“I’m surprised you’re here,” Iris said. “Not so surprised you are with them, though.” The woman’s full lips curved upwards. “I could tell that day, you know. When that bastard forced the two of you together.”
“I thought I did well,” Violet said, not really caring to bring up that particular encounter.
Iris nodded. “You did. It’s only because I had to do the same thing that I knew.”
“And what’s that?”
“Hide my emotions, bury them deep. I had to, otherwise Fletcher would’ve known all along that I wanted him dead.” Iris let out a sigh, a deep lungful of air that practically shook the room with the force behind it. “You understand why I had to be careful, don’t you? One misstep and he would’ve known, and I could only go forward with it once I knew I had most of his guards on my side.”
Violet drew her hands along her jeans. She was sweaty all of a sudden. So sweaty. “And how did you do that?”
The smile that grew on Iris’s face then was both a calculated and a warm one. “You’re not a shifter, so you wouldn’t know, I suppose. Fletcher was never an alpha. He just…wasn’t. Alphas are either born or made, but some shifters just don’t have it in them to become one. He was what you would call a lone wolf. He didn’t need a pack. Turned out, most of the guards felt differently. Nothing can replace the feeling a shifter gets when they are a part of a pack, Violet.”
“They’re your pack now.” She had no idea why it took her this long to realize it. The guards, the women downstairs…each and every shifter here was part of Iris’s pack. But… “You’re a woman.”
“Yes, sexism is not derived only from humanity, sadly. You rarely see a female alpha these days, but I assure you, we are out there, and we are biding our time. Each and every one of us, waiting until it’s our day to shine. Males are usually stupid beyond belief, and they try to keep us as breeders. As mates. We are just as capable as they are, just as strong, but they would have us all believe otherwise.”
Violet was all for the woman power thing Iris had going on, but still. She couldn’t help but ask, “Did you really have to wait until Fletcher was on top of me to do it? I think I still have blood stuck in my boob crack.” Also she was a tad bit on the traumatized side, but she would never admit it aloud. That secret would remain hers until she died. She was Violet. She didn’t get scared.
“The only way I’d ever catch him off-guard was when he was focused on another female. A minute sooner, and he would have suspected me.” Iris crossed her long legs by the knee, staring squarely at Violet. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I doubt we would be where are now. All of this is thanks to you.”
“So you’re not making the women do what Fletcher was? You’re not selling them off?”
“Of course not. Don’t be stupid like your mates. These women are here under my protection now, and unless they wish it, no one will touch them again—and should any of Fletcher’s old clients try to come strolling along and take what does not belong to them, we will tear them apart one by one.”
Okay, a little violent, but she could understand where Iris was coming from. Any man, shifter or not, who would ever pay to rape a woman deserved nothing less. Violet held no qualms about it, and she wouldn’t shed a single tear over them.
Iris leaned back, causing the robe to spread on her legs, a slit that revealed every inch of her legs. It was a good thing they were crossed, otherwise Violet would’ve gotten another eyeful. “I am having some of the guards teach the women basic self-defense. They know some on instinct, because of their inner wolves, but there is always more that could be learned.”
“Are you forcing them to stay here?”
The woman seemed insulted. “I am not like Fletcher. I would never force any of these women to do anything they did not wish to do, including stay here. Some have already called their families, and are waiting to get picked up. Most want to stay, I think. For some, they were treated better here than they ever were in their old packs. Others simply have nowhere else to go. I am sorry, Violet, if my tone after dealing with Fletcher was…unseemly. What adrenaline does to me, I’m afraid. But rest assured, these women will come to no harm from me.” Another smile on Iris’s pretty face. “Is that why you’re here? To check on them like a mother hen?”
Violet wasn’t so certain she was like a mother hen, but maybe it was the best analogy for now. “I did plan on storming the castle and freeing the women, if I had to.”
Her laugh was just as melodious as ever, and Iris shook her head. “A human, going up against a whole house of shifters?” She gave Violet a look that said you know better. Violet did know better, she just didn’t give a shit.
“You offered every single woman here freedom?”
“I did, but I can have everyone gathered and ask again, so you can see for yourself before you go.” Something strange flickered across Iris’s face: a look of sorrow. She reached over to Violet, leaning across her chair to hers, running her fingertips along Violet’s cheek in a slow, smooth motion. “I know you’ve already chosen, but know that I would be glad to have you here, should you ever change your mind.”
What the hell was Violet supposed to say to that? Thanks, but no thanks?
“I…thank you, I think?” Violet couldn’t remember the last time she’d sounded more confused. Out of all of the possibilities she’d thought of, this hadn’t even occurred to her. Iris having her own pack of wolves? It seemed so far-fetched, and yet she had all the evidence she needed after seeing some of the women in the dining room.
These women were happy with Iris. The one man they wanted dead above all others was dealt with, and they were content to be here, in this house, on the land their bodies had paid for. Violet didn’t get it; she would’ve wanted to leave if she was them, but she supposed what Iris had said was true—some of them had nowhere else to go. No pack to return to. If wolves felt safer, more at home in a pack, she supposed it made sense…
Iris leaned back in her chair, withdrawing her fingertips from Violet’s face. “I would invite you to stay for dinner, but I think you can agree Brice and Everett would not receive a nice welcome from anyone here.”
