Chapter 28

HUDSON

It was so quiet that I could hear the squirrels digging up holes and storing their acorns.

Or maybe those were the chipmunks.

I would have to ask Alexis later about that since she seems to be an expert on the two.

When no one said anything, Brielle looked up at Lacey, who I assumed was her sister, with a confused look, "Lacey, what's a mate?"

Lacey bit her lip, her gaze not leaving Matthew's once, "It's a soulmate, Bri."

"So you're his soulmate?" Brielle asked, pointing at Matthew curiously. Lacey nodded and Brielle shrugged, before moving closer to Matthew. Everyone held their breath as we watched the two.

If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, I would probably laugh at the look on Matthew's face. He had no idea what to do when Brielle motioned for him to kneel, but he did so anyway.

Brielle studied his face for a few moments before turning to Lacey, "He's cute. I like him."

I nearly choked on my spit as she patted Matthew's nose and skipped back to her sister. I turned my attention to Alexis, who gave me a what-the-hell-is-going-to-happen-now look. For the first time in ages, I felt helpless.

I didn't know whether we could trust Lacey and Brielle, but at the same time, I didn't want to take Matthew's mate away from him. That wouldn't be fair at all.

When Alexis noticed my hesitation, she nodded and straightened slowly. She turned her gaze to the two sisters and smiled kindly, "How about we talk over a cup of coffee? It's too early in the morning for me to process this."

Lacey finally turned to look at Alexis and swallowed hard, seemingly nervous, "I'm not sure. I don't want to intrude."

"Nonsense. You're Matthew's mate. Now come along, how do you like your coffee? Brielle, what would you like to drink?" Alexis asked, her voice becoming softer as she pulled Lacey and Brielle further away from us.

I looked at two of my best pack warriors, "Keep an eye on them. I'll join shortly. If one of those two girls does something suspicious, mind-link me immediately."

They nodded and ran after the three.

I walked over to Matthew, who was staring at the fading figure of Lacey with longing. It definitely hurt to see his face since the last time I saw him this forlorn was five years ago, during the fight with the rogues.

"Matthew, it will work out. Don't worry. The Moon Goddess knows what she's doing. She wouldn't put you with Lacey if she didn't think it was a right match," I said softly, trying my best to make him feel better.

I gave Boston a pointed look, and he seemed to scramble to find something to say, "Hudson's right. She does things for a reason. Besides, a werewolf with eagle wings or an eagle head is pretty cool."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head as Matthew finally realized what Boston meant. He cleared his throat and nodded slowly, "Thanks. I'm just going to go now. I–um– need some coffee too."

We watched him turn around and walk in the direction the ladies went. When he was out of earshot, I slapped the back of Boston's head, "What the hell? The first thing you can think of is his pups? Are you kidding me?"

Boston winced and rubbed his neck sheepishly, "Okay, so maybe that was a bad idea, but it's better than telling him that his mate might leave him."

"We don't know that for sure," I shook my head, "For all we know, she could be a good griffin. We just have to wait and see."

He shrugged, "Well, let's go and find out. I don't want to miss out on Alexis' coffee."

I rolled my eyes and followed him back to my house.

***

ALEXIS

"How many sugar cubes would you like?" I asked Lacey gently, noticing how she was very tense in my presence.

She cleared her throat and bounced her leg nervously, "Two, please."

I smiled at her and dropped the two cubes into the cup before giving the liquid a quick stir and handing it to her.

"Thank you," she said, taking it with shaky hands.

"Anytime. Brielle, would you like milk or hot chocolate?"

The adorable little girl pursed his lips and thought about it like it was the most important decision she would ever make, "Hot chocolate, please."

"Good choice," I winked, pulling the kettle out to heat the water up.

It was quiet as Lacey sipped her coffee quietly and Brielle played with her teddy-bear. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to startle her. It was best to make her comfortable first.

As bizarre as it sounded, I trusted the two of them. There was just something about them that made me know they wouldn't betray us. My wolf wasn't even unsettled in their presence so that counted for something as well.

"Uh, Luna," Lacey started, "Why are you being so nice?"

I plopped down on the barstool next to her and shook my head, "You can call me Alexis. And why should I be rude? You haven't done anything to me."

She pursed her lips, "Well, griffins and werewolves don't exactly get along, you know? Griffins are cruel creatures."

"Perhaps, but just because a few griffins are cruel doesn't mean all griffins are cruel. I have the feeling you're quite the opposite."

Lacey chuckled humorlessly, "Believe me, I'm probably the only sane one. They're all bonkers."

"Lacey, excuse my bluntness, but are you running away from them?"

Her head snapped up again, and I gave her a sheepish smile.

From what Lacey said, I was assuming that she didn't like it there and left for a better life for her and Brielle. If I was right, hopefully she would stay because Matthew needed his mate. The Moon Goddess knew the man needed to smile more.

