Page 2 of His Place in the World (Legendary Shifters #9)

He probably was. He wanted this. He wanted to become part of pack security, but Del, on the other hand, wanted nothing less. He was here to support his brother, but frankly, he was starting to rethink that.

“Are you done for today?” Kyle asked as he put his hands on his hips and looked at Del and Doyle.

“I am,” Del quickly said. He didn’t want Kyle to think he was willing to get beaten up again.

“I can train for a bit longer,” Doyle said.

Kyle shook his head. “You don’t have to prove anything, Doyle. I hope you know that.”

“Of course.”

But Del knew his brother. He could almost read Doyle’s thoughts, and he was very much aware of the fact that Doyle felt like he did need to prove something.

He had to prove to Kyle that he wasn’t a bad person, even though he’d helped kidnap Kyle’s mate.

He wanted to prove to the Rosewood pack that they wouldn’t regret giving him and his family a home and a place where they could live without worrying about where their next meal would come from.

Del suspected Doyle was terrified that the Rosewood pack alpha would eventually kick them out.

He couldn’t say he wasn’t worried about that, too, but he didn’t actually think that would happen. The alpha was a good person.

He wouldn’t have offered them a home if he wasn’t.

Del flopped onto the forest floor and pressed his back against a tree. From here, he could watch his brother’s ass get beaten by Kyle.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Kyle enjoyed it. Even though Kyle and Doyle were friends, Del wondered if he had truly forgiven him for what he’d done.

Doyle wasn’t a bad person. He’d been desperate for himself and their family, and he’d done something stupid. It could have ended badly for everyone involved, and it was still hard to believe that instead, Doyle and his entire family had moved in with the pack.

Doyle regretted what he’d done, and he was trying to prove it. He and Kyle had become friends, which made sense since Doyle was the mate of Kyle’s best friend. Del wasn’t sure he’d have been able to forgive Doyle if he’d been in Kyle’s place, but he wasn’t, which was lucky for his brother.

Del stared at Doyle. He couldn’t remember ever seeing his brother like this.

Doyle had always been a nervous kind of person.

He was jumpy, never seemed to stay still, and always looked vaguely afraid for his life.

There were still remnants of that in his expression, but he was so much more relaxed that he almost seemed like a new person.

Watching him duck Kyle’s punches and laugh, Del couldn’t help but smile.

Even though Doyle had made the biggest mistake of his life, things ended well, and that was all that mattered.

Doyle and their family were safe, and they had nothing to worry about for the first time since Del could remember.

He wouldn’t change the situation for anything in the world, even though he felt like he didn’t belong.

He supposed he didn’t. He was human, and unlike Doyle, he hadn’t found out he was a shifter’s mate.

Their father, Matt, hadn’t, either, but things seemed easier for him, probably because of Cora.

Del’s younger sister had taken to living with the pack as if she’d been born here, and everyone loved her.

They seemed to like Del’s father by association, and between Matt’s new job, the friends he was making through Cora, and everything else, he acted as if he’d always been a member of the Rosewood pack.

Doyle did, too, although he was still hesitant in several ways.

Then, there was Del.

He was still signed up for college, but he was starting to wonder if that was what he wanted to do with his life.

His father and even Doyle had sacrificed a lot to give him this opportunity, and he didn’t want to be ungrateful by squandering it, but his life had been turned upside down, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.

He felt like he was drifting and didn’t belong, and while he wanted nothing more than for that to change, he didn’t know how to make it happen.

But that didn’t matter. None of it did. He’d be fine if his family was safe and happy.

“I was wondering who was making so much noise in my backyard,” a voice said, startling Del.

He looked up to find the alpha mate staring at Doyle and Kyle, who were now rolling on the ground.

They were both in their human form, but Kyle was growling as if he was about to shift.

Del had a moment of apprehension, but he reminded himself that no one here would hurt any member of his family, not even Kyle.

“Are we bothering you?” Kyle said as he got to his feet.

Toby smiled. “Not really, but I could use some help. Do the three of you want to help me set up things for the meeting?”

“What meeting?” Del asked as he got to his feet. He brushed his hands on his ass to get the dirt off.

“The Wakefield pack alpha is visiting with some of her people, along with the humans Everly found. They’re going to try to help us with the auction thing.”

