Chapter 18

Austin

 

After my talk with Anna, I decided that I needed to have a frank discussion with my guys about Anna. We needed to talk this out as a group. I suspected that Anna was going to want to have the rest of the evening to herself. I had known her long enough now to realize that she needed time alone to process her thoughts when she was faced with something major like this.

I had already called everyone to my office. We were just waiting on Cody to finish up with Sam and come meet us.

“What’s the deal with the panther?” Mason asked curiously.

I shrugged. “She seems like a good marine and a good ally to have. Obviously, we are still going to do an in-depth background check on her.” I nodded at Caleb, who was tapping away at his iPad. No doubt he was working on researching Sam while he waited.

“I don’t like the way she suddenly appeared in Anna’s hospital.” James grumbled.

I sighed. “The plane was legit diverted here from its original flight plan of heading to Bethesda. I doubt she could have managed that on her own.”

James just grunted in response but the hard look on his face didn’t soften at all. I doubted he was going to warm up to Sam any time soon. Once we got a clean background check on her and had a better idea of who she was as a person, I was probably going to have to put Sam with one of the other teams. James was not going to relax with her and Anna under the same roof. I wouldn’t be surprised to find him guarding Anna’s room later tonight.

“So, we’re letting panthers in the pack now?” Jason asked with a scowl.

I looked at him with surprise. I wasn’t expecting Jason to have a problem with Sam just because she was a panther.

“Sam’s not in our pack.” I explained to him. “Her parents died in a car accident when she was younger, and she had no one to take her in. There’s a very good chance she is one of the few panthers left in the world right now.”

The twins both looked repentant. “How did she make it to the marines?” Mason asked softly.

“Once her family was gone, she had nowhere to turn and no one to go to. She was a homeless teenager when she stumbled into a marine recruiting event for the free food. The marines got her with the promise of camaraderie, family, and a future.”

Jason nodded. “I’m sure the recruiter would have busted his ass to get her whatever documentation she needed to make it through MEPS.”

Cody walked in the office and gave me a nod before sitting.

“Who’s watching Sam if we are all in here?” James asked with a scowl.

Cody gave him an amused grin. “Trevor and Mike are downstairs with her. Sam wanted to use the gym to start getting her leg back to normal.”

I stood to address the room. “I didn’t call this meeting just to discuss the situation with Sam.”

The guys all looked curious and once I was sure I had their full attention I continued. “It’s time we all stopped pussyfooting around and addressed the situation with Anna.”

The twins both looked surprised, but Cody and Caleb looked like they had been expecting this. James had his impassive face on, which meant he had something to hide.

“I fully intend to pursue Anna as my mate, but I know that I am not the only one here who cares about her.”

“Are you telling us to back off?” Mason asked with a frown.

“No.” I told him seriously. “I’m telling you that I know she will end up with more than one mate, and I’m confident that she will choose her mates from the men in this room.”

Caleb set down his iPad and shifted uncomfortably. “I also would like to pursue Anna as my mate.” He said softly. I gave him a nod and shifted my attention to Mason.

“We are already all-in.” He said with a gesture that encompassed himself and Jason. Jason agreed with a determined nod.

I turned to James, who had been watching all of this without uttering a word. He crossed his arms across his chest and gave everyone in the room a glare. “If any of you hurt her, you can expect an epic ass-kicking from me.”

“You’re in?” I prodded gently.

He gave me a nod. That was enough for me. I hadn’t exactly expected him to confess his undying love for Anna to us.

“Cody?” I asked, turning my attention to him.

Cody gave a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m in.”

Mason cleared his throat before glancing at me for permission to speak. I gave him a brief nod.

“Are you sure about that?” Mason asked Cody. “If you agree to date Anna, you are agreeing to stop dating human girls. You know it would break Anna’s heart if you cheated on her.”

Cody shrugged. “I’ve already stopped seeing other girls.”

Jason looked at him dubiously.

“Now that I know Anna, I realize that I’ve never had a real connection with any of the human girls I’ve dated. It was just superficial and left me feeling empty... I think deep down I just kept searching for something more.”

“You know we’re going to call you out on it if you fuck up.” Jason told him.

Cody nodded. “I won’t.”

“At the end of the day, it’s not our decision who Anna dates.” Caleb interrupted. “It’s up to Anna. She could choose all of us or she could choose none of us.”

“That’s true.” I admitted. “We’re not here to decide who Anna can or can’t date. We are here to have a gentleman’s discussion between us to avoid fighting and be honest with our intentions.”

“Speaking of intentions,” Caleb added. “I don’t think Anna is ready to get physical with six different men. I want to remind everyone that she’s had a difficult past and we should all be respectful of her and patient with the pace she sets.”

“I know Anna’s shy.” Jason said hesitantly. “But I got the feeling that there is something more there.”

There was silence in the room. “I think it’s obvious to all of us that Anna may not have had a great childhood. The fact that she was closest to an elderly neighbor tells us a lot that she hasn’t said.” I told them pointedly.

“Does anyone know for sure, though?” Cody asked. “Because I want to know if there is someone that I should beat the shit out of.”

The twins both shook their heads in agreement. I noticed that Caleb was careful not to look at any of us. “Caleb? Anything you want to add?”

He looked uncomfortable as everyone turned to look at him. “I have some medical records I didn’t share with anyone. Anna hasn’t confided in me, so I feel like I would be betraying her trust by telling everyone her secrets.”

