Page 34 of Mates: Posy

Anger clouds the mind,he repeated dutifully and calmed a bit.

It was a mantra we’d been working on since I first shifted seven years ago. Sometimes, it helped. Other times, nothing helped.

That's when people died.

"Alpha Halder plans to lead a coup against the crown," Luke said. "He’s been spreading lies about King Julian throughout the pack, which is large enough to be threatening if the majority of wolves are swayed to his side. Alpha Halder’s lies might not do that, but the promise of his retribution - and his alpha command - could."

We sat in silence for a moment, each lost in our thoughts.

"We’ll need to call the king in on this," I said at last. "It’s almost time for his annual stay, anyway."

Alpha Julian Hemming, king of the North American werewolves, visited us frequently and came for a two-week vacation every summer. We did a little pack business, of course, but mostly we relaxed and stayed up late talking around the bonfire. During the day, Onyx ran free through the woods and swam in the lake and tussled with Quartz.

I had to admit that I was a little concerned about how he’d react to Posy being here this year. He hadn’t found his mate yet and, at twenty-four, was worried he never would. One of the reasons he liked vacationing with us was because we didn’t have our mate, either. Now, that dynamic had changed, and I hoped he wouldn’t feel like we were rubbing salt in his wounds. After all, five very young alphas had found their mate before our king had.

"That’s the reason why I chose Five Fangs over any other pack," Luke told me. "Your close ties with the king are well known. And five alphas against one are odds I’ll take in any gamble."

"Where is your sister now? I’m sure you didn’t leave her back in the hotel room unguarded."

"She’s in my truck, which is parked right outside."

I didn’t think the pack house would be a good place for the girl. If it were Posy, I’d want her to be in a safer, quieter space, so I decided on the smaller guest house. The larger one was strictly reserved for King Julian’s visits.

"Introduce me to her, then I’ll take you to where you can stay until everything’s sorted and you can find your own place. The guest house is clean and stocked with everything but food. I’ll contact my beta to set up a grocery run for you."

"Thank you, Alpha Carson, for your generosity and hospitality. I can pay for the—"

"Don’t even finish that sentence. Once you officially join the pack, we’ll find a job for you. Your sister, too, if she wants one. Until then, we’ll take care of everything."

"Again, thank you, alpha."

"You will both come to dinner at our place tonight," I continued. "I need to introduce you to my brother alphas, and our mate would love to meet Lilah, I’m sure. Do you have a phone?"

He pulled one out of his pocket and held it up, then handed it to me when I motioned for it. After adding my number into his contacts, I gave it back.

"It takes about ten minutes to drive from your place to ours. Give me a call when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll give you directions. Dinner starts at six sharp. It’s Mase’s day to cook, so it should be good. At least you won’t have to suffer through one of Ash’s inedible experiments or Wyatt’s frozen pizzas that he manages to burn every single time."

Luke snorted.

"As long as there’s food and plenty of it, I’ll be content," he said. "Uh, Lilah probably won’t eat much. She isn’t being rude—"

I held up one hand.

"Posy is the same way. We understand, and we don’t comment no matter how much or little she eats." I sighed. "They’ll get better. Just as their hearts and minds need time to feel safe again, their bodies need time to remember food and how to process it."

"Well said, alpha."

"Has Alpha Halder tried linking you?" I asked.

"Yes. Between our strength and hatred for him, Rain and I are able to resist him, and the distance is helping, too. Iamworried about how Lilah will hold out once Kestrel wakes up again. A wolf must follow their alpha’s commands, and both Lilah and Kestrel are too weak to put up much of a fight right now."

"Well, I can’t induct you into Five Fangs without my brothers, but we can do it at dinner tonight. If Kestrel wakes up before then, I trust you can handle her?"

"It won’t be fun, but yes."

I nodded and stood, and he followed me out of my office. As we walked outside, I spotted his truck and the girl huddled in the front seat. Even from here, I could see carroty red hair that glimmered in the morning sun. She shot timid glances at me, so I made sure to stop five feet away as Luke went up to her door and opened it.

"Hey, ladybug. Everything’s okay, I promise. This is Alpha Jayden Carson. He’s going to show us a place where we can stay. Can you say hello?"

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