Roman
Anchorage still did not feel like home, but he was doing his best to have a positive attitude.
He and the pack completed three cabins in a row, and they were close enough to normal to pass a county inspection with a licensed official. They had indoor plumbing and electricity and most importantly, they'd be an address for any of the shifters who needed one.
His brother Derek had been helping him the most. He was the most experienced with framing homes. He could also pour concrete. Jameson, who Roman had met at Blackwood Academy and who had recently moved to their pack full-time, understood plumbing and electrical work.
A month after they had been there, they started on the fourth cabin. They usually had quite a bit of help but that day, everyone had left for dinner and it was just Roman and Derek. At sunset, he tossed him a beer and sat down. "Hey, do you have a minute?'' he said.
"Of course," Roman said.
Derek looked around.
"What are you looking at?"
"Making sure no one's close by to listen in."
Oh hell. What was he going to say that he didn't want anyone to hear? "Something wrong?"
"I just wanted to check in with you. I've heard rumors that you've been dating."
Oh fuck. This was about Everleigh.
"What have you heard?"
"We heard that you mated with a female. And that she's a shifter, but she's not a wolf shifter. Is that true?"
"I'm not sure if it is anyone's business, but it is true." He didn't like the idea of them spying on him and Everleigh. He trusted his pack, but he had to protect her too. "How did you find out?" Roman asked.
"One of our pack members was waiting tables at the steakhouse where the two of you ate. He was actually really excited about it because he thought it meant that you had loosened up. And that you, as Alpha, would be willing to allow members of our pack to mate with other shifters."
Shit. How could he have been so stupid? As an Alpha, everything he did carried weight whether he wanted it to or not. The other members took his actions as a symbol.
"I just wanted to check in with you and see where your head is. You’re the Alpha. As you know, everyone watches your every move. I'm sure it's not easy, but if there is something going on with this bear, then you need to think really hard about what you're doing."
"So the pack wants to live with humans but we can't date bears?" Roman asked.
He enjoyed the stricken look on Derek's face. "Are you serious? Are you planning to change our pack rules?"
"No. Fuck no. We’re casual," Roman said. "Don't worry.”
"You're sure?" Derek asked.
"Of course, I'm sure. You know I'm a stickler for tradition. We can be friends with anyone, but we only mate with other wolves," Roman said decisively. No matter how hot Everleigh was, he was not going to entertain the idea of changing the pack rules. They were there for a reason. He didn’t care about bloodlines, or purity, but he did care about preserving the ways of the pack, especially now. And the only way to do that was to have only wolf shifters in the pack.
Derek was silent. He still looked a little unsettled. To be fair, Derek had not wanted this move either. He'd agreed with Roman that staying in the woods was the better choice. So it was taking some time for him to adjust, and he hadn’t found anyone to have fun with, not like Roman had.
Roman was having fun with Everleigh.
She had assured him over and over that she did not want anything serious. He believed her. She seemed to find the traditional expectations infuriating, whereas he felt the opposite. He believed that the way toward pack stability was when everyone followed the rules.
If his members all became like her in his pack, then there would be no future packs. And no bear clans either. They would mingle with humans and all the customs would die out. He had to preserve his pack. It was critical to their survival.