by John Conroe
“One of the very oldest European Packs is coming tonight. The Alpha, who is rather famous and greatly respected in our society, has asked Ned if our pack would Foster his children. Sorta like a werewolf exchange program. They would see how our pack operates. After a time, I believe they may even visit your NY pack,” Jep explained, taking out his phone and texting as he spoke.
“Wait, what’s this Alpha’s name?” Stacia asked, yelling from the guest room she had disappeared into. Figures she was listening in.
“Kral Vrana,” Jep answered, raising his voice just a bit. “His children are Darina and Janek. She’s fourteen and he’s eighteen.”
“Oh my god! Kral Vrana is coming here? Tonight?” Stacia demanded, poking her head around the doorframe of the guest suite. Her shoulders were bare and I got the impression she might be wrapped in a towel.
“So this guy is what? Some kind of werewolf rock star?” I asked.
“He is famous in were society, but not like a rock star,” Jep said.
“More like a famous president or British royalty or something,” Stacia added, wide-eyed.
“You gonna be able to get it ready in time?” I asked Jep. He put his phone away and I heard cars pull up.
“Should be good. Much of the Pack has been involved in preparation even while Ned and I were tracking down your help with the demons. If you hadn’t arrived and taken care of our kids, we’d have cancelled and sent the Vranas north to New York. There’s been a lot of pressure and worry, which is why, I think, Ned handled things badly last night. Add in the Feds and Simon’s group, and it’s been a mess,” the giant pack second explained.
“Well, we’ll get out of your hair and wish you luck with your event tonight,” I said.
“Oh, Ned will surely want you and Ms. Reynolds to attend,” Jep said. “It’s a reception and dinner, starting with cocktails at seven.”
“Oh, we have to get ready, then!” Stacia said before disappearing back into the room.
Downstairs, the front doors opened and we could hear multiple voices as a large group entered the house.
“What’s this guy like?” I asked.
“I’ve never met him, but Ned has. Very old and wealthy. Been the Alpha of the Carpathian Pack for decades. Apparently, there was quite a battle fifty or so years ago. A rival led a takeover attempt and Kral put it down. But in the violence and chaos, his mate and child were killed. He eventually took a new mate, Evka, and the kids were born. Both children are said to be natural Alphas. So he’s extremely interested in their education in leadership. Highly protective too, as you might imagine.”
By the time we got downstairs, at least ten people had spread throughout the house. Jep’s wife, Lisa, patted my arm and gave her husband a quick hug as she hurried by with a group of werewolf women. She glanced curiously at me, and I realized I was still a mess from the portal closing. More cars pulled up outside and a steady stream of decorators, caterers, and cleaning people flowed into the big house. Jep was pulled aside to discuss security arrangements by three male weres who ignored me. The giant were paused to gravely thank me for closing the portal, causing the security weres to give me a second glance before they jumped back into their questions and reports.
Awasos and I escaped outside, sitting on some giant ornamental lawn boulders while we waited for Stacia. She showed up about ten minutes later, hair still wet and wearing only the most minimum of makeup.
“Come on. We’ve got important work to do. We’ve got to get ready!” she said, grabbing my arm and towing me toward the car. “You need a suit, and I’ve got to figure out what to wear.”
“Why can’t I just wear khaki’s and a golf shirt?”
“Listen hotshot, Kral Vrana heads the oldest and biggest pack in the world. He’s a legend. So I for one want to make a good impression and you seem to be running low on friends and high on enemies. You might want to consider putting your best foot forward.”
Dammit if she wasn’t right. I had a big chunk of the Coven against me – I didn’t need a huge pack of werewolves on my case. As much as I hated clothes shopping I couldn’t fault her logic. Time to man up.
Chapter 15
The next few hours were spent in a whirlwind of shopping and preparing. First, we found a men’s clothing store at the local mall, and Stacia swiftly picked out a decent charcoal gray suit that, while not Armani, was still more expensive than anything I’d ever owned before. She negotiated for the few alterations necessary to be done immediately and paid with a black Lupine Industries Visa card. Then we hit a scary large number of stores till she found a cocktail dress that passed her exacting standards. Next were shoes, and then she hit a salon for professional hair and makeup while I went back to the mall to pick up my suit. By the time 'Sos and I got back, a very glamorous-looking Stacia awaited us. Checking her list of preparations, she announced we were cleared to head back to the hotel to get dressed.
My head was reeling, and I reflected that fighting the demon hordes while closing the gate was probably easier than preparing for a cocktail reception with Stacia.
The Pack house had been transformed in the hours since we had left. A werewolf valet took our car for parking as we headed up the luminary-lined walkway to the main door. It was still light out, but a half-moon was rising over the eastern treeline.
Inside the house, the entire downstairs had taken on a forest theme, with fresh cut boughs of evergreen, potted balsam firs and ferns, and tiny white LED lights strung across the ceilings and even a fully functional stream, somehow set up and running through a corner of the dining room. The original dining room table had been changed, going from a twelve-person straight antique to a much longer, white-cloth-covered t-shape that had thirty place settings. The air was rich with delicious food scents that made my saliva glands ache and my stomach rumble. I could smell roast beef, turkey, and ham, as well as several different scents of potatoes, pasta, and vegetables.
