  &quot;No. I haven t let poppy seeds blow or, umm ... err, I  ... no.&quot; I retort, face flaming, mumbling, babbling, as excruciating shyness almost kills me. Face reddening and unable to look her in the eye. I can feel Carmen s eyes boring down on me, waiting for my answer with vicious suspicion. I can feel her poised body getting ready for my takedown if she thinks Colton has touched me sexually. &quot;We ve done nothing ... nothing.&quot; How can I tell them I turned, ripped him half to shreds, and then called him weak? I don t think that would go down well with his crew. 
  &quot;Hmm, disappointing. Well, I can help with that.&quot; She gestures again for me to follow and when I hesitate, eyes roaming the enraged Carmen sitting near the doorway, she catches my sleeve and yanks me. Carmen is poised with a reply to what Meadow said, but I can see she s holding it in and simmering, d

  Meadow whistles at me, almost deafening me with the strength she can emit with just two fingers in her mouth, and motions with her hand in a circling manner to get me to turn around. She s bossy but there s something likeable about her and I m fast warming to her pushy personality.
  She s gone to town on me in a short space of time. My hair sleek, combed until it s glossy and pulled up into a high ponytail that she said made my waves come together to an almost ringlet at the back. She s blushed, pinched, dabbed, and painted my face with various products, and squeezed me into clothes she swears are my size, but the restrictions I feel make me doubt it. My bust is surprisingly close in size to what she wears, so no doubt she heavily downsizes for extra 'oomph  in her breast department.
  Skintight soft denim jeans, paired with a fitted white tank with a low-cut V. I m all cleavage I nev

  You okay?
  Colton comes through loud and clear, checking on me, and for a second, it warms me that he does, that maybe he felt my nervousness. His voice is that sound of home that I never knew I needed, and I find myself exhaling like I ve been holding my breath, as I lean back into the chair a little more relaxed. 
  Just waiting on the others and sitting by the fire. 
  I reply, setting his mind at ease and hoping I sound as comfortable here as I am pretending to be. 
  I won t be long. My father kept all the leaders back to talk about plans, schedules, you know what I mean. I ll leave our link open if you need me. Don t let any of them give you any shit or else they ll have to deal with me.
  His deep husky voice has me pining for his presence, and I sigh wearily.
  Mateo is being a gentleman and taking care of me; I m sure he ll intervene.
  I m trying to make him relax, but the overwhelming surge I get back from his emotions that he didn t like what I said surprises me. It s a hint of jealousy, and I blink at Mateo as though I m missing the point. He has his back to me, pouring his drink, and nowhere near me. 
  Right. Like I said, I won t be long. 
  His tone is clipped, and he closes the link before I can respond, despite saying he wouldn t. He sounded off, and moody, and I swear it actually makes me want to laugh at how ridiculous he s being. He sent me here with Mateo, and now he s what? Jealous because I said he was being nice. I knew males were territorial and possessive by nature, worse so when they mate up, but I m not even his and he has nothing to worry about. We imprinted, and the Fates made sure I have no desire to look at anyone else, even if he did reject me.
  I inhale sharply, shake it off, and go back to staring at the fire, trying not to let him get to me as the door swings open and two boys stomp in, arguing with each other
  &quot;You re a liar. I didn t say anything of the sort.&quot; The first male snaps, turning and spotting me and instantly frowning like he s just faced a terrible or vile sight. He stops dead as the other collides into the back of him with an exaggerated 'oomph  noise. He s unsurprisingly dark-haired, tanned and has your typical Colombian look to him. All the Santos originated from there, before coming here a few generations ago. They usually mate up with others like them, so the bloodline stays purest, and most of the males get sent back in early childhood to spend time in their homelands, so most have mixed accents like Colton does.
  &quot;Hey, watch it,&quot; the voice snarls, and shoves him forward, exposing an identical face and equal build, and I realize these two boys are twins. If memory serves right, I can pull out of Colton s mind that this is Domi and Remi. They re younger than Colton by a year, making them eighteen, like me. Both lanky, tall, athletic boys, with brown hair and soft hazel eyes. More Santos, and I know for sure they re Colton s distant cousins on his mom s side. 
  &quot;And she is here because …?&quot; The first one turns to Mateo with a growl and gets a snarl in response. Mateo seemingly growing an inch taller and faces them down. 
  &quot;Because Colton said so, and I doubt he wants to hear you were questioning it!&quot; It s not a friendly tone, and it has the desired effect of dampening down the attitude of one twin, at least.
