Together, all three of us turned to Greyson, curious if he’d give a reason.
Greyson stood up. “The Northern Lakes Pack is what it is.” He walked off, heading for Pre-Dominant Harka.
“And that is that,” Aeric said.
“Unsurprisingly,” I grumbled. “Of course he wouldn’t share anything.”
“Really?” Wyatt leaned back in his chair. “I think it was pretty telling.”
I eyed him. “Telling of what?”
“That there is a reason for it,” Wyatt said. “Because if there wasn’t, he would have just told us we were idiots.”
Aeric and Wyatt exchanged nods, then moved on.
“We should eat somewhere in Magiford for lunch before we head home,” Aeric said.
“Yeah, agreed. Oh, there are a few specialized weapon forgers in Magiford. I’d like to check them out before we leave, too.” Wyatt took off his glasses to peer at the dirty lenses. “And I want to stop at the board game store downtown. Is there a car shop you want to visit?”
“You know me too well!”
I was not nearly so satisfied with Greyson’s answer—and Wyatt’s valid point.
If there is a reason…why isn’t the Pack telling other wolves? What is Greyson so deeply protecting?
*
An hour later, I sat at a plastic table, safely hidden from the hot summer sun under an umbrella, finishing up my french fries from our lunch.
All the Pack that had come with us to Magiford had swamped the place—a little diner-style restaurant set against one of the lakes, with a bunch of cute outdoor seating.
Since they finished eating their food—about twice as much as what I had ordered—they were exploring Magiford.
At a glance I could see Aeric and Wyatt standing outside the board game store Wyatt had wanted to see. I was pretty sure at least a handful of humans had figured out they were wolves, because a clutch of teenagers were standing on the sidewalk, gawking at them.
Apparently wolves don’t come to town very often, even in a place like Magiford.
Further down—on the lake side of the street—Rio and Aspen went into a gelato store, while another few Pack members were trying to track down a famous blacksmith with little luck as the blacksmith didn’t own a physical shop.
Hector and Greyson were talking with Lady Chrysanthe and a brownie with russet red hair who was apparently from the Night Court, leaving me to my own devices.
I was perfectly content to sit on my rear and eat—it was pretty rare for me to have any down time given all the practice the wolves wanted, and if I could have a hobby, it would be doing nothing.
But my good sense/desire not to be run down during said practice sessions was stronger than my desire to be lazy.
Maybe I should see if the fae who modified my gun has store hours right now. I could get some more ammo.
“Pip!”
I know that voice.
I stood up from my table so fast I almost knocked my water glass over and peered around.
Sure enough, coming up the opposite end of the street was Hudson.
Built like a bear with an infectious smile and a laugh that matched, Hudson meandered toward me, wearing his familiar blue jean overalls as he rubbed his bald head.
“Hudson!” I laughed, tears making my throat sting as I flung myself at the older wolf.
He laughed as he lifted me off my feet and swung me around. “Little Hunter! It’s good to see you again!”
A few of the Pack members—the ones standing at a crosswalk, attempting to track down the blacksmith—looked up when they heard me shout and turned in our direction.
Two of them took a few steps toward us, then stopped and looked at Greyson, checking with him.
My smile slipped off my face.
Ahh, yes. Pack politics.
Hudson was the previous Alpha of the Northern Lakes Pack and had abruptly stepped down and was immediately replaced with Greyson.
Hudson was still a decade or two away from retiring at the time, and when I’d relentlessly pushed for an explanation all I was told was that Hudson hadn’t done anything wrong, but he’d wanted to step down, and that it was all of his own volition.
Yeah. Right.
He’d left the Pack. His wife and Lynn—his daughter—left with him.
“How are you?” I studied his face for any sign of unhappiness, but his smile was just as warm as it always was, and the lines at the crease of his eyes and the depth of his smile lines made me think he actually was happy.
“Loving retirement.” Hudson took my hand and patted it. “The family and I joined a local Pack here in Magiford! It’s smaller than Northern Lakes, of course—no Pack in the Midwest is as big as Northern Lakes. But Lynn married the Alpha’s son and is expecting her first child—a little girl!”