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Then I saw it again. This time, the movement gave off the shape of a person. Not wanting to freak everyone out, I lightly nudged Kane’s arm and stared in that direction. He tensed and glanced over before deciding to do exactly what I was avoiding. Honestly, I had no idea why I’d expected differently. Sometimes, alpha problem solving was a lot more wrecking ball than fine-tuned subtle strategy.
“Someone’s creeping outside.”
Everyone tensed, and the coven sat up from their lounging positions to look.
Maxon growled, the sound low in his throat. “I have alarms. How have they not tripped them?”
“They might be outside of them,” I pointed out. “They’re past those trees.” He turned to where I was pointing and nodded.
“They are,” he agreed. “I’m going out.”
“I’ll come,” Kane agreed while Draven and I also stood. Niko stayed behind with Kylan and the omegas.
The moment we were outside, I could smell it—the strong hint of shifter, lion if I had to guess, and magic. The magic was mixed with the smell of fire, which I assumed was the dragon, but we didn’t have our omegas out here to confirm it.
“Come out,” Kane ordered, his voice full of alpha command. My jaw dropped as two kids stepped over. They weren’t kids, honestly, more like older teens, but either way, that wasnotwhat I’d expected.
“Don’t hurt us,” one called back, his voice shaking even though he tried to keep it even.
“We won’t,” Kane promised. “Just come tell us what you’re doing.”
They stepped further into the lights shining from the corner of the house. I could tell that the one talking was definitely a lion, his predator prowling just behind his eyes. The timid one behind him was a beta—a dragon, or at least something mixed with one.
“Come inside,” Maxon ordered. “It’s freezing out here, and we have food. You look half starved.”
They both sagged in relief and followed us inside. The movie was still paused, and the lion lit up when he eyed the screen. “Oh my gods, is thisLurk? It’s so good!”
"It is,” Quinn answered. I couldn’t blame her for the confusion in her voice. I was just glad there was no anger or hostility there. Dealing with frightened teens was much different than handling a powerful and fully grown supe.
“Names.” Kane was as blunt and eloquent as ever, and Levi groaned. He was always trying to soften our fiery alpha, but it never worked. But then again, with our group, it was nice to have that one person who wasn’t afraid to be blunt and harsh. We had Niko to charm people, Levi to keep us humble, and me to keep everyone calm.
“Clark and Victor,” the lion said, pointing to himself then his friend. “We were living in Denver, but something changed. The pull was so strong that he couldn’t ignore it, and I wasn’t going to let him come alone. So we ended our lease, threw our stuff into storage, and here we are. We just arrived tonight but didn’t know where to go. He led us here. We just didn’t know how to approach.” He gave an apologetic shrug, that uncertainty showing through again.
“We’ve got a place you can stay,” Farren promised, jumping right in to help.
Their stomachs growled in unison, so loudly that their faces heated. That was Quinn’s cue to jump up.
“Food first,” she declared. “And I really want to see how this movie ends.”
“It’s worth it,” Clark offered, shifting from foot to foot.
“Hey,” Farren said gently. “I can explain more tomorrow, but I’m the reason you were called here, and you aren’t the only ones. You’re safe though, okay?”
It was Victor that spoke this time, his words so soft we had to strain to listen. “Are you sure?” There was something more in his voice, and I stepped forward, a hand outstretched, but stopped just before I reached him. He flinched, and it solidified what I’d assumed, that we had yet another dragon who had lived through some form of hell. Taking a chance, I slowly let my hand hit his shoulder, my fingers landing on his neck to try to help ease his nerves.
“We’re family here, okay? We’ve got security and protection. You really are safe here. We’ve all survived some bad things, but we’re healing. Emberwood is where you belong.” He relaxed then, which meant I’d luckily said the right thing.
Quinn walked in a few moments later. She was carrying two plates piled high with leftovers and two cans of soda. Before she sat down again, she passed them off to the kids, giving them a smile and a quick wink.
“Let’s do this!” she cheered, and someone clicked the movie back on. Ten minutes later, their plates were cleared, cleaned, and put away. Everything was going fine for us, but the shit was hitting the fan for the poor nurse. Ghosts were coming out of the woodwork, she was having visions and talking to the dead, and something dark was coming for her. It ended with only two more screams from Jude, and it was a damn good movie.
We all stood up and stretched as the credits rolled. Farren gave Quinn a hug goodbye, and we gathered our gear.
“Thanks for a great night,” I told them sincerely. “Next time we’ll have to have you up at Mountainview.”
“That’d be awesome! I can’t wait to see the inside,” Quinn agreed. “Be safe.”
“You’re with us,” Niko told Clark and Victor, who followed us through Emberwood and up to the hotel.
