Page 34 of Wild Wolf

“What if they want her?” Nicolina asked. “I’ll fight them all if they try anything.”

“They’re more likely to want Declan, and if Declan shows any interest in Amber where they can see, they’ll go after them both. Declan? Do you know anything about what they might do?”

“I don’t know anything, sorry. The little I have learned I’ve guessed at. They’re pretty reclusive, although they started with the talisman right away.”

“Just like us.” Richard sighed. “They seemed startled by how we weren’t against holding the boxes. Sure, the talismans are silver, and it’s not precisely comfortable, but the boxes are sufficient to protect us from the silver. Silver barely bothers me, but I definitely notice those talismans. They’re probably confused because we’re all going in and out of your cabin without paying that thing any mind. We’re all trained.”

Well, I shared something in common with the locals. I was confused, too. “Trained? How are you trained?”

“We get locked in suites where there’s silver in the walls until we build some base resistance. It’s annoying. It makes a great way to restrain Fenerec, help with the silver problem, and punish Fenerec without having to use lethal force. Elliot will toss us in if we annoy him, too.”

“It’s one of my few joys. If a Fenerec annoys me too much, I toss him or her into holding. If I like the Fenerec I’m tossing into holding, their mate gets tossed into holding, too. I’m single handedly increasing the pregnancy rate of Fenerec. And then I make Desmond and Richard handle making sure the bitches get through their pregnancies. Also, we need to make sure we’re back in the United States in a week and a half, or we need to import all of the bitches here. I do not want to import all of our pregnant bitches, Richard.”

“If I have to go to Beijing, you’re going to have to import the bitches. A trip to China on China’s dime could be fun.”

Elliot narrowed his eyes. “I’ve been wanting to launch a successful attack on China’s wallet for a while. Ignore everything I just said. When we get back to that city, I’ll put in some calls and get visas for our bitches and get them headed towards China. How many need you this moon, Sanders?”

“The pack went on a breeding frenzy,” Sanders replied with a shrug. “My mate is the only one of the lot who isn’t pregnant right now.”

“Again?” Elliot complained.

“It’s Sara’s fault.”

“How is it your mate’s fault?”

“The bitches whined to her, and she can’t tell them no. Her common sense dribbled out of her pretty ears, and now I’m stuck with a pack full of pregnant bitches out to eat Seattle out of pickles.”

Elliot bowed his head. “This is why I don’t usually ask. It’s like I knew, and if I didn’t ask, I could ignore your pack’s tendency to cause me headaches. Desmond?”

“Don’t look at me. Wendy eyed my throat but decided to wait another year before adding to our puppy problems.”

“Next year?” Nicolina squealed. “Really?”

“Only if Sanders and Richard can help and their packs are in an off season. You know how hard of a time your mother has.”

Nicolina turned her attention to her husband and narrowed her eyes.

“You already know what we’re doing in the pack, Nicolina. Don’t involve me in this. Anyway, I’m in the same shoes Sanders is in. I won’t be able to leave Yellowknife at all after the next moon. The only reason I got away with coming now is because the full moon is already over and everyone has been doing all right. I’ve also got a full house of witches helping out,” Richard said. “I’m okay with them coming to Beijing. My pack opted to mate the last week of the season to make it easier on me and keep everybody grouped together.”

“That’s what we did, too,” Sanders said.

“You two,” Elliot complained. “What’s the head count of bitches?”

“I’ve got twenty-three,” Richard announced. “Four of those are imports this year.”

“Sixteen here,” Sanders said. “I have two imports.”

Desmond laughed. “I already volunteered to help Sanders, and Richard called in favors from every water witch he knows and some fire witches, too. They’ll be fine, Elliot. Vegas is off season and their dominant wolves are on call if Richard and Sanders need help. Los Angeles is trying for six this year, and they’re doing good so far. They’re being coached. San Francisco is off season and on call to help. The other packs on the west coast are limiting to no more than four. We’re monitoring the situation. Every pack has at least one import, on or off season, since one is easy for any of our Alphas to handle. We had a really strong breeding season.”

Elliot sighed. “You’re killing me here.”

Desmond grinned. “We’re just keeping your stress levels down. We haven’t had any losses of puppies yet, either. The witches seem to think unless there’s a shift, we should have a perfect season. If the Russians want to learn how to handle the puppies, this is the year. And Declan, you’re going to be working with me so you can learn the ropes. If you have any Omega traits, you’ll be invaluable for the bitches.”

“How so?”

Richard glanced at his father-in-law, who nodded. “A pregnant Fenerec can’t transform. If she transforms, the puppy will die. There’s only one exception to that, and that’s if she’s having a True-born, and that’s not a guarantee. You’re a True-born.”

“Because I was born bonded with my wolf?”