After what seemed like an eternity, Austin and Cody came out of the conference room and herded me back to the limo. None of us said anything until we were well on our way. “So, how badly did I mess up?” I asked them nervously.
“You did nothing wrong,” Austin told me.
“They had probably already made up their minds before you stepped in the door,” Cody added.
“I don’t think so.” I told them everything that had happened in the meeting, how everything had been going my way until Mr. Reed started talking.
“Hmmm,” Austin said thoughtfully.
Cody frowned. “They might be right.”
I looked at him in shock. They were most definitely not right, I thought to myself. “What makes you say that, Cody?” I asked him with narrowed eyes.
“You haven’t ever met any wolves outside of us. I don’t want you to look back years from now and regret throwing your lot in with us.”
My jaw dropped, surprised that he would think something like that. “There’s no way that’s going to happen,” I told him firmly.
Austin gave me a smile. “That’s good to hear. I’m glad that you still want to stay with us.”
“Of course I do,” I told him.
I got warm smiles from both guys.
I chewed on my lip worriedly. “But how is this going to work? With them having me meet other packs? I was worried they weren’t going to let me leave with you.”
“At first, they weren’t,” Austin told me.
Cody chimed in, “But we made them see reason.”
Austin snorted. “It was more like none of them trusted the others with you.”
“Great,” I groaned.
“They still haven’t decided which packs are going to get time with you or how it’s going to work. They were tossing ideas around about having packs gather on neutral territory or having you visit another pack’s lands.” Austin paused. “The problem with that is that no one is going to trust the pack to give you back at the end of your time with them.”
“They will probably argue amongst themselves for months, honestly,” Cody told me.
That made me brighten up considerably. “They might even forget about me?” I asked hopefully.
Austin gave me a wry smile. “Not likely.”
“Nope.” Cody chuckled.
“The good news is that we officially have custody of you right now. That should make any other pack that is trying to get a hold of you back off,” Austin told me.
Cody nodded. “It also means that any pack interested in you is going to be harassing the council, instead of us. They are all going to be one of the three packs chosen to spend time with you.”
I nodded. All of this was sounding good; I would be left alone in my quiet life with Austin’s pack for a while. That would give me time to get to know all of them better and for me to learn how to manage my wolf-side.
I settled down in my seat and gazed out of the window contently. I also had the opportunity to prove to Austin’s pack that I could be a valuable asset. My stomach growled, and both of the guys looked up from their phones with grins of amusement.
“What? I was too nervous to eat anything substantial today,” I told them defensively.
Cody laughed. “I know a great place not too far from here that has amazing food. How would you feel about a black and blue burger?”
“Oh, yum!” I said enthusiastically.
“So, the thought of new clothes gives you anxiety, but a burger gets you excited?” Austin asked curiously.
“Pretty much,” I responded with embarrassment.
“Oh! That reminds me, Austin. You are probably going to have to talk to Quinn. He’s convinced that I need an entire new wardrobe.”
Austin laughed. “He’s convinced everyone needs an entire new wardrobe.”
“He’s going to end up maxing out your credit card if you don’t talk to him,” I cautioned him.
Austin grinned and cocked his head at me. “I don’t know, Anna, I kind of like you wearing ‘fancy clothes’.” He made air quotes with his hands, and Cody laughed at me.
I shook my head at Austin. “And here I was telling people you were a nice guy.”
“Oh, Anna,” Austin said with a grin. “We can’t have you ruining my reputation.”
The guys stopped teasing me long enough to ask the driver to stop at the restaurant Cody suggested. We had a great time there, and I got to know Austin and Cody some more. Time flew by, and eventually Austin announced regretfully that it was time for us to head back. The guys worked on their phones on the way back while I napped. I was tired after all the anxiety earlier today, and then having a full belly. I had not gotten much sleep the night before either.