Nodding once, Violet agreed, “Yeah, no potlucks for us.”
Hell, these shifters probably didn’t know what a potluck was.
Lucky them.
Chapter Twenty-Six - Violet
Iris wasn’t lying, it turned out. Violet had her assemble all the women in the house on the first floor, cramming them into the dining room. Over two dozen female shifters, most of them choosing to stay because they had nowhere else to go. Some of them said they were waiting for their friends or their family from their packs to come get them, but only five were leaving.
She couldn’t get over how many had decided to stay, though. Violet had felt homeless for so long, being trapped at that diner in the middle of nowhere in a town hardly on America’s maps, but now? Now she never wanted to live anyplace else.
Violet missed the diner. Missed the gossiping townsfolk and the customers who always complained about their eggs, even though they were made exactly to their order. She also missed Roy, strangely. The old cook had become somewhat of a father figure in her life. Granted, she’d never actually listened to any advice the chain-smoking chef would give her, but she liked him. He was home, just like the diner was, just like her little shack on the end of town was.
Just like Brice, Everett, and Ivy were now.
It was so strange how quickly they’d wormed their way into her heart. Violet was human, yet she still felt drawn to them in an almost instinctual, natural way. Like she couldn’t fight it even if she wanted to—and she didn’t want to. Not one tiny bit. All it took was one week, not even, and she couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life without them.
Was it lust? Violet wasn’t the type of person who ever believed in love at first sight. That just didn’t happen, not in real life. Unless real life was a Disney movie or a romantic comedy, which hers clearly wasn’t
. If anything, her life was rated R, restricted to adults only, with a lot of swearing and apparently a lot of sex—the latter she’d been missing since Maria dumped her.
Oh, yes. Violet had a feeling she was never going to have a dry spell again.
As she stood there, listening to the women reaffirm everything Iris had said, as she glanced around to the few male shifters standing around, noticing how most of them stared only at Iris, Violet could not believe the turn her life had taken.
It was just supposed to be a normal night. Go to self-defense class with Maia and then go home, shower and go to bed, then wake up and do most of it again the next day. It was just pure happenstance she had been wearing Maia’s clothes the same night Maia went into labor and left Violet there alone. How differently things could’ve gone if Maia had stayed, if Violet had actually played an adult and did her own laundry the night before.
So different it was hard for Violet to think about it.
Things definitely could’ve turned out badly, for everyone.
And even though some of the things that had happened in the past few days were questionable and nightmare-inducing, Violet wouldn’t change any of it. Looking at these women, seeing their smiles and how sincere they all were, how proud Iris looked—it made everything worth it.
After a while, Iris walked Violet to the grand front doors—immaculately carved doors she hoped she would never see again. The female alpha still wore only her robe, though it was tied a bit tighter around her waist to stop any breasts from popping out or too much leg flashing. Her light brown hair was drawn over her left shoulder, tumbling down in an effortless way that made Violet jealous.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Everett, Brice, and Ivy found her as attractive as she did them. Violet was just a human, after all. On the scale of prettiness, she felt so far down the rung, compared to all of the shifters. She was short with purple hair that set every conservative person on edge because they thought her hair color made her some kind of punk, but clearly they had to. Or maybe they just loved her stellar personality.
Whatever. Violet shouldn’t overthink it; doing so would only ruin it. The siblings were with her now, and at least for the foreseeable future, they weren’t going to leave her.
Iris stopped right before the door, turning to face her with a smile. “If you should ever find yourself in our neck of the woods, feel free to stop by…although I would hesitate to do so if those three are with you.” In other words, Violet was welcome back, but the white-haired shifters were not.
Violet could respect that, considering what the brothers did.
“And if you ever decide to take a trip to the middle of nowhere, you’re also welcome to swing by,” Violet used Iris’s choice of words. Then again, maybe inviting the woman who’d gone down on her while Brice was inside of her was not the best thing to do. Oh well, too late now.
“I hope your future finds you well,” Iris said, reaching to open the door.
Outside, two of the guards stood glaring at the group near the vehicles, so Violet knew she’d already lingered too long. Violet gave Iris one last nod of her head before walking out, breathing in the fresh mountain air as if for the first time. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, now that she knew these women were in better hands, that they’d be alright and with any luck able to move on from the horrors Fletcher made them go through.
Violet moved down the steps, meeting the eyes of Brice and Everett first, then Ivy. Alarick was the first to speak, though, “They want to stay.” Not a question, but a statement. Had he heard everything that had been said inside the house, or was he just guessing because there wasn’t a stampede of female shifters behind her?
Once she made it to the dirt, standing before Grimm and Alarick, she nodded. “Some are leaving to go back to their packs, but a lot of them have nowhere else to go. Iris is their alpha now. She said she’ll protect them from Fletcher’s clients if they ever show up here again.”
Violet wasn’t sure what she expected Alarick to do, but it definitely wasn’t to shrug and to immediately move to the driver’s side of his truck and say, “Then there’s nothing else here for us. Let’s go home.”
