Chapter 8: The Pack

When we arrived at Evan's place, it took several trips to haul everything to my room. Noelle helped me unpack, talking casually about the shopping and how much fun it had been. Once everything was hung and organized, she went back to her own place to get ready for the party that night. Before she left, I apologized.

"Noelle, I'm sorry about today. I didn't mean to pry into your head that way. I can't control it. I'm so sorry I made you remember that day and made you sad."

She looked at me in astonishment and drew me into a firm hug. "You stop being silly right now. I was already thinking of that day. You didn't cause it, seeing that man who looked like my brother did. There's no need to apologize. Now try to relax and get some rest before the party."

I could feel her absolute sincerity and it help put me at ease. Noelle really was an extraordinary person. I nodded in agreement, but after she was gone I drew myself a hot bath and climbed in for a soak.

I was floating lazily in the tub, making little swirls with the bubbles when Evan came in. I raised my eyebrows at him and forced myself a little deeper into the tub. He may have seen it all before, but I wasn't ready to repeat the experience. He sat on the raised platform of the tub, far enough away to avoid my inadvertent splashes and puddles.

"Noelle's right, you know. You shouldn't apologize. It's not like you can control what you see or that you deliberately pry into people's heads."

"I know, but it still feels like an invasion of their privacy."

He nodded, "It is, to some extent. But at the same time, I think you can only do it when they are remembering something that's affected them deeply on some level. For Noelle, it was the day she sacrificed her family to save herself. For Dr. Cummings, he tried to save his family and suffered the loss of it instead. Both of those events were life changing for them. It helps you understand them better and I think it's helping you come to terms with your own recent changes. It's not easy for anyone and now you know you have people who understand and can help you with it when you're having a hard time."

I nodded. Evan had given me another very astute way to look at it. I just hoped with time, I would be able to control it to some extent.

"True, but it could become pretty inconvenient if people think I'm going to see something private whenever I touch them. I just hope that I can learn to control or block it somehow. It's not nice to pry into people's memories without their permission."

Evan smiled his crooked, wry smile. "Indeed. We'll keep it quiet for now. Then it won't be an issue, okay?"

"It's a deal. Do I have time for a nap before the pack shows up?"

"Yes, they won't be here until late. Wolves are night owls, we like it when the sky is dark and the moon is out. It's been a busy day, go ahead and rest."

After Evan left, I crawled into bed and fell asleep. Thankfully, there were no terrors and I got some much needed rest. The alarm beeping woke me up around eight. A quick look in the mirror confirmed a horrid case of bed hair, so I grabbed a shower to take care of it. I thought about putting it up, but since I had a habit of braiding my hair most of the time I decided to leave it down. It still amazed me how different it was. Not only the color, which was startling with my early twenties face, but how soft and silky it was. When I had it just the way I wanted it, I started on my makeup.

It was fun to putter in the bathroom with the pretty paints and brushes I had purchased for myself. I didn't like to wear it every day, but I was girly enough that putting on makeup for special occasions was fun. Tonight qualified in my opinion. I took a little extra care with it because I wanted to make a good impression on Evan's pack.

The long dangling earrings or the flashy sparkling studs? I was mulling over my choice when Noelle wandered into my bathroom. She saw what I had in my hands and giggled at me.

"And just how are you planning to wear those?"

Frowning at her in my mirror, I replied, "In my ears? Is that a problem?"

She didn't bother to answer me, just pulled my hair back and turned my head a little so I could see my ears clearly. I'd had my ears pierced when I was twelve years old. I'd had a second set put in at sixteen. As I looked at my ears in the mirror, it was plain to see my ears were no longer pierced.

"What the hell? I've had pierced ears forever."

"Not anymore, you don't. Being a werewolf makes you heal quickly. Pierced ears are holes that shouldn't be there. The first time you changed, the wolf took hold and fixed the damage."

A rumbling growl started in the back of my throat. "I have had enough god damned changes for a while. I like pretty earrings and I'll be damned if I'm going to give them up."

I picked up the sparkling studs, removed the backs, and slammed first one and then the other earring through my right ear. Then I picked up one of the long dangling earrings and pushed that through my left earlobe. The pain was sharp and it burned, but after a few moments it quieted and the holes stopped bleeding. By the time I swabbed it all down with rubbing alcohol, the holes were healed with my earrings firmly in place.

Noelle was watching me with amusement on her face, "You're going to have to do that every time you want to wear earrings, you know. And make sure to take them out before you change, or they'll fall out and get lost when you do."

Fine. I could live with that. I nodded at Noelle and we went into my closet to find something for me to wear. Noelle was dressed in a floaty, black halter dress that swirled just above her knees.

