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“How the hell did you guys afford to buy all that land? Weren’t you on the run for the last few years?” Sam asked as he leaned up against the porch railing with his arms crossed and a confused frown.
“We worked some lucrative black market jobs. We rescued a wealthy CEO’s daughter, stuff like that,” River said, completely unfazed by Sam’s sometimes gruff exterior.
“Is that where you guys went this morning?” Hunter asked, and the twins nodded in unison. “When Damon took over the farm, he tried to buy the land on the other side of the ridge, knowing one of the cave tunnels came out there. But it was owned by a family trust under the name Ford and they wouldn’t sell. Which is why we didn’t know the name Fischer when Maia arrived, asking about Ava’s uncle.”
“So if you leave, we’ll still be neighbors?” Maia asked as she bounced on her feet like an eager puppy, making Bear circle her protectively.
“You’re never getting rid of me, you know that, right?” I teased her, and she grinned back at me.
A flashback hit me of the first time I’d come across her in the library at the Palace. I’d heard the handlers gossiping about her ability to deny an alpha, and I’d felt drawn to her strength. Yet that day she’d looked so worn down and lonely. I’d been so hesitant, and probably awkward as hell, but she’d lit up when I’d approached her and asked her what she’d been reading. Our stolen moments together got me through when I’d started to despair of ever getting out. She taught me to be strong just by being around her. She never gave up, no matter what they threw at her. Watching her thrive within her pack now gave me hope everything was going to be okay for both of us.
“We need to find you an electric dirt bike so you can come visit easily,” Lexie said, and my eyes widened.Oh, hell yeah.
Lexie was going to be a bad influence on me in the best kind of way, and I looked forward to seeing where our friendship led.
“Ava used to have a kid’s one. She was a menace on that thing,” Ryder said affectionately. “She’s also a great rider, and mom has horses. We’ll figure it out.”
“I always wanted to learn how to ride. We didn’t have horses on our farm growing up. Could you teach me?”
“Sure, but can we wait until you’re not pregnant?” I didn’t want to be responsible for anything happening to the precious little bun in her oven or incur the wrath of her mates. She just laughed and agreed.
“That may take a while. I plan on knocking her up again straight away,” Hunter said with a smirk. Maia whirled and smacked him on the arm, but she was grinning.
“I haven’t ridden in so long. I can’t wait to get back on a horse again,” I said.
“I’ve gotta say, your perfect princess routine was one hell of an act if you grew up a tomboy farmer’s niece,” Lexie said.
“Not really,” River replied.
“She was always sweet, and kind of quiet,” Ryder said, finishing River’s sentence as he leaned over and ruffled my hair the same way he used to do. It made my heart happy to see them back in sync. “She just didn’t mind getting her hands dirty either, and couldn’t stand being left behind whenever we were getting up to mischief.”
“Would you be willing to barter or trade if your family is growing things over there we aren’t?” Lexie asked them.
“Of course,” River said quickly, as if he didn’t even have to think about it. “Mum’s taking an inventory of what they have stored and can spare to send to people in town after I told her what’s been happening. But she can put stuff aside if there’s something you need here. She wanted to help before, but they weren’t willing to venture far since the Crash. Their electric fences are down and they don’t have any security. They weren’t part of the Network, but my dad buried something in the backyard when Ava’s uncle called from the city the night she disappeared. I confirmed with dad it was his comms device. Dad’s going to dig it up so we can communicate.”
“Our parents are pretty limited at the moment, though,” Ryder added. “They only have a couple of buildings with solar power, and it’s not enough to keep the place going, let alone the fences. We could do with some advice on setting up wind or turbine power off the river like you have here, as well. I’d love to see the two farms become a working cooperative if you’re open to it. We’ve only farmed a part of our land, so we have plenty of space to expand and help people who are struggling out there.”
“Helping your family get secure is a given. We’ll work on that straight away,” Hunter said. He came across as cheeky and lighthearted, but I’d noticed he was always the first one to jump in and help anyone who needed it. Maia shot him a soft smile as she leaned over to grab his hand and squeezed it.
“We’ll help any way we can,” Lexie said. “I think a cooperative is a great idea, too, but everybody gets a vote here. We’ll have to bring it up at the family meeting.” I could almost see Lexie’s brain working, though, and I didn’t see anyone here having a problem helping their neighbors. It was the foundation they built this place on.
“I think we should move our family meeting until this afternoon, or maybe even tomorrow. It can wait a day,” Maia said. “You should go reunite with River and Ryder’s family, and see your house now.”
“Really? Are you sure?” I asked, almost bouncing on my feet. I desperately wanted to go. River and Ryder’s mom had been a second mother to me growing up. I could almost feel the hug she had waiting for me. And I was insanely curious about the house they had built.
“Of course,” Lexie said. “Maia’s right. Family is important. Everything we need to talk about can wait another day.”
“We have to grab Angel first, though. If we’re seeing our home for the first time, we need the whole pack there,” Wolf said.
I froze, hardly daring to breathe. “You want Angel there, too? As part of our pack?”
“Of course,” Wolf said, looking at me with a frown. I could feel his confusion. “She’s ours. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because you can’t just claim someone else’s child. We really should look for her parents,” Ryder said. He felt conflicted in the bond, and I wasn’t sure he wanted to. It was the right thing to do, though. As hard as it would be to see her leave.
“You really think if Maven were experimenting on her, they would have left her parents alive?” Wolf asked softly.
“He’s right,” Nick said as he pulled me into his arms. I went willingly, needing him to anchor me in the spinning. “I found files on Angel on the Palace servers. So much has happened, I haven’t had time to talk to you all about it. Phillip was her father, her mother didn’t survive their brutal testing regime.”
