guy for no reason. He wanted something from me, and I didn’t want to show him any weaknesses that he could use against me. I needed to take Austin’s advice and get some rest so I could recharge. Austin had requested a meeting with Arminius, and we were just waiting for him to set the time and place.
Chapter 3
Anna
The next morning, I was relieved to find that Trevor and the others were recovering nicely. I used more of my magic to speed up the process, doing everything I could to get them healthy again. I’d needed a morning nap and a hot bath before I was ready to face the day.
My magic was growing, my abilities developing, and my role in the pack expanding. I was changing, growing, into someone new, but I still looked like the same old Anna. I slid a hoodie over my head and pulled my hair out from underneath before looking at myself in the mirror. Did I look like I was the alpha female of the pack? Should I start dressing differently? Styling my hair a certain way? When it was just me and the guys, none of those things mattered. But the entire pack was here on the premises, and if there was any time to be a leader, it was now.
“Anna!” Cody called to me using the pack bond. “You have a visitor.”
I groaned when he sent an image of Jessica. The haughty wolf had been Austin’s intended mate before she was unceremoniously sent back to the Zilker pack. She’d then become pregnant with Justin’s pups in the hope of being chosen as the pack master’s mate. Justin had been influenced by the dark fae and was killed to open their prison. The Zilker pack was currently in a state of disarray as Justin had taken his alphas and betas to die with him. None of the wolves left in that pack had the strength or the desire to become the new pack master, which left them all vulnerable.
I sighed as I made my way down the stairs, reluctant for another encounter with the pregnant wolf. Jessica had been unpleasant before, but the stress of pregnancy and the uncertainty of her future had pushed her over the edge. She was carrying the pups of the former pack master, and whomever took Justin’s place might want to eliminate any future challenges to his position. Both Jessica and the pups were in danger if the wrong wolves took over the Zilker pack.
I glanced down the stairway to make sure no one was in the foyer below, then decided to practice a move I’d been working on. Sliding down the banister of a staircase might look easy, but you needed to get it just right to get a good speed going.
I leaped onto the railing, pushing off with my feet to get moving. I laughed out loud as I sailed down the stairway, the wind ruffling my hair as I flew. Cody stepped into the foyer to see the tail end of my fun and used my momentum to scoop me up before I could fly off the end of the rail. He swung me around in a circle before setting me down on my feet, and I pressed my lips to his before he could step away. Cody’s masculine scent enveloped me, and I relaxed in his arms. There had been so much going on the past few months, I treasured every small moment I could get with each of my guys.
The front door slammed open, and I stepped back from Cody reluctantly.
“Ugh,” Jessica complained. “Your stupid guards didn’t want to let me through, again.”
“They’re under orders not to let anyone through without authorization from Austin, myself, or James,” Cody reminded her before placing one last kiss on my forehead.
We went through this every time Jessica came here for one of her checkups. I was using the healing magic I’d learned from the fae to help Jessica carry her babies to term. Female wolf shifters had a difficult time during pregnancy and delivery. Mothers suffered spontaneous abortions, where their bodies would reject the pregnancy, killing the pup. Or if the mother made it to full term, she and her pups could die in childbirth. Pregnancy could be joyful, but more often, it became a death sentence. My goal was to change all of that.
“Jessica,” I said pleasantly, ignoring her complaint completely. “I’m so glad you could make it today. Let’s head back to the