He nodded. “We’re going to stay right under the alcove, plus the property is packed with our wolves right now.” He looked at me sternly. “But I don’t want you out here without me. Don’t let the twins talk you into anything.”
“OK,” I answered. “Did you get in touch with any of the council members?” I asked as we sat. The cool air of the morning felt good as it gently moved around my body. I was still very warm from being in bed surrounded by the body heat of two big guys, so it felt great.
The sun shone warmly on my face, and the lawn that stretched out in front of us sparked with tiny dew drops that caught the morning light. It was a beautiful morning.
Austin watched me take in the view. “I did,” he said before he took a sip of his coffee.
“So that’s good news?” I tried to prompt him into telling me more.
“Yes and no. They want to meet you. Two of the council members want time to investigate your background further. They are convinced that your original pack would have never agreed to give you to humans to raise.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. A part of me wanted all of this to just go away so I could stay here with the pack, but another part of me was curious about my past. What if I was stolen away from my parents at birth? What if they were out there looking for me, mourning the daughter they had lost?
I wanted to buy into the fantasy that I had a loving family out there, just waiting for me. But if life had taught me anything, it was that things like that didn’t happen to me. With my luck, I would have an abusive alcoholic of a father and a mother who was eager to get rid of an unwanted baby. They had probably thrown me in the trash and left me for dead.
I sighed sadly. Austin must have thought I was worrying about meeting the council, but I hadn’t even started worrying about that yet until he brought it up.
“The council isn’t that bad,” he told me. “It’s made up of some of the more powerful pack-masters in the country. They deal with major issues that might affect our community as a whole, and they also assist with disputes among packs. Their goal is to make sure the fighting doesn’t get out of control or attract human attention.”
I nodded. “So how can I prepare for the meeting?” I asked.
“Be polite, be honest, and be respectful,” he told me.
“That’s it?” I asked questioningly.
He chuckled. “That’s it. You are very sweet and likable; I’m sure you will charm them.”
I looked at him doubtfully. No one had ever called me sweet and likable before. I was always, ’the nice one’ when people described me. I always thought ‘nice’ was the word people used when they really meant ‘plain and boring’ but didn’t want to sound rude.
I observed Austin out of the corner of my eye. The morning sun was glinting off his tawny dark blond hair, and his face was peaceful and relaxed as he looked over the grounds.
He was tan, as if he spent a lot of time outdoors, and he was very well built. Most of the guys I met last night were. I wondered if that was one of the requirements for Austin’s pack, or if all male wolves were like that.
“What kind of questions are the council members going to ask me?”
He brought his attention back to me. “They will ask you questions about what you remember about your early childhood, if you had ever exposed yourself to humans, things like that. I have already provided them with all the information I have on you, so they will mainly be asking questions to see if what I gave them is accurate and to get a sense of who you are as a person.”
I was starting to get more nervous as I pictured how this interview was going to go. I could see me sitting in a lone chair under a hot spotlight while a group of intimidating men sat on thrones up on a dais and glared down at me with disapproval.
I groaned as I thought about it. “When is the meeting going to take place?” I asked.
“In a few hours,” he told me casually.
I almost spat out my coffee in shock, and my heart started to pound. “Hours?” I squeaked out.
“The council is already meeting nearby to discuss some other issues, so they decided to squeeze you in. Everyone is very curious about you, females are rare. It is extremely rare to find an unknown female that’s not part of a pack. You are the talk of the wolf community right now.”
I sank down in my chair. “I just brought jeans and stuff. I didn’t really pack fancy clothes for meeting important people.”
“I can have someone go out and get you some ‘fancy clothes’ while you are getting ready for the meeting,” he told me with a glint of humor in his eye.
Great, I would be attending a meeting in clothing picked out by a random dude that probably wouldn’t even fit correctly.
Austin picked up his phone and started texting. “What’s your size?”
“Eight,” I answered with a blush. I’m sure that the type of girls he usually dated were a size zero or two and looked like they belonged on the Victoria’s Secret runway.
“Shoe size?”
“Eight.”
He grinned at me. “That’s easy to remember.”
I nodded as he continued to text.
He looked over at me, and his eyes flicked down to my chest. “C cup?”
“Uh, yeah,” I answered with my face turning an even deeper shade of red. “34C,” I mumbled in embarrassment. I probably would need to wear a bra that was not a sports bra if I were wearing nice clothes.
He nodded and set down his phone to finish his coffee. “If you want to get ready, you can send the twins down to make breakfast.” I grinned a little, thinking of them having to cook on their own.
I set down my mug to stand but hesitated. I had Austin alone; now was my time to ask him questions.
“So,” I started hesitantly. “I’m slowly picking up on things about the pack as I spend time with you guys, but I’m not really sure how the rank structure really works.”
Austin smiled and thought for a moment. “You can think of me as the CO, James as the XO, and Cody as kind of a CMC.”
