Chapter 17

Anna

 

I hopped out of the SUV eagerly to stretch my legs. I was tired of sitting and being trapped in small spaces. Plus, I was ready to see my guys. Austin and Cody hung back to wait for Trevor and the others while I ran up the stairs and flung the front door open.

I wasn’t surprised that the twins were the first ones to greet me, they had probably sensed us coming up the driveway. Jason scooped me up in a hug and swung me around the room. I giggled when Mason tried to snatch me away and we ended up in a sandwich hug. Wedged between my two twins was one of my favorite places to be. I closed my eyes and breathed in their scents, knowing I was home.

“Holts, one and two, outside to help unload the vehicles.” James stalked into the foyer and the twins released me with groans. James glared at them until they reluctantly headed outside. Knowing James wouldn’t make the first move, I wrapped him in a hug. I felt the poke of the crystal necklace that I had given him before I left through his shirt. I liked that he was still wearing it and thinking of me while I had been gone.

I released him when I heard a happy bark from the top of the stairs. My two pups beat Caleb down to me and I knelt to greet them as they enthusiastically tried to lick my face. I played with my two happy balls of fluff as they yipped with joy at my return to them. “You guys are getting kind of shaggy,” I told them in the playful voice I reserved just for them. “I’m going to have to take you two to the groomers this week.”

“You don’t cut their hair yourself?” Caleb asked curiously as he came down the stairs.

I shrugged with embarrassment. “I don’t have the skills to make them look cute. Besides, have you ever seen pics of Shih Tzus with their hair grown out?” I shuddered. “It can grow all the way to the floor, I’d have to brush them like every hour to keep them from getting matted.”

I wrapped my arms around Caleb and gave him a kiss. “I’ll go with you,” Caleb offered. James and I both stared at him in shock. As long as I’d known Caleb, he hadn’t volunteered to leave our property for any reason. From the look on James’s face, he hadn’t either.

Once James realized I was studying him, he smoothed his features back into the mildly disgruntled look that was his norm. “You’re not going anywhere today,” he grumbled. “We’re having a pack meeting in a couple of hours.”

“The one that was supposed to be Saturday?” I asked as I released Caleb. Austin and I had missed it, but I had expected James and Cody to still hold it in our absence.

“We’re having this one in addition to the one yesterday,” James told me as Sam and the guys trudged into the house, carrying luggage and duffel bags.

“We need to go over hurricane plans,” Caleb offered.

I groaned. “Isn’t hurricane season over? We usually start worrying about snowstorms in December.”

“Hurricane season is over,” Caleb said thoughtfully. “That’s why this one is so unusual. A hurricane of this size and strength shouldn’t be able to form this time of year.”

I felt a trickle of dread. “What size and strength are we talking about?”

“It’s expected to be a category four when it lands, and it’s heading straight for us,” Mason said with a grunt as he set two heavy duffel bags down in the entranceway. James raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, but Jason was oblivious and also set his load down.

Mason was the first to pick up on James’s steady scowl. “Alright, boss,” Mason grumbled as he picked up his bags again. Jason followed suit with a scowl, and the two of them headed in the direction of the garage.

The huge entranceway was starting to feel a little crowded as everyone made their way in so I grabbed Caleb’s hand. “Help me make some snacks for the meeting?”

He gave me a smile and a nod as I pulled him in the direction of the kitchen. James watched with an unreadable expression as his eyes dropped to our entangled fingers. I prodded at the bond that I started to form between us to get a feel for his emotions, but he abruptly cut me off. I stopped beside him and made a grab for his hand. “James?”

His expression relaxed in a barely perceptible way. “The pack likes your snacks,” he said gruffly. I nodded and gave him a grin. That was James speak for ‘nothing’s wrong, and I’m trying my best not to be an asshole even though I’m uncomfortable showing emotion with this many people around.’

“I love your snacks,” Cody said enthusiastically. “Any chance we could get some of your famous brownies?”

“With nuts?” Sam asked hopefully.

“And that chocolate frosting that you make?” Rich added.

“I’m on it,” I called over my shoulder as I followed Caleb to the kitchen. I knew my magical radar was up and running the way it was supposed to when I felt Talen approaching the house from the forest. He must have realized I was back. I could also feel a scattering of a dozen or so of our wolves over the property. They were probably taking the opportunity to go for a run before the meeting. I sighed. I wish I could be with them right now. I could really use the opportunity to blow off some steam. Instead, I did the responsible thing and headed to the pantry so I could start handing Caleb ingredients.

“Hey, Anna,” Jason stuck his head around the corner. “Mace and I were just about to-”

“Help me get ready for the pack of fifty or so wolves that are about to descend on the house?”

“Uh…it’s probably gonna be more like forty or so…” I gave him a glare that let him know that there was no way he and his brother were going off to have fun without me.

