Chapter 4

Maya

“Dean, stop. I’m not coming home.”

Raising my eyes to heaven, I’m glad my brother isn’t here right now, or I’d strangle him.

“I don’t know how I let you and Hayley talk me into this. There’s too much going on over there. I don’t want you getting caught in the middle of it all.”

I can hear his footfalls as he paces the floors of our old packhouse. In my mind, I picture him with his hand on the back of his neck, wearing a track on the hardwood as he gets more and more worked up.

“Dean. The alpha’s sister can’t be the first person to leave the pack and then come running home a day later. I’m safe. The boys have arrived and are going to be sleeping in the packhouse, too. Nothing is going to happen.”

The first exchange between the packs was only supposed to be one person, but as soon as we decided I was going, Dean suddenly expanded the numbers. Conveniently, some of our elite warriors volunteered to come. My brother has almost certainly bribed or threatened them into it.

“Maya, I…”

Standing off to the side, watching the comings and goings from the small welcome party Leila has thrown for us, I decide if the wolves here aren’t worried, I’m not going to be.

Cooper and Hayley filled us in on what has been going on and gave us the opportunity to continue with the swap with another pack if we wanted. Dean wouldn’t trust anyone else. Even though he’d never admit it, I know he’s happy to have warriors here to help protect the pack house, and in particular, the luna and her baby.

“If I was anyone else, you wouldn’t be doing this. I can take care of myself.”

That stops him in his tracks, and he sighs wearily down the line. He’s stressed. Our family life was troubled, to put it mildly. We had each other's backs. We looked out for each other and protected Charlie, our much younger brother, from the shit that was going on at home.

“I know. I just worry.”

I wait him out, and eventually, he relents with another put-upon sigh. My lips twist into a small smile. Dean pretends to be a hardass, but behind it all, he’s a good guy.

“Fine. But at the slightest hint of trouble, Maya, you find the boys. Or one of the Jones's. And don’t tell anyone…”

That wipes the smile off my face, and I can’t help the sharp edge that creeps into my voice.

“Who am I going to tell, Dean? I don’t want anyone treating me differently here, like they do at home. That’s the whole point.”

My brother's heart is in the right place, but this is exactly what I came here to get away from. Our pack prides itself on the skill and strength of every wolf. Everyone gets warrior training, and everyone helps to keep the borders secure. We all play a part.

But in a pack where everyone competes to be the toughest and values its fighters above all else, they look down on any weakness. Without meaning to, my brother just reminded me exactly why I need this. It’ll be nice not to be reminded daily that you’re the runt of the pack.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know. Look, I better go warn the guys to behave themselves on their first night here. All these new she-wolves are making their heads spin.”

Dean's deep laugh down the line warms my heart. I feel bad leaving him and I know he’ll miss me.

“Go. Enjoy. Not too much, though.”

Chuckling, I say goodbye and hang up, slipping my phone into my back pocket as I make my way over to the only familiar face I can see.

“Hi, Rex.”

He turns and gives me a friendly but stiff smile, but it’s written all over his face that this is torture for him.

“Maya, how are you settling in?”

“Good. Thanks for having us. Where’s Leila?” I ask, trying to help him with the small talk he clearly hates making.

“Here!”

She waddles over and gives me a big squeeze. Her bump presses into my side as she leans in, and I can barely get my arms around her.

“Where’s Marcus?” Rex asks, looking at the door she came through with concern.

“Not coming. This is his worst nightmare, and you know it. He volunteered to help Bodhi get gear ready for the Bootcamp survival expedition leaving tomorrow instead.”

A wistful look crosses Rex’s face. I’m sure he’d prefer to be anywhere but here right now, but would actually love to be helping the guys with that. It is his business, after all. He passed up being alpha to get away from this kind of thing.

“Don’t even think about it,” Leila warns sternly. “We’ve no Ethan and no Cooper. You’re alpha for the foreseeable future, Rex. Get over it.”

Rex groans and looks miserable as he takes a long swig from his bottle of beer.

“You keep that baby in there until Cooper gets back to work.”

Leila scowls, and Rex looks genuinely afraid as she advances on him, eyes narrowed.

“Don’t even joke about it. I have been pregnant forever. Hayley has gotten pregnant and gone into labour with her cute little wolf pup. And all the while, here I am, with a giant grizzly bear growing bigger and bigger inside me every day. If I could make this baby arrive today, I would.”

Rex looks sufficiently chastened and raises his hands in surrender. Even though she’s complaining, she caresses her bump tenderly with wide, sweeping strokes.

“Stop torturing him, Leila.”

Rex grins as a gorgeous blonde slips her arm through his and leans into his side. His whole face lights up as he looks down at her, before placing a tender kiss on her forehead. She turns to me, hand outstretched, and I shake it, returning her warm smile.

“Hi, I'm Leah.”

“Ah, Rex’s mate. Nice to meet you, I’m Maya.”

As Leah says that she's his mate, Rex’s gaze drops unconsciously to her mark as he looks adoringly at her. You can see how much he loves her in the way he takes her hand so carefully and presses a kiss to her knuckles like there is nobody else here.

“Oooh! The alpha’s sister.”

I nod in confirmation, and Leah grins, practically bouncing up and down on the spot.

“Did I miss something?”

Looking back and forth between Leila and the small blonde staring at me, I’m confused.

“No. Ignore her. She’s just far too cheerful. You’ll get used to it.” Leila sighs and shakes her head in disbelief. “Excuse me. I have to pee. AGAIN.”

Leila disappears back inside, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the last that we saw of her this evening. She looks exhausted. She's already on maternity leave from the hospital, so she shouldn't have to work at the packhouse when she should be resting.

“Come on, let’s go get a drink, Maya. Rex needs to find our other guests and make them feel welcome. And I want to know more about my new neighbour.”

Her expression is open and friendly, but I feel like she means business. Leah might not be Luna, but she could be. Her aura is commanding, and I can see how she is mated to Rex.

He gives her a sweet kiss, and me an apologetic shrug, before he disappears to find the four men that arrived with me. They are to work on Nathan’s construction crews by day, and apparently babysit me at night, for the next few months.

“So, what do you want to know?” I ask as she leads me through the growing crowd toward the makeshift bar, arm linked with mine, so I have no way of escaping. She hands me a glass of wine and smiles mischievously before leaning in to whisper in my ear.

“I want to know why my brother-in-law hasn’t taken his eyes off you since the second he walked in.”