At his words, one of the vespis leant in and touched me on the shoulder. I jumped, pivoting away from him, one hand going for a blaster that wasn’t there, the other reaching for a blade I no longer carried. The vespis reared back, and then lunged forward, seizing me by both shoulders and pulling me towards its jaws, rose-colored mist wisping from its mandibles.
I’d already started to fight, drawing in a breath to start shouting for Mack, when I breathed in the mist, as well. Oh... oh! I’d forgotten they could do this. As the sweet-smelling pheromone filled my nose and mouth, I felt my body relax, and then I remembered, and registered the red-tinge to the vespis’s carapace.
“You’re one of the royal guard?”
I turned to Mack.
“She’s one of the royal guard.”
I watched his eyes darken.
“Where is your queen?”
This time, I heard the wasp’s voice in my mind.
“She escaped. We did not.”
Its gesture included the other vespis, and the weavers in the room.
“The others of our cohort did not survive as long.” It turned to me. “Your captain has said he will do his best to return us to our homeworlds, but that he has an errand to run, first. We will assist you in this endeavor.”
I caught the brief shake of Mack’s head, and was about to convey his refusal, when the wasp raised its clawed forehand.
“You have to let us repay,” it said. “This is not too much for us to ask—and you are in need of assistance, if you are facing a force of arach.”
I saw Mack open his mouth to argue, and then close it again. Instead, he lifted his head and surveyed everyone in the room. Everyone. Because they were standing as still as statues, their heads cocked as they caught the wasp’s words in their mind, and I realized the damned thing had broadcast the entire conversation.
It tilted its head towards me, amusement in the angle of its antenna.
“Of course. This is not a decision for us to make on our own. All should be given the chance for thanks or revenge.” It gestured to the nearest wolf, and I realized he was in hybrid form, his ears cocked forward, his eyes eager. “See? This is Pack Leader Angravine. He seeks vengeance.” Its mind voice softened with what might have been sympathy. “...and a new pack.”
I looked at Angravine, and the wolf slid me a yellow-eyed glance. He gestured towards the cub holding Mack’s hand.
“I will see if that one’s father would consider my membership.”
At Mack’s side, the cub stood taller, his eyes bright and alert... and assessing. Honestly, the little bugger was already sizing Angravine up and deciding his worth. I wanted to shake the shit out of him.
“Don’t,” Mack said, and I curled my lip.
Clearly, the dampeners didn’t work on him.
His mouth twitched, and I thought he might actually have smiled.
“Captain’s privilege,” he said, and I stared at him, but he was talking and very pointedly ignoring anything I was thinking. “You wanta turn around so you’re not standing with your back to our guests?”
I turned, but this brought me face to face with the vespis, again, so I took a step back, and ended up against Mack’s chest. The vespis stepped to one side so I found myself facing everyone gathered in the caf. I can’t say I found that an improvement.
For a long moment, I stared at them, and they stared back, and then Angravine surveyed the gathered wolves, a low snarl rippling from his lips. I held my breath, pretty sure the lupar pack leader had just claimed his right to lead them, and an all-out brawl was about to ensure.
It didn’t. One by one, the wolves walked across to look him over, and then stand behind him. He stood head and shoulders above most of them, in much the same way as Pack Leader Rovan had stood just a little taller than his squad. There were two exceptions, both female, and both standing nearly as tall as he did. They waited until the others had made their choices.
When they were all that was left, they came to stand before Angravine, but not directly in front of him. In fact, if I hadn’t known any better, I’d have said they were setting him up for a pincer attack. Even the captain’s cub drew a sharp breath as they came to a halt.
“We are Outliers,” said the female who’d led the way across the deck.
She, too, stood in human form, her hair a thick, luxurious chestnut in contrast to her companion’s more silvery hue. Angravine made a show of looking her up and down, and she looked back, her ears tilted forward, her tail stiff and still. When he made to take a step towards her, both Outliers snarled.
Around them, the caf stood still. Vespis and Weaver watched the exchange with wary curiosity, and the few humans among them stood poised for action—although whether it was to fight or flee, I could not tell. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, when Angravine stopped moving forward, and held up one hand in placation.
“Will you run the edges for me?” he asked, and I thought I caught a touch of pleading in his tone.
The two she-wolves exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming amber. After a moment’s silence, they both looked towards him, and dipped their chins in assent.
“We will run the edges for you... Pack Leader,” the chestnut female said, and the room breathed once more, watching as she and her partner moved to stand on the outer edges of Angravine’s newly formed pack.
When they had taken their places, Angravine looked towards Mack, and me.
“We are ready to help you,” he said, “and, when we are done, I ask that you will speak for us.”
Mack gave the pack leader a very lupar dip of the chin in agreement.
“I will speak for you.”
The pack leader’s eyes shifted to me,
