I square my shoulders, tilt my chin up, and step towards him, only to pause when another blond-haired guy comes in. They can only be brothers. And when I take a better look at the blond one, I realise I know those eyes.
“Where is Locke Raines?” The dark-haired guy snarls.
“Raider, would you chill out? For fuck's sake, just calm down. Haven’t you heard you catch more flies with honey than vinegar?”
“I don’t want flies, I want Locke.” Raider, the dark one, growls.
I transfer my gaze back to the blond. “Kelly?”
His gaze finds me, and though on his face is an easy smile, his eyes are dangerously focused.
“Are you Kelly and Raider Raines?”
“And Ryn and Lia,” a woman says with a smile. She’s got a mane of that caramel blond hair, a smile that, at best, could be called timid, and his eyes. From Locke’s descriptions this can only be Lia, the beta who lives at the Raines mansion with the crazy mother. The other female has dark hair and the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen, Ryn who is the genius lyricist. I wonder where the last one, Bethany is but it doesn't matter, his family has shown up for him.
“Come with me.”
They follow me without question. I knock on the door and push it open. Finn looks up, his eyes turning arctic as he spots the visitors.
Oh, yeah, our pack is going to take a while to bounce back.
Shane growls, and I feel Raider’s instant need to confront my alpha’s feral growl.
Bray is the only one who doesn’t turn. He’s sitting beside Locke’s bed, holding his hand. Talking to him softly.
Locke’s eyes are open, but he doesn’t take his gaze from Bray.
I make a sound, and Locke looks towards me. I rush to him, ignoring the people behind me.
“You’re awake!”
Fuck, I’m crying again.
He smiles. It’s weak, but it’s there. I blink through tears and lean down to kiss him.
“You scared me.”
He grips my hand and holds it tightly. “Sorry, I couldn’t let her hurt you.”
Locke’s voice is so weak that it comes out a whisper. He jumped to save me?
A throat clears, and I reluctantly pull back.
“Your cousins came to rescue you.” My tone lets everyone know how I feel about that. It’s also a warning to the groups to behave.
I smooth down the quilt and hesitate before I move away.
Finn and Shane growl in harmony. I ignore them and keep my eyes on Locke.
Raider steps to the other side of the bed and drops to his knees. “You giant idiot! Why didn’t you call? Why didn’t you tell us?”
I see the agony on Raider’s face, and I like him a whole lot more. Lia sits on the edge of the bed and reaches for Locke’s free hand.
“We’ll take you home now,” she promises.
“Not happening,” Brayson snaps. “Locke is ours.”
She startles and looks between us all. “But-”