Chapter 12

Anna

Austin’s father had called Reagan, giving me an excuse to escape from her. Kaitlyn had brought some truly gorgeous dresses, but I doubted I would have much opportunity to wear them. Kaitlyn had seemed much more reasonable than Reagan and was supportive of me dressing appropriately for my role here in the pack.

“Regardless of how fabulous an outfit is, it has to be appropriate for the occasion.” She had told me with a grin. “Otherwise, you just look pretentious.”

I had smiled warmly at her. She understood and had been really helpful to me. I now had almost a third of my closet filled with all types of clothing that I might need when I visited the other packs. That might not seem like a lot, but that amount of clothes would have stuffed a normal sized closet to bursting.

I felt much more confident in my ability to blend in with the other female wolves that I might meet and not feel inferior to them. Kaitlyn had taken all of my preferences into account and worked with me to find clothing that was ‘fancy’ but that I would feel confident wearing.

As much as I would like to complain about spending the morning with Reagan, she had done a lot to help me since she was here. When I tried on a truly stunning floor length red gown I had gazed into the mirror, unsure that I was going to be able to pull it off.

Reagan had walked over to me and raised my chin with her fingers. “You are one of the most beautiful wolves I know, but you need to wear the dress and not let it wear you.” I had straightened up and squared my shoulders back.

I was worthy of having beautiful things, I told myself firmly. My days of cowering in a corner and staying hidden were over. Tears came to my eyes when I realized just how much I was still letting my past control me.

I was still looking to Austin and the other wolves to give me reassurance and confidence when it should be coming from within. I had survived so much and become better and stronger for it. It was time to stand proudly on my own two feet, or sometimes four, knowing that my pack was standing behind me. I needed to stoke the flames of my inner fire back to life. I had let it be dampened down for too long.

Reagan had smiled proudly at me when she saw my demeanor change. “You have a lot in your inner depths; you need to let more of that out. That fire and strength is what you need to combine with your sweetness to make a good mate for your pack-master.”

I nodded at her and smiled. She was right. She might annoy me with the way that she challenged me, but she had helped me by doing so.

Reagan was in her room now, talking with her husband. After I walked Kaitlyn out I went in search of the guys. If Mr. Zilker was done with the council meeting, then so was Austin.

I was half-way to the war room when I heard Jason. “Pssst, Anna.”

I turned to him anxiously. “She’s upstairs. Have you heard what happened?”

He came around the corner from where he had been hiding. “Nope. Is the meeting over?”

“It has to be, Reagan’s on the phone with Mr. Zilker. Let’s go find James.” I told him determinedly. I quickly walked to the war room with Jason close behind.

I didn’t bother to knock on the door, I just barged in. James was on the phone but gave me a small smile as I entered.

I hovered over him anxiously, was he talking to Austin now?

I leaned close to him to see what I could hear, tapping into my wolf senses. I mentally gave myself a high five when I succeeded more easily than before.

James wasn’t impressed, he leaned back in his chair and gave me a little wave as if he were shooing me away. Because it was James I leaned a little closer.

I couldn’t hear anything, it sounded like he was on hold anyway. I sighed and backed off.

“Well?” I asked him with my arms crossed in front of my body. He knew why we were here.

I saw a brief flash of amusement in his eyes before his face went back to its usual grumpiness. “He’s free.”

I gave a girly squeal and Jason picked me up and swung me around the room. I couldn’t even turn down my happy grin when James gave us an annoyed look and started talking to Trevor.

“Let’s go get Mace and celebrate.” Jason said as he set me back down. I hesitated, should I stick around here and listen in on James? James solved that problem for me when he hung up the phone.

“I’m sure the guys are going to be hungry when they get back.” James suggested.

I nodded. Cooking a good meal for my guys was something that I could do after spending the last 24 hours feeling helpless. But what would Caleb want most after his ordeal? I followed Jason out of the room and outside where Mason was out in the grass, playing with the pups.

I laughed, Jason was usually the one to indulge them in playtime. I ran out to chase after the puppies and all five of us played together for a few minutes.

Mason stood up. “I thought you were going to get food?” he asked Jason.

Jason shrugged. “I found Anna instead.” He gave me a wicked grin. “Anna is a much more delicious treat than anything that we could find inside.”

Mason gave a low laugh, “True.”

I blushed. Now that Caleb was coming home, we should probably figure out what was going on between the three of us. I shook my head, even thinking that to myself sounded strange. I decided it was best to shelve that topic for now.

“The guys will probably be back soon, I want to have a feast to celebrate Caleb’s release.” I told them firmly.

“A feast?” Mason teased me.

“Yup.” I grinned at him. “Trevor, Davis, and Mike are with them, so we are going to need a lot of food.”

The other guys both laughed out loud. “You forgot about Cody,” Jason said drily.

I smacked his shoulder. “You guys have no room to talk. I’m surprised Austin doesn’t go broke trying to feed all of you.”