“Yup,” Mason said as he punched his brother in the arm and walked into the kitchen. “That’s exactly what we were about to do. What do you need?”

“Can you bring in a couple cases of beer from the garage? And some of the hamburger meat from the freezer. If we’re making everyone in the pack drive out here to Seaside two days in a row, we definitely need to feed them.” Austin had an amazing location for the pack house. It was adjacent to a state park so we could run anytime we wanted, but it was far from the center of our territory. Some of the guys would have a long drive, so we might as well make it as fun as we could.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jason said with a cheeky grin. Mason simply gave me a nod and led Jason on their assigned errands.

I turned to hand Caleb an armful of ingredients to set on the counter only to see him smiling at me. “I like it when you take charge and look out for the good of the pack.”

I blushed and tried to hide it by pushing everything in his arms and stepping back into the pantry. We were probably also going to need every bag of chips in the house... and I needed to get those brownies whipped up and in the oven ASAP. And I needed that meat thawed sooner than later if we wanted to grill.

I gave Caleb some instructions for setting up a snack buffet on our dining room table before turning my attention to Talen, who had just come in the patio door.

“You look busy,” he said hesitantly.

“Pack meeting in a couple hours,” I told him, raiding the cupboard for my measuring cups.

He visibly paled. “I think I’ll stay in my room for the duration, but we do need to discuss this hurricane when they all go.”

“Sure,” I told him with a smile as I mentally scaled up my recipe to feed a pack of wolves. “I’ll come find you later?”

He gave me a nod and quickly headed for the stairs. I hadn’t thought that Talen would ever be the shy type but facing down an entire pack could be overwhelming for anyone. I was in the pack, and I still got a little nervous when surrounded by male wolves.

I got things started in the kitchen and gave the guys instructions so I could disappear upstairs for a couple minutes to get freshened up. I wanted to take a quick shower and change my clothes after my trip, but I didn’t want to leave the twins to their own devices for too long, so I ran up the stairs.

To my disappointment, I ran into Gemma in the hallway. My eyes narrowed in suspicion when I saw her coming from the opposite direction of her room. That side of the hallway housed Mason, Jason, and a plethora of guest rooms. It was possible that she was coming from Talen’s room, but I doubted it.

“Are you going to help us get ready for the pack meeting?” I asked Gemma neutrally. I wasn’t going to try to start anything with her, but I also wasn’t going to try to be her friend anymore. She had crossed a line with me, and we wouldn’t be coming back from that.

Gemma scoffed. “No, I’ll be in my room.”

I just shrugged as she stomped off. I was fine with it if she wanted to keep away from the rest of us, we didn’t really need her help anyway. I rushed back to my room and tossed some clothes on my bed while I waited for my shower water to get hot. I probably should get dressed up, but for a casual pack meeting most of the guys would be in jeans. I would be much more comfortable in jeans and a hoodie as well. I’d rather have the pack see me as down to earth and one of them than as a high maintenance female anyway.

I made it back downstairs in record time and was pleased to see that no one had set any fires and my brownies were baking nicely. The twins wandered outside to the grill once more of our pack mates started arriving. I was surprised to see Caleb sticking with me and the pups. Normally, he would have tried to escape social interaction by now. I was glad he was sticking by my side, I could use the moral support. I was pleased to see most of the guys stop to say hello to me before going to find food or one of the alphas. I was definitely making progress in being accepted by them.

I had just sunk my knife into the warm brownies when Chris came through, followed closely by Jamie. “I see we got here just in time,” Chris said with a grin. Chris and Jamie were really the first wolves I had ever met in Seaside, they were the ones who had chased me off the property that first night. I had seen them around enough times now that I no longer felt nervous around them.

I smiled at him. “I learned from last time and made double what I thought would be enough for the pack.” The last time I made brownies for a pack meeting, there had been some disagreements over the last couple of brownies.

“Good strategy,” Jamie said, eyeing the brownies.

“Give me a minute to get some frosting on there,” I told him. I had cut the pan of brownies in squares so that I could pipe a swirl of frosting on each one, making them look fancier than if I had just smeared the frosting over the top.

Jason walked in the room just as I finished. “Aw, Anna. I thought you would save the first ones for us,” he pouted.

“I saved the first one for Caleb,” I said with a smile as I handed it over. “Caleb has been a huge help all day.”

Caleb gave me a shy smile as he took the brownie. Jason grabbed a couple of them, and I gave Chris and Jamie a nod to tell them to go ahead and help themselves. I finished with the rest of the brownies as all our pack members started to gather in the area.

“Find your seats!” Cody shouted out over the crowd.

