Page 34 of Secret Wolf Baby

“Not yet, but I’m not hungry.”

As if on cue to prove how much of a liar I was, my stomach growled. Jackson’s lips quirked upward.

“Why don’t you come back with me to town hall? It’s high time you meet some of my friends, anyway. We can grab you some food on the way.”

“Oh, um…” I hesitated, even though I knew I had no excuse to say no. Besides, it might actually be nice to meet some new people. What was there to lose? “Sure,” I finally said.

He led me through the streets, pulling me into this tiny deli off the main road that he insisted had the best subs in town. After taking a bite of one, I had to admit he might have a point. I scarfed the rest of it down as we walked through the town toward the large stone building that made up town hall.

We reached the top floor, where a woman with perfect posture sat at a desk as she typed away at a computer. She glanced up when Jackson entered.

“Good lunch?” she asked him. “While you were out, Declan told me he wanted to talk to you about…” She trailed off when she caught sight of me trailing behind Jackson. She raised a perfect eyebrow, shooting Jackson a knowing look.

Getting the hint, Jackson stepped to the side and nudged me forward, one hand going to the small of my back and sending shivers up my spine. I tried not to think about how badly I wanted to lean into his touch.

“Rose, this is Audrey,” Jackson said. “Audrey, this is Rose. She’s the only reason things run as smoothly as they do around here. Pretty sure I and the rest of the Gold Wolves would crumble without her help.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Rose quipped, her lips quirking upward. She turned her full attention to me. “It’s so nice to meet you. You’ve caused quite a fuss, you know. Well, not you exactly, Jackson is the one who caused all the chaos.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said.

Rose flapped her hand dismissively. “None of it is your fault. If I had to blame anyone, I would blame Jackson. And based on everything I know about the situation, I can’t really blame him for anything he did.”

“Isn’t all of that supposed to be classified?” Jackson asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Rose gave him a pointed look. “I’m Declan’s assistant. I practically run this office. There isn’t anything that goes on around here that I don’t know about.”

He nodded, his lip quirking upward in a knowing smirk.

Satisfied, Rose turned to me. “Let me know if there’s anything you need, or if you want someone to take you around toall the fun places. No sense in being cooped up at home all day, now is there?”

“Rose is also friends with Mira, by the way,” Jackson said.

Rose’s eyes lit up. “You know Mira?” she asked me.

“She and I were best friends back when I lived in his pack,” I said.

Rose all but squealed, clapping her hands in delight as she beamed. “We should all get together, then! Any friend of Mira’s is a friend of mine.”

Her enthusiasm must have been infectious because I couldn’t stop my own smile. “That sounds wonderful,” I said, and was surprised by how much I meant it.

“The guys are probably finishing up their own lunch in the breakroom,” Jackson said. “Come meet them while you’re here.”

The instant I stepped into the expansive breakroom, five shifters, three of whom I recognized, all stopped their conversation to look at me with interest.

“Guys, this is Audrey,” Jackson said. To me, he added, “Don’t worry. They look tougher than they actually are.”

“We can hear you,” the red-headed one shot back.

“You already met Will and Trent,” Jackson said, nodding to the two other shifters who had come with Jackson to talk to Reacher. They both gave friendly waves. “The redhead is Nolan. The guy brooding in the corner is Chris.”

“Not brooding, napping,” Chris corrected, sitting up. “Or at least, I was.” He gave me a cordial nod. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hi,” I said.

“So you’re the reason Jackson got chewed out for a good hour after he reported back,” Nolan told me with a broad grin.

“Closer to two hours,” Trent corrected.

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