“You can,” I say, sitting on the ground.
“We have the couch. Why are you sitting on the ground?” Bellamy asks.
“Because it’s your couch,” I say with a chuckle.
“It’s huge,” he says, glaring at me. “It’s also supposed to hold up to six hundred pounds.”
“No shit!” I exclaim, glancing at it suspiciously.
“Yes. Now, sit.”
Well, how am I supposed to say no to that?
Standing, I sit cautiously in the swing. While the fucker creaks, that’s more because this house is old than anything else. I hung it correctly, it should be fine.
Winter and Bellamy join me, and the swing doesn’t complain again as we continue to talk.
“Speaking of trackers,” I drawl. “Everyone in my pack has one. The idea is that in case anything goes pear shaped, we can find each other.”
“Is that how you knew where Cassidy was when she went to The Hug Project?” Bellamy asks. “I remember telling her the door was locked, and then you just walked in like it was no big deal.”
“Picking locks is something I’m very proud of,” I say, smirking. “I hadn’t heard from Cass in a few hours, and I was concerned. It’s very difficult for me to give her space, but I’m realizing I unfortunately made her feel very alone in doing so.”
“Oh,” Winter says. “You should take her out on a date.”
“That’s my plan,” I say. “I want to go on a group date to the City Market. There’s murals on the walls, amazing food, and boutiques with handmade items you may enjoy. I was thinking tomorrow?”
I’m an alpha who thinks on his feet, and this is one of those times. Yes, I’ve been wanting to go on a date with my pack, but the location wasn’t something I’d decided on yet.
Not until I stepped into their nest and found out some of their interests.
“We accept,” Bellamy says, to which Winter nods. “Can we get trackers too? That is, it’s too easy to get lost, and I don’t think either of us could handle that again.”
My lips press together because it's such an innocent statement encompassing a fuck ton of weight. Bellamy and Winter have been more than lost. Society simply forgot they existed because their aunt chose to sell them.
There was no one to check on them since they’d both graduated from high school, no one else to hold Matilda culpable.
“You’re ours,” I say, keeping my emotions locked down tightly. “Of course we can get you trackers.”
It may take some time for them to really understand what that means, but it’s no less true. I do not share what’s mine, nor will I accept losing them.
Chapter
Fourteen
Three Days Later
SHILOH
A hand slidesinto mine as we walk, and I have to force myself not to flinch. I’m not used to being touched so casually in public. Touch is something I usually initiate first, whether it’s hugging Cassidy, or pulling one of the guys in to kiss me when we go out.
I spend a lot of time with my head on a swivel, only completely relaxing once we get home. I usually prefer to keep my hands free when we’re out and about.
Glancing down, I find a white blonde head of hair walking next to me. Winter is tiny compared to me since I’m six feet three, and my lips twitch as she moves closer. The City Market has a lot of people walking through it since it’s Friday afternoon.
It’s natural that she’d look for comfort. I just didn’t think she’d look to me for it.
Pulling my hand free from hers since it’s my dominant one, I switch places with her so I can pull her close to me. My arm isheavy as fuck, so I wrap my arm around her back so my hand sits just under her breasts. I tell myself it’s not a conscious decision, but I enjoy feeling her heart beating underneath my hand.
