Adam stood up when I entered the room, coming to me to place a hand on the small of my back. We shared a look before he turned me toward his parents and introduced me.
“Mom and Dad, this is Anna Avery,” Adam said. “My Chante.”
Maggie and Donald shared their own look, one that would make a cobra cower in the corner. Internally, my wolf twisted with anxiety, causing my palms to sweat and my heart to race. Like the fictitious cobra, she too wanted to cower. I made brief eye contact with the pair before looking at the ground. I didn’t think these two would appreciate my ability to withstand their alpha gazes. And something told me Mrs. Everwood would take it as a challenge and gladly put me in my place.
“And what of Eve?” Maggie questioned, ignoring me completely.
“Eve was sent to her father in Montana for burial,” Adam replied. He squeezed my hand and gave me an apologetic smile. “It is only out of my respect for him that I returned her to her home. She didn’t deserve an honorable burial.”
Maggie gasped as though Adam had just punched her in the stomach, and Donald’s jaw tightened. His power rolled off him and slapped me in face. I could feel my wolf whimpering inside me. Taking a deep breath, I shrugged off the effects of his influence. I hadn’t let Adam’s alpha status intimidate me, and I wouldn’t allow his parents to either.
“We need to speak to you alone,” Donald said. His eyes graced my face before he stared hard at his son.
“Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Anna.”
“I do not wish to include her in our affairs,” Donald said.
Adam was about to respond when I spoke up. “It’s okay,” I said. “I need to speak with Wade any way.” I squeezed his hand one last time before turning and leaving the room. Truth was, I was just as happy to leave as Mr. and Mrs. Everwood were to get rid of me. I leaned against the interior wall of the kitchen and took a deep breath. Regardless of meeting my boyfriend’s parents in the nude, they wouldn’t have liked me had I been dressed to the nines.
“I find it insulting that you’re parading that mutt around and treating her as your equal.”
Maggie’s voice filtered through the kitchen and stung my ears. I cringed, but couldn’t move from my vantage point. I needed to hear what they had to say about me. Call me a glutton for punishment, if you will. I knew whatever came out of their mouths would hurt, but that didn’t stop me from leaning in closer to capture the tiniest of whispers.
“Mother, I advise you not to come into my home and insult my mate. She is more of my equal than Eve ever was.”
“Adam, do not speak to your mother in that tone,” Donald said. “Anna is a made wolf, and therefore not acceptable to be an alpha’s mate. Do you have any idea how much money I had to pay Eve’s father for your betrayal?”
“My betrayal?” Adam asked with surprise. “I never asked you to pay him off. And what of Eve’s killings? I suppose we’re to overlook those, simply because she was an alpha? Had we not stopped her, our secret would have been revealed to the humans. And let’s not forget, Anthony was involved. My own flesh and blood mauling humans, yet you look down your noses at Anna.”
The room grew quiet for a moment. “We know that your brother was involved, and when he arrives for the conference, we’ll be sure to talk to him,” Maggie said. “As for Eve, it was your responsibility, as her mate, to get her help. Instead, you shack up with some underling and convince yourself that she’d make a good mate. You’ll make us the laughing stock of the packs.”
“You know eavesdropping is childish, right?”
I whirled around to find Wade leaning against the counter. I had been so wrapped up in Adam’s conversation that I hadn’t even heard him come in. He cocked his buzzed head to the side and smirked at me.
“What?” I said with innocence. “They’re talking shit about me. I think I have the right to hear what they’re saying.”
Wade’s eyes slid from my face to the opening of the living room. “What did you expect? Alphas never mate with anything other than other purebreds.”
“Yeah, well it’s stupid. What does being a purebred have to do with me loving their son or being loyal to my pack—both of which I take very seriously?” I walked over to the fridge and retrieved a soda. The large window above the sink gave me a clear view of the back yard. Elle was helping Chelsea transform. The first couple weeks of being a werewolf could be scary and painful. Adam had made me change repeatedly until the snapping of bone and thickening of muscle was only a dull ache.
“What’s up with you and Chelsea?” I looked away from the window and toward Wade. He was sitting at the kitchen table flipping through a magazine. I suspected he was sweet on our new addition, and she was the reason why he stayed behind when the other Leaders left.
“What do you mean?” He looked up from the page he’d been reading.