Del shuffled his feet. He didn’t feel like he fit in with the Rosewood pack, and he knew that was the case when they started talking about auctions and all that stuff.

He couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that some people captured, bought, and sold shifters as if they were nothing more than animals.

Hell, even animals shouldn’t be treated that way.

Yet there were humans out there who abused shifters only because of what they were, and it was horrifying.

The fact that Doyle had been involved in that, albeit briefly, didn’t help.

“I’ll help,” Doyle quickly said.

Del almost rolled his eyes. His brother was too eager, and everyone knew why. “I’ll help, too,” he said.

Toby smiled and nodded. “Thank you. They should be arriving soon, and I want everything to be perfect.”

“Even though they’re coming for work?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know what to think of Angela,” Toby admitted as they started walking toward the house.

Del could see the house between the trees, and his heart accelerated. He might not be a shifter, but he was very aware of an alpha’s role and how much power an alpha had. An alpha mate didn’t have as much, but Toby was still second in pack hierarchy.

“The Wakefield pack is helping us,” Doyle murmured.

“They are, but Angela doesn’t strike me as a person who does things out of the goodness of her heart. I don’t think she’s a bad person, but she confuses me.”

“And we have to work with them, because otherwise we’d be isolated and outnumbered,” Kyle said.

“Exactly. She knows that, and she’s taking advantage of it. I’m not saying Cam wouldn’t, but I still don’t like it. I also don’t know what to think about the humans.”

Del grunted. “Just because they’re human doesn’t mean they’re going to hurt you,” he pointed out.

Toby grinned at him. “I’m very much aware of that. I’m not wary of them because they’re human. I’m wary because I don’t know them.”

“Which is why you’re having this meeting,” Kyle pointed out. “Come on. Show us what we need to do.”

As it turned out, Toby needed help setting up chairs around Cam’s office.

He was in charge of the kitchen, getting refreshments ready.

Del was glad Toby didn’t need their help in the kitchen because he wouldn’t have known where to start.

He could boil water for instant ramen, but that was where his culinary ability ended.

“What do you think is going to happen during the meeting?” Doyle asked as they worked.

“I don’t know.” Whatever happened, though, it was none of Del’s business. He had no intention of sticking around and finding out, even though Doyle was involved. He already had more than enough problems on his plate.

He didn’t need to add more to it.

* * * *

Angus was relieved when they finally reached the Rosewood pack. The tension in the car was made him afraid he’d say something stupid, and while he wasn’t afraid of Angela, he wasn’t comfortable with her.

He stumbled out of the car as soon as Angela stopped and took a deep breath, trying to free himself from the tension and everything that had been left unsaid between them.

“You don’t have to make it seem like you’re running away from me,” Angela said. She slammed the driver’s door closed.

“I’m not running away from you,” Angus said.

“Could have fooled me.” She looked around. Several cars were already parked in front of the alpha’s house, which meant they were probably the last to arrive.

Angela disliked that, and she huffed in displeasure. “I should have kicked Leonard and Mike’s ass. They made us late.”

“I don’t think Cam will mind.”

“He won’t. But that doesn’t mean I want to make a bad impression on him and the humans.”

Because that was who they were meeting with. Angus had looked into them after Cam had contacted Angela, but he hadn’t been able to find anything nefarious. He’d dug pretty deep, but on the surface and even underneath, it seemed like they truly just wanted to help.

Angus hoped that would be true.

He grabbed his bag from the car, then followed Angela to the door. The porch steps creaked under their weight, and the door swung open before they could reach it.

“I thought I heard a car,” Cam said.

The Rosewood pack alpha stood there, a smile on his face. He wore jeans and a t-shirt and gestured for Angus and Angela to come into his house. “You’re the last to arrive,” he said.

Angela glared at him. “There’s no need to point that out.”

Cam wasn’t one bit intimidated. Maybe it was because he was another alpha or because he didn’t belong to the Wakefield pack. Either way, Angus admired that.

“Don’t worry,” Cam said. “No one’s offended. Besides, Ryland only arrived a few minutes ago.”

Angela’s eyes narrowed. “How is he? Do you trust him?”

“I don’t know yet. We haven’t found anything that would lead us to believe he can’t be trusted, but you know how these things go. You probably had Angus look into him, too.”