We started to head back up to the house, but I abruptly stopped. “Why make it just us?” I asked.

The twins turned back to look at me. “Let’s invite everyone in the pack, we should all celebrate together. A victory for one is a victory for all.”

Mason smirked. “I’m going to ignore that cheesy line and just agree with you.”

“I’m down for it.” Jason chuckled. “Austin likes having the pack here, he would be happy to come back and see everyone here waiting for them.”

“A lot of the pack is still on guard duty or stationed around the territory.” Mason warned.

“That’s okay.” I told them. “It’s Sunday and still early in the afternoon. We can make it an all-day thing and spread out the food so everyone can enjoy.”

Mason gave me a wary look. “You need us to go get some groceries, don’t you?”

I gave him my best charming smile. “I actually need you to make a special trip to the butcher’s. I can’t imagine any wolves turning down freshly grilled meat.”

Jason chuckled. “You have a point there. Throw in some of your brownies and I’m sure we wouldn’t be able to keep anyone away.”

I had some bounce in my step as we went back to the kitchen and I gave the twins a list of what I needed them to get. I wasn’t joking when I said that these wolves could really eat. I had planned ahead after the last time we had to provide food for the entire pack, so I had a lot of ingredients in bulk, but meat was better when fresh.

I hummed as I pulled what I needed out the pantry and the puppies followed me back and forth from the pantry to the counter. They thought it was a fun game to race me there each time we made the trip.

I eyed my supplies. I could make a ton of pasta salad, brownies, and some chocolate chip cookies to go along with the meat. I tapped my finger on the pantry door, but what could I make that would be special to Caleb?

My eyes fell on his box of pop-tarts and I smiled. He had once confessed to me that his absolute favorite desert was chocolate crème pie. I had everything I needed for that.

I worked as efficiently as I could on all the various items that I needed to make. I put some music on my phone so that I could dance around with the puppies as I worked.

Of course, James just had to walk in when I was rocking out my solo in ‘praying’. He had a smirk on his face when I turned to see him there. I scowled at him, he was probably here in the hopes that I would feed him again.

He was right. I was going to feed him, but I was going to make him work for it.

“James! I’m glad you’re here!” I told him cheerfully.

His smirk faded into suspicion. “Why’s that?” he grumbled.

“We are having a surprise pack barbecue for everyone to celebrate Caleb’s freedom.” I told him enthusiastically.

“That’s strange.” He said with his head tilted to the side. “I’m the highest-ranking wolf while Austin’s gone, and I don’t remember approving a pack event.”

I gave him a look. “That’s because pack barbecues fall into the category of things that are handled by the top female in the pack.” I told him cheerfully.

“Is that right?” he murmured thoughtfully. “What else falls into that category?”

I could tell that he was quietly mocking me by the glint in his eyes, but I decided to play along for the moment. “Get well cards.” I told him seriously.

A smile flashed across his face and my heart stopped for a second. James was good looking in a gruff way on a normal day but when he smiled he was devastatingly handsome.

I cleared my throat and tried to focus on the task at hand. “So, I need you to let everyone in the pack know and make sure that they are all able to come either before or after their guard shifts.”

“You need me to invite everyone to the barbecue that the top female is responsible for?” James asked pointedly.

“Yup.” I told him cheerfully. “That falls into your category of responsibilities since you are in charge while Austin is gone.”

“I’m starting to see how this works,” James said wryly. “What do I get out of it?” he teased me.

Was James actually joking around with me? I smiled back at him and pretended my heart wasn’t about to pound out of my chest. “The twins are bringing back ribs, don’t think I have noticed they are your favorite.” I smiled at him, but he didn’t look sold, so I decided to sweeten the deal. “And I’ll make a pan of brownies with the dark chocolate frosting that you like.”

James came closer to me, so that we were less than a foot away from each other. I licked my lips nervously and his eyes flicked down to my mouth.

“What if I want something else?” he murmured to me, raising his eyes back up to meet mine.

“Um…”

My mind went completely blank as I was drawn in by his dark eyes. I doubted that I could make any type of intelligent conversation right now.

A smile slowly slid over his face and he took half a step closer to me. I had to tilt my chin up to maintain eye contact with him and now that I was so close I was drowning in his alluring masculine scent. It seemed like being more in touch with my wolf senses wasn’t a good thing all the time.

His clothes were almost brushing mine and I could feel the warmth radiating from his body. He reached forward and brushed a strand of hair off my face. The light touch of his fingers against my skin sent a wave of fire through my body.

“I want you to start training with me tomorrow.” He murmured to me in a low voice that caused butterflies in my lower belly.

“Training?” I parroted back to him uselessly.

He smirked at me. “Did you change your mind about wanting to know how to fight already?”

I scowled. “No, you just caught me off guard.”

I abruptly turned back to the counter where I had started to mix up some cookie dough. I needed to get myself under control. This was starting to be ridiculous. I stared at the bowl in front of me blankly. I honestly had no idea what I needed to add next.

