This guy’s nose twitches. “Yes, I’d heard you followed in the footsteps of your family and have a pack of your own out here.”
“My having a pack or not has nothing to do with this sanctuary. Let’s keep the questions on topic.”
The smile that spreads across my face is surely unhinged. My skin aches, it’s so big.
That’s my Ads. She’s a natural.
Or, maybe her family trained her well. I’m sure they had to deal with a lot, being one of the only public packs in Los Angeles.
Just something more I’ll need to ask her about later.
“Of course. So, please tell me about the grounds, Ms. Pepper.”
I follow as Adley shows off the property, stopping to introduce a couple of the dogs. Both Odin and Dini have been hiding since the ruckus began. She tells the reporter about what the place used to look like, how we funded the rebuild of the main house and used donations to expand the pet sanctuary itself. When the reporter asks about the barn, we head over to it, where Adam is feeding Pie and Gator some snacks by hand. We keep the reporter and the crew on the outside of the fence, let them get good shots of the horse and mini donkey. Gator makes some unhappy sounds when the reporter sticks his arm through the fence with the microphone, trying to be funny, then Pie makes a very angry sound, snorts and stamps his hoof on the ground.
Something about the sounds rouses Ezra, who’s been hiding out inside the barn the entire time. He sticks his head out the barn door, a look of death on his usually pleasant face, and I start waving frantically for him to disappear again.
Too late.
“Oh, is that your stable hand?” the interviewer asks. “Excuse me! May we get a word with you, sir?”
“That’s enough of that,” I nearly bark at the guy. I dwarf him as I get into his space, knowing full well that angry energy rolls off me in waves. “We’ve been very courteous with our time. We don’t want you bothering anyone else on the premises.”
The Beta sputters, his muted grassy scent rises with his stress. “O-of course.”
It’s not much longer before the crew has packed up and left the property, and all of us have gathered in the barn where Ezra is totally beating himself up.
“It’s okay, Ez.” Adley’s tone is calm and smooth. “Even if they caught you on camera, the shot was so far away.”
“I just can’t believe I did something so stupid,” he growls. “I heard Gator and Pie unhappy, and about lost it. Didn’t know what was going on and had to see.”
“It’s going to be okay, bro. We’ll handle whatever comes.”
“Ifsomething does,” I push, giving Adam a look, like,Don’t make this worse, dude.“Chances are, they’ll just cut the clip.”
Adley puts her hand on Ezra’s arm and speaks softly. “There’s something you’re not telling us. Isn’t there?”
I blink at them. I hadn’t had that impression. One look at Adam’s confused face tells me I wasn’t alone.
Ezra’s whole body is statue-stiff.
Well, shit.
“I know you had to have gotten permission to move here, otherwise Lloyd wouldn’t have invited you out. So, you’re not here illegally.” Her head tilts as she moves to look up into his bowed face. “Tell us. Tell your family.”
When Adley says “family,” there’s a wash of warmth over all my insides. And I know that Adam and Ezra feel it, too, as the energy around us grows lighter.
Ez lets out a long breath, his eyes shut tight when he raises his head. “I told you that the man I beat came from a rich family in town. I didn’t know it at the time, but they definitely made itknown in court. A lot of threats were made. I deserved most of them. But when I got out, someone sent a letter to the ranch I was living at.”
“What did it say?” A spike of concern rises inside me.
“That I’d get what was coming to me. That anyone I got close to would, too.”
Adam lets out a breath this time, frowning. “Do you know for sure who sent it?”
Ezra shakes his head. “Not for sure. But my best guess is it was Tommy, the guy I assaulted. His handwriting was real close.”
“How do you know?”
