by Mia Wolf
It didn’t help that they were devastatingly attractive. I always had thought they were the two most handsome men in the pack. And now I was about to go on a trip with them. What if I was too distracted by them to be a responsible treasurer? What if I was too blinded by my stupid crush that I just signed off on anything they wanted?
I shook my head at that thought. It was silly. There was no reason I should lose my head completely. Alex and Lewis put me in charge of the funds because I was a responsible pack member. I’d been entrusted with the cubs of the pack for years. I’d also been entrusted with the water supply—the most important aspect of the pack’s survival. That was almost solely down to me. If I could work with a cluster of young Animals, then I was sure I could keep my head on straight around Max and Jordan.
Part of me wondered if Alex knew that I had a thing for those two and was putting me in this situation because he thought it would be funny. Brothers are good like that. They know how to play embarrassing pranks on their siblings. Or, maybe he knew something I didn’t?
When he told me that I was going with them, I tried to tell him that wasn’t necessary, that I could give them a budget to work with for the trip, that I needed to stay because of the water station—anything I could think of for why I shouldn’t or couldn’t go, I told him. But he was adamant that I needed to go. Why would he be so set on my leaving the compound with those two?
“Right, guys,” I announced to the cubs. The six remaining pre-teens paused what they were doing and looked at me. “I think we’ve done enough for today. Finish what you’re doing, put your stuff away, and we can finish up tomorrow.”
It never ceased to amaze me how all the work they’d been doing all morning was “absolutely killing” them, yet as soon as I told them they could go when they’d finished, their tasks were completed almost instantaneously. I smirked as I watched the entire water station get put back together and cleaned within five minutes.
I made my way around, picking up a forgotten bucket as well as a few tools and made sure the water pump was still drawing in water before I left the station myself. My cabin was on the other side of the reservoir. One walkway, the shortest route, was along the top of the small dam, but I preferred the wooden one further up the river. It arched up and over, made of treated, carved, and styled wood with a smooth banister that looked as though it had been made from two long branches. The woodworkers in the Moonstone pack were truly artisans of their craft.
“Emily!”
I didn’t need to turn to know that Andrea, my nearest and dearest of friends, was jogging to catch up with me. But I did turn, and I did see her bouncing to meet me, tall, big-boned, and top-heavy, her red hair streaming behind her. Aside from her hair and face, we were often told that we looked quite a bit alike. At least, as much as a Bear could look like a Fox. Between her hair, her large green eyes, and her petit and attractive pointy nose, it was easy to know she was a Fox. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I was at the water station like I always am,” I said, rolling my eyes, challenging if she’d really been looking for me or had just thought about looking for me.
“That’s not true,” she said. “You’re on your way to the bridge now. That is not the water station.”
“Smartass,” I laughed.
She turned her hips and patted her bum. “My ass is smart.”
“I’m sure that’s debatable. What’s up?”
Andrea linked her arm in mine and urged me to keep walking. “I heard on the grapevine that you’re going to San Francisco.”
“How the Hell did you hear that? It was only a couple of hours ago that it was decided.”
“I’ve got my connections.”
“You mean you’re nosy.”
“Choose to see it your way,” she said, disregarding the comment. She lowered her voice to an almost whisper and said, “I also heard that you’re going with Jordan and Max.”
“Yep.”
“Do you think—?”
“There’s nothing to think. I’m going to make sure they don’t bankrupt the pack. That’s all.”
“Yeah, okay, I totally buy that,” she said sarcastically. “What are you going to do now?”
“Make some calls, book the trip, pack.” I paused us halfway over the bridge. I liked to pause to look for fish in the clear river. It was so peaceful, and the water was clear enough to give clues as to whether the fishing was good that day or not. It was an activity Alex and I enjoyed doing together: fishing. We didn’t get to do it as much now that he was Alpha and now that Sandra was around, but sometimes she would join Alex when he did have time to fish.
“When are you going?”
“As soon as we can. We’re losing daylight. The Alphas want the panels in and installed before autumn sets in.”
“But we’ll be relying more on the wind after the summer anyway,” Andrea pointed out. “What’s the rush?”
“The eco-trade fair, for one. I think it’s only three or four days away. The installation for another. It’s one thing when we can run lights at night to work, but if we’re out of more than half of our solar panels and it’s getting darker earlier, then we can’t install them as quickly.”
“Well, good. Less time for you to wig out about the trip.”
“I’m not going to wig out about the trip.” I started walking again, our steps sounding hollow over the wooden bridge’s decline onto the dirt path.
“You know you are,” Andrea jibed. “You’re useless around those guys.”
“Thanks for that.”
“Well, you are. You get all nervous and silly.”
“It’s been nice chatting,” I said, abruptly changing the topic. “But I’ve got to make some phone calls to get this trip booked.”
She was right. I was already on edge at the thought of spending that much time with Max and Jordan. I didn’t need my best friend rubbing my nose in it, though.
“Don’t be silly,” she said. “I’m making us lunch. You do your calls, and I’ll sort out the grub.”
