Page 72 of Ascendant Moon
Growls of agreement erupted around him, and Gray smiled at the affirmation. Dante made sure they understood his position clearly.
“It will be, I promise. We’ll have to sort out the employees first, since we didn’t hire any of them, but the ranch isn’t just our business—it’s our home and packlands. Shifter or human, I won’t put up with people who have issues with our heritage or orientation. And they better love wolves, too.”
Everyone chuckled at that, given the ranch’s new name, the nearby natural wolf packs, and the true nature of the owners. As Gray leaned over to kiss his mate, Sergio returned to looking out the passenger side window. Less than a minute later his altered scent reached them, though they hadn’t realized that he’d been gripped by one of Luna’s visions. The pleasant aroma was one of delight rather than anger or fear, and since he was safe here, Dante continued driving—just as curious as his friends about what was going on. Jack had instructed them to simply protect him until the vision ended, and then leave the man in peace if he chose not to share.
In reality, these mysterious episodes super-charged their natural curiosity—dying to find out what Luna was telling Sergio. As they understood it, visions often contained time-sensitive information regarding near future events, and given that their next stop was the ranch… well, it was reasonable to assume thatsomethingunexpected might happen when they arrived. Andunless their noses were way off base, it wasn’t bad news. Several more seconds passed until Sergio stirred and looked around. Nick didn’t waste any time digging for information.
“You okay? Can you tell us what it was?”
Sergio laughed at his nosy friend.
“Yes, I’m all right, and no, I can’t tell you this time. Dante, how far are we from the ranch?”
Dante mustn’t have been far off the mark, secretly pleased with his guess.
“We’re about ten miles from the Arizona border, and unless we need another bathroom break, we should arrive in about forty-five minutes.”
Sergio grabbed some of the trail mix, munching away in an attempt to hide his excitement. He didn’t want to tip off the others, but he was now prepared to intervene when they arrived. Dante followed the highway through Springerville and Eager, bypassing Greer entirely, and looped around to reach the north side of Sunrise Lake. They had agreed beforehand that Rancho Lobo was the name of theirbusiness, but the lake’s name would designate their home and secret identity—the Sunrise Pack.
Nestled in a remote White Mountain valley, the area was a patchwork of dense forest and dry desert. It appeared to be quiet, sparsely populated, and bursting with prey—exactly what a new shifter pack needed. At length, they came to a long dirt drive that brought them to a neat and well-maintained ranch. On the left was the main house, a single-story home painted bright yellow with hunter green accents. On the right were several fenced paddocks for shaggy, big-eared Angora goats,with a Churro sheep pasture further out. Straight ahead they found a conglomeration of barns and outbuildings.
Dante parked the SUV and they got out to stretch and look around. A stiff breeze made scenting anything specific difficult, but the mountain air was dry and crisp with a hint of animal dung. Their arrival must have been noticed, and a tall, young Diné woman dressed in denim coveralls approached them from the largest barn. Sergio assumed this was Sakari, the employee who had been managing the ranch in their absence and had promised to greet them on arrival. His lupine senses could clearly see it was the same person from his vision, and he purposely stationed himself at Dante’s side.
The tall, muscular Alpha had already zeroed in on the human woman, growling softly while he sniffed the air for clues. Neither Gray nor Nick were paying any attention, clueless as to the pleasant surprise awaiting them. A gust of wind finally brought the woman’s scent past Dante’s twitching nose, and he whispered the expected word.
“Mate!”
That caught Gray and Nick’s attention, and they turned to see what was going on. To prevent scaring the woman, Sergio redirected Dante’s impulse to carry her off for a vigorous claiming.
Human.
Be calm.
Go slow.
No growling!
It was impossible not to notice Dante’s intense stare, and when she reached the group, Sergio touched her mind.
We are friends.
You are safe.
Trust him.
Gray caught on and approached to introduce himself.
“Yá'át'ééh(it is good). I am one of the new owners, Gray Claw, and this is my partner, Nick Garcia.”
Nick raised a palm in greeting and cranked up his scent. Gray did not attempt to shake her hand, which would have been a mistake regardless of Diné social mores, and the woman responded.
“Yá'át'ééh. My name is Sakari Nez. I’m glad you have come. The rest have gone home for the day, but will return tomorrow. We have been short-handed after the previous owners moved away.”
Gray motioned toward the others, who were waiting to be introduced.
“It’s good to meet you, Sakari. This is Sergio Rivera, and Dante Navarro.”
Sergio simply nodded in greeting with a quiet hello, while Dante stepped right up to the woman with a warm smile. They were nearly the same height.
