She shivered and wished Richard would hurry the hell up. The forecast had mentioned snow, and her hip ached like a son of a bitch. All of her belongings had been shipped the day before; the only thing left was good-byes.
Not that there are many of those to be said, which is why the farewell is only somewhat fond. Her parents had long since retired to Arizona; she’d talked to them more than once over the phone, but their relationship was distant at best. They hadn’t even bothered to fly down to see her in the hospital, and as far as Belle was concerned that was a good thing. The Alphas and Betas of the Pride were there to see her off, and Sarah had sworn she’d be here, as had Adrian and Sheri. They’d yet to show, but Belle had faith that they would. These people here, and the man who waited for her, were the ones that mattered.
None of the other Pride members could be bothered, and Belle decided that, too, was a good thing. She had a limited supply of pepper spray, and the gun shop owner had told her that, without a license, she couldn’t get a gun.
God alone knew when that would come through. Until then, she’d make do with her more makeshift weapons.
“Give me that.” Max, the Pride’s Alpha, took her suitcase out of her hand with a frown. “Sit in the Durango and get warm.”
She opened her mouth to argue and saw Emma in the car, waving her over. “Fine.” She blew her blonde hair out of her eyes and limped to the SUV, trying desperately not to lose her balance on the icy pavement. Fuck. She could feel the cold seeping into her bones. Why couldn’t Rick live in the friggin’ Bahamas?
“Belle.”
Belle smiled. “Simon.” She automatically looked behind him for Becky; the two were rarely far apart unless they had to work. She found Becky settling into the Durango next to Emma, and grinned. Sarah sat there too, waving at her. She wondered when the other woman had arrived. How had she missed it?
He placed one hand under her elbow, steadying her on the ice. “C’mon, let’s get you in the car before you fall on your ass.”
He gently steered her towards the car, his body hovering over hers protectively.
She hoped they got to the SUV before Richard showed up. Simply mentioning Simon’s name was enough to earn her a growl. If he saw how solicitous Simon was being, he’d probably have an aneurysm.
“Thanks, Simon.” She started to settle into the seat, gingerly putting weight on her hip.
“Hey.”
She looked up into dark brown eyes that had once defined her world. “Yes?”
“If anyone hurts you, let us know. We’ll come up and kick some dog ass for you. Okay?”
Belle blinked back tears as Max, Emma and Becky all nodded their agreement. “Thank you.” She leaned over and took Becky’s hand as Emma’s landed on her shoulder. “Thank all of you.”
Simon nodded. “We’re Pride.”
And as far as they were concerned, that said it all.
Belle couldn’t hold back the tears, burying her face in her gloved hands. Only a handful of people still considered her Pride, but they were the most important people. She knew now she’d always have a home here, and friends, no matter what happened.
Soft arms circled her shoulders. “Remember what I said, Belle. Everything will be all right.”
She sniffled as Sarah, bless her heart, stroked her hair.
“Just keep picturing how Richard’s going to react to the full Brazilian you got!”
She gave a watery chuckle just as Simon said, “Really? A full Brazilian? Ow! Damn it, Becky! What did you do that for?”
Her shoulders shook as Becky started chewing on her mate. “What the hell are you doing picturing Belinda bare?”
“I’m not! I’m picturing you bare!”
“Ew. I’d rather eat honey-covered ants.”
Emma groaned disgustedly. “It’s not that bad, you big pussies.”
There was dead silence.
“What?”
“Emma!” Max looked like he was strangling on a laugh.
“What?”
Simon’s big, bellowing laugh had Belle lifting her head from Sarah’s shoulder. Becky was laughing so hard she was snorting. Sarah was trying desperately not to giggle and nearly biting her lip through in the process.
“What did Emma say that has you all laughing so hard?”
Simon moved, revealing Adrian and Sheri, grinning, standing by the side of the SUV.
“What makes you think it was me?”
Adrian’s amused snort said it all.
Belle leaned around Sarah. “She called us all big p-pussies for not getting full Brazilians.”
Sheri turned her back on the SUV. Her shoulders were suspiciously rigid.
Adrian blinked slowly. “Well. Spank my ass and call me Morris.”
They were still laughing when the Wolves pulled up five minutes later. Two men got out of the huge SUV they were driving. “Ms. Campbell?”
Belle stepped out of Max’s Durango with a little help from Simon, fully expecting to see a big, angry redhead sitting in the driver’s seat of the other vehicle. “That would be me.”
The man smiled and bowed his head. “Luna. I’m David Maldonado, Rick’s Beta, and I’m here to escort you home.”
Belle felt her face freeze. No one was in the driver’s seat. Oh, Rick, you’d better have a good reason for ditching me again.
And this time she wasn’t going to buy “Your Alpha made me do it”.
“Explain to me, again, why Rick couldn’t be here?” Belle stared out the window at the passing scenery, struck once again by the beauty of the rolling hills and mountains. She’d been in the Poconos once or twice before, for vacations, back in the day when she still took those. Back before things had gone horribly wrong. The Pocono Mountains were a ski and resort area in Northeastern Pennsylvania, a southern part of the Catskills mountain chain, and was roughly two hours away from Halle. Belle was pretty sure if it hadn’t been for Max telling Rick to stay away, Rick would have come to visit since two or so hours would have been no hardship on the Wolf Alpha. But she knew if he’d visited, he would have carted her off to the mountains with or without Jamie Howard’s approval.
Ben sighed. “Gina, the current dominant female, is demanding full protocol when you arrive. This means that Rick has to be there, waiting for you.”
Belle took a deep breath, already knowing she was going to hate Gina. Thank God Rick sent me that package. She’d read enough to know how important protocol was to the Wolves. “And what am I supposed to do?”
“Wait for Rick to greet you and welcome you into the Pack. Have you read over any of the material he’s sent to you?”
She had. She’d rather read stereo instructions, but she had. “Yes.”
“Good.” The obvious relief in Dave’s voice would have been insulting if he hadn’t added, “We want to make sure that you’re as safe from Gina as you can possibly be, at least until you’re up to accepting challenges. Hopefully by then she’ll have given up on the idea of becoming Luna.”
Belinda saw the skepticism on Ben’s face. “How many of the females currently follow Gina?”
The two men exchanged an uneasy look. “The most powerful ones.”
She turned to stare at Ben, who was driving the land yacht they’d picked her up in. She’d never been in a Suburban before, and hoped to hell this wasn’t Rick’s car. There was no way she’d feel comfortable driving it. “And the others?”
Their silence was telling.
“I see.” Bullies, bullies everywhere, and I can’t shift yet. Wonderful. Not for the first time, she resented Jamie’s insistence that the pins remain in her leg for another six months. If she didn’t leave them in she risked having a bad limp for the rest of her life. If she waited to have the pins removed, once she shifted the bones would heal completely, and she’d be mostly pain-free.