All four of the other children were in fancy dress getups. Well, they had arrived in costumes. A toddler with a mop of blond curls named Dexter had long ago stripped off his giraffe suit and was dashing around in his underwear.
The only outsiders present at the party were Shaya’s human father, two cat shifters who worked at a shelter for lone shifters, and of course the Phoenix Pack. Some looked at Harley with curiosity, others with wariness. But they all looked away whenever the tower of overprotectiveness at Harley’s side turned a glare on them.
Shifters without a fully formed mating bond could be pathologically possessive and protective—it was something to do with being insecure in the mating. Since she had yet to return Jesse’s claim and they didn’t even have the beginnings of a bond, it was really no wonder that he was finding it difficult to have so many unmated males around her.
“Cassidy’s so happy here,” said Makenna. “It’s great to see her settled.” Her hot yet deadly-looking mate grunted. Ryan seemed to prefer communicating in grunts, and Makenna seemed able to translate them.
“She’s also pretty fast; even Kye can’t catch her,” commented Taryn, referring to her son, who was dressed as a monkey. Perched on her hip was the infant daughter of Grace, one of her pack mates.
Considering the Phoenix Alpha female was Shaya’s best friend, Harley had expected Taryn to be cool toward her, given the trouble Harley could bring the pack. However, both Taryn and her mate, Trey, had been nothing but pleasant. To look at, the couple was an odd match; Taryn was a tiny little thing and Trey was built like a Highlander.
“Savannah, down!” ordered Kye, every inch the alpha, making his parents chuckle.
That was when Harley saw a little girl with caramel pigtails hanging upside down from a tree branch, dangling her elephant costume with her fingers. “Is she okay up there?” Her cat badly wanted to join her, a little overwhelmed by the large number of strange shifters.
“Sure,” replied Riley, a small female with enviably dark iridescent hair who was also a raven shifter. “Savannah’s a viper.”
“I thought I could smell ‘snake.’ I just hadn’t figured it was one of the kids.” Harley had never met a viper before, since they were fairly rare.
“Dexter’s a cheetah,” said Riley. “He and Savannah are from the shelter, like me.”
“Our pack gave them and Riley sanctuary,” said Taryn. “It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but we adopted the kids into the pack and are hoping Riley will join us too.”
Riley shifted uncomfortably. “I’m still unsure.”
“If you do decide to leave, I don’t think you’ll find it easy.” Trey gestured at a wolf who was staring at Riley with a possessive gleam in his eyes, a wolf who had earlier been introduced to Harley as the Phoenix Pack’s Head Enforcer.
Riley sniffed. “That hot-and-cold motherfucker has no say in what I do. When I first arrived at his territory, he whined about it and wanted me gone. Now he growls at me whenever I talk about leaving—all the while scowling at me because he doesn’t like that he wants me to stay. How messed up is that?”
Taryn chuckled. “That’s just Tao for you. His mind works in mysterious ways. Still, we all hope you’ll stay.”
Loosely hooking an arm around Harley’s neck, Jesse said into her ear, “See, other species of shifter can survive well in wolf packs. So will you.” When she gave him a “we’ll see” look, he nipped her earlobe, smiling at her little yelp. “They’d better open the buffet soon. I’m starving.”
“I don’t think the cooks will make us wait much longer; Marcus is driving them crazy, harassing them for food,” said Harley, unsure how someone who ate so much could look so hot. “Ally did a good job with the birthday cake.” The huge chocolate monstrosity was decorated with standing edible trees and jungle animals. With Roni and Marcus hovering around it, Harley would be surprised if there was any left for the others to taste.
All was well again between Roni and Harley. The she-wolf and her mate had appeared at the lodge earlier and, with a “please forgive me” expression, she’d handed Harley some catnip. Like that, the tension was broken and Harley burst out laughing. Marcus sagged in relief, and she suspected he’d worried that Harley wouldn’t “get” his mate’s somewhat offbeat sense of humor.
Eli had also come by again and apologized to her, which wouldn’t have been all that surprising if he hadn’t had Kathy at his side. She’d said a very terse yet sincere apology to Jesse and then handed Harley a box of books she’d had “lying around.” With that, she’d stomped off. As the collection of books included works by Stephen King, Harley was willing to accept the silent act of contrition.
Caleb and Kent had also made their apologies, asking if said apologies could also be passed on to her cat, who they seemed to be absolutely petrified of. Harley had taken pity on the couple. They were impossible to dislike, even though they’d acted like idiots by following the crowd instead of thinking for themselves.
Since then, all had been fine within the pack. Jesse explained the previous night: “You’ve earned their respect by proving you’ll defend me—even against our own pack mates—you won’t take shit, you can protect yourself, and you’ll gracefully accept their apologies even when they might not deserve it. They consider you officially one of us now.”