and for Alpha werewolves, honor was everything. “Thank you.”
He nodded back and continued walking. Stacy ran off ahead. We didn’t enter through either of the large shipping bay doors, but rather a small side door for employees. I was, of course, last to enter.
I felt paralyzed for just a second as the scent of wolf covered me, filling my nose until I could smell nothing else. I was also in front of five wolves I hadn’t met yet, which didn’t help anything. A couple of them snarled, baring their teeth. Their eye colors shifted from their human colors to their wolves’, much like my hazel turned gold.
“She’s here by my will and in my good graces,” Heath snapped, staring down the wolves. “Meet Jacky Leon, a werecat that lives a couple hours southeast of us near Jacksonville. She’s oath-sworn to my daughter, a werecat called to Duty. You’ll treat her with respect.”
“And where’s Carey?” one asked, his anger fading quickly, replaced with worry.
My heart clenched. Carey was a human princess among wolves. They would all probably die for her, I realized.
“A hunting party incapacitated our feline cousin here and took her. Jacky is here to help us get her back. Or we’re going to help her.”
“We’re going to work together as equals in the effort to get Carey out of their hands,” I said, fixing the problem Heath had walked into. On principle, a werecat would never bow and take orders from a werewolf Alpha, and he couldn’t let me be above him, since it would jeopardize his position of power. Equals, however tentative, was the only solution.
“That works,” he replied, nodding. He turned back to his wolves and waved. “I need everyone for a pack meeting so we can discuss our next move.”
“Yes sir,” the speaker said, jumping up and running out of the room. The others followed, slower, but no less purposeful.
“Is that one a youngin’?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I threw on a bit of a southern accent to soften the question into something humorous.
“He is, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders and a decently dominant streak. He’ll climb into someone’s inner circle one day, if he’s trained right and has the chance to grow. Right now he’s all about pleasing and doing his part.” Heath gestured for me to keep following him. As I did, he said something else. “Shamus, I want you there as well, but I think it’s time for Stacy to help with the kids.”
“Of course, Heath.”
As I left the office with him, I heard Stacy whining about being put back on babysitting duty, something that made me smirk.
The warehouse before me was full of werewolves, many lying on cots, talking to their neighbors. Some were sitting on boxes, probably taken from the warehouse. Some were lying on large crates, others were playing on computers.
“Nice war camp,” I said, trying to be polite and probably failing at it.
“Yeah. It was the best we could do with the short amount of time we had when this all started. We have a couple of injured, but nothing too bad.” He gave me a sideways look.
I ignored it, opting to instead meet the eyes of the wolves now watching me intently. My comment had drawn their attention, and now probably two dozen or more wolves were looking at me, expressions ranging from shocked to confused to downright angry.
“Hi.” I waved. “Do I look funny?”
Heath snorted. More than a few of the wolves snarled, while others had the opposite reaction and laughed.
“They’re all here. Time to get this out of the way and move the pack to open discussion on what to do,” he said softly to me. “Everyone, meet Jacky Leon. If you don’t recognize her scent, she’s a werecat, and one oath-sworn to my daughter, Carey, who has been taken by the traitors. She’s our ally, but we must attempt to let her maintain an air of impartiality. She’s already lost her life once in service to my daughter, and let’s try not to let that happen again. I don’t want the other werecats thinking we callously throw away their kind as if they’re chattel. Two minutes, was it? How long you were dead?”
“Yeah, so I was told,” I answered, shrugging. He really knew how to put the spotlight on a girl.
“Now, she’s not here to help us defeat the traitors, so don’t expect her to. However, all efforts about saving my daughter? She’s going to be a part of those.