“Want me to come?” Boone offered. I held my breath, afraid this would be another failed attempt at getting these alphas to talk. But Autumn shook her head.
“No, but thank you,” she said as she scraped off her plate and dropped it in the sink. “I’m going to mill around town afterward for a bit. I’ve got some more shops to hit.”
“We need to talk,” I said before the others could tuck tail and run after Autumn rushed to grab her stuff. They both sighed, but didn’t protest. We didn’t do well talking and sitting and I wasn’t going to do it with Autumn in the house, so we got to work clearing the breakfast dishes and cleaning up. She gave a hasty goodbye a few minutes later and was out the door.
“What is it?” Boone demanded the moment her tires churned the gravel on the driveway.
“Autumn,” I said simply. “She belongs with our pack.”
“She isn’t the type to let us make that decision for her,” Hunter argued.
“Don’t think I’ve missed you shying away from fully claiming her,” I pointed out. “Yet you flirt with her openly.”
He shrugged and adjusted his ball cap on his head. If he thought he was going to bolt, I’d literally tackle him and tie him down.
“I don’t know, Jack,” Boone said, his words lingering like he wasn’t sure what more to say.
“You like her too,” I said in frustration. “Okay, listen up, both of you. I know this is right, I can feel it. This isn’t just some fling or some neighborly kindness. She’s fucking perfect.”
“She’s leaving,” Boone said, cutting to the heart of his worries.
“You’re right, she will,” I said bluntly. “If we don’t give her a fucking reason to stay.”
“Forcing someone to stay doesn’t work,” Boone said bitterly. The shadows creeped back into his brown eyes, taking the warmth right out of them.
“Boone,” Hunter said with a sigh. “She’s not Heidi.”
“She’s not,” he agreed. “But what if–”
“No,” I said firmly. We shouldn’t have let it go on this long in the first place. We’ve tried to talk to him but he shut us out. I wasn’t letting that happen again. He couldn’t keep running from things because she made him feel unworthy. “You never told us everything she said or did, whatever turned you into this, but fuck her.”
Boone’s eyes widened at the venom in my voice, but Hunter took right over.
“Jack’s right. Fuck Heidi,” Hunter growled. “We let you pull away and shut yourself off when she revealed herself to be a mega bitch and it was fucking painful to see. Sure you didn’t cut us out completely, but it was damn close to it.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. Watching his head hang in defeat had my chest aching and I went over, wrapping my arms around him.
“No, you grieved how you had to and took the time to get your head on straight again, but don’t you ever let yourself feel like you’re unworthy. Autumn’s not going to use you like she did,” I whispered fiercely. “She would never.”
“She’s been careful with you. Autumn’s not just smart and sassy, she reads us all like a book,” Hunter said. His tone was strange, guarded, but when I glanced over he looked almost hopeful. “Fuck. I do want her.”
“Good,” I said, both of us turning to Boone for his reaction.
“So do I,” he admitted, swallowing hard as if he had to force the words out. “I’ve never felt the way I feel for her about anyone before. No one even comes close.”
“Same,” I agreed. “She even fits Holiday Hollow well.”
“She fitsuswell,” Hunter corrected. For once we all sat back down, lost in our heads for a moment as we contemplated what this would mean for all of us.
“So we’re all in?” Boone asked, the determination sparking inside him a welcome thing to see. “Because we have to do this together. It’s the only way it’ll work.”
“All in,” I agreed.
Hunter nodded slowly. “I’m in, but I need to get my head on straight before I touch her again. I won’t push her away, but I know the next time I take her I’m going to want to put my bite on her neck. I don’t want to do that if I don’t have my own shit together. I don’t know if either of you’ve noticed but I haven’t really done relationships.”
I knew he needed time, and I understood where he was coming from. At least he was acknowledging that she fit.
“Don’t take too long,” I warned.