Page 37 of Reign

He grinned and pulled his hand from mine, wrapping his arm over my shoulders and pulling me closer. His whole body relaxed, and it felt good to be held against that powerful body. “Always.”

I peeredthrough the rain spotted windows as Drake maneuvered the four-wheel-drive through some thick metal gates and into a large compound. I frowned. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t say why.

Connor hadn’t moved his arm from my shoulders the whole time, and he gave me a tight reassuring squeeze. “Do you recognise it?”

“I don’t know, I feel something…but I don’t actually remember it.”

“It’ll come. Don’t force it.”

I turned my head into his chest and inhaled as I nodded. His scent calmed the nerves in my belly. “Yeah.”

“Come on, Firecracker.” But he didn’t move. Instead, he looked down at me, nestled against his impressive pec. A few seconds passed as we just sat quietly and held each other. He kissed the top of my head and sighed, lifting his arm off my shoulders. Immediately, I shivered. He pushed the door open. Quickly, I grabbed his hand. “Hang on.” It wasn’t because I was apprehensive. I trusted him enough by now to know he wouldn’t hurt me or put me in danger, and neither would the others. I just wanted to touch him. Sitting next to him, I’d been settled and had a sense of belonging that I couldn’t ever remember feeling before. He watched me, a small smile on his face as I shuffled over the seat to clamber out with him.

The yard was unremarkable, just rambling buildings that looked like they could do with some tender loving care. The others got out of their vehicles and surrounded us. I had the feeling of being completely protected.

“Hey,” smiled a guy who was holding the hand of the beautiful ebony-skinned man. They'd been the ones in the garden.

“Hi.” I smiled at him, trying not to let my guilt at not knowing him show in my face.

“I’m Reed. This is my mate, Myles. I know you don’t remember us, but that’s okay. I just wanted you to know I’m really glad you’re home with us now. You’re gonna be fine.” He lingered as if he wanted to say more.

“Hey, c’mon, man. Let’s let Prime get her settled in.”

Reed gave me another smile. “Yeah, ‘course. See you later, Em.” And they wandered off together.

“Ember?” I jumped a bit at Connor’s voice. I’d been studying Reed, something tickling the back of my mind. He tightened his grip on my hand. “Come on, let’s get you inside, then I'll introduce everyone properly.”

“Okay.” Suddenly I was nervous. Where would I stay? Would he expect me to be in the same room as him? I was learning to accept the new reality of my situation, but sleeping with him was a bigger step than I was ready to take at the moment. Trying to control my anxiety, I followed Connor, who led me up a set of rickety metal stairs.

Inside, the building was bigger than I expected, with solid walls, security doors and plenty of security cameras dotted around. The crumbling, dilapidated exterior was obviously a ruse. Keeping hold of my hand, Connor led me down a corridor and into a large room. At one side of the huge space was a bank of screens and computers. Across the other side, a large table stood surrounded by chairs.

“Owen? Would you call everyone to the table? I’d like to officially introduce Ember to everyone.”

I stiffened. Oh shit, I didn’t want to be on display. Keeping hold of my hand, Connor walked to the head of the table. Without causing a scene, there was no other choice but to go with him. He sat down, pulling me onto his knee. I perched awkwardly and avoided his eyes. The others sat in the chairs. Drake pulled out a chair for a dark-haired, strangely beautiful woman to sit down. She stared at me, her head cocked. Then she smiled almost shyly. I smiled back, sure I should know her, and sad that I didn’t.

It took a few minutes for everyone to settle in. Two women and a man stood at the back with the ugliest man, creature,thingthat I’d ever seen. If I hadn’t already seen Jed shift into a gorilla and the strange blue-haired man throw shards of ice like weapons, I’d definitely believe in the supernatural now. He watched me with beady eyes. I swallowed hard and looked away. He grunted, and when I peeked back at him, he shook his head.

“Don’t you be scared of me, young ‘un. I’ve cared for ya since you were knee-high to a daisy. You’re among friends here.”

Giving him a real smile and a nod was easier after those words, and I was grateful for them.

“Quiet down, everyone. I’m really happy that Ember is back with us. That part of our mission is thankfully over. Ember?”

I looked over my shoulder at him. “Yes?”

“The people sitting at the table are our pack. I’m the alpha of this group of unlikely looking bastards.” There was a general chorus of “hellos”.

I let my gaze meet each one individually, weighing them up and deciding if they would be a threat to me. They all smiled, then looked down at the table. Instinctively, I knew that they were doing that to show me the same kind of respect they showed Connor. I’d noticed they would look at him for a short amount of time and then train their gaze over his shoulder before looking back again if they needed to. I’d wondered about that, but, strangely, now it made sense.

“So you're in charge of all of them?”

He gave me a slow and sexy smile, and some of the others snorted at my term. I didn’t want to show my ignorance in front of all these powerful supernaturals, but if I was going to learn about my old life and forge a new one, I had to get over my embarrassment at asking.

“That’s right. I guess I am.”

I stared at his mouth. Ach! Now wasn’t the time to remember the way those beautiful lips felt against mine, how the touch of his tongue had set me on fire. Damn! I needed to control my obvious reaction to him…I cleared my throat, my cheeks heating.

His smile stretched. “Are you okay?” His fingers brushed my hot cheek. “Did you remember something?”

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