Page 1 of Secure Touch (Her Vicious Pack #8)

Riley

Getting both packs, plus two security teams, home from the airport went almost without incident. Almost.

Things got tense for a couple of moments when people couldn’t agree who got to drive in which car and with who, until Caleb stepped in and sorted everything out.

It’s good that everyone respects Caleb enough to listen to him, because it’s past midnight and most of us have had only a handful of hours of sleep, if even that, in the last two days.

Erika, her pack and her security team will be staying in the pack houses at the edge of Mathew’s grounds.

The houses are normally used by people from Mathew’s organisation, as they’re within the perimeter of the security setup and also near anything that they might need for work.

They’re grouped on the other side of the training complex and pretty sizable.

Some house packs of varying sizes while others house single people or couples in sort of ‘house mate’ arrangements.

The cars come to a halt in front of two of the houses, the windows are all lit up and the front doors are open and inviting. The other houses are mostly dark, though I spot a few lights. Probably from people curious about the commotion or whose shift just ended or is about to start.

“You can leave my stuff.” I motion at Nathan, Erika’s eldest son, as he’s about to take my bags from the back of the car. “I’m in no mood to carry them all the way to the main house, not when that’s where the car will be parked later anyway. I’ll grab them then.”

He smirks as he comes over, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Wow. Are you getting used to the luxurious life already? Who would have thought that even you could get used to it.”

I side-eye him, but can’t help my grin. “I’m not sure you’re one to talk, rich boy.”

When he moved out of his parents’ place, he didn’t have to worry about where he’d live or where his money was going to come from.

They gave Logan —the only other member of Nathan’s pack at the time— and Nathan one of their apartment buildings to live in and manage, and all the money from the rent goes right into their pockets —after maintenance and other costs, of course.

That way, Nathan could live independently while his parents could still keep an eye on him.

I say ‘his parents’ but for the first couple of months I kept an eye on Logan and Nathan, as I lived in one of the apartments above them.

It also allowed me to get to know the area better and create a few new network connections for Erika’s organisation.

But that was only temporarily, after the months were up, I moved back into my usual apartment, nearer Erika’s pack’s place.

Nathan simply grins wider, used to me calling him ‘rich boy’, as I’ve done for most of his life. He drags me along into one of the houses, looking around before he turns to Caleb and Erika, who are in the living room. “Free choice, or are the rooms assigned?”

Erika points to the stairs. “You three are on the top floor. We’re staying on the middle floor. Take any of the middle rooms, leave the outer rooms for the security teams.”

Nathan groans, turning to the stairs, but before he can pull me along even more, I slip under his arm.

“You go drop your stuff off. You don’t need me for that.” And I’m much too tired to be dragged all over the place.

He tries to pout, but it falters when he notices I’m serious. Then he turns around and loudly makes his way up the stairs. He’s the eldest of Erika’s kids, but around me, he likes to act like my little brother. I’m used to it, but he seems to be acting needier than usual today.

I glance to Logan, who was walking behind us, as he’s usually the one best aware of Nathan’s moods, but the guys smiles and shrugs. “He probably just missed you.” He lets out a low laugh and then follows Nathan up the stairs, much quieter though.

Missing people. Yeah, I guess that makes sense.

Standing still for a couple of moments, I take in all the pheromones around me.

It feels strange, mixing the pheromones of the people who’ve been my ‘family’ —for a lack of a better word— ever since they rescued me from the Diamonds and the pheromones of my very own pack.

This was bound to happen, both packs coming together, I knew that from the moment Caleb called me ‘Whisper’ the first night we met, but I never put much thought into how or when it would happen.

It’s not under the best of circumstances, sadly enough.

I automatically try to keep track of my pack members.

Vera is excitedly talking with Jorge and some of Erika’s pack members, her bright voice a sweet note among all the chaos. Erika, Caleb and Mathew have moved to the front of the living room, discussing something with Derrick and Jeff —Erika’s head of security.

I’m still missing someone.

Where’s Luca?

I can smell his bitter caramel pheromones in the mix, so he can’t be very far, but I don’t see him anywhere.

Then the door at the back of the house opens, and a gust of wind brings Luca’s pheromones inside, mixed in with others. Of course, while he wants to stay close to the rest of his pack, being constantly surrounded by Vera and Caleb’s pheromones isn’t good for him.

So, him hanging out outside makes sense, more fresh air, weaker pheromones.

As if he knows I’m thinking of him, he turns around and meets my eyes through the window in the back door and he gives me a careful smile.

He’s with Sam —one of Erika’s Alphas— and Jace —the third Alpha in Nathan’s pack— and the three of them seem to be chatting freely, smiling, laughing.

The two Alphas are smoking, a bad habit I know they’ve been trying to break, and Luca is leaning against a table, trying to stay out of the direction of the smoke.

It’s hard to leave the Beta alone for too long. I can’t help but want to protect him at all times. He’s been through so much shit, in the last days but also in the last couple of years, which makes the need to keep him out of harm’s way even stronger.

I join the three men. The house is too loud, it should be quieter outside.

“You want one?” Jace holds out a pack of cigarettes to me but I shake my head.

