Page 46 of Ruffled Feathers

“Sometimes they keep themselves apart from the rest of us, making it easier for them to send us into situations where we might not come out. But not Matt. He was there with us every step of the way. When we were wounded, he was at our bedside. When we cried, he cried with us. In a firefight, he was right there, beside you, shoulder to shoulder. He might have been twelve years older than me, but he was like a big brother and best friend all rolled into one. He was that to all of us.

“We were a group for years, longer than most. They tend to split you up after a while, because it starts to become ‘men before the mission.’ But we had such a good success rate, with such low casualties, that they kept us together. We did some terrible shit, and the ones who had lives, wives and families, they didn’t stay long. It was just us.”

His voice was shaky. I hugged him tighter, and this time, he wrapped both arms around me and held me close. He needed me; I could feel it in my bones. This was the start of something.

“Our last mission went to shit. We got pinned down in a minefield—it was dark, and we couldn’t see the signs. It’s how I got half my face blown off, but I was still better off than the rest. They put us down as we lay there bleeding. I thought I was a goner. Everyone else was dead. I couldn’t see. The only reason I got out of there was Akio, who led me out. Akio was Matt’s partner. His MWD.”

My heart broke for the man in my arms. He’d lost his whole family in one terrible night. One failed mission, and his world was gone.

He cleared his throat, and I gave into the urge to climb further up his body, so I could rub my cheek on his and be even closer. He put his hands under my thighs and rested me on the top rail of the fence, leaning into my body, burying his face in my neck so that the next part was muffled against my skin.

“I was discharged, and I fought to keep Akio with me. Wasn’t too hard—we were both damaged tools of war. Someone who knew Matt had him reclassified as a service dog, then had him assigned to me. But a lawyer found me soon after, said Matt had rewritten his will a few years ago, and listed all the men in our team as beneficiaries to his estate. If he died on assignment, this property was to go to us all in equal portions. Except there was no one left but me and Akio. So I got the whole lot. That’s why I came to Rock Hill.”

He let out a shaky breath. “But when I got here, I couldn’t go in. Matt was everywhere, even outside. His bike in the garage. His pictures on the wall in the living room. I slept in the stables for a bit, but even that got too much. It was like a giant testament to my failure to keep them alive. A reminder that I was here, while they’re all buried in a military graveyard up north. That I had to attend five military funerals for the only family I had. That I had nothing left. Just their ghosts, Akio, this house, and survivor guilt.”

Not for the first time in my life, I didn’t know what to do or say to make it better. So I just held him. “Thank you for telling me. And thank you for bringing us here.” I stroked my fingers through his hair. I didn’t want to tell him what a man I didn’t know would have wanted; that was presumptuous. But if Matt had left this to his men in his will, then I didn’t think he’d be the type who’d want them to carry around guilt at his death. I couldn’t tell Lance that, though. I could only offer him one thing.

“You aren’t alone anymore, Lance. You have me—us—for as long as it makes you content.” I chewed my lip, not sure it was the right time for this. “Even if that means forever.” I tried to keep the hope out of my voice, but doubted I was successful. His arms tightened around me slightly, but he didn’t reply, just held me silently.

I couldn’t see the guys, though I knew they’d be here somewhere. I wasn’t sure how long I spent carding my fingers through his hair, soothing him in the only way I knew how, before he pulled back a little. His hands stayed on my hips so I didn’t fall backwards off the fence rail, and he picked me up easily, setting me on my feet.

“Matt would’ve liked you. Liked that this place was going to be used as a refuge for creatures no one else wanted.” He grabbed my hand, still not meeting my eyes, and pulled me gently toward the house, pulling keys from his pocket as we walked. Truett and Sonny appeared, standing a few feet back, giving silent support to us both.

It was hard, but it was healing, and that was the only thing I wanted for my Lancelot. My white knight.

Twenty-Four

Strat

Apparently, moving the animals to Lance’s place was an “all hands on deck” kind of deal. Even I’d been roped in, and honestly, I was happy to be included, even if I knew nothing about animals. My parents hadn’t been pet people. Hell, they hadn’t even been kid people.

But I was happy to follow orders and haul boxes. Otillie-James’s vet friends had also come along, bringing a large horse trailer to load goats and crates into. I imagined this was how Noah had felt when it started to rain.

I stood holding the leash of a truly obese dog, though you wouldn’t know that from the athleticness of his tail. He was very sweet, even if walking looked painful for him. I scratched behind his ears while we waited for our turn to be loaded onto Otillie’s Ark.

We hadn’t talked about what had happened during her heat. We hadn’t spoken about where we all went from here. We were just continuing as if it had never happened and she wasn’t an Omega, and we were back to the getting-to-know-you portion of our friendship, pretending like I didn’t know how she tasted when she came all over my tongue.

One of Otillie-James’s friends wandered toward me. From what I could tell, they were a large Pack, and the woman walking toward me was their Beta, Anakie. She and Rex were both vets, while their other Alpha was a mechanic, and their Omega was their heart.

Anakie dipped her head as she approached me, bending down to pet the obese Lab. “Omega. How are you doing over here?”

I shrugged. “He’s a very good boy,” I said softly, making the dog look up at me adoringly. He really was cute. I wondered if Otillie would keep him.

“That he is. He just needs a little extra care. He’s got a really big heart, and some people would abuse that.”

I looked at the Beta. She was pretty, in an earthy way. Light brown hair, freckles from being in the sun, rough hands and laugh lines—she was a beauty in her own unique way. But she didn’t make me feel anything like what Otillie made me feel. Well before she’d been an Omega, even.

I met her eyes. “She’s tougher than she looks. She doesn’t need us to fight her battles for her. But I promise that I’ll protect her, heart and body, for as long as she’ll let me. Those Alphas over there? They adore her. I’m also fairly sure Lance would jump in front of a bullet for her, and they’re still at some weird emotional impasse.” I shook my head. “We haven’t got it all figured out yet, but Otillie-James is our focus.”

If I’d thought that would be the end of it, I was sorely mistaken. These people obviously loved Otillie, so when the other Omega popped up beside me, I wasn’t even surprised. Anakie’s Omega was the opposite of her; Sophie was soft, curvy with dark hair and a wide smile that stretched across her face. She looked nice, but her Omega didn’t call to me the way Otillie-James’s did. My connection to my Omega defied logic.

Sophie tilted her head at me. “You’re okay that she’s another Omega? That you’d be sharing Alphas? Because I love Tills, but the idea of her joining my Pack makes my Omega hiss like a wildcat.”

I shrugged. It was hard to explain to anyone outside of myself. “Not only does my Omega not care about her designation, he wants her. I don’t want her Alphas—” I cut myself off. “Okay, no, Idowant her Alphas. There’s a connection there. But if I had to choose, I’d choose her.”

Sophie looked at me appraisingly, then grinned. “In that case, welcome to the family, Strat!” She hugged me tight and bounced off toward her Packmates. Rex, her giant Alpha, was carrying one of the crates, but leaned down, picked up his Omega one-armed, and kissed her. Honestly, it was impressive as hell.

Anakie snorted. “I better go save Gert before she ends up sitting in that cage for ages, because they’re making out like teenagers again.” The Beta headed over there, but I watched as Rex broke off the kiss with his Omega to kiss her too. Man, they were the picture of perfect Pack bliss.

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