Morgan
After catchingour breath and waiting until the jelly-like feeling in our legs had gone, we decided to check up on Remington and Ashe. I trusted Remington deeply but I didn’t like being away from my son for so long, even if it was my own decision to blow Dax behind a tree. What could I say? It was hard to keep my hands off him.
When we reached the calm river, I saw a figure kneeling in the water and heard happy splashing. But the person had a light head of hair, so it couldn’t be Remington. I realized as we got closer that it was Len and the twins.
“Oh, hey you two!” Len greeted us with a smile.
Upon seeing us, Lupa leapt out of the stream and ran at us. She threw her wet arms around my leg. “Uncles!”
I smiled and patted her head. “Having fun?”
“Yeah!”
She ran around and cannonballed back into the water in her wolf form. The wave splashed Leveret, who shook the drops from his hair.
“Hugo’s not with you, huh?” Dax commented.
“No,” Len said. “He was acting a little strange when the twins woke up, so I decided to take them out for a swim since it’s a hot day.”
I sighed casually. “That’s probably my fault. I asked him if Red could join the pack and he didn’t like it.”
“You did?” Len asked, perking up.
I searched the other omega’s face. “You’re not upset at my asking, are you?”
But Len shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve forgiven him for that. I think he knows he made a mistake. But does he actually want to join?”
I nodded. “He told me so himself. I think he was too shy to ask. Either that, or he was afraid he’d get his pelt ripped off since the wolves made it quite clear they didn’t want him around.”
“You guysarea little mean to him,” Len pointed out as he glanced at Dax.
Dax grunted and scratched the back of his head. “Sorry. We’re just protective over our mates. I’m sure Hugo feels the same way.”
“You’d feel comfortable if Red joined us?” I asked Len.
He smiled. “Sure. I don’t think he’d try to hurt us, especially not with Hugo breathing down his neck.”
It made me feel supported to know Len agreed with me, especially since he was the one with the most complicated past with Red. I wondered if we could change Hugo’s mind if all of us talked to him together.
I remembered what Dax said earlier, about me getting riled up after losing an argument. I wasn’t bothered by the fact that Hugo had turned me down, but his reason why. He didn’t want to see that Red might have changed because he was still clinging to his own ideas about him. It struck too close to home. My old herd made up their minds about me and never once thought that reality could be different.
But Hugo wasn’t like Rock or the others. He was kind and understanding. Maybe he just needed time.
Another stray thought wandered into my mind. Despite the similarities of our pasts, I wasn’t exactly the same as Red. I was ostracized for my appearance, but he was ostracized for his behavior. Eating another shifter—whether he actually succeeded or not, or even if it was a joke—was a crime among our kind. Was I being too pushy towards Hugo for not wanting to accept Red?
“What’s up?” Dax asked. His hand on my shoulder drew me out of my thoughts.
“I’m okay. Just thinking.” I faced Len. “Anyway, I’m actually looking for Remington and Ashe. He was babysitting while we were busy.”
“Oh, sorry,” Len said. “I haven’t seen him.”
I frowned. “He was supposed to be giving Ashe a bath and this is the closest river.”
“Maybe he’s at one of the other streams?”
Suddenly unnerved, I scanned our surroundings. “Where? Dax, take me there.”
“Morgan, don’t worry. I’m sure they’re fine,” my mate said. “Remington wouldn’t let anything happen to Ashe.”
