Page 17 of Claiming the Wolf Daddy

“He has school,” Cole said with a shrug. “Bad idea to take a kid out during such a formative time, you know?”

“Sure, sure. Next time, then,” Victor said. “We’ve got some time before dinner starts. Why don’t you come along with me, and I’ll introduce you to some folks?”

Cole nodded and took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. I sensed the slightest moment of hesitation in Victor before he turned to lead us away. I looked up at Cole, and he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

Victor led us back out of the main room and down the hall until we reached what looked like a study of some kind. He opened the door and ushered us inside. The room was nice, with plenty of lounging furniture and a table brimming with nicely displayed refreshments. I suddenly felt a little embarrassed by the refreshments I’d prepared for our meeting as I took in what the Silver Moon pack had to offer: crystal decanters with wine, scotch whiskey, and heated trays with finger foods. It made my chips, pastries, and cured meats look like the orange slices kids took home from soccer games.

Cole squeezed my hand again. “Nervous?” he whispered.

“A little,” I admitted.

“I’ve got you. I promise I won’t let anyone disrespect you.”

I smiled up at him and nodded before looking around the room. All eyes were glued on us. Some looked quietly surprised, others looked guarded and suspicious. Cole rubbed his thumb over my palm, and I realized he hadn’t just promised to protect me for no reason.

He’d done it because he’d noticed the suspicion immediately. He’d said those things for the people in the room to hear more than for me.

“Everyone, this is my grandson Cole and his mate Marley,” Victor said. He crossed his arms, looking so much like Cole that it was uncanny. “Listen up. All of you have been extremely lucky that you haven’t had to face the reality of the new policies enacted a few years ago. We’re pretty remote out here; we’re also a long-standing pack and don’t encounter a lot of outsiders. The few humans we’ve had to deal with have been by happenstance and bad luck when it comes to mating.”

I was a little shocked by what I was hearing. Victor was talking about me like I wasn’t right there in the room with him. Like I was a dog with her owner instead of a person.

“I’m not going to tolerate anyone being rude or exclusionary to my kin,” Victor snapped. “Is that clear to all of you?”

The silence in the room was deafening.

“Victor, we would never deny your kin,” one of the people in the room said. It was another older man, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “But this girl isn’t blood. We all know humans and shifters can’t be true mates. We’re happy to give her a warm welcome, but expecting us to treat her like our kind—to bring her into private matters—isn’t appropriate.”

“She is my mate—by all definitions of the term,” Cole said sternly. “I love her, we’re physically united, and I can sense her emotions.”

There was a quiet rumble of voices in the room.

“That’s impossible,” the same man said, the anger in his tone more pronounced.

“So, you, on your own, are the authority on all things that are possible when it comes to shifters?” Cole challenged. “She was bitten once by one of our kind, and medical intervention kept her from going into the shift. But we know now that all people have the recessive shifter gene. Who’s to say that the aborted bite didn’t change things on an epigenetic level?”

I frowned. Was that even possible? Could I be partially shifted? Could I lack the ability to shift, but carry other innate abilities or traits?

And earlier, when Cole gave me that look…that was because he’d sensed my emotions? My little passing attraction to Victor? Had I been feeling Cole’s emotions, too? I thought about the previous couple of weeks, anxiety roiling in my stomach. Why hadn’t Cole mentioned anything about this to me?

I felt another tight squeeze of my hand, almost painful this time. Cole met my eyes. Just as he did, calm washed over me—the very same calm that often eased me after my terrible nightmares. He gave me a near-imperceptible nod. Swallowing, I lifted my chin in response.

“If you’re so sure about her, then why haven’t you claimed her?” another pack member asked.

Victor stiffened. “Who the fuck just asked that?”

The room was tense and silent as Victor glared at everyone in turn. He had his jaw clenched so tight, I thought his teeth might break. Cole’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he watched his grandfather.

“No one brave enough to take responsibility for their fat mouth?” Victor asked. “Fine, I’ll address the room to make it clear to all of you.” He walked over to the table with the decanters and poured himself a glass of whiskey before tossing it back. “I don’t care what you think about my grandson’s choice of mate. I don’t care if you dislike her, and I don’t care if you don’t trust her. The private lives of two mates is no one else’s business.” He turned back toward the room. “And if Cole says this human woman is his mate, then I expect you to treat her with the same respect you would my mate. You understand me? This boy is my family. Any disrespect towards him will be treated the same way that insubordination is treated when it’s expressed toward me. Is that clear?”

“And claimed or not, if anyone so much as glances sideways at my mate, we’re going to have a fucking problem,” Cole threatened. “I’ve come here to learn from this pack, but I’m not beyond protecting my people. That means I expect everyone to respect my mate, her older brother, and my second, who is considering becoming a shifter. I expect to be treated like any other alpha visiting your pack.”

Victor looked over at Cole, a glimmer of pride in the older man’s eyes. “We’re going to have a pleasant feast tonight,” Victor said. “And tomorrow, you are all being made available to my grandson and his pack for whatever they need. I don’t care if Miss Cage asks you to teach her how to make a fucking omelet—you will treat my family right.”

I was starting to wish I hadn’t come into this room. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife, and it seemed like the source of it was me. Despite that, I found myself staying calm. This issue used to cause me so much panic, so I figured it was Cole’s influence that was bringing out this uncharacteristic calm.

The silence lasted too long for it to be comfortable. But then, shockingly, one of the younger people in the room stood up. Not just younger—young. He looked around twenty years old, his long hair tied in a bun on the top of his head. He was tall, lanky, tan, and had kind eyes. He approached us, and Cole again subtly moved in front of me before the guy could reach me.

“May I speak to your mate?” he asked in a soft timbre, as if he was breathing through his words. “I’m happy to speak through you, but it does feel a little disrespectful.”

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