Chapter Ten
They sat in Brock’s car in front of a quaint log cabin on the outskirts of Louisville. The drive had been a long one since it was situated on hundreds of acres, and Autumn’s anxiety had slowly risen with every mile they had traveled.
Brock must have sensed her worry, because he had tried to soothe her in his own way by holding her hand on the way there. It had helped, but this trip was too important to relax.
They were coming to see the alpha of the Louisville wolf pack for his blessing on their mating. Brock was also going to ask for permanent acceptance into the pack.
So much was riding on this one visit. Autumn was afraid of what would happen to Brock if the pack alpha didn’t accept them as mates or Brock into the pack. Could a wolf live without a pack to call his own? Her worries were a sharp reminder that she had a lot to learn about shifter culture, but she was more than ready to do so.
“You ready, love?”
Autumn looked over to the man who had captured her heart and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Both of them got out of the car and walked to meet each other in front of it.
Grabbing each other’s hand, Brock squeezed hers tightly to get her attention. “It’s going to be okay, Autumn. You’ll see.”
She was glad he had so much faith in the pack and its alpha, but she didn’t know them. It was hard to have faith in people you didn’t know. At this point, all she could do was hope for the best.
Walking forward, they made their way up the front porch steps and stopped in front of the heavy-looking wooden door. Brock knocked hard twice, and then Autumn held her breath as they waited for it to open. She didn’t have to wait long.
The wooden door pulled back to reveal a man just a bit taller than her Brock, with amber eyes and shaggy dark-brown hair. She could see the wildness of his wolf in his human features. It both scared and awed her.
Once the man caught sight of Brock, a big smile lit his face and he held his hand out for Brock to shake. “Brock! How the hell are you, man?”
Brock released her hand to shake the alpha’s. “Damn good, James. Brought a surprise.” With that said, he let go of the alpha’s hand and grabbed Autumn’s again. Waving his free hand in her direction, he said, “I’d like to introduce you to my mate, Autumn Gray.”
Once again, she found herself holding her breath.
The alpha named James turned his head in her direction and tipped it to the side as he scrutinized her. Autumn stood there, trying to decide if she should say anything, but before she could, James leaned toward her just slightly and took a deep inhale.
“She’s not wolf.” He turned his head toward Brock and cocked an eyebrow at him.
Brock’s whole body tensed at the alpha’s words, and Autumn started to wonder if there really was going to be a problem with who she was.
“No, she’s not, Alpha. She’s a witch. Do you have a problem with that?”
The alpha leaned back on his heels and clapped his hands in glee as a big smile crossed his face. “Hell no!” Holding his hand out to Autumn, she took it hesitantly and let the big man shake it. “Let me be the first to congratulate you on your mating.” He let go of her hand and turned back to Brock to shake his again. “Does she live here in the area?”
Brock shook the alpha’s hand with enthusiasm this time. “Sure does. That’s part of the reason we’re here—”
“You want to finally join the pack?” the alpha asked with the same big smile on his face.
Brock nodded in answer. “With your permission, I would like to officially join the Louisville pack, sir.”
James clapped his hands again, the sound loud and sharp, as he barked a laugh. “Damn straight you’re welcome here with us! Both you and your mate. It’ll be good to have new blood in the pack. Now we’ll not only have a new wolf, but a witch in the family, too. That should prove to be interesting.”
Autumn’s worries lifted temporarily off her shoulders as she looked over and saw the joy on her mate’s face. However, her musing was cut short as the alpha’s next comment caught her attention.
“This requires a celebratory run, Brock.”
Celebratory run? Autumn wondered.
She didn’t have to ponder long. Brock let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her close into his body. “That sounds great, Alpha, but I don’t want to leave Autumn alone.”
James looked over to her and winked. “No worries there. I have just the person to keep her company.” Sticking his head back in through his doorway, the Alpha barked out, “Raven!”
A moment later, a trim and gorgeous woman with long black hair appeared next to the alpha. She gave a little wave to Brock then looked at Autumn with curiosity.
James pointed to the woman and said, “I know you’ve met Raven before, Brock, since she’s Jimmy’s sister. She was here helping me with some pack business. She can stay and keep Autumn company while we go for a run.”
Brock looked to Autumn with questioning eyes. There was indecisiveness there. She could tell her mate was struggling on deciding whether to leave her or not. She didn’t need her mate to say anything to know that this run was important.
Turning her attention from Brock to the woman, Autumn stuck her hand out and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Autumn, Brock’s mate.”
Raven gently grabbed her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Autumn. As the alpha said, my name is Raven. My brother Jimmy works with Brock at his tattoo studio, so you’ll probably see me quite a bit since I like to stop by and see them.”
Raven seemed friendly, which was enough for Autumn to look at her mate and tell him, “Go for your run.” She gave him a wink to let him know she really was okay.
Relief covered Brock’s features before he squeezed her in a hug. “Thanks, love.”
The alpha cut in before anything else could be said. “Perfect. Once I change, I’ll call for the other wolves. Autumn, have you ever seen a shifter turn into his animal before?”
