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“Ronnie, I am so sorry this has happened to you. And I get your sadness and fear. It’s hard to be rejected by a pack. Heck, as an alpha myself, I can see being hot under the collar after a mate’s rejection. But to go that far and banish you? The way I see things, sis, is you got out of there in the nick of time before things, well, got any worse.”
“Actually, even though I cried the entire time I packed, my wolf screamed at me to be gone and be gone fast. If I had stayed, there was no telling what some of the rougher members could have done. Cornered me in the woods on a shift. Bite me, hurt me, or worse. I don’t know. And I didn’t want to know. I packed what I could, and I ran. And I ran to you, Xavier. I ran home.”
Xavier got up. He needed time to think, to form the right words. His wolf growled at the thought of his sister being mistreated, but his head told him to be cautious before falling for her story too fast.
“Hey, you want a refill? I’m going for another drink myself.”
Veronica turned around. “Yeah, I’d love another. But not coffee. Something stronger.”
“You read my mind. Follow me. Let’s hit the wet bar in the lounge. I believe the yardarm is over the horizon somewhere.”
“Geez, Xavier, still quoting Dad, huh?”
Xavier chuckled. “Yeah, sometimes it’s on purpose, but the older I get, the more automatic it gets. I guess the wolf pup doesn’t stray far from the shifter tree.”
Veronica got up, and the pair headed for the lounge. The expansive gray-on-black furnished room faced west, so a slowly lowering ball of orange sunlight greeted them and painted their faces an eerie, fiery hue.
Xavier played bartender while Veronica plunked down in the half-moon sectional, the highlight of the room. She pushed the button on a remote, and a line of even flames lit inside a built-in glass fireplace.
“Thank you. What did you pour us?” Veronica happily took the crystal tumbler.
“Scotch rocks. From an oak barrel aged twenty-five years. It goes down like silk but will blow your mind.”
“Perfect. More drinking, less thinking.” Veronica took a healthy swig and instantly coughed.
Xavier laughed. “Told ya. And while we’re on the subject. Wasn’t it that motto, more drinking, less thinking, which got you in most of your trouble as a young brat?”
Veronica smirked. “I could say no, but then we’d both know I’d be lying.”
“Listen, Ronnie, here’s what I can officially say to you as alpha of this pack. You know, any action I take involves the safety of all. As long as you promise to keep your head down and toe the line, you are welcome to stay here. But one false move…”
Veronica’s eyes sparkled with glee. “Yes, of course. One false move, and I’m gone. I get your responsibility to the pack and to Sara and the baby. I do. But I swear I’ll walk the straight and narrow. All I ask for is a chance to show you how much I’ve changed.”
Xavier silently nodded. His senses remained watchful, but they weren’t howling as badly. He hoped for everyone’s sake he had made the right decision.
Veronica slid over and gave her brother a big bear hug and kissed him all over his face.
“Get off me, you freak! Ew! Sister cooties. Yuck!” Xavier wiped his face with the back of his sleeve.
“Oh, my God. You haven’t changed a bit! I bet ya I could still jump on you and tickle you till you screamed for mommy.”
“Hey, now. I’m an alpha,” Xavier said with a laugh.
“Alphabets, you mean, or more like Fruity Pebbles.” Veronica stuck out her tongue.
“Yeah, yeah.” He chuckled.
“So, is this for real with Sara?”
“Yep. I mean, we haven’t made it official yet. But from where I’m sitting, Ronnie, she’s the one. We are definitely fated mates. I knew from the moment I laid my eyes on her. I don’t think she was feeling the same, maybe not at the start.”
“Knowing you, you probably scared her to death. She was too afraid to even feel amorous feelings. You can sometimes be a bit of a bull in a china shop.”
“Yeah, nothing has changed on that front. Especially when I see something or someone I so desperately want. I thought you’d be more shocked or surprised by this.”
Veronica slowly turned the tumbler in her hands. Xavier watched how the firelight caught in the crystal engravings as she turned it.
“Not really, honestly. You’ve kind of been like this your whole life. I saw the same look in your eyes now that I saw back then. The same one you’d flash when we’d shift, and you’d find your prey and race after it in the woods.”
