Mama’s low warning growl alerted Chrystal to a change. She darted to the side to avoid Junior’s lunge and glanced at the porch. The maternal wolf was on her feet, staring toward the road. Dylan no longer chopped wood and stowed the axe. She switched her attention to the long dirt and gravel drive leading from the main road to the cabin.

Leaping from the porch, Mama let out a sharp bark and Junior scrambled to keep up with her. The wolves vanished into the woods and Chrystal took a step forward, testing the air with her nose. Gasoline. Dirt. Rubber from the tires and…

“It’s Mason,” Dylan called. The identity helped her place the scent with the person. She’d met Mason before, once when he came to the cabin. They’d spoken to him on the phone a few times, but he was still a bit of a stranger to her.

And Chinese food. Her stomach growled. Was that burgers too? There was another scent beneath those but she couldn’t identify it at the distance, even though the truck pulled in behind Dylan’s and the windows were open.

Her mate had been training her nose for months, blindfolding her and making her identify items from scent. Of course, the blindfolds also lead to other games, but it probably would be wise not to think too long about those.

Shyness coursed through her as the Alpha parked his truck, shut off the engine and pushed the door open. Dylan strode toward him, and both men grinned as they clasped hands. Their ease and acceptance of each other was something she envied, but also didn’t fully understand. The only person she felt so at ease with was Dylan.

“Well, hello there.” Mason had apparently noticed her while her mind wandered. He braced a hand on the open door and the weight of his regard seemed to press down around her, but not in a negative way. If anything, she sensed strength—physical and emotional. He intimidated the hell out of her. Oh!

You have to learn to trust your instincts. Sovvan told her. If you think someone is a creep or they give you the willies, then run like hell. If there is a difference between intimidate and terrify…

Padding forward a couple of steps, she raised her head to meet his gaze briefly before flicking a look to Dylan.

“She is tiny.” Mason commented without censure.

“She’s perfect.” The love soaking Dylan’s sentence buoyed her.

Clapping Dylan on the shoulder, Mason jerked a thumb toward the truck. “Grab the food for us? And do you mind if I have a word with your mate?”

“Without me?” While Dylan’s seemed guarded, she didn’t detect any overtones of jealousy or rancor. He also didn’t look at his Alpha, but at her.

“If you both don’t mind, I think Chrystal and I need to talk about a few things. You’re welcome to join us Dylan, I won’t cut you out, but it might be easier for us if she isn’t glancing to you to verify everything she says and you aren’t checking with her on everything I say.”

The fact Mason pointed out exactly what she and Dylan were doing amused her, and she barked her laughter. Her mate trusted Mason, and Chrystal had learned to trust him, too. If they were going to have any conversation, however, she needed to change. Barking one more time, she trotted toward the cabin.

“After the lady is ready, of course.” The Alpha’s droll, dry comment earned another laugh from her mate.

“I don’t mind, as long as she is comfortable. Thank you for asking.”

Their conversation followed her as she padded into the bedroom and used her shoulder to push the door closed. In some ways she missed the necessity of sleeping in front of the fire and, in others, she really appreciated the bed.

“Dylan, she won’t always be comfortable in the things she has to do.” The pair carried the food inside. The crackle of paper and the rich scent of fast food increased her hunger, but she still had to concentrate on her shift. It had grown easier over the last several months, she and her wolf were both willing to reach out to each other.

Nothing changed the pain, though, just the length of time it lasted.

“I get that,” Dylan answered, opening a cabinet door and a chink sounding a lot like plates being stacked before the fridge opened. “I also get that if it makes her unhappy, it’s going to piss me off. She’s had enough grief in her life. I get to protect her from it now.” While not hostile, her mate’s resolute firmness sent a frisson of heat through her heart. His love was a tangible thing, always with her.

“You do,” Mason agreed easily. “She’ll be mine to protect, too. Just like you are.”

The faintest hint of Dylan’s growl rumbled, then he chuckled. “I’m not sure how I feel about sharing her with the whole pack…at least in as much as she’s Omega.”

“It’s the same way Alexis has to share me, or Thomas has to share Emma or Owen Gillian.”

“Not the same as Owen.”

Her concentration fractured, torn as she was between their conversation and trying to discipline herself to reach for her human half.

