Inequities by Jambrea Jo Jones Page A

The individuals who broke our wards are from her old pack and under the mistaken impression that Vivian will be returning with them. We’re going to show them they are wrong. Now, any questions?”
    Vivian looked over the group, but no one said anything until Everett finally spoke up.
    “Yeah, can we eat now? I’m starved.”
    David smacked the other wolf on the back of the head and the other wolves laughed.
    “See, nothing to worry about.” Russ kissed her in front of everyone.
    Not used to such public displays, Vivian knew her face must be red. A whistle from the crowd pulled them apart.
    “Dinner,” Vivian reminded Russ.
    Russ led her down the stairs and into the foyer. The wolves parted for them and all bared their necks as they passed. Vivian had the urge to kiss them all, the same way she had with Max, but Russ continued to pull her along until they reached the dining area.
    Again it looked like the other house on a smaller scale. There was no way they would all fit in there to eat. She really shouldn’t have questioned it. Most of the wolves grabbed food and left. The only ones remaining were the pack betas, their mates and Greycen. He fit in with the bunch. As the table filled there were only two spots left side by side. Peter had no choice but to sit next to his mate and he didn’t look too pleased about it.
    Vivian wanted to help so badly, but knew it wasn’t time. Some instinct told her to back off; that things would progress when they should.
    Dinner was a loud and boisterous affair. The way it should be. Max and Valerie were snuggled together. They hadn’t been mated long, but you couldn’t tell by looking at them. Off to the other side, Everett pulled Peter into conversation while Greycen listened. And she turned to see Bella holding David’s hand. Vivian’s gaze met Bella’s and Vivian didn’t break eye contact. Bella nodded with a smile. It had been a test of some kind and it looked like she had passed.
    “I don’t know who cooked this, but it’s excellent.”
    “Thank you.” Valerie and Bella spoke at the same time.
    “Do you do the cooking at the pack house as well?” Vivian wanted to find out as much as she could.
    “Not usually. We have a cook, but she isn’t feeling well so Valerie and I offered to fix the food. It’ll be okay. I just wanted you to know that.” Bella sounded so sure of herself.
    “I don’t understand.” Vivian was confused until she remembered that Bella could see the future and read minds.
    “Don’t worry, I can’t read minds as well as I used to. David helped me with a block and I’ve never been able to read shifters. But I do get visions. And the one I had last night had us back in the house with you and Russ at the head of the table. Ive was back with Djimon and Joy and Zareb were there as well. A family. All settled in. The way it was meant to be. So this too shall pass.” Bella grinned and went back to eating.
    For a woman who claimed not to be able to read shifter’s minds, she had Vivian pegged.
    “Don’t worry, Vivian. We’ll head back to the homestead tomorrow, take out the trash and get to know each other the way we should have before all this happened.”
    And there he was again. Her big strong alpha ready to take control. It looked good on him. She just hoped he didn’t lose it again when the others returned. She knew that having Max, Bella and Valerie strong in both shifting and magic around still made him question himself. She wished he could see himself the way she and the others saw him.
    “With you by my side? No worries.” Vivian grinned and sneaked a kiss. Under her breath she whispered, “I’m worried about Peter and Greycen.”
    Russ looked over at the two. Peter was on the edge of his seat as far away from Grey as he could get.
    “I’ll take care of that too. If we don’t hear back from Zareb and Ive soon I’ll send the guys after them to find out what’s going on. The trip should help bring them together. I mean—it