True mates Book Two of Ozark Wolves
Chapter 18: Alexandria's Confessions

Quincy was thrilled. Alexandria was solidifying the bond and did not even know it. Possessiveness was one of the first markers. The brothers had already established theirs. They had been waiting for her. This did not mean she would stay but at least she was getting comfortable. Especially with William.

He had brought her back to the mall for her shoes. A girl could not have too many of those. She looked up at him surprised. "I thought we were going home?"

"No. William got you shoes too." Quincy replied gently. That was not the first time she had referred to the pack house as home. It pleased him greatly. She was really coming along. Nothing was solid, but she was coming along.

"Well yes, but that was before the laptop and IPOD." Alexandria replied softly. She lowered her eyes to her hands in her lap. He frowned. She had been quiet after that. He had expected her to go a rant about the music she wanted on her IPOD. But she had seemed withdrawn.

"What is it, honey?" He asked after he put the car in park and killed the loud engine. She shook her head. "No. You need to talk to me, honey." He coaxed gently and raised his hand slowly to cup her face and turn her eyes to look at him. Tears were in her eyes. "What is going through your head?"

"Clothes I understand. But that was too much." She said softly. She closed her eyes and reopened them. The fear was back mixed with uncertainty. But there was also a shadow of something he did not know. Something he could not really name.

"No. That was needed." He shrugged and let her go to he could get out of the car. "Like I said earlier. Whether you choose to stay or not. We would like to see you succeed. To be able to make it with or without us." He paused before shutting the door after he got out."We want you with us, though."

At the shoe shop it was all men workers. "Hello, beautiful," one stepped really close to her. He smelled really strongly of heavy cologne and testerone. She stepped back into Quincy. Who put took her hand possessively. She gave a nod. "What can I help you with?" His voice was just a notch above sexual. She suppressed a shiver. She shook her head and damn near hid behind Quincy.

"She wants to just look around." Quincy replied. His voice was just a little harder than normal. His eyes narrowed. The man coughed and walked away. But did not go far.

She led the way to the sandals she had seen yesterday when William had said she needed a pair of hikers instead. She had been disappointed but had done as he said. The hikers were pretty though. Gold with silver specks. And the laces were shiny silver. She pointed to the shoes that she has seen yesterday on a high shelf. Quincy pulled them down for her and she sat to try them on. They fit perfectly. Yellow with a little white daisy on the toe. Quincy thought they looked childish and then realized they were in the little girl's section. Moon she was a small woman. She looked up at him eyes shining with happiness. His breath stopped and his blood heated. The green pools looks so pretty when she was pleased. He wanted to drown in them.

"You like those?" Quincy asked appreciatively.

"I do. But William said I should get hikers." She said taking the shoe off and placing it reverently back in the box.

"That was yesterday to get you started." Quincy replied and picked up the box from the floor as she put her hiker back on. "When we go to the lake these will be perfect." He read the box to make sure they were slip proof. Content that they were. He reached for her hand when she had tied her shoe and pulled her gently to her feet. "You are so small. You know that. Even your feet." He smiled teasingly.

"The fact that you keep referring to me as 'little one' did not make that clear," she replied with a smile of her own. "Not my fault you and your brothers are built like European warriors of old. Put a claymore in your hands."

"Is this all for you?" The clerk from earlier who had been following them through the store. His eyes devouring Alexandria. He rushed up to push the other clerk out of the way. Alexandria immediately stepped back and just a little behind Quincy.

"Yes, Jeff." Quincy replied his voice on the same pitch as William's when he was irritated. "Next time keep your eyes to yourself." He met the man's eyes as he took the receipt from the man and walked out with an arm around her. Her shoes under his other arm. Outside he checked his watch. "Anything else you want to do while in town. We got another hour."

"The stickers." She said softly. She seemed distracted by something. He followed her eyes and the clerk was standing at the window watching them. She shuddered and stepped closer to him.

"Creepy fucker. I will warn Rick about him in case he is working tomorrow." He pulled her to his side and they walked away. By the time they made it back to the main entrance where he had parked his car she was shaking. "What's wrong, honey?" He asked as they stopped for the automatic doors. He chanced a peek down at her. "Cold?"

She shook her head. They walked out of the building and to his car. "I hate those kind." She said. "The worst kind of predator. I would rather Rick take me to another shoe store tomorrow. But two pairs is plenty." She settled in the car and he closed the door.

"A female can never have too many pairs. Our mother has twenty. All the same kind for the most part. With the exception of a pair of heels." Quincy replied with a smile. "And yes I would rather Rick take you to a different store too. He was ballsy." Quincy started the car.

They made it home in time for reheated hamburgers and fries. The she had chosen yellow stickers with daisies. Quincy had grinned seeing a pattern. She liked daisies. Good to know. They were not as elegant as roses or lilies but that was her. After supper the three males disappeared to their open room and held a serious conversation in quiet tones. Finally they were going to talk about her in hushed tones. She took her plate and cup to the kitchen. She turned from the sink where she had just put her plate and jumped. William was right there. He was leaning on the entrance like Quincy had earlier at the lingerie store. They really needed to make a sound. "Still not used to it?" He asked laughter in his eyes.

"No." She said when her heart restarted. "What was the deep discussion?"

"You and the chores. We have them divided well over the next six years. So to add you in we decided to pair you with us." William's grin grew. "We have kitchen tonight." He stepped slowly into the kitchen and God he moved well. Did they all have that predatory gait to them? She had not taken the time to notice it. She watched Quincy as he walked up the stairs to his room. Yep they all had it.

