Page 98 of Home: Posy 5

The gamma knocked on the closed door and opened it after a gruff, "Come in."

"Rube, this is Alpha Kayvon Quake of Cold Moon," Alpha Mason said, nodding at a large, African American shifter standing next to him. "His wolf senses his mate somewhere in the pack. Are you free to take him on a tour?"

"Sure thing," Gamma Reuben nodded. "I'll be happy to escort you, Alpha Quake. I just need to pick up my little brother after football practice. "

"Thanks, and that is not a problem."

"Come sit down, Bridger," Alpha Mason said in a no-nonsense tone, which is all I'd ever heard out of him.

Swallowing hard, I walked over and sat in the chair Alpha Mason pointed at. As the other two shifters left the office, I wondered exactly which incident had earned me this ass-chewing. Then again, I hadn't done anything too bad lately.

"Did something happen to Grandma Sadie?" I asked as the thought suddenly struck me.

Did she leave me, too?

"No, but I wish you would have told someone she was in such a decline," Alpha Ice said as he closed the office door. "My father went out there today to do a wellness check. She's needed to be in a facility for a long time now, hasn't she?"

I bit my bottom lip and shrugged. How could I tell him I didn't want to lose her, too? Sure, she wasn't much good at keeping the house clean anymore and nodded off at odd times and called me by my dad's name, but on the plus side, I'd learned to do the laundry and cook. I even got myself to school nine days out of ten. That was pretty damn good, wasn't it?

"She's dying, Bridger. The pack doctor said her wolf's already faded. Gamma Nick and Beta Tristan moved her into the care facility near the pack house this morning." Alpha Mason's cold tone never changed as he prowled around to sit at his desk. "She's in room 213. You can visit her any time you want. She'll be as comfortable as possible until the end."

I nodded and kept my eyes on the floor. I'd known her wolf was gone for a while now. I just didn't want to accept the truth that she was leaving me.

Like everyone always does.

"Thank you," I muttered.

I was too shaken to ask what would happen to me. I just turned sixteen last month; no way they'd let me stay at the house alone. And I didn't want to. I hated being alone. That's when all the bad memories came out to bother me.

Are they going to put me in the orphanage? Oh, please, Goddess, no.

Alpha Mason cleared his throat, and I looked up at him.

"We found a new home foryou, too. My parents have agreed to foster you."

Well, damn. My life's over.

I wouldn't be able to defy Royal Price, and his wolf, Alabaster, was far more powerful and dominant than mine. Max would obey him absolutely.

As much as I hated it, I knew I was stuck. I was a minor and needed a guardian, and I'd landed on the alphas' radar far too many times to stick me in the orphanage, where supervision would be minimal at best.

"Kill me now," I muttered, closing my eyes, and could have sworn I heard Alpha Ice snort.

Nah. Must have imagined it. He doesn't know how to feel anything as human as amusement.

"It'll be good for you and give my mother someone to fuss over. Let's move on. There's something very serious we need to discuss."

He clasped his hands together on top of his desk and said nothing else. Curious, I raised my eyes to meet his, but he only sat as silent as the grave and stared at me.

And stared at me.

And stared at me.

Feeling antsy, I shifted around, jogging one leg and rubbing the back of my neck. I didn't know which specific sin or crime he wanted me to confess to, but I was on the verge of spewing apologies forallof them when he finally spoke.

"Tell me about Brynn Wessinger."

Unprepared to hearthatname, my whole chest clenched in a tight, painful ball.

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