The room immediately quieted down and Mason put his arm around my waist. “You’re with us,” he murmured into my ear. Jason had flung his entire body over the loveseat to hold it for us, but he sat up as we approached. I found myself sandwiched in between the twins, but I had no complaints with the arrangement.

Austin stood in the front so that everyone seated on the couches and at the table could see him. James and Cody flanked his sides, and I caught a glimpse of Caleb awkwardly drifting towards a corner. Jason followed my gaze. “Hey, over here bro!” he called across the room.

I gave Jason’s knee a squeeze in thanks as Caleb made his way over to us and perched on the armrest of the loveseat. Mason moved even closer to me to give him some extra room. My heart warmed at the welcome that Caleb received from the twins. He was shy like me, and we both needed reassurance that we were wanted here. I was glad that the twins were making an effort to reach out to him.

“I called you all here for several reasons,” Austin looked around the room, making sure he had everyone’s full attention. I admired the way he could stand in front of the pack, confident and commanding. Austin’s pause had the desired effect because I could see that he had the entire pack on the edge of their seats. The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

Emotions swirled through the bond I shared with the guys, and I realized that I could pick up on the energy of the entire pack if I relaxed and let it flow through me. As a group, we were alert and tensed, as if we had just caught the scent of prey in the forest and there was that moment of tension while we waited for an indication of which direction our hunt would take us. I found myself caught up in it and for the first time I realized what it really meant to be in a pack. Another missing piece of my soul snapped back into place as I let myself sink into the collective energy of the pack and truly became a part of it.

“The first is to let you know that our brothers from overseas will be joining us before Christmas.” Austin allowed the exclamations of excitement go for a minute before he held up his hand for silence. “I’ve always been honest with all of you about my vision for this pack,” Austin said solemnly. “Many of us struggled to find a meaningful mission to keep us going after leaving the service.” There were quite a few nods in the crowd. “When each of you interviewed for a place in this pack, you expressed a desire to make a difference in this world, in our world. You agreed to be champions for equality, to protect those weaker than yourself, to teach and guide the younger ones among us, but most of all, to be an example of what a wolf should be.”

I could feel pride and motivation rising in the room. Austin was a natural born leader, no doubt about it.

“Anna, will you stand by me?” I turned bright red as every eye in the room shifted toward me. I kept my chin up and shoulders back as I walked to Austin. There was no way I wanted to give off the slightest hint of nervousness or shyness, not when I wanted the pack to see me as worthy to stand by Austin’s side. “It’s no secret that Anna is a white wolf, and I’ve heard rumblings and rumors as to what that really means.” A couple guys in the crowd ducked their heads, and many didn’t seem to want to make eye contact. I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

Had I been deluding myself by thinking that I could truly be one with the pack? By making myself believe that these men, these wolves, would accept me as being one of their own?

“For centuries, the white wolves have been our strongest defense against the fae.” I flicked my eyes over to Austin in surprise. “Anna’s mother was one of the guardians who protected the gate to the fae world, keeping us all safe from invasion. Past generations have worked in secret and given their lives to a thankless task, but the time has come for everything to come to light. Secrets can no longer stay buried.”

I could feel curiosity and confusion in the crowd. I was confused myself, where was Austin going with this?

“White wolves like Anna have the ability to defend against fae magic with magic of their own.” This time, there were definite whispers in the crowd. Austin had just told them all that I was different. I tried to stay cool and calm on the surface, but internally I could feel my anxiety rising. I wanted to become one of the pack, not be pointed out as a freak of nature. What if someone guessed at my secet ties to the fae? I wasn’t ready to be outed to the world as a closet fae.

“Our world is changing. We’ve gone from relying on tooth and claw to fight our battles, to mastering the weapons that the humans have created. Recently our pack was faced with a new weapon – magic.” Austin paused but he had the rapt attention of everyone in the room. “Anna has faced down the fae and earned their respect, and she’s challenged the witches and came out victorious. But most importantly, she’s dedicated to using her blossoming magic to defend our home and our pack.”

I tried not to look as embarrassed as I felt. Austin was making me sound way better than I really was. A bunch of the guys in the pack gave me respectful nods and the twins were grinning proudly at me. I did my best to look as confident as Austin did in the front of the pack.

“I am very proud to have Anna by my side and as a part of this pack as we continue our fight to make the world a better place.” Austin glanced at me, and I could tell that this was my chance to make an impression, to say something meaningful.

“Seaside Wolf Pack is made up of some of the strongest and most dedicated warriors I’ve ever met,” I started out.

“Yeah!” Quinn shouted out into what was about to be an awkward pause. I grinned, grateful for the momentary interruption. Cheers went up around the room when the guys saw me smile at Quinn. I could feel a sense of pride growing in the pack, and I relaxed at the positive reaction.

