familiar scent.
“Ho there. Gather your libations and join us.” In the corner of the shop, someone waved a hand. Evan, accompanied by the human woman from the hotel.
Gem and Shaun both hung back for a second. On her part, it was because of the sudden realization Evan would know they had mated. The wide smile on the Alpha’s face increased her suspicions. This was his “figure it out in the morning” solution?
She wasn’t sure if she should hit him or hug him.
Shaun bumped her hip with his. “I’ll grab us grub, okay? You go ahead and sit down.” He vanished back to the pickup counter before she could protest.
Fine. Gem stepped forward boldly, accepting the seat Evan graciously held for her. At least not all the northern wolves were without manners.
Just hers. Heavy sigh.
60
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Black Gold
“Caro, have you met Gemmita? She’s up north to do some research. Gemmita, this is Caroline. Head of the admin department at the Moonshine Inn and my right-hand man.” Evan winked. “So to speak.” Gem nodded politely. “We met at the hotel. Nice to see you again.” Evan leaned on his elbows and tilted his head toward Shaun. “So. You and him mates?” Utter shock at him discussing such a thing in front of a human froze her tongue.
She must have unwittingly made a face because Caroline patted her hand. “It’s okay. I know about wolves. My stepdad and stepsiblings are all shifters.”
“Really? That’s very unusual. I mean, it’s uncommon down in Georgia.” Astonishment was followed by a flash of insight.
When she’d set out on this excursion, she’d had no intention of being entrenched in wolf society. Yet in less than a day she’d fallen back into the familiar pattern of feeling comfortable around pack, simply because they were pack. The idea of sitting and talking with a human had made her hesitate at the door almost as much as anticipating Evan’s reaction to her and Shaun’s mating.
Comprehension allowed her to let the curiosity she felt rise.
She’d never been in this position before, having someone fully human she could discuss wolves with.
Caroline must have a million experiences to share. With one smooth swipe, some of Gem’s unvoiced concerns fell away. After years of dealing with people during formal events with her father, she knew she was more than capable of having polite conversation in public without anyone holding her hand.
Moreover, she had a lot of other skills that would be needed over the next weeks—not just the ones she’d practiced in the lab, but ones to let her take care of herself. Being helpless wasn’t part of her plan for this trip—she didn’t want to be coddled by anyone. Not by her father, not by her mate.
Happiness accompanied by a tiny bit of pride warmed her, and Gem turned to pepper Caroline with questions.
Evan sat and watched the women, contentment rising as he sipped his drink. Gemmita and Shaun’s mating, although they were a bit of an odd couple, didn’t concern him much. The tension between them was thick enough to cut right now, but that was to be expected. Knowing how strong Shaun was and having experienced a taste of Gemmita’s power the previous night, it was inevitable the two of them would take some time to find a point of balance.
His own future seemed far more uncertain.
Caroline had surprised him that morning, but after a couple hours of thinking through her proposition, he had to admit there was merit in it. Being distracted by the single ladies jostling for position had delayed his actual plans. A temporary moratorium on his solo-ness could help him make some important progress in amalgamating the two Whitehorse packs—which had been his goal since he had taken control of Takhini barely a year ago.
www.samhainpublishing.com
61
Vivian Arend
Would Caroline really be able to handle the rest of the pack? She had a way with people, evidenced by her skills at the hotel, but wolves were a cocky bunch. And
“Ho there. Gather your libations and join us.” In the corner of the shop, someone waved a hand. Evan, accompanied by the human woman from the hotel.
Gem and Shaun both hung back for a second. On her part, it was because of the sudden realization Evan would know they had mated. The wide smile on the Alpha’s face increased her suspicions. This was his “figure it out in the morning” solution?
She wasn’t sure if she should hit him or hug him.
Shaun bumped her hip with his. “I’ll grab us grub, okay? You go ahead and sit down.” He vanished back to the pickup counter before she could protest.
Fine. Gem stepped forward boldly, accepting the seat Evan graciously held for her. At least not all the northern wolves were without manners.
Just hers. Heavy sigh.
60
www.samhainpublishing.com
Black Gold
“Caro, have you met Gemmita? She’s up north to do some research. Gemmita, this is Caroline. Head of the admin department at the Moonshine Inn and my right-hand man.” Evan winked. “So to speak.” Gem nodded politely. “We met at the hotel. Nice to see you again.” Evan leaned on his elbows and tilted his head toward Shaun. “So. You and him mates?” Utter shock at him discussing such a thing in front of a human froze her tongue.
She must have unwittingly made a face because Caroline patted her hand. “It’s okay. I know about wolves. My stepdad and stepsiblings are all shifters.”
“Really? That’s very unusual. I mean, it’s uncommon down in Georgia.” Astonishment was followed by a flash of insight.
When she’d set out on this excursion, she’d had no intention of being entrenched in wolf society. Yet in less than a day she’d fallen back into the familiar pattern of feeling comfortable around pack, simply because they were pack. The idea of sitting and talking with a human had made her hesitate at the door almost as much as anticipating Evan’s reaction to her and Shaun’s mating.
Comprehension allowed her to let the curiosity she felt rise.
She’d never been in this position before, having someone fully human she could discuss wolves with.
Caroline must have a million experiences to share. With one smooth swipe, some of Gem’s unvoiced concerns fell away. After years of dealing with people during formal events with her father, she knew she was more than capable of having polite conversation in public without anyone holding her hand.
Moreover, she had a lot of other skills that would be needed over the next weeks—not just the ones she’d practiced in the lab, but ones to let her take care of herself. Being helpless wasn’t part of her plan for this trip—she didn’t want to be coddled by anyone. Not by her father, not by her mate.
Happiness accompanied by a tiny bit of pride warmed her, and Gem turned to pepper Caroline with questions.
Evan sat and watched the women, contentment rising as he sipped his drink. Gemmita and Shaun’s mating, although they were a bit of an odd couple, didn’t concern him much. The tension between them was thick enough to cut right now, but that was to be expected. Knowing how strong Shaun was and having experienced a taste of Gemmita’s power the previous night, it was inevitable the two of them would take some time to find a point of balance.
His own future seemed far more uncertain.
Caroline had surprised him that morning, but after a couple hours of thinking through her proposition, he had to admit there was merit in it. Being distracted by the single ladies jostling for position had delayed his actual plans. A temporary moratorium on his solo-ness could help him make some important progress in amalgamating the two Whitehorse packs—which had been his goal since he had taken control of Takhini barely a year ago.
www.samhainpublishing.com
61
Vivian Arend
Would Caroline really be able to handle the rest of the pack? She had a way with people, evidenced by her skills at the hotel, but wolves were a cocky bunch. And
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