forms, maybe even trapped. I didn’t sense a strong alpha among them, so they may not be able to help the little ones shift back to human.
Anna squeezed my hand, her eyes worried.
“It was another pack?” she asked. “That attacked?”
Sanders shook his head slowly, but Theon answered for him.
“It was humans,” he said in disgust. “They attacked with rifles and explosives.”
“They were there to exterminate us,” Sanders said sadly. “There was no reasoning with them.”
Anna’s jaw dropped, her eyes wide with shock.
I looked closer at the group. Most looked tired, their clothes wrinkled and hair unkempt. The pups were lying on the ground quietly, not even sniffing around at the scents that came with a new environment. Usually, that would be irresistible to young pups.
“Of course, I grant you sanctuary,” I said solemnly. “What happened was a tragedy.”
“It was a crime,” Theon spat out. “They murdered over half of our pack!”
“We’ll investigate what happened,” I assured him. “But we need to follow proper channels, otherwise the violence will escalate, not be resolved.”
“Maybe it needs to escalate,” Blaze said as he walked over to our group. “Humans can’t slaughter us without expecting retribution.”
“This isn’t the time,” Anna interrupted firmly. “These pups need care, and everyone needs food and rest.”
“Agreed,” I said to the small crowd. “We have plenty of food, and we’ll reorganize to make sure everyone has accommodations.” My voice hardened. “But while you’re here, I expect all of you to follow our rules.”
Worried faces turned up to watch mine, but now wasn’t the time for softness. I needed to lay down the law before this crew integrated into my pack. Otherwise, this would become a breeding area for friction and resentment. My guys had worked hard to build this pack, and it wouldn’t be easy to stretch our resources to cover an additional twenty people.
“Everyone here works,” I announced. “You’ll be assigned a work detail that fits your skill set and physical fitness.”
Sanders nodded slowly. “Fair enough.”
“I’ll give each of you a medical exam,” Anna said with a kind smile. “I’m sure Jessica told you about my clinic for shifters.”
There were a few mutters when Anna mentioned Jessica’s name, which wasn’t a complete surprise. She was a wearisome, high-maintenance female, and that was on her good days. It probably didn’t help that she was carrying my late brother’s pups. A wolf who had led the strongest males among them to their deaths and released the dark fae from their prison.
“I don’t tolerate hatred or discrimination in my pack,” I told them in a hard voice. I scanned my eyes over the crowd, making eye contact with each of the wolves I sensed dissent from. “Fighting for dominance is a banned practice, and if you have a disagreement with another wolf, you bring it to myself, James or Cody.”
The wolves in front of me bowed their heads in submission. I turned to where Blaze was watching the scene with his arms crossed over his chest. The last thing I needed was for him to incite them all into a violent attack on the humans who wronged them. I had every intention of getting justice for those who’d fallen, but I wanted to hear the full story first.
“Blaze, I want you with me for our initial interviews. Cody, you and Anna get the group settled in and find them some food. We’ll meet with each of the adults individually to decide how you’ll fit into the pack here.”
“Lori and Kannon would be a good fit to help with the pups,” Anna suggested through our bond.
I looked at her affectionately. “Great idea.”
Lori and Kannon were the youngest of the pack, and while they were barely older than pups themselves, they’d had experience working through trauma. Plus, the pups from my brother’s former pack wouldn’t be intimidated by Lori and Kannon like they would by the older males in my pack. I was glad that fate had led the Hollow Crest wolves to Seaside, we were going to need them.
Chapter 8
Anna
Two days after the arrival of Austin’s old pack, I was exhausted. My head jerked up as the oven timer went off, but I was too tired to jump up and run over there.
“Jase, can you get that?” I called out as I poured a glass of wine for myself.
The answering thud made me wince, but when I turned around, there was nothing out of place. Jason was getting the trays of sweet potato fries out of the oven while Mason pulled dishes