I nodded. That made sense to me. James always seemed to be taking charge if Austin was not around. Cody seemed friendly with most of the guys but was definitely an authority figure within the pack. It was obvious that most of the pack members liked and respected him.
He tilted his head to the side. “Although Cody is more of an officer than enlisted, so maybe that is not a perfect analogy. Think of Cody as my third in command but with the typical duties of the CMC.”
That made sense. All three of them seemed close and made most of the decisions for the pack.
“The twins are like…” He paused and thought. “Lieutenants who just graduated and are learning the ropes but get stuck with a lot of shitty work details.”
I laughed. The twins did get a lot of the odd jobs around here.
“Mason and Jason are responsible for making sure the household runs smoothly so the three of us can focus on pack responsibilities. I can honestly say that all of us are very grateful to have you in the house right now. You have been a really good influence on them.”
I smiled. I can only imagine the shenanigans they usually caused on a daily basis.
“They have really been helping me a lot,” I confessed to Austin. “I’ve been struggling with melding my human side to my wolf side and adjusting to being around other wolves.”
“I know I have a lot to learn, and the twins have helped me get to the root of some of the things I have been struggling with.” I looked down at my coffee that was already halfway gone. “They have a way of coming up with unique solutions.”
Austin nodded. “That’s one reason I assigned you to them. I could tell you were nervous at the idea of being around the pack, and I thought those two would be a good introduction for you. They have a unique way of looking at the world and can always manage to find enjoyment in what they do. I thought that would help you relax and see wolves aren’t that bad.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you picked them, too,
” I said shyly. “If you had assigned me to James, I think I would have been afraid to come back after the first day.”
Austin laughed. “James might seem intimidating, but he is very loyal and protective of those he gives his affection to. He doesn’t love easily, and he has a difficult time showing that he cares sometimes, but he has a big heart.”
“Hmmm,” I said. I doubted I would ever make the list of people he cared about, but I was hoping I could at least be moved up to neutral.
Austin continued, getting back to explaining the answer to my original question. “Of course, you have met Caleb. He’s our communications expert, technology guru, occasional hacker, and he handles the tech aspects of security. If it’s electrical, he manages it.”
Austin set his empty cup down. “That is everyone in the main core of the pack that lives here in the house. Trevor oversees the wolves that live in houses scattered around our pack lands. They live in small teams and work to keep our territory safe. We have interests in several businesses in the area as well.”
I nodded. I had heard about the various companies that the pack was involved in.
“We have wolves that work for our businesses but are more loosely affiliated with the pack. They live normal lives but still attend pack functions and respond if the pack needs them.”
“Like reservists?”
“Exactly!” Austin gave me a surprised smile.
“The last part of our pack are the wolves that are involved in the contracted jobs we take on. Those guys spend their time here in the states training, in-between their overseas missions.”
“What kind of missions?” I asked curiously.
Austin smiled mysteriously. “Let’s get you integrated with the pack members here in the US first before we start talking about that.
I sighed, I wasn’t really expecting him to go into detail about all the secret missions they may or may not be involved in, but I had to try.
“Where do I fit in here?” I asked Austin.
He thought for a moment. “I’m still tossing ideas around in my head. I want to give you some time to see how you fit in with everyone and where you fit naturally. So far, you are doing a great job.” He smiled at me encouragingly.
Trevor walked out on the patio and gave me a friendly nod. “Hey, Anna. Hey, Boss, can I go over some things with you?”
“Sure,” Austin told him. He turned to me. “Go get ready for the meeting, your clothes will be here soon,” he told me with an affectionate smile.
I gave them both a small wave and brought my mug back inside. I got a refill and started another pot to brew for whomever was going to be needing coffee next. I gave friendly ‘good mornings’ to the couple of guys I passed on my way back to my room.
Everyone seemed friendly but tired, which was not surprising after last night’s events. I understood how they felt; I would be more than happy to snuggle back in my bed with the two boys and sleep for hours. I set my coffee down carefully before I pounced on the bed to wake them both up.
“Hey! Austin wants you guys to make breakfast!” I pestered them as I tried to get them up. Mason groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. Jason ignored me and pretended to snore loudly. I pulled the pillow off Mason and used it to smack Jason.
“Hey!” he said, laughing. He hit me back with his pillow, and then it was on. They ganged up on me, which was not fair at all in a pillow fight. I eventually decided retreat was my best option, and I ran to the bathroom and locked myself in to start getting ready.
Chapter 14
I was glad I had packed my hair dryer and some make-up so that I could make myself look presentable. I took my time and tried to make myself look pretty, like a real girl. I laughed at myself as I eyed the finished product in the mirror. That was the best I could do. I slipped my robe on and went out to investigate the status of my clothes.
I was just in time to walk out of the bathroom to hear a knock on my bedroom door. I walked over and opened it curiously, wondering who had drawn the short straw and had to go get the girl clothes.
Quinn was standing on the other side of the door. I had met him very briefly last night and my gay-dar had pinged, but I had pushed it aside, as it was none of my business unless he wanted to open up and share with me.
