Page 38 of Dual Nature

Zander grunted from where he was leaning against the railing, watching me intently. "Elves can't lie. It hurts them, or their power, I think, but without someone to ask, we can’t know for sure. Adding that to her fear of disappointing or angering one of us is a real double whammy, I'm sure."

Now that he said it, I realized that I wasn't a person that lied very often. Sure, I did it for work, but that was somehow different because I was under contract. It wasn't me doing the lying; it was the character I was playing. The fact that I would rather kill someone than tell a lie made far more sense to me. Now that I was thinking about it, I was noticing something else. I had a certain evasiveness that was just part of me, being able to answer a direct question in a way that naturally skirted around the full truth.

"Thank you, love, for explaining this to us so we can help you better," Noah reassured me. "Do one of the alphas need to tell you the rules, or can any of us do it?"

Pausing, I thought about that, checking in with my wolf and whatever elven magic was stirring. "Any of my mates can set rules and boundaries. Alphas are the only ones who can force me to answer or do something against my will."

The alphas snarled at that, looking offended that I would even think they would do such a thing.

"Little dove, the day I force you to do something against your will is the day that Colt or Lane should fucking kill me. There is no reason on this planet that I would ever need to do that," Zander declared, looking at the other two for their agreement.

Lane squeezed my ankle, drawing my attention to him. "I know we can be demanding and stubborn about certain things, but I don't want you to ever fear that we’re going to do that to you. Sweetheart, you are everything to us, and some of us are learning all this right along with you. Just know that what hurts you hurts us."

My heart warmed with their concern, but I hadn't said that to make them think I was worried they would do it. "When I said alphas, I believe that applies to any alpha. At any point, an alpha could bark a command at me, and I'll have to obey."

They all looked angry at this revelation.

"Sweetheart, are you telling us that if you go to another pack or an alpha visits here, they can order you to tell them or do anything they want?" Lane demanded.

"From what little I know of myself, yes, there is a possibility that can happen," I explained. "I can fight it and try to work around the request, but if they know how to ask correctly, I'm screwed."

"That settles it. You are never leaving these pack lands," Zander grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Noah sighed as he rolled his eyes at me. "One issue at a time, let's get this settled before we put her on lockdown for a danger we don't know about yet. Finley, I leave it up to you to tell people about what your life was like before joining the pack. However, you are not to disclose any of your missions or the secrets that you might know about supernaturals or people of importance without addressing it with us first. Matters of the pack you might hear about or be involved in as the alphas’ mate stay between the six of us unless we give you permission to share with others. Now, for the matter of you being an elf, that is not to be shared with anyone outside of your mates—ever. Elves, even when they were around, were highly sought after. For you to be one of the only ones left, it would make you a target of immense value."

I nodded, agreeing to his choices.

"Is there anything else he didn't cover that you need clarification on?" Lane asked.

"Am I allowed to tell people that I won't talk about it even if they press me about it?" I added.

Lane gave me a confused look before answering. "Yes, I give you permission to blame us for why you can't answer something if they press you about it. Why would that need to be addressed?"

"My wolf can't stand the thought of you all being mad at me for upsetting another pack member. The concept of disappointing you sends her into a panic," I answered.

Hearing this, Lane gave me a soft smile and leaned forward to kiss me on the forehead. "I know this must be so hard to wrap your brain around after being so independent up until this point. We’ll do better, I promise, so you don't end up in a situation like this again. Forgive us?"

Lifting my face, Lane gave in to my silent request, kissing me to give me that last bit of reassurance I needed. Then my stomach made it known that the scent of food in the air was teasing us. Lane stood and pulled me to my feet, grinning. "Sounds like we need to feed you. Good thing I'm a grill master. My burgers are the best in the state."

Someone behind me scoffed as if they were trying to cover up laughter.

"Only took him a few years of burnt hockey pucks to get there," Mason shared, dodging the kick that Lane aimed at him. "What, you gonna tell me I'm wrong? You make a bomb ass burger now, but it wasn't always that way."

"Twin, that's just wrong to make a man look bad in front of his mate," Noah scolded.

We all laughed as we made our way back to the party where Lane fixed me a plate and found me a seat at one of the picnic tables. The betas and Zander joined me with their meals as Colt and Lane went off to do whatever alphas do. The burger was amazing, as well as the other homemade sides. I could get used to this kind of life where I got to eat whatever I wanted without worrying about gaining weight.

"Um, Finley," Katie's soft voice sounded from beside me.

I'd been so intent on my meal that I didn't hear her walk up; the downside to being with my mates was I felt safe enough not to be on alert all the time. Turning, I looked up to see her wringing her hands and nervously staring at her feet. I reached out and took her hand, feeling her anxiety and needing to help ease her worries in any way that I could. The whiplash I was getting from tonight was wearing on me, but now that I knew where I stood with my mates and pack leaders, I was far more at ease.

"What's wrong?" I questioned when she just gaped at me.

Her cheeks blushed with embarrassment. "Oh, right, well, that's what I was coming to ask you. I'm sorry if I did something to upset you. That wasn't my intention. My sisters are always telling me that I'm nosy and impulsive. I shouldn't have pressed you about what happened with Craig; if our alphas didn't think we needed to know, then I should trust that."

I could feel the men around me watching her, coming to an understanding as to what had set me off. "The learning curve of being an omega has been a little rough, and I learned tonight that I have to have some ground rules about interacting with the pack. I'm also not very good at talking with people. In my life before this, I didn't have friends or much control over my life, so it all just got a little overwhelming."

"Ah, I see…" Katie offered with a nod. "Well, enjoy the rest of your night."