Chapter 50 50
\[Rhea's POV\]
I stood there with my heart pounding. My fists were still clenched, ready for war. Ready to see Mark's face and tear it right out. I didn't know where all this murderous feelings were coming from but I sure was welcoming them.
The man on the porch just stood there with his hands in his pockets and a small paper bag under his arm, looking like he was just arriving home after a long day.
His blue eyes moved from me to the two huge men behind me and he immediately looked relieved.
"Noah," Lucien called.
It came out rough, but the threat in his voice was gone. His hand landed on my shoulder and stayed there, his fingers pressing into the fabric of the hoodie.
"You're late," Damian added. He stepped around me to face the blonde, from his expression he seemed to be greeting an old friend.
The so called Noah laughed and walked inside without being invited. As he passed me, I caught his scent, it was wolf, clean and earthy, but the vibe lighter than the twins.
He stopped in the hallway and turned back to look at me. He sniffed the air and a smirk crossed his face, his eyes traveling over the oversized hoodie I wore and the marks on my neck.
"I see you guys have been busy. The bond is strong. I could practically smell the mating from the driveway."
My face went hot. I pulled the sleeves over my hands and tried to make myself smaller. Hearing a stranger mention last night suddenly made my stomach flip, the soreness returning between my thighs.
"Shut up." Lucien muttered without real anger. He closed the door and locked it. "How did you find us?"
"You left a trail for people who know where to look," Noah said, lifting the bag. "I brought supplies. Figured you'd need them after the forest."
Damian headed back to the kitchen. "Breakfast is almost done. Come sit."
I followed them and sat back in my chair. My legs were shaky and my hips ached as I sat down on the hard wood. I stayed quiet and watched.
There was something between the three of them. With me, the twins were possessive and intense. With Noah, they were calm and easy. Like old friends. Just who the fuck was he?
At this point, I realized I didn't know much about them. I knew they were Alphas. I knew they were my mates. But nothing about their life before the university.
Noah sat across from me and set down the bag. He pulled out glass vials and dried herbs. "The pack is scattered. The hunters hit the northern perimeter hard. Mark is telling every hunter that wolves have kidnapped a human girl."
"She's not human," Damian snapped from the stove while flipping eggs. "And she wasn't kidnapped. She's ours."
Noah nodded and looked at me with new interest. Not like Mark did. More like I was something he was trying to figure out.
"A human hybrid," he said quietly. "I've heard stories but never seen one. No wonder the hunters want her back so badly. A hybrid mate for twin Alphas means a lot of power in one bloodline."
I shifted in my seat. "I just want him to leave me alone. I'm done with him. He should just stop."
"He won't stop, Rhea," Lucien said, taking the chair next to me. "To him, you're the one who got away. Now that he knows what you are, he'll use it to justify everything. He'll call it a holy war."
Damian brought three plates to the table, one for me, one for Lucien, and one for himself. He didn't give one to Noah, but he didn't seem to care. He just pulled an apple from the bag and bit into it.
We ate without talking for a few minutes. I was hungry but having a stranger here made it hard to swallow. I kept thinking about the forest and how the twins had called for their pack. Noah must be part of that.
I watched how Noah acted around the twins. He was relaxed but he never sat higher than them or spoke over them. There was a clear order here I was just beginning to understand.
"The moon was bloody last night," Noah finally said. "I felt the call. We all did. A lot of the younger ones shifted and couldn't change back for hours."
"Sorry about that. We had our own problems, so we couldn't check on them. Mark found us and it was intense to say the least.." Damian said, glancing at me.
Noah's expression darkened. "He's getting bolder. He's using serum, Lucien. I found a site near the old mill. They're injecting themselves with something that makes their blood toxic to us. That's why the bites aren't healing."
I remembered how Mark's blood had burned my hand in the clearing. I looked down at my palm. It was healed now but I still remembered the pain.
"It burned me," I said.
Noah looked at my hand and then at the twins. "If it's burning a human hybrid, it's stronger than we thought. He's trying to level the field."
They kept talking about territories and brothers and safe zones. A world I was part of now but knew nothing about. I was the mate, the center of the bond, but I was still a stranger to their past.
That annoyed feeling came back. I was the one who'd been kidnapped and tied up and hunted. I was the one who'd mated with them. But they were acting like I was just sitting in on their meeting.
I slammed my fork down harder than I meant to.
Both Damian and Lucien looked at me right away.
"What is it, Rhea?" Lucien asked, putting his hand on mine.
I looked at him, then at Damian, then at the blond man sitting at our table like he belonged here.
"You're all talking like I'm not even here. You brought this man into the house and you're talking about wars and serums and packs and I'm just sitting here eating eggs."
Noah raised an eyebrow with a small smile. He looked impressed.
I looked at the twins. "You haven't even introduced me. So who is this?"
Lucien leaned back in his chair, his eyes softening when he looked at me. He realized he'd messed up and he squeezed my hand gently.
"You're right," he said, nodding toward Noah. "This is Noah. Our beta."