My cabin was right on the water reservoir. It was one of the few that had a working icebox. That was because mine was one of the few that were located so close to the water. When I moved in, one of Max and Jordan’s first projects when they returned with their eco-tech degree was to jimmy-rig a geothermal set up to my home, keeping the air cooler, but also making it so I could have a cellar that was cold enough to store foods. It was the size of my house, just underground.
It wasn’t only my food I kept cool in there, though; many families from the pack stored their perishables in there as well. This meant I had yet another worry about leaving Moonstone: who was going to let them in and out while I was gone?
“Fine,” I gave in. “But you need to leave me alone while I’m on the phone. I hate using that thing enough as it is. I don’t need someone distracting me as well.”
“No prob. You’ve got some of that smoked trout left, right?” she asked as we arrived at the front porch.
“Cellar,” I replied. She knew my house just as if it were her own. She was over often enough. While I loved to hunt and fish, taking care of the meat once I had it was not a task I enjoyed. Andrea and I had an agreement: I would get extra food for her, and she would do all the gutting and skinning. I think I won on that trade, but she liked to keep the pelts for her own projects. Part of the agreement meant she had full license to my house since I kept her share in the cellar as well. She was the only one I allowed that freedom. Everyone else needed to have me with them when they went downstairs.
After an hour of being on the phone, I’d finally arranged a flight and the last two hotel rooms in the area of the fair, near Fisherman’s Warf. I hung up, feeling no guilt that I was making the guys share a room while I had one all to myself.
“Success?” Andrea asked as I walked into the kitchen.
“Success,” I sighed. “Now, I have to pack.”
“When’s your flight?”
“The only one I could f
ind was the day after tomorrow. That leaves us a full day in San Francisco before the fair. Which is annoying because that’s an extra day the pack is going to have to shell out for our trip. But the flight the following day was an extra $500.”
“Sounds fun!” Andrea said. “I’ve always wanted to go to San Fran. There’s so much to see there. I’ve read so many books that take place there, I’m dying to go.”
“You’re not coming with,” I said firmly.
“Aw,” she pouted. “But I made you lunch—your favorite lunch, too.”
“And it looks like you put smoked trout on crackers. A lunch worth of a trip. But no, you’re not going.”
She laughed. “Fine. At least let me help you pack.”
I shoved a cracker loaded with the trout in my mouth. I loved trout. I could happily eat it every day for the rest of my life. I caught enough of it that it did make up a large part of my diet. But that was the Bear in me.
“I don’t need help packing.”
“Yes, you do. You can’t dress yourself to save your life. If you’re going with Jordan and Max, then you need all the help you can get.”
After I ate a few more crackers, we went to my bedroom, a loft room overlooking the rest of the cabin. Andrea flung open my wardrobe and shifted through its contents.
“Where are your dresses?”
“Right there. Look, there’s a green one right there.”
She pulled it out and spread it to look at it. It was long with two large wooden buttons that attached the thick straps to the front of the dress. Two big baggy pockets sagged on either side of it.
Andrea threw it on the bed and pulled out another dress, a tan one that buttoned up the front, all the way to the neck, with long sleeves. She threw this one on the bed as well.
She pulled the final dress from my wardrobe and threw it on the bed without pausing to look at it.
“Where did you learn to dress yourself?” she asked.
“What?”
“You have the worse sense of style I’ve ever seen.”
I hauled the suitcase I’d borrowed from Sandra from the foot of my bed to the top. I wondered if it would be big enough for three days away briefly before telling Andrea, “I don’t wear dresses. Those ones I got were to make my mother happy. I don’t think I’ve actually put on a dress in ten years aside from the dress for Alex’s mating ceremony.”
“What did you do with that one?”
“I borrowed it from you.”
Andrea paused as her tongue came out over her upper lip, her hand on her hip, as she thought. “That’s right,” she said. “I remember now. Alright, I’ll get that dress for you. You looked great in that.”
“I’m not wearing a bridesmaid dress on a business trip.”
“Fine. But you are wearing something nice. I’ll go get you some clothes from my place, and then we can get you properly packed.”
She began skipping down the stairs without waiting for me to respond. I waited for my front door to close before I sighed in relief. I didn’t need her dictating what I was wearing, that was for certain. This way, at least, she was out of my hair, and I could focus on practical clothing. By the time she got back, my suitcase would be packed, zipped, and locked. I’d swallow the key if it meant getting to keep the suitcase closed until I got to San Francisco.
I made the mental list of essentials that I would need—a new toothbrush, some toothpaste, general toiletries, small bottles for those toiletries, comfortable shoes. I knew there would be more things that I’d think of between now and when we left, and it was more than likely it would be in the minutes before we needed to leave for the airport.
Flying was something that also made me nervous. I’d never done it before. I didn’t like the idea of some giant piece of machinery in the air with nothing to hold it up. There was nothing that seemed right about it. I had to remind myself that millions of people flew every day, and for many of them, it was their way of life. This idea eased me a little, though it did little to help my inability to understand the concept of flying as a whole.