"Normally, I don't dress up for pack events and neither does anyone else. But meeting a new wolf who might join the pack is a little different. I think you should wear the red dress I talked you into."

The red dress I had resisted until Noelle pulled out the puppy dog eyes and reminded me I might need something special from time to time. It was beautiful, wrapping tightly around my waist and plunging dangerously low at the neckline. The long sleeves were tightly fitted and the skirt ended a good two or three inches above my knee.

I looked at Noelle skeptically, "I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb. That dress screams, 'Look at me.'"

Her sparkling laugh filled my closet, "They're all going to be looking at you anyway. It's not like you can hide with that hair."

Unfortunately, she was correct. I peeled out of my robe and slipped the dress on. It made me feel incredibly sexy and more than a little self-conscious. I'd never worn anything that clung to me like a second skin before. Noelle was right, though. It looked fantastic. She handed me the red, suede stilettos she'd fallen in love with and forced me to put them on. I was already tall, adding another three inches was ridiculous.

"Stop it. Most of the pack is male. They're, almost all of them, over six feet. You are not going to tower over anyone but me and Tasha. Just forget about what everyone else thinks and enjoy yourself, okay? You look amazing, well, except for the mismatched earrings. Are you sure you don't want to put the other dangling one in?"

"No. I like them this way. It's one of the few things about my life I have control over. I've always liked wearing them this way."

Noelle squeezed my hand in understanding, "I was just teasing. You look amazing, period."

My stomach was doing a jerky little nervous dance as we went down the stairs. Evan was crouched in front of the big fireplace getting the fire started. He was wearing jeans, but his shirt was faux suede that matched his blue eyes. He turned to look at us and sort of froze. Slowly, with the grace of a huge cat, he got to his feet and came over to where we stood at the foot of the stairs.

As he walked toward us, his eyes moved over me, taking in everything from my shoes to my earrings. When his eyes met mine, they were flecked with gold and I was very aware of him as the man I had been sprawled underneath only that morning. My skin began to heat and the wolf in me was aroused at the look in his eyes. I thought for sure he was going to kiss me, but Noelle cleared her throat and broke the spell between us. I dropped my eyes from his and tried to get my thumping heart under control.

His fingers brushed under my chin, lifting my eyes to his once more, "You're stunning." The kiss he dropped on my lips was light out of consideration for Noelle's presence, but it didn't matter. It still burned through me and stirred me up even though it lasted only a moment. "Would you like a glass of wine?"

When I nodded, he led us over to a table set up on the deck. The air wasn't frigid as it had been the day before. There was a fire crackling in a large, outdoor fire pit I hadn't noticed until now. It kept us warm enough that all of the doors between the deck and the house were open for the party.

Thankfully, none of the other wolves had arrived yet so I had some time to pull myself together. After pouring each of us a glass of wine, Evan headed inside to take care of last minute details. Noelle looked at me over her wineglass with amusement dancing in her eyes.

"I can't say I'm not surprised, but how long has this been going on?"

I shook my head, "There isn't anything going on. Not yet, at least. It's just -- oh hell, I don't know. He kissed me this morning and it was pretty intense. But he stopped it before it went any further. I think he's trying to give me time to settle in and get used to all of this."

Noelle made a small humming sound as she contemplated my response. I was saved from further discussion by the arrival of most of the pack. Noelle had mentioned that there were a total of fifteen wolves in the pack, which was relatively small as far as packs go. It didn't seem small with all of them filling up Evan's house. Everywhere I looked, there were young, attractive men. Noelle played hostess and took me around to introduce me to everyone. I'd never been good with matching faces to names, so after the third or fourth one it all became a big blur.

They were predators, every one. I could see it in their eyes. The speculation, the interest, I'd never been the object of such polite scrutiny before. The way they looked at me made me uncomfortable and somewhat defiant. I wouldn't drop my eyes, give them that advantage. I wasn't going to be anyone's prey ever again. It didn't matter that they were thinking about sex and dominance, rather than ripping my throat out. It was just prey of a different sort and I refused to let them intimidate or scare me. Oh, they were nice enough about it. But it wasn't at all hard to see them wonder if I'd be willing to give them a good time. I'd just about had enough when one I hadn't been introduced to came to my rescue.

"Don't let them get to you. There aren't many female werewolves in the pack and most of this bunch is unmated. A new, pretty girl in the pack has them all excited."

The green eyes were bright with amusement that was reflected in the jovial attitude of the man standing next to me. He was a little shorter than I was, at least in my heels. In bare feet, we'd be about the same height. His thick brown hair waved back from his face in a short, business-like cut. I put him around twenty six, but looks were deceiving with wolves.