Wyatt and Aeric—both wearing athletic clothes that were damp with sweat—jogged out of the forest, probably having finished the run they frequently took together during their lunch breaks.
It was Aeric who had called out to me, and he and Wyatt slowed to a walk as they ambled across the meadow.
“Just a little spat,” I said. “They’re both hot tempered.”
“Ahh yes, the fire of youth.” Wyatt adjusted his glasses with the mannerisms of a ninety-year-old grandpa as he fondly watched Jack and Forrest.
Amelia frowned at him. “Aren’t you in your twenties? That’s still pretty young.”
“Nope.” Aeric shook his head as he stretched his legs out. “Once you start creaking when you wake up, it’s all over. You’re old.”
“Don’t be confused by our youthful appearances, which are brought on by the magic of werewolves that flows through our veins,” Wyatt declared. “It helps us retain our girlish figures.” He grinned as he folded his arms across his chest, and his biceps—usually hidden by his baggy dress shirts—bulged with muscles.
Amelia rolled her eyes, but despite their casual smiles and overly dramatic comments, Remy made sure she ducked her head at the pair, and Forrest risked getting smacked in the head with a whiffle ball to wave to them.
They might wear the fa?ade of nerdy bros, but they are strong.
I’d wondered before if they even had some Alpha capabilities—like Chase.
The thought made my mouth dry.
I’d noticed a pattern. It was the strongest members of the Pack—like Chase—who were sent out in the name of “promoting relationships with other races.”
If it was decided that Wyatt and Aeric were truly strong, they’d leave too.
A part of me knew I was being ridiculous. Aeric was also another rare case of being born as a werewolf. He wouldn’t suddenly develop Alpha powers…right?
This is why it’s so dangerous to befriend wolves. Somehow, despite being Pack-focused, they leave all the time.
Aeric rubbed his chin as he watched the game. “I hope they finish soon,” he said. “Five more minutes of this and I think Young Jack will pass out from lack of oxygen.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “Around then Forrest would probably fall over from repeated head trauma.”
“From a whiffle ball?” Remy asked.
“From a whiffle ball hit with werewolf strength,” Wyatt corrected her. He winced in sympathy when Forrest hit the ball too hard again, and Young Jack dodged it, so it bounced off the wall again and shot across the court, smacking Forrest in the chin.
“Do you two have to go back to work soon?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m on my lunch break right now,” Wyatt said. “But I don’t have any meetings for another half an hour, so I have a little time.”
Wyatt served as the official writer/journalist for the Pack. Everything that appeared on the Pack’s website, phone app, the business websites, and all the press releases were written by him. He interacted with humans a lot in his position—which worked well for the Pack since he was so likeable.
“I’ve got plenty of time.” Aeric grinned and wriggled his eyebrows. “No one has any IT problems in the Pack right now except for Rio. He says the internet at his house is out or something. But he can wait!”
Aeric served as the Pack’s official IT guy for all businesses and homes, so he worked all hours of the day—including the middle of the night on occasion.
Aeric’s grin turned into a smirk. “I think I’ll go visit my ladyfriend before I drop by his house.”
“Your what?” Teresa asked.
Wyatt and I simultaneously grimaced.
“Bro,” Wyatt said. “Not cool.”
“We’ve told you that you have to stop calling Shania that,” I said. “It makes you sound like you’re both in your nineties.”
“Why?” Aeric asked. “People use that phrase in Canada all the time.”
“You should honor your home country of course, but when it comes to this issue my answer remains: no,” Wyatt said.
“For Shania’s sake,” I added.
“Hey…guys?” Teresa scooted closer to me and peered back at the forest behind us.
I turned around, frowning when I saw Amos Fletching and sixteen hunters emerge from the shadows.
I could have sworn there were only fourteen of them at the start…
Amos led the group, swaggering into the meadow with a smirk as he adjusted his bush hat so sinister shadows fell across his face.
Two hunters trailed directly behind him—two younger hunters I’d seen with him before. They shared the dark eyes and hair features of their hunter family, but they were in their early twenties and about ten years younger than everyone else.
The rest of the hunters stayed a little farther back, but were easily within hearing distance.
Amos had his eyes set on us, and all hopes that he was merely passing through evaporated as he strolled straight up to us.
“Wolves. Humans. Hunter,” he greeted.
“Amos.” I jutted my chin at his entourage. “Called up more of your family, I see?”
“The investigation is a bigger issue than I was prepared for.” Amos’s laugh was gritty like rust. “I decided more backup was necessary.”
“I see.” I flicked my eyes to his two shadows. “And you two are?”
“Ahh, yes. These are my nephew and niece, Radcliff and Scarlett.”
Radcliff slightly inclined his head while Scarlett gave me a small but genuine smile.
“You two are cousins?” I guessed.
“Siblings,” Scarlett said.
“Ahh, yes. I suppose you’re keeping it all in the family.” I glanced again at the hunters standing farther back.
“What brings you to the lodge today?” Aeric asked. His goofy smile that typically made people drop their guard around him was slapped on his face.
“We’ve just made a report to the Regional Committee of Magic and were told to inform Alpha Greyson.” Amos pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his pants.
He smirked at us, expecting some kind of reaction.
What, does he want us to congratulate him for doing his job?
Wyatt casually watched Young Jack and Forrest—who had slowed down their playing considerably, and I was certain it was only partially because they were running out of anger to fuel them—then glanced at me, raising his eyebrows.
I sucked in a deep breath of air, then put on the polite smile I used at the welcome center. “We are so glad to hear you’ve gotten traction on this very important and vital case. I’m sure Alpha Greyson will be happy to hear your report.” I gestured to the lodge, but in truth I didn’t know if he was there at the moment or not—I didn’t have my binder with his schedule on me.
But what Amos doesn’t know, won’t hurt him!
“Aren’t you at all curious what we’ve uncovered?” Amos asked.
Aeric scratched the back of his neck. “Alpha Greyson will tell us,” he said with a confidence that was hard to refute. “We’ll wait for him.”
Amos rolled his eyes. “Typical power-cowering werewolf.” He glanced at Amelia and Teresa with a scornful eye—most likely unimpressed with their humanity—then his eyes landed on me. “What about you, Hunter Sabre? Are you curious?”