Pack, page 11
part #3 of Five Fangs Series
"Oh, my dear, dear wolf. I will always need you."
Pleased with her words, affection, and attention, I smiled a little and took the handle of the leash in my mouth when she held it out.
A few months ago, I would have either laughed myself sick or ripped out the throat of anyone who suggested I would be shopping for dog toys in a pet store, yet here I was.
Wearing a damn collar, no less.
You're as whipped as the rest of us, Jayden teased.
Only for our mate, I huffed.
"Please stay by my side, Quartz," Posy requested. "I'm so nervous around strangers, and the store looks busy."
I won't leave you, little mate, I promised. If it helps, the owner, Spero Bel Aire, is one of our pack members. So are about half the employees.
"Thanks, but pack or not, they're still strangers."
I will let no human harm you, I vowed, and the shifters don't dare touch you. They know I'd kill them if they did.
Acknowledging my words with a nod, she checked to make sure my brothers and River were collared and leashed and received thumbs up from everyone. Her trembling hand clenched in my ruff, but she led the way through the automatic doors with her chin up and her shoulders back.
Our badass bitch, indeed.
Of course, six big wolves coming into a pet store drew a lot of attention. With busy noses, Topaz and Granite dragged their handlers past us in a rush, and Garnet trotted behind to help keep an eye on them.
Sid and River, on the other hand, stopped and sat like good boys while looking at the humans in the checkout line with big eyes in hopes of pets.
Attention whores, I sneered. You'll do anything for a belly rub, won't you?
Belly rubs! they shouted in unison, which made me roll my eyes.
"We'd better stay with them in case they get too much for Peri to handle alone," Posy murmured in my ear, and I agreed.
Drawn like a magnet by the babies' puppy eyes, a little human girl came running up to us.
"Hi! Can I pet your doggies?" she asked politely, her hands behind her back as she waited for a response.
"Sure," Peri told her with a smile. "They're very good boys!"
"This one walk himself!" the kid squealed and pointed at the leash in my mouth.
"He thinks he's human," Posy pretend-whispered to her, making the girl giggle, then gestured toward the others. "The one with the black stripe down his nose is Sid, and the light gray one is River. They both love cuddles."
When the girl looked at them, immediately Sid wagged his tail and River lolled his tongue.
Shameless gluttons, I scoffed at him.
Party pooper, Sid shot back, then tilted his head and asked, What glutton means, Q?
Rolling my eyes at him, I watched to see what the kid would do. Of course, she ignored them and stretched her fist out to me. I stiffened and folded my ears back, but knew I'd have to tolerate it. Posy would be upset if I so much as raised my lip at the child.
"Oh, no. Not this one." Posy turned so her body was in between the little girl and me. "You can pet any of the others, okay?"
"Aw!" the child whined and pooched out her bottom lip. "But he looks like he needs cuddles!"
I expected my mate to explain that I wasn't good with people or even warn her that I was 'aggressive.' Both of those things were true, of course, but I wouldn't have hurt the little girl even if Posy wasn't there.
I wasn't that much of a monster.
Does she think I am? Sudden doubt struck me. Is that why she's keeping the kid away from me?
"Sorry, sweetie, but this one's special. He's so precious to me, I get jelly if others touch him."
Laying her hand on top of my head, Posy smiled at the little girl, and I scolded myself for being silly enough to doubt her.
#
Sid
"Here, honey." Peri distracted the human pup pestering Quartz and motioned her over to me and Riv. "These boys here are a bit extra, but friendly and playful."
The little pup giggled and held out a teeny fist for us to smell. Obediently, we did, then danced around a bit because we were so excited to play with her. She threw her head back and laughed, then ran her tiny hands all over my face. After booping my nose with hers, she turned to River and did the same thing.
By the moon, I love pups!
Me, too, River yipped. Ty-Ty, make pup with mate! Me want pup!
Eventually, Riv. We want to practice making them for a while first, Beta Tyler smirked. Maybe in a few years.
Too long, Ty-Ty! River whined.
