Hayes clapped a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, grinning.
Amber lowered her gaze, embarrassed. Hayes knew more than she would like. So did Rylee. There weren’t secrets among the Alphas and their mates. How could anyone hide anything?
“Come on in.” Isaac backed up and held the door wider.
Rylee wrapped Amber in a hug. “I’ve missed you.” They rocked back and forth as if they hadn’t seen each other for years instead of two months. It was comforting. Amber needed her friend to help ground her.
“Can we go outside and explore?” Amber asked the moment they released each other.
Isaac laughed. “Not a chance. Not alone. And that isn’t a rule for today. That’s a hard rule for always, Little one.”
“So many rules,” Rylee muttered. “I’m sure you haven’t had a chance to hear them all.”
Hayes smirked. “It would seem my Little girl has gone a bit too long without getting her bottom spanked.” He lifted a brow.
Rylee winced. “Sorry, Daddy.”
As bizarre as this new world was to Amber, at least it appeared that Rylee was living in the same strange universe.
Isaac set a hand on Amber’s head, grounding her as he often did with just a touch. “Why don’t you two go play in your nursery for a bit so I can talk to Hayes, then we’ll go outside.”
“Yes, Sir.” Amber grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles before taking off with Rylee.
“You look so happy,” Rylee whispered the moment they were in the nursery. She pointed at the bruise on Amber’s neck and giggled.
Amber rubbed it, shrugging. “He likes to bite me.” Apparently it wasn’t too weird, otherwise Rylee would have been appalled. The fact that she’d laughed spoke volumes. She plopped down on the soft rug and crossed her legs in front of her. “I feel like I’ve been transported to another universe.”
“Yeah. I did when I first arrived, too. Plus, you’ve only been here one day.” Rylee winced. “I’m sorry your honeymoon phase keeps getting interrupted. I think I would have glared someone to death if they had come into Hayes’s house right after my first shift.”
Amber shrugged. “I feel conflicted. On the one hand, I would love to snuggle up with Isaac and ignore the world. But I’m also pulsing with curiosity. I want to know what my weird ability means.”
“I can’t believe you already had extraordinary sight before you even reached the house yesterday. I bet that was weird.”
“Not at first because when I saw you and the others here in the clearing, I didn’t realize Isaac couldn’t see the same thing. It took me a bit to understand it was not normal.”
Rylee giggled. “There is no such thing as normal around here. And nothing gets by anyone. There are no secrets. If you woke up one morning thinking you should go for a run, Khloe would probably go into a little trance, visualizing it. Molly would hear you discussing it. I would scent your shampoo as you moved through the trees. And here’s a weird thing…”
Rylee leaned in closer, eyes wide. “Suddenly Leah is having dreams. Like foreshadowing. So I guess she might know you intended to go for a run the day before and call and tell you not to bother because it was going to rain.” Rylee giggled.
Amber shivered. It was so surreal. It seemed like Rylee was pretty calm about all of this. Maybe Amber would be eventually, too, but for now, she was still too stunned.
“Are there other mates with powers?” Amber asked.
“There are three other newer mates. Has Isaac told you about Olivia?”
Amber nodded. “Daddy… Can I just say how odd it feels to call my mate Daddy?”
“It was weird for me, too. You’ll get used to it. All Alpha mates call their man Daddy.”
Amber chuckled. “Anyway, Daddy mentioned Olivia. She’s the one who’s blind but her wolf can see, right?”
“Yes. And she can talk to the bears telepathically.”
“So weird.”
“There are two other women who were recently mated. Jezebel and Suzette. Suzette was the woman who was kidnapped on the day of her ceremony. Her mate, Brock, hunted her down and rescued her from a cave. That was the first time the Alpha Protectors learned there were bear shifters in the area. It was one of the rogue bears who kidnapped her.”
“Why did he do it?” Amber sat taller as it dawned on her that her life was fragile. She shouldn’t be sassy about going outside by herself. Not if a bear shifter managed to kidnap another woman right out of her home in the valley without detection.
