Page 22 of Reclaiming Home

“Well, for one, on the night of the full moon, wolves are unable to shift back to human, right? Well what happens if someone needs opposable thumbs? What if there are pups in the pack? Who takes care of them while the adults are in their wolf forms?”

Carys made a thoughtful noise. “I guess I’ve never thought of that. What did they do in Rusty’s pack when you were younger?”

“Well I was seven already when we moved here so I was self-sufficient and I had Bella. She’s human, but she was family so Rusty couldn’t do much about having her in the pack.” Until later, after Mom passed away. “But my cousins were little then.Toddler age. So we took care of them when the adults weren’t able to.”

Kye shook his head. “That sounds rough. It really feels like all packs should have humans or vampires in them, like you said. But aren’t werewolves and vampires kind of….” He made a vague gesture with his hand.

“It’s mostly the oldies. The younger generations of wolves get along fine with vampires. My best friend Rian is a vampire. Best guy I’ve ever met. He’s funding everything I need for the pack, just because he has more money than sense.” I smiled fondly, hoping they knew I wasn’t serious.

Carys took a deep breath, then looked me in the eye and asked, “So what if we wanted to stay?”

Kye nodded at his sister’s words. “Neither of us has anywhere to be, no matter what our dad says when we call him in a bit. I don’t have many real-life skills if I live in a city, but I think I could help with the renovations if you show me how, and come spring, or if we’d build a greenhouse, I can do a lot with plants.”

“And I’ll cook and clean. I actually enjoy doing it. We’re capable of carrying our own weight. We’re not going to be a burden to you or the pack if you let us stay,” Carys said quickly, almost speaking over Kye.

I lifted my hand to still the frenetic energy gathering in the siblings. “Okay, first of all, of course you two can stay.” In fact, I wanted nothing more and my wolf wanted to howl with happiness over Mate staying. “I’m not worried about anything. I know we don’t know one another that well yet, but we have time.”

I explained to them where I’d been working in Seattle and how I had plenty of savings, but that I hadn’t joked about using Rian’s money.

Kye told me about his studies that I immediately saw potential in. Having someone who knew about agriculture wouldeventually save the pack a lot of money in produce if we could figure out how to grow on the property. I was pretty sure Rian would also be interested in the endeavor. His background made him very serious about food—even though he didn’t need to eat it himself—and sustainability was a cause he supported through various organizations.

Carys shrugged. “I don’t have any skills, but if I have better ingredients, I will totally start to do meal planning and figuring out how to save money in the long run.” Then she smiled. “And I actually do enjoy cleaning. It calms my brain a lot.”

“Okay. I think that’s set, then.” I let my eyes glow red and held my hand over the table at Carys first. “Welcome to the McRae pack, Carys Rossi.”

Her smile widened as she took my hand. “Thank you for having me, Alpha McRae.”

I felt the pack bond forming between us, and my wolf felt overjoyed.

And then it was time to face the fact that my mate would be part of my pack, too.

I took Kye’s hand. “Welcome to the McRae pack, Kynan Rossi.”

His gaze locked with mine, and he smiled, looking breathtaking. “Thank you. I won’t let you down, Alpha McRae.”

The tingles up my arm from such simple contact felt wild and a bit scary. The bond between us was more obvious to me than the one between me and Carys. There was a reason for that, but at least humans couldn’t feel the bond the same way, so I didn’t have to explain it right then.

When I pulled my hand back, I took in a deep breath, trying my best to not beam like an idiot.

“I think we need to make that call now,” Kye said quietly, the happiness fading from his expression too quickly for my liking.

“Will you sit with us for it?” Carys asked in an almost timid tone that told me exactly how little she wanted to make the call. She had been through hell, but she wasn’t a timid young woman. She had strength, and while I would be getting her therapy as soon as she’d accept it, she was remarkably well, normal.

“Of course. Let’s go sit on the couch.”

As we passed all the bags in the hall, I pointed at a few of them. “I bought all new bedding. There’s a mattress pad in the truck still. I was thinking, maybe that’d be enough for us to be able to sleep in the bed upstairs?” I quickly added, “Only if you’re comfortable, Carys. I’ll order a completely new bed tomorrow but it’ll be a while before it gets here. I also assume we’re going to lose a lot of furniture tomorrow when the crew comes by.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “If we all can fit on that bed, I think I can sleep there.”

Kye echoed her thought, so I said, “We could fit on two couches last night. I can go wolfy if the bed is too crowded otherwise.”

“Aren’t werewolves all about pack cuddles?” she asked, then rolled her eyes. “I mean obviously Rusty never did anything like that, but you know, generally speaking. In good packs?”

“Yeah, physical touch is important to us.”

“I’m sure we can all fit. I’m a bit of an octopus when I sleep, though.” Kye blushed slightly.

Carys giggled. “I can vouch for that!”

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