Page 38 of Same Thing

“You’re the bottom of the Pack, Vic, you fucking dickhole. You have no say!” Nate yelled after him.

Liam had been quiet, just watching it play out, but at that, he said, “I chose you as Second to be the voice of reason.”

“That’s what I’m doing. You chose well.”

“I think we need to revisit ranks.”

“What?” Nate demanded.

“The fact that you think you have any pull to talk to me like you have been is wild. It is taking every ounce of my self-control not to give your throat to my wolf right now.”

The anger disappeared from Nate’s face, and she could see fear there now. He hunched his shoulders and backed off a few steps and exposed the side of his neck. “I’m sorry but I cannot give sanctuary to someone like her.”

The door to his truck opened, and the woman stepped out. She was tall, with brown curls, and green eyes that darted between Nate and Liam. She hung her head and slunk past Nate.

“Delta, what are you doing?” he asked as she came to stand right beside Nory. Right. Beside her.

Wow, she was really pretty. Like an amazon woman and a model all in one.

“Get in the truck, Delta,” Nate murmured.

“I’m going with them,” she said in a small, shaking voice.

Oh, that got Nory’s heart. She recognized that voice. She had trouble speaking up. So did Nory.

She wanted to grab her hand and tell her everything was okay, and that she was just going to leave, and go stay in Boise with her mom. She hadn’t meant to cause all of this drama.

“You’re going to stay with them?” Nate repeated.

“You’re wrong for not offering to help. He is your Alpha. I think you have forgotten what an Alpha shoulders. If Liam says she needs sanctuary, you help her. What’s his is ours to care for.”

Liam was looking at Delta like she’d grown an extra head right now. He blinked hard and returned his attention to Nate.

The Nate in question sighed and hooked his hands onto his hips. “You’re not being fair.”

“I’ve never asked you for anything,” Delta said. “I’m asking now. I want her to stay with us.”

“Why?” Nate gritted out.

“Because it’s the right thing to do. She’s being stalked. Liam said it. She might be scared—”

“Delta—”

“I’m lonely!” Delta gasped and looked down at the ground, and ooooh Nory knew this feeling. It was the lash-out every shy person had when they got overwhelmed and couldn’t take it anymore, and got to a point where they just blurted out a feeling, and then instantly regretted it.

Nory didn’t know why she did it. She really didn’t know. But she slid her hand around Delta’s and squeezed it.Everything’s okay, fellow shy person.

Nate stared at Delta in shock before he paced away, muttering a curse. He paced back and looked at Liam. “You can have the spare bedroom until the Lodge clears out.”

“I wasn’t asking—”

“Well, now I’m asking,” Nate ground out. “Delta really hasn’t asked me for anything until now. It’s for her.” Nate’s attention dipped to Nory before he said, “Not for you.”

And with that, Delta glanced over at Nory wide-eyed, squeezed her hand back and walked directly to Nate’s truck and climbed in, then sat there frozen, just waiting.

“Pair up, they said,” Nate muttered to himself as he walked around the front of his truck. “It’ll be fun, they said.”

When Nory looked up at Liam, he was biting back a smile.