I could still feel James’s gaze on me, but he relaxed to lean on the counter, putting two feet of counter space in between us.

A part of me was disappointed. In the moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. I had wanted him to kiss me. I flicked my gaze over to him and saw him watching me with amusement. I narrowed my eyes. Did he do that on purpose? What was he playing at?

“What’s so funny?” I asked him as I threw a chocolate chip at him.

He caught the piece of chocolate out of the air and ate it, eying me thoughtfully. “The longer you spend with us, the feistier you get.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think feisty is an accurate word for me. The guys should be heading back here soon, I’m sure Austin and Caleb would be excited to have some of the pack here to greet them.” I told him sweetly.

James didn’t even grumble or complain, he just pulled out his phone and started texting. That was a little too easy; I was very suspicious of him now. I shooed James away from the counter space where he was standing, I needed that for my chocolate crème pie workstation.

He wandered off, still texting, but took a seat at the counter. I shrugged to myself. I would wait until he was done getting the pack here before I tried to make him help me cook. He was probably just hanging around for cookies.

James and I both worked in silence for some time. Our peaceful time together was interrupted when Reagan entered. James didn’t look up, but his nostrils flared. A part of me was annoyed, but another part of me realized that he probably could teach me more than just fighting. Identifying someone in a room by their scent while I was in my human form would be a useful skill to have. It was probably easier with Reagan since she seemed to have a preference for one scent of perfume that she sprayed on liberally.

I wanted to get to the point where my wolf was just a part of me, not separate. All of the other guys used their senses instinctively; no one else had to practically meditate before they could do it.

“James.” Reagan said in a demanding voice.

He reluctantly turned to face her. “Reagan.” He said flatly.

His lack of a response seemed to annoy her. “My husband sent someone to escort me home, I need my things brought downstairs.”

He shrugged. “The twins are out on an errand, they will be back in an hour or so.”

That just annoyed her further. I could see her clench her teeth. “You don’t look busy.”

I kind of wanted to volunteer him just to be annoying, but he was helping me without complaint, so I resisted the urge. “I have him working on something for me right now, Reagan.” I told her. “Could the wolf from your pack get your bags for you when he gets here?”

She huffed in annoyance. “I suppose. I would rather not linger here any longer than I have to. Some of the females have been acting up in my absence.”

She took a seat at the counter and looked over the mess that I had made in the kitchen. “What are you doing?” She asked haughtily.

“Making food for when the guys get back.” I told her vaguely. Even if I invited her to the party she wouldn’t want to come anyway.

She just sniffed in distain. I had already heard her thoughts on me cooking for the pack, so I was ready for her to move on.

There was an uncomfortable silence and I tried to focus on what I was doing and ignore her staring at me. I was surprised when she was the one to break the silence. “You’re lucky that you are the only female here.” She told me forlornly.

I gave James a quick glance, but he had gone back to ignoring her. It looked like I was on my own to deal with whatever this was.

“Why’s that?” I asked her curiously. I would like to think that if we did have females in the pack they would be friends with me just like the guys were.

“Males just fight for dominance and then it’s over.” She stated. “With females, the power struggle is all about the petty barbs and snarky comments. It’s really exhausting.” She confessed.

I looked at her dubiously. That sounded like the type of environment that she would excel in.

“Plus, with females you always have to worry about defending your position with the pack-master.” She added with a sigh.

“Huh,” I said in surprise. Was she confessing to me that she was worried about her mate cheating on her in her absence? I shifted uncomfortably. What was I supposed to say in this situation?

She waved a hand to me, oblivious to my discomfort. “That’s nothing that you have to worry about now, but there will come a day when Austin’s attention shifts to someone younger and prettier than you.”

“I doubt that.” James interjected, still working on his phone. I turned to him in surprise, I didn’t think he was even listening.

James raised his head to look at Reagan. “Your wolf is at the gate.”

She nodded. “Very well. I’m going out to meet him, but I will send him in for my luggage. Be a dear and make sure he collects it all and brings it out properly.” Reagan rose and glided out of the kitchen with her head held high.

I felt a pang of pity for her. I couldn’t imagine living my life like that, being surrounded by vicious females and unable to trust my mate to have my back. Some of her behavior made more sense now. She probably had to become tough to deal with the other females in her pack constantly trying to bring her down from her place at the top. She was probably so acidic because she had gotten used to going on the offensive before anyone else could beat her to it.

What would I be like if I had grown up in that environment? What would I be like if Austin let a group of females in the pack and I found myself in Reagan’s position? What if I had a mate and constantly had to worry about him putting me aside for a younger and more attractive female? Could I really blame Reagan without having to face the same struggles that she had?

“You are nothing like her.” James assured me as if he could hear my thoughts. “And Austin will never allow females like that into the pack.”

I smiled at him gratefully. Sometimes it was good to hear that spoken out loud.

I gave him a spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough as a thank you. And I didn’t even throw it at him.