“You like her, right?” When Wade ignored my question and started reading again I stared back out the window. I had met Chelsea in high school and lost touch with her when everyone else went off to college and I stayed in Wyoming. It was pure coincidence that we ran into her at Wal-Mart. I still felt bad that, because of me, Eve had targeted her and turned her. But I was also a firm believer in fate, and maybe Chelsea was destined to be one of our pack all along.
“You better snatch her up before one of the others do,” I laughed through my nose.
“That won’t be a problem,” Wade said.
“What makes you think that?”
Wade looked up, a grin sliding across his mouth. “I made sure of it.”
I smiled wide. “I knew you had a thing for her.”
Wade stood up. “Come on. We have training to do.”
Downtown Buffalo left a lot to be desired. It was mainly filled with hunting, fishing, and antique stores—one strip of road with shabby boutiques on either side. Wade and I had been going to various thrift shops for my training sessions. At first nothing happened. I would pick up an old antique and feel nothing but the dust that had settled on the item. After a week of doing this, something sparked, and I was able to deduce the past of the item. I was my own personal time machine—able to get a glimpse into the past and see what occurred. It didn’t happen every time, though. Sometimes, no matter how hard I concentrated or connected with the item, it would not speak to me.
“When is everyone arriving?” I asked as I slipped down a small aisle between tables. Knick-knacks rested on either side of me, but nothing caught my attention. If I was going to see into the past, then I wanted something exciting. Something told me picking up a vintage coffee cup wouldn’t produce an adventurous vision.
“They should start arriving any day. Some maybe as early as tonight,” Wade said as his eyes roamed over the cluttered tables.
“And what happens at these conferences?” I asked. “They’re every year?”
Wade stuffed his hands in the pockets of his green canvas coat and bobbed his head. “Yeah, every year. It’s a way for packs to mingle and talk business. It’s also a great way to find mates and join packs together. There are games … of sorts.”
I instantly thought of Elle and Sawyer. Nothing would make me happier than to see them mated. Sawyer had kept his distance from me, only speaking to me when I spoke to him.
“What kind of games?” I picked up a vintage cigarette case. It was made out of pewter and tarnished with age. Floral filigree was embossed on the front. I pushed the snap button that opened it. I imagined some swanky woman from old money had owned it. Maybe she had kept it in her garter belt for safekeeping.
“Gettin’ anything?”
I looked up at Wade and then back down at the case. “No,” I told him. “I don’t know why it works some times and it doesn’t others.”
“You’re still learning. It’ll get easier in time,” Wade reassured me. “As for the games … they’re the usual sort: fights and hunts. They are more competition than for fun. Just another way for the wolves to boast about their pack.”
“Have you known other seers?”
“I’ve met all sorts,” Wade said. “We don’t know why some wolves are capable of magic, while others are not. Seers are rare, but there are a couple I’ve met.”
I perked up a little. “Will they be at the conference?”
Wade thought for a moment. “Nadia might,” he said. “Last time I saw her she was staying with the Utah pack, but if she moved past the borders then no.”
In our world, the packs were divided up by territories. Ours was the Western territory, and then there are the Central and East regions. We did our thing, and they did theirs. The Leaders patrolled all of the packs. I eyed Wade as he studied the contents on the tables. A life of traveling all the time didn’t seem all that fun. I liked having a home where I could settle down. Wade and the other Leaders stayed with various packs or lived out of hotels.
“How long have you been a Leader?”
Wade looked up at me and noticed I’d been staring at him. “A few years. When my father died, I took his place,” he shrugged. “It’s what I was born to do.”
I got the impression he didn’t want to talk about it, so I dropped it. I set the cigarette case back down and walked farther down the aisle. A rack of vintage clothing rested against the far wall. A long, flowing white wedding gown was protected behind plastic. I unzipped the bag and ran my fingers along the tattered lace. Spots began to dance within my vision. The thrift store slowly faded as a vision stepped into view. I saw a large park full of green grass and blossoming trees. An arch decorated with pink and white flowers stood at the front of a long aisle. White chairs were set up on both sides and full of excited family and friends. I looked down to find the white dress. It squeezed my ribs and made it hard to breathe. An older gentleman was standing beside me, my hand placed in the crook of his arm. My eyes traveled the aisle to find a younger man waiting for me. His shaggy brown hair brushed the collar of his tux. His eyes widened the slightest bit as he stared down at me.