Page 26 of Family: Posy 4

"Flicker is very restless. Do you mind if I walk around outside?" She tilted her head at us and her hazel eyes showed how antsy her wolf was. "It might help calm her, as she is more used to that in the summer. We're only cooped up indoors during the winter."

We agreed, and Cole asked her to stay within calling distance in case we needed her. She nodded, then left and we heard the front door open, then close seconds later.

"Why did you bring her here?" I asked.

"She came to fighter practice." Cole shrugged. "She's not that great, but she's strong and hardworking. She said her alpha doesn't let the females train even if they want to. Anyway, I want to try to call him again. This is getting ridiculous. I can't understand why he's stalling to get her home."

"Well, there's no way that she's a problem for the pack," Mase snorted. "She's a lot like our girl."

"True." Cole and I both nodded.

So far as any of us had observed, Grace Turnbull was a curvy, sweet, shy, cute young lady. At nineteen, she was loving life here at Five Fangs, which was a far cry from White Pelt, a very primitive pack in the back of beyond in northern Canada that couldn't even offer reliable cell or internet service.

According to Grace, Alpha Rimsky had an office, which was little more than a trapper's shack, on the pack border near a human town. He kept a landline with an answering machine - not even voicemail! - that he checked once a day in the warmer months and maybe once a week otherwise. Cole had left three messages so far and had only received one call back, during which Alpha Rimsky explained that the pack was deep into preparations for winter as it would begin snowing in about a month, and he couldn't spare anyone to fetch her, nor could he fund a plane ticket until the summer pelts were sold.

Whateverthatmeant.

While some wolves thrived in such survivalist circumstances, Grace didn't want to go home. She was fascinated by even the smallest luxuries, such as television and indoor plumbing, and wanted to go to 'real' school, something she couldn't do at White Pelt. The den mother at our pack house said the poor kid didn't even know how to use the microwave.

A big problem for me was that White Pelt didn't have doctors of their own, let alone a clinic. If it didn't kill you, they reasoned, you'd recover eventually. I could understand that for those who had their wolves, but it was a harsh philosophy when it came to pups.

"I'd be fine keeping her here," I admitted with a shrug as I saw her outside our window.

She'd stopped walking around and simply stood there with her nose tilted up and her eyes closed.

"Cole, get a hold of her alpha soonest, even if you have to send a message by freaking sled dog or tie a note around a snow goose's leg," Mase muttered, making us chuckle. "Posy liked her when they met, and that's a good enough recommendation for me. If Alpha Rimsky's okay with her joining our pack - and Ash and Wyatt are, too - so am I."

And then the issue suddenly became moot in the best possible way.

Alphas,Landry linked us out of the blue, Oak keeps saying to go back there. Is someone at your offices?

We looked at each other, then turned as one to stare out the window at Grace. Her whole attention was fixed on the forest, her hazel eyes unwavering even as her body began to tremble.

Yes, we linked him, and left him hanging even as he pestered us to say who.

Grinning, we crowded around the window to watch the show and didn't have a long wait before Oak burst out of the treeline and skidded to a halt a few feet in front of the girl, who grinned and held out a fist for Oak to smell.

Landry, on the other hand, was panicking, and his fear plucked the gamma bond like I did my guitar strings.

What do I do?he shouted. Alphas, what do I do?! She's so pretty! She's going to reject me. A beautiful girl like her won't want me!

Calm down, Landry,Mase said on a soft laugh.She'll love you. Stop panicking.

Let her say hi to Oak, then come shift in the bathroom again,I suggested.

Unless,Cole snickered,you want to give your mate a preview of what she'll be seeing later.

Not funny, alpha!he snarled.What if this is another curse? I don't think I can survive that again. What—

Do you smell something irresistible?Mase intervened.

Yes. Honeysuckle. I want to bathe in it.

Is Oak excited beyond belief?Cole asked.

Obviously.

Get close enough that he can touch her. Do you feel mate sparks?I threw in my two cents.

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