“What medical records?” James said in a deadly voice.

Caleb cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Just past stuff.”

“You’re going to want to share that. Now.” James told him coldly.

“Um, I don’t know anything for sure. But Anna’s childhood records indicate that she may have suffered from abuse.”

James started to growl.

“Nothing for sure.” Caleb quickly assured him. “It’s just that the pattern is suspicious.”

James didn’t look mollified, I was probably going to have to talk him down from going after her adopted family. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want to do the same.

The twins exchanged glances. They looked like they had figured out as much already. Or maybe Anna had confided in them?

“There’s something else you haven’t told us.” James said bluntly.

“She moved away from that family to go to college.” Caleb started. “There was a record of her going to the doctor freshman year.” Caleb swallowed nervously. “She was raped.”

The silence in the room was deafening for a moment until everyone erupted in shouting and cursing. I let myself feel my own anger for a moment before I even tried to settle down the room.

“Enough!” I shouted. Everyone quieted down, but James started to head for Caleb. I held out my arm to stop him and he gave me a glowering look.

“I think what everyone is trying to say, Caleb. Is do we know who it was?”

Caleb shook his head. “No. She never named him or pressed charges.”

“So it was someone she knew.” Mason said.

“Probably someone she trusted.” Jason added.

Cody shook his head sadly. “That does explain a lot.”

I shared a glance with James. Anna had told us in her initial interview that she had only been with one man before and that he was dead. I had a feeling that James would be following up on this now, just to make sure.

I nodded. “Thank you, Caleb. I think we can all agree that this never leaves the room, this will never be mentioned again, and if Anna wants to share with us, she will do it when she is comfortable.”

Caleb settled back in his chair, obviously relieved.

“I don’t think I have to tell anyone here that we need to take things slow with her?” I waited until I had a nod of agreement from every man present.

“Should she talk to Robbie?” Caleb asked tentatively. “That’s what the rest of us had to do when we joined the pack.”

James and I exchanged glances. He was hesitant to tell anyone else, but I trusted everyone in this room.

“There have been some discrepancies.” I started to explain. “The night of the attack we received reports from both Robbie and Quinn that don’t match.”

I saw frowns all around the room. Caleb had picked up on where I was going with this and his mouth tightened. Cody and the twins looked slightly confused.

I sighed. “There is the possibility that one of them may have been involved in the attack.”

“What!” Jason burst out.

“Why are they still in the pack?” Mason growled. “I could have left Anna alone with either one of them!”

Cody looked devastated.

“I promise you that they are both being closely monitored. If either one of them is a traitor, we want to know who they are working for.” There was an air of sadness in the room when I finished speaking. I understood the feeling, both men were people who I had trusted and believed in.

I decided it would be best to change topics completely to close out the meeting. “In the interest of transparency, I have a date planned with Anna for Saturday night.” I told the room.

The twins both frowned. “Are we allowed to take her off the premises for dates?” Mason asked.

“How can you guarantee her safety if it’s just you and her?” Jason added.

“I’ll be staying on the premises with her and taking advantage of our private beach.” I told him firmly. “As for taking her off the premises, I would ask that you didn’t unless there are more than one of you present and you are in easy reach of more pack members.”

“Not exactly ideal circumstances for dating.” Cody stated. “But I agree that Anna’s safety comes first. I think we should talk about sharing time with Anna more fairly. Right now, the twins monopolize the majority of her day.”

The twins both scowled.

“Things with Anna are going to be changing. Initially, the twins were tasked with her protection and Anna was given the assignment to help with their duties. Earlier tonight, I tasked Anna with managing the expenses of our household and put her in charge of purchasing.” I told them.

Caleb nodded thoughtfully, “She’s going to be good at that.”

“I agree.” I told him. I looked around the room. No one looked like they wanted to disagree, so I continued. “I want to ease Anna into having more responsibilities in the pack and will be adding more onto her as she adjusts.”

“What about her job?” Jason asked. “That keeps her really busy.”

I sighed. “Anna is passionate about her work, and as long as she is happy I will continue to support her. But long term, I hope that she will become more and more involved in the pack and choose to work with us instead of at the hospital.”

Most of the guys nodded in agreement. “I would like to see Anna more involved with what you do, Cody. I think Anna would be a huge help in holding our pack together and inspiring loyalty.”

Cody nodded. “I can start taking her around with me when I visit the other teams.”

“Caleb, I believe you have already gotten Anna involved in some of what you do?” Caleb nodded but blushed a little.

“When it becomes safer for her, I will also start involving Anna in our relationship with council members and other packs.” I informed them.

James scowled. “Is that a good idea? Anna is too nice to be able to handle the backstabbing and bitchiness that goes along with your job.”

I laughed. “True. But I think Anna is going to surprise you. She’s learning quickly and becoming more confident in herself every day. We need to nurture that strength inside her.”

“I’ve noticed.” James said quietly. “But I don’t want to see her become cold and tough because she has to deal with shit all day.”

“You can’t keep her locked in the house all day, either.” Caleb pointed out. “Anna likes her job because it gives her a sense of purpose and satisfaction when she’s able to help people. We need to be able to provide her with the same things if we want her to be happy.”

“She’s not going to have to deal with shit all day for as long as I’m around.” Cody said seriously.

“She has all of us.” Mason added.

I looked around the room. We might disagree on the little things, but if there was one thing to bring us all together, it was Anna. I could see determination on everyone’s faces. I smiled to myself, we were going to make this work.