Wyatt held up his hands. “My bad. Stress makes me stupid.”
Lola snorted. “Then you’re stressed a lot. Perhapsyoushould get counseling.”
“Totally have, lovely Lola, didn’t help.” He winked at her, and Callon barely held himself back from raking his claws across the male’s face.
“It’s time for the males to form a plan,” Nox said, ignoring the pissed off stares of Katy and Lola. Even Miryam and Akira were glaring at him. “Even my mate, Everly, will be staying behind. She knows she is needed here. That’s her place.”
“Easy, mate,” a female voice purred, sounding more like a feline than a canine shifter. “I am happy to stay behind and take care of our pack, but don’t think for a minute that I wouldn’t challenge you if need be.” She stepped into the room, and her eyes found the females. “I realize that my mate, and yours apparently, have not explained this very well, but if you will give me a chance, hopefully I can cool your ire.”
Lola glanced at Callon. She didn’t give him the sweet smile he adored, or the sizzling look that made him want to lock her in their bedroom. The fierce fire in her eyes might have singed his mane if she had stared at him any longer. “You can try,” she told the alpha female. “But I’ll be honest, Katy and I tend to be pretty hardheaded.”
“Understatment,” Gage muttered.
Katy’s head snapped around to meet her mate’s eyes. “Don’t think I will suddenly forget this when you bring Maddie back.”
“So you admit that Iwillbe successful and rescue your best friend?” He challenged.
She stuck her nose in the air and made to follow Everly. “I’ll admit nothing until you produce results. Don’t come back unless you have her with you.”
Gage took a step towards her. “Katherine,” he said, his voice softer.
She held up her hand. “Unless you feel like having your eyes clawed out, I suggest you stop where you stand.” She didn’t look at him again as she left the room.
Lola glanced at Callon, but she didn’t say a word, which was almost worse than a scathing comment. Callon wanted to go to her, throw her over his shoulder, take her somewhere private, and force her to understand his perspective. But he knew any words from him at the moment wouldn’t help. But he still had to say the words that constantly burned in his throat. “I love you.”
“And that’s theonlyreason I might forgive you,” she snapped. “Eventually.” Then she, too, was gone.
Akira and Miryam followed after them without a word to anyone else.
“Damn,” Wyatt shook his head. “I think I changed my mind. I don’t want a female if it’s going to bethatdifficult to reason with them.”
“Nothing worth having is easy,” Nox told him. “Having a female that would fold to your whim would be boring. I’d much rather have one that has claws and knows how to use them.”
“And exactly how long did it take for you to appreciate that quality?” Callon asked.
Nox snorted. “A century or so.”
“Great,” Gage said, the word sounding more like a curse.
“Let’s get this plan taken care of so that Callon and Gage can attempt to appease their females before we leave,” Rafe suggested.
Everly could have handled a pack of rabid wolves with less drama than what these females brought to a sitting room, a good distance away from where the males were gathered. She watched them file in: Lola’s eyes shooting sparks, Katy stomping like a toddler denied a cookie, and Akira and Miryam trailing behind, looking like they’d volunteered for a firing squad. Everly wrangled her patience—something she’d learned was as necessary to an alpha female as fangs or claws.
She slid a tray of mugs across the low table. “Coffee. Or tea. Or, if you want to keep going with the death glares, might I suggest tequila? But I warn you, I only drink with people who promise not to start a coup in my mate’s house.”
Lola flopped onto the couch, arms crossed, jaw set. Katy followed, muttering something about “testosterone poisoning.” Miryam and Akira perched together, their wariness mixed with the scent of sympathy as they looked at the other two females.
Everly settled herself in the armchair, one leg crossed over the other. She attempted to exude that alpha calm that said: yes, I could kill you, but I’d rather help you fix your mascara and plot your revenge. She needed the females to respect her, but also trust her.
“I know you’re angry,” she began, voice even but not unkind. “And I know you think you’re the only ones who’ve ever been told to stay behind when someone you love is in danger.” She met each of their gazes in turn, letting her words settle. “But there’s a reason for it, and it’s not just because our males are overprotective psychos—though, let’s be honest, they are.”
Lola snorted. “That’s not an explanation. That’s stating the obvious.”
Everly smiled, a little dangerous. She leaned forward, setting her cup down on the coffee table and resting her forearms on herknees. “Do you know what happens when alpha females work together, instead of against each other?” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “We move mountains. We make plans while the males are out swinging their swords. When they come back, battered and bleeding, we’re the ones who make sure they’re still standing. That’s not weakness. That’s importance–strength and competence our mates can count on. Now, let me teach you some important first-aid and emergency medicine, so we can be ready to help our mates heal when they come home.”
Everly spent the next half hour teaching the females about caring for wounds, sewing stitches, splinting fractures, making tourniquets, and administering CPR. After her lesson, she studied the females and lifted her brows. “Now do you see why we stay behind?”
Lola looked away, the fire in her eyes dimming just a little. “I hate that you’re right.” There was no real heat in her voice.
