Chapter 12

ANNA

Anna shrieked in surprise as she was tackled to the ground, two furry bodies clambering over her.

Claws were scrabbling at her sides as they tried to reach her face, their tongues out and ready to lick at her cheeks.

She wriggled around, desperately trying to dislodge her attackers.

“Mercy, mercy!” she cried, laughing when the pups finally relented and jumped off, looking especially smug.

Anna crawled out of her hiding place behind a cabinet, the little wolves following closely behind her.

“You little rascals! You always manage to find me, don’t you?”

She heard the sound of shifting, and looking over her shoulder, found Jamie grinning broadly at her, back in his human skin.

“You never have good hiding places... anyway, we can just sniff you out,” he pronounced proudly, and Camie snorted in agreement as she danced around Anna’s legs.

Anna blinked at the pair before casually raising an arm to sniff at herself, causing Jamie to burst out in laughter.

“Just checking I don’t smell ~bad~.” Anna chuckled, reaching out to tousle Jamie’s hair. She laughed even harder when he ducked, desperately trying to avoid her hand.

He covered his head with both arms, darting away, and Anna called out after him, “I’ll find the perfect hiding spot one day!”

Anna then bent and scooped Camie up. Her arms trembled under the weight of the pup’s furry body, but as Camie snuggled against her, Anna considered it worth it. She cuddled Camie close, walking farther into the nursery.

She passed Jamie, now playing with other pups, and commented, “Looking at you is making me cold; go find some clothes.”

Jamie grinned before scampering toward the bags hanging on hooks on the wall.

Anna carried on, walking toward where the head teacher, Rachel, was grumbling as she picked up toys that were scattered across the floor.

“Every minute, every day. How many times do I tell them to pick these up? And that Lego goes in ~this~ box, not with all the dolls’ stuff…”

“You’re just going to need to tell them around a million more times.” Anna grinned as Rachel sent a mock glare her way, sighing as she threw a handful of Lego pieces into a large plastic container.

“Sometimes, I wonder why I wanted this job…” Rachel’s eyes dropped to Camie, who looked like she was about to drop off to sleep in Anna’s arms. “But that is a good reminder.”

She reached out to stroke Camie’s head, smiling softly. “You’re quickly becoming a favorite around here.”

“It’s because I let them win at hide-and-seek.” Anna shrugged but then let out a startled laugh when Camie suddenly pretended to nip at her hand.

“Okay, okay, it’s because I’m terrible at hide-and-seek.”

Anna and Rachel laughed together as Camie relaxed, her eyes closing as if nothing had happened.

It only lasted a second before the door to the nursery opened.

Camie’s eyes shot open, and she launched herself out of Anna’s arms and torpedoed toward the door.

The couple entering the room froze at the sight of the charging pup, the woman catching Camie as she launched herself at them.

Eloise cuddled Camie close as Denton reached a hand out to stroke the pup’s back.

“Hello, little love, had a good day?”

Eloise bumped her nose against Camie’s, letting out a startled laugh when Camie licked her cheek. “And this is why we don’t need to get a dog.”

Anna smiled softly as she watched them, her heart aching a little at the sweet moment.

She had never experienced a family like that, but every day at Silver River was giving her hope that it could be a part of her future.

Eloise and Denton turned to leave, waving at the two teachers, and after waving back, Anna turned to help Rachel pack up the rest of the toys.

As she bent down to pick up an abandoned doll, she noticed Rachel watching her knowingly.

“What? Do I have something on my face?”

“Oh, nothing,” she answered, turning away.

There was a long pause, and Rachel continued gathering up more Legos before commenting, “Just… I used to have that same expression.”

“What do you mean?” Anna asked curiously as she put the doll into its crib and tucked a blanket around it.

“I grew up normal, but I always doubted I would get my happy-ever-after. I don’t know, just low self-esteem, I guess. Hey, Lara, we’re taking a break!”

Rachel called over to the other teacher still on duty. It was late in the afternoon, and only a few children hadn’t been picked up yet.

Lara nodded her agreement, and Rachel beckoned for Anna to follow her into the nursery kitchen.

Anna sat down at the table, watching as Rachel bustled around the cupboards.

She made two cups of coffee and brought them over to the table with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

Anna immediately swiped a cookie, biting into it with relish.

Rachel laughed as she took a seat across from Anna and took a sip of coffee with a sigh of pleasure.

“Mm, that’s the stuff. No wonder they say that kids drive you to drink!” Rachel grinned mischievously. “Anyway, back to what I was saying before… Everything changed for me when I met my mate.”

Anna had brought her coffee up to her lips but lowered it again as she looked at Rachel in shock.

“You’re mated?! I had no idea.”

“I’m not surprised. You’ve had a busy couple of weeks with faintings and kidnappings,” she joked as Anna rolled her eyes with a wry chuckle.

“Way too exciting for my taste. I’m now ready to relax with my hot coffee and hear all about your love life. So, how did you meet him? How long have you been together? What’s his name?”

Rachel blinked at the barrage of questions before grinning at Anna’s eagerness.

“His name is Caleb, and we’ve been together for around four years now. We met when I was twenty-two. I was spending most of my time in the city finishing my studies, but I came home one weekend to visit my parents.

“Caleb was visiting from another pack, sort of like an ambassador. I think they were in talks about creating an alliance or trade agreement or something. Anyway, Phillip introduced us one evening, and when our eyes met, there was this instant attraction… I honestly felt as if his stare alone would set me on fire.”

