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It was large, down a very long and winding driveway. Out in the desert, a person could see for miles because there weren’t many trees, but the wolves had managed to buy up land that rested between two small mountains, giving them privacy.
Then again, when people wanted to turn into wolves and run around, space was probably a benefit. That tended to be the sort of thing HOAs frowned upon.
The actual house was large but not ostentatious. A smattering of smaller places sat around it, making me think that the property was more about the land than the building. The alpha might live there, in that large central house, but others in the pack had built their own abodes nearby.
It was something about werewolves that had always fascinated me, that need and draw for others. Vampires formed connections only because a lone vampire could be taken down with far more ease than a community. Werewolves, however, were driven to live near their kind, to spend time together.
I guessed that was the entire pack mentality.
“This way,” the man who had sat in the back with me said, his tone far more respectful than it had been when he’d busted into my house.
Not that I planned to push that envelope too far. I had a feeling Gran’s warning only worked when they were close enough to remember how scary she was.Move too far from the threat and people got stupid.
Inside the house, a few mulled about. They had the air of comfort I’d seen from people at their parents’ houses in that it wasn’ttheirplace, but they’d spent enough time, made enough memories that itfeltlike their space as well. They watched me with the disconcerting look the others had had, back before Gran had stepped in.
Clearly, they weren’t a fan of me being here.
We moved through the living room, down a hallway and into a brightly lit kitchen that had white cabinets. It was a country style, somewhere I could picture a woman making pies and other things I had no idea how to make. Sure enough, a woman with a streak of flour over her cheek stopped when she saw me. She smiled, her hair pulled up into a messy bun, seeming friendlier than the others. “You must be Ava, right? I’m Sarah.”
When she took a step toward me, the werewolf with me stepped between us. “I don’t trust her,” he said, voice low. “You shouldn’t get too close, not until alpha is here.”
Sarah was small, her features almost pixie-like, and she planted her hands on her hips and stared at the large man as though he were some unruly child. “Are you telling me what to do?”
He shifted. “Alpha put me in charge of making sure she doesn’t cause any trouble. If anything happens to you, what do you think happens to me?”
She patted the man’s cheek. “Fredrick knows I do what I want. Now, run along. I believe I can handle one little human.” The man huffed, the sound of an annoyed dog told to go lie down, before he left the room.
“Impressive,” I told her. “In my experience, men don’t listen that well.”
She laughed before going back to the counter and turning a ball of dough out onto the floured surface. “I’ve lived here a long time. The trick is to make sure they know their place.”
“Yeah, but they so rarely do.”
She kneaded the dough, the rhythmic motion calming, almost mindless, as though she’d done it a million times before. “Well, werewolf packs are different. We take our position from the more dominant wolf in the pairing. In my case, that’s my mate, Fredrick. Because he’s alpha, I am given the same respect. Though, I’ve been ordering that wolf around since long before Fredrick became alpha.”
I shifted my weight, uneasy in the domestic setting. I’d never grown up with a mother—or anyone—who baked, who did these things. The entire pack was like a family, and I had no idea how to interact with that. “Why am I here?”
“We need your help,” Sarah told me. “I understand you helped the vampires?”
“Help isn’t really the right word. They threatened me, so I did what they said.”
“In our world, those are the same things. When we’re dealing with such important matters, you can’t let it go to chance.”
“Does that mean you’re not asking either?”
She smiled, though this time I saw the edge in her expression. Whether it was due to her mate—to Fredrick’s alpha tendencies—or her own tenacity, I had no idea. Still, it showed that while she might bake and seem sweet, she had her sharp points. “No, dear. We’re not asking.”
So much for making friends.
Thankfully, it only took another moment for Fredrick to show, so I didn’t have to stay with the scary Suzy Homemaker long.As it turned out, I much preferred people who looked as frightening as they actually were.
That was just playing fair.
Fredrick offered a kiss to his mate’s cheek, then turned his attention to me. “Ms. Harlin.”
So, he must have talked to his lackey and heard about Gran’s threat.
“I hear you need my help.”
