A Guardians Passion (9 page)

She still questioned that.

Benna went on. “I hope you had a chance to look through the program at the schedules and all the events we have planned.”

So it’s we now, is it?
Freya sighed off the fantasy of presenting a dark-chocolate waif of a male to her mates. “I looked through it,” she said, chancing a glance at Melissa, who was smirking nine shades of wickedness her way, seemingly knowing where Freya’s train of thought had been.

“Well, you absolutely must attend Aunt Helena’s seminar tomorrow, Freya. Seriously.
Don’t
miss that one. I told her that you might come even.”

Helena? Freya went rigid at the name. The thought of sitting in any room with the chilly Sohon woman immediately dredged up a foul taste. While the seminar had been one she was interested in, doubts about attending had begun the second she had read who the presenter would be. “You what? Why? What did you say?” she demanded, the fingers of her free hand itching to get to a slender white throat.

Benna shifted in her chair as if she suspected an attack, but like the beta she was, she held her ground. “She suspected. I didn’t say a word, but she was curious as to what brought you here, and before I could open my mouth, she said never mind, and that was it. I was put to work arranging cupcakes and folding handouts for tomorrow’s panels. Aunt Helena is really perceptive, and she thought it would be a good one for you to attend too. I swear, Freya. I didn’t tell her anything about…your situation.”

“Right.”
And gremlins were just misunderstood pranksters
. The notion was laughable. Freya had no doubt that Benna had given Helena the 411, probably from the day she had first arrived at the lodge and every day after. Benna was a Sohon beta, not hers. “You didn’t say a word?”

Benna nodded; however, her scent gave the truth beneath undertones of hyacinth and rose. She turned her head, looking for a distraction. She found one at a nearby table. “That poor thing,” she cooed.

Freya followed Benna’s gaze to where a lone pregnant female sat. Each table had four or more chairs filled with chatting, sociable wolves, yet there was one table with the sandy-brown-haired wolf, which stood out for its vacancies. The woman had the demeanor of gamma: somewhat feral, aloof, yet wary with pride. She certainly wasn’t an alpha.

“I don’t know how she got an invite. I mean, we do have a retreat for the under ranks too, but I can’t have anyone saying that Sohons are heartless.” Benna pushed back her chair and stood, giving a departing smile to Freya, Melissa, and the cubs. “I’ll catch you guys later.” With one last nod at Freya and a slight wince of an apology, she walked over to join the lone wolf mother.

Freya stared as Benna descended upon the woman, who immediately lit up with the prospect of company. “What’s the deal with her?” Freya asked.

Melissa paused with a shrimp skewer in hand. She raised a brow before checking the path of Freya’s stare. “Benna or Emily?”

“I know what’s up with the Sohon. She lives with me.”

“Oh. Emily.” Melissa winced. She tore a bite of yellow pepper and shrimp and chewed before replying dully, “She’s what you might call an unwed mother.”

Freya was taken aback by the disdain in Melissa’s voice more so than by the term. Freya had known some wolves were prejudiced about mating, but she hadn’t figured Melissa for the type. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

Melissa rolled her eyes to the sky before shooting Freya an incredulous look. “Well, this event is for pack alphas, not gammas who happened to get pregnant by an already mated alpha male who decided to send her in place of the rightful alpha female. Her pack has an alpha female. Emily there decided to disregard her and made a play at the pack alpha—a very advantageous move. ‘Unwed mother’ is just a term for someone in a pack who doesn’t abide by the norm. The other females here will avoid her like the plague.”

Freya got the picture and decided that while Emily didn’t look like an alpha-stealing ho, one could never be sure. A streak of defense rose up in her chest at the notion of any chick making a play for her mates. She had to shake off the aggression that built within her from such a thought. “I get it. Is there some kind of coup brewing in her pack?”
Because there certainly would be if she hit on my males.

“The McTavishes are an old pack, once as strong as the Sohons, word has it, but they’ve gotten smaller and thinner over the years whereas the Sohons only grew more rich and powerful. Now, if you listen to the gossip, the two packs despise each other, which would be another reason why I wouldn’t have expected her to be here.”

“Really?”

