Hayden watched for a bit as Magnus prepped to work on one cycle that just came into the shop. It was just the groundwork to prepare for the more artistic work. It was a full restore and customization detail.
“We need to make sure everyone is on board, with Sapphire being my mate and Luna. I don’t want any decent in my pack. I don’t want that pack’s reputation damaging hers. She’s been through enough without needing to deal with anymore shade or backstabbing.”
“I’ll try to stop it if I see any of it go down. But unless it happens, I don’t see us being able to avoid these problems. Sarah Ann’s always got an answer for things like this.”
Magnus got the pulmonary work done well before dinner. He wanted to do more, but the day got away from him. Hayden stayed in town so he could meet the next round of pack coming in. Their businesses were at different stages of being moved and they didn’t want to overwhelm the town with their numbers all at once. So this was the second stage coming in. The first came in to start building up the territory to their needs. Updating utilities and the like. Tonight, after dinner, Magnus needed to tour the area and see how things were going. Sarah Ann was right. If Sapphire was his mate and their Luna, she needed to be with him and just as interested. But before that, he needed to shower and get cleaned up. Have dinner with her and get to know her more. What Sarah Ann didn’t tell him was how to get to know her. It’s not li
Sapphire didn’t know which way was up with this man. Was he an Alpha or not? What he was saying didn’t fit with anything she’d ever experienced. If she was supposed to treat him with respect, then how was she supposed to treat him? Nothing made sense to her now. She could see him struggling to find the words he wanted to say. “I don’t treat my lowest pack member any less than I do my highest. We’re all sentient beings. Doing a specific job does not mean you are less than or better than anyone else. All jobs need some form of skill, education, and talent. Experience comes when you get enough of the other three. We need all things done so our pack runs smoothly and can have the time to prosper. That means no matter what you it helps free someone else up to make a stride toward that prosperity. That
Hayden stopped in at the bus station’s diner at the other end of town. Here it was far more crowded with people. This, after all, was the hub of the human section of town. He figured why risk going back to the Black Hole Café after what happened only a few hours ago?He sat at the counter and ordered some food. But he wasn’t the only one there at the counter. The most delicious blond human sat beside him reading a book while she ate her own food. He couldn’t see the title of the book until he looked into the reflection of the napkin holder. Okay, that was a surprise. The book cover looked nothing like the woman that sat beside him. It clearly was something steamy and if he wasn’t mistaken but there was a wolf in the background with the moon.Either werewolves or monsters fascinated her in relation to romance. Or she knew they existed and thought, those books are how-to get your own pet werewolf manuals.She sighed when she noticed
Hayden and the pack with him made their way through the evening light to the shop and packed the supplies onto the bikes and trailers. Then they got back onto the road to head for home. However, they didn’t make it before several police cars stopped them. Eric and Hayden were at the front of the pack. Before Hayden could take off his helmet, Eric was engaged with the officer. The officer was in his face, not allowing Eric to get off his bike before he was in his face. Hayden couldn’t believe the nerve of the officer. They had pups with them and there was no reason to stop any of them as far as he knew. However, the officer insisted Eric knew who injured an off-duty officer.&n
Magnus heard the vehicles drive up and stop at the front of the packhouse. He withdrew reluctantly from their kiss. Now wasn’t the time for people to find them in an intimate situation. There’d be pups hopping out of vehicles very soon, and he didn’t want to explain to their parents. “Looks like you get to meet more pack. The next caravan of pack just pulled up out front. Why don’t we go meet them? Sarah Ann will have them settled into the packhouse in no time. They’ll be tired so we won’t take a lot of their time. I just want them to know your face for now.” “I guess.” Like it hadn’t been a long day for her. So much for her birthday and getting away from this town. Leaving all this mess behind.
Returns to her room to find Sarah Ann putting away clothing in her closet. She’s taken away the bag she’s packed. Sapphire can’t believe they expect her to wear clothing like this. She’s used to wearing hand-me-down or discarded clothing. But these still have the price tag on them, and they’ve never been worn. These are clothes Ivory would wear. Shows new toiletries in the bathroom and she’s got multiple pairs of shoes. Even winter boots. Sapphire finally returned to her room to find Sarah and a pile of clothing on a chair. “What’s going on here? Where did all this come from?” “Colette returned. Poor dear got stopped by one of the annoying police officers. Which made her late. Don’t worry,
Sapphire pretended to go to bed just so that Sarah Ann would leave. But it took far longer than she expected for the house to grow silent. There were so many people wandering about suddenly, with the new pack members staying within the walls of the packhouse. This confused her even more. Everyone treated the packhouse as if it were their own and not the private residence of the Alpha family. Only a handful of people should dare to enter it. They’d allowed her to use the basement door because she was family. Not here. Sapphire could hear a pup crying most of the evening, but all Magnus did was push someone to finish preparing a place the pup could sleep in peace. He also searched for a missing stuffed wolf the pup lost somewhere in a vehicle.
Magnus followed her scent. It wasn’t hard to find. He was curious about what she was doing and why. He understood that her previous pack had badly used her. Sapphire might even believe that all packs were like that. He’d hoped she would stay around to see that they weren’t lying to her. That she was truly safe. Did she fear her uncle and his pack that much? Sarah Ann believed she didn’t say half of what was in her head because she feared it was being used against her. Was this part of it? She wouldn’t stay because she couldn’t believe she could trust anyone. He needed her as much as she needed him. They’d kissed a lot, and he thought it meant something to them. Perhaps she went for a run to clear her head? The da