“He has to share his mate with two packs.” Both men laughed and she relaxed at the friendliness and familiarity. Mason was pack. Even if he wasn’t her pack yet, he soon would be. The realization settled the discomfort in her soul, allowing her bones to snap and realign themselves as her body shifted. The rush from wolf to human left her dizzy, but then she giggled.

Panting, she still pumped her fist in the air. Ten minutes or less…a personal best. It took her less time to throw on some clothes and run a brush through her hair, but the men were waiting for her on the porch. Each had a bottle of beer in their hands, and Dylan held out a bottle of water to her. Accepting it gratefully, she thank him with a kiss then glanced at Mason.

“Hi.” She'd decided on one thing earlier, so she charged forward with it before her courage failed her. “I know you wanted to talk to me, but I thought I should tell you first, before we do the whole pack thing... I saw my mother yesterday on the way home. She intercepted us on the road.”

Dylan went still next to her, but Mason’s expression didn’t change.

“I know she’s a fugitive, and I should alert the Enforcers…but…”

“She’s your mother,” Mason said quietly. “You don’t want to.”

Biting her lower lip, she nodded.

His gaze flicked to Dylan, then to her. “Was that the first time you’ve seen her…?”

“In years,” she admitted, then twisted open the bottle. Dylan was unhappy with her. He’d told her they were in it together, and she’d usurped his protection, but he was hers to protect, too. Lying to his—soon to be their—Alpha was not a position she ever wanted to put him in, not even for her. “I didn’t know she would be there. Neither did Dylan. Honestly, half the time I think I’ve forgotten what she looked like, but I knew her scent. The moment I smelled her, I knew her and…” She shifted uncomfortably under his regard. “And she gave me a number where I can leave her a message.”

There. She’d admitted to having contact with a Rogue.

“I just...I just thought you should know.”

Instead of answering immediately, Mason tipped his beer back for a long pull. Taking advantage of his brief distraction, she glanced at Dylan. A frown tightened his forehead, but pride gleamed in his eyes. He tugged her to him and murmured against her ear, “I wasn’t going to tell him.”

“I know.” She kept her voice as low as his, but she didn’t doubt Mason could hear them. “You should never have to choose me over the pack…”

“Au contraire, mon frère.” Mason drawled the words, butchering the French so blatantly, she could only stare. “Your mate should always put you first. It’s what you just did. You put him ahead of you and your mother.”

Heat scalded her cheeks.“That said,” the Alpha continued. “Thank you for your honesty, but I would never ask a wolf to turn a family member into the Enforcers, no matter their crime—real or imaginary. You’ve told me… And if she enters Willow Bend, I will also like to be notified.” He raised his hand, palm forward as though asking for her patience. Or maybe she simply read too much into the action. “So I can protect your mother as well and make my own determinations. As for her reaching out to you—it’s a personal matter. Parents are important.” Something dark clouded his eyes and his voice. Dark enough to make her heart hurt.

“Thank you. I just don’t want Dylan to feel like he has to tell Julian if he asks or…”

“No problem. Don’t tell Julian anything about Chrystal’s mother contacting you.” Mason’s words rang with command and his gaze locked on Dylan. “Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“He’s the Chief Enforcer.” She tightened her grip on the bottle. Over the years, she suspected he had a heart beneath his taciturn expression and stiff manner, but it didn’t change who or what Julian was. He’d killed her father for being a rogue, and if he caught her mother…

“He can’t touch you, Chrystal,” Mason told her, his voice as firm and arresting as when he’d given Dylan his orders. When he locked his gaze on her, she found herself unable to look away, even at the risk of challenging him. “He’s the Chief Enforcer. You are about to be a part of Willow Bend and under my protection. The pack will keep you safe, your mate will keep you safe, and I will keep you safe. The Enforcers cannot interfere with pack wolves, and if he dared…” The Alpha didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t have to.

Chrystal got it.

He looked toward the tree line, his eyes narrowing. The relief she experienced when he released her was profound. “I guess I’m still learning,” she murmured by way of apology.

Dylan squeezed her to him, then rested his chin against head. “You are forgiven, sweetheart. We both know you aren’t used to being in a pack. But you have to always remember, no one will ever come for you or after you that won’t have to face me.”

“Or me.” Mason added. “Or any of my Hunters. To be my Omega means we will always keep you safe. It is our honor and our privilege. Julian is no longer a wolf you ever need to worry about again.”

