Missy Maddox and I had lunch, then got ready to swim. I could tell he wanted to ask about my conversation with Vlad, but I wasn't prepared to talk about it yet. He did his best to take my mind off it, which I appreciated. As I was coming downstairs to meet Maddox outside, Lily stopped me.

"Hey, Missy," she said.

"Hi, Lily," I replied.

"We have some more kids joining the pack. There are a couple of high school-aged ones. Would you mind hanging out with them this afternoon and making them feel welcome?" she asked.

"Sure," I said. "Maddox and I were just going to swim for a bit. They can join us," I told her. She smiled, looking slightly relieved.

"You're such a good girl. I'll bring them down in a bit!" she said. I nodded and headed outside to Maddox. He sat on the edge of the pool, his legs already in the water.

"There you are," he said as I approached.

"Sorry. Lily stopped me. You wouldn't mind some company, would you?" I asked.

His face fell slightly. "I guess not," he said.

"Apparently, we have some more wolves joining the pack, and Lily asked if I could make them feel welcome," I explained.

Maddox leaned back on his arms, one resting behind me. "Guess I can't really complain. If your mom hadn't asked you to do the same with us, I would never have met you," he said quietly. My cheeks flushed, and I looked away.

Maddox sat up, slid into the water, and splashed me playfully. I pursed my lips, dove in after him, and splashed him mercilessly, laughing at his retreat. He ducked underwater before I could catch him again. I watched the surface, ready to strike as soon as he surfaced.

The water broke behind me, and Maddox jumped out, grabbing my shoulders. He pulled me backward, submerging me by surprise. I wriggled free and surfaced. When we both emerged, Maddox was laughing triumphantly.

"That was sneaky," I gasped, catching my breath.

"You splashed me. All's fair in love and war, darling," he teased. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself toward the side of the pool. The back door to the packhouse opened, and Lily came out with three people—two girls and a guy.

"Missy," she called.

"Hey!" I called back. Maddox swam up behind me.

Lily brought the newcomers to the pool. "This is Emmett, Alexandra, and Juliette," she said.

"Hi. I'm Missy, and this is Maddox," I said.

"Call me Julie," the taller girl said.

"Marci will send out snacks and drinks in a bit. Have fun," Lily said, hurrying away.

"You guys want to get in?" I asked. Emmett smirked. He reminded me a little of Damien—large and bulky, but with long hair swept back from his face. He dropped his towel and ran to the pool, jumping in with a large splash. He emerged right behind me, startling Maddox.

"I'm Emmett," he said with a cocky grin.

"You're in my personal space," I pointed out.

He shrugged. "Are you complaining?"

"Emmett, her boyfriend is going to deck you if you don't back off," Julie said. Emmett looked up at her while I looked over his shoulder at Maddox, who looked irritated.

"Not my boyfriend," I said quickly.

"Really?" Emmett said excitedly.

"Ignore him; we do," Julie said, sitting on the pool's edge next to me. "Come on, Allie," she said, pulling the quieter girl down to join us. She flicked Emmett's forehead. He rubbed the spot and scowled, putting some distance between us.

Maddox moved closer to me. "If you two aren't dating, what are you?" Emmett asked. Julie splashed him.

"Emmett, you've been in this pack less than a day. Can you not try to get in a girl's pants?" she asked, annoyed. "Sorry. He's kind of a slut."

"It's okay," I laughed. "I'm definitely not going to be the one he wants to chase."

"Why?" Julie asked.

"Her dad is the Alpha, and she has a warrior watching her 24/7," Maddox said, pointing to the wolf lying in the grass about thirty yards from the pool, its bored eyes on us. Julie looked surprised.

"You're the Alpha's kid? Wait, do you have an older brother?" she asked.

"No, why?"

"The first-born child of an Alpha is always male. You're what, sixteen, seventeen? You should have an older brother getting ready to take over the pack," she said.

I looked down into the water, embarrassed. I hated this part of meeting new people. Maddox placed a hand on my back underwater. "There are exceptions to the rules," he said, rescuing me.

"Well, if you ever want some fun, I don't mind an audience," Emmett said, wiggling his eyebrows. Julie and I splashed him simultaneously, and we both laughed.

