Page 66 of Auctioned Mate

“That’s the weird part. They’re not really strangers.”

The door for the center squealed open. Two—no, three Elderlings were approaching. That must have been Galanthia, Rynar, and Raven. I stood up from my perch and went with Etta to the doorway, noticing a few wolves had drifted into the center as well.

Etta gasped. “Those are the guys that showed up.”

“Do you know if they’re kind people?”

“They don’t seem too bad.”

Concern prompted me to turn to Etta. “Would you make sure Macy is alright for a few minutes? I’m going to speak to Raven.”

“Of course. Take your time. I’ll sit with her.”

Etta was a truly remarkable and wonderful witch. With her guarding Macy, even in her slightly weakened state, I felt comfortable joining the miniature crowd in the center’s lobby. Modern couches flanked one corner along with a coffee table and a bookshelf holding magazines, books, and DVDs. A television was mounted to the wall that one of the strangers was inspecting.

Raven and Rynar greeted me with matching grins. How much they looked like each other in this moment.

Galanthia approached with a hesitant expression. “How is he?”

“Still sleeping. Etta is minding them if you want to see him.”

She smiled and hopped past me, disappearing in a flash.

I faced my alpha, her brother, and their three guests. All three wolves focused on me with suspicious expressions.

Raven cleared her throat while gesturing to the men. “Juriah, I’d like you to meet the England brothers.”

I squinted at them, trying to piece together their auras. When they stood closely, their energy conformed with each other. Impressive yet intimidating. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the men. From left to right, each man had varying characteristics—fiery red hair worn in spikes with hazel-blue eyes, wheat-blond hair with crystal-blue eyes, and obsidian-black hair with reddish-brown eyes.

But when the one on the far right with black hair smiled, I extended my hand. “Welcome, friends.”

The man laughed while clapping his hand into mine. “You mean welcome back, my guy. I’m Spencer. Those two shmucks are Xavier and Andres.”

“If you’re brothers, why don’t you look the same?” I inquired as I went to shake Andres’s hand. “Is it an adoption thing?”

Andres guardedly shook my hand. “Sure.”

Xavier did the same, appearing more muted than the other two. “Something like that.”

Raven stepped toward us. “They’ve been gone for a while, traveling. I’m glad they’re back. We have a lot of catching up to do, especially with the Baneridge pack on the loose.”

I made a noise of agreement. “Yes, Etta informed me about the failed tracking spell and the discovery of the witch.”

Sadness enveloped my alpha. I regretted mentioning the details, feeling her sorrow lace through the room and change everyone’s expression instantaneously. “I knew I should have checked the basement, but everything happened so fast.”

“It did. You’re right,” I whispered, and then kicked myself.

My job had been to protect Macy. But that left other people open for harm.

How could I have given up my punishment so easily? Just because of Macy? That wasn’t fair to the people who were hurt and lost their lives in the process. Renewed with a sense of justice, I rested my hand over my heart and bowed deeply in front of my alpha.

“I swear I’ll make up for this mistake, Raven.”

She urged me to stand upright. “Stop it, Juriah. We all made the same mistake.”

“But I should have been paying attention.” Anger like this couldn’t be quelled. I had to retreat for a while and think about what I’d done. “Macy distracted me from protecting civilians.”

“Juriah, this isn’t a war. It’s not your responsibility to—”

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