I’ll probably scratch you behind the ears, too.”
Clint roared with laughter at Brandon’s face until Josie added, “You, too, big guy.”
Josie left them both staring at each other. The rich sound of masculine chuckles—which had her shivering in naughty places—accompanied her as she walked farther into the house. She traversed the long length of the living room to encounter the world’s biggest freaking kitchen.
“Good grief. This place is big enough to feed an army,” she exclaimed.
“Or a pack of hungry wolves,” said Clint with a wolfish grin as he walked by her to open the fridge. “Speaking of which, I could use some dinner. How about you, baby?”
“I’d love to see you cook.” Josie blushed at her words, hearing the double meaning, which Clint also caught. Instead of replying, he just winked at her. Josie couldn’t help the heat that pooled between her thighs. The man is just too darned good-looking for his own good.
Josie seated herself at a stool that bordered the massive granite-topped island, and Brandon perched himself beside her.
As Clint proved he did know his way around a kitchen and the massive stove with eight burners, she started assuaging her curiosity. “So, I take it you’re boss of the werewolves. How many are in your pack?” Her usual timidity had evaporated around Clint and Brandon. It was hard to be scared of two guys who kissed her as if she was the only girl in the world and dropped everything to protect her.
“My proper title is alpha, and Brandon here is my beta. We’ve got a moderate-sized group, compared to others, at thirty-seven. Of course, there’s about a dozen of the pack out right now on transport runs. You’ve actually met almost all of them at this point, seeing as how they pretty much all work for the company.”
“Wait, back up a second. Did I understand you correctly? You mean there’s other werewolf packs out there, too?”
“There are hundreds of packs. Each major territory has at least one. They’re not all wolves, though. Shifters run a gamut of animals like bears, big cats, reptiles, and more. And that’s just the most prolific groups. Some species don’t have enough numbers to form packs, like the dragons.”
Josie’s eyes grew wider. “You’re screwing with me, aren’t you? I mean, dragons. Seriously?”
“Hell yeah, dragons,” Brandon said, jumping in with a grin. “Actually, you’ll probably end up meeting one soon, as Draco is due for a visit in the next month or so. And if you think that’s messed-up, there are also dolphin packs, and I’ve even heard of a spider shifter running around.”
Josie shuddered. “A man-sized spider? That is so gross.” And like my nightmare.
Clint frowned at Brandon. “Don’t worry. The rules all of our kind abide by state that all shifters must present themselves to the alpha if they intend to spend any time in a controlled territory.”
“So, you knew those wolves that attacked you?”
Clint shook his head. “Those were rogues. In other words, shifters who weren’t obeying pack laws and thus were subject to justice.”
“That’s nuts, though. What did they expect to accomplish?”
Clint shrugged and kept silent. He finished flipping the thick ham steaks and threw them on some plates, along with a salad and some pan-fried rice.
Josie dug in, hungrier than she expected, but she still had questions. “Do you have female werewolves, too?”
“Yes, but they are much rarer. The shifter gene transfers better in males, which is why many of our females have more than one mate.” However, while it was quite common for female shifters to take on multiple mates, it was a lot rarer for a human to attract the attention of more than one male. Clint assumed it had to do with the fragile nature of most humans.
“Two?”
Brandon chuckled. “Or more. Don’t tell me you’ve never fantasized about it?”
Josie blushed and dropped her head. She tried changing the subject. “I guess
Clint roared with laughter at Brandon’s face until Josie added, “You, too, big guy.”
Josie left them both staring at each other. The rich sound of masculine chuckles—which had her shivering in naughty places—accompanied her as she walked farther into the house. She traversed the long length of the living room to encounter the world’s biggest freaking kitchen.
“Good grief. This place is big enough to feed an army,” she exclaimed.
“Or a pack of hungry wolves,” said Clint with a wolfish grin as he walked by her to open the fridge. “Speaking of which, I could use some dinner. How about you, baby?”
“I’d love to see you cook.” Josie blushed at her words, hearing the double meaning, which Clint also caught. Instead of replying, he just winked at her. Josie couldn’t help the heat that pooled between her thighs. The man is just too darned good-looking for his own good.
Josie seated herself at a stool that bordered the massive granite-topped island, and Brandon perched himself beside her.
As Clint proved he did know his way around a kitchen and the massive stove with eight burners, she started assuaging her curiosity. “So, I take it you’re boss of the werewolves. How many are in your pack?” Her usual timidity had evaporated around Clint and Brandon. It was hard to be scared of two guys who kissed her as if she was the only girl in the world and dropped everything to protect her.
“My proper title is alpha, and Brandon here is my beta. We’ve got a moderate-sized group, compared to others, at thirty-seven. Of course, there’s about a dozen of the pack out right now on transport runs. You’ve actually met almost all of them at this point, seeing as how they pretty much all work for the company.”
“Wait, back up a second. Did I understand you correctly? You mean there’s other werewolf packs out there, too?”
“There are hundreds of packs. Each major territory has at least one. They’re not all wolves, though. Shifters run a gamut of animals like bears, big cats, reptiles, and more. And that’s just the most prolific groups. Some species don’t have enough numbers to form packs, like the dragons.”
Josie’s eyes grew wider. “You’re screwing with me, aren’t you? I mean, dragons. Seriously?”
“Hell yeah, dragons,” Brandon said, jumping in with a grin. “Actually, you’ll probably end up meeting one soon, as Draco is due for a visit in the next month or so. And if you think that’s messed-up, there are also dolphin packs, and I’ve even heard of a spider shifter running around.”
Josie shuddered. “A man-sized spider? That is so gross.” And like my nightmare.
Clint frowned at Brandon. “Don’t worry. The rules all of our kind abide by state that all shifters must present themselves to the alpha if they intend to spend any time in a controlled territory.”
“So, you knew those wolves that attacked you?”
Clint shook his head. “Those were rogues. In other words, shifters who weren’t obeying pack laws and thus were subject to justice.”
“That’s nuts, though. What did they expect to accomplish?”
Clint shrugged and kept silent. He finished flipping the thick ham steaks and threw them on some plates, along with a salad and some pan-fried rice.
Josie dug in, hungrier than she expected, but she still had questions. “Do you have female werewolves, too?”
“Yes, but they are much rarer. The shifter gene transfers better in males, which is why many of our females have more than one mate.” However, while it was quite common for female shifters to take on multiple mates, it was a lot rarer for a human to attract the attention of more than one male. Clint assumed it had to do with the fragile nature of most humans.
“Two?”
Brandon chuckled. “Or more. Don’t tell me you’ve never fantasized about it?”
Josie blushed and dropped her head. She tried changing the subject. “I guess
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