Karen comes with me to our suite, but Nash isn’t back yet.
“I’m guessing the run they’re on lasted longer than I thought it would.”
“Sometimes they do,” Karen shrugs. “Plus, we haven’t been running as a group very long. Sometimes it takes awhile to get into the swing of things.”
“Wait, why didn’t you go?” I ask. “You don’t have kids, right?”
“Nope. I’ve got something better,” she motions toward her ankle, but I don’t know what she’s trying to say until she explains. “I twisted it on the last run, so I’m out of commission. I can still walk in human form, but as soon as I shift, it’s pain city.”
“That sucks,” I murmur. “Do you want to come sit down?”
“No, I’m fine,” Karen answers, but she smiles at me, like she knows a secret. Then I remember the crazy lust signals I was sending off at Aunt Germaine’s. Damn. So much for secrets. There really aren’t any in a wolf pack, are there?
“Lounge,” Karen says, taking my hand once more. For someone who is injured, she sure has a strong grip. I manage to close the door to our suite on the way out, but then we’re off. She guides me through the hallways quite quickly, twisting and turning through different areas.
“How long have you lived here? I’d get lost if I tried to move as quickly as you. I’m always stopping to figure out which way I need to go.”
“I grew up here. Trust me: you’ll get it with time. We’ve had plenty of new members join over the years and the first month is always the hardest.”
“Do you live with your parents?”
“Dragons, no!” She says, almost shocked at the idea. “I’m an unmated female. I have my own suite.”
“I wasn’t sure how difficult it was to get your own suite,” I admit. “The caves are great, and they’re big, but is space a concern?”
“Not at all. When someone takes a mate, they move into the same suite and the empty one is used for other things. Usually another wolf who has come of age will get it. They’ll leave their parents’ suite and get a small room for themselves. Similarly, when someone starts to have kids, they’ll get a bigger suite.”
“And where do all those rooms come from?”
“When a kid moves out, the parents usually downgrade to a smaller room.”
“That makes sense. So the newer, young families will always have space. Wolves are frequently moving around as their family size changes.”
“Yeah. No one uses more than they need. At least, that’s the idea. Some people think they need bigger suites than the rest of us just because they have big heads.”
“You mean Tessa.”
“Ding, ding, ding!”
“She can’t be all bad,” I protest, even though I know that’s not really true. I’ve known some mean girls like her and they won’t stop until you call them out. It’s just that I already have plenty of attention on me. I don’t really need more.
When we turn into the lounge, I bite back a growl.
“Damn,” Karen says under her breath.
Tessa is standing in the middle of the room wearing “clothes.” She has on a thin tank top and booty shorts. Nash is arguing with her, but she keeps touching his arm. He bats her away at first, then he stops and just keeps talking to her. I stare at her hand on his forearm, glaring. Neither one of them has noticed our presence yet.
“I don’t mean to boss you around,” Karen says quietly. “But remember what I said the other day about ignoring her and letting things go?”
“Yeah.”
“Forget it. You don’t need to ignore her. You need to bitch slap her. Go!”
She shoves me forward and I scurry over to Nash and Tessa. Neither one of them notices me approach, nor do they seem to notice the crowd that’s gathered to witness their little argument.
I move closer and closer, listening to their raised voices.
“Unacceptable,” Nash is saying. “I don’t want to have to revoke your privileges, Tessa, but I will.”