Page 57 of Out of Peril

I didn't care who was standing around watching. The most important people in my life where right here with me. I kissed the top of Maya's head.

“I'm sorry I yelled at you, Walker,” Dante said.

“I'm sorry I didn't listen to you sooner.”

I needed to be strong for them now, so even though my heart was breaking and the only thing keeping me sane was the quiet ragged heartbeat of my mate, I let Lachlan help prop me up with some pillows while the kids settled in beside me.

“So, who do we have here?” Ben asked me.

“This is Maya and Dante. Remember when I told you guys about the triplets and their mom? Well this is Shelby's mate, Ben.”

“Shelby's mate? That's what I've become? You seriously didn't tell them about me?”

I managed a sheepish grin.

“Did you know that Walker’s best friend is a girl, just like me and Maya,” Dante said proudly.

A few of the guys chuckled.

“Best friends? You aren't siblings?” Michael asked.

“No. We met at our last Collection. Lindsey was there and she took good care of us. She calls us her twins, but we aren't really twins,” he continued.

“Lindsey? Not Mom?” he pressed.

“No, she's not our mom, well, not our real mom. She's just sort of like our mom. And now Walker can be like our dad,” Maya said as if it were all that simple. Then again, why couldn't it be? We have no idea where these kids had came from. From what I'd been able to gather they couldn't ever remember not being in a Collection.

“I guess we'll sort all of that out later,” Linc suggested.

“I can't believe I've been relegated to best friend's mate status. I thought we were past all that bullshit,” Ben muttered as he walked away.

“Dante here is a little seer, just like you, Michael.”

The kid sat up quickly. “You're a seer too?”

“I am.”

“Do you ever see things and no one believes you?”

He glared over at me.

Michael chuckled. “It's definitely happened before.”

“I tried to tell him you were coming for him and that he was going to get us all killed.”

“No one is dying today,” I told him.

But even as I said it, I could only pray it was true.

Walker

Chapter 16

It was torture watching her struggle for each breath, but she did it. For the past three days she'd managed to continue breathing. I celebrated each and every inhale and exhale.

The day after she was shot, the Alpha of NOLA Pack arrived. He'd looked at her with disgust, learning that she had been the beast that ran them from this house. He was furious, and even though I was under the impression he'd already banished her, he made sure that everyone knew it was official. And he wanted her moved immediately, no matter how many times Grant tried to tell him it wasn't safe to do so.

In the end, at the risk of starting an inter-pack shitstorm, Michael and Silas agreed to his terms. Fortunately, the panthers were much more accommodating and allowed us to move her only a short distance away into their territory.

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