“Carter!” A cheery voice shouted.I looked over to see Luna Grace leaving a room in the packhouse and she immediately started closing the distance between them, but stopped when she noticed me.“Oh! Dear me, are you in a meeting? Did I interrupt?” She glanced at Carter and me curiously, however something about her gaze seemed a little… “Not at all Grace, just spending some time with my mate.” Carter flashed a beaming smile, one that would send any woman to their knees however after spending a little time with the real Carter, I easily recognized his false polite mask. It was a good one, I’ll give him that, but the real question was- why was Carter Lockwood, the second lead of the book series giving his supposed best friend and cousin’s mate a polite smile mask? Weren’t they closer than that?“Oh. Oh! That’s right! You found your mate!” Luna Grace looked between me and Carter as if seeing us together was the cutest thing. She closed the distance between us and held out her hand for me
I was overthinking it. I knew I was overthinking it.Yet, I couldn’t stop pacing and I couldn’t stop changing my outfit. “It’s just a stupid dinner.” I muttered to myself for probably the tenth time in the last hour. My heart pounded erratically as I quickly unzipped the dress of the latest attempt at picking an outfit. I needed an outfit that was nice enough to show that I belonged in a group of high ranking wolves from different packs, yet something that didn’t stand out too hard. I had enough troubles so standing out was not what I needed at the moment.I also needed an outfit that was flattering for me yet wouldn't give Carter the wrong idea. The last thing I needed was Carter thinking I changed my mind about us and seducing me at dinner again. And if I wore a dress, there would be less articles of clothing as a barrier between us. I knew myself well enough to know now that if he touched my bare skin I’d turn to mush.I was basically pudding in his hands, and he knew it.And th
The room was filled with laughter. There were joyous alphas and beta males spitting out their alcohol, and embarrassed lunas and beta females who’d all glance at each other knowingly and roll their eyes. The room was packed with high rankers from four different packs not including our own. We were all cozied up at a long banquet table in the cabin-styled dining room, with patterned high backed cushioned chairs and an antler chandelier. Alpha Damien sat at the head, to his right was Luna Grace, looking even more angelic than usual.I wonder if it was the lighting.To the left of the alpha sat Carter, and I sat to the left of him. A luna of a pack I was unfamiliar with sat on my other side but we both must have been socially awkward because all we managed to do was politely smile at one another and nod and that was the end of our interactions. Another bout of deep throated laughter shook me from my thoughts. “If George really needs something to brace him, he might want to grab the hea
“Take action… as a united front?” Alpha James repeated warily. I surveyed the room. All of the alpha’s were tense, some eyeing one another. Carter even had a wary frown on his face, but it seemed more along the lines of concerned rather than hostile. I caught his eye and he leaned over.“The packs haven’t been united since the war, and even then it was extremely fragile. With multiple alpha’s, it tends to get a little…” He whispered softly in my ear. I would have been turned on if the atmosphere wasn’t so serious at the moment.“Tense?” I whispered back. "Something like that." He winced and nodded.The other high ranking wolves looked around the room with glazed eyes. It took me a moment to realize that they were mind-linking each other to discuss. This seemed to continue for a few more seconds until Carter turned to Alpha Cunningham.“What would being a united front entail exactly?” Carter asked the group. I was surprised he spoke up because it seemed that the beta male and females
“Now then-” Alpha Cunningham turned back to the rest of the table, “Any more questions?” He smirked.And like a beautiful dance, I witnessed Carter and the rest of the high rankers navigate through a minefield of tense negotiations.Wolf politics were interesting, if only for the fact that words had to be carefully crafted in every sentence so as not to offend any of the highly emotional and dangerous wolves. However, if a wolf needed to show their strength, they purposely tried to make the other uncomfortable.For instance, as questions were fielded about the legitimacy of the claims of wolf children being taken, Alpha Cunningham got swept up in a stare-off with the alpha who skeptically denied the validity of them earlier. The two refused to look away as it showed weakness and it took each of their luna’s to pull them away from nearly turning to a wolf at the dinner table and challenging each other. “How can you expect us to believe that they’re taken?” The same skeptical alpha gro
Once Carter and I finally sent the last of the high ranking wolves on their way home, I sighed and slumped against the front door. I banged the back of my head against the wood trying to ease the headache that was forming. “You look like you just ran a marathon.” Carter teased, easing against the door next to me. His crossed arms bulged through the dress shirt he wore. I chuckled, glancing at his demeanor. “And you look like you’re about to run a marathon. ” I leaned against one side to face him and unabashedly assessed his body. “Where on earth do you get all that energy from?”He leaned close and whispered in my ear, “You really want to know?” He rumbled. It was a call that my body answered to. No. Not my body. Paisley’s.I leaned back and rolled my eyes. “No thanks. I’m good, actually.” I pushed off the door and crossed my arms trying to still my racing heart.I opened my mouth to let out a retort when I finally noticed Carter’s furrowed brow and clenched fists. “What’s wrong?”
Carter parked the car along the side of the road. When it came to a stop, there was a clear hesitancy in both of us. Ultimately, Carter kept his seat belt buckled and looked at me with a strained smile. “Have a wonderful night, Paisley. And thank you again for accompanying me to the dinner.”“Of course.” I brushed my hair behind my hair. With a smile, I thought back to the dinner. “I hope it was less boring this time, for better or worse.”“Having you there made it better, no matter the circumstances.” Carter smiled, a hint of sadness in his gaze. “We made quite the team, you and I.”“We did, didn’t we?” I bumped my shoulder with his before opening the door. Carter's wrist caught mine before I could let go of my grip on the car door. “Don’t be a stranger, alright?” He looked seriously at me. I smiled tensely. “We’re friends, remember?” He gave me a sad smile. I tried to nod but felt a little too guilty. Was it bad of me that I wanted him to walk me to my door again? To hold me in h
“Luna Grace! What a delightful surprise to see you! Welcome in!” Gloria cheered as she washed a few of the children’s hands in the sink.Behind her was a scared, doe-eyed, familiar little girl who brightened once she saw me.“Paisley!” She shouted and ran straight into my arms. My heart was filled with warmth as I wrapped my arms around little Lucy.“Lucy! I haven’t seen you in so long!” I squeezed her tight. She giggled. “Are you coming to preschool today?” I asked. Lucy was enrolled in the preschool but she only came about half of the time. I had only seen her once since I started working there but Gloria had told me before that Lucy’s schedule tended to vary since she was the alpha’s daughter. Lucy nodded meekly, clasping her hands together tightly. I quickly got her settled on coloring a picture and went back to Luna Grace. She was observing us oddly, a look of strange curiosity at our exchange. “I forgot Lucy took to you so well.” She said lowly, keeping her gaze on Lucy.Not kn