Maxim nodded. “She’s a bigger problem than the hybrids. But we will focus on the hybrids until Fane asks otherwise.”
“Or if we come across her.” Jen clenched her fists. “I’m not about to walk away if the psycho sprite is within a mile of me.”
“I’m not the only one with claws.” There was a brief gleam in Katya’s eye.
Jen chuckled. “It’s okay to have a girl crush on me. I’m used to it.”
“You don’t want to crush on Jen.” Stella shook her head. “Sure, it’s exciting at first, but then she comes home with heads in bags. At some point, it all becomes too much.”
Everyone looked between the two of them with confused expressions, as if they couldn’t tell if Stella was joking.
Stella’s mate, Ciro, whom Maxim had learned was a quiet wolf who simply listened and watched, spoke up. There was no doubt he was dominant. When he was feeling protective of Stella, it rolled off him like a tsunami. “We should rest tonight and begin our travels tomorrow. The journey itself will be tiring, and if we must fight hybrids along the way, then we will need our full strength.”
“Agreed.” Maxim nodded. “I have a few bedrooms in my home.” He motioned toward a hallway. “And there are plenty of extra rooms in various members’ homes, and I know”—he paused and glared at his packmates—“that they will be happy to offer any of them to you all as guests.”
“We can sleep here.” Decebel indicated the large room. “The only one who needs a pillow is Stella, since she doesn’t have a wolf form.”
“What about me?” Adam held his arms out wide.
Decebel narrowed his eyes. “Are you some kind of a pansy, fae?”
Adam dropped his arms and glared.
“Okay, then.” Decebel rumbled. “You don’t need a damn pillow. Suck it up.”
“I’ll remember that when we’re flashing and I accidentally drop your ass off in some ocean,” Adam threatened. He waved his fingers, and two pillows appeared. He tossed one to Stella.
Jen chuckled. “That would be hilarious.” Then she paused. “Until he got eaten by a shark. Then it would cease to be hilarious. Don’t drop my male in the ocean, Adam. I’ll replace you as my male BFF.”
“He’s not your male BFF,” Decebel growled.
“Says you.” Jen smiled and patted her mate on his cheek. “I say differently.”
“You wolves are weird,” Katya mumbled.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Crina told her.
“Sounds exciting.” Sasha grinned as she stood up. This appeared to be a signal to the rest of the pack as they all stood.
“We’ll meet out front at first light,” Maxim told them as his pack filed out of the house. He turned back to Decebel. “You’re sure you don’t want separate quarters?”
The beta nodded. “We’re fine. It’s not the first time we’ve all had to sleep together.”
Maxim’s brow rose.
“We’ve trekked through many forests,” Jen added. “Which means sleeping outside in groups, a lot.”
Maxim shrugged. “All right. I’ll find you some blankets.”
“Got them.” Katya walked back into the room with an armload of folded blankets. She handed them to Jen and then approached Alice. Maxim tensed but waited to see what the she-wolf would do.
“I respect Maxim,” she told Alice. “And I trust him. I have trust issues.”
“Really? I didn’t notice.” Jen acted as if she needed to cough. Decebel slowly slapped her on the back, giving her a warning look.
“But true mates are true mates.” Katya bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I was a bitch.”
Maxim was a little shocked. But then, Katya was loyal. And as a rogue pack, they all had trust issues. This was going to be an adjustment for all of them, and he had a feeling there would be some ruffled fur when they reached their final destination and mixed with the rest of Fane’s large pack. But that was a worry for another day.
