Page 39 of Little Red and Her Creatures of Chaos
“That’s impossible. That would mean…” Radley’s grandma pauses and then gasps. “I knew something was different. She’s…a wolf?”
“Yes. She can tell you the rest, but I was afraid this would trigger a shift, so I wanted to warn you.”
Radley’s grandma’s eyes narrow. “You’ve known about this?”
“For a while. We had our reasons not to tell her, mainly that we thought it should come from family. We never wanted her to find out this way.”
“What makes you think she’s coming here?”
“She trusts you, and I don’t think she wants to see her mom right now.”
“Do you know who her father is?”
Mason shakes his head. “No. We never could figure it out.” Mason’s body goes stiff, and he glances over his shoulder. “She’s coming up the driveway. Do you have something to write my number on?” Radley’s grandma reaches inside the door and hands him a pen with paper. Mason scribbles his number down and hands it back to her. “If you need me, call. The first shift is terrifying and painful. She left before we could tell her anything.”
“Do you love her?”
“With everything in us. We’ve loved her for a long time.”
“Then fight for her,” she says adamantly. “I can feel how much this is hurting you, too. She’ll understand once everything sinks in.”
“I hope so.” Mason gives her a small smile. “I have a very upset beta at home, so I need to go.”
“I’ll take care of Radley. You take care of your beta.” She reaches out and squeezes Mason’s arm. “Everything will be okay.”
Mason nods and steps off the porch, backing toward the forest. “I have to believe that. I can’t handle the alternative. Remember to call me if you need me.” Mason jogs back into the woods right when Radley’s headlights flash across the house.
She’s sobbing when she steps out of the car, and her grandma rushes to her. Radley’s rambling through her tears, and her grandma leads her into the house. I snap back and realize we’re sitting in front of the cabin. I look at Nash, and he smiles. “We’ve been here for a little bit, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Were you watching too?”
“Yeah.” Nash pushes his door open and walks to my side. He helps me from the truck and leads me inside. He pulls me down on his lap on the couch and wraps his big arms around me. “I love you, Baby beta.”
“I love you, too.” I nuzzle under his chin, and his arms tighten. “I’ll give her tonight.”
“Bryce,” Nash sighs.
“No. I can still smell her everywhere. She belongs here. With us. This is her home.”
“You have to let her make that decision.”
“And she will. She has to know how we feel about her.”
“We can’t rush her. She just found out something huge and that we knew about it.”
“Did we do the right thing?”
“Yes,” Nash answers. “We would have told her before she accepted the mate marks.”
I lay there and listen to Nash’s heartbeat until I hear Mason walk onto the porch. He walks in and doesn’t even stop, he just jerks his head for us to follow him. Nash scoops me up effortlessly and strides to the bedroom. They strip me out of my clothes and do the same before pulling me between them on the bed. I lay my head on Mason’s chest, and Nash molds himself to my back. I know they’re hurting just as bad, but they still make sure they take care of me. I couldn’t have asked for better alphas than Mason and Nash. I have to believe that Radley will come back to us, or I’ll fall the fuck apart.
I just hope she can forgive us.
Chapter 17
Radley
After Grandma led me into the house, it took me ten minutes to stop crying. She pulled me onto the couch and into her arms, just like she did when I was a child. She rubs my back in soft circles until I can talk.