Black-and-white-clad servants, many of them weres, worked their way through the mingling guests with trays of hors d’oeuvres and glasses of champagne and wine. Granger and his wife Rose were greeting the arriving guests near the front door with handshakes and soft words. The crowd was mostly weres, but not all wolves. There were a few werebears, werepumas, and at least one weretiger. There were also a couple of vampires and a few humans that I thought might be witch types.
A pair of werewolves finished being welcomed by the Grangers and moved further into the party. Ned and Rose looked up to see who was next, spotting the three of us. With a small cry, Rose rushed forward to hug me and Stacia, even hugging 'Sos around his neck. Most of the guests in the immediate area looked over to see what the fuss was about, but Ned ignored them as he followed his wife’s emotional display with his own, more subdued greeting. Despite the contained nature of his welcome, the gratitude and honest emotion in his face was as powerful in its own way as Rose’s.
Never comfortable with attention, I tried to ignore the curious stares of the party goers, but it wasn’t easy, particularly as they took note of the giant wolf pressed against my leg.
“We can never thank you for what you have done for us!” Rose said as she stepped back to give me enough room to shake her husband’s hand.
“Not necessary, Mrs. Granger,” I said uncomfortably.
She picked up on it immediately. “Is he always so humble?” she asked Stacia.
“About exorcisms, yes. Anything else and he’s a straight-up braggart,” Stacia answered, then laughed at my outraged expression. “Just kidding—he’s very modest, for the most part.”
“He seemed pretty sure of himself facing us down last night at the bar,” Granger noted.
“He’s a whole different person when it comes to a fight,” Stacia said, looking at me sideways.
“If he fights like he handles demonic assault, then I can see why,” a deep voice rumbled as Jep and his wife Lisa moved into our circle.
His huge hand swallowed mine as he shook it. When he released it
, his wife pushed forward to grab it in her own two smaller hands. Her grip was almost as fierce, and the glimmer of tears that swam behind her eyes froze me in place. “Thank you,” she whispered, unable to project her voice any louder. Not knowing what else to say, I settled for a simple, “You’re welcome.”
Stacia rolled her eyes at my awkwardness as she hugged Lisa. Part of me couldn’t help but notice we were still the center of much attention. Luckily, someone else appeared in the door behind us and Ned moved to welcome them. Rose hung back with Jep, Lisa, and the three of us for a moment, patting my shoulder and 'Sos’s head before joining her husband.
Jep herded us away from the entrance and into the company of several other weres who I recognized from the bar the night before.
“This is Sandy Tillman,” he introduced, pointing to a lanky six footer with ginger hair. “He’s the Pack accountant. On his right is Coreena Tsao, Asheville’s finest firefighter.”
Ms. Tsao was only a hair over five feet tall but looked like a gymnast. “How do you spell Tsao?” I asked.
“T-s-a-o?” she replied, black hair falling to one side as she tilted her head, obviously curious.
“Oh, I know a lady who spells it T-z-a-o,” I said with a shrug.
“Next to her is Gabe Fontz, who does a great impression of a lawyer by day,” Jep continued, pointing out a squat guy with curly auburn hair and pale blue eyes.
“You already met Malcolm, Rose’s nephew,” Jep said, smacking the embarrassed teen on his shoulder and almost knocking him over. I nodded hello, amused by how brightly the kid blushed when Stacia reached over to shake his hand.
A commotion behind us at the entry interrupted Jep before he could continue. We all swung around to look at the main doorway where a large group of weres had just entered.
Immaculately dressed in Euro-style suits and dresses, they were proceeded by a lean, dangerous-looking man whose hair was almost the same shade of blonde as Stacia’s and gray eyes that looked like chips of slate. He scanned the room professionally, then stepped aside to allow a middle-aged man, whose dark hair was frosted on the sides with gray, to step into the house. Dark, almost black eyes took in every detail and every person before settling on Ned and Rose Granger. He strode ahead to meet them, hand out to shake Granger’s hand.
Behind him came a brunette in a burgundy cocktail dress who looked to be in her mid-twenties, attractive but hard-looking and sporting a faint, thin, three-inch scar on her right cheek. A teen male and early teen female followed her, obviously siblings. Dark brown hair and dark eyes, they were both attractive, richly dressed, and wearing matching bored/arrogant expressions.
Almost every being in the room had sensitive enough hearing to hear Kral Vrana introduce his wife, Evka, and children, Janek and Darina. We all watched as the guest of honor took center stage. My gaze met the blond bodyguard’s as he scanned for threats, and he paused for a split second to evaluate me before continuing his sweep.
