Page 116 of Game of Destiny
“Hrm. Yes, thank you for making sure Amie got here safe, Alpha Finlay,” Amie’s brother said.
“Not at all, Beta Elder. She’s been looking forward to it,” I replied.
“Honestly,” Amie said.
“Men,” Becky agreed and they both rolled their eyes. I concluded I had made a mistake. I felt better as it seemed the Beta had made the same one.
“We are not here on official business,” Becky told us.
“Exactly. In here, we are family and titles are put to the side,” Amie agreed.
“Any objections?” Becky asked and looked at both me and her mate.
“Of course not, sweetums,” he told her.
“I would like that,” I agreed. Both women smiled at us. All of us helped to set the table and it helped to ease some of the tension. Becky and Amie chit chatted and when we sat down to eat, it actually felt like a family dinner.
“Amie, do you have another story about Elder?” Becky asked.
“Oh, no. The one she already told you was bad enough. I need to keep some of my dignity,” Elder objected. I saw my chance.
“I have a question, Elder. Has Amie always been such a snow fan? As soon as the snow comes each winter, she practically turns into a pup,” I asked. Elder laughed as Amie elbowed me.
“Always,” he told me. “When the first snow came, our mom always insisted our dad took a couple of hours off and she would make lunch and we would head out into the woods and we would sled and play in the snow. Eat lunch and just spend time as a family. You know that it can be difficult to get those family moments as a top tier family. So snow days were special.” I smiled and nodded. It all made sense now. Amie had adapted her family's traditions to fit into her new life.
“I always take the pups in the pack out to sled in the first snow,” Amie told them.
“You do?” her brother asked. She nodded.
“Elder insisted on taking the day off when it snowed for the first time last year. Mino was just a couple of months old, but we all went for a hike,” Becky told us.
“It’s a good tradition,” Amie said. Her brother happily nodded.
“Finlay, is my little sister still as stubborn as a mule?” Elder asked.
“Elder!” Amie objected. I pretended to sigh deeply and shook my head.
“She is making my life difficult. To have a Beta like her tests my patience on a daily basis,” I told them and played up my despair. They both smiled. “Have she told you what she made me go through before she would even speak to me the first time we met?” I asked.
“Oh, I need to hear this,” Becky said.
“I am already feeling for you,” Elder told me with a grin.
“Hey! Before Finlay tells you a huge over-exaggeration of what actually happened, just remember I was trying to stay away from werewolves,” Amie defended herself. I hid my smile and started to tell them about my brave attempt to talk to the strange wolf I had found in the small diner and Amie’s stubborn attempts to keep away.
“You let him take a hot pot of coffee to his privates?” Becky asked Amie.
“It wasn’t like I knew she would pour it in his lap. I was as surprised as anyone that he came back after that,” Amie told them. I shrugged.
“At that point it had become a game. I hate to lose.” Elder laughed.
“A true Alpha,” he said. The longer we talked, the easier it was to keep the conversation going and I found myself laughing and joking. The easy nature of Amie and her brother’s relationship was contagious. As we finally got up to leave, it felt like I had spent the evening with friends.
“I’m happy we took time for this,” Becky said as she hugged Amie.
“So am I, and I’m happy we have a plan for meeting up in a couple of months,” Amie agreed. Elder and I shook hands and then Elder got a hug from his sister and Becky gave me a tight hug.
“Thank you for coming. The two of you look good together,” she told me.