  &quot;He s not questioning, he s just a little shocked that our pack room has someone ... not of our pack,&quot; the other chirps in, throwing me a devious side-eye and I shrivel back into my chair, aware the waves of prickling heat coming my way are hostility, even while he is smiling on like it s not. 
  &quot;Who s not in our pack?&quot; That female voice I ve been dreading comes waving in as she walks in the door. Thick like honey, and sultry, preceding her entry. She sashays in like the Queen of the manor and stops dead in her tracks when she spots me. Gray eyes instantly storming over, pouty mouth forming a thin, tight line and porcelain skin paling as rage ignites under the surface. Her eyes glow intense amber as she growls her dislike for me and lowers her chin to move into an attack stance. Wolves are aggressive by nature and we literally jump to fight for every little thing. Bite, nip, attack. It s just how we are. 
  &quot;Why in the fuck has he let her in here?&quot; Carmen loses her cool, steps towards me fast, but Mateo zaps forward, using his hyper-speed, blocking her in a nanosecond, and standing between us. He stands firm, lifts his chin, and makes a good show of exerting his dominance. 
  &quot;Colton wanted her here and will be along soon, so pipe down, go sit over there and behave!&quot; Mateo has a tone not too dissimilar to Colton s Alpha tone, only less effective, and she draws her eyes from me to him, not as affected as she would have been had their Alpha said it.
  &quot;Don t tell me what to do. You re not my Alpha. Hell, you re not even his Beta.&quot; The undercurrent of a snarl between them sizzles and I tense, waiting for it to get crazy in here. Surprised that Mateo is not his second in command and I rake my memories to find out who is. I swear to god it better not be Carmen, or I m in trouble.
  &quot;Ahora, que tenemos aqui?&quot; Another female voice floats in, soft, light, and strangely alluring, with a deep raspy undercurrent as three more wolves stroll in unannounced, and I recognize her as Meadow, one of the older femmes in her late twenties, mated to the one behind her, Cesar. Her brother is in tow, Jesús, and they stop to gaze over the little scene. 
  &quot;Ahora, chicos, go sit down before I break a claw reminding you who is Beta in this room when Colton is not here. Sit!&quot; Her accent is heavy and thick, clear she s an incomer to Radstone and English is not her first language. It s not uncommon for wolves with links elsewhere to bring in a family pack from further away, to live with them or find a mate, and I know Meadow s been with us for a few years, maybe even as far back as the war. Her accent has never faded, though.
  Mateo and Carmen give one last snarl and separate, walking to the couches, chastised, and surprisingly, not defying her. They re followed by the twins, who avert eyes from their new member and instantly go into sulk mode, slumping together on one sofa and stare at me with lowered eyelids. No hint of warmth, which adds to my growing uneasiness as I sit stiffly where I was. Meadow strolls into the room fully, confidently, eyeing me up, unashamedly, and I get the sensation I m being weighed up as prey. 
  She s a sight to behold, at five feet eight, strong, graceful, and very Latino. Black hair, the most amazing pale blue eyes under sculpted black brows, and deeply tanned skin. She has full lips, catlike eyes with perfect makeup, and an outfit of clingy denim with a blouse that shows off her ample cleavage. 
  She s beautiful but has an aura of terrifying. She doesn t stray out of the Santo side of the lands much, but it s obvious that Mateo is not Colton s second in command. Meadow is. I wouldn t argue with her, her natural nails are long, sharp, and pointed, with shellac of blood-red, so I can t imagine what her wolf claws would be like. She puts the fear in me with just her presence.
  &quot;Hi. I m Cesar. This is Jesús, and the infamous Meadow here.&quot; Cesar nods at me, no hint of either dislike or friendliness in his blank statement. He s another tall, stocky type and I m starting to see a pattern with this pack. Best of the breed and all alarmingly alike, except Carmen, the only blonde among them. They re all big, strong, and have lashings of both aggression and attitude, common among our strongest. I m sure as a pack they have many a battle of wills and lots of spats.
  &quot;She knows who we are, don t you, amiga? She has Cole s memories and I m sure she knows how to access them.&quot; Meadow strolls in front of me, heels clicking on the hardwood floor, her eyes wandering over me as she takes me all in without caring how uncomfortable it s making me. Devouring my appearance with a critical eye.
  &quot;I do,&quot; I answer sheepishly, aware another has entered the open door and praying that has to be all of them. This is getting crowded and I m feeling like raw meat being lowered into a hungry lion s den. I don t even glance their way, as Meadow has a commanding quality that demands you give her our full attention.