Mate said we might have pups in a few years, too, I told him. Whoever has pups first, promise to let the other play with them, 'kay?
Yep-yep, Siddy! Me promise!
I was so happy, I bounced around a bit until Peri shushed me and said I could accidentally hurt the little human. That got me to stop real quick. No way would I ever hurt a pup.
An adult came over and chatted with Peri while me and River sniffed and snuffed all over the pup. She giggled and cooed and her tiny hands rubbed all over our fur. Every few strokes, she went against the grain, which made us shiver.
"Mommy, look!" she called to the adult when she did it again to River. "Why he does shaky-shaky?"
"Go with their fur, Natalie, not against it," the adult corrected the pup, then looked at Peri. "May I show her?"
"Yeah, of course. This is River and this is Sid." Peri pointed to each of us when she said our names. "They're big babies."
The mommy set her bags on the floor, then ran a hand down each of our backs and stopped to scratch the Good Spot right above our tails. Me and River sighed in bliss.
"Thank you for letting us pet your dogs," the mommy said as she gathered her things and took the pup's hand.
"You're welcome." Peri smiled at her and waved them goodbye.
I whimpered, not wanting them to go, and River did, too.
"Come on, babies." Rolling her eyes, Peri tugged our leashes, not that it did anything. She couldn't move us unless we wanted to. "Let's find others who will love on you."
Okay, that made us want to.
We were walking down an aisle full of tweety birdies when a rough-looking, tattooed guy the size of Cole came around the corner and stopped dead.
River eyed him, his ruff a little standy-up, wanting to make sure the dude wasn't a threat to his mate, but the man only grinned and hunkered down in front of us.
"Doggos!" he crowed. "You want pets? Come here and get pets, doggos!"
Yes! we screamed.
Jerking the leashes out of Peri's hand, we ran ahead and tackled him to the floor and licked all over his face.
Ashy and Ty-Ty yelled at us, but the guy was laughing so hard that tears rolled down his cheeks, so we ignored our boys.
"Jason!" the human hollered. "Come meet these doggos, Jason! They're awesome!"
Before we knew it, another escaped prisoner-looking dude came over and sat right down to join in our pet fest. Peri told them our names, then covered her mouth and giggled as she watched us play.
This place is heaven! I told River as the new dude gave me belly rubs.
Let's stay forever, Siddy!
#
Granite
Sometimes, Jay listened to old-days music. Once, he played this song that went, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" and I asked him what that word meant. He explained it and, ever since then, the song played in my mind when something awesomely super-duper amazing happened.
It was playing loud and clear right now.
Everywhere I looked, I saw something tasty to eat!
Biscuits in bins, cookies in crates, pig ears by the pile, kibbly-bits in buckets, and bully sticks in baskets... It was like the all-you-can-eat buffet that Roger had at the diner on Sundays.
Topaz pulled a huge bone off a shelf and trotted away with it, Sara chasing after him and Crew moseying behind them. Grazing at the cookie bar, I scarfed down about a pound before my ear heard something going squeakity-squeak, and I had to find out what it was.
Dragging Tristan along and leaving Ariel's slow self behind, I quickly found an aisle full of little white cages and watched with extreme interest as a couple of fluff balls ran their stubby little legs off on a tiny treadmill.
No, fluffs! Stop that! Fat makes you tasty!
As soon as we came into the store, the cats had huddled in the far corners of their glass boxes, smart enough to know that I wanted to eat them. These little dummies didn't stand a chance.
If Posy wasn't here, the cats wouldn't, either, but something in my gut - and Wyatt's nagging voice in my ear - told me she would be upset if I ate one.
Plus, the last time I did, I pooped hairballs for two days. That was not fun. Still, cats were tasty enough to make up for that...
No, Gran, Wyatt groaned. No cats! We do not eat cats. Now, be a good boy.
What these, Wy?
Hamsters.
They cute! I squealed, watching them tumble all over each other and fight for a turn on the treadmill.
Sure, sure, Wyatt sighed, but we're here to buy toys, not hamsters.
