He scanned the crowd until he spotted a man with a long scraggly beard and a potbelly. “We even made extra deviled eggs for you, Jimmy.”
Jimmy rubbed his belly before holding up a thumb, which earned him a round of chuckles from the pack.
Abraham’s smile slowly faded as he looked around the wolves below him. “Now, this first bit of news might be a little shocking, but I trust this pack. I know each and every one of you and that’s why I’m so comfortable sharing this with you. I know you’ll react with respect and dignity because that’s who we are as a pack.”
He turned to me and Wes, who’d been standing behind him this whole time. The rest of the McCoy siblings were spread around the patio as well, save for Callie, who was inside the lodge with Mom. At the alpha’s signal, the sliding glass door opened and they both walked out to join us. Abraham took my mom’s hand and pulled her to stand next to him.
“This is Nora Carter. She’s Wyatt and Wes’ mom and she’s been living here with them. What may surprise you, is Nora’s human. We typically wouldn’t allow a human to live on pack lands but seeing how she’s raised two wolves of her own, I think she’s earned a place with us.”
He was quiet for a moment as he looked around again. I was doing the same, eyeing every single pack member for any signs of agitation or hostility. When I found none, I breathed the first real breath I’d taken in a while.
“I expect every single one of you to welcome Nora into our pack the same way you’ve welcomed her sons. She belongs here. She’s a part of us. And I won’t allow her to be treated in any other way. Are we all clear?”
Every wolf in the clearing nodded, their eyes darting from Abraham to Mom and back again.
“Does anyone have an issue with living alongside Nora?” he asked, an edge to his tone.
The people down below glanced at the wolves standing next to them before looking back up at Abraham and shaking their heads.
“Does anyone have anything they’d like to say?”
The gathering was quiet for a long minute before someone cleared their throat and said, “Yeah, welcome to the chaos.” The other wolves laughed as my shoulders slumped and my lungs deflated.
A small nudge in my ribs caught my attention and I turned to find Callie smiling up at me, looking so pretty in that instant, I had to fist my hands to stop from touching her.
“See? I told you it would be fine. Your mom’s safe here.”
She had a wild lock of hair curling away from her face, and before I could stop myself, I reached out and tucked it behind her ear. My fingers tingled where they’d touched her skin and I clenched them by my sides.
“Thanks, Callie. I wouldn’t have done this without you,” I said softly.
Her smile got wider as my heart picked up its pace. I needed to get that thing under control before the whole pack figured out how crazy I was about her.
“Nora, do you have anything you’d like to say?” Abraham asked Mom, redirecting my attention to them again.
She cleared her throat and clasped her hands to her chest. “I’m so happy to be here with you all and can’t wait to get to know you each individually. Please, feel free to stop by for tea anytime. I’d love to have you.”
I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing out loud. My mom really thought tea was the answer to every problem. It was kind of adorable.
Abraham gave Mom’s shoulders a squeeze before walking her over to Wes and me. We stood with her sandwiched between us as the alpha turned back to his pack.
“Unfortunately, that’s the last bit of good news I have for you, folks.” He looked down at his hands that were gripping the railing and sighed heavily. “The other thing I have to tell all of you isn’t so pleasant. In fact, it’s disturbing and dangerous.”
Whispers picked up from below as the rest of the pack anxiously awaited the news.
“For the past nine months, the enforcers and I have been diligently working to solve a problem we’ve come across, but the solution doesn’t seem to be in sight. It’s clear this news should be shared with the rest of you, so you all can keep yourselves safe.”
The whispers were turning into outright talking as the tension ramped up.
“There is a wolf killing human women in our woods. We’ve found four bodies so far and I’m afraid that’s just the beginning.”
Gasps rang through the crowd as loud as gunshots in the quiet clearing.
“Our enforcers are running constant patrols as usual, and we’ve cooperated with local human authorities, but none of us are any closer to finding or stopping this wolf.”
“How do you know it’s a wolf?” someone called out.
Abraham sighed, his shoulders drooping with the weight of the question. “The women we’ve found are all partially shifted. It seems they’re dying during the full moon and he’s leaving them in our woods for us to find.”
“Why would someone want to frame our pack?” someone else asked.
“We don’t know. Unfortunately, there’s a lot we don’t know. All we can do for now is protect ourselves and continue to monitor the situation.”
“But he’s attacking humans, not wolves,” another person said.
“I know, but who knows if that could change? I’d rather you all know what’s going on and protect yourselves than risk your safety. That means, try to keep closer to pack lands during the full moon. That means don’t venture out alone. I want you all in groups of two or three at