Rose motioned to a Pack member behind her, and the twins, Cassi and Polly, were ushered over to be introduced to the Vranas. Dressed in matching white dresses, the girls looked a far cry from either the possessed monsters I’d wrestled with the night before or the bedraggled, newly cleansed little girls I'd last seen. They smiled and charmed Kral, curtsied for Evka, and met the superior-acting Vrana children. After a few moments, Rose released them and they started to move back to their minder but spotted Awasos, then me and Stacia. Shyly, they came across the floor and petted 'Sos. Stacia complimented them on their dresses, and their shyness evaporated in the face of fashion. Polly showed Stacia how well her shoes matched the dress, one leg out and toe pointed. Cassi slid over my way and pulled out her bear fetish necklace.
“I know he’s a wolf, but he reminds me of my bear,” she said, pointing from the necklace to 'Sos. “Polly says her Hugo is closer to him, but I think he’s kind of bearlike, too.”
“You’re absolutely right. He is bearlike,” I agreed. I glanced back at the group around the Grangers and discovered Kral studying us. His gaze was very curious as he took in the wolf being hugged by the girls, but it changed to a more intense interest at the full sight of Stacia.
He asked Granger a question and the Asheville Alpha swiveled around to look at our group, then began answering Kral’s question as he led him our way.
As he got closer, I could see people reacting to his presence. Charisma, force of personality, whatever you want to call it, he had it. Dapper and trim, he was more than the wealthy businessman he had appeared to be at first glance. Looking middle-aged for a werewolf meant being a lot older than that. He could easily be in his eighties, nineties, or even one hundred.
Fit, intense, and very focused were the adjectives that popped into my mind as he was ushered into our presence. Ned introduced Stacia as the liaison for the New York Pack and me as a borrowed problem solver. That description caught Vrana’s interest even in the face of his obvious interest in Stacia.
Evka, his wife, was watching and frowning while next to her, Rose Granger was carrying on about something. Her eyes narrowed at her husband, who was kissing Stacia’s hand.
Noticing her distracted audience, Rose looked over to see where her husband and Kral had gone. Suddenly uncomfortable, she nonetheless brought the rest of the Vrana family over to meet us.
“Evka, this young lady is Afina Mallek’s assistant,” Kral explained when he realized his wife was standing next to him.
“The New York Alpha? Shouldn’t she be in New York, assisting?” Evka wondered in a droll tone that left no doubt as to where she wished my stunning partner was. Stacia, who had looked very starstruck when introduced to Kral, picked up on the jealous vibe instantly.
“Because the Malleks value Mr. Gordon’s services so much that they sent Afina’s right hand to guide him,” Rose said.
“Is he that vulnerable that he needs such a pretty guardian?” Janek asked, showing the same interest in Stacia that his father had.
“Ms. Reynolds isn’t here to guard Mr. Gordon from us… she’s here to guard us from Mr. Gordon,” a rumbling voice stated. Jep had moved into the conversation. Ned immediately introduced him as his second-in-command. Kral reciprocated by introducing the lean blond male as Bodan, his second and right hand.
Evka laughed in an unfriendly way. “You Americans are so funny. A joke, no? To think a wolf would fear a human,” she said.
“He’s not human, Mother,” the girl, Darina said suddenly. Everybody turned to her, but her attention remained on me. “He’s not were, not really. He also smells a little of vampire, but again, not really. It’s perplexing,” she said, tilting her head to regard me as if I was a new species of bug.
The adults, at least the American ones, looked puzzled by her words. The Euro wolves, however, took it as matter of fact.
“My daughter has the best nose of any were on the planet,” Kral noted proudly. It was an odd statement. If he’d had said she had eyes like an eagle or the most sensitive hearing, I’d have just nodded and moved on. But saying she had the best nose made her sound like a prized hunting hound.
Her brother, Janek, leaned forward and sniffed near me, his arrogant smirk changing to a curious frown. “You’re right, Rina. He does smell a little like both. I can barely detect it, though. I smell bear, too.”
“Of course I’m right,” she replied with a sniff. “The bear smell is him,” she said pointing at Awasos. “What are you, Mr. Gordon? And what is he?”
I shrugged. “No one knows... about me, that is. Awasos is a were bear-wolf.”
“A bear and a wolf and a person? Come on! No way,” Janek said with a nasty chuckle.
“You’re right. He’s not all three. Just wolf and bear,” I replied, locking eyes with the arrogant youth. He stared right back, his Alpha instincts kicking in.
“Bullshit! You’re making that up,” he said. His mother rested one hand on his arm but otherwise said nothing. The whole family leaned in, waiting to see how I would respond.
/> “'Sos, please Change,” I asked my furry pal quietly.
Suddenly a wall of fur stood next to me, his head brushing the ceiling eleven feet overhead. I noted that he’d grown a bit taller.
The space around us cleared instantly as people got themselves out of the danger zone, although to my mind, you’d need to be off the estate entirely to be out of 'Sos’s danger zone.
Drinks splashed as the people holding them reeled back from the giant grizzly, even the werebears falling back in alarm.
The Vranas and Grangers were frozen in place, eyes wide, looking up, up, up at the mass of fur and muscle standing quietly by my side. Stacia placed one hand on 'Sos’s massive side, using it to brace herself while she casually fixed her shoe strap, having first handed me her drink.
Her nonchalance brought the others back to earth, forcing them to recover a bit of their cool attitude. They were, however, not quite so superior.
