Zander turned to her. “Gwen, you remember Jesse and Harley. This is Jaime and Dante. They’re the Betas of the Phoenix Pack.”
Gwen gave the new arrivals a quick hello and then introduced her family and Andie. “We appreciate you coming.”
After greetings were exchanged, Yvonne and Marlon made everyone a light lunch. While they ate, Zander and Derren told the other shifters what happened at the hearing. A little overwhelmed by the number of people, Julie soon made her excuses to leave. Once she and Chase were gone, the others all went outside to look at the views of the marsh.
As Gwen stood with Jaime and Ally out on the boardwalk, she asked the Beta female, “How’s Makenna and the baby?”
“They’re both fine,” said Jaime, eyes lighting up. “The baby is adorable, isn’t she? Makenna won’t agree to stay on our territory, so Ryan’s constantly freaking out. In his head, I mean. You wouldn’t know it to look at him.”
Recalling that Ryan’s default expression seemed to be a scowl, Gwen smiled. “Yeah, I can imagine.”
“Roni and Shaya really wanted to come, but I’m guessing you can understand why they didn’t.”
“Of course,” Gwen assured her. “It’s vital that the Mercury Pack isn’t left vulnerable. To be honest, I’m surprised Jesse and Harley came, especially after Rory pulled that firecracker stunt.” Zander had told her all about it.
“Jesse, Zander, and Bracken are really close,” said Ally. “I think it was hard for Jesse to stay out of this, so he’d have turned up here even if Rory hadn’t insisted on being a shithead. Harley will have come along to get a shot at vengeance.”
Gwen sipped at her coffee and then spoke to Jaime. “To be blunt, why are you and your mate here?”
Jaime tilted her head. “I’m not sure if Zander’s told you that our packs are closely allied with each other. In fact, we share Roni and Marcus. See, she’s a Mercury enforcer, and Marcus is a Phoenix enforcer, but neither wanted to switch packs. If either of our packs have trouble, one always has the other’s back.” She paused, her smile approving as she stared at Gwen. “What you did for Andie . . . it was a brave thing.”
“It was the right thing,” Gwen pointed out.
Ally nodded. “But sometimes the right thing is scary and difficult to do. You still did it.”
“Although you didn’t do it on behalf of shifters everywhere, I wanted to say thank you.” Jaime lifted her mug to Gwen, as if in salute.
Uncomfortable with the praise, Gwen just nodded. Noticing Harley and Andie slowly heading down the boardwalk, she said, “They seem to be getting along well.”
Ally nodded. “Harley spent the first half of her life in a pride, but she spent the second half in the human world—she lived with her aunt, who took care of her. She can relate to how Andie must feel, having lived among humans for a long time. Has Andie decided what she’ll do next?”
Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope to find out later.”
From where he stood on the porch with Jesse, Zander watched Gwen interact with the other females. She seemed relaxed around them. He liked that. He wanted her to feel comfortable with them so that it would make the transition to his pack easier. He also wanted her to feel that she had friends when she moved there.
“When do you think the Moores will attack?” asked Jesse.
“It’s possible that they won’t. They hired goshawks to hurt Gwen not long ago.” The memory made Zander’s wolf snarl. The beast was brooding because he’d been denied the chance to attack and kill Ezra. “They might do the same thing again.”
Jesse nodded. “Makes sense, since it’s unlikely that they’ll want to face you and a bunch of shifters. They have to know that you could beat their asses all on your own. If they do come here to take care of this themselves, they’ll come armed.”
“Probably. But it won’t help them. They’ll die either way.” Zander wouldn’t allow any threat to his mate to live. Speaking of threats . . . “I know you want to deal with Rory yourself. I get why. But if he comes here, he’s mine. Not just because he deserves a ration of shit for all the things he’s done over the years, but because he hurt my mate. He made her bleed. He would have taken her if Ally hadn’t had a vision that warned us. I can’t let that go.”
Jesse gave a nod of acceptance. “Understood. Just make sure you hurt him. Badly.”
That wouldn’t be a problem. “Back to the subject of the Moores . . . I don’t think there’ll be an attack tonight. They’ll know we’re on our guard. But I don’t think the Moores will be prepared to wait long—they’re too hungry for revenge on Gwen.”
“I didn’t think I’d like her,” Jesse announced. “Knowing what she’s done for the cougar, I respect her. But you’re one of my best friends. More like a brother. I knew I’d have trouble accepting your mate, whoever she was, because I’d need to be sure that she was good for you. We both know from watching our parents that not all mated pairs live a dreamy life.”
Yeah, Jesse’s parents had some serious issues. His mother dominated his father’s behavior, but she didn’t wish to do so, didn’t like that he’d folded under her strength by his own choice. She wanted a partner, an equal, and her mate was no longer that for her.
Jesse sighed. “You and me . . . we’re not easy people, and we’re never going to be easy partners. Harley gets me and lets me be until I push too hard. I wanted to be sure that your mate was someone who got you and accepted you. From what I can see and from what Ally’s told me, it’s pretty clear that Gwen does.”
“It’s a good thing that you didn’t run her through a gauntlet,” said Zander. It was the kind of thing his pack mate would do. “I would have had to kill you for that.”
Jesse’s mouth curved. “She’s got you all tied up in knots, hasn’t she?”
“That’s the way it should be, though.”
“Yeah, it is.” Jesse’s frown returned as he looked back at the females. “They all look deep in conversation over there, don’t they? I think they’re talking about us. Typical. Just typical.”
“The Matrix could so be real,” insisted Harley.