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Stepping back, she looked him over head to toe. His reddish hair was styled away from his face, making his green-blue eyes pop. He was a brawny man, like most wolves, and wore the same jeans and T-shirt style they collectively seemed to prefer.
“How’s Kia?”
“Brilliant as ever,” Sagan replied. “She’s off on a hunt in Canada with a few of our newer wolves, teaching them to live off the land. Told me I had to stay back while she had fun.”
“Sounds just like her.” Ava chuckled, then looked back at Remmus who—surprisingly—was politely waiting to be introduced. “Remmus, this is Sagan, the alpha of the northern pack. Sagan, this is Remmus, our Raeth technopath.”
The two shook hands, holding each other’s gaze in a dominance battle Ava didn’t want to ride out. Whether it was driven by stupidity or strength, she had a feeling that Remmus wouldn’t look away. She stepped between them, giving Sagan a chastising smile.
“Where’s your HVAC? We’d like to get started if you don’t mind?”
“Of course. Follow me.”
A wall of noise greeted them from the indoor arena. No one paid them any mind, all the wolves too dead set on winning whatever game they were currently playing. Sagan gestured toward a hallway branching off from the gathering space.
The sound of their footsteps gradually drowned out the noise as they moved away. Remmus continued to walk behind her, out of her sightline and impossibly silent. It made her shiver.
To distract herself, Ava said, “Kia is the second part of the pack’s alpha pair, Remmus. She and Sagan have been married for centuries. Five, now, right?”
“Just about,” Sagan said. “Keeps me on my toes, that one. Filled the hole Ava left in my heart when she decided she didn’t want to join my pack the first time I went off as alpha.”
As she chuckled at his expense, Remmus asked, “How long have you known each other?”
“We were both a part of Aidan’s original pack eight centuries ago,” she explained.
“So you were litter mates, huh?” A chuckle. “Cute. Knew each other when you were just a pair of pups.”
“Spork to the eyeball, Remmus.”
It would be a miracle if she wouldn’t follow through on one of her threats. Internally sighing, she didn’t expand upon the statement when Sagan gave her a sidelong look. The alpha flipped on the lights of the HVAC room, revealing the state-of-the-art system that powered the den’s heating and air conditioning.
“All yours.” He sent Remmus a warning look. “If it starts snowing in my den tomorrow, I’ll know who to blame.”
“No snow. Got it.”
Remmus immediately went to work. Sagan didn’t linger, and Ava was left watching the Raeth perform his duties. He crouched before the massive machine, silent and sober. As soon as he placed a hand on the drive, energy began to trickle through the air.
Though the display screen of the unit flashed with different symbols and characters, she was too far away to recognize them.
Perhaps she should've asked how long this would take—or whether there was anything she needed to be doing to help. The small digital panel continued to light up, indicating he was working, but he didn’t explain his actions and she wasn’t comfortable enough with the Raeth to leave him to his own devices.
She should’ve brought a book.
Chapter Six
“Why are you always here?”
Remmus perked at the sound of Ava’s voice. After two hours at Sagan’s den, he’d finished the recoding process, then installed the microchips containing traces of the bio-weaponized substances he wanted the systems to detect. They’d returned to Estes Park soon afterward.
After a restless night in his borrowed quarters, he’d emerged in search of some sustenance. He hadn’t been given a room with a kitchen or even basic amenities to prepare any food. Raeths rarely ate, so he couldn’t blame his hosts for the oversight, and he’d heard nothing but praises about werewolf cooking.
His she-wolf came to stand behind him as he was finishing his meal at the long table, surrounded by women intent on filling him to the brim with tasty treats. While his flirtatious nature had won out and he’d happily engaged with all of them, none of them had made his pulse spike like Blondie.
His response to her grumpy greeting was, “Wolves make the best food!”
“Your kind almost never eat,” she replied. “Why are you so different than other Raeths?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