Jace is the newest member of Nathan’s pack, and he looks at Nathan and Logan the same way as I probably look at Luca, protective, a guardian.

He seems to have gotten closer to the other two since I last saw them, from what I saw at the airport, but it hasn’t been easy for him.

Because of their shared past, and trauma, Nathan and Logan are very closely bonded, as close as two Alphas can be without a mark, and for Jace to step into that…

I know it’s been rough on him, especially in the beginning.

Instinctively, I step behind Luca, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, wrapping him in my pheromones, letting him lean against me. He’s taller than Vera, so I can easily put my chin on his shoulders without having to bend too much.

When he tenses, I tense too, worried I overstepped a boundary. Maybe it’s too soon. Maybe doing this is much too soon —we barely know each other— but then he lets out a long breath and relaxes in my arms.

Okay. So, I can do this. We can do this.

Jace laughs as he takes a few steps back, waving his cigarette in front of him like he’s trying to wave off some scent. “I know you’re really happy and that this is all very new for you, but from your possessive pheromones, you’d think Luca’s an Omega, not a Beta.”

I want to smack his arm for being so cheeky, but Luca grabs my hand and shrugs.

“It’s not like her Omegas are very Omega-like. Someone has to fill that role.” His voice is soft and his bitter pheromones fill with a note of warmth.

I glance at his face, not sure how to read him, but he seems relaxed, so I put it from my mind. If he’s fine joking like this, then I guess it’s fine with me too.

I wouldn’t mind spoiling him rotten for the rest of his life, and so does the rest of the pack. If he wants to be the one we all take care of, I’m pretty sure he won’t even have to ask, the others are already doing it.

Sam laughs loudly, glancing inside, first at Erika and then at Vera. “Yeah. Vera definitely has the whole ‘looking innocent’ thing down. But do not mistake that for helplessness, she’s very capable of taking care of herself.” His smile falters.

“She had to learn that quickly, much too quickly.” He lets out a long breath and stands up straight. “It’s been a long day, I’m going to see if our bedroom is ready. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

He stubs the cigarette out in the little ashtray Jace holds out to him, and then walks into the house.

The sound of voices and slivers of pheromones reach us as he opens and closes the door.

In my arms, Luca tenses, turning his head against me more, blocking out other pheromones with mine, before he actively tries to relax.

“I think he has the right idea.” Jace glances up to the top floor, where Nathan or Logan have opened one of the windows, their voices little more than background murmur to us here.

“Though, I don’t know what the other two think about it.

” He lets out a light groan. “They had a couple of energy drinks on the plane. I fear that they might stay up until sunrise.”

“No surprise there.” I let out a laugh. “Those two have very messed up sleep schedules at the best of times.”

“Very true. And with college starting up soon, they should really try to get back on a normal schedule, or things are going to be really rough for the first couple of weeks.” He glances up and then smiles. “Ah, well, it’s not like they’re not used to it.”

“How long have you known each other?” Luca’s question is soft.

I look at Jace, but apparently he expects me to answer.

“I’ve known Jace for almost a year now, he joined Nathan’s pack last August. And I’ve known the others for...” I think for a couple of moments. “For well over a decade, nearly two. I don’t actually know how long. Erika and her pack were the ones who rescued me from the Diamonds.”

Luca tenses in my arms, slowly turning to look at me, his eyes unsure, they seem to try to read something on my face, though I don’t know what. People have all sorts of questions when they find out about what happened in my past, and none of them are fun to answer, to be honest.

I guess going with a true but simplified answer is best right now. “When the Diamonds had me, I had a similar role to what you did. Looking after the kids, doing odd-jobs, stuff like that. Always behind the scenes, never anything of importance.” I was too headstrong and hard to predict.

Plus, they never put female Alphas ‘up front’, too much of a hassle, Omegas and Betas are easier to control.

That seems to relax Luca some, as he slowly nods. “That’s how you know. That’s how you know things without me saying anything.”

“A little.” I tighten my arm around him more. “Though, most of it is because I’ve helped rescue a lot of people while working for Erika. So, it’s not all from my own experience.” Especially since my experience and Luca’s are very different in many other ways.

One of those differences is that Luca is taking this all a lot better than I did at the time. Though, I suspect that being rescued by your pack —no matter how troubling— like Luca was, or being rescued by a set of strangers you have no connection to like I was, has a lot to do with it.

When I got out, that was just the start of many of my problems. Luca has had a lot easier time, having his new pack and his family around him will make a lot of things easier for him.

Not all of it, of course, since I’m sure there are plenty of things he doesn’t want to tell his family. But they’re alive and safe.

I wasn’t so lucky. And even though I had caring people around me, helping me out, almost becoming like a new family, it’s still different from my birth family.

With our pack together, it’s much easier to notice it. How I needed them, how I needed people in my life.

I don’t want to think about it too much. Mainly because our age differences would have made things really weird if I’d met the rest of the pack back then. But also because the past is in the past.

There’s no upside to thinking about all of this too much, only darkness and pain, and we really don’t need more of that right now.

I’ve got my pack now, and that’s what’s important.