"Pretty much," she said softly, making sure Brielle couldn't hear her over her conversation with her teddy-bear.

"They were abusive to women, mostly the women they thought were the underdogs. They didn't hurt Brielle, but I was worried that if we stayed any longer, they would hurt her too."

"But they hurt you," I stated gravely.

It was awful to know that people still treated women poorly. Just when we thought the world had changed, it was like we took two steps back. I was lucky that the werewolves I interacted with didn't believe that women were property and treated women with respect.

She winced a little and looked away. I decided not to push her to talk and changed the topic, "So how old are you?"

"Twenty-three. Brielle's four."

"That's one hell of an age-gap."

She laughed and nodded her head, "I know. A lot of people think she's my daughter when they first see us."

"How ab–?"

Hudson's voice cut my question off as he walked closer to the kitchen, "Fruit Loop?"

I rolled my eyes at his nickname and gave Lacey a don't-even-ask look when she smiled at me amusedly.

"Yes?" I called.

He walked into the kitchen with Matthew and Boston in toll. Matthew's eyes were immediately drawn to Lacey, and he looked her up and down. I sensed his wolf coming forward to drool over his mate.

I bit back a grin when I noticed Lacey blushing as she gave him a small smile. He returned it with a faint one, but it was so obvious that the man was whipped at first sight. His eyes were nearly glowing with adoration.

I felt like a proud mother, even though that probably sounded very weird.

A pair of lips pecked my temple and a hand curled around my waist, making me look up at Hudson. He grinned and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.

"Okay, I don't like mushy Hudson, can we have stick-in-the-ass Hudson back?" Boston joked, slapping his back.

Hudson glared at him quickly and turned his attention to Lacey, "We have some things to discuss. Are you alright with Boston taking care of Brielle for some time?"

At the sound of her name, Brielle popped her head up and nodded, "Can we play tea party?"

Boston looked like he was going to regret it from the way his eyes widened, but he took little Brielle's hand anyway, "Sure princess."

We waited till they were out of the kitchen before Hudson and Matthew sat down.

"Lacey," Hudson started, "As you probably know, we've been having issues with the griffins lately. They want us to give a very special person up and we're not very willing to do that."

"I know. They talked to us about it. They said we would be immortal if we get blood from the Blessed One."

Hudson pursed his lips, and I sensed that he was a little wary of Lacey.

However, Lacey seemed to know that too because the next thing she said shocked us, "I can do the blood oath with you guys so you trust me. I don't give a crap about the rest of the griffins. I want nothing to do with them. What they're doing is not fair to you guys and if I can help you out, I will in any way I can."

The way the blood oath worked was that if the person who made the oath broke it, they would die almost immediately in the most brutal way possible. The person wouldn't even die honorably because breaking a blood oath was looked down upon.

It was gruesome, and whoever made the oath obviously had trust issues, but it was the quickest way to get someone's trust.

Before any of us could say a word, Lacey stood up and walked over to the knife set on the counter and sliced her palm. She held her bloody palm out to Hudson and said, "I, Lacey Rhoades, daughter of Bailey and Willow Rhoades, declare my allegiance to you with the understanding that death will be my punishment if I break my vow."

A kind smile formed on Hudson's face as he cut his palm as well, "I, Hudson Marvel Benett, Alpha of the Riveter Pack, son of Lewis and Dorothy Benett, accept your oath. Welcome to the pack, Lacey."

I quickly pulled her into a hug with a broad grin on my face, "Finally, some more company."

Hudson gave me a mock glare, "Are you saying I'm not enough, Fruit Loop."

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Kit Kat."

Suddenly, Matthew stood up which stopped our banter. He walked around the island, and Hudson and I waited in anticipation to see what he would do.

I expected him to pull her in for a hug or even give her a kiss, but he didn't do any of that.

The man stood there and said, "Hi."

I gaped at him in shock and motioned to him to give her a hug or something, but he just stared at me with wide eyes and pink cheeks.

Lacey blushed, "Hi. I'm Lacey."

"Matthew," he smiled, rocking back and forth on his heels awkwardly.

I had to admit, their awkwardness was adorable– they were definitely going to be that super cute, shy couple that everyone loved.

"How about we leave them and go do our own thing?" Hudson whispered in my ear before kissing the back of it. I smiled and turned around, motioning to Hudson that we should leave quietly so we didn't interrupt Lacey and Matthew's stare down.

Once we were outside, Hudson took my hand and started pulling me towards his office.

"Until your heat cycle starts, I thought we should work out some plans. Figure out ways to perhaps avoid war or win the war if there is one."

"Sounds good."

"Then, after that, I'm all yours. Dirty or clean."

"You know, those squirrels seem like they would like your company, Hudson."

"Be quiet, Fruit Loop."

"Never, Kit Kat."