Okay … she didn’t seem like she knew they were here for me, that was more of a general statement.
I nodded. “Yeah, kinda crazy.”
She reached out and slung an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t worry, they know we change alphas every twenty or so years. They are just fucking with Sawyer. Keeping him on his game.”
Yeah, that wasn’t it at all, but I played along.
She pulled her arm from my shoulders and plucked the note from the top of the box, reading aloud.
“Can you really even call yourself a photographer without a fancy camera? Sawyer.”
Camera?
He didn’t…?
I tore open the box and gasped at the Canon Rebel DSLR. It had four different lenses, a lighting kit and tripod, all in a nice clean black carrying bag.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
This was like … a casual one-thousand-dollar gift. But aside from the money … it was a camera I’d always wanted. Thus far I’d only been taking pictures on my old-ass iPhone with a cracked screen. I bought a set of click-on lenses for it on Amazon for twenty bucks that worked surprisingly well, but this … this was next level.
Sage shook her head. “He’s totally smitten.”
I snorted. “Look around, I’m living in an episode ofWerewolf Bachelor. He probably sends all the girls gifts right before the first gala. His calling card.”
But even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t true.
Sage frowned. “Werewolf what?”
Human TV, they probably didn’t watchThe Bachelor. “Never mind. Help me get dressed, I don’t want to be late.”
Pushing the drama of the day from my mind, I focused on getting ready for the Welcome Gala.
While Sage curled my hair into an elaborate curled up do, I read the bylaws. Well, not all of them, but the ones that pertained to the mating year.
Bylaw 24.1: The longest an Alpha may rule the pack is twenty-five years.
Bylaw 24.2: When the eldest son of the Alpha gets to his senior year of college, he enters his mating year, and may not graduate without choosing a mate.
I nearly choked on my own spit. Sawyer had to pick a wife within the next nine months or they wouldn’t let him graduate!
Bylaw 24.3:The Alpha’s son may not take over the pack until engaged.
Okay, well, that was obvious. It was clear they cared so much about having a mate and marriage.
Bylaw 25.3:The prospective female mate must have no obvious breeding issues. It is also desired that she be a virgin.
Breeding issues?
I scoffed, “That’s fucked up.”
Sage looked over my shoulder. “Eww, the bylaws. Written like a thousand years ago by my ancestors. They make me cringe to read. They really need to update those things.”
Relief washed over me. “So they don’t take this stuff seriously?”
“Oh, no they do. Everyone knows they are outdated, but they go along with it.”
I closed the tablet and set it on the table, taking a deep breath.