  &quot;Oh, how did the Fates get this so wrong?&quot; Jesús sneers at me, appearing beside her, not too dissimilar in looks to his sister, only masculine where she is feminine, and instantly shuts up when Meadow throws him a pointed glare with a subtle growl. 
  &quot;The Fates are never wrong! Don t you know that?&quot; She snaps, before taking a calming breath, lifting her hands, making motions in the air as though to accompany deep breaths. She smirks when she catches my eye and bends towards me, almost dropping her massive boobs from her low-cut top in my face. &quot;I don t know. I sense something in this one. You think, Papi, she has a little summin, summin?&quot; 
  Cesar doesn t seem impressed, or not impressed, totally blank, and I can only assume he is who she calls Papi. I know it s a name for your lover or mate. She reaches out, picking up a strand of my wild, unbrushed hair and runs her fingers through it slowly, tingling my scalp as it tugs gently. Putting me on edge and making me so uncomfortable, I feel like calling on Colton, but I don t. I have to expect his pack is going to be like this at a first meet. I mean, he just threw me in with them amid all that happened today, and they re sizing me up to see how much grit I have. I can t show them weakness, or they ll shred me. 
  &quot;Is it true she came from the home for the rejects? The ones the vamps all slaughtered.&quot; One of the twins can t conceal his disgust, and Carmen sneers, a look of anger crossing her face and throws him a side-eye glare.
  &quot;Yes. And our formidable Alpha lowered his standards and tried to mark this mutt. He needs his head read.&quot; Carmen is quick to chirp in with her dislike of me, seething hatred my way. The room feels like it s closing in as anxiety builds and my panic grows, and I wonder how long before I get cornered and chewed on.
  &quot;Oye …&quot; It s a sharp sound given out to shut her up, Meadow standing to roll her hair between two fingers and facing them with a look of 'I m getting so pissed . &quot;Don t disrespect our Alpha s compa?era. I won t tolerate it, and neither will he. Don t make me mad, Chica, I don t like when I get mad.&quot; 
  Meadow is by far the scariest femme I have ever come across and I don t know why she s unnerving me so much, because she seems pretty sane on the surface. It s just, she has an aura that screams 'certified psycho  and every single time she moves, I flinch internally, getting antsier by the second as she stands so close to me.
  Carmen recoils, obviously knowing only too well that Meadow doesn t make empty threats, and Mateo clears his throat to distract her. He too seems like he knows he should diffuse things, and it only heightens my wariness. Some femmes in our packdom are worse than the mates in terms of volatile aggression and ability to maim, and I m thinking Meadow is one.
  &quot;Drinks anyone? While we wait on him.&quot; Mateo glances around for takers and gets a couple of quiet nods.
  &quot;No, we have otros planes for our little compa?era. She needs a little help over here.&quot; Meadow clicks her tongue at me to catch my attention and when I look up at her, she extends her finger and motions for me to come. It s creepy and yet an order, and without question, I slide up in my chair, heartbeat elevating and wondering what the hell she plans on doing to me.
  &quot;You look like a bag lady who dresses out of the trash, novia. If that s what Colton has you looking like, you ain t gonna last long here. It s not a good look. Come, we have to fix this before I can sit and look at you for any length of time. You re offending my eyes. What he do to you? You look like you been working out on our man, huh? Maybe practicing getting marked, huh? Saying goodbye to your poppies and letting his seeds blow up your wind tunnel, eh?&quot; It s a dirty raspy laugh, following a dirty remark, and I flush with embarrassment at her brazen statement as I catch her meaning. Knowing I probably do look a little disheveled and I can almost taste Carmen s seething rage winding my way.

&quot;No. I haven t let poppy seeds blow or, umm ... err, I  ... no.&quot; I retort, face flaming, mumbling, babbling, as excruciating shyness almost kills me. Face reddening and unable to look her in the eye. I can feel Carmen s eyes boring down on me, waiting for my answer with vicious suspicion. I can feel her poised body getting ready for my takedown if she thinks Colton has touched me sexually. &quot;We ve done nothing ... nothing.&quot; How can I tell them I turned, ripped him half to shreds, and then called him weak? I don t think that would go down well with his crew. 
  &quot;Hmm, disappointing. Well, I can help with that.&quot; She gestures again for me to follow and when I hesitate, eyes roaming the enraged Carmen sitting near the doorway, she catches my sleeve and yanks me. Carmen is poised with a reply to what Meadow said, but I can see she s holding it in and simmering, despite the knives she s throwing with her eyes. I m not sure what the story is between Meadow and Car

chapter 20