She believed them both. Sovvan always had a Hound with her or nearby. They lived in the same house, rotating in and out as needed from her guest room. They took care of her security and, she’d told Chrystal in confidence, spoiled her in a way they weren’t allowed to spoil their Alpha. Having met the very formidable Serafina Andre, Chrystal could believe it.

“Because they can’t cosset you, they’ll cosset me.” She blurted the words out before she could think them through. Both men chuckled, but Mason nodded.

“Something like that. You’ll meet all of the Hunters over the next few weeks a handful at a time. Dylan will take care of that part. He’ll decide who will have your protection detail if he has to journey somewhere without you.”

Oh, she didn’t like that…

“But as your mate and as my Hunter, you will be his primary concern.”

“What about Three Rivers?” Hadn’t Dylan’s job been to monitor their borders?

Some of Mason’s jovial manner diminished. “They’re not going anywhere.”

“But Dylan did such a good job watching the border.”

“Yes, but I have other Hunters, Chrystal.”

Had she cost him his job?

“Sweetheart,” her mate whispered. “Mason’s giving you a hard time and he’s right, we rotated tasks anyway. It keeps us fresh.”

“Oh. But I like our cabin.”

The Alpha threw his head back and laughed. “You’ll like Willow Bend proper, too. Once you’re adjusted and see how you like it all, you two can decide where you want to live.”

“I’m being difficult, aren’t I?” Embarrassment crawled through her.

“Not at all,” Mason soothed, then tapped his fingers against the railing. “Teasing is a fun part of life and I never want you to not ask your questions. We’re both going to have a learning curve. I’ve known about Omegas, and I’ve met Sovvan before, but I’ve never had one as an Alpha.”

Was this the part where he’d wanted privacy? “So I guess we’ll have to kind of guide each other?”

“More or less and knowing how things could work and how they do work will help—but at the end of the day, we have to do things how they work for us.”

They were on the same footing and about to undertake a task that would change them both. “Did you want to have that talk now?”

“I think we’ve already had it.” Mason finished his beer, and jutted his chin toward Dylan. “He’s got tremendous faith in you, Chrystal, and he’ll have your back every step of the way, as will I.”

“I have his back, and I’d like to think I’ll have yours, but I can’t guarantee it yet. Not like you two can. I’m still learning about my wolf and pack politics and how it’s all supposed to work.”

“Just be honest. Tell me when something bothers you or ask questions. We’ll take it one day at a time.” The finality seemed to suggest they were there. The day had come, she was going to leave Three Rivers and join Willow Bend. The last few months had left her disconnected from the only pack she’d ever known, and she still felt like a stranger to the pack she was about to join.

Her pillar of strength stood silently next to her. Dylan did that. He’d go quiet and let her work out her thoughts, but he never shied away from answering her questions. Mason seemed to be waiting as well, his gaze not quite resting on her. Maybe he understood the weight his power and regard carried.

Raising her chin, she met her mate’s eyes and love seemed to pulse along the bond they shared. The corner of his gorgeous mouth tilted upward and his eyebrows raised. Was she ready?

Not looking away from him, she said, “Then let’s do this. What’s our next step?”

They didn’t begin immediately. No, Mason and Dylan both insisted she eat. They gave her first choice of the food. With so much to choose from, she selected the combination fried rice and the moo goo gai pan. Dylan dove into the fried chicken, and Mason had a couple of the burgers. Conversation swayed between the latest news in the pack—Dylan’s parents, Alexis and Mason’s daughter, Melissa, and Alexis’ second pregnancy.

The Alpha puffed with pride. “She gets to enjoy this pregnancy.”

His response confused Chrystal. “She didn’t like it the first time?”

Instead of explaining his response, he threw another question at her. “Do you understand how to turn a human into a wolf?”

“Biting. My mother taught me from an early age never to bite.” Dylan bit her all the time, and she loved the feel of his teeth. He also seemed to enjoy it when she responded in kind. “But I’m not exactly sure how it’s accomplished.”

“If you ever need to know, we’ll go into further detail, or you and Dylan can discuss it later.” Amusement filled Mason’s voice. “There are two ways with women in particular. The first is to bite, of course. The second is if a human woman becomes pregnant by a wolf.”

Oh. That made sense. The baby shared blood with the mother.

