Chapter 19

Anna

The week was going by fast. Already it was Thursday night and I was making dinner while the twins worked on some assignments for class. Caleb and the twins had seemed like they backed off the last couple days.

I wasn’t sure, but I suspected it had something to do with the meeting they had with Austin. Between work and everything else, I hadn’t had the time or energy to confront them about it. I was fine just letting it go for now.

James and I had been spending every morning training together and he was starting to open up to me more when we were alone. He was much more relaxed when it was just the two of us. There were a couple times when the sexual tension between the two of us got intense, but he always pulled away instead of acting on it.

Sam had moved in with Trevor and his guys ‘so they could keep an eye on her’. But I sensed there was more than that going on.

I was going to have to ask Sam what happens if a panther and a wolf try to have a baby together next time I saw her. Mostly because I really wanted to know, but partly because I wanted to tease her.

“Anna!” I heard a shout coming from the front foyer.

The twins both looked at me and I shrugged. “Yeah?” I yelled back.

Quinn came stomping in the kitchen to glare at me. “You whore! I can’t believe you cheated on me!”

The twins both stood up. “Whoa,” Mason said as he held up a hand to stop Quinn in his tracks.

Jason narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to want to apologize. Now.”

“Fine.” Quinn huffed. “Anna, you are not a whore. Despite that you obviously went behind my back to fill your closet with fabulous things. I know you didn’t do that on your own, so spill.”

I rolled my eyes. “That was Reagan.” I told him as I went back to chopping cilantro for some mango salsa. “Apparently she doesn’t approve of me dressing like a hobo any more than you do.”

The twins didn’t show any sign of backing down or letting Quinn into the kitchen, so I decided to intervene. “Guys, he was just joking. Are you staying for dinner, Quinn?”

Mason interrupted before Quinn could answer. “I don’t care if it was a joke. You don’t speak to her like that.” He and Jason stared Quinn down.

Quinn gave an uncomfortable shrug. “I didn’t mean any offense, I’ll be more careful in the future.” He mumbled.

That seemed to satisfy the twins because after another moment of uncomfortable staring they both gave him a nod and relaxed their stances.

“We’re having Mexican tonight.” I told Quinn cheerfully, trying to dispel the tension that lingered in the room.

He gave me a small smile but backed away from the twins and took a seat at the counter. Mason and Jason watched him carefully until he was seated and then apparently decided it was safe to go back to their school work.

“Sorry, Quinn.” I told him quietly. “I should have warned you before you walked into my closet. How shocked were you?” I asked with a grin.

“Girl, I dropped the bag I was carrying.” Quinn said seriously.

“Did you see the red gown? How unbelievable is that?” I asked him with a smile.

“We need to have an event so that I can dress you in it.” He eyed me critically. “I think I would do your hair in curls, and red lipstick is a must.”

A smile slowly spread across my face. What would the guys think if I came down the stairs one day dressed like that? “I think we do need to have an event for it.” I told Quinn as I chopped.

Quinn leaned towards me conspiratorially. “I recognize that smile. You have someone in particular in mind that you want to dress up for?”

“Maybe.” I answered mysteriously. “I wouldn’t mind seeing any of the guys dressed up in suits.” I told him quietly as I flicked a glance over to the twins. They didn’t look like they were paying attention, but I doubted that they let Quinn off the hook that quickly.

I threw some steak and chicken in the pan and it started to sizzle. Once the scent of cooking meat reached the rest of the guys in the house they would usually be down in the kitchen pretty quickly. Tonight, Austin and Caleb were the only other ones in the house.

They made it down just as the twins, Quinn and I had the table set and the food ready. Finally, all of us sat down to eat.

Quinn took a bite, “Mmmm, Anna. This is delicious.”

I blushed, “Thanks Quinn.”

Austin saved me from embarrassment by changing the subject. He turned to the twins, “Fall break is starting soon?”

They both nodded, and Mason answered, “We have off next Wednesday through Sunday.”

“I need you to check in with Cody to see where he needs you for winter training.”

“Already done, boss.” Jason answered with a proud grin.

Mason grunted. “We have intensive weapons training scheduled for the group that Trevor selected, plus refreshers for everyone else.”

“And we are going to be taking over the physical training classes for that time to give Cody a break.” Jason told him.