“Let’s say that the McTavishes were shady and stole, killed, and were less than savory in their rise to success while the Sohons were smarter, stealthier, and more tactful in their rise to the top. And let’s say the Sohons ended the McTavishes’ less than positive behavior in the modern way.”

“The modern way?”

“Yeah. Put a banker against an assassin, a businessman against a thug, and who will win?”

Freya got the meaning loud and clear.

Melissa shook her head as if the rivalry was too complex for her to fathom.“I don’t know. It’s probably a respect thing for what they were before they turned to rich ferals, Emily being allowed to come, but then the McTavishes have other problems, like fertility. As far as I know, she is the only one of her pack who’s been able to carry a child in a long while, but still, it’s a little hard to swallow around the others, and it’s not like the Sohons don’t have events for lone wolves. Hell, they even have functions for humans mated to wolves.”

“Damn.” Freya could only guess what events the Sohons had for the nonweres.
How to Deal with Fur in the Bed, Understanding Claims, Comprehending Growls…
While she had heard of the rise of the Sohon Pack, it had been more than just the McTavishes who envied them. Still, the girl had to have had more than moxie to seek them out.

Freya’s curiosity was put to an end as she heard the reverb from microphone tests. She turned to the stage where three of the Sohon matriarchs were gathered. Helena stood in the middle, as stately as a queen, patiently waiting for the test to end. As soon as she was handed the microphone, she captured everyone’s attention with her deep, commanding voice.

Even little Ryant gaped at the long, stately welcoming speech. While Helena expounded upon the virtues and influence involved with being the alpha female and mother of a pack, Freya was free to eat from her plate without interruption. Little Bryant, on the other hand, still attempted the occasional reach and grab from his mother as she sampled more of her food.

At the end of the speech, Helena stepped back and handed the microphone to another Sohon to the howled chorus of thirty-plus werewolf alphas. While Melissa added her voice to the adulation, Freya simply couldn’t bring herself to join in. Sure, she was impressed by their charity, their forethought, and their missions to advance and improve the werewolf race, but saints didn’t need ass kissing.

“So what seminar is Helena teaching tomorrow?” Melissa asked as the next speaker introduced herself and the many activities that would take place over the course of the week.

Reluctant at first to answer, Freya knew she would have to get over her dread eventually. She had already stuck a toe into the help pond; what harm was a little swim really going to do? “Relationship Dynamics and Intimacy.”

Prying Bryant’s fingers off her top for what seemed like the tenth time, Melissa smiled. “I took that. That
is
a good one. And dealing with an alpha and beta—well, if I were you, I would attend. I learned a lot from that one.”

“I’m sure you did,” Freya replied, far more willing to attend the sessions of mommy yoga.

Chapter Six

The Sohons had an elaborate space arranged for the vendors, allowing them the width and breadth of a ballroom, with spacious booths and tables to set up their items and display their advertisements. The scent of baby powder filled the air, perhaps to prepare the expectant mothers for what was to come. Freya didn’t mind the smell, adding it to the long list of over-the-top accents that flavored the retreat. Only after she moved fully into the room did she realize that the calming scent was just one of several advertising gimmicks.

The room was done in pastels, the ceiling draped in scalloped white and blue fabric to give the room the appearance of having a billowing blue sky. Each of the vendors’ booths was decorated to look like a woodland den, complete with berry vines, accents of spruce, fern, and oak, and moss. Decorative yet fake wildlife were sprinkled about: a frog here, a stuffed hawk or ceramic snake there. There was a little pond in the center of the room at which several cubs were attempting to catch very real and extremely frightened koi fish.

While she had only planned on stopping in, Freya couldn’t help checking out each booth and the items that they showcased. One stand had bottles and breast pumps, another had infant clothing; one sold meat-flavored pacifiers while another showcased infant furniture.

Freya stopped at a booth that featured child slings and harnesses. A woman was giving a demonstration of how easy the contraptions were to wear and how comfortable. While offered the opportunity to try one on, Freya was already sold on the idea.

“May I help you with your things, alpha?”