“It’s also not the safest method, as it has a great likelihood of killing the mother as she fights the invasion of her system while trying to protect her child at the same time.” Grim lines tightened around his eyes. He went on to explain Alexis’ struggle during her pregnancy with Melissa and, though she knew the outcome, his tension kept her on tenterhooks for all of it.

“Well, I’m glad she made it through and that she can enjoy this pregnancy.”

“Me too.”

“A.J.’s mate is pregnant, too.” Dylan mused aloud. “I’m surprised Claire and Serafina aren’t, the Buckleys are so alike.”

From the current status of various mates to local business changes, they finally circled back to Three Rivers and security concerns with the pending arrival of the Italian Alpha and his mate for Matt and Shiloh’s wedding. The names didn’t mean much to her, but there were so many people and so much obvious affection and caring she wanted to know them.

“Chrystal Royce.” The somber, serious tone pulled her out of her reverie, and she met Mason’s cool eyed gaze. “As Dylan’s mate, you have the right to join Willow Bend. As an Omega, you bring a tremendous gift and ability to our pack, a gift we will treasure. My Hunters will become your Hunters, my pack, your pack. Your gifts, our gifts. We will always protect you. As long as my heart beats, and there is blood in my veins, I will defend you.”

A shiver skated over her skin. “No one has said what happens if you die…or if I do.”

Dylan frowned, but Mason nodded slowly. “You will be bound to the pack, not just to me. You will feel them as I do. Should I fall to an Alpha Challenge or to natural death…you will still be bound and the new Alpha must swear to you as you would to him.”

Did that mean they would protect her as well?

“If they are not willing to protect you, your pack will still take care of you and that Alpha may find themselves facing new challenges.”

Placing one hand atop hers, her mate smiled. “Sweetheart, even if someone took out Mason—and that’s a big if because I’ve seen him fight. He’s not nice about it.” The surge of admiration in his voice made the comment a compliment.. “You have a lot of supporters who will stand up for you, and I won’t let anyone use or hurt you.”

“Honestly, I’m less worried about me than I am the pack. Sovvan told me that part of the reason Omegas are so protected is because we can and have been targets in the past for the happiness in the pack itself. If a pack is willing to kill off its own members, then there is more to worry about than my own safety.”

“Precisely. That's why I have no doubt that you will make Willow Bend your home and everyone is going to love having you with us.”

She liked the confidence, even in the face of her own doubts. Having learned the right words and practiced them a few times, she spoke slowly and clearly. “Mason Clayborne. As Dylan’s mate, I claim my right to join Willow Bend. As Omega, I offer my talent and my heart to the defense of your pack and treasure the offer of your Hunters to keep safe the pack as a whole. Will you have me?”

The corner of his mouth kicked a little higher. “Absolutely.” Without slowing, he pulled a knife from his pocket and sliced his palm. Next to her, Dylan retrieved his knife and she extended her hand to him. His gaze never left her as he drew the blade over her palm. The sharpness kept her from feeling more than a pinch. The gash was shallow and short, but blood pooled in her palm.

Rising, Mason extended his hand to her, and she clasped it automatically. Gripping her hand, he pulled her to her feet and some distant part of her mind acknowledged Dylan rising with her. A wrench sideways disconnected her fragile tie to Luciana. The absence left her aching for a split second, then a new tie seemed to bore into her.

The world swirled, sound seeming to riot in her ears, and the colors grew deeper and far richer. The burning she’d experienced in her chest at mating turned into a conflagration. Suddenly nauseated and exhilarated in the same breath, she went from hot to cold to hot again with cold flushing the surface of her skin. Dylan’s grip on her free hand steadied her and she could feel him as though he stood between her and the tide, keeping her upright.

Giddiness. Grief. Fury. Apathy. Envy. Distrust. Kindness. Pity. The spill of emotions seemed to shatter everything inside of her, filling the crevices until it bubbled over. Terror closed her throat and she couldn’t breathe. Too much.

Dylan squeezed her hand, his lips close to her ear. She could almost hear the sound of his voice, but failed to decipher the words.

Be calm when you feel those emotions pour over you. The confusion we experience when we reflect is trying to decipher what we are feeling versus what others are experiencing.

Sovvan’s reminder clawed through the cacophony. Eyes snapping open, Chrystal sucked in a greedy breath of air. Grasping the giddiness, she held fast to it and rose above the rest. “Wow…”

Mason hadn’t released her hand, yet still wore a startled expression. He frowned. “That’s one word for it.”