“Cody scheduled testing week for January 8-12 so we have enough time to get everyone ready.”

Austin nodded in approval, looking pleased at the twins’ initiative.

I was curious about all of the training they were doing. I know Austin had told me that he ran the pack similar to the military, but I wasn’t expecting this. But when I thought about it, I didn’t really know a lot about what the pack did outside of the house. Now was a good opportunity to ask some questions.

“So, the pack has PT tests, like the military?” I asked.

Austin paused and looked at me. “That’s right, Anna. I don’t think we really planned what we were going to do with you.”

“We can get her up to speed,” Mason volunteered.

Jason looked up, “She can already pass the run without a problem.”

Quinn cleared his throat, “So does she have to meet the same standards that we do? Or does she have a different set because she’s female?”

Everyone turned to look at Austin.

He sat back and looked at me thoughtfully. “You would just have to meet the minimum, Anna. Most of the guys are competitive and aim for much higher, I wouldn’t expect you to do that. Can you run three miles in 28 minutes?”

“Yes,” I answered. I was sure that I could do that.

“Can you do fifty crunches in two minutes?”

I frowned. “Well, I’ve never really timed myself doing that, but I do yoga a lot. So, probably?”

“At least five pull-ups?”

I shook my head no and slumped down in my chair a little. I haven’t tried to do a pull-up since high school gym class. I doubt I could even do one.

“We will work with her. we already started her on strength training this week.” Mason assured Austin.

I rolled my sore shoulders at the reminder. The twins had taken James’s request to help me with strength training pretty seriously. I looked at him doubtfully. “I have until January?” I asked.

Austin nodded. “If you fail the test we will look at what we want to do then, for now just train as if you plan on meeting the same standards as everyone else.”

“Okay,” I told him, trying to sit up straight and look confident that I could do this. I tried to push away all of my self-doubt. I was strong, I was a wolf, and I had more than enough time to work on this. I might not be able to do it right now, but I would work hard in the time I had.

I started to feel a little better after the pep talk I gave myself. I was determined to prove myself to the pack. I didn’t want Austin to have to announce lower standards for females because I was too weak to pass. I could do this.

“So, when do we start?” I asked the twins.

Jason smiled, “We already have you on a strength training program to increase your upper body strength. The intensive weapons training starts this weekend.”

“No.” Austin interrupted abruptly.

The twins both cocked their heads at him in question.

To my surprise, it was Quinn who spoke. “Isn’t basic weapons competency a requirement for the pack?” He asked softly.

Austin looked agitated. “I don’t think she’s ready for that.”

Why was Austin acting like this was such a big deal? By weapons training I was assuming that he was talking about shooting a gun. I had never had a reason in the past to learn how to shoot a gun, but I wasn’t opposed to learning more skills. Especially if this was one of the things that was important to the pack.

“Can I try it?” I asked Austin quietly.

He leaned forward and looked into my eyes searchingly. “Anna, I know you want to prove yourself to the pack and I respect that.” He took a deep breath, “But I don’t want to put you under unnecessary duress. If anything we ask you to do is too much, do you promise to speak up and let us know?”

I nodded, confused. Why was learning how to shoot a gun a big deal?

Austin turned back to the twins, looking into their eyes, one at a time. “I need you to keep a close eye on her and pull her out if it’s too much. Don’t push too hard.”

They both nodded, serious looks on their faces.

Quinn clapped his hands together, breaking the somber mood. “Excellent! I already know what I’m getting you to wear for combat training.”

I groaned, of course that was his concern right now.

“I’m not wearing hot pink camo,” I growled at him playfully.

Jason laughed, and Quinn gave him a look. 

He sniffed, “Give me some credit, have I not always dressed you well?”

“Yes” I answered hesitantly.

“Don’t worry, my giant blond Barbie, I will have you combat ready and looking fabulous.”

Austin tried to hide his grin and the twins laughed out loud.

“So, if the twins aren’t allowed to use paintball guns, why are they running intensive weapons training?” I asked pleasantly, trying to shift the focus off me and back to them.

“We just aren’t allowed paint ball guns in the house.” Jason clarified.

“Or anywhere on the property.” Caleb added pointedly.

