“Oh my god, that’s incredible,” Mason gasped, pulling me into a hug. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” I said, realizing this might be the first time outside of Conrad that I’ve had someone to celebrate with.
“You aren’t going anywhere, now. You’re stuck with us.”
“I already am,” I said. “You can’t get rid of me now.”
“We never planned to,” Cade said. He was watching me with that lopsided smile I loved.
It was getting a bit too heavy so I finished catching them up.
“He wanted me to stay behind since I wouldn’t have your guys’ protection. I’m not sure if it was one of you or Conrad who spoke to him, but either way, I’m grateful.”
“That means we get you all to ourselves this weekend,” Mason cheered. “No more planning around work hours.”
“I still can’t believe you guys are suspended,” I said with a laugh.
“Really?” Kieran deadpanned. “After getting to know us, you still can’t understand how we did that?”
“Okay, maybe I can,” I agreed.
“We just protect what’s ours,” Cade said, completely unrepentant.
Ours.
It had a really nice ring to it. They’d done nothing but protect me from the moment they met me, even before they knew I was their mate.
A glass clinking cut off the conversation. Our host was back front and center now that the tables were finished eating.
“Dessert will be served later, after you have a few more answers,” Mr. Smith called out. “For now, if you would follow me into the rest of the mansion, we can get started.”
They truly had transformed the banquet hall into a miniature mansion. Several rooms were partitioned off, complete with furniture and props. It looked like a lot of work went into this.
“Do they do this often?” I asked.
“Once a month,” Mason said. “I’ve never been before, but I always wanted to. I thought you seemed like the kind of girl who would love this. Was I right?”
“You were, and I knew you were behind that note and dress,” I said. He just smirked and walked ahead, leading our pack forward.
Wilder slid his hand into mine. His hazel eyes were open and excited. “What do you think? Maybe start in the back and work our way forward?” he suggested.
“Works for me,” I said, pulling him along. His comforting scent was stronger now, wrapping around me like a warm hug.
The back room was a makeshift library. I ran my fingers delicately over the spines of the prop books, shocked to find that they wereactualbooks. I pulled down an old compilation of fairy tales, smiling when I saw the local library stamp inside.
I loved that they got the Westgrave Community Library involved. I was a sucker for the community working together.
“We’re looking for a connection that we have to Mr. Smith,” I mused. “I’m surprised they didn’t tailor the clues to us. How will we know what’s meant for us?”
“Oh, fuck,” Cade cursed, slapping his forehead. “I was so nervous last night I didn’t even think about it. They sent us information about who we are. We have a whole backstory.”
Lennon rolled his eyes. “That might’ve been helpful before we started all this.”
“It’s fine. I have it with me,” Cade said, pulling out a folded envelope and offering it to me.
The gold-flecked letter was fancy. I ran my finger over the gold script, impressed that it was hand-written and not printed. Even the letter inside was the same, the ink smudged in a few places, making it feel authentic.
Dear Rhodes Pack,
