Page 11 of Wolves of the Rising Moon

“Mm. And what business do you have here?”

“Mari! Be nice.” I give her a glare and turn back to the visitor. “I’m sorry about my sister. She’s a bit overzealous about protecting me. Please, come in and have a seat,” I say and move to the living area. Everyone follows me the handful of steps from the front door to the living space and waits while I arrange the island stools to face the sofa. Rafe takes the opportunity to put on some clothes, and before long, we’re situated comfortably, if not awkwardly close, in the living room.

Mari and Jaxson take the stools while Rafe, Jonah, and I sit on the couch. “So, what brings you here?” I ask, trying to ignore the bubbly excitement fluttering in my stomach.

I’d always wanted this. Being by Rafe’s side as his mate—as the Pack Omega—while we take care of pack business together, which, in this case, means being hospitable and charming to our guest. I have a moment outside of myself. Away from all the worries and idle chatter in my head to truly appreciate that I’m doing the thing I thought I’d never be able to.

I offer a silent prayer to the Great Wolf and refocus my attention on our guest.

My question brings a shroud of darkness to Jaxon’s face, but it only lasts a moment. “My pack was linked to a corrupt king who held us in captivity for… too long. It’s only recently that all the packs in my area are free of him and fully able to travel outside his jurisdiction. It’s been a long time since any of us has stepped foot out of our pack lands, and I want to make sure we’re in good standing with all the North American packs, even after all this time.”

“I didn’t know there were packs in Laurel Cove.” Rafe says, and the shadow returns to Jaxon’s features.

“He was a cruel king. He kept the packs in two cities under his thumb for centuries.”

Mari and I exchange a glance.

“Centuries?” Jonah asks the question on everyone’s mind.

Wolves have longer lifespans than humans, but no wolf lives for centuries.

Jaxson nods. “A vampire king decided he needed guard dogs to protect his territory.”

So it wasn’t a wolf that controlled his pack. A vampire.

Interesting.

“So, you were finally able to kill the vampire king?” Jonah asks.

Jaxson lets a small smile slip through his bluster. “No, we didn’t need to kill Titus. He changed his ways on his own accord. Well, I suppose his new mate and her best friend had something to do with it, but he relinquished all ownership over the remaining packs.”

Yikes. I can’t imagine allowing the person responsible for my people’s subjugation to continue breathing.

“You’re a better person than I am,” Mari says, affirming my sentiment.

Rafe puts an arm around me. “So you’re here on a goodwill tour? Is that right?”

“Basically.”

I can tell Jaxson isn’t telling us everything, but I don’t scent any deceit or ill will on him, so for now, I trust that whatever he isn’t telling us isn’t our business.

Chapter6

A gay werewolf walks into a bar

Mari excusedherself hours ago and headed back to her cabin.

But I’m still stuck here listening to three alphas—er… two alphas and a sigma—talk on and on about running their packs.

I was totally game at first, excited even. But there’s only so much inside baseball I can take.

“It’s a lot like running a business when it comes down to it.” Rafe says. “But most importantly, you’ve got to take care of your people. Make sure everyone in the pack knows they’re valuable and important.”

Jonah nods along.

“Right. I agree completely,” Jaxson says, and my eyes are literally glazing over. Yup. I’ve turned into living pottery. “But are you telling me your logging business is profitable enough to keep you completely off-grid?”

“Mostly. We get electricity from BC Hydro, but other than that, we’re self sufficient.”

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