Austin didn’t hide his grin this time. “Ah, you haven’t met Mason and Jason the marines yet. Around here they are casual and fun, but they are quite formidable when they switch into warrior mode.”

I’m sure I looked surprised.

Jason put a hand over his heart, “Anna, it wounds me to see the doubt in your eyes.”

He and Mason both gave me dramatically sad faces, acting if their hearts were broken. I just rolled my eyes, they were just proving my point right now.

“It’s true,” Quinn added. “They are very good at what they do.”

“Aww, Thanks Quinn,” Jason said jokingly.

“Yeah Anna, Quinn doesn’t doubt us like you do.” Mason added.

I was starting to feel a little bad about teasing them, I hated when people doubted my ability to do something and here I was doing the same thing to them.

“Well, I guess you guys will just have to show me that I’m wrong.” I told them.

“Oh, we will.” Jason said dramatically.

I turned my attention to Austin. “Speaking of next week, can we talk about thanksgiving?”

Austin grinned at me. “I was assuming that’s one of the responsibilities of the top female in the pack? I’ll make sure the pack is here.”

I blushed. Apparently James told him that story, huh? “Sounds good, but are there any traditions that the pack has? Or anything that everyone is going to expect?”

“Deep fried Turkeys!” Jason exclaimed.

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but how many turkeys does it take to feed the whole pack?” I asked curiously.

“Don’t forget the hams!” Quinn chimed in.

Austin chuckled. “We would probably be safe with three or four turkeys and a couple hams.”

I paled. This was going to be a lot of food to cook. I could only imagine the amount of sides and pies we were going to need.

“Don’t forget, Anna.” Austin said gently. “Everyone contributes. You can assign tasks to everyone in the pack. If anyone gives you a hard time you let me know.”

I nodded. This was going to be a big project. I needed to get organized ASAP. “Jase mentioned we are having a pack meeting Saturday?”

Austin nodded. “I’ll give you time at the end to speak in front of the pack, so you can let them know what you need from them.”

I sat back in my chair. The twins were going to have to proofread each other’s papers tonight because I had some major planning and list-making to do.

The front door slammed, and my ears perked up. None of the other guys reacted, so I assumed it was James or Cody. James stalked into the kitchen with Trevor not far behind.

James looked like he was in a mood, so I tried to be as perky as possible to annoy him. “Hey guys! We have a Mexican buffet going on if you’re hungry.”

James gave me a nod before addressing Austin. “We have something to discuss with you.”

Austin waved a hand. “Have a seat, grab some food. I’m assuming it’s not urgent?”

James shook his head.

Trevor inhaled appreciatively. “It’s always a pleasure to visit when Anna cooks.” He headed over to the counter where we had the food laid out and started loading up a plate.

James went over to the fridge to grab some beers before following Trevor’s lead. I waited for Trevor to take a seat before I started questioning him.

“How’s Sam settling in?” I asked curiously.

Trevor shrugged. “Fine.” He grumbled before starting to shovel the food in.

Quinn snorted. “Fine isn’t a word I’d use to describe it. There’s a reason why I’m over here tonight instead of at home on my night off.”

Austin frowned. “She’s causing trouble?”

“Yes.” Trevor said at the same time that Quinn answered “no.”

“We are all adults here.” Quinn stated with a smirk. “The problem is that some people have romantic feelings towards Sam but won’t admit it to themselves. You could cut the sexual tension in that house with a knife.”

“No, she’s just annoying as fuck.” Trevor growled before looking up at me with a blush. “Sorry, Anna.” He said apologetically.

I shrugged. “No worries. I work with sailors and marines. I doubt there are any curse words that I haven’t heard before.”

“If she’s preventing your team from doing their jobs then I can move her back here.” Austin told Trevor.

He cleared his throat and avoided looking anyone in the eye. “That won’t be necessary.” He mumbled as he pushed some food around on his plate.

Quinn smirked but didn’t say anything. Now I really needed to talk to Sam about what was going on.

“If we’re finished with that, we do have some news that concerns Anna.” James announced.

I looked up with interest, but James waved a hand in Trevor’s direction. Trevor sat back in his chair and sighed. “I grew up in a pack out in Montana with my father, but my mother was partly human and from the pack in Montreal.”

Trevor now had my full attention. “We might be related?” I asked hopefully.

