Few hunters, however brave, wanted to screw around with wolves. That ratio I mentioned? It shrinks considerably when it's a pack of us against two or three of them in bright orange. We'd never had to kill before to protect ourselves, but there was a first time for everything.
I grabbed as many bags as I could carry, including two in my teeth, and nudged the cabin door open.
Her scent hit me full in the face and I wasn't ready for it.
Fur prickled to life on the back of my neck, down my spine, and along the tops of my ears. I inhaled and let it out with a shudder. The new girl was almost in heat and someone had barebacked her into next week. And, jealous as I was, I was deeply impressed by the fact that Hudson had let loose. The guy had been a stick since his mate had passed. He'd needed their romp as much as she did from the smell in the room.
I wandered into the kitchen and found Hudson, fully dressed and looking very pleased with himself, chopping jalapenos for dinner. A dozen steaks lay out on the counter, covered with a dry rub that he'd been using since we were all in college. Nutmeg, ginger, and a handful of other oddities went into it, but I swear, it was the best steak I'd ever tasted.
"Where are the others?"
I snorted and dumped the groceries on the counter. "Always nice to be appreciated. I bring you food, booze, take care of all the puppy dogs and kitty cats-"
"You didn't have to take it upon yourself, you know. And I did send a dozen helpers once you told me that it was an actual rescue, not some sort of miniature zoo," Hudson said, popping a knob of butter from one of the many sticks on the counter and tossing it into the pan.
I started to put the dry goods up, leaving the frozen shit to thaw. It always irritated him when I did that. "I'm just jealous that you got her before I did."
The first steak snapped and crackled as he smacked it into the pan. A bit of hot butter jumped onto my skin and I tightened my hands at the shock of pain. Slight, pleasant, threatening to make my pants tighter than they already were.
Hudson eyed me. "You're a real kinky fuck."
"Your cousin knows better than you ever will," I said, putting a box of cereal away.
"Right. But where are Gabe and Xav? They aren't answering the phone and I expected them to show up about the same time you did."
I crumpled the bag and stuffed it into another, as you do. "I didn't see them on the road. Could be that they were a little behind me and didn't have a signal. The weather's getting worse. Just means that Lillian won't run out here to fuck with us."
If I'd thrown a punch at him, Hudson wouldn't have been more surprised. He dropped the spatula and stared at me. "I didn't think of that."
"You really didn't think of the fact that Lil knows exactly where this place is? That she knows because we rented it all the time for full moons and she came along?"
He scowled at me. "She just knows we rented it. She has no idea that we bought the place and the land with it."
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together, Huds."
The spatula retrieved, he chucked it in the sink and pulled out another one. "I'm open to suggestions."
"We spend the night here, load back up, and head to her place. Lillian doesn't know who she is, and the Meet won't congregate until the full moon. Besides. There's stuff that needs to be fixed there and we could all use a break from corporate land."
I finished off the last of the groceries and watched him as he contemplated it. As he moved the first steak from the pan to a plate so it could rest, he sighed. "It makes you feel like less of a man to hide at a woman's house."
He wasn't wrong. A small part of me was perfectly happy to face the oncoming danger with claws and fangs, but that wouldn't serve Tommy or our new pack member. She was too new, too young, and had no idea what she was doing in a fight on her paws. I was sure she could throw a punch as a person, but the furious dance that was a wolf's fighting capability took years to learn.
We didn't have years to teach her.
"Let me talk to her," I said. "I'm sure she has a thousand questions and all you've done is put your dick in her. Where's she at?"
Hudson crinkled his nose at me. "You're so goddamned crass. Billions of dollars and you sound like some frat asshole."
"I make you cuss," I beamed. "That's what matters to me. Where is she?"
"Upstairs."
Perfect. I slapped him on the ass and trotted away. Up the stairs I went, following her scent. It was touched with bubble bath and freesia oil, though I had to admit I'd never seen a freesia flower so I had no idea if it was authentic or not. The walk was quick, I was surprisingly tired after my day, and I hoped I'd be able to sink my teeth into the steaks before Xav got a single bite.
Of the many doors on the hallway, only one was cracked open. Inside, I heard splashing. I certainly wasn't going to complain if I caught her getting out of the tub. I crept inside, the splashing increasing. Was she rolling around in there or something?
Rather than walking in on a gorgeous, by all the accounts I'd heard so far, young
