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Deacon took a step back toward Estella when someone knocked. Once again, we all focused on the door, barely daring to breathe as Deacon grasped the handle.
With a twist, the door was pulled open. A group of shifters of various ages and body types. My eyes zeroed in on a swatch of bright hair that stood out like blood on snow. The color was familiar, but then the group shifted, and I lost sight of it.
“Thanks for coming.” Deacon stepped to the side, revealing Rylan and me.
“Alpha,” the man at the front said, dropping his gaze so he wasn’t looking directly at Rylan. “We’re here to help.”
“Pearl?” a feminine voice asked, breaking the tension.
I peeked farther around Rylan and watched as a short wolf appeared from behind the leader. Her hair was dyed bubble gum pink while the ends were a bright purple. I recognized her immediately, and if Rylan wasn’t blocking my way, I’d run to her.
“Arden.”
Chapter Nine
Rylan
Pearl slipped past me faster than I could react. She ran to her friend, who had tears streaming down her cheeks, eyes full of relief to see her whole.
“I thought you died,” Arden wailed, wrapping her arms around my mate.
“It’s okay. I’m alright,” Pearl assured her, hugging her back.
I was stepping in front of the two girls before I could blink, my chest rumbling with a warning to these new wolves. Every one of them took a step back, eyes downcast as I stood protectively between them and the two friends.
I knew how important Arden was to Pearl. I wouldn’t get in the way of their reunion, but I would protect them both. My wolf viewed Arden as a pack member, so we would defend her just as fiercely as we would our mate.
“How are you here?” Pearl asked the question I was dying to know as well.
“You know better than anyone that enforcers must keep their identities secret.” Arden wiped tears off her cheeks.
“So… you’re an enforcer?” Pearl’s voice took on a steelier tone.
“I couldn’t tell you before.”
“I know. I know.” Pearl’s reply hurt my heart.
This must have been hard for her, facing the very people that her and her family used to be part of. I knew she felt like she’d been abandoned by the others, but Arden was right, she couldn’t tell anyone. Enforcer secrecy kept them alive. I have no doubt that any alpha that found out who the enforcers were in his pack wouldn’t hesitate to strip them of their duty.
Deacon stepped to my side, looking over the gathered wolves on the front porch. At first glance, there seemed to be about twenty in total, give or take a couple.
“What is the aftermath?” Deacon asked the leader, his eyes narrowed and focused.
My attention turned to the leader too, curious about how the packs reacted to Tamra’s control and the meteor that the Moon Spirit smashed into the archives.
“Chaos.” The wolf ran a hand through his curly reddish hair.
“How so?” I asked, shifting to the side so I could keep Pearl and Arden in my sight along with the gathered wolves.
“That’s something that we need to discuss…” The leader trailed off and glanced around like he expected to be overheard.
“Come inside,” I invited, grabbing Pearl and Arden and pulling them out of the way to allow the wolves to enter.
Deacon withdrew to the kitchen, and I wondered what he was doing when I realized that both Estella’s had disappeared. I frowned, wondering if I should go see if she was all right but also knowing that four was a crowd. She was probably just overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of so many people. I empathized with that and made a mental note to watch out for it in the future.
“My name’s Teo, and I’m from the Sanda Pack,” the red-haired leader introduced himself.
“I’m Rylan, beta for the Daywa pack.” It was an automatic response, but I knew that I wasn’t just a beta anymore. Teo seemed to know it too since he smirked but didn’t say anything.
