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“At least we know we’ll have enough manpower if we get attacked again.”
He scoffed. “I doubt it. Most of them are mothers and kids; their dads keep getting flagged as having bad intentions.”
I shouldn’t have chuckled, but it escaped me anyway as my brother glared at the next wolf to be turned away. At least it was a woman this time. “You think they won’t fight?”
“I think they’ll be too focused on trying to protect their kids. As they should be.”
I didn’t like the note of bitterness in his voice, but it wasn’t the time to address it.
Lucy hadn’t realized the extent of our torture as children, so I’d never held it against her. Auren seemed to hold some lingering resentment, though, and I wasn’t sure how to help him recover from that. Lucy was ultimately only human, and she couldn’t have stood up to Azazel even if she’d wanted to.
I heard Aria’s squeal before I spotted her, and my eyebrows climbed when I realized that she was hugging someone.
Auren patted my shoulder as he headed down to the checkpoint we’d set up, so I followed right behind him.
My mate was practically vibrating with joy, flooding the bond and infecting everyone around her, if those beaming smiles surrounding her were anything to go by.
“Sariel!” she called out as she spun, then paused when she realized I was already standing there. “This is my sister, Rebecca, and her husband, Harry—and the twins!”
Aria snatched both children from their parents, letting out a small huff when they were heavier than she’d expected.
I smiled at them. “Caiya and Mia, right?”
Two little heads bobbed in agreement.
“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Sariel Ambrose.”
My surname made everyone grimace—myself included—but Rebecca and Harry both came forward to shake my hand. To my amusement, the twins were eager to mimic their parents and follow suit.
“And this is my brother, Auren Ambrose,” I added, gesturing to Auren.
I tried not to let the longing for my own family ruin Aria’s moment, smiling and making small talk as my brother shook their hands and explained how things worked here. It wasn't until Aria tittered about personally showing them their accommodations that I let myself want my mom.
“We’ll bring them all home, Sariel,” Auren said quietly. It was like he’d sensed my longing.
I glanced over at him. “All of them?”
“Mikey, Credence, Lucy—all of them. Even Lucia and Grel’s family, if you want them here.”
I did. I wanted them all where I could protect them. Most of all, though, I justmissedthem. It had been too long since I’d gotten to hug them or even talk to them, and I was feeling it.
Auren’s vow helped soothe some of my ruffled feathers.
The two of us spent most of our day explaining housing and directing people to where they’d be staying; each person we spoke with was quick to volunteer to have their blood tested by Dr. Vasille. It was a shock at first, but hearing Aria’s cheerful, ‘I told you so’ through our bond had me smirking a bit.
Fallen-blood wolves have been ostracized for years. Honestly, having anyone willing to help them is probably a relief.
Her voice was soft, almost like she was whispering to me.
Let’s just hope we actually can,I said back, if a bit sullenly.
A teenager was chasing after a pair of toddlers with a grin while their parents spoke to Auren, and I found myself hypnotized.
Pack Homer filing in with Bastille was definitely a surprise, but a nice one. While my mate’s former pack members were all being perfectly polite, some of the anxious look the red-eyed fallen-bloods were getting made it clear that this new arrangement would take some getting used to for them.
When I joined my brother, the woman he was speaking to stumbled over her story. She took a moment to bounce her baby and looked back and forth between us.
“Anyway, Azazel was torturing most of us in the guise of tests. Tyler had everyone convinced that someone was finally listening, so we just put up with it, but…” She looked at the baby on her hip. “My son’s father was one of the ones who didn’t come back. A lot of the ones limping around here are the older test subjects that managed to survive. They don’t talk about what was done. Do you think we could figure something else out for them?”
