Glancing at the humans wandering by, he had to admit the group of weres didn’t appear to be anything more than a pack of kids looking for a little exercise on a sunny day. But as soon as they spotted him, every one of them froze to attention. Eyes dropped to the ground and heads lowered in an automatic instinct as a more dominant wolf approached.
“Hello everyone,” he greeted the group as they reached them. “Good to see you all.”
Heads came back up and smiles lit the young faces.
“We’re glad you could make time for us today,” Kate replied.
“The pleasure is mine.” And it was true. Looking at part of his pack, he couldn’t regret taking a break from his computer today.
The group comprised some of the youngest of his family. Though they all looked like college kids, each had at least four or five decades under their belt. Still, they were young enough to depend on the pack for comfort and stability. He liked to make himself available to them whenever he got the chance.
“I brought an addition today,” he said. “Gang, meet Chloe.”
Eight pairs of eyes locked onto the woman at his side.
“Hi,” she said. “Nice to meet you all. Thanks for including me in your game.” Her smile was wide and friendly but he noted the hesitation in her tone as if she were unsure of her welcome.
“More the merrier,” Kate said, glancing at her friends as if to see if the statement had their support.
“So how are we doing teams today?” he asked, pulling Chloe further into the group of wolves.
“Uh, well we had been planning on girls versus boys,” Chad piped up, batting back the red hair falling into his eyes.
“But that might need to be adjusted,” Sasha, the quietest of the group, said, staring directly at Chloe.
“Because I’m here?” Chloe asked. “Why does that make a difference?”
The younger wolves glanced at each other.
“The rules of the game prohibit fully turning,” Kieran explained, “but anything the humans won’t notice as unusual is allowed.”
“It gets rough,” Kate added.
“She’s right. You need to be on my team.”
Chloe looked up at him. “Why?”
“So I can protect you,” he replied. His inner wolf growled in agreement. It liked the idea of keeping her close, keeping her safe.
He caught the female wolves rolling their eyes and the boys whispering to each other. No doubt about how they’d have to make allowances for a witch. It was to be expected, though. No one would expect Chloe to play as rough as they did. It wasn’t in her nature.
He should have known from the way Chloe narrowed his eyes he’d made a mistake.
“How sweet,” she said before snapping her fingers.
His legs shot out from under him, dumping him on his back on the ground. To a casual observer, it would have looked like he’d skidded on some dewy grass—well within the bounds of what a human wouldn’t notice.
“But I think I have it covered.” Stepping over him as if she didn’t have a care in the world about dropping an alpha wolf, she walked over to the group of girls. “Play with me and there’s no way we can lose.”
“Done,” Kate said, staring down at him with wide eyes.
He pushed to his feet with a barely contained growl. “No using magic on the ball,” he ordered as the girls ushered her over to their side of the field.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she called back, a mischievous grin lighting her face. “Though that leaves all sorts of opportunities.”
Pleasure rolled through him. All wolves liked to play, and it appeared Chloe would make an excellent opponent.
As he joined his team to strategize, all thoughts of numbers and spreadsheets vanished from his mind.
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Why not?” Chloe replied to the girl who’d spoken.
“Sasha wouldn’t say boo to a ghost,” Kate said. “Still, it’s not often anyone messes with the alpha.”
Chloe snorted. “He might be strong, but he’s still a man. Sometimes he needs a reminder he’s not the boss of me.”
Four girls stared at her with a look akin to awe.
“I can’t imagine living with him,” Sasha said. “Too scary.”
“You do realize you turn into a creature with sharp claws and teeth,” Chloe pointed out.
“Kieran’s a different kind of scary,” another girl said. “I’m Jenny, by the way. And if you can cause some of the boys to wipe out during this game, I don’t care who you are, I’m in love.”
Chloe grinned. “Well, I’ve got to bring something to the table. I’m not as fast or strong as you guys.”