The scene inside wasn’t at all what I had expected. Yes, my bulkier male cousins were clad in fur, menacing Wolfie, who remained in human form. My mate stood with his back against the wall, his cue stick held lightly, the tip slowly moving to face each verbal attacker. None of that was a big surprise. What was unusual was the fact that my father stood in front of Wolfie in canine form, the Chief’s teeth bared as he growled at his own pack.
Or, rather, at Wolfie’s pack, as the young alpha’s next words made abundantly clear. “Is that a challenge?” Wolfie ground out, and my overbearing uncle ducked his head despite himself, one step away from prostrating his whole body on the ground. A wave of submissive gestures wound around the room, spurred on by the tone of Wolfie’s voice, and I could see now why Wolfie hadn’t been torn apart by Haven’s angry wolves—no member of my family was able to disobey their new pack leader’s commands.
Only when every Haven werewolf’s eyes were safely on the ground did Wolfie look across the room at me and allow his face to melt into the sweetest smile imaginable. I grinned back despite myself, feeling more lucky than ever that Wolfie was mine. Ours, my wolf corrected indulgently, before drifting back to sleep. I would have thought she would be pushing against my skin, itching to protect me from the dangers of the current situation, but with Wolfie present, my own wolf clearly thought everything was under control.
I wished I could be that complacent. But I figured if Wolfie had been holding off my uncles and cousins for what must have been hours, he probably had another ace up his sleeve and was waiting for me to put in an appearance to set his plan in motion. Instinctively, I walked toward my mate, letting my hands trail across the heads of my wolf cousins as I passed. “Down,” I said to them quietly, volume not necessary to push through commands that had to be obeyed. I didn’t look behind me, but could hear cousins who I’d been afraid of all my life dropping like flies at my feet.
“Keith all right?” Wolfie asked me when I reached his side, the younger alpha’s poker face back in place but a sparkle behind his eyes letting me know that all was well.
I nodded silently, then added, “Chase expects a status report within twenty minutes.” I’d taken the private drive off the highway at a run despite my human form, so we had a bit of time to spare before Wolfie’s pack would leave us in the lurch. Still, I wanted Wolfie to be aware of the deadline, even though no real harm would come from his pack going home … except for a lack of an exit strategy for the two of us. And it was clear that Wolfie did still need an exit strategy.
“I see you defeated the Chief,” I said, making conversation in order to give myself time to figure out Wolfie’s plan, but also wanting my words to carry throughout the house, making the conclusion of the challenge clear to every Haven werewolf. I looked down, expecting my father to bristle at my words, since I’d always assumed he’d be the last one to willingly give up his power over our little community. But my father’s wolf instead seemed as content as my own wolf was to let me and Wolfie hash out the situation. With a huffing sigh, the older canine dropped to the ground and closed his eyes, either falling instantly asleep or doing a pretty good imitation of slumber. “I guess we should let sleeping dogs lie,” I added, and was relieved to feel the mood of the gathering shift from edgy and dangerous over into something that approached contented and amused.
Wolfie smiled down at me, wolf and man united in their appreciation of my mild witticism, and I couldn’t resist reaching up to kiss Haven’s new pack leader, despite the family members pressing in on us from all sides.
“Go home,” Wolfie said to the gathering once I gave him back possession of his lips, and my extended family instantly moved to obey. “My pack will spend the night here, and we’ll all talk like human beings in the morning.” Then, content that everyone would do exactly as he said, Wolfie pulled off his shirt, slipped out of his pants, and was running for the highway in wolf form before we even had time to parse the shift.
***
“Haven isn’t going to be ready for big changes right away,” I told Wolfie a couple of hours later, once Cricket had pulled out sofas and unrolled mats to give each member of Wolfie’s pack a place to sleep inside our family home. My stepmother had offered the two of us her room since my father had taken to the woods in canine form and seemed bound to stay gone for a good long time. But I’d felt weird about sleeping in my parents’ bed and had instead pushed the two twin beds in my attic room together to give me and Wolfie a spot to sleep. It wasn’t entirely comfortable to span the crack, but lying in Wolfie’s arms felt good no matter what surface we were supported by.