The afternoon was fun. We hung out and played games in the water. I kept finding Maddox near me, especially when Emmett got close. We stayed in the pool until just before dinner. We all changed, then Maddox and I joined Felix, Junior, and Leo in the dining room. Liam and Lea were upstairs for the night, spending some time alone. I bet they just needed a break after all the stress they'd been under.

After dinner, Junior and Leo ran off to play with Delilah and Lucas, Felix following dutifully. Maddox and I went to my room for our movie marathon, so we wouldn't be watched all night. He seemed relieved I didn't suggest Allie, Julie, or Emmett join us.

We sat on my bed, a comfortable distance between us. I picked the first movie, and we almost finished it before my brothers crashed the party. Leo was determined to watch with us, planting himself between Maddox and me.

I wasn't surprised when Little Liam and Leo came into their sister's room. She said they'd been crawling into her bed every night since the kidnapping. Last night, Leo came in after Missy fell asleep, and we were lying together. He scowled at me but left us alone. Having her with me last night and all day today calmed me. I haven't forgiven myself for what happened, and I wasn't going to let it happen again.

We put on a kid-friendly movie. After a couple of minutes, I heard Little Liam say something.

"Hey, Maddox," he said. I looked at him, but he was staring at the TV. "Maddox," he said again. "Oh yeah, I can link."

I looked at Missy, who was being cuddled by Leo. "Liam?" I tried linking him.

"Yeah, I can link you, but I have a question."

"Um, okay?"

"Will you train me?" I looked at the kid, confused, but he continued watching the movie.

"Why?"

"To protect people."

"Why?"

"To protect people."

"What about your dad?"

"He says I'm too little, and I don't need to worry about it. But Leo got hurt, and Delilah was scared. I couldn't protect them."

"If your dad said no, I'm not sure I should, bud."

"Please, Maddox? I want to be a strong Alpha. You're strong; you keep Sissy safe." If only he knew how much better I needed to be at keeping her safe. I had to admire his tenacity, though. He was clearly still dealing with what happened, but he was trying to overcome his fear.

"If Missy says it's okay, I will," I conceded. He already had a natural ability to be strong and fast. At least if I helped him, I could ensure he didn't get hurt. His face lit up. I held back a laugh, knowing he'd probably convince his sister; she loved him too much to refuse him.

Missy managed to convince her brothers to sleep in their rooms tonight. She left to tuck them in while I changed the movie. "I think we might finally be rid of them for the night, although I just had to barter away the first slice of my birthday cake," she laughed, crawling back into bed. She pulled her blanket over her.

"Let me guess, Leo?"

"Yeah," she giggled. "Kid drives a hard bargain, but he's hard to say no to."

"You didn't tell me Junior can link already," I said.

"Oh, yeah. I forget sometimes. You know how Lea can heal people?" I nodded. "Well, I guess she comes from a pack where some wolves were blessed with special abilities. Liam took over the pack before they got married or something. So, some people here can do strange things. Junior's been able to link us all since he was really little. It took him a while to figure out how to direct it at a person, though," she explained.

"Wow," I said.

"Yeah, we have this teacher at school who can do superhuman math in his head in a split second. And a girl in the class below me can make things float," she said nonchalantly. She grabbed the remote and pressed play. She tried to hide a yawn.

"Do you want me to let you go to bed?" I asked quietly.

"No," she said. "I'm not tired." But that was a lie because, within ten minutes, she was slumped against me, asleep. My wolf rejoiced at having her so close. I stayed still for most of the movie, wondering if I should push my luck and sleep in her bed again. There was a soft knock at the door. I turned to see Alpha Liam leaning against the doorframe.

I went to move, but he shook his head. "It's alright," he said softly.

"I can go, sir," I told him.

"You care for her," he observed. I nodded. He watched us for another minute, a conflicted look on his face. I wondered what he was thinking as he looked at his daughter in bed with a guy. "I won't send you away as long as you respect her."

"Always," I told him.

"That means if she's mates with someone else, you respect that too," he said. I nodded. He stood to his full height. Alpha Liam is an impressive man. It's no wonder his pack respects him and his family so much. Before he left, he added, "And it would do you good to remember that her mother and I are right down the hall." My eyes widened, and I could only nod idiotically.