"Yes," Everleigh said. "But she just didn’t want to be interrupted. She didn’t want people spying on us."
"If you’re comfortable with that, then that’s fine with me. Just let me know if that changes and I’ll do something."
She squeezed his hands. "You know you don’t have to fight my battles."
"I want to. I probably won’t be able to stop myself."
"It actually feels kind of nice," she said as she blushed. She felt the heat creep up on her cheeks.
Days went by and she did her best to join in the pack. They went on picnics, they hunted, they fished, and they just generally hung around. She made it known that she had rented out the house in town and would no longer live there. She and Eliza were going to move into Roman’s house.
The only problem was that Roman was acting oddly. He kept looking at her, but he was usually smiling when he did it, so she wasn’t worried exactly. At first, she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for him to tell her that he changed his mind, that he no longer wanted her as a mate and would no longer accept a bear into his pack.
But that didn’t happen.
The days passed, and then she noticed Eliza was acting silly too. She kept giggling and staring at her mother.
"Is something going on?" Everleigh asked. They were on Roman’s back porch grilling steaks. A few of the young wolf cubs were going to come over. Eliza still had not shifted with them yet, but at some point, they were going to see that Eliza could take two forms, both bear and wolf.
Eliza seemed a little bit nervous, but she tried to push it down. "No, Mommy! I’m just ready to play." She giggled again.
Something was definitely up with her daughter. Everleigh just wasn’t sure what it was.
As the sun began to set, they finished a steak, and a few parents wandered over with their kids. Giggling, they all ran behind a tree and promptly shucked their clothes, dropping them to the ground with no care for where they landed. Then they all changed into wolves.
While still human, at least one little girl called out, "Come play with us. We have a soccer ball we can play with while we’re wolves and it won’t pop from our teeth. My mama ordered it online!"
Eliza looked up at her mother. "Can I go play?"
"Yes, just stay on our property."
Her hand found Roman’s. Apprehension flowed through her body. Her child was about to shift and show these children what she could do. Just like the other kids, Eliza tossed her dress to the ground and changed. She chose her wolf.
A little boy, still in his human form, came running up and touched her snout. "I thought you were a bear," he said. "I want to see a bear!"
She stood still for a second and changed again. Then instead of a wolf, Eliza was a bear.
"Wow," the little boy shouted. "That's so cool!"
Everleigh breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks to that first little boy, her daughter was now accepted by the pack. The little boy transformed, and they all took off running, each of them taking turns trying to kick the ball with their paws or nudge it with their snout.
She put her hand over her heart. "Oh my God. I’m so relieved. I don’t even have the words to express it."
Roman wrapped his strong arms around her from behind. "Me too. The kids in his pack are usually pretty solid. Every now and then they’ll get into it, but it’s resolved quickly."
"I’m really glad I didn’t have to go off on some parents."
"Me too," he said. "I’ve had enough of pack members acting up.” Roman rested his cheek against her hair. "I do have some bad news as well. It's probably good news overall though. The guy who confronted me when I announced our mating left the pack. I hate that it happened, but I’m relieved."
She agreed with that. It was rare for someone to publicly challenge an Alpha so blatantly, knowing they would lose.
"He's taking two of his cousins with him," Roman said.
"Good riddance," she said. She put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry though. I know you tried really hard for your pack so it must hurt when they give up without even giving me a chance."
"Please don't take it personally though," he said. "They would treat anyone like this."
"Oh, I know. I'm not taking it personally." And she really wasn't. Maybe pack life was growing on her after all.