“Gabrielle?” he asks, his eyes scanning me where I’m frozen in fear against the metal.
“Everyone step back,” he barks. “Right the fuck now!”
Nate moves back immediately, the older alpha taking a moment before he does the same.
Hudson appears in front of me, blocking my view as his hands rise up to either side of my face.
“That’s Cade,” he says firmly. “He’s our pack leader. We know about the wallet, and we don’t care, Gabrielle. You arenotin any trouble.”
My breath chokes inside my throat as I stare at him, uncomprehending.
Nate’s face appears over his shoulder, his eyes worried as he skims my face. “Gabby?”
Hudson growls.
“Nate, I swear to God—,”
Both men cut off, their eyes sliding to me as the whine rolls up the back of my throat.
Too much.
Too many scents, too close, tooalpha.
Hudson curses, pushing Nate back as he moves away from me.
“God, we’re terrible at this,” he groans. “Gabrielle, we know that you’ve met Cade before. We don’t care.”
Nate gives me puppy dog eyes from over Hudson’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I didn’t think—,”
“None of us did,” Hudson says with a sigh. “Because we’re idiots.”
Watching them stumble over their words calms me down slightly. The terror gripping my neck recedes enough for me to force out some rational words, even as my body remains stiff against the metal.
“You’re not idiots,” I mumble.
Hudson frowns. “We’ll have to agree to disagree. I meant it, though. We really don’t care. We know times have been… difficult. It would be hypocritical of us to judge you for it. Are you okay? Do you need us to go?”
My muscles soften at his words, and I take a deep breath. “I’m fine. So that’s… Cade?”
The alpha I stole ten dollars off and hid in an alleyway from steps forward, keeping a distance between us. His icy gaze scans me as I do the same, taking in the broad shoulders hidden behind his crisp blue shirt.
“My apologies,” he says crisply. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I…,”
What do I even say?
Sorry I stole your wallet?
Thank you for not calling the police on me?
Fancy seeing you here?
Swallowing, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.
“I bought a sandwich.”
