Leslie stood, not engaged in the conversation, but just smiling and nodding. She wasn’t sure even what she could say or add to this conversation but didn’t want to appear standoffish. Luckily, she was saved by the arrival of another member of the clan. She had to blink to accept what he was seeing. Though twins and triplets were common in packs, she had not expected to see someone identical to Tucker coming toward her. He had mentioned his brother, but he had failed to mention it was his identical twin brother.
“Well, look who the cat dragged in,” he said happily as he approached them.
She felt Tucker tense where his arm was touching hers, though he smiled amicably.
“Marshall,” he replied. “I see you’re still incredibly good looking.”
“Of course. I got all the good looks in the family, after all.”
Tucker laughed at this and nodded. “Marshall, this is my wife, Leslie. Leslie, my brother, Marshall.”
“Ah, very pleased to meet you, Leslie and aren’t you a looker. I see that you’ve been busy, huh?” he said with a sly grin, looking toward the massive stroller in front of them.
Leslie looked at him sheepishly, a flush spreading up her face. He might look like Tucker, but there was something very different about him, something sinister. He grew closer as if to hug her and she shrank back, almost involuntarily, as you would from a predator that grew too close. Tucker apparently noticed her discomfort and intervened, putting his hand on her back and leading her to one side, away from his brother.
“We’ll catch up later, Marshall. I want to get our girls in out of the sun and let Leslie get off her feet. Excuse us,” Tucker said, dropping any sense of friendliness and pushing the stroller toward the pavilion in front of them.
“Steer clear of him as much as you can,” he whispered as they took an open set of seats along the long wooden benches.
“I’ll try. I’ll be sure not to say anything that will cause an issue,” she said.
He shook his head back and forth, his lips pursed into a thin line.
“No. I’m not worried about that. You’re doing fine. It’s him I don’t want near you. He’s a dog and I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”
Leslie looked at him in surprise. Was he just being protective? Or was that jealousy she heard in his voice? She dismissed it, deciding it was too farfetched to consider. Instead, she focused on the mass of people now descending upon him, eager to catch up with a member of the pack that they hadn’t seen for quite some time.
An hour into the thing and everything seemed to be going fine. No one seemed to suspect anything about them other than expressing surprise that Tucker had given up his solitude to get married and have a family. He sat talking lightly with them as if not a day had passed apart from them, his hand resting along her lower back or holding her hand. The funny thing about it, was that she realized she liked it. Wherever he touched her, sent a tingle running along her skin. Rather than fighting it, she just leaned into it, thinking it would only make them look more like a normal couple.
Then, the inevitable happened. It was the reason they had come here. She sat quietly and listened, waiting until it was time for Tucker to speak up. That is when things might get really interesting.
“As many of you know, our father died several months ago and, in the absence of my brother, I have stepped in to fill the void, acting as leader until such time as the pack can hold a formal vote for their new Alpha. So, I will turn things over to my right hand on the council, Ansel Jones, to begin accepting nominations,” Marshall said into a microphone set up on one end of the pavilion after everyone had enjoyed an afternoon meal of barbecue and all the fixin’s.
“Thank you, Marshall,” an elderly man said, taking the mic and standing in his place. “I’m not going to waste time with this. You all know what we need to do, so let’s just make quick work of it. Does anyone have any further nominations or can we just move on to finalizing Marshall as our Alpha?”
At first, there was nothing and then a very quiet voice spoke up from the opposite side of the table. Leslie looked over to see a frail, elderly looking woman slowly standing, aided by a younger woman beside her, who looked at her with a perplexed expression.
“I would like to nominate Tucker Rollins to be the new Alpha,” she said in a shaky voice. There was a bit of laughter among some of the pack members and a few more looked at her curiously. Tucker had introduced the woman earlier, but Leslie was struggling to remember her name. She was related to him and that was all she could remember with so many introductions floating around her head.