Drying off, I decided to just put on my underwear and jeans before leaving the bathroom with my towel draped around my neck. T-shirt in hand, I opened the door and stepped into my room with two pairs of eyes on me. Glancing between them, I said “when did you get here Liah?”

“Just a minute ago. Why didn't you put your shirt on?” she asked surprised.

“Why? It's not like he hasn't already seen me naked” I said staring at her shocked expression before adding “get your mind out of the gutter you perv. We just came back from shifting you idiot” then rolled my eyes at her.

“Yeah, not that you'd tell me if you did anything else right” she said turning to look at Madox who was now a nice shade of red. As I look at his embarrassed face, his hands fly up to cover it and I can't help but take a leisurely look at the rest of him admiring how cute he is in my shirt and jeans. Liah catches me staring but says nothing. Seconds later, Mom mind linked the pack announcing that dinner was ready. Pulling my towel off my neck and sitting it on my dresser, I put my shirt on and looked at Madox before saying “come on, mom says dinner is ready.” Then heading for the door, the three of us walk downstairs together. As we walk, Liah tells Madox that there is no order to how we get food and that it was first come first serve except at breakfast where we are served by the kitchen staff. While shes explaining, I'm distracted by how Madox ass looks in my jeans until he says “okay, definitely not like our pack. We're always served by family rank and then individual rank. So, my family would be served second but I would be the last one served in the family grouping.”

“That's weirdly complicated” I said as we rounded the corner into the kitchen. Seeing mom and Kyle standing by the back counter, they both nod telling me things had been worked out and dad would explain to everyone later making me relax a little more. Nodding back, I grab a plate and start filing it with food as I heard Liah telling Madox “get as much of whatever you want, okay.” Turning, I saw him smile for the first time today which surprised me. Looking at mom, he must've seen it too because he was smiling as well. Having finished loading up our plates, we head into the dinning room. As we enter, all eyes land on us. Looking at Madox, I say “relax, they won't bite... much” and watch the look of shock pass over his face before he returns it to it's usual stoic look. Laughter erupts from my other side, causing both of us to turn and look at Liah.

“What's so funny?” I ask as she tries to get herself under control. After a few minutes, we sit down and she manages to reign herself in enough to say “see what did I tell you?” before loosing it again. Looking between her and Madox, I try to understand what she's talking about but am still completely lost. As we begin to eat, dad stands up to give a short speech.

“Good evening everyone. I'm sure you're all curious about the young man seated next to Conner. His name is Madox Richards and he's the youngest son of Beta Charles Richards of the Wind Walker pack. I want you all to treat him with the same respect you'd afford each other as he will be staying with us for a while to train under Conner. Now let's eat” he says nodding before taking his seat again. As dad was talking, I had been keeping an eye on Madox and noticed him stiffen the second it was announced he's be staying here for a while. Turning to him, I was about to ask if he was alright when Liah hit me and said “why didn't you tell me you weren't leaving?”

“Because I didn't know for sure until we got to the kitchen” I said deciding to be honest with them. Watching Madox, I knew the second my words sunk in because his head snapped in my direction and he asked “you knew we weren't leaving tomorrow?”

“I requested the change as soon as we got back from school today” I said maintaining my honesty about the situation.

“But how, you were with me the whole time except when you went to your room to change and get cloths. You were only gone for like three minutes” he asked confused.

“I had mom, dad, and Kyle work on it while we shifted since you healing was just as important” I said meeting his amber eyes.

“Reign, did he just say what I think he did?” I asked confused.

“Yes, you heard him right. We're remaining here for training” Reign said calmly. Seconds later, I heard Liah ask “why didn't you tell me you weren't leaving?” but the most surprising thing was Conners' response.

“Because I didn't know until we got to the kitchen” he'd said making me look at him only to see him watching me.

“You knew we weren't leaving tomorrow?” I asked Conner in disbelief.

“I requested the change as soon as we got back from school today” he said calmly.

“But how? You were with me the entire time except when you went to get your too to change and get clothes. You were only gone for maybe three minutes” I said still in shock.

“I had mom, dad, and Kyle work on it while we shifted since you healing was also important” he said meeting my eyes. Beginning to panic again, I thought “oh god, oh god, oh god! Why would he do that? Does he know about Carl's threat from earlier?”

“Madox, Madox calm down. You need to relax and remember you're in a room full of Alpha wolves” Reign said snapping me back to myself.

“I need some air” I said leaving the table and going out the back door passed the kitchen staff. Conner must've followed me because I caught sight of him silently leaning against the door frame after I was in the yard.

“Are you enjoying this? If you are then you're no better than Carl. You just use words rather than fists” I yelled starting to really freak out. Conner just remains standing there silently watching me as if he's guarding me in my messed up state. After a few more minutes, I can't take it anymore and yell “say something! Why'd you request the change of venue?”

“I had them change it for your safety and to give you a fighting chance. I'm sure if we were at your pack house, I wouldn't be able to protect you all the time and you'd end up in one of the worst positions imaginable for an Omega wolf” he said without moving or changing his expression.

“Oh my god, he does know about the threats. But how? Reign, why would you tell him that?” I asked feeling betrayed.

“They asked why you were so scared when you were used to the beatings. Moon said Conner needed to know in order to help us and I believe they only have the best of intentions towards us” Reign said calmly despite my ever growing anxiety.

“So, you told them he threatened me?” I asked exasperatedly. Conner must've seen my internal battle with myself more than Reign because he said “you know it's for your own safety right? No one here is going to dare to do anything to you and you can go wherever you wish without fear. I thought you deserved a little bit of peace given what you deal with during the week and maybe you'll actually be able to sleep at night without worrying about someone hurting you in your sleep at night. Was I wrong to do it without talking to you? Yeah, maybe but as your trainer you need to be somewhere safe. As your friend, I couldn't sit around and watch and do nothing” before turning to head back inside and give me space. As I stood there, Reign's words from earlier played through my mind “ Conner may look stone faced but he's actually a very caring person and was worried about you.” All of a sudden the back door slid open, pulling me out of my thoughts. Looking over, I expected to see Liah or Conner but found myself face to face with Luna Kris. After a few moments of staring at each other in silence, Luna Kris broke it.

“You know he didn't mean anything harmful by having it moved here right?” he asked gently.

“Deep down yeah probably but I can't help but feel he only did it out of pity or because it's his job” I said wanting to cry then added “I'm not good with surprises or people knowing things about me I never told them.”

“Sweetie, I can understand how you feel but trust me Conner isn't like that. He knows what you're going through because before he became our strongest he was in your position despite being an Alpha's son. It's why he hates people like that so much. And he doesn't want what happened to him to happen to you” Luna Kris said gently.

“Wait, what do you mean? The bullying or something worse” I asked confused.

“That isn't my secret to tell. Just know that my son isn't doing this out of pity or duty. He's doing this to protect you until you can protect yourself like his brothers did for him” Luna Kris said turning to go back inside.