“Uh, that’s possible. But it would be a few generations past.” Trevor said awkwardly. I looked at Trevor with a critical eye; we did not look anything alike. He was a giant of a man with light brown hair and hazel eyes.

“My mother died giving birth to me, so I never knew her. But two of her friends, who were like her sisters, stayed in touch over the years. One of them reached out to me because she heard that my pack had just gotten an Arctic Wolf.”

I leaned forward in anticipation. “Did she know my mom?” I asked enthusiastically.

“She didn’t say much, but she wanted permission to visit from Aus.”

I turned my head to Austin. “She can visit, right?” I asked breathlessly.

“Of course.” Austin frowned. “What did her pack master say about that? I got the impression that he had a lot to hide from James.”

“That’s the second part of my news.” Trevor hesitated and looked around the table. Austin gave him an encouraging nod, as if to tell him that we could all be trusted. Trevor’s gaze lingered on Quinn for a moment longer than anyone else. That seemed strange, Quinn was on his team. If anything, he should trust Quinn more than the rest of us.

“The pack-master died recently under mysterious circumstances. Gemma was not able to talk about what happened over the phone. There’s a lot of confusion and chaos in the pack right now. Ragnar and Ingrid have taken over, but have been met with opposition from pack members in the north. Gemma wants to come here until things settle; she can’t shift so she’s vulnerable.”

Everyone looked at Austin expectantly. He leaned back in his chair. “Have her ask her pack-master for permission. You can tell her that you have my permission to have her here as a guest. Ragnar has my contact information, but I’ll reach out to him as a fellow pack-master looking to reconfirm our status as allies.”

“It sounds like you probably aren’t going to want me visiting there to look for signs of my mom.” I said sadly.

“Definitely not.” James said gruffly. “We have enough trouble keeping you safe here, throwing you into the middle of a civil war is out of the question.”

“We can reevaluate after things settle down.” Austin said gently. “But it sounds like Gemma probably knew your mom, Anna.”

“Yeah, it just seems weird that everything about my mom is such a secret. Do you think it might have something to do with my dad?” I asked curiously. “Does anyone know who my father was?”

I looked at James. If anyone knew, it would probably be him. “I don’t know, Anna.” He said quietly. “But I’ll do what I can to help you find out.”

“We will all help.” Caleb added. “I already asked Emerys to try and pry some info out of Arminius, since it sounded like he knew your mom.”

I smiled gratefully at both of them. “Thanks, guys.” 

“Speaking of Arminius,” James said with a frown. “Has he contacted us in regards to the favor we owe him for his help with Caleb?”

Austin’s eyes flicked to Quinn and back to James so quickly that most of the table probably missed it. I didn’t. What was going on with Quinn?

It was obvious that Austin and James communicated briefly via pack bond and there was an awkward silence. It was clear that Austin did not want everyone here to know the answer to that question.

I decided I might as well make the situation even more awkward. “When are you going to let me into the pack bond, Austin?” It was started to irritate me more and more every time I saw the rest of them using the bond without me.

Austin looked surprised. “We can discuss it at the end of your initial thirty-day trial.”

I sat back in my chair. Was it really a possibility that I wouldn’t be accepted into the pack after thirty days? I’m sure the hurt and devastation was obvious on my face.

I was surprised to hear Mason clear his throat. “It might be useful for those of us tasked with her protection to be bonded with her. In case of an emergency we would be better able to locate and communicate with her.”

Jason nodded along with Mason’s words and Austin looked like he was thinking about it.

“Anna, I don’t think you realize how painful it is to break a pack bond.” Austin said gently.

“Why would you want to break it? Do you think you might not want to keep me in the pack?” I asked, trying to hold back my tears of hurt and confusion.

“Of course I want you in the pack.” Austin said with a frown. “But you still have other packs to visit-“

“I’m not going to change my mind about wanting to be here.” I told him forcefully. “I already know that this is where I belong and where I want to stay.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Quinn watching us with interest. The twins both looked pleased at my declaration and James watched with an unreadable look on his face. Trevor looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Let’s talk about it on Saturday.” Austin said smoothly.

I was a little placated by that. I was going to have him to myself Saturday. That was probably a better situation to have this conversation in. I was still upset that Austin was even considering the possibility of me going to another pack. That was not going to happen.