Freya turned to a familiar sight from the barbecue. It was the omega who reminded her of chocolate cake and everything sinful that it entailed. Struck by his large cinnamon-colored eyes and the contrast that they made with his complexion, she grinned at the sight of him with two large, empty hemp bags in his hands.

“I can carry your items if you’d like.”

“What the fuck are you? A shopping cart? I haven’t even decided to buy anything yet.” Freya balked at the offer but didn’t turn it down outright.

Chocolate Cake lowered his head nervously. “Um. Should you, I can be of help.”

“I bet you can. Friggin’ swap meet.” She returned to the rack of merchandise, considering a maroon-colored sling made with high-grade mesh, stain-resistant fabric, and industrial-strength fasteners. She also noted midnight-blue slings with little moons on them. It was overkill in her opinion, but then what wasn’t at the retreat?

“You should get one. I…I think they would be useful.”

“I can just toss Bun into the sling and carry on with my work. Get my exercise on. Maybe even jog a few miles.”

Chocolate Cake snickered. “Yes.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Freya clutched the sling tight in her fist and stared at the omega, whose cheeks were flushed with the effort of holding in his laughter.

He walked up to the rack, and after browsing through several of the harnesses, he selected a gunmetal-gray, heavy-duty sling that clearly said it was for males. He gestured to the one Freya held in her hand and said, “That’s a front harness. If you want to jog and fight, you’ll probably need one that allows for carrying the child behind you.”

Freya snatched the harness from him and examined it. It did seem more utilitarian. Mesh mixed with a solid Kevlar-like fabric and sturdy locking belts.

Chocolate Cake beamed as Freya considered his suggestion. He was right. While she didn’t recognize Chocolate Cake, he seemed to know at least a little about her. “Let me guess. You saw me refereeing at a pageant? Saw me at a fighting event too?”

“Not exactly,” he said with a wince. “I saw you in a bar fight at the Lame Paw in Las Vegas.”

Thinking back to the armpit of a biker bar located on the outskirts of the City of Lights, Freya recalled the last time she had been there. It had been to clean out a coven of succubae. She recalled going to the Lame Paw, drinking a shitload of dark beer, and gambling at a rail-side slot machine. “I don’t remember any bar fight.”

“You wouldn’t have. You were…” He shrugged. “You were pretty drunk. This big were slapped you on your bottom, and it took three of your males to drag you off of him.”

His words still didn’t conjure any recollections within her. “Don’t remember that, but I would have remembered you.”

“You would have if you had been sober.”

Again, he had a smug, righteous look. Her victory benders did get out of hand.
Those were the days
. “I was that drunk, I guess.” It wouldn’t have been the first time portions of her memory vanished, and Bun notwithstanding, it wouldn’t be her last.

“Yes. You kissed me. You…um…you felt me up, and then you passed out.”

“
Right
,” she added, fitting both the utilitarian gray and the maroon sling into the bag he held out for her. She sniffed deeply, taking in the wolf’s scent. He was naturally nervous, but she detected nothing sinister. He smelled of truth and something much warmer.

Before mating, Freya had had no compulsion about enjoying an omega. Chocolate Cake would have been ripe for the taking…and looked as if he still was. “Front and back slings it is,” she decided with a sigh. Trying to keep her focus on shopping, she moved over to a different rack with cloth slings. She chose one in black and another in white. Chocolate Cake was right at her side with bag open for each item. “Never hurts to be prepared. What’s your name, omega? And what were you doing in Vegas then?”

“My name is Ezra. Ezra Dai. At the time, I was still with my alpha.”

Freya moved from the harness booth over to the one for edible chew toys. She took only a card and a brochure. “So what happened?”

“You broke his back. He didn’t seem at all like the protective type after that. And then he got challenged. I didn’t like his successor, and his successor didn’t like me.”

Freya glanced at Ezra, noting the sarcastic smirk on his features. Slowly, she put two and two together. She had been the cause. “I’m Freya. But I suppose you already knew that.”

“Yes and no. The Sohons prepped us well.”

Looking down at the bag Ezra held, Freya couldn’t begin to disagree.

Ezra followed her throughout the bazaar as she added free samples, catalogs, two maxidresses, and an incense oil burner, and several calming fragrances for new mothers, to the bags he carried.