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“I’m sure she enjoyed it.” Griffin smirked.
I nodded and grinned. “Listen, we have a big dinner tonight. Don’t hide in your cell. Nothing fancy, just a meal around the firepit with the rest of the pack. It’s been a rough week, and I want everyone to just unwind a little.”
Griffin grunted, “Can I pass?”
“No, it’s a compulsory unwinding. I promise there won’t be any shit. You can get back to brooding in your cell afterward.” I nudged him and he sighed. I really held out hope that everything went off without any problems. So far the pack had been okay and even accepting.
“Fine, you need a shower.” I sniffed my shirt and cringed. I rushed to the bathroom to wash the sweat from my skin. The shower was rejuvenating, I felt steadier when I stepped out of the steaming stall. I pulled my clothes on and made my way downstairs. There was one last tough conversation before attempting to relax tonight.
Ember, Emily, Grace, Sam, and Griffin were waiting for me in the meeting room. Ember looked a little better than before, and Emily stayed close to her—a protective presence. Grace sat at the head of the table, and I sat between Sam and Griffin. Everyone was stone faced and serious. I wanted this to be over as quickly as possible. Ember clasped and unclasped her hands on the table.
“First, thank you for going in. It couldn’t have been easy,” I said to Ember. I then turned to Grace. “Did you and Sam find anything out? Have they shared anything on the news channels?”
Grace shook her head and Sam said, “No, they released a statement to say that an animal attack took place in a quiet area of the city but that they had no leads yet. The news channels would update again once the police gave their statements.”
“We’ll keep an eye on them, but at the moment it’s quiet,” Grace added.
I looked at Ember again and she squared her shoulders, forcing a brave face. “The crime scene was horrible, the worst that I’ve seen. It happened directly in front of Morgan’s place and covered quite a wide space. There were three victims: two males and one female, all around my age. They didn’t see the attack coming, and there was only one wolf. It was light brown, huge, and had yellow eyes. I couldn’t find anything else that would lead us to the pack. It killed the three humans in seconds, tore them apart and then disappeared toward the edge of the city in the opposite direction from where we are now.”
Damn, no indication of where it came from. It was a detailed description of the wolf though, so I could use that. Ember’s powers were special. I had no idea how she managed to see the victims or the wolf, and I didn’t want to delve into that either. Her face clearly showed that her gifts had an effect on her, and I respected her more for diving in to help without hesitation.
“We can use that. Thank you, Ember.”
“I would have stopped to speak to Morgan; she watched from the window, but my dad had pulled up and I wasn’t willing to confront him after all of that,” Ember said quietly.
Griffin leaned forward. “She sent me a message a few minutes ago. I told her we were here and that she was welcome to join us if she wanted to get away from the crime scene. She said no. The cops were still there, and there was no way to get through the crowd. She said she was fine, and she would meet up with us once things cleared up.”
“That’s fine. If she needs help, tell her to message, and I will send a few of the guys out to escort her here,” I said and Griffin nodded. “Onto lighter things, I know we all have a lot going on at the moment, and things seem to be getting worse, but I’d like to take the opportunity to bring you guys and the pack together. Grace has organized a communal dinner tonight. Not the usual dish up and go, but a proper sit down around the firepit. I’d like everyone to get along, no drama, and hopefully we can have a really good night before working through all of this.”
Grace gave Sam a look and he sighed but forced a smile. “I’ll speak to the others.”
“Thanks, this is not a punishment. We are all working together, it's about time that we acted like a team,” I told Sam and he nodded. I could see some of the tension vanish, and he seemed like he was genuine about giving it a try.
“I’ll help with the food if you need me,” Emily offered and Ember nodded in agreement.
“Thanks, girls. I’d appreciate that.” Grace smiled warmly. We hadn’t had a night like this, all together, in a long time, and I knew she was also looking forward to it. The pack listened to me but they would never go against Grace, which meant that there would be no fighting or arguing tonight.
Griffin cracked his knuckles and looked like he was ready to run and hide in the cell. “You can help me light the fire,” I said to him, and he groaned.
“Okay, but don’t complain if I accidentally set you alight,” Griffin sneered, and everyone laughed. Things felt a little lighter already and I was excited for the dinner.
I stood and thanked everyone again. I made my way to the firepit, and everyone else split up to do their part. Sam stopped to speak to a few of my top guys, and then they all split up to spread the message. I had a big pack, and even though some of them were away for missions or down time, we would still have a crowded fire pit. Griffin threw the wood in the pit and we worked together to build an impressive stack. One step at a time…
* * *
Emily
We laughed while chopping vegetables. Grace stacked meat in four large containers, and a few other women helped us with the rest of the food. Everyone was friendly and made conversation that made us feel welcome. Ember looked a little shocked, but that was most likely because of her experience with Cassian’s father. Grace was a warm mother figure to everyone, which was something that both of us had lacked. In a matter of minutes the stress and darkness from earlier had vanished, and it was replaced with laughter and talk about boys, life, and general female things.
From the kitchen we had a perfect view of the guys outside. The fire kissed the starry sky and dark figures stood around with drinks in hand. Cassian and Griffin stood with their hands on their hips, and from here it seemed like they were admiring their handiwork. Why can’t every day be like this?
We laid the food out on the counters, rows and rows of meat, potatoes, vegetables, and salads. It was glorious and the smell made my stomach grumble. Everyone helped themselves and we took our seats around the fire.
It was quiet for a while, a little awkward, but eventually people started talking. Ember was a social butterfly, so I stuck to her side while we jumped between groups of people.
Cassian beamed; he was in his element. Griffin on the other hand kept to himself, the shadows swallowed him, and my heart pulled at his solitude.
I walked over to him and held out a beer. “Once a hermit, always a hermit,” I said, and Griffin snorted. “Loosen up. No one is judging, and no one will bring up anything that would unleash Grace’s wrath.”
