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My hesitation caused me to stop packing, which frustrated Randy. “What is it now?” he asked.
“My job. I’m supposed to TA in the kindergarten room in the morning.”
He sighed. “You’ll have to take that up with your mate, Mariam, but something tells me he isn’t going to be sending you to school in the morning. I’m sure he can write you a note or something.”
I scowled at him. This was serious. The classes were crowded, and there wasn’t enough support staff to cover as it was. I shook my head, dropping my bag on the floor. “If he’s going to try and prevent me from working, there’s no need for me to move out of here.”
“Mariam,” Gabe said, trying to reason with me. “You were going to leave that job in a few months anyway, remember? They knew when they hired you that you weren’t a permanent employee or even a pack member.”
“Well, that settles it,” Randy said, bending to pick up my bags. “Let’s get out of here. Trace will be landing any minute, and we need to be waiting for him at the town hall when he gets there. I’m not going to get my ass chewed out again today.”
We drove back to the town hall, my two bags in tow. Once again, I found myself in the middle of the front seat. Our timing was perfect. Trace’s call came through as soon asRandy cut off the engine.
“Hey,” Randy answered. “Yeah, I know…. she’s here…. yeah, I can do that. Bye.”
I was a little surprised to only get one side of the conversation. Trace must be in a better mood, or maybe his throat was just sore from all the yelling earlier.
“He wants me to take you to the house and wait for him there.” Randy started the engine again and was about to put the car in gear when Gabe and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Does he want Gabriel to wait at his house, too?” I asked between gasps, imagining the comedy that would occur if Trace found the three of us sitting at his dining room table.
Randy hid his smile, but not fast enough. “You. Out,” he said, pointing at Gabe.
Not caring what Randy said, I gave my first friend, my best friend, in Tumblewild a hug goodbye. “Thanks for not letting me be homeless,” I whispered.
“Thanks for not stabbing me in my sleep,” he answered, giving me one more reassuring squeeze.
“For fuck’s sake,” Randy grumbled.
Gabe climbed out of the truck with a final wave, leaving Randy and me alone together.
We drove in silence for a little while, but finally, the beta spoke. “You know that’s going to have to end, right?”
I didn’t answer, choosing to ignore the question and focus on the road ahead. I hoped Randy was wrong, but he knew Trace best. Chances were, he was all too right about my friendship with Gabe being as good as over.
Chapter 10
“Justine!” Randy started hollering the poor woman’s name as soon as we stepped inside the expansive alpha house. I quickly slipped out of my shoes, not wanting to track in any dirt. The living room was huge, large enough that a smaller pack might host meetings in it. I left Randy’s side to take a better look at the backyard through the oversized glass windows, but he caught my arm quickly.
“I don’t think so,” he warned. “If you want a tour, you’re going to have to wait for the big guy. He should be here in about twenty minutes. Maybe even sooner if he’s giving the driver as much hell as I think he is.”
I shrugged, not wanting to show how much his suspicion hurt my feelings. It stung that Randy didn’t trust me to even go to the other side of the living room after spending all day together. I thought we were starting to get along.
“Justine! Where are you?” The beta resumed his search, one hand securely wrapped around my wrist.
“You must have left your manners in California, Wolfman.” A short female werewolf emerged from the kitchen. She had a luxurious mane of red curls and bright blue eyes. She sounded angry, but her face lit up when shesaw Randy. She looked like she was going to smother him with hug him but stopped short when she saw me. “Is this her? Are you Mariam?”
I nodded, not sure who she was.She must be family to our mate. Her scent is similar to his. My wolf tilted her head and watched with interest. The woman ran to me, throwing her arms around my middle in a hug so fierce, it knocked the wind out of me.
“I’m Justine, as you could probably guess. This oaf was screaming it loud enough that you’ll never forget it now.” She released me and stuck out her tongue at the pack’s beta before grinning and pulling him in for a kiss.
I stared at them, too shocked to be embarrassed at their intense display of affection.
“I’ve missed you, troublemaker,” Randy growled just loud enough for me to hear. “Wait until I get you to bed. You won’t know what--“
Justine elbowed him and gestured to me. The awkwardness was quickly overriding the shock, and I had to look away. “Look, you’ve embarrassed her. What am I going to do with you?” She huffed and pouted, but it was clearly just for show.
“I can think of a few things you could do with me,” Randy answered, his wolf taking over a little, causing his eyes to glow. “But the question really is, what am I going to do with you? Have you behaved while I was gone?”
