Page 5 of Golden Valley
“Who’s your new friend?” Alpha Berger asked, eyes twinkling.
“Patricia Lopez. I believe she’s the head of the welcome committee.”
“No, I’m not.” Pigtails swung as the girl shook her head. “All they do is plan parties.” Her nose scrunched up in distaste. “That’s boring.”
While Ricky wondered if this pack actually had a committee to plan parties, something he had said as a joke, the other children cleared a path and then fell in step behind them, chattering and giggling.
When they reached the open doorway, Alpha Berger curled his hand over Ricky’s shoulder and stopped him from walking into the house. “We’ll wait here until we’re invited in,” he said.
“I’m inviting you in,” Patricia replied, her little eyebrows drawn together. The child was adorable, and Ricky would have told her so, but he suspected she wouldn’t appreciate the sentiment.
“And we are grateful for your hospitality, but we need to wait for an adult to allow us into the Alpha house,” Alpha Berger said.
Without moving her gaze from Alpha Berger’s face, Patricia opened her mouth and loudly shouted, “Mom! The Purple Sky Alpha is here! Mom!”
Ricky flinched. Beside him, Alpha Berger stiffened. But before either of them could figure out how to handle the situation, footsteps clicked on the wood floors and a tall woman dressed in tailored navy pants and a crisp white button-down shirt appeared in the entryway.
“Patty, what have I told you about screaming in the house?”
“I’m not in the house.”
Taken aback by the brazen response, Ricky blinked down at the little girl.
Her mother let out a long-suffering sigh and then reached her hand out to Alpha Berger. “You must be Alpha Berger. I’m Lillian Lopez, the head Beta here in Golden Valley.” After shaking Alpha Berger’s hand, she stepped to the side. “Welcome to Golden Valley. Come on in.”
“Thank you for inviting us to visit.” Alpha Berger put his hand on Ricky’s back and led them inside. “This is Ricky Marx.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ricky.” Lillian inhaled and her eyes widened. She tilted her head toward them, breathed in deeply one more time, and then swallowed loudly.
“Is there a problem?” Alpha Berger asked, stepping forward so his body hid part of Ricky’s.
“He’s an Omega,” she said, her voice faltering. Most packs didn't have many Omegas and Omegas were almost always female, so a Beta being a bit surprised by Ricky wasn’t a shock. But her tone and scent didn’t register as surprise. If Ricky didn’t know better, he would think the wolf was afraid of him.
His voice holding none of its usual jovial undertones, Alpha Berger repeated, “That’s right. Is there a problem?”
“No problem.” The Beta flicked her worried gaze from Ricky to Alpha Berger and back again. There certainly seemed to be some kind of a problem. “Alpha Peters is finishing something up, but I can show you to the room where you’ll be staying. You can wait in there until he’s available.” She met Alpha Berger’s gaze. “You and your Omega canwait in the room.”
Wanting to diffuse the tension in the air, Ricky moved closer to Alpha Berger so their flanks connected. “We will.” He glanced up, worried he was speaking out of turn, but the Alpha was too busy glaring at the Beta to correct him. “Thank you.”