The pounding surf ebbed to a flow of water, the rushes withdrawing then rolling in more gently. Beyond Mason and Dylan, she had the sense of so many others—too many to count. If she focused on any one, the emotions grew more intense, then faded again when she tried to retreat. “It wasn’t anything like this with Three Rivers.”

“Their bond is too new. If you think about Emma…can you find her?” Mason’s question helped her center her wandering thoughts and she pictured the calm, sweet healer she’d met twice now. The chaos quieted immediately. Oh. She had no words to describe the peace surrounding her, a true eye in the storm.

“Better?” Mason canted his head, and she nodded. When his attention switched to Dylan, she glanced at her mate. Dylan’s jaw was tight, a pallor beneath his normal tan. “How are you doing?”

“I feel like I’m standing in front of a door, leaning everything I have into keeping it closed, and it’s not enough.” Each word grit through his teeth, but his tension seemed to lessen the more she focused on him. Dylan brought joy and passion, laser focus and a wild determination. She could do this, she could handle being an Omega for their pack.

My pack. The possessiveness startled her, then the bedlam ceased entirely.

With one last squeeze, Mason released her. The action seemed to pop them all from the frozen tableau. Dylan wrapped a cloth around her hand, then pulled her into his arms.

My mate. My pack. Finding Mason’s gaze, she grinned. My Alpha. It was everything and so much more. “I don’t—I don’t even know how to describe it all.”

“You don’t have to.” He jutted his chin towards the seats they’d abandoned before settling onto the railing. “It’s overwhelming and impossible, yet...you get used to it.”

“I can feel everyone. Even people I don’t know the names of.”

Another nod from Mason. “Over time, you’ll be able to discern who you know from who you don’t, but you’ll also be able to follow the ties to the individual wolves…” At the center of it all was Mason. She studied the bond which seemed to stretch between them.

Responsibility edged in an old, old grief and a sense of blame. “It’s not your fault.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You feel responsible for everyone.”

“I am responsible for everyone, but my need to control everything is a strength and a weakness.” Nothing humble or deceptive marked his tone. “It’s why I rely on others to keep me in check. I've learned to delegate. A pack is only as healthy as its weakest member and power corrupts. I’m not afraid of a challenge to my authority, but I’m afraid of valuing my authority over the well-being of others.”

The raw honesty in his words seemed to surprise Dylan. When her mate sat and tugged her onto his lap, she curled against him, needing the contact every bit as much as he did.

“You’re a good Alpha, Mason.” The declaration caught the together Alpha off guard. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that or if anyone has…but you are a good one. I trust you. I trust your judgment.”

“Thank you.” Lacking any artifice, the other man simply accepted the compliment. When his attention returned to her, she raised her chin. She couldn’t quite meet his gaze, not for very long, but no fear or discomfort accompanied her attempts. Her wolf simply didn’t want to challenge the man, and she understood it. Mason might not mind her need to assert herself or even the hint of a challenge, but it was better for their wolves if they had the very clear discernment of a pecking order.

A profound silence settled, leaving only the warm breeze rushing through the trees for noise. An Omega reflected the weaknesses in a pack. They’d all told her that. How the Alpha could draw upon all the strengths to increase his own, she would be able to pull their weaknesses into herself, reflect them and even be hampered by them sometimes.

“I thought I’d be different. Or not myself.”

Mason grinned slowly. “If you feel like you, then my pack is as healthy as I believed.” Pride echoed in those words.

Yet, other than a wild sense of connection and a tangle of unfamiliar emotions, she didn’t feel all that different than before. Not true. I feel like I’m…

“Chrystal?” Dylan nudged her gently and she nuzzled the corner of her mate’s mouth.

“I’m home.”

He had become her world, but the world swelled to include the whole of his pack. She’d spent the majority of her life in isolation, different from all those around her, lacking the connections she’d glimpsed which led to teasing, play and sometimes even to violence and fights. Apathy was worse than hate or dislike. Disconnection far sadder than loss.

“Welcome to Willow Bend.” Dylan’s whole demeanor softened. “Welcome home.”

She had so much to learn yet. So much to explore. So many shinies to find. But she’d found the best shiny of all in Dylan. She’d found home.