“Pack Leader?”
Rovan snapped a glance at him, and the black wolf licked his lips. He glanced down at me, and then back at his boss.
“She is like a cub,” he said. “It will take time.”
“She has no time! If she speaks to the captain like that, she will be dead inside a heartbeat.” He looked at Lomis, his eyes darting between the dark-furred wolf, and Keromil. “Or you will, and I would not like to see that happen.”
And I caught a glimpse of what Mack would look like in wolf skin. Now I got it. Oh.
I tried to speak, to apologize, couldn’t make a sound, and tried to wriggle a little out from under his boot. He looked down, lifted his boot slightly.
“You had something you wanted to add?
“I am sorry, Pack Leader.”
I looked up at him, and then remembered, and closed my eyes. There was a lot to learn.
“You will need the squad, if you are to survive.”
I stared up at him, and then watched as the rest of the pack gathered close. I’d thought there were only six, realized there had been more in a forward compartment. They were all going to keep an eye on me?
“And you are going to let them into your head.”
That had me staring up at his face, and realizing there was no compromise, and no argument. I nodded, and closed my eyes, waiting as he linked the implant through to the rest of them, allowing him to link the implant through the rest of them.
It was like being invaded by twelve oversized, hyper-active puppies.
“Don’t you mean rampaging tantrum machines?”
I was about to say none of them had torn into the implant’s compartments, when Lomis ran three strings of code in quick succession, and the implant was left wide open. Well, f…
Twelve minds stilled, and so did I.
Rovan snickered.
“Now, you might have half a chance.”
Twelve heads in mine, and I only rated half a chance? Lomis tapped me on the chest, and stood, and the other wolves moved back. I had twelve... brothers? Macks and Tenses? In my head? Oh, Stars, I hoped this wasn’t permanent.
“Lomis and Keromil are in charge. The others will help if they’re not enough,” and it was as much an order for the squad, as it was for me.
I lay there and looked at him, and then saw the hands my two keepers had extended towards me. Taking them was easy, given I had no idea what lay ahead of me. We were a contract, right? The Shady Marie and her crew?
A contract.
And it would do me good to remember that.
Taking the help offered, I got to my feet, and couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder to see what had happened to Abby. My interest didn’t go undetected, and twelve heads turned as one looking from me to the Dasojin ship, and back, again.
“She will bring a bonus to the contract,” Rovan said, and turned to go.
I might have stood there and stared at him, if it hadn’t been for Lomis’s hand curling around my bicep, and pulling me forward. I shot him a glare, and he raised his lip in a silent snarl, let go of my arm, and clipped me over the back of the head—again.
I nearly stopped and slugged him, except that Keromil grabbed my other arm, and kept me moving forward, and another squad member pushed me, using a hand in the center of my back. Really?
Like—really?
I followed after Rovan, all too aware of the wolves around me. They were all far too pleased with themselves. I opened my mouth to ask where we were going, and got two hands to the back of the head, and an extra set of fingers pushing between the shoulder blades.
Didn’t these guys ever let up?
“They are responsible for keeping you alive in spite of yourself—and they don’t want to disappoint me.”
From the feelings that cascaded through my head, disappointing their pack leader was not something to be considered, not even lightly. I wondered why, and was poked, slapped and pushed from a dozen different directions at once.
“Loyalty to pack is all,” Rovan translated, and I nodded.
Loyalty. Pack. Pack Leader is all. Gotit.
And someone ruffled my hair.
I did not need to hear Lomis’s “good pup” in my head to know I was on the right track. It still didn’t stop me from wondering where we were going as we marched through the familiar corridors of Mack’s ship. I wondered if we’d get to keep it.
Rovan snorted, but did not elaborate—and I figured Mack might have already blown that deal all to the Stars and back. Whatever. I guess the only way to find out what was going on was to follow Rovan, and stay quiet.
Another “good pup” echoed through my skull, but, this time, it was not accompanied by a pat on the head—for which I was grateful, since I was about to forget my manners and slug the next wolf to try it. Keromil’s low voice in my ear made me jump.
“That would be bad,” he said, and draped his arm across my shoulders.
I thought about shrugging it off, but it tightened, and I sighed.
Fine. Whatever.
Rovan took us through to Conference Room Nine, and I remembered the last time I’d stood there. Another briefing, Mack in charge. I swallowed sadness. This was not how I’d imagined returning to the ship. It was distracting when Rovan held his hand behind him. I stared at it. It was almost like he was expecting something to be passed to him.
“Here,” he ordered, and both Keromil and Lomis pushed me forward.
Oh. I took the pack leader’s hand, and let him pull me to his side. Why he placed his arm across my shoulders, I don’t know. It wasn’t like I was going anywhere—and I sure as shit didn’t need a hug. This time it was Keromil who smacked me over the back of the head.
I ducked
