“What frogs?” Paige asked.
“No frogs,” Archie said, far too quickly. “Who said anything about frogs? There were definitely no frogs last summer. And you pinky-promised not to ever tell anyone, Estelle.”
“We were in Archie’s pack last year, ma’am,” Beth said, shooting both other kids a warning look. “That’s why we came over to say hello, and introduce ourselves.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.” Paige had heard about these two, though Archie’s tales hadn’t quite prepared her for the full reality. “Archie mentioned you might be at camp early as well.”
She was about to ask if their parents were staff members, when she realized why Beth looked strangely familiar. Though her hair was poker-straight rather than wavy, it was precisely the same bold, rich copper as Conleth’s. Her eyes were the same shade as his too; that intense, vibrant green.
“Beth, is Conleth your dad?” she blurted out, startled.
“No, ma’am.” From the slight hint of resignation in Beth’s tone, this was not the first time she’d been asked this question. “He’s my uncle. He and my dad are brothers. But please don’t treat me any differently to other campers. I don’t want any special privileges just because I’m related to the camp manager.”
“I didn’t mean to imply anything like that,” she reassured Beth. “I was just startled by the resemblance, that’s all. And you don’t have to call me ma’am. Just Paige is fine.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Beth said, with both total respect and complete lack of obedience. “Anyway, we heard you and Archie talking about my uncle. I know we shouldn’t have been listening, but please don’t be angry. I had to make sure everything was okay between you and Uncle Conleth. Your first meeting didn’t seem to go so well.”
“It’s very sweet of you to be concerned about your uncle, Beth, but it’s okay,” Paige said. “There’s nothing going on between us.”
“Yes, there is!” Beth’s fingers twisted together anxiously. “Ma’am, I know you’re not a shifter, but you must still have feltsomethingwhen you met him. When you first looked into his eyes, didn’t you have a sense of profound attraction?”
Oh, God.She wasnotabout to admit her wholly inappropriate—if understandable—reaction to Conleth’s magnetic sex appeal to a couple of prepubescent girls. Especially not in front of her little brother.
Paige did her best to assemble her face into an expression of mild reproach. “Conleth’s my colleague, Beth. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to have those sorts of thoughts about him.”
“Oh, trust me, he really won’t mind,” Estelle reassured her. “He’s totally having those sorts of thoughts about you. Probably right this very moment, I bet.”
“Will youpleaselet me handle this?” Beth hissed at her friend.
Estelle rolled her eyes. “She’s not a shifter, Beth. Of course she’s not going to recognize him as her mate at first sight. She’d have to, like, actually kiss him or something to feel it.”
“My sister doesn’t want to feel anything!” Archie protested. He swung around to get her support, full of righteousindignation. “And she’s definitely not kissing stupid Conleth,ever. Right, Paige?”
“My uncle isn’t stupid!” Some of Beth careful, adult-like poise deserted her. She clenched her fists, glaring daggers at Archie. “This camp wouldn’t even exist without him. He’s smart, and successful, and everything an alpha should be. You’re just jealous.”
Archie flushed a deep, angry red. “You take that back! You take that back or I’ll—graaaaaaw!”
Paige caught the growling bear cub by the scruff of his neck. “Archie! What did you promise me about keeping control of your bear?”
The bear cub subsided, though the fur bristled all along his back. He plopped sulkily onto his haunches, grumbling under his breath.
“Not one peep out of you until you’re human again,” Paige told him. She turned back to the two girls, letting some steel show in her tone. “And you two. I don’t know where you kids have been getting these crazy ideas, but it stops right now. Why on earth would you think that I’m Conleth’s mate?”
“Helloooooo?” Estelle waved her hands. “Come on, did you see the way he looked at you?”
“Uncle Conleth’s never looked at anyone like that, ma’am,” Beth said earnestly. “I mean, I’ve seen him turn on the charm when he’s showing people around the camp, but even then, he only smiles with his mouth. Not with his whole soul.”
“Oh.” Now she understood the confusion. “He was just welcoming me to camp, girls. That’s all. I’m working with him this summer as staff liaison.”
The two girls looked at each other.
“Yeah,” Estelle said. “About that.”
“There’s no such thing as a ‘staff liaison,’ ma’am.” Beth made air quotes around the word. “It’s only ever been Uncle Conlethand Director Zephyr in the office. If they’d been planning to have someone else doing admin work, I’m sure I would have heard them discussing it.”
“And I know you were definitely down as a pack counselor last night, when I snuck into the office to read all the staff files,” Estelle said cheerfully. At Beth’s look, she shrugged. “What? If Zephyr doesn’t want people logging into his laptop, he shouldn’t keep his password on the back of a receipt stuck in the middle of an old journal hidden under a load of paperwork in the bottom drawer of his desk.”
“But—I’m not assigned as a pack counselor,” Paige said, bewildered. “Conleth showed me on the computer. Paige Brown, staff liaison. And Leonie knew about it too.”
