They were the only two Fletching hunters who’d come to Timber Ridge to get off completely free.
Mayor Pearl had searched hard for some reason to fine them—she’d wanted to hit them with a ticket for disturbing the peace—but even she hadn’t been able to find fault with them.
I don’t know why they’re still here, in Timber Ridge, though, instead of leaving for home.
“Hello,” I called out to the siblings. “How are you two?”
“Hunter Sabre, hello.” Scarlett nervously dipped her head while Radcliff anxiously swung his arms forward then backward. “We were hoping to find you.”
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No, um. No,” Radcliff said. “We wanted to ask if we could stay,” he blurted out.
I stared at them, confused. “Sorry?”
“We want to stay in Timber Ridge,” Scarlett translated.
My forehead wrinkled as I tried to make sense of them. “But why?”
“This…incident with Uncle Amos has made it clear that we don’t understand…” Scarlett trailed off and looked at Radcliff for help.
“Much of anything,” Radcliff said. “We know what we were taught for hunter certification, but you obviously know a lot more about werewolves—about their lives and what it means to be a werewolf. We’d like to learn.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “Well…that’s…cool. Did you clear it with Greyson?”
“Yes—we did that first,” Scarlett said. “Alpha Greyson gave us permission to live in Timber Ridge. He offered to let us rent the flat over the Timber Ridge Welcome Center.”
“Our mother gave us permission, too,” Radcliff added. “But we wanted to ask you, because traditionally when hunters infringe on another hunter family’s territory, you have to ask for permission to enter.”
“Ah, well, I don’t consider this my territory,” I said. “It’s the Northern Lakes’ territory. So if Greyson said yes, then go for it—wait.” I suspiciously eyed them. “I’m not going to get stuck holding remedial classes, like ‘how to correctly tell the wolves apart 101,’ am I?”
“No.” Scarlett linked her hands behind her back and stood in a position of attention. “We will do our best not to impede upon Pack life.”
“And I’m included in that?” I guessed.
Radcliff slightly frowned at me, as if he were offended on behalf of the wolves. “Obviously,” he said. “You are part of their Pack, Hunter Sabre.”
Debatable.
“Sounds excellent. If you’re going to be staying here, why don’t you two start with calling me Pip?” I suggested. “I don’t really use the hunter title around here.”
“Just Pip?” Scarlett asked.
“Yep!”
They gave me tiny, precise nods at the same time, mirroring each other.
“Very well, Pip!” Radcliff said. His gruff tone was somewhat ruined by his shy smile.
“Thank you for giving us permission, Pip,” Scarlett added.
Glad they got over that—it’s weird to be treated so formally when they’re only a few years younger than me.
Plus I’d always gone out of my way to eschew formalities since the wolves so closely observed Greyson’s leadership role.
“I’m glad you guys are staying. It sounds like you’ve been thinking about it a lot. That’s really neat.” I hugged Prince and Princess’s food closer.
“Yeah, we’re pretty stoked,” Radcliff said.
“We won’t keep you any longer.” Scarlett’s eyes strayed to my bags of cat food. “Have a great evening.”
“Thanks, you too!” I couldn’t really wave since I was holding the cat food, so I settled for shrugging my shoulders at them, then ducked past and continued down the path, heading for my house.
I was making plans for what I was going to do that night—I needed to apply the cream to Princess’s rear again, unfortunately, but I was hoping I’d be able to sit on the front porch at sunset and maybe sip wine and eat popcorn until the fireflies came out. We were almost into late summer, so they weren’t going to be around too much longer.
I was feeling pretty good about the idea until I made the turn off for my cottage and found Hector, Ember, Greyson, Rafe, and Pre-Dominant Harka sitting on the wicker furniture I’d arranged on my front porch.
Something’s up.
I slowed down the closer I got to my home, and crinkled the bags of cat food as I adjusted my grip on them. “Hey. Is something going on?”
“I thought we should talk, Hunter Sabre, about the incident with the Fletching Hunters,” Pre-Dominant Harka said.
I relaxed a little.
She probably just needs my testimony or something.
“Okay. What about it?” I stepped onto my porch and set the bags of cat food down by the door, then dusted my hands off on my jean shorts.
Pre-Dominant Harka folded her hands behind her head so she cradled her own skull. “Jack told us that Amos Fletching—his hunter certification has been officially pulled, so he is no longer a hunter—informed you that I’ve been receiving monthly reports about you for years. Alpha Greyson has been petitioning to tell you about this for about a year now. Given what happened in the fight, I believe he was correct, and an explanation is long overdue.”
“Huh. Okay.” I was going to need something to do with my hands if this conversation was as serious as it seemed like it might be. I retreated to my porch railing so I could lean back against it and prop my arms on it. “He mentioned it, but I figured it was just because I’m a hunter living among wolves.”
“No…” Pre-Dominant Harka glanced at Greyson, then back at me. “The reports weren’t necessary when you were first adopted. It wasn’t until you were a teenager that we started seeing the consequences of your…influence.”
“What do you mean?” I glanced at the other wolves.
Hector and Ember were watching the Pre-Dominant expectantly—they knew what was coming. Rafe looked just as confused as I felt—which made me feel a little better. At least I wasn’t the only one left out of the loop! But Greyson wasn’t even looking at Harka. He was staring at me, his eyes locked on me in a way I knew meant all of his senses were focused on me—sight, hearing, and smell. If I started sweating, he’d know before my deodorant could kick in.
Pre-Dominant Harka itched her chin. “Amos was right. There is a reason why the Northern Lakes Pack has a higher change rate, and a near perfect survival rate for the past decade.”
What?
My shoulders dropped, and I glanced at Hector and Ember in alarm. Ember’s reassuring smile helped a little, but I still felt blindsided. “What’s the reason?”
“You.”
I stared at the Pre-Dominant, but she didn’t go any further.
Is this a joke?
I tried chuckling, but when Hector and Ember stayed silent, my attempt at humor died. “You’re serious?”
Pre-Dominant Harka watched me with a critical eye. If Greyson was watching me intensely, she was trying to deduct my reaction and what it meant.