Home. The word weighed heavily on Violet’s mind as she watched Alarick get in the truck. Grimm went silently to the passenger’s side, pausing after he opened the door, waiting for her to get in.
It would be a hell of a long drive, and although she had missed Alarick and Grimm, there were other shifters she would much rather spend the time with.
Violet pointed to Brice’s car. “I think I’m going to ride with them, if that’s okay?”
It was.
She crawled into the back with Ivy, and soon enough they were leaving the compound, the mansion in their rearview mirror until the gate closed and all they could see was the metal fence and the trees. Such a strange feeling—like a chapter of her life was closing. Stupid because Violet hadn’t spent that much time there, but still. She couldn’t help how she felt.
Her life from now on was going to be so different. Definitely crazy. The three of them couldn’t live in her tiny shack, could they? Eh, Violet supposed that would be something they would discuss once they got there, once they saw just how tiny her so-called house was.
Violet popped her head in between Everett and Brice, glancing at them both as she asked, “You guys really don’t have anything you want to get from your place?” She thought about her phone, which apparently Everett had picked up and kept, but honestly, she was due for a new one anyway, so the loss didn’t hurt too bad. Plus, she’d have to figure out phones for these guys, too.
“Nothing important,” Brice muttered. Keeping his eyes on the dirt road, on Alarick’s truck ahead of them, he added, “There’s really going to be no problems between Alarick and us? After we tried to kidnap his mate…”
“Tried being the operative word there,” Everett chimed in with a boyish grin. “He seems like an understanding alpha. I think this could work.”
Violet leaned back, pausing as Ivy reached for her hand, intertwining her fingers with hers. Such soft skin, Violet could barely hold herself back from pulling her closer and kissing her, but that might be weird while being so close to Brice and Everett, so she managed to hold back. “It damn well better. I ain’t moving for you shitheads.” She broke out into a laugh when she saw Brice’s expression in the mirror.
Shitheads. They were the farthest thing from shitheads, even if they could sometimes act like them.
The drive was just as long as Violet remembered it being, only this time, she was not hogtied with duct tape and rope. She had full control of her capacities, and with Ivy in the backseat with her, it was actually kind of fun. Like a family road trip. Tons of laughter, lots of making fun of everyone else; Violet learned a lot about each of them during the drive. Silence never overtook the car, even when the world turned dark and night swallowed the road.
After a few stops for gas and snacks, Violet started to recognize the area. No more mountainous hills or evergreen trees. No more anything, really. Her home was in the dustbowl of America, with hardly any trees or even bushes. A lot of nothingness, really. It wasn’t anything too special, but it was home nonetheless. And now it would be their home, too.
Alarick pulled up in front of the diner, and Violet got out of the car, noticing the diner was closed. She and Maia were their only waitresses, and no matter how hard Farkas tried, he sucked at it. She hoped it hadn’t been closed the entire time she was gone.
The alpha glanced at the vehicle where the shifter siblings were, saying, “I should go to the house, make sure Maia’s ready to have company, not to mention explain all this shit, though I might keep the Jackson bit to myself for a while, until things are settled.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Give me a little while. Why don’t you take them to your place, and when Maia’s ready, I’ll come get you?”
Violet said, “Gotcha, Captain.”
Alarick didn’t like that, but he only frowned, sa
ying nothing as he got back in his truck and drove off. She waited a moment before crawling inside and directing Brice to the edge of town, where her tiny home sat far off the road, a thousand square feet that would be too small for them. They’d have to make do, for now at least.
To say they weren’t impressed would be the year’s biggest understatement.
Everett was the first one out of the car, unable to keep his mouth closed. “This is where you live?” As Ivy and Brice got out, he shot Violet a look. “Does the front door even lock? Do the windows lock? Here I thought our apartment was a shithole, but this—”
Violet moved past them, stopping before a fake rock to get out her extra key, since hers were long gone by now. “If you say anything bad about my house, you will be sleeping outside. Only I’m allowed to insult this baby.”
Moving beside her, Ivy grinned at the small, one-story house as if it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. “I like it,” she said. “It’s perfect.”
Brice and Everett kept their comments to themselves as Violet walked them through her house. It was a quick tour, took less than a minute, and suddenly Violet felt a bit self-conscious about her mountain of dirty laundry in the bedroom. If she wasn’t the only one living here, that would have to change.
Ugh.
Fuck that.
But she’d rather take doing laundry more often and have these three beside her than be alone.
“Well,” Brice muttered, not even bothering to try to keep his disgust to himself, “I suppose we can clean and get this place organized while you’re reacquainting yourself with your friend—”
“Maia,” Violet said. “Her name is Maia. You can say it. You were going to kidnap her, you know, not me.” She shrugged as she dug through her clothes, stopping only when she found a pair of relatively smell-free shorts and a black tank top. “You could always come with me,” she added, quickly changing.
Clothes. She’d have to get these three situated with clothes, too.
Everett leaned on the door frame to her bedroom, watching unabashedly as she changed. “Baby steps, Violet. Baby steps.”
Her Wolves: A Reverse Harem Romance Page 18
