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The thought fell away, because I remembered my mom and little sister were missing.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Austin said, getting up off the bed. I watched him walk to the door and run his fingers through his messy hair. “You hungry?”
I shook my head.
“Feed your wolf, Lexi, or—”
We both widened our eyes at the sound of the doorbell.
“Austin!” a voice boomed.
He flew out of the room and I followed closely behind him. We hurried toward the front door where Denver stood beside a guy who was wearing a red tank top and long shorts.
We walked past them and when I looked at the man in the doorway, I frantically reached out.
“Maizy!”
Wrapped in the arms of a tall man with a defined jawline was my little sister. He glanced down at me with one sapphire eye and one brown, his dark hair pulled back tightly into a ponytail. Maizy slept soundly in his arms, dressed in her favorite pink skirt, white leggings, and princess shirt.
I scooped her up and smelled her hair, overwhelmed and sobbing like a baby. She stirred a bit and looked up. “Hi, Lexi,” she said sleepily.
“Hi, Maze. How’s my girl?”
She peered up at the man and back at me, whispering. Little did she know how loud her whispers were. “He’s my prince.” Then, after a few heavy blinks, she fell asleep.
“Thank you,” I said in a broken voice.
Austin stepped forward and introduced himself, quickly explaining he was the leader of a newly formed pack in the territory. The man watched him cautiously and I realized it was because he was a Shifter. Probably a well-known one in the area by the way Austin was speaking respectfully to him. Even I could sense his power.
“I’ll take her,” Denver said over my shoulder. My hands tightened. “Let me put her to bed so you three can talk,” he insisted. “I’ll guard her window and make sure she isn’t disturbed.”
Maizy needed sleep and I had to find out what was happening, so I capitulated, kissing her cheek.
“Wait,” the man at the door said. He reached around and pulled something from his back pocket, handing it to me with an uncomfortable expression. It was her princess wand. Just a small thing Maizy liked to carry around the house because she thought she could tap it on things and make magic happen.
“She kept hitting me over the head with it,” he said with a lazy grin. Sure enough, there were red marks across his forehead.
Denver took Maizy and the wand to bed.
“Come in,” Austin said. “My home is open to you.”
Maizy’s savior glanced down at the mountain of shoes by the door.
“No need,” Austin said. “Let me get you a beer.”
“Sounds good,” he rumbled in a loud voice. He wasn’t yelling; he just spoke at a volume that demanded your attention.
They walked a few paces to the right until they reached the bar just inside the living room. It was simple and seated three, with a black granite countertop and a canister of cashews. I glanced over at Austin’s brothers who were watching with interest. Two I didn’t recognize, but I could see they were identical twins.
Almost.
Austin strolled around the bar and pulled a few cold ones from a short fridge.
“Can we have privacy?” the man requested.
“Boys, out!” Austin bellowed. “You too, Lexi.”
“Uh-uh,” I protested. “Sorry, Austin, but this is my sister and mom we’re talking about. You’ll have to wrestle me off this stool if you want me out of here. No offense, mister,” I said, taking the seat to the man’s right.
