Mated in Mist (Talon Pack #3)(11)

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“Oh, honey, you suck at commanding sometimes.” A smaller woman walked around the large man and patted him on the ass as she walked by.

Leah raised a brow even as Ryder, Walker, and a fourth man that stood behind Gideon chuckled.

“Hi, Leah, I’m Brie. Gideon’s mate.” The slightly taller-than-average-sized woman held out her hand for Leah to shake. Brie only looked tiny compared to Gideon and the rest of the brothers, but the woman also had a…fragile air surrounding her that Leah couldn’t quite explain.

“Uh, hi,” Leah said then took Brie’s hand. A sense of calm spread over her and she frowned.

Brie winced. “Sorry. I’m a submissive wolf and I can’t help but want to comfort. Usually, it’s just with Packmates, but sometimes, my wolf reaches out to others. Anyway, what Gideon meant was you don’t have to go, and frankly, we’d like you to stay so we can figure out what happened. We haven’t contacted the local Coven to tell them we have you because we wanted to wait until you were awake and all, but we can do that now if you want.”

Leah held out both hands. “Please don’t.”

Brie’s eyes widened, and the rest of the men moved around the bed to face Leah.

“Is there something we should know?” Gideon asked as he put his hands on his mate’s shoulders. The large Alpha wolf looked so fierce compared to the soft Brie, and it boggled Leah’s mind that an Alpha would mate with a submissive. But, it wasn’t Leah’s business, nor was it something she should be focusing on right then.

“I…I should just go.”

Ryder gripped her wrist gently and she met his gaze. “Just tell us, Leah. We can’t help you if you don’t tell us. You were running from someone. Who was it? Why don’t you want us to talk to the Coven? We’re fighting a war on one side with the humans, but we need to know if we’re fighting elsewhere, as well.”

She let out a breath. “I wasn’t born into a coven. Roland was all I had.”

“I thought that’s what you meant when you said you were alone before,” Ryder said softly.

She jerked. “You heard that?” Heat slashed across her cheeks and she tried to pull away. Only, he wouldn’t let her.

Brie cleared her throat. “My aunt Hannah wasn’t in a coven either. She’s an earth witch.”

“It’s not uncommon for witches to not want to join forces. We’re not as…connected as wolves. We don’t have bonds or the same kind of structure you do. Each coven has its own Council, and there’s even a larger Council that tries its best to rule all the covens.” She let out a breath. “That’s actually the local Coven.”

Gideon let out a little growl. “That much we know,” he said. “They tried to summon us for a meeting to discuss the Unveiling, but one does not summon a wolf.”

Leah let out a snort. “I wouldn’t think so. You guys tend to bite, I would think. As for the Coven? Well, they don’t really care if you have claws or fangs. They don’t care if someone shares their blood. The local witches, at least the ones in power, aren’t used to hearing the word no. Their word is law. At least to their own ears.”

Gideon tilted his head, much like his brother had earlier. “I had a feeling. We would like you to stay here, but,” he looked down at his mate, “we will not force you. It’s not safe out there, but if you are on the run, then we need to know what—or who—is after you.”

She met the Alpha’s gaze for a moment then looked away, not able to handle his dominance. She didn’t think most people could. “They were humans. They knew we were witches and were trying to capture us. Kill us.”

The fourth man in the room let out a slight curse. He winced then sighed. “I’m Brandon, the Omega. Hell. The humans were after you?”

She nodded at Walker’s triplet brother. “Yes, they were. I don’t know what they saw, but Roland had to use magic to save us.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know exactly why they were after us. We’ve been running from them for a few weeks, and before that…well, we had to hide who we were from the witches, as well. But that…that I can’t talk about.” She looked at Gideon again. “I’m sorry I can’t talk about it, but the most pressing thing is the humans.”

Gideon let out a growl, and Ryder put his hand on her shoulder. She immediately relaxed at his touch, even as her body heated. What the hell was wrong with her?

“We couldn’t find who was after you, but we’ll help you,” Gideon said. “When you feel more comfortable with us, I hope you’ll tell us why you were running longer. Running from the witches. But as you say, you have no home, no one to run to. Considering where we found you, I’m guessing you and your twin were running either toward us or the Redwoods. Let us offer you shelter.”

Something filled her, was it relief? A sense of…hope? She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t quite come up with the words she needed to say. She’d never had a true shelter. Even before the humans had hunted her and Roland, she’d always had to be careful, oh so careful, of whom she was. But these wolves, wolves who knew nothing about her except what she told them, were offering her sanctuary. They had their own pains, their own battles and troubles, yet they offered their home to her.