Conner was the one who woke me up from my nap. All he had to do was push my broken door open. “We need to have a meeting.”

I sighed. “The one Grayson had to go get me for?”

He nodded. “You guys took a detour to kill your ex-boyfriend, I hear.”

“It wasn’t a detour. He just showed up.”

“Grayson said he was trying to abduct you. That he had no choice.”

I sighed. “Kevin had a gun.”

Connor nodded, “His Alpha’s coming in the morning to collect the body. I’m sure he’s going to want to talk with you about the incident.”

I sat up and looked at him confused. “His alpha’s coming?” It made no sense. Why would an alpha werewolf go into another alpha’s territory?

Connor nodded, “Yes. All werewolf packs aren’t at war with each other. Things have changed since you’ve been in the city.”

“Kevin’s alpha is going to blame me for what happened.”

Connor shrugged. “He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him. Get dressed. We’ll talk after dinner.”

I didn’t dress up for dinner. I settled on sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone here.

When I looked in the mirror, I noticed there were leaves in my hair. No one had told me I had leaves in my hair. They probably thought I looked funny. Those jerks.

 I wasn’t very hungry at dinner. All I could think about was how I totally failed at staying away from Grayson. I really hadn’t wanted to fall into his deadly trap. My body acted by itself.

I had absolutely no control over myself when Grayson was around, and that scared me.

Everyone waited in the living room for Connor. I was nervous. I intentionally sat away from Grayson. I didn’t want anyone to know what had happened between us.

It would have been awkward. They were probably betting on when we would get together. They all knew about what happened on my birthday. There were no real secrets between pack members.

My neck was still numb and burning. The pain killers would probably start losing their effect soon. I definitely wasn’t looking forward to that.

Mason, Grayson and Brian were the only ones in the living room when I walked in.

“I thought we were having a pack meeting?” I said as I sat next to Brian on the loveseat. I definitely didn’t want to sit between the brothers. The couch already seemed to be overflowing with them.

Connor shrugged, hands in his pocket. He was nervous. I wasn’t too sure why.

“We’re the top of the pack, so this is enough of us.”

“Chris, Carlos, Jack, Eddie and Amanda not important?” It wouldn’t be too hard for all of them to join us. It’s not like they won’t know anyway. There were never any real secrets in the pack.

Connor shook his head, “It’s not that they’re not important. They’re just not necessary for this meeting. I’m sure Brian will tell his wife everything we talk about here.”

“Fine.” I sighed. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Well, I guess I should tell you, first, that we have quite a few new members.”

I looked around. “Who? I haven’t seen anyone around.”

Connor nodded, “Most of them live in their own houses. They have been avoiding the house because they knew you were here. We wanted to tell you before you met them. I didn’t want you to think we were being attacked.”

“How many are there now?”

“Fifty.”

I was stunned for a minute. “Fifty?” He nodded, “Five-zero.” He nodded again, this time with an amused expression on his face. “They’re not all going to try to sniff me will they?”

Brian burst out laughing. He was the only one who heard my stories from the diner I worked at in the city. Those damn wolves would sniff me when I walked by, or if I got too close when taking their order.

The rest of the guys just grumbled. They were obviously annoyed that I thought that wolves were like dogs, sniffing when they meet someone new.

“Will I be meeting them?” I asked.

Connor nodded, “We’re planning to have a barbeque this weekend so you can meet most of the new guys.”

“They’re all not going to be there?”

He shook his head, “No. Some have work they couldn’t get out of.”

I sighed, “Do they know about me?” Connor knew what I was asking. Of course they knew I existed. I was asking if they knew about my abilities.

He shook his head, “They don’t know. They think you’re just a human.”

I nodded, “That’ll be easier.” I didn’t want to be having to do shows to the wolves all day. That would be so exhausting.

“You can tell them if you want to.” Brian suggested. “It’s your secret to tell.”

I nodded. I definitely wasn’t going to be letting anyone know.

Connor sat on the footstool that matched the couches, not taking his eyes off of me. “You okay with that?”

I nodded, that wasn’t even bad. I don’t understand the caution. “Was that it?”

He shook his head, “No.”

“Then continue.” I really wanted to get this over with.

He nodded, “The werewolf…world, for lack of a better word, has changed since you’ve been in the city.”

I wished he would just blurt it out already. The waiting was worse than anything.

“Every alpha on this continent is subject to the control of one wolf.”

“What does that mean?” He really shouldn’t be this nervous.

“That I am not the head honcho here. I have to answer to another wolf.”

“Like when Trevor was here?”

He nodded, “Like that, but different. His name is Finn Madill. He’s the oldest wolf I’ve ever come across and he’s very powerful.”

“Do I have to worry about him coming here?”

Connor smiled, “No. He’s a really nice guy. He’s the complete opposite of what Trevor was. He only interferes with pack business when he has to.”

I nodded, “So you just have a boss?”

He nodded, “You’re taking this all too easily.”

I nodded with a sigh, “It’s been a long couple of days. We traveled back from the city, Grayson killed Kevin, I got whiplash, the lake--“ I cut myself off before I could say anything about hooking up with Grayson. “I’m just saying, it’s been a long day and there’s not much you can say that would surprise me right now.”

Connor nodded, “If you have questions, you can ask any of us. We’re not trying to hide anything from you. I know you’re not a fan of secrets.”

I nodded. “So this Finn guy, he could wipe the floor with you.”

Connor puffed out a bit, “He’d have trouble.”

There were a few laughs from the guys. Finn would obviously have no trouble with Connor. My poor brother was just being a bit defensive.

“Alright.”

Mason clapped his hands together, “How about a drinking game!” He suggested enthusiastically. “We haven’t had a good drink together in forever.”

Connor sighed, “Kevin’s alpha is coming in the morning. I suggest you get to bed and rest before they get here in the morning.” Connor’s gaze turned to Grayson. “They’re not going to be happy with you, Grayson.”

He nodded, “I’m aware.”

Connor nodded, “Go to bed. No drinking games tonight.”

Mason’s smile turned into a frown. “Fine.” Mason propped his feet on the footstool Connor was still sitting on, and just earned a scowl from his alpha.

We all went to bed. As soon as I gently laid my head on the pillow, I was out. It had been a very long day between Mason breaking my door this morning, my adventure, sex in the water with Grayson, then the whole Kevin ordeal. I was more than glad to get this day behind me, to be nothing but another memory.

This was a bit of a filler chap. The next one will be better, promise! Thanks so much for reading!