I was just settling down with a book when I heard her on the steps out front. I wasn’t planning on opening the door when she came back. I was going to feign being out. But then I thought better of it, knowing she’d just let herself in anyway, and who knows what sort of tampering she might do with my suitcase.
“Alright, so I’ve got something for every occasion,” she said, pushing past me and the door. She marched straight to the stairs.
“Andrea, it’s fine. I’ve packed. It’s done.”
“Nonsense,” she sang as she reached the loft.
I sat back down on the couch, knowing there was little I could do to stop her. I cringed as I heard the zip, knowing my meticulous folding was about to be rummaged. It wasn’t until I heard a larger thud of all my clothes landing on the floor that I leaped up and ran up the stairs.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, somewhat ridiculously.
“You can’t take any of this, Emily. Your style is terrible. Here.” She pulled out a slinky purple dress that looked like it should slither across skin and was more akin to a nightie than a dress. “This one will look nice when you go out to dinner. Don’t worry. I brought some shoes and a matching purse for you.”
“I’m not wearing that.”
She ignored me and folded it into my suitcase. “This one here,” she held up another dress, a white one that would likely be form-fitting once I tried it on, but at least was longer. “You can wear this one at the fair. You’ll look like you’re ready for business then.”
“I’m going to an eco-trade fair. No one is going to be dressed like that there.”
“I’ve got you a casual outfit as well. Don’t worry. It’s not a dress. It’s a catsuit.” She pulled out a long white piece of clothing, the most conservative piece so far, decorated with yellow sunflowers. The legs were flowy, and might be mistaken for a dress if one weren’t paying attention. She turned the piece around, and I saw that it was completely backless. “You might not be able to wear a bra with this one, but it’d be very comfortable. You can wear this while you’re out exploring the city.”
“I’ll freeze in that,” I said. “You do know that it’s on the water, right? And in Northern California?”
“And this one,” she said smugly, ignoring my protest. “This one will be sure to end up on the floor if you play your cards right.” It was a black dress that had a simple halter top that led to a flared skirt. I was surprised. It was the most tasteful of the outfits she had brought over.
“Now,” she said. “Let’s talk underwear. I thought that maybe—”
“I don’t need underwear,” I said through my teeth, suppressing a growl deep in my throat.
“Of course, you do,” she said. “You don’t want to come across as being easy.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, I mean, I have my own underwear, thank you.”
The sounds of feet on the porch interrupted my protests. I leaned over the railing of the loft as the front door swung open. Kat peeked her head in. “Emily?”
“I’m up here, sweetheart,” I said.
Her eyes found me. “There’s something wrong with the water pump. The water is overflowing the filtration system.”
I swore. “I’ll be right there.”
The cub’s head disappeared, but she left the door open. I started down the stairs.
“Andrea, I need you to take that stuff out of my suitcase, ok?”
“But—”
“No. Repack my stuff. I don’t want a mess when I get back.” I found my shoes by the door and wiggled my feet into them. “I mean it.”
I heard her sign loudly and with exaggeration. “Fine. But I’m eating the rest of the trout.”
“I don’t care. Just sort out my suitcase.” I closed the door harder than I meant to behind me though gave it little thought as I ran down the path.
Chapter 3 – Max
“I cannot wait to get back to the SF,” I s
aid, twisting to face Jordan and Emily in the back seat. “Emily, Jordan and I worked out all the best places to go. We have a full schedule. It’s too bad you were only able to get us there a day early.”
“I wanted to get us there the morning of the fair,” Emily said.
“Oh, don’t listen to her,” Andrea said from behind the steering wheel of the SUV. She’d volunteered to drive us to the airport and pick us up when we returned in a few days. “You be sure to take her out and show her a good time, boys. Heaven knows, she needs it.”
“Don’t worry,” Jordan said to Emily. “We know all the budget-friendly clubs and restaurants. And we made sure to schedule time for the fair.”
“This is going to be epic,” I said. I was straining to keep myself from wiggling, the Wolf in me was wagging his tail so hard. I sat forward again, watching the road. “We haven’t been back since we graduated. We made that city ours.”
“There’s one place just down from our hotel,” Jordan went on. “And they have the best seafood. It’s the top floor of the building, so it’s got a great view and everything. When we get there, we’ll make reservations for lunch tomorrow.”
“There’s another place, over on Hayes and Divisadero, that has really great coffee. We used to walk fifteen blocks just to get there after a night of partying. Trust me; the coffee is totally worth it.” I could remember those walks like they were just yesterday. San Francisco has something magical about it. Every morning, the weather is chilly and foggy. But then the haze lifts, like curtains at a play, and reveals a collection of colorful life and buildings. We could never get anyone to go on our hangover walk with us, but the fresh air, the trees, the sun in our faces—there was no better hangover cure for us.
“It made for a great way to get the girls out of our place, too,” Jordan said. “Sometimes they just didn’t want to leave, and so telling them we were going to get coffee by Alamo Square Park and asking if they were up for the walk was just as good as telling them their taxi was waiting for them. They were out pretty quick.”