Rachel paused, staring dreamily down into her coffee.

“Is that when you knew he was your mate?” Anna interjected quietly, absentmindedly playing with cookie crumbs on the table.

She raised a questioning eyebrow when Rachel gave her a surprised look.

“How much do you know about mates?”

“Not a lot.” Anna shrugged. “My parents kept me in the dark about a lot. I didn’t even know about pack mind-links…”

Rachel made a “tsk” noise with her tongue as she sat up straight and curled her fingers around her coffee mug.

“When mates meet, there is an instant attraction, a knowledge that the other person is important somehow. A male wolf shifter will usually begin the bonding process. They begin to feel possessive of their mate and extremely jealous. This is when they start releasing the bonding scent.”

“Bonding scent?”

“Yes, pheromones. All the other shifters can smell the bonding scent, though they won’t know who their mate is. This scent acts as a warning because a male in the process of bonding with their true mate is extremely volatile. Their wolves are completely on edge until the mating is completed, and it’s hard to fight those urges.

“I wasn’t near Caleb when he started this part of the mating process, so I didn’t know what was going on. To be honest, I just thought he was especially gorgeous, and I wanted to jump his bones. I guess when you aren’t expecting to meet your mate, you can be pretty oblivious.”

“So, how did you know? I’m guessing females don’t release a scent?”

“No, they don’t. Every female becomes aware of the bond at different points. It could happen because of the scent and the male’s behavior, when they kiss for the first time, or even just during a conversation.

“Sometimes, the female discovers the bond at the same time as the male, but it’s very rare. I have no idea why we were designed this way. I joke with Caleb that it’s because it makes it harder for females to run away once they finally realize who they’re going to be stuck with.”

Anna laughed before asking seriously, “But how do you know that you’re meant to be with your mate?”

Rachel didn’t reply for a long moment, clearly trying to figure out how to explain the concept to Anna.

“No one really knows how it works, just like the pack bond. It just always has been this way. True mates are…well, it’s as if they’re ~designed~ for each other. I don’t want to lean on clichés, but they’re two halves to a whole. They match in temperament, dominance, and personality.

“There are cases,” Rachel quickly said before Anna could interrupt, “of mates not working out. Shifters, like humans, are unpredictable and, sometimes, life happens. It’s very rare, though. It’s also possible to never even meet your mate.

“In these cases, wolf shifters will usually develop a relationship with someone else. They can develop the relationship into a ‘claimed mating,’ but the only problem is there is always the chance of meeting your true mate later. Also, the chances of those in a claimed mating having children is quite small…not impossible, but very low.”

Rachel stood up, grabbing both her and Anna’s empty coffee cups. She smiled softly at the bemused look on Anna’s face before taking the cups to the sink to wash them.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but it’s good for you to know. If you didn’t know and met your mate, you would be completely blindsided!”

Anna stood, wiping the table clean of cookie crumbs.

“I just wish that I already knew all this. Some days, I think I might as well be human for all that I don’t know, and that’s without accounting for the fact that my wolf is still MIA.”

Rachel dried her hands on a towel and moved toward Anna, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Don’t stress, Anna. You’re one of us; you’re family. The rest will come with time.” Rachel pulled back to give Anna a wide smile, which was returned.

“And I don’t believe for a second that your wolf is gone. You have to cut yourself some slack—and give yourself plenty of time to really heal. You have a lifetime of wounds that can’t be seen, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there.”

The two women went back into the nursery to help Lara tidy the rest of the toys that were strewn around the room.

An hour later, all the children had been picked up, and the three women were readying themselves to leave when Anna’s head jerked toward the door as it opened.

A tall man entered, and Anna cursed herself for hoping that it would be Zach.

After talking to Rachel, she knew that the alpha couldn’t possibly be her mate.

They had met weeks ago, and he wasn’t showing any of the signs of being in the bonding process.

No matter how sternly she lectured herself, Anna couldn’t stomp out the slight flicker of hope in her as she remembered the sound of his voice and his warm body against hers when he had tried to comfort her.

Shaking the thoughts away, she smiled as she watched Rachel lunge at the newcomer, deducing that Caleb had just walked into the room.

“Hey, Darl, you ready to go? I’m starving!” Rachel smacked his arm at the complaint, but her eyes were filled with adoration.

If Anna hadn’t known better, she would never have guessed that they had been together for four years.

“Caleb, I want you to meet someone,” Rachel told him, dragging him across the room. “This is Anna, the new pack member. Anna, this is my Caleb.”

Anna smiled shyly, taking Caleb’s proffered hand and shaking it.

“Nice to meet you, Anna. I wasn’t there for the bonding ceremony, but I sure heard about it…and the kidnapping.”

Caleb smiled kindly at Anna’s grimace. “I take it you’re all recovered from your interesting start here?”

“I am, thank you. And I have requested that no more kidnappings happen, hmm…well, ever.” Anna grinned as Caleb and Rachel laughed.

“Well, you’ll have to join us for dinner sometime,” he suggested. “But right now, it’s date night and we have to go. Rach, we have reservations, and my stomach is grumbling. C’mon.”

He started pulling at her arm like an impatient kid, and Rachel turned to Anna with a long-suffering sigh.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Anna nodded, pushing down the twinge of envy she felt as she watched Caleb practically carry Rachel out of the nursery.

Gathering up her bag, she waved goodnight to Lara before heading toward her quarters, deciding that she wasn’t in the mood to eat in the pack hall.

And it was not at all because she wanted to avoid the alpha.