. “Now go. You need to run.”
I took the stairs two at a time and glanced over my shoulder to the front door. My heart thumped as I thought about Lincoln.
Mom waved at me. “I’ll be sure to send someone out to get you if anything changes with Lincoln.”
I forced a smile and waved at her before jogging toward the woods. To the right, a few houses lined the path where most of the enforcers stayed. Just beyond their quarters, more housing was quickly being built but wasn’t ready for inhabitants yet.