“I’m proud to stand tall among you, and fight beside you.” I looked around the room, making eye contact as I spoke. “I chose Seaside Wolf Pack because I believe in our mission and I want to be a part of making our pack be a beacon of hope for the rest of our kind.” My heart raced nervously as I stood in front of everyone, but thankfully, Austin took control of the room again.

“Now that we have Anna, we have magical defenses in addition to all of the other weapons at our disposal. Anyone who thinks to become our enemy will quickly realize that we are hunters, not the hunted. We will defend our pack, our home, and those who come to us for protection with every breath we have, with all our might, and we will stand together as a team. We won’t back down from a fight, and we won’t let anyone destroy what we have here. Who’s with me?”

The room erupted in cheers, and the energy of the pack soared. It was hard not to get carried away with the wave of pride, determination, and comradery that went through the pack. I had never felt such a strong urge to shift and run with my pack mates before; it took everything I had not to shift and howl my joy to the world. Austin let it go on for a couple of minutes as the guys clapped each other on the back, high fived, and cheered.

Eventually Austin raised a hand for quiet. “We’re going to break in a few for some food and a pack run, but first we need to talk about the hurricane.”

There were quite a few groans in the room. “Didn’t we just do this for Florence?” Henderson groaned. “We never even got more than an inch of rain.”

James glared at him and Henderson shrank down. “We prepared for Florence, and we’re going to prepare for Hurricane Joyce.”

Cody stepped forward. “We’ve all seen how devastated parts of the Carolinas were when Florence hit them directly, and now we have the potential to see that destruction here. I know that we evacuated last time and nothing happened, but that doesn’t mean that we are going to be complacent this time.” Cody grinned. “The marines in the room know that wearing down your enemy with false attacks is a strategy to lull them into lowering their defenses, but we’re too smart for that.”

There were more than a few ‘rahs and oorahs around the room. “And those of us that aren’t crayon eaters know to be prepared for any eventuality,” Austin grinned at him. There were laughs and good-natured ribbing among the pack members that came from different branches. It was pretty common to hear marine, navy, air force, and army jokes in the pack as we had members from every branch and they loved to pick on each other.

Austin called for quiet again and waited for the room to settle. “Caleb is tracking the storm for us now.” Austin nodded at Caleb and he stood nervously.

“There’s a lot of different projections as to where the storm is going to land,” he said quietly. “But the most likely trajectory is straight to Seaside.”

“Shouldn’t it just fizzle out?” Rich asked. “It’s winter, the water should be too cold to support a storm like that.”

“It should,” Caleb said slowly. “But the storm has been increasing in ferocity the closer it comes to us. Normally, a storm is fueled by the heat energy and moisture coming off the ocean water. This time of year is usually too cold to support large hurricanes…”

“This isn’t more fairy shit, is it?” Blendel shouted out.

Everyone shifted their attention to me and my eyes widened. Was it possible to fuel a hurricane using magic? If anyone could do that it would be the fae. But why? If they wanted to attack, they could do it much more directly. Why waste what would have to be a ton of magic to send a hurricane that might not even affect us?

“If it is an attack from the fae, I’ll handle it,” I told him much more confidently than I felt.

“But it’s possible it’s just a freak storm,” Austin assured the pack. “And we know how to handle a hurricane.”

Austin spent the next twenty minutes going over our plan for if the hurricane hit us. Cody and the other guys chimed in to support Austin and offer suggestions but I got the feeling that this meeting was more about making the pack feel prepared. Most of the guys already knew what they were doing, but the meeting helped eliminate any uncertainty and fostered team spirit. Without a doubt, we were all in this together. Austin called an end to the meeting but requested that all the team leaders see Cody for specific assignments.

The pack dispersed, most in search of food and beer. “I’m going upstairs,” Caleb said as he stood. I reached up and gave his hand a squeeze, but didn’t argue. I’m sure that Caleb had already hit his limit for time spent in a crowd today, especially with the public speaking.

Jason pulled me up in his lap. “We finally get some time with our Anna,” he said affectionately.

“Not quite,” James interrupted. “I need you two to rendezvous with Team Seven, Henderson and Blendel especially need some extra motivation to get this shit done.”

Team Seven was most of the wolves involved with the construction company, so I was guessing that Austin had assigned them to fortify our pack properties. The twins both groaned and reluctantly stood. James scowled at them as they gave me tight hugs before heading in Henderson’s direction. I just shrugged at James. Out of all my wolves, the twins were the ones most frequently concerned that I had enough of their scent on me. They especially liked it when I wore their clothes.

I looked around the room. Austin and Cody were working the room to make sure that everyone had their assignments and James was busy sending threatening glares. I decided to go up to Caleb’s room to get some more information. I also needed to find Talen, he had wanted to speak with me about the hurricane, so maybe he would know if the fae were involved.