Heartsong (Green Creek 3)

I rolled my eyes. “Yes. Because a werewolf in a small enclosed metal tube with a bunch of strangers and screaming children is always a good idea.”

“You’ve never flown before.”

I shrugged. “Never had the need to. And I don’t like the idea of being so… high. I like having my feet on the ground.”

The car inched forward. “It’s not as bad as you think.”

“I think it’s really bad, so.” A sign up ahead said our exit was only a few miles away. I was relieved. We’d reach the pack before nightfall. “Do they know we’re coming?”

“They’ve been notified, yes. They didn’t respond, but we’ve done our due diligence.”

“And what do we do if they’re not there?”

I felt him looking over at me. “Where would they be?”

“I don’t know. But if they cut off contact with Michelle, what makes you think they’re going to want to see us?”

“Because they’re not stupid,” Ezra said patiently. “They know there are rules in place for a reason. If they’re not there, we’ll wait for them. They have to return sometime. It’s their home. They wouldn’t leave it behind. Territory is important to a wolf, especially to an Alpha.”

“And if they attack?”

He sounded surprised. “Why would they?”

“Maybe they don’t want to see us. Maybe there’s a reason they stopped responding.”

“Be that as it may, whatever their reason is, our job is to make sure they understand the rules and are following them.”

We hadn’t yet come across a pack that was truly defiant once we reminded them of their place. Sure, there were always going to be disagreements, but Michelle wasn’t so stuck in her ways that she wouldn’t listen to the problems of the wolves.

We were her emissaries, an extension of her, and a few of the packs disliked me on sight because of it. I always explained to them that I understood what they were doing and that I was an intermediary. A peacemaker. I carried their concerns back to the Alpha of all, and if she thought the concerns had merit and needed her intervention, she would meet with them face-to-face. Everyone left feeling like they’d been heard. Sometimes changes were made.

Sometimes they weren’t.

But still.

This felt a little different.

“If anything goes weird, you stay behind me,” I told Ezra.

He laughed. “Protect me, will you?”

“Yes.”

“I believe that.”

“Good.”

“Even though you know I don’t need it.”

“Whatever. Just let me have this, okay? It’ll make me feel better.”

“All right, Robbie. Whatever you need.”

We drove on.

They were waiting for us.

They lived outside of Fredericksburg, the town dropping away into rolling farmlands the farther we drove. I was disconcerted by the sprawling fields that replaced the trees, but to each their own. I’m sure they found a place to run when they needed it.