Everleigh
Settling back into life in Anchorage was not as difficult as Everleigh had anticipated.
So far, she had taken tentative steps to become a part of the pack. Roman had rented a small house for her and Eliza close to the center of town. He also made a bedroom for Eliza in his own house that was off on pack lands. Even their little cat had adjusted to the move and spent hours sniffing every available surface.
"I want you to feel comfortable," he said. "I know that you're used to living with humans and I don't want you to feel isolated living on the pack lands."
"Won't that upset your pack?"
"It might. If it does, I will address it."
Sadly, she was proven right. Less than a week after she moved into her house, she found a job at another real estate agency.
She had just gotten her office set up when a woman came in. She immediately recognized her as a shifter. "Hello," she said, making sure to be friendly. The last thing she needed was pack members reporting back to Rome that his mate wasn't friendly. Not that she really cared, but she didn't want to cause him any distress or make his life harder.
She also didn’t want to put him in danger. Several pack members had rushed to tell her about the male that had tried to attack him.
"Are you looking for some property?" She was going to pretend the shifter had come in for real estate, even though she sensed that was not true.
"No. Can we speak in private?" the female asked.
"I don't have a private office yet, but if you can speak quietly, my desk will work fine."
"Of course," the female said.
Her heart sank. It had been less than a week and she was already getting grief about coming into the pack. She was the only bear, and it was a really weird feeling. According to Roman. plenty of other people wanted to date outside their own kind, but she hadn't seen it happening yet. In fact, she wouldn't believe it until she saw it.
"I wanted to speak to you alone, female to female, without your mate hovering over you."
"My mate hovers over me for a reason," Everleigh said. "Do you have a problem with me? Because I'm a bear?"
"Absolutely not," the woman said. "When I was twenty, I snuck around with a bear shifter myself." She winked. "A polar bear shifter at that. My father would have lost his mind if he found out. But I feel like you think you're better than us. You think you're above the pack. You hold yourself apart."
Everleigh sighed. She had to make sure she didn’t get defensive. "There's a reason for that. Even Roman used to believe that we shouldn't be together. So excuse me if I don't jump right into pack life hook, line, and sinker. I've been cast aside before."
"Well, now that you're his mate, you can't be like that. It's not good for pack morale. We've struggled the last few years. First the younger crowd wanted to move here and leave our ancestral area. Roman had to adjust to that, but he did it. Now he's mating with a bear after being so close minded for so long. As his mate, you’re going to have to step up."
"Why is this my problem?"
"Do you love him?"
"Of course."
"That's why it's your problem. The more you hold yourself apart from the pack, the harder it's going to be for him. The more you consider yourself a free-agent, the harder it's going to be for him."
"Are you saying I shouldn't work as a real estate agent?"
"No. We have plenty of people now working in town. We have dentists, dental hygienists, firefighters, pilots, computer programmers, teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers. We don't need most of those services, but they all enjoy their careers, and they enjoy being a part of the wider world. You have a career, and I admire that. But you also have your own house, away from us. I know Roman got it for you and I know why. But it makes us feel like you have one foot out the door, like you’re not really giving us a chance."
Everleigh's eyes must've gone wide at that part. This woman knew all of her business. "Yes. I do stay connected to what's going on in the pack. For better or worse, I do know these things. I'm not trying to chastise you or put you on the spot, I just want you to consider what I've said."
Everleigh sat there for a few long moments. The woman had given her a few things to think about, and if she could be believed, then possibly she had done Everleigh a favor. "It’s just hard, you know."
The female smiled. "I know. I can imagine how you must feel. I am sympathetic to your situation. You put a lot on the line to come back to this pack. Roman broke up with you. You may have forgiven him, but I understand that you want to hold something back for yourself. But that's not the way mates work. You'll be happier if you embrace him and this pack wholeheartedly. I'm not saying it's going to be fine all the time, or that it will be easy, but I think it will be rewarding."
"Would you like to have lunch sometime?" Everleigh asked. "And maybe go hunting together?” She had to remember to do shifter type activities within the pack. Roman, bless him, had not complained at all about her living a separate life, although it had to be bothering him. The pack did a lot together. Both collectively and in smaller groups. They hunted together, they ran together, they hiked together, they fished together, and they swam together.
Everleigh had not done any of that. Nor had she taken Eliza to do any of it either. It clicked in her head. It was as if she was living in the pack as a trial run. As if she was doing this to see if it would work, but not truly embracing it.