“Oops, looks like your wolf isn’t as asleep as you thought.”
Maggie dropped back into the chair opposite her sister. “No, she’s getting more and more vocal, especially when it comes to Erik.”
“That’s a good thing.”
The delight in her sister’s eyes bothered her. Get a mate, solve all your problems. Maybe it just wasn’t that easy. Maggie jerked to a standing position.
“So you say, but I’m not convinced. I only met him a few days ago. I need more time.” She scrubbed her hands over her face, rubbing her temples. Her body and mind ached. Plus she wanted Erik so badly she could scream, but she was attempting to ignore those sensations. “I’m tired. I’m hoping to catch up on my sleep tonight before I hop into nanny mode for you.”
Missy wrinkled her nose. “Heading to bed? Already? But we have plans for tonight.”
Oh hell, no. “I can’t do any big events yet. I only have to see you and Tad, right? At least for a while?”
Missy hemmed and hawed a few times. Something was up. “Dinner has been planned. The Alphas will be there. You can’t insult Keil and Robyn and not come.”
Shit. Her first night here and already she felt like running into the woods and hiding. She gritted her teeth together and spoke through tight lips. “Fine.”
“There’s the Alpha’s brother, TJ. And…well…”
“Erik’s going to be there, isn’t he?”
“He goes where the Alpha goes, especially at formal events.”
The only sound was the water tinkling in the fountain. Maggie turned to stare in horror at her older sister. “Formal events? What are you talking about?”
Missy sighed. “I’m really sorry, Mags, I didn’t do it on purpose. There’s kind of this thing tonight. It’s a big deal around the wolf community. I didn’t realize the timing overlapped when you called to say you were arriving. It only happens every five years. I don’t know if you remember from when we lived in Whitehorse before moving to Whistler. The AWG?”
“The Arctic Wolf Games? Those are now?”
“Yeah. The selection banquet for the Granite Lack pack is tonight. That’s why there’s a crowd of cars at the pack house.” Panic must have shown on her face because Missy rushed to reassure her. “Honey, it’s going to be okay. I’ll sit with you, and Tad will, and we can leave as soon as they finish the announcements.”
A shiver of fear rolled over Maggie. There was going to be a gathering of wolves and she had to go.
Welcome to hell.
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27
Vivian Arend
She kept her back against the wall for as long as possible. Hidden in the shadows, she watched the pack members stroll around the large hall, chatting and laughing.
It looked safe. For now.
“You okay?”
She bit back a little scream. “How did you sneak up on me like that?”
Erik stroked a finger down her arm, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “I’ve been here for five minutes watching you. I thought you might like an escort back to the table. We’re going to do the selection soon, and it will get a little noisy in here.”
She swallowed hard. Somehow her fingers snuck their way into his. The warmth of his hand reassured her, calmed her slightly. There were a hell of a lot more wolves in the building than she had ever wanted to see in her life again. Still, she couldn’t hide in the corner all night, no matter how much she wanted to.
“Okay.” She stood straighter and held her head high. She might be shaking inside but there was no way she would let any of the pack know. Erik squeezed her fingers as he led her past the Alpha and his mate. The two of them smiled at her before turning their attention back to the man seated beside them.
“They like you.” Erik pulled out her chair, next to Missy. He sat on her other side and draped his arm along the backrest. The curls of hair on his arm tickled the back of her neck and her nipples tightened.
Great. She was freaking out with fear and getting aroused. His mouth was next to her ear. “I like you too.
Very much.” He licked her earlobe gently.
A shockwave raced through her system. Shit. “Stop that.”
His soft voice tickled her ear. “I can smell your desire.”
She elbowed him and he moved away slightly, chuckling.
Missy leaned over. “You okay? We can go now if you want. Seriously, we’ve put in our appearance, we can leave.”
Maggie shook her head violently. She just wanted to get to the end of the bloody evening so she could curl up in a ball and collapse. But she refused to appear weak.