The Alpha's Temporary Mate(39)

Yeah, she decided as she reached for her clothes. They'd both gotten exactly what they needed last night.

Her good mood lasted exactly until she sat down for breakfast with the  older wolves. Niall smiled at her presence but the others treated her to  stonily silent stares.

Round two, she thought with a sigh, cutting into the pancakes before her.

"The last of the stragglers arrived last night," Niall said. "Everyone's  accounted for. At least those of the pack who planned on coming. There  are still a dozen or so out of state."

"Good turn out this year," Kieran replied.

"We have your girl to thank for that. Everyone wanted a look at the witch that finally got you to commit."                       
       
           



       

Chloe glanced up from her food. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Nope," Niall replied. "Highest numbers in five years." He leaned closer  to her and added, "You'll be happy to know your popularity rose  significantly when the others saw that white flag hanging over the  stairs this morning."

"You all wanted to see your alpha lose?"

Niall shook his head. "I think they wanted to see someone unafraid to beat him."

"We're still deciding exactly who beat whom," Kieran put in. "I, for one, am looking forward to a rematch tonight."

Heat bloomed on her cheeks as she dug her elbow into her lover's side  but that only earned her the chuckles of both men sitting beside her.

"The hunt is scheduled for tonight," Darrel's steely voice cut in. "You will be otherwise engaged, Kieran."

That cut the laughter short.

"Hunt?" Chloe asked quickly, hoping to diffuse the tension. "Sounds like fun."

Darrel's eyes flicked to her. "This is one event you will not be participating in, magic or no."

"Why do you assume-"

Kieran squeezed her hand under the table. "Think, Chloe," he whispered.  "We're a group of wolves and these woods are full of life. Do you really  want to run by my side as I take down a deer?"

"Ah, ick," she said. "Count me out."

The look on Darrel's face made her wish she was far more bloodthirsty than she was.

"What other events do you have planned for the retreat?" she asked. "I'm looking forward to meeting all of the pack."

Her dining mates exchanged glances at her announcement.

"Why not use this time to relax?" Darrel offered instead. "I'm sure your  city life is hectic. Setting up all those dates and what not."

She narrowed her eyes. "It is," she agreed. "However, I came to support  Kieran and meet those important to him. I'm not going to sit in my cabin  and read the days away."

The man sitting next to Darrel cleared his throat. "I'm sure Darrel  meant nothing of the sort," he said diplomatically. "We're just trying  to think long term. There is no need for you to … tax yourself."

"Vance," Kieran growled in warning.

"Why?" Chloe asked. "Because I won't be around next year so you don't want to raise your pack's hopes?"

Vance met her gaze head on, not looking away. "Exactly."

By her side Kieran tensed. He'd leap to her defense if she let him, but  he'd wanted to find a strong fake lover for a reason. Laying a hand on  his arm, she turned to face the table. "Let me make something clear,"  she said, addressing all the advisors. "I know you don't like me and I  don't particularly care. Yours is not the opinion that matters. Theirs  is." She gestured to the rest of the room, the wolves happily eating  their breakfast and chatting among themselves. "This pack is more than a  disapproving group of ten. If Clearwater, as a united front, took issue  with a witch being with your alpha, I might give the concerns some  credence. All I am hearing right now is a bigoted group of old wolves  refusing to step into the twenty-first century. I'm a witch. Big deal.  My genes don't change the way I feel about Kieran, or the fact that I  want to be a part of this pack."

Kieran squeezed her hand in encouragement when she paused. Smiling at  him she said, "I have no intention of going anywhere, so I will spend  this time getting to know the people who matter to my lover. And as far  as I've seen, they are more interested in their alpha being happy than  the magic in my blood. Perhaps you should take your cues from your  people rather than your prejudice."

Silence greeted her words, but she wasn't blind to the anger in several  pairs of eyes. It would take more than a handful of days to win these  people over, but if she and Kieran had the time she hoped they would,  then she'd crack them eventually. Right now, though, she had no  intention of suffering through more thinly veiled insults.

"In fact, I think I'll start getting to know your pack this morning,"  she said to Kieran, leaning over to press a kiss to his lips. "Enjoy  you're breakfast, darling."

He caught her when she would have drawn back, and deepened the kiss.  Chloe smiled against his lips, feeling his approval. Warmth bloomed  inside her to know she had a partner who liked when she stood up for  herself, even though his wolf must have been chomping at the bit to do  it himself.

"Try not to eat anyone alive," he whispered against her lips.                       
       
           



       

"I'll be good. Don't make your advisors suffer too much for this."

"Just a little," he agreed.

Grinning, she grabbed her plate and stood then scanned the other tables  for a familiar face. Spotting Kate, she made a beeline for the woman.  She meant what she said to Darrel. She wanted to get to know Kieran's  people, and she couldn't do that with her lover attached to her side.

"Looking for a table?" Kate asked when she grew close.

"A little friendly conversation wouldn't go amiss," she said.

The group of women exchanged glances before they scooted down on the benches to make room.

"If you want to eat with us," one said, "then the price is the story of how you bested the alpha last night."

Chloe grinned as she took her seat. "That's a tale I'll happily tell a dozen times."

As she launched into the explanation of how she'd used her magic, she  glanced over at Kieran. The approval in his eyes was impossible to miss.

Maybe this can work. Maybe I really can have a place here. Not just a lover, but a pack.

A family.





Chapter Seventeen

Chloe dragged herself back toward the main hall. Her day had been filled  with more physical activity than she usually got in a month. After  breakfast she'd volunteered to help watch the cubs. Little did she know  just how much of a disaster-waiting-to-happen a group of weres under the  age of ten could be. Though she'd spent exhausting hours running after  toddlers trying to chew everything they could find, or to climb the  tallest trees with their baby claws, at least the experience had allowed  her to meet a number of the cub's parents. Some were reserved in their  judgment as to whether a witch could integrate with their group, but  none seemed morally opposed to her presence. She counted that as  progress.

Once free of the children, she'd found herself in a kayak on the lake.  The invitation had sounded fun in theory, except she'd forgotten to  account for weres' endless energy. The group of kayakers circled the  lake three times at top speed before they'd burned off enough steam.  Chloe wanted nothing more than a nap by the time she returned to dry  land. She'd never tell, but by the third lap, her magic had been doing  more of the work than her muscles.

"Need to sign up for the gym," she muttered to herself as she went in search of a snack in the main hall. "ASAP."

"Chloe, over here."

Looking up, she saw the soccer group from the city perched on the benches outside the main hall.

"Hey guys," she said, adjusting her course to bring her to them. "Nice to see you all again."

"We're glad you made it," Sasha said. "The boys want a rematch."

Please let them say tomorrow. If she had to play soccer right now she'd  probably face plant on the field before the first goal was scored.

"Out here I'm sure we'll be more than a match for your mojo," Trevor put in. "No prying eyes to limit us."

"I'll beat you any time," she replied, joining them on the benches. "As long as it's not in the next ten hours."

Eight sympathetic sets of eyes focused on her. "Wolf life a little tougher than you're used to?" Rachel asked.

"Let's just say if you guys could bottle your energy you'd all make millions."

Chad laughed, slinging his arm around Sasha. "It's just because everyone  is in such good spirits. We haven't felt this fantastic in ages."