“This is Amie, she is a guest of Finlay,” Medow introduced me.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Matilda. Finlay is my sister’s son,” the woman said, and we shook hands. “Is my nephew trying to recruit you to the pack?” she then asked. I was a little taken aback by her straightforwardness, but I liked it.
“He is,” I told her.
“Well then. Let’s get to know each other. Can you cook?” I smiled at her. As the Beta’s daughter, I had been expected to help out with all the different communal tasks in the pack before I left. I may not be a master chef, but I did manage to cook good, edible food.
“I can,” I therefore said.
“Excellent.” She pointed to a workstation filled with vegetables that would become a garden salad. I nodded and picked up the knife and started working. Medow started mixing ingredients for a dressing and Matilda was frying patties as we all talked and got to know each other. Half an hour later, the food was done, and the kitchen was filled with pack members helping to carrythe food to the tables. Medow and Matilda guided me to a table where Finlay, Sam and Martin sat. We joined them and Finlay smiled at me.
“I hope my aunt didn’t push you too hard?” he asked. Both Matilda and I snorted at the same time, which made Medow laugh.
“Please, I don’t overwork guests,” Matilda objected.
“I’m not as fragile as I seem,” I objected.
“Amie was kind enough to help while we got to know each other,” Matilda told him.
“It was nice and relaxing,” I said.
“I stand corrected. I’m happy to hear it went well,” Finlay told us. Dinner was great. It had been a while since I sat down and ate with a pack. I forgot how nice it was not having to eat alone. It wasn’t like I always ate alone in the town either. Sometimes I invited CeCe over, or we sat down and ate at the diner. But it wasn’t the same. After dinner, the group took me to the game room. We played pool, and it was just a lot of fun. After I tried to hide my second yawn, Finlay offered to escort me back to my room. I said good night to everyone, and we left.
“It looks like you are having a good time,” Finlay pointed out as we were walking.
“I am. It has been nice to be amongst a pack again,” I confessed. He smiled again.
“Told you.”
“Fine, you might have been right,” I admitted. “It doesn’t change who I am.”
“It doesn’t,” he agreed. “But I don’t see why it would matter. You like it here, the pack likes you. When Aunt Matilda likes someone, I know they are a good person. She never holds back if she thinks someone isn’t good enough for the pack. And she has high standards,” he told me.
“That’s sweet of her. I like her too. I just don’t know.”
“No need to make a decision tonight. It’s been a long day with a lot of new things. All I ask is that you keep your mind open and let the pack get to know you. Tomorrow is the full moon celebration. You and I can have a talk the day after that and figure out what you will do,” he told me.
“I can do that,” I said as we got to my room.
“Good. Sleep tight and I will see you for breakfast. Should I come and get you?” he asked.
“No. I can find my way. Eight o’clock?”
“That’s right. See you then. Good night.”
“Good night, Finlay.” I walked into my room and got ready for bed. Even though I was tired, my mind wasn’t ready to go to sleep. I sat down in the chair by the window and looked out over the creek. The moon hung over the treetops and made the water glisten. It was a beautiful view. I thought about the day, how nice it had been to be surrounded by a pack again. Even if it wasn’t my pack. There were a lot of things I missed about being in one. I just never let myself think about it. It would be too painful. But now, I had to think about it. And truth be told. I had seventeen years and three hundred and sixty-four days of mostly good memories of being in a pack. And one day of bad memories, of feeling out of place and as a burden. Why had I let that one day taint all the others? I knew the answer. Because that one day had shown me the rest had been a lie to some extent. The pack had promised I was loved, safe and would have a place with them as long as I contributed to the pack and didn’t break any of the rules. But in one swoop, all of that had proved to be untrue. I had been threatened to be shipped off to another pack. Pack members that were as close to me as my family had turned their back to me. All because I wasn’t like them. It had made me see my time in the pack as a deceit and I was too fragile to go through it all again. I was barely over the first betrayal. Did I have it in me to put the pieces back together if it happenedagain? But this time it was different, I told myself. This time Finlay would know what I was, that I wasn’t strong. If the pack accepted me, they would do so while knowing everything. No, not everything. I had kept things back from Finlay. Because when we had our talk by the lake, I never thought I would seriously consider his offer. If I were to consider his offer, I needed to tell him everything. There would be no mate to reject me in this pack. If I was accepted here for who I was, then I could stay. The thought of belonging to a pack again made my head spin. I hadn’t known how strongly I wanted it. How much I needed the pack bond and to be part of something bigger. I decided I would ask to talk to Finlay the next day and if he didn’t turn me away for being less than completely honest. I would seriously consider becoming a part of this pack.
As I walked down to breakfast the following morning, a couple of pack members recognised me and greeted me. It felt nice. Some of them even introduced me to others. When I reached the table where Martin and Finlay sat, I had gained a shadow in the form of a six-year-old pup named Cadence.
“Good morning,” I said as I took a seat at the table.
“Morning,” they both greeted me.
“Hello there, Cadence,” Finlay said.
“Hi, Alpha,” the boy said with a smile.
“Do you want to join us?” I asked. Cadence looked like he wanted to say yes, but then he looked at Finlay and then back towards his parents.
