Page 20 of Fifty & Feral

“I know it is, sweetheart,” I said.

“And this will happen to me at some point in my life even though Mom isn’t a wolf? I get to be a wolf when I’m your age?” There was an excitement to her tone at the prospect, which helped alleviate the guilt I had for bringing her into this situation.

“Yes, Mason said that it’s a dominant gene, so you only need one wolf parent. And it should happen to you sooner than it happened to me, assuming that we spend more time with the pack.”

It reminded me too much of when she was younger. She would say things like, “I get to drive when I’m your age, right?” “I can vote when I’m your age, right?” And apparently, now we would add, “I can turn into a wolf when I’m your age, right, Dad?”

“Maybe we all need a werewolf one-oh-one class,” Connor said with a laugh. “Perhaps they have a pamphlet.”

“No kidding,” I said. A crash course would be necessary for me. FAQs would be nice.

We arrived at the address Mason had given me. The pack property was not far from my own home, but deeper into the county so they didn’t have any neighbors close by. As the crow flies, it was nearly straight through the woods from my house. It was a smart location, considering that this was where they all shifted and ran as wolves. The main house was a two-story farmhouse with a wraparound porch. There were hanging baskets overflowing with bright purple flowers, and tight clusters of pink hyacinths lined the sidewalk that wound from the driveway to the back of the house. There were kids playing outside, and a ton of cars parked in the side yard. There was a covered pavilion with tables underneath like what you’d find at a public park. It was a cozy, welcoming space for people to hang out.

Mason stepped out of the house and waved at us. “Jack, I’m so glad you’re here,” he called.

“Me too,” I said, and I meant it. My trepidation at this visit had cooled. Now that I was here, I felt surrounded by community. Everyone was running about with smiles on their faces. Happy laughter and conversation echoed around us. I didn’t recognize any of them, yet they felt familiar to me. The wolf inside me that I recognized as a part of myself seemed at ease in the presence of so many others like him. In the past two weeks, my skin had constantly felt as if it was prickling with anxiety, like I was one moment away from a panic attack. All of that eased here.

Maya and Connor got out of the car, both coming to my side. Connor slipped his hand into mine. I squeezed his hand and tugged him closer. He always knew just when I needed him, and now I needed him close. Pinned to my side, smelling like me and no one else would be my preference.

That had to be another wolf thing. I’d never noticed scents like I did now.

“Mason, this is my daughter, Maya, and Connor, my—” I let it trail off. “Friend,” I said finally. The word “mate” had been at the tip of my tongue. That was a far cry from where we really were. “Friend” would have been more logical than that. Yet the tension increased, and there was a slight tightening in Connor’s shoulders.

Mason’s brow lifted, but he quickly returned to a regular expression, catching himself. He recognized my blunder. “Great to meet you. Let me introduce you around. I am sure you have a lot of questions. I’m so glad you were able to share your secret with those closest to you.”

“Me too,” I said. “It was a rough few days. I know we talked about me telling Maya. I hope that it is all right that I confided in Connor as well.”

“Of course.” Mason winced. “I should have visited again after that first visit or at least called. We had a few things here to take care of—”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m fine. I was managing, for the most part. But it’s gotten a lot easier now that I have Connor. And Maya is home.” I added that last bit quickly. Having Maya around was great, but she was my daughter, not a person I needed to lean on when I was struggling. I needed to be strong for her. That was where Connor came in. He gave me strength.

Mason brought us to the pavilion where groups had gathered. A few people were at the buffet table filling plates. Even more were sitting down. The rest were out milling about in the yard playing games. There was volleyball, horseshoes, cornhole, and there were groups of people at each of them. It was like a miniature small town festival.

“This is quite impressive out here,” I said. “All that’s missing is a few food trucks.”

Mason laughed. “Actually, we do have food trucks sometimes. A few pack members own them, and they bring them out on occasion. Today is a regular pot-luck style, though.”

“Oh, we didn’t bring anything,” Connor said.

Mason held up a hand. “No need. We always have plenty.” He gestured toward the yard. “Well, this is the pack property. Now that the weather’s warm enough for us to all be outside, we’re really loving it. Winter months are kind of hard because we want to be outside, cold or not. You can only make so many snowmen and have so many snowball fights before it’s too cold to be out here.”

I could imagine this place in a blanket of snow. “I bet the pups love it,” I said. Thought I wasn’t sure where that wording came from.

Pups.

They were kids.

Mason grinned. “They do. The adults don’t mind it so much either, if we can get into snowball fights and have hot chocolate afterward. Maybe with a splash of Kahlua.”

“How big is the pack?” Maya asked. “I apologize in advance, I have so many questions.”

Mason smiled warmly at her. “No need to apologize. Questions are normal.”

I leaned into Connor while Mason talked about the pack, how many people there were, where they all lived, the businesses they ran. He mentioned that they came together for pack runs during the different phases of the moon and that we generally operated like a large extended family, except everyone was even more in your business. Most of the pack were either related to one another or worked with each other.

I listened, while also being incredibly distracted about having Connor so close. Unmarked, with other wolves around who might think he was available.

Those thoughts should have felt foreign and strange, but I couldn’t help but trust my instincts. I needed to mark him. Badly.