Tristan went to the end of the aisle to flag Ariel down, and I took my chance. Standing up on my hind legs, I grabbed one of the white cages in my teeth and carefully set it on the floor. The hammies started scurrying around, making me even more excited to chase them. I pawed the top off the cage, shoved my snout in, and snapped one up.
No, Granite! Bad boy! Wyatt bellowed. Don't eat the hamsters!
You said no eat cats! I argued, gulping down another one. Goddess, they were good! These not cats. These hammies!
"Oh, shit!" Tristan finally noticed what I was doing and yanked my leash, trying to get my head out of the cage.
Good luck with that, I snickered and swallowed a third one.
Ariel!" Tristan yelped. "I need help!"
I managed to snag two more before he grabbed my collar and heaved so hard that he hauled me halfway down the aisle before I finished swallowing. When did he get so strong? Then I realized his wolf was helping him.
Back off, Creek, you traitor! I snarled.
Sorry, Gran, Creek smirked. Alpha Wyatt commanded me.
"Hope the luna brought her credit card," Tristan muttered.
He dragged me along to a bunch of big glass boxes full of water. Small, shiny things zipped around inside them, and I forgot all about the hammies.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I danced around on my tippy toes. Whatever these are, I bet they tasty, too!
#
Topaz
"What a good boy you're being," Sara cooed.
Raising my eyes, I looked up at her, but didn't stop gnawing on the bone I'd found.
"How about we make you pretty for Posy? Hmm? Would you like that?" she crooned.
I blinked twice, then nodded, and she skipped off with a funny grin. She could do whatever she wanted to me so long as I could lay here on this soft bed and eat my treat.
With my leash looped around his wrist, Crew dragged another cushy bed off the shelf and next to mine, then curled up on it with a happy ahh.
"Good call, Paz," he murmured and patted my head.
Why don't we have beds like this at home? I asked Cole.
You don't need them. He rolled his eyes.
And bones for nibbles?
You don't need them, either. And it's not a bone. It's rawhide shaped like a bone. I'm not sure rawhide is healthy for you.
Tastes good.
You think everything tastes good, he scowled.
By then, Sara was back with a basket of stuff.
"What's all that?" Crew asked her.
"Stuff to make you good boys pretty!" she giggled.
Crew and I traded side-eye glances, then both of us shrugged and I went back to gnawing.
"But Paz has a chewie and I don't," Crew pouted.
"If I give you a chewie, I can pretty you up?" She tilted her head to the left a little.
"Sure thing, dewdrop."
"Ha!" Rooting around in her shopping basket, she pulled out a bag and handed it to him. "Human-grade venison jerky. Chew away, babe."
"Thanks." Ripping the bag open, Crew popped a square of the jerky in his mouth. "Have fun, sweetheart."
"I intend to," she smirked.
And that's how we ended up with red bows in our hair, plaid bandanas around our necks, and white tutus around our waists.
#
Garnet
Okay. Not too bad. The store wasn't destroyed, there was no blood or fire, and no one died.
Unless you count the hamsters Granite ate, Mason grumbled.
Aw, who could blame him for that? I chortled. The little fuzz balls going around and around on that exercise wheel were just taunting him, really.
Sure, our bill came to nearly $2,000, but what was money for if you couldn't spend it? Besides, we'd all had a great time. Even Quartz laughed when he saw Topaz and Crew's matching outfits.
And now we were trotting out to Mase's truck with our toys dangling from our mouths, all except for Quartz, who couldn't be bothered to get his from Posy.
They're for dogs, he sneered when Sid asked him where his 'stuffy' was. We are not dogs. We are wolves. Alpha wolves.
But you pick one, Sid said, confused.
It's for Lark. I told her to choose what she wanted and I'd get it for her.
But what will you play with?
Not a dog toy, I assure you.
While Sid pouted at Q's hardheadedness, Topaz and Gran giggled together and shouted, Party pooper!
Moving fast, I blocked Quartz as he lunged at them and he plowed into my shoulder. I had my feet firmly planted, though, and he didn't budge me. With a low growl, he raised his upper lip at me, his nose wrinkling, and I nipped his ear in warning.
