Page 57 of Wulf's Pack
“Quinn?” Skylar asks.
Luna Grant smiles brightly. “Our omega. It’s hard to explain his place in the pack. When we tell you he needs his bonds, it’shard to grasp the full extent of it. Join us for dinner and just observe. You’ll see what I’m talking about. It might help you understand a little better what your needs are.”
Skylar’s face brightens. “I would love to meet another omega.”
Luna Grant’s eyes sparkle, and creases fan out from the corners when she smiles. It’s clearly something she does often. “I’m sure he’ll be excited to meet you too.”
Chapter
Eighteen
Alpha and Luna Grant give us a tour of their compound. There are roughly six hundred members of Grant’s pack. It’s the largest pack I’ve ever heard of. They all live in individual homes dotted throughout the surrounding forest. The town is owned and run by the pack. Tourism is their main source of income. With so many humans coming to enjoy the mountains, they have a lot of security. Especially since the outing. After the outing, every human who comes onto their territory needs a permit. But the visitors are restricted to certain areas, and they’ve got many enforcers patrolling all around the territory. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable letting outsiders into the heart of my territory, but I can’t deny Grant has an impressive safety system.
The alpha and luna show us the town. The gym, the schoolhouse, the medical center, a few other shops, and finally the community center, which doubles as the main pack house. They have monthly pack socials, and lots of activities, clubs, and community sports. It’s a simple life and reminds me a lot of where I was raised. Part of me likes the idea of finding something like this, where my pack could live in peace with plenty of land to run and hunt freely in. But how could I leave thecity? My clan? The club? Detroit is my home. Will I have to, for the good of my pack?
When we get to the community center, there’s a flurry of activity. The large multipurpose room has been set up with tables and chairs, and a long row of banquet tables are already filled up with food. Crockpots and baking dishes of all kinds. It’s a wide variety of smells, but it’s all mouthwatering. I’m looking forward to a good home-cooked meal.
When the room is packed with people, Alpha Grant leads us to the front, where he stands at a microphone and calls everyone’s attention. The ruckus of noise quiets quickly. “Welcome, everyone! Thanks for putting this together on such short notice. As I’m sure most of you have heard by now, thanks to this pack’s severe gossiping problem”—He pauses while the group chuckles at what is obviously a long-standing joke—“we have a few honored guests.”
All attention shifts to Skylar and me. Murmurs sweep through the room, and I get the feeling Alpha Grant didn’t warn them who their guests were. It’s eerie having so many eyes on me, but the faces are all full of smiles, curiosity, and excitement. My wolf is as interested in them as they are in me. His interest makes me uneasy.
Alpha Grant pulls Benjamin and Isabella forward and clasps a hand on Benjamin’s shoulder. “A lot of you should remember Ben and Isabella. We’re so glad to have them safe and healthy and visiting with us.” He waves Skylar and me forward next, and we switch places with Ben and Isabella to stand next to Alpha Grant. “And I’m sure this guy needs no introduction, but in case you’ve been living under a rock, this is Alpha Wulf Winters and his mate, Luna Skylar.”
More excited whispers spread through the crowd. Alpha Grant has to get their attention again. He holds up his handsand in a raised voice says, “Now, I know it’s exciting to have a celebrity in our midst, but let’s try to act with dignity.”
“Dignity?” someone shouts. “This crowd?”
Everyone laughs. It makes me smile.
“Yes, James,” Alpha Grant says. “Especially you. Stay away from Marisol’s punch, or you’ll spend the night in a cell.”
This gets an even bigger laugh. Alpha Grant gives Skylar and me a crooked smile. “At last year’s Christmas party, James tried to spike the punch, but he mixed up the kids’ punch with the adults’. Let’s just say it was an interesting night, and there were a lot of angry moms.”
I smile, but it’s not just because of the story. I like the sense of community in the room. The sense of family. I have no doubt Alpha Grant knows all six hundred of his wolves personally and cares deeply for each of them. I can’t imagine being responsible for so many people. It’s admirable.Strong pack, my wolf whispers in my mind.
My first instinct is to be suspicious of his interest, and a quick surge of panic flashes through me. I bury it. I need to work with my wolf.Yes. A very happy pack. Take notes.
“I want you all to let our guests eat their dinner in peace. When they’re ready to mingle, make them feel welcome, but try not to mob them or bombard them with a thousand nosy questions. Got it? Good. Let’s eat!”
Alpha and Luna Grant have my pack go through the line and fill our plates first, and they follow right behind us. After that, it looks like families with small children go first as opposed to forming a line based on dominance.
Alpha and Luna Grant sit at a table with my pack. His beta and his mate join us. I had assumed their omega would sit with us so that we could meet him, but Luna Grant points him out across the room and says, “Just watch.”
Quinn looks to be in his forties, which would put him a good forty or fifty years older than me. He flits down the line of people, laughing and talking with all of them. One mom is struggling with two young kids, so he jumps in and takes the little girl from her mother while she fills plates of food. When he holds out his hands, the girl squeals with delight and nearly leaps into his arms. Her brother clings to his leg, sitting on his foot and wrapping his arms and legs around the man’s leg. Quinn proceeds to drag the boy along, laughing and making a game out of it.
After helping the mom get her kids situated at a table, he’s off, talking to the next group of people who seek him out, which everyone does. He moves from person to person, giving each of them his undivided attention. Most of them touch him in some way, giving him hugs, clapping a hand on his back, or throwing their arms over his shoulder. He touches them in return, making physical connections as well as emotional ones.
He isn’t working the room like it’s his job, it just seems natural for him. The longer I watch him, the more I can see what Luna Grant wanted me to understand. The omega thrives on connecting with his pack. But he isn’t like a mascot. It’s more like he’s the heart. He’s the pack’s center of gravity.
Eventually, he jumps in the food line and fills a plate. We’re finished eating, but stay seated at the table. Benjamin, Isabella, and the pack beta and his wife clear their places to go mingle, and Alpha Grant calls Quinn over. “Quinn! Have a seat. Meet our guests.”
Quinn’s eyes light up. He sets his plate down and comes over to shake all of our hands. “It’s an honor.” He sits down and studies Skylar and me with a big smile. “Congratulations on the mating. I didn’t realize you’d settled down. Weren’t you on the cover of a magazine last month listed as Detroit’s most eligible bachelor?”
I groan. That stupid article had been at the government’s request as a human/underworld PR stunt. It really brought out the she-wolves. It was a pain in my ass. I lift my arm over Skylar’s shoulders. “When the right one comes along, sometimes you just know.”
“Wulf and Skylar are fated mates,” Luna Grant says.
Quinn’s jaw falls open. He blinks at us several times. “Wow. That’s…I guess I didn’t think those stories were real.”
