Page 28 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Howdy, friends.”

I saw the way Chris’ back tensed as he realized this was the alpha of the visiting pack, but he still didn’t move, proving to me he was willing to take him onto protect me. Instead, Chris turned to me.

‘What do you want me to do?’ he asked me via mind-link.

“He’s a friend,” I confirmed out loud.

Chris moved aside and came to stand next to the bed, where he still provided a buffer between Cade and me.

Cade walked in, but when he saw me tensing as he started getting close, he moved back to the door and leaned against it, his smile never leaving his face. His consideration to my aversion made me feel comfortable with him.

“You don’t look like the Cade I knew at twenty, if it wasn’t for your voice, I wouldn’t have picked you out of a lineup. You’ve bulked up,” I teased.

I was happy to see he not take offense to my ribbing. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed.

“I had to. Can’t have people thinking they can challenge me after I took over as alpha,” he explained.

“I heard about your pack lands. That must have been devastating,” I mentioned.

“It wasn’t easy, but the freak change in winds caught everyone by surprise,” he replied with a heavy sigh. “But it’s a goo—”

“What are you doing? I told you Violet doesn’t like being around strangers,” Bells’ angry voice interrupted from down the hallway.

Cade rolled his eyes at my sister’s angry words and winked at me.

“Relax, Princess. I’m a few doors down from Violet. I wanted to make sure she knew who I was so she didn’t feel threatened if she saw me walking around the alpha floor. She’s perfectly fine. Her warrior did a good job protecting her. Cory was right to trust Chris with her safety, and I’m respecting her boundaries.”

I looked up at Chris, standing straight and stoically next to my bed, a strange warm feeling filling my chest at Cade’s words.

“I told—” Bells started to say.

“You’re fine, right Violet? I’m not bothering you or making you uncomfortable?” Cade interrupted my sister again as she pushed inside the room, clear irritation on her face.

I bit my cheek to stop from smiling back at Cade. It seemed he still knew how to push her buttons.

“I’m okay, Bells,” I reassured both of them.

Bells’ anger deflated, but she still glared at Cade before turning back to me.

“If he bothers you, let me know. I’ll go grab you guys some dinner.”

After Bells left, her steps clearly stomping as loudly as she could to show her temper still brewing underneath, Cade shook his head while he watched her, before turning back to me.

“I’ve already told everyone I brought with me to stay off the alpha floor. If you have any problems with them, let me know, and I’ll take care of it. I’ll give you three knocks when I’m coming down this way for a visit,” he let me know. He pushed away from the door, ready to leave when I stopped him.

“Ho-What did Bells tell you? A-about what happened to me?” I asked him.

“Nothing more than you’re not comfortable around people anymore, Violet,” he assured me.

“Th-then, how did you know about knocking?” I asked.

Only my family knew to do that.

“Mom volunteered at a women’s shelter for a long time. Whenever she took me with her, she explained that some women need certain added steps in their routine to feel safe again. Knocking was always a good way to let people know you were coming, in case they startled easily.”

“Thank you,” was all I could think to say.

“I hope you can trust me someday again, Vi. Until then, I’m just two doors down if you need anything.” He pretended to tilt his absent cowboy hat to me and left.

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