Stop before Posy sees you, I snapped. She's happy and laughing right now. Don't ruin it. And ignore the pups; you know they live to get a rise out of you.
Hmphf, he grumped.
Tipping his nose up, he turned away and made sure his tail swished me in the face before he trotted off.
I rolled my eyes.
Party pooper? More like drama king.
#
Posy
After our ... eventful trip to the pet store, Mason and Cole disappeared into the home office to call the king, and Jayden linked Emerson and Angelo to see what further information they'd dug up. Meanwhile, Wyatt and Ash helped me put a meal together, although it was more work watching to make sure they didn't screw up than if I'd just done it all myself. Still, the time spent together was what mattered.
As we all sat down for dinner, Mason, Cole, and Jayden shared what they'd learned, then my mates discussed how they were going to divide up the tasks the king had given them.
"He does know you have your own pack to run, right?" I grumbled.
They all laughed, but I didn't want to be separated from them again.
"Except for whoever goes to the prison, it'll only be for one day," Cole assured me, "and two of us aren't leaving pack territory at all."
"You won't have to sleep a single night alone," Mason added with a smile.
"Good." I liked hearing that.
After a lot of back and forth, they decided that Jayden, Angelo, Zayden, Zayne, Beatrix, and Sara would go check out the prison. They would scope it out and decide if they needed reinforcements or could handle it themselves.
Quartz snorted, insulted that anyone would think he needed back-up.
Although both Mason and Angelo wanted to deal with the Cold Moon luna, my mates felt it would be better to send Cole, Maria, and Ariel. They knew Angelo would flat out kill the luna with or without the evidence King Julian requested.
Also, Cole didn't think he could hold his temper if he went to Gray Shadows. Not after what Beatrix had shown him of Thoreau's memories. Same with Ash. Knowing the alpha and luna had abused their own pup, Sid would not be able to restrain himself.
So Mason said he would go to Gray Shadows and deal with Emerson and Thoreau's parents.
"I'll take Leo and Poppy along," he decided.
"Why Poppy?" I asked.
"A witch can make sure we don't miss anything." Mason shrugged. "It's just smart, plus neither of them will want to be separated."
"Which leaves Wyatt to do paperwork and Ash to take care of a couple of visitors from the royal pack," Cole finished up.
"Wait. What?" Ash said.
"Visitors?" Wyatt raised his eyebrows. "And why do I get stuck with the paperwork?"
"Reau's new therapist," Mason explained. "One of Angelo's buddies who owes him a favor."
"And Spring," Cole said with a grin, and it took me a second to remember that Spring was Everett Breckenridge's wolf. "King Julian thinks he and Reau would be great companions."
"Dude!" Ash jogged his leg up and down as his eyes lit with happiness. "I'm so excited to see Spring and welcome him back in the pack!"
"That's wonderful!" I clapped my hands.
"You need to be there when they meet, Posy," Jayden said. "Your presence alone will keep them calm and comforted, and you always know the right thing to say."
I blushed, still not used to any sort of praise.
"Staying at Emerson's with your betas is a win-win for everyone, sweetness. Your betas will be missing their mates, and you can occupy them with running in circles for you."
I laughed, remembering the day they kept bringing me and Queen Lilah ice pops.
"It's a good call to have Ash with Spring," Wyatt was big enough to admit, "even if I have to man the office."
"Ash sucks at paperwork and you're really good at it." Mason shrugged. "I like knowing it will be in your hands."
Wyatt ducked his head, but I still saw his smile at Mason's compliments.
My boys, I thought, my heart full of love and happiness.
14: Cold Moon
Cole
I hated to leave Posy the next morning, even knowing that two of my brothers would be there, as well as all her betas.
If I had my way, I'd never leave her side.
Me, either, boss, Topaz sighed.
Still, it's only for today, I reminded us both.
True, he agreed.
Tristan and Matthew dropped Ariel and Maria off right on time, and we set out on our four-hour drive. They were good company, so the miles flew by and we were pulling up to the alpha house of Cold Moon before we knew it.
