I blinked at her, surprised she hadn’t figured out our Pack link, and my smile widened. “No need,” I replied, right as the door opened behind her. She twisted around, then almost broke her neck staring up at my dad.
“The girl,” Dad stated, his expression intentionally intimidating. Jess took a step backwards at the sight, right into my chest. She took in his large stature, her wide eyes telling me she recognized him.
“I prefer Jess,” she replied faintly, then stepped forward courageously. “You must be Hank Navarre.” She stuck out my hand and Dad stared down at it in bemusement. “Spunky thing,” he told me over the link. “Can’t say I’d expect anything less.” HIs approval was clear and I knew I’d been right to bring her to the Pack House. “I can’t say I’ve heard much about you, but I understand you’ve been trying to keep me safe.” She paused, her hand wavering when he didn’t take it, but she pushed on. “Thank you.”
“I like her,” he rumbled, finally taking her hand and shaking it gently. “You’re trouble, but sometimes that’s a good thing,” he informed her and moved aside so we could enter the building.
“Thanks?” She said in uncertainty, glancing around in awe as we stepped inside. I tried to see the place through her eyes. It was bigger than it looked from the outside, and was almost a cross between a church and a meeting hall. The room we’d entered was round and designed as a sort of amphitheater, but that wasn’t it’s sole purpose. Part of it had been dug out so that a round table could sit low in the center of the room while rough wooden benches formed seating around it. Everyone sitting would have a clear view of what was happening at the table and be able to hear them clearly.
“Welcome to the Pack, Jess.” She smiled at Dad’s emphasis on her name, but I could see her attention was on the other four people in the room. Her forehead wrinkled when she spotted Anna’s mom and I wondered if she’d recognized her.
“Anna’s mom and dad are both pack elders. One day Anna will take their place,” I informed her under my breath, leading her to a low bench under a window.
“Do we need to tell them?” She questioned in concerned.
I tapped my forehead, curious about her reaction to this ability. “Done.”
She didn’t make me wait, her eyes narrowing as she said, “That is equal parts creepy and cool.”
I smiled, replying, “It comes in handy.” She stared at me expectantly so I explained who everyone was. “My dad is an elder. Caleb’s father is Alpha,” My eyes flickered to Caleb’s Dad, whose sandy hair had a good amount of gray in it, but clearly Caleb had inherited it from him. “Anna’s parents. And the last one is our oldest pack member, Gregory.”
“How old is he?” She hissed, the man’s thinning silver hair and wrinkled folds making him look every day of his 119 years.
“103,” Gregory answered to both our surprise. “Lying about your age, old man?” I asked him dryly over the link. The old man didn’t bother answering as Jess elbowed me in the side, hissing almost silently, “You could have warned me he has the hearing of a bat!”
“How was I to know you’d ask his age?” I said defensively.
“Because he looks older than time?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Gregory retorted, finally turning toward us. He told me over the link, “I didn’t want to overwhelm her. Humans don’t live as long as us, you know.” I rolled my eyes, fully aware our life span was considerably longer. Gregory spoke again to Jess, “You’re a first for me. A breeding female raised among humans.”
She frowned, looking insulted at being called a ‘breeding female’ and I hurried to explain. I wrapped my hand around hers, prying her fingers loose from the fist she’d made. “It’s not an insult,” I murmured between my teeth. “It’s one of our most prized titles. Do not insult him over it.” I paused and then decided I should add, “Please.”
She relaxed her grip and whispered back just as quietly, “Only because you said please.”
Gregory just watched us, smiling faintly, listening to every word we spoke. “You should probably explain to her how good our hearing actually is,” he advised me over the link.
“Back to the business at hand,” Caleb’s dad broke in, the command in his voice snapping everyone’s attention to him, even Jess. “You’ve all been informed of what the girl – ” he broke off as my dad leaned toward him, whispering. The Alpha glanced at Jess with a curious expression, but quickly continued, “Jess has brought some interesting information to us and in light of it we need to reconsider our strategy.”
“We don’t have the numbers,” Anna’s mom, Gillian said, the words exhausted from being said a dozen times before. “Yes, Dominic is a force to be reckoned with, that was made clear by the two dead Hanley men yesterday. But we don’t know their exact numbers and we just don’t have enough men to fight. We’re a small pack.”