“I’d believe it.” Shania slapped the desk for emphasis, then leaned over the top. “Could you grab my inhaler for me? It’s in my drawer.”
“Sure. Is your asthma acting up again?” I eyed her for any sign of breathing issues as I flicked open the drawer that she stored all of her personal belongings in, and handed her an inhaler.
I was pretty sure Shania and Aeric were in it for the long haul and would end up together forever. It was beautiful, but in a way a little sad because Shania would never be able to take the risk of trying to change thanks to her asthma.
Any kind of health issue that left you in less-than-perfect health was a huge liability when attempting the change, and almost always ended up in death.
And that meant Aeric was likely to outlive her, and would have a huge part of his life—like Pack runs—that Shania would never be able to join in.
It was a testament to the strength of their relationship that this prospect never seemed to bother either of them, and Shania was beyond understanding and downright amazing when it came to the things she couldn’t do as a human.
“My lungs are fine right now,” Shania assured me. “It’s more for Aeric’s reassurance than mine. I swear, if my breath hitches for even one second he’s all over me thanks to his werewolf hearing. Okay, I’m out.” She angled herself away from me, but before she pushed off the desk the front door opened and the bell hanging above the door gave a very muted but cheerful jangle.
I fixed my smile so it was appropriately welcoming and immovable. “Welcome to Timber Ridge! How can I help you?”
Two gorgeous, long-legged women sauntered deeper into the welcome center. With their perfect complexions, lean builds, and perfectly braided hair—one was a brunette, the other a blond—they looked like a more perfect version of Camper Barbie. I wasn’t all that surprised when they met my gaze with intensely blue eyes.
Ahhh, yes. Werewolves.
“On second thought, I think I’ll stay around for this.” Shania cackled as the pair legged it up to my desk.
The brunette eyed me and pursed her lips, looking like a model for an outdoorsman clothes catalogue. “We were told by a friend that we had to stop at the welcome center when visiting Timber Ridge as soon as we arrived.”
I had a hunch I knew exactly why they were here, but it was bad manners to assume. So I clasped my hands together and did my best imitation of a museum guide. “That’s wonderful to hear! Can I ask what brings you to Timber Ridge?”
The girls exchanged looks. “Alpha Greyson of the Northern Lakes Pack,” they said together.
It’s always Greyson, always! Even though we have enough handsome male werewolves we could have our own supernatural version of The Bachelor, everyone is just interested in Greyson!
“Ah.” My smile stayed professional, but I started pawing around in the cavernous underside of my desk. “And why are you here for Alpha Greyson?”
“To see if either of us are his mate,” the blond said.
“Of course, Alpha Greyson and his missing mate are a large draw to Timber Ridge,” I said.
Because Greyson needed another thing to make him into an even more desirable guy, he had a mate bond.
Mate bonds were half rooted in werewolf instinct and half rooted in wild magic itself. It was a soul deep connection forged between a werewolf and his/her mate—typically another werewolf, but occasionally mate bonds formed between werewolves and humans, shifters, or other supernaturals. All supernaturals except werewolf hunters, that was.
Mate bonds usually ended up romantic—although there were cases of platonic mate bonds—and emotionally and mentally connected the two mates in a profound way.
Typically, werewolf mate bonds only happened when a werewolf saw his/her mate for the first time, but they could kick in if a werewolf’s mate was put in danger, even if there was a continent between the pair.
It was the latter that had happened to Greyson. He’d arrived to take over the Northern Lakes Pack, and roughly the same time his mate must have been put into a great deal of danger because he felt the bond snap into place…but because he had no idea who she was, he’d been unable to locate her.
An incomplete mate bond could be physically painful, and I was sympathetic enough to say I was sure Greyson suffered as a result of his incomplete bond.
But it also brought in a huge number of female werewolves sniffing around Timber Ridge, desperate to find out if they were his mate. It wasn’t surprising, considering he was pretty famous among werewolves due to the size of the Northern Lakes Pack, his power, and the persistent rumor that he was going to become the next Pre-Dominant in the far-off future when Harka chose to retire.
The whole thing struck me as stupid—wouldn’t his mate know she had a mate, too, as she’d have the incomplete bond as well?
I’d asked that before and been ignored.
It just makes me gladder I’m a hunter!
My fingers touched what I’d been looking for—a worn binder filled with crinkled papers. I dragged it out from its shelf and slapped it on the desk.
“Before we discuss Alpha Greyson, there are a couple of things you should know about.” I flipped the black binder open and spun it around so the werewolves could read it right-side-up. “These are the rules for visiting Timber Ridge. If you choose to break any of them, you will be escorted out of town, or possibly exiled from Northern Lakes Pack lands for life depending on the severity of the rule you break.”
The brunette looked like she wanted to object, but I’d given this talk too many times to let her get a word in.
I jabbed my finger at the top line of the paper. “First rule: you must be kind and courteous to all beings in Timber Ridge but particularly to the humans. The Northern Lakes Pack has invested a lot in this town and their relationship with the humans here. Anything you do to jeopardize that relationship will be punished.”
I waited a moment to make sure the pair was still listening before I tapped the next line on my plastic-covered guide. “Next rule: You must remain clothed at all times!”
Now it was the blond’s turn to frown. “You can’t mean we have to have clothes ready when we switch from werewolf to human form?”
“That is exactly what I mean,” I said. “We have a mayor as mean as a honey badger. If she sees you streaking she is going to call the chief of police—her husband—and smack you with a ticket and a hefty fine faster than you can blink. And then they’ll require a court appearance for public nudity, and possibly hit you with a second fine if they can find any witnesses in the area at the time of your transformation—believe me. It’s a mess. Save yourself a lot of time and money and stay clothed.”
I tugged two papers free from the back of the binder and slapped them down in front of the werewolves. “Here is a map marked with all the supply drops the Northern Lakes Pack has hidden around town. You are free to use them, but it’s asked that you use the Pack app to update when you take clothes from a location so they can be replaced.”