“As long as I don’t crush your toes, we’re fine,” she assured her. Melrose relaxed visibly and continued raiding the cupboards, her ash-blonde hair whipping around.
“I’m sorry, my hands are disgusting, or I would properly introduce myself,” I apologized, holding my fruit covered hands up to show her. “But I’m Sloane, you must be Jahida, Jonah talks about you a lot.”
“Does he?” She smiled lovingly at her mate, who ducked his head. “It’s nice to meet you, Jonah’s told me a lot about you, as well.”
Jonah moved one of the chairs around the table so Jahida’s wheelchair could fit with us. I set the bowl of apricots next to Melrose and washed my hands, watching Jonah and his mate as I did.
Jonah looked at her so tenderly, eyes sweeping over her thin features. Her hair was wrapped up in a cream-colored turban, and her dark eyes and arched brows stood proudly on their own. Her hand laid on top of Jonah’s, her skin a shade lighter, stroking his palm.
Rush reached across me and turned the water off since I was too distracted. I grabbed the towel closest to me and wiped my hands.
“What’s for breakfast?” Jonah asked hungrily.
“Belgian waffles, sausage with apricot glaze, and garlic hash browns,” Melrose called over the steam and sizzles from the stove. Jonah moaned loudly, leaning back in his chair. “I take it that sounds okay?” Melrose giggled.
“If I didn’t already have a mate, Mel,” Jonah joked, winking at Jahida, who shook her head and ignored his antics. Melrose laughed and pulled a pan out of the oven.
“Sloane, what pack did you come from?” Jahida asked, reaching her hand across the table towards me to get my attention.
“Intrepid Pack, it’s about three hours to the east,” I told her.
She nodded and looked off into the distance, trying to remember something. “Was there a Maverick in your pack?” she wondered, eyes narrowing.
“Yeah, he was one of my sister’s friends.”
“I knew it!” she shouted triumphantly. “Our mothers were best friends; we use to play together as children.”
“It’s hard to imagine Maverick playing with anyone, but Ezra and Finn, he’s such a man’s man.” I tried to picture Maverick and Jahida as children.
“Yeah, well, next time he gives you shit, tell him you know about the sleepover, and he’ll shut right up,” she said as she smirked.
“Sleepover?”
“Yes, ma’am! He let me do his makeup, and we played tea party, and he cried during one of those dog movies,” her voice wavered, trying to keep from laughing. “My mother has pictures.”
“Oh my,” I chuckled, saving the information for later. “That’ll definitely come in handy.”
“No problem.”
Melrose set dishes on the table, and we all dug in hungrily. Rush held the plates out to me, waiting for me to put food on my plate first. It was customary that Alpha’s ate first, and this was one way he could show I was his equal.
Jahida noticed and pinched Jonah’s arm, motioning to us with her eyebrows. Jonah paused his attack on putting sausages on his plate and watched.
I took a bite of my waffle, and Rush relaxed and began eating. I ate slowly, wondering why he allowed me the honor of eating first as it was usually the Alpha’s right. We finished breakfast quickly and with little scraps of leftovers.
Melrose cleared the table happily, huffing as Jonah lifted his hand to grab one last sausage off the platter. Rush murmured something to Jonah, and they left the table inconspicuously.
“I’ll never understand men,” Jahida said far away, looking at her mate, disappearing around the corner. I nodded in agreement and stood up. “Have you seen the garden’s yet?”
“No,” I told her, unaware there were even garden’s here. “Where are they?”
She pushed back from the table. “I’ll show you!” I followed her outside and down a small path that led a few minutes through the woods. “My friend Zyra and I tend to the gardens. They used to be dead and decaying, but we took them under our wing, and now they’re the most beautiful part of the pack grounds.”
I picked up my pace, and she pushed herself excitedly towards the gardens. After a moment or two in the woods, we approached a large patch of flowers where pack members were laying, reading, talking, and sunbathing.
There were hundreds, no, thousands of different flowers; coral, amethyst, pastel yellows, and bright cherry reds covered the entire area. My smile grew as she showed me the different areas, what each flower was called, and when they bloomed. We wandered close to the edge of the woods as she pointed out a certain kind of fern that only grew towards the sun.
I lifted my head for a moment and caught movement in the trees. My eyes settled on a human boy, perhaps in his teenage years, that was frozen under my gaze. He was dressed in all black and carried a gun strapped to his back.
He was nervous, unsure of what to do. I knew from my father that his training would have taught him to shoot or alert the other hunters, but he stayed still-breathing labored, sweat building on his forehead.
He darted off to the east, and I turned to the small group of wolves lounging in the gardens.
“Everyone, back to the packhouse,” I ordered loudly, sweat breaking out on my own forehead. The wolves looked up at me, confused and unmoving. “Now!” I roared. Something in my voice made them stand and walk back to the house, casually glancing at me.
“What’s wrong?” Jahida asked next to me as we moved at a quick pace.
“There was a hunter in the woods,” I said loudly so the other wolves could hear. A few of them broke off and began running back, shifting, in fear.
“Go, someone needs to alert the rest of the pack,” Jahida urged. The pack link could be used to notify an individual but not a group, and it was only useful if that person’s mind was open to the message.
I became frustrated, trying to contact