She shook her head and gave Brock big eyes. “You’re going to shift?”
Brock gave her an amused grin. “Well, we weren’t going to go running in our human forms, love.” He leaned over and gave Autumn a sound kiss on the lips. Then, after he caressed her face, he whispered against her lips, “I’ll be back soon. I won’t leave you for long.”
Pulling back, she watched as Brock walked down the porch stairs with the alpha and stood in the front yard where the two men started to take off their clothes. Her jaw dropped, and she heard Raven chuckle at her as she came to stand beside her.
“Shifters aren’t afraid to get naked, hon. It’s in our nature. Besides, shifting with clothes on can be a bitch. Ever seen a wolf walking around with a shirt on? Total disaster.”
Once both men were naked, Autumn made herself stare at Brock’s body and his body alone. Somehow, it felt like cheating if she even glimpsed at the alpha’s naked backside, which was fine with her because her mate was gorgeous enough to stare at anyway. Then it dawned on Autumn that Raven was standing there, looking at her man naked, too!
When Autumn turned an evil eye on the woman, Raven laughed and held her hands up in surrender. “Calm down, girl. I swear I won’t look at your mate changing. No need to claw my eyes out.”
Autumn snorted a laugh. “I don’t know about claw them out, but I could probably come up with a spell to make you temporarily blind.”
She looked back to her mate just in time to watch him drop to his hands and knees. There, on the ground on all fours, his back bowed and she could hear bones start to snap, crackle, and pop. It was a sickening sound, but Brock didn’t seem to be in any pain.
Hair sprouted all along his body. A mixture of both light brown and gray, with a few white tufts here and there. His face elongated, a tail sprouted, and in less than a few minutes, there stood a large timber-looking wolf.
The wolf looked back at her with a question in his eyes, but Autumn didn’t understand what he wanted.
Raven placed her hand on Autumn’s shoulder. “Go see him. He wants to know if you approve or not.”
That was all Brock wanted? Of course she approved of him! He was gorgeous in his wolf form.
Autumn walked down the steps and closed the distance between them unafraid of the unnaturally large wolf that was her mate. She walked right up to him, placing her hand on his head so she could touch his fur. It was soft under her fingers. She pet his head between his ears.
When Brock the wolf looked up at her, she could see his eyes were still the same gorgeous blue they had been in his human form. Seeing him like this was amazing. She hoped their future children would have the ability to shift like their father.
She dropped to her knees in front of him and hugged his furry body against her. Brock’s wolf nuzzled her neck for a few seconds then pulled back out of her grip to lick her face, making her laugh.
Suddenly, a loud howl ripped through the air, surprising Autumn. She looked over to see the alpha with his head back as he let the sound loose.
Brock the wolf looked from her to the alpha, then back at her again. He gave her one last lick to the face then turned to stand by the large alpha wolf who waited for him as other howls sounded from the entire forest around them.
“Come sit on the porch and wait with me, Autumn,” Raven called her over.
She got to her feet and watched as Brock ran after the alpha, disappearing into the woods. Then she turned to walk back to the porch where Raven waited for her.
There were two chairs toward one end of the porch. Raven waved her hand at them before occupying one herself.
“So, I overheard from inside the house that you’re a witch?” Raven asked as Autumn sat down in the chair across from her.
She nodded. “I am. Do you know anything about witches or magic?”
A sparkle of interest entered the other woman’s eye as she leaned forward excitedly. “No, not at all. Can you show me some? I’d love to see what you can do.”
A kernel of warmth bloomed in Autumn’s heart. She hoped all the wolves of this pack were going to accept her so easily. Until then, this was her chance to make a good impression and have a little fun.
Feeling more than a little mischievous, Autumn asked, “Ever thought about changing your hair color?”
Raven’s eyes went wide for a second, then she shrugged. “Shifters can’t dye their hair, really. Or, I should say, the color change never holds for more than a day.”
Holding her fingertips in front of Raven’s eyes, Autumn snapped them as she concentrated on visualizing a different color for Raven’s hair. It didn’t take more than a second.
Autumn smirked at the other woman. “Check your hair now.”
Raven grabbed her hair with both hands and held tufts of the silky locks up to her face, shocked at what she saw. “Oh, my God, you gave me purple hair!”
Suddenly feeling a little shy, Autumn blushed as she asked, “Do you like it?”
Raven’s eyes snapped up to meet her own as she shouted, “Are you kidding me, bitch? I love it! How long will it last?”
Beaming in pride, Autumn answered, “Until you want me to change it back, so just let me know, okay?”
Raven reached forward and hugged Autumn, surprising the hell out of her. Before she could hug her back, though, Raven sat back and asked excitedly, “Can you make someone go bald? Because I’d love for you to do that to my brother Jimmy!”
Autumn laughed, but more than anything, she was overcome by the approval she had received so far from the Louisville pack. More than anything, she was humbled by their acceptance. She knew she had a lot to learn about shifter culture, but she was ready. With Brock by her side, she was ready for anything.
Now she just had to figure out how to make a wolf shifter go bald.