Page 41 of Veil of Shadows

Almost as if he enjoyed watching me enjoy the fruits of his labor.

13

DOMINIC

“Places, places!” I exclaimed, clapping my hands above my head. “The auditions have officially commenced!”

Bexley giggled as she sat on the couch in Voss’s rearranged home. He hated holding auditions in his living room, which was why I couldn’t wait to watch him hold it together for her sake. I tossed the beautiful woman on the couch a playful wink as I set up the last of the things we needed for our afternoon of auditions. Finally, I got a moment to fucking breathe.

I swear, this pack acted like every solstice celebration was some new fucking thing we did.

“Do we need anymore microphone stands?” Bexley asked as I backtracked into Voss’s kitchen. “There’s only two.”

“They can share for now,” I said as I reached into Alpha’s fridge and pulled out a couple of sodas. “Think fast!”

And without turning around, Bexley caught the soda I launched to her with her hand that she shot up from the couch. I watched as the can slapped against her palm, and I couldn’t help but grin. I walked back toward her and made myself comfortable.

I leaned down into her ear. “Sure you’re not a shifter?”

She swatted at me playfully before she cracked open her drink. “We’re ready!”

She took control of the situation, calling out to the first audition, and I smiled when Ronyn’s mother brought in a line of children.

“Hi, Alpha!” Little Billy from her pack whispered as he waved from the back row.

Bexley smiled brightly as she wiggled her fingers at the boy.

“Hey, Alpha!”

“Hi!”

“We’re gonna sing for you,” Gabriella, a child from our pack, whispered as she waved at Bexley.

Bexley cupped her hands over her mouth, but still whispered, “I can’t wait to hear you guys. I bet you sound amazing.”

“Thanks, Alpha!” Little Annabelle exclaimed as she waved her hands over her head.

Bexley giggled with delight as she waved at Annabelle, and soon, Ronyn’s mother took up her position in front of them. She crouched down onto her knees, her fingers pointing from her eyes to theirs and back to hers.

“You know,” I say softly as I lean down toward Bexley’s ear, “I remember being in Miss Shirley’s children’s choir growing up, even though I couldn’t hit a single fucking note.”

Bexley snickered as she took a swig of her soda. “Were you like me where you had to be put on the tambourine just to feel part of something bigger?”

My eyes widened. “You were the percussionist in your children’s choir, too?”

She nudged me playfully as a giggle fell from her lips. “Dom, I’m tone deaf. I was lucky to be put on a wooden block with a little hammer thing, much less a shiny tambourine.”

“That was Dom for ya,” Miss Shirley said as she held her hands into the air to command their attention.

She hummed a soft note that the kids hummed back, then her hands dropped and kept time to an imaginary rhythm inside of her head.

The sound of children’s voices wafted through Voss’s place.

“The Thunderfall Pack is a great big home where we all live happily in our zones, and the way we run and the way we laugh is a great big bonus to our evening baths.”

Bexley giggled at the little song Miss Shirley always had the pups memorize when they were children. I mouthed the words to the pseudo-song she created herself because Miss Shirley believed, and I quote, that ‘all packs should have a national anthem to show their pride.’

I couldn’t help but watch Bexley as I listened to the kids sing a song I knew by heart.

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