My whole life, I never needed anyone to protect me, not even my parents. And when it came down to it, they didn’t do a very good job when it came to Kade. I knew I could survive on my own. Admitting I needed or even wanted someone was foreign to me. Saying the words out loud was near impossible.

“You showed me, but haven’t told me. Words can be powerful,” he replied.

Rolling my eyes, I got out of bed and threw on some clothes before going downstairs. He was in the kitchen with his back to me, shirt off, wearing only a pair of boxers. Holy fuck. “So if I take off my clothes and lay down on the table, you wouldn’t have sex with me?”

He chuckled. “Nope.”

“You sure?”

“Yep.” He continued on with cooking while I stood there, dumbfounded. I didn’t believe him for a second. His back stiffened when I took off my shirt and pants and climbed up on the table.

“I am so hungry,” I announced, waiting for him to turn around. When he did, he completely ignored me and sat down with his plate of food.

He pointed to the counter. “Your plate’s up there.”

“You’re seriously not going to look at me?”

He studied an invisible spot on the table and placed a piece of bacon in his mouth, crunching it slowly. “You’re not ready for that.”

I waited for him to sneak a peek but he didn’t. “Who’s the stubborn one now?”

He chuckled. “Still you, sweetheart. You have me beat.”

Fetching the clothes off the floor, I slid them on and grabbed my plate of food. He had more willpower than I gave him credit for. By the smirk on his face, he heard my thoughts. Cheeky bastard.

“How’s your breakfast?”

I scooped a forkful of eggs into my mouth. “It’s good. How did you learn to cook?”

“Seraphina made sure to teach me when I was a boy. She’s the one who took me in. It was either learn or catch my food in the wild.” He finished his food and lifted his gaze to mine. It was so hard to turn away from those eyes.

“Do you miss your family?”

He smiled, but it was sad. “Every day. I just wish I had answers.”

I nodded, trying hard not to let the thoughts of what happened to mine run through my mind. “I miss mine too, even though they betrayed me. I have no idea what’s going on up there, or what happened after I left. I don’t even know if they’re okay.”

He reached for my hand. “You don’t need to worry about that now. They literally threw you to the wolves. You’ll get to meet Seraphina today. I’m interested to see what she says about you.”

He had a point about my parents, but I still loved them. If Seraphina could shed some light on what happened, I was all up for it. “What time will everyone be here?” I asked.

Taking my empty plate, he put our dishes in the sink. “A couple of hours. Blake should be here soon with your paperwork. We’re leaving tonight.”

“And are you sure it’s a good idea to leave the pack?” I got up and helped him clean the kitchen. I didn’t know much about his people, but if the Yukon pack had murdered his family, I highly doubted they’d care about others.

Taking my hands, Ryker turned me to face him. “They’ll be fine. They’re a strong lot. But it’s good to see you care about them.”

“I care about the well-being of all wolves, except for your brother. I’d never known anyone to be so cruel.”

He pulled me to him and I laid my head against him, listening to the calming sound of his heart beating in his powerful chest. “Kade wasn’t always that way. My uncle was the cruel one in the pack; he was our alpha. If my brother learned from him, it doesn’t surprise me he changed over the years.”

“Do you have any other siblings?”

He shook his head. “Just Kade.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know it can’t be easy to be betrayed like that.” Taking his face in my hands, I kissed him gently. It started out soft, but then he deepened it, gripping my waist to bring me closer. I could feel the need inside him, tearing him apart. His wolf wanted to claim me, but he fought against it.

Pulling away from the kiss, I looked into his glowing gaze. “How long can you fight it?”

For a brief second, his wolf eyes flashed through. “For as long as I need to.”

I leaned up to kiss him again, but a knock at the door interrupted us. I recognized Blake’s scent almost immediately.

“Why don’t you take your shower and get packed up. There are plenty of suitcases in my closet to choose from.”

“What time does our flight leave?” I started for the stairs and he to the door.

“Six. We’ll leave for the airport directly after the meeting.”

“Okay. Tell Blake I said hi.” I made my way up the stairs to the bedroom and shut the door. Blake and Ryker talked downstairs and I was shocked at how easily he was able to acquire my information. I guess he was as good as they said.

“Are you nervous?”

I looked out the window at all the cars before answering Tyla. “A little. I can’t help but wonder how they’ll take me. My own pack treated me as if I was a leper, except for Sebastian.”

“Who’s that?”

“My father’s second in command and my protector. He was more my friend than anything. Or at least, I thought he was. He betrayed me in the end, just like my parents. I guess you can say my experience with other wolves hasn’t been promising.”

She sat beside me, bumping me in the shoulder. “We’re going to be your family now, Bailey. Everyone downstairs will love and respect you as their alpha. You have to be willing to open up and give them a chance.”

“I will. Everything just seems to be moving so fast.”

“You’re not having doubts are you?”

“No, of course not. It’s just, I wish things could be simpler. I used to be so jealous of my friend from college. Knowing she’d be able to fall in love, get married, and do as she pleased. I envied her freedom.”

“You’ll be free here as well. As far as getting married, is that something you want? You know our kind don’t exactly have weddings.”

“I know, but I can always wish.” I remembered back to when Becca and I would go to one of the dress stores and try on wedding gowns. It was silly, but I knew it was something I’d never get to experience.

Opening the bedroom door, Ryker slipped his head inside. “You ready, angel? Everyone’s here.”

Tyla put her arm around me. “You can do this. I’ll see you downstairs.” She squeezed my shoulder and then disappeared, leaving Ryker and I alone.

“So how many wolves are in your pack?” I asked him.

“Our pack,” Ryker reminded me for the umpteenth time as he pulled me in for a kiss. “Why don’t you go take a look?”

He opened the door wide and I held in my surprised gasp as we entered the living room. Dozens of men, women, and children all turned to gape at us. “Oh my God,” I breathed. The sight was absolutely amazing. I had never known a pack to be so large.

There weren’t just Arctic wolves either. There were reds, grays, and even a small number of Arctic wolves all congregated in one place, smiling at each other with no rivalry. I could feel the power of their blood calling to me, giving me strength. It was something I’d never felt before with my own pack.

“Do you feel that? I’ve never felt it before until now,” Ryker mentioned through our bond.

“Me neither.”

Taking my hand, Ryker walked me through the crowd, and I said my hellos to everyone as I passed. In the corner was a group of wolves that had immense power pouring off of them. When they saw us approaching, they bowed their heads. I had already gotten to know a few of them at the bar, including Cedric. I didn’t realize how strong they were until they were all together.

“Everyone, this is Bailey Whitehill, my mate,” he announced.

One by one they introduced themselves, but of course it was Cedric’s smart ass mouth that caught my attention as he made his way toward us.