Paul got out of his car and waited for us to join him.
I spotted the family Phin and I had helped. I thought Tyrone waved our direction until I noticed he had eyes only for Paul. I looked Tyrone up and down. He was a solid-looking guy with biceps that could crack nuts. That he'd traveled here, to join this pack, was the only flaw I could see. It had sounded like they'd had some trouble coming here from wherever they'd left, and I would've bet Tyrone had been instrumental in his sister, niece, and mother surviving. Denise had mentioned the father of her child and the fact that he hadn't made it.
Paul waved back, but with not as much gusto. Tyrone did seem interested. Too bad for him. Paul only had eyes for my brother.
"Are those the ones you were telling us about?" Branson asked.
"Yes. The large male is Tyrone. His sister Denise, niece Tanya, and I don't know their mother's name."
"How do they seem?"
"Honestly? Better. They were thinner and dirtier before. Like they'd crawled out of a war zone to get as far as they had."
The little girl, Tanya, ran hunched over through her uncle's legs, laughing as she did. She straightened with a frown, her small eyes searching her surroundings until she saw us. Her face split open into a smile, and she ran.
Those who hadn't noticed our arrival saw us now. They also saw Tanya sprinting through them, running past Paul directly to Phineas. When she was a few feet away, she opened her arms and jumped. Phineas caught her, slamming into my chest in the process. I steadied him and stepped back, letting them have their reunion. Phin had spoken with the kid for a few minutes and had healed her cheek, but right now, they seemed like long-lost friends.
"You made it! I told Ma you would make it, and she said she wasn't certain because she'd heard some things, but you made it." She spoke quickly, but she wasn't at all hard to understand. I couldn't only imagine the types of things her mother had heard about us once they'd mingled with the pack.
"We made it," Phin replied, beaming. He looked back at the crowd she'd run from, and if he noticed any of the sour faces, he didn't let on. "We didn't miss anything?"
"No." Tanya shook her head so hard the baubles holding her braids in place pinged against her cheek. "They were waiting for the Alpha. Then after, there's a party!"
"Tutu calls it a pregame."
"Hold on there, half-pint," Tyrone said, having made his way over. He also seemed to ignore the whispers and stares. "She's telling all my secrets," he said to the rest of us. "Hi, I'm Tyrone." He stuck his hand out to Branson, who was closest, and made his way around to the others. I got a fist bump, and Phin got a nod. "I don't think I had a chance to thank you properly after the last time. You could've refused to help, but you didn't. Thank you. I don't know what your omega did to Tanya, but she didn't complain once after about her face hurting."
Riley shuffled nervously from foot to foot. Man, he was a bad liar.
"No worries. Glad to hear it," I replied. "I see you've gotten to know Paul." I nodded to Paul, who had chosen to walk back to join us rather than wait.
"Yeah, he's been really helpful." I didn't think I imagined the slightly husky tone in Tyrone's voice as he spoke of Paul. "I apologize for not asking before, but may I thank your omega?"
That question probably made no sense to Phineas. Tyrone was mistaken. I hadn't claimed Phineas as my omega. It wasn't like claiming he was my mate or swearing I would always take care of him. The title of omega was a shifter thing. Only an alpha could claim another as their omega, and since there often weren't extra alphas laying around in a pack, there weren't a lot of omegas either. The designation was for life, no matter what happened. There wasn't any divorcing or deciding you really didn't want an omega after all. Branson had claimed Riley to keep him safe. No one from the pack would touch him without permission, which was why Tyrone asked now. But it also made him a target. The surest way to hurt an alpha was to harm his omega.
"We should get over. Alpha Walker is waiting," Paul said, likely thinking he was saving me from having to correct Tyrone.
We ambled over anyway, the seven and a half of us clumped tightly together as Paul and Tyrone led the way. Tanya had run back to her mom.
Alpha Walker was there, sitting in one of two chairs inside the circle. Delia held the other chair, her eyes glittered from the torchlight as she tracked her son.
The moment we reached the crowd, standing next to Nana as she motioned for us to face the same way as everyone else, Alpha Walker stood.
"Today is a joyous day," he announced, the tone of his voice conveying no actual joy. "With each new shifter, our pack becomes stronger. Not just because our numbers grow, but because each shifter brings with them a potential that only they have. As Alpha, when I accept a shifter's pledge of loyalty, I am recognizing a shifter's potential. Will the shifters joining us stand forward?"
Tyrone joined his sister, and together they helped their mother into the open space of the circle, standing directly in front of where the Alpha and Delia sat.
When my grandfather launched into another speech about pack pride, I zoned out. Most of it was bullshit anyway. Swearing loyalty wasn't. It ensured these shifters would be cared for as long as the elders had the means to. But I knew how my parents viewed the lower members of our pack. I knew because they'd taught me to treat them like cattle, bodies to benefit off of.
Still, I couldn't get Tyrone's question out of my head. He'd assumed so readily that Phin was my omega, even though I was pretty sure I'd told Denise he absolutely wasn't. Or had I said he just wasn't blessed? Whatever I'd said, Tyrone must have seen something to convince him otherwise.
I hadn't pondered the idea of claiming Phineas in front of the pack because, ultimately, I didn't give a shit what they thought. But I'd liked hearing Tyrone address Phin that way.
Except, if claiming Phin as my omega made no difference between the two of us, then why should I do it? If I did, it would be for the pack's sake, not ours. I needed to get Branson's opinion.
My grandfather stopped his speech, indicating it was time for Tyrone and the others to give their pledges. Each stood forward, promising loyalty by the moon, to defend the land and its people, and to never make a choice that would knowingly harm the pack. I tried to pay attention, not because my mother had asked us to be there, but because I believed these shifters were good people and their pledge should be treated with respect.
But I couldn't stop that little voice in the back of my head that wanted me to make Phineas mine, in every way imaginable.
Chapter Sixteen
Phineas
I stayed close to Nash both by preference and because if he didn't have his arm over my shoulder, he was squeezing my hand. He'd stepped back briefly when Tanya had come in for a hug, but the second he could, he swooped back in. I didn't mind. I was out of my element here, both socially and as the only human in attendance.
Riley was a shifter now after all. So was Bran Jr..
The ceremony was a solemn affair compared to the party we'd pulled up to. There was a lot of pledging, a lot of accepting of pledges, and the word loyalty was thrown around. Delia, Branson's mother, stood at one point, and Tyrone, his sister, and their mother were required to bow to her. I didn't like that part. But, after, everyone clapped, and Tyrone smiled back at the crowd, so I took it to mean the right things had happened. I couldn't walk into a completely new culture and expect to understand everything, so I kept my opinions to myself. Nash was quiet through the whole thing, which didn't strike me as odd because everyone not in the ceremony had been quiet.