"Alright." She stepped back from the sink. To allow him access. She had no clue about this except to rinse her dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

"I rinse you put them in the dishwasher. Then you wipe down the dining room table while I wipe down the counters and the microwave." He instructed. She nodded with a smile. She could do that. They fell into an easy rhythm after a few minutes. "I am sorry." He said softly to her. She looked at him confused. "I scared you yesterday and that was cruel of me." She was still confused. And apology of this sort she expected from the other two. But not him. He seemed too prideful for that. "I let my temper and frustration get the better of me."

"I accept." She replied softly. What the hell brought this on? She looked at Rick who was watching her closely and dread hit her hard. She switched her gaze to Quincy who was at his computer his attention seemed to be on whatever he was doing but his head was cocked just a touch too far. "Whatever you think you know." She quipped softly.

"Don't get upset, sugar." William said gently. "We are not going to interrogate you." He shot a quick glance at Rick.

"Of course not, love." Rick added. "We are just concerned." He stood from his position on the couch and walked to the partition. "And with good reason. As your mates it is our place to make sure that you are happy. Nightmares and fearing us are the opposite of that." His voice was gentle. A small smile played on her lips as she watched him move. Yep same walk. But there was caution in her eyes.

She nodded and concentrated on what she was doing. The memories of that last two days in the facility pushing to the surface. She beat them back. She was not even sure if the reason for it had been true. For her to withstand torture. For her to withstand whatever they would do to her if she was caught. She had been caught and they had been nothing but kind to her. That was one of the reasons she was scared. She was holding her breath. Waiting for something to be true. One thing that she had been taught to be real.

"We do not need details unless you wish to give them." Rick said after a few minutes. "Just know that we are here to listen if you need to talk."

"Everything up to that point had been a lie." She said softly. "Everything about me a lie." She pushed the tears of despair and confusion down. "Why wouldn't that?" Rick and William exchanged glances and William stopped washing the last pan he was working on turning off the water so she would look up at him.

He reached for her hand and without a word led her out of kitchen then to the couch. Sat down. Pulled her onto his lap his large strong hand braced against the small of her back. Rick sat down next to them with her legs across his. Quincy joined them a minute later. One hand on hers the other on the back of her neck. Slowly massaging. Rick was slowly working her legs one at a time with his strong fingers. William was rubbing small circles on her back.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head on William's shoulder as she relaxed. Their touch was so gentle. So comforting. She could feel herself drifting. William chuckled. "Don't go to sleep yet, sugar." His voice rumbled in his chest. Vibrating in her ear. She opened her eyes.

"I am not." She assured him. But God that felt good. She had never been touched like this. Had never known touch could feel like this. Rick stopped and so did Quincy. William's hand also stopped.

Her skin was so soft. Her short hair tickled his fingers. He forced himself to only massage her neck though he wanted to kiss it. To hear her moan when his lips touched the sensitive spot behind her ear. But he kept himself in check. "Better?" Quincy asked in her ear as he leaned forward to get up. She nodded. Wanting more. So much more. Her body wanted to know more. Though a small part of her was terrified. Not wanting pain again. Then another voice whispered in her ear. "Scream bitch." Her breath caught. William's hand on her back started again.

"Whatever memories you do not want to share, know that you are safe now." William said softly. "Whatever had happened will not happen again."

His hands went no higher than her knees. Massaging and caressing her strong calves through her jeans. He stopped when his brothers stopped. Rick gently eased her legs up and slid to the side so he could get up. "We would never harm you." He said gently. "When you are ready, I have the laptop ready for you and the IPOD has a music app on it that we use." And he walked away.

"Shall we finish the chore so you can have some fun before bed?" William asked after another minute. She felt so good on his lap. So right. He had never been one for romance and gentle touches. But this was good. He had to fight himself not to kiss her. To take control and demand of her. He was starting to get a clearer picture of what had happened. And it made him really angry. Not only because she was his mate. But because she was so small and even fragile. At five foot four inches and skinny as a reed she was tiny in comparison to them.

She nodded and lifted her head off his shoulder. Her legs hit the floor and together they returned to the kitchen. "Thank you." She said after a few minutes.

"For what, sugar?" He asked. He had been considering who best to do the punishment tomorrow so that the pack will relax.

"For being mindful." She said softly. "I know either Quincy or your grandparents said something." William just nodded in acceptance and put a little more elbow grease into the pan that was already clean enough to go in the dishwasher. She reached up hesitantly and touched his arm. Amazed at the warmth and strength in the muscles and tendons. "I want to stay." She admitted softly. "I want to stay here." He had stopped washing the pan at her touch. This revelation had his emotions in so many different directions. Rick and Quincy had come down from the second floor and were grinning.

She had meant to wait a little longer. At least through the week. But the sales clerk earlier in the shoe store put things in serious perspective for her. Stay here where she was looked after and protected or take her chances elsewhere. Take her chances with predators like that one. She'd had enough of those. "I am glad to hear that." William replied gently as he shifted from the sink. "I expected that to take all summer at least." His intense gaze sharpened when he looked into hers. "But we need to hear the words." He was not fooled. She was becoming possessive but she did not care for them. She wanted to be safe and cared for. Fine they would get adopted. But if she wanted to remain in the pack house she had to say the ritual words. Which of course she did not know.

While Quincy's and Rick's wolves were doing circles and howling with happiness. William's was calm. Watchful. Her wolf was uncertain. Tail down and head low. Submissive. As an omega should be. But he would not accept it until she said the words. The words taught to them as young teens by their parents.

She dropped her hand from his arm. Words? She just used words. She glanced at Quincy and Rick. They were just as William. They would offer nothing to her. She wracked her brain. Then she looked to her wolf. Surely it was instinctual. To know the words he wanted.