“Let me in, girl!” he said jokingly as he pushed past me to set down a million different bags. He handed me a Victoria’s Secret bag and pointed to the bathroom. “Go, we don’t have much time.”
Jeez, this guy was bossy. I went back to the bathroom and pulled everything out of the bag. It had bras, panties, and a couple of very skimpy thongs. I set those aside and picked out some of the more modest bras and panties to put on. I slipped my robe back on and went out to the bedroom.
Quinn was laying out all my outfit choices, along with shoes and handbags. This was a lot of stuff for just one meeting. I sighed; this was the kind of thing Kelsey was good at. If she were here, I would just have her pick something out for me to wear. I reminded myself to text Kelsey after the meeting. She was probably still mad, but it wouldn’t hurt to reach out.
Quinn turned back to me after laying out the last dress. He eyed me up and down.
“Your hair is very pretty down, but we are going to have to style it a little more. Conservative make-up, very well done, very appropriate.” He had a running commentary going as he examined me with a clinical eye.
“We should probably neaten up those eyebrows a little,” he told me thoughtfully. My hand drifted up to my face. I didn’t remember the last time I had really done anything more than casually pluck some stray hairs.
“Um, OK,” I answered. It seemed like he knew what he was doing. He probably would do a better job than I would.
He clapped his hands together. “Okay, off with the robe.”
I just looked at him and thought, Nope.
He saw the ‘nope’ on my face because he chuckled. “Honey, believe me, I am not interested in anything you have under there. I am interested in getting you properly dressed for an important day today.”
I guess my gay-dar had been right, but I had not wanted to stereotype. I just shrugged my robe off and set it on the bed. He started handing me items of clothing to put on. The first was a pair of dress pants and a blouse. “No, too short,” he mumbled to himself as he motioned for me to take it off. I just sighed. This was common. I could never find clothes that fit me and had to special order tall sizes online.
We finally settled on an outfit both of us agreed on; a fitted black skirt that came to just above my knee, a pale pink blouse, and pearl accessories. I had to hand it to Quinn, he had somehow made me look poised and sophisticated.
He pointed to a pair of heels.
“Nope,” I told him.
“Honey,” he started in on me. I was really starting to enjoy his sassy commentary. He didn’t pull any punches and was very blunt. “You are wearing the heels,” he told me firmly.
“I am not wearing the heels,” I told him steadfastly. We stared at each other.
He eventually sighed. “Why not?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I am already freakishly tall. If I wear heels, I am going to be put in a circus and will never make it to the meeting.”
He snorted. “In case you haven’t noticed, wolves are taller than humans. I’m a runt at 5’11”.”
I thought about that. It did seem odd that all the guys I met so far had been taller than me. It had felt strange last night, not being the tallest person in the room.
“Wolves like their females to be tall, statuesque, and strong,” he informed me. “You need to get over any insecurities that spending too much time with humans gave you and embrace your heritage.”
I blinked. He was right. I shouldn’t try to make myself smaller; I should stand tall and proud. This was the way I was born, and I had nothing to be ashamed of.
I was grateful for this time I had spent with Quinn. He was awesome. I let him put the heels on me as I sat on the bed and stood up carefully.
I took one step, and then another.
Quinn started laughing at me. “You look like a baby deer that was just born and is trying to learn how to walk.” I just glared at him and tried to practice walking without twisting an ankle. He gave me some tips and then walked me over to the mirror.
“You’re really good, Quinn,” I told him as I looked at the final product in the mirror.
“I know,” he told me confidently. We both laughed.
“You know, I was upset when the guys told me that Austin had moved some bitch in the house,” Quin disclosed to me.
I gave him a hurt look.
“My word, not theirs. They all assured me you were very sweet and quiet, but I did not believe it at all,” he stated.
“I came in here expecting to find a blonde bimbo with huge tits that had all the men wrapped around her little finger.” I just gaped at him, not sure how to react. “I am really relieved that you are the exact opposite,” he told me. “I came in here plotting about how to run you out of here, but instead I really want you to stay.”
“Awww, Quinn.”
“Don’t get sentimental,” he sniffed. “I’ve just really always wanted a giant blonde Barbie to dress.” He gave me a smirk, and I laughed.
“Seriously, though, Austin has something really good going on here. Wolves are not accepting of a gay wolf who wants to be a stylist. He welcomed me here with open arms when every other pack had thrown me out or wanted nothing to do with me. He invested in my business and has encouraged me to be myself.” He hesitated. “I just need him to find me a hot, gay mate.”
The more I heard about Austin, the more I liked him. I was very glad it was his pack who had found me, and I really wanted to stay. “So, are all wolves outrageously good looking, or is that just Austin’s pack?” I asked him curiously.
“Austin knows how to pick them, right?” Quinn gave me a conspiring look. “I heard you have been getting close with the twins. Oh, to be the man-meat in that twin sandwich…” He sighed, and I giggled.
“Dish, girl. I want to live vicariously through you.”
Finding Somewhere to Belong Page 17