Page 16 of Little Red and Her Creatures of Chaos
Luther’s eyes cut to his son, and Mason shrugs. “She needed to know. Her grandma gave her the lore, and she’s been studying it. She asked to come out here today.”
“Where is she?” Teddy asks.
“With Margie,” I answer.
“But Margie’s bitten. Radley’s…” Luther’s words trail off, and he’s looking at the kitchen doorway. I turn to see what he’s looking at, and Radley gives a shy wave. I immediately stand from my chair and offer it to her. She sits and gives me that sweet smile.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
“No worries,” I respond. I walk over to the counter and pull myself to sit on it.
“Dad. Teddy. This is Radley,” Mason introduces.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Luther says. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Radley’s cheeks turn that gorgeous shade of red. “My grandma speaks very highly of you.”
“Who’s your grandma?” Margie asks, wrapping her arms around Luther’s shoulders from behind.
“Dolores Baxter.”
“Oh! I love her. She’s a very special lady and very accepting of things she doesn’t understand. I see you got that from her.”
“I’m trying,” Radley responds.
“That’s all we can ask,” Mason says.
We launch into different topics, and I watch Radley start to relax with my family. Bryce seems to be the one who puts her most at ease, and I love him even more because of it. Mason and I were afraid he would feel left out if we pursued Radley, but he’s been all in since the beginning. I’m not even sure he’s joking about being in love with her. Mason’s eyes meet mine, and he gives me a slight nod, letting me know he’s feeling acceptance through the bond the more time she spends here.
The first time I saw Radley, I was in awe, as much as an eight-year-old boy could be. Throughout the years, we’ve been able to see her grow into a gorgeous woman. We’ve had to figure out how to handle the boyfriends running through her life and even scared off a few if they weren’t good to her. We’ve had to watch her mother speak down to her and call her crazy when Radley tried to explain to them how real the dreams felt. The only good person Radley has ever really had in her life is her grandma. But we plan on changing that very soon.
Because she’ll have us too.
After talking to the family for a couple of hours, we decided to show Radley the rest of the pack lands. She’s more at ease, which means she’s smiling and laughing more.
I fall back a step to walk with Mason and watch Bryce animatedly tell her some of the history. “I’ve been thinking about what Teddy said inside,” I admit. “She does have a right to know.”
“It’s not our place to tell her.”
“If she accepts the bond, she’s going to find out anyway,” I argue.
Mason grabs my arm, so I stop walking, waiting for Bryce and Radley to be out of earshot. “Do you want to look her in the face and tell her that? Because I don’t. It will eventually come out.”
“Yeah, and then she’ll know we’ve been keeping a massive secret from her. How do you think that’s going to end, Mason?”
“She’ll understand.”
“No. She won’t. Not about this,” I say. “We have to make sure she doesn’t leave us. Her finding out that we’re hiding something will ensure that happens.”
“Let’s get through this first, and we’ll do a pack vote.” I know that’s all I’m going to get out of him right now, so I nod.
We take off walking again when I get hit with paralyzing fear through the bond. Mason and I take off running toward the feeling and skid to a stop when we see Bryce in wolf form in front of Radley. He shakes out his sand-colored fur and lays down with his head on his paws so he’s not towering over her.
“Bryce,” Mason barks, the Alpha bleeding into his tone. “Shift back.”
“No!” Radley says, still clutching her chest. “I asked him to.”
Bryce whines, his eyes locked on her face. I watch in amazement as Radley takes a few steadying breaths and slowly reaches out toward Bryce. He lies perfectly still as she runs her fingers through the fur between his ears.
