Flappy barked furiously as the knock came again, his nose pressed to the door. Traven and Lucky stood up, sensing the shared apprehension coursing through their mate bond.
Lucky was not sure what to do. Whoever was knocking didn't identify themselves.
"Who is it?" Lucky squared her shoulders and crossed the room to the door, deciding to at least try.
"It's the Welcome Wagon," a male voice replied. She thought she heard someone stifle a laugh. She almost laughed herself, fairly certain the two wolves she had seen had returned in human form. She focused on her sense of smell.
Yes! She could smell them. They smelled like a mixture of sand, earth, and cinnamon. She realized she had smelled a similar odor when the police officer had been there. She was a newbie werewolf, and she was pleased with this progress. She searched out her wolf, relieved that Nyah was calm, not sensing any kind of a threat.
"Come on, open the door, we don't bite," a second male voice said.
"What's the password?" She asked, looking at Traven. He stepped in between her and the door, his protective instincts kicking in. He tried to give her a serious look, but she caught the hint of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"Get back, Lucky," Traven warned. He knew exactly who was behind the door, the two werewolves had come to them first. He wasn't exactly scared, but he didn't know what to expect, and that made him decidedly nervous. Miles was calm, like Nyah. He sensed no aggression from them. Still, it was better to be cautious.
"Moon Goddess," was the reply to Lucky's question. "Open up, dude. We come in peace."
Traven was surprised at the friendly, casual tone of the speaker's voice. It didn't hold the wariness that usually came with meeting pack outsiders, especially if this was their territory. "Were you across the street a short while ago when the police officer was here?" he asked.
"Yes, and we come in peace. It's all good. Open the door, I feel like a dumb ass standing out here." The voice was friendly and held a hint of mischief.
Traven opened the door, and two tall, almost identical, beefy looking guys smiled at them. Despite their imposing size, he didn't find anything intimidating about them. They each had a unique style, but they were clearly twins.
"Local pack, just checking, we like to know who is visiting the area, that's all. "
We mean no harm." Said one of the brothers.
"The welcome wagon, for real," his companion added.
They both looked like they spent a lot of time at the gym, and slightly taller than Traven. The twins both had white blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, a shade or two lighter than Traven's, and wore identical mischievous smiles. They could be intimidating if they wanted to be, without the smiles. Traven exhaled slowly, relaxing a bit.
"Come on in," Traven told them, ushering them in to the suite. He didn't let his guard down completely, but the last thing he wanted to do was come across as rude or aggressive. If he and Lucky were on another pack's land, these guys could make things difficult if they wanted to. "Would you like something to drink?" He asked, not knowing what else to say. He hated how nervous he sounded, but he hadn't interacted with a pack wolf for a long time, and his last interaction had not been a good one.
"Whiskey?" The one with the bushy beard and crew cut asked, hopefully. Traven gave him a strange look, but Lucky found the request amusing.
"No, but I can order some," Lucky told them. She quickly ordered a bottle of the best top shelf whiskey they had at the local liquor store, delivered. Courtesy of modern technology. She frowned at the notification that popped up on her screen. "Can someone take the delivery? I'm not old enough, and they scan your license upon delivery. " Lucky said, rolling her eyes, thinking that age was not a good indicator of whether or not someone had the ability to handle alcohol. She had no idea what had happened to her drivers license, anyway.
"The human liquor laws make little sense. At eighteen you are old enough to fight in wars, choose a leader, stand trial as an adult, but you can't decide if you can handle drinking alcohol?" Said the twin with with the longer hair, agreeing with Lucky's thoughts. "I can take it, I'm old enough and I have an ID."
Flappy was giving each of the newcomers a very thorough sniff test. They allowed him his time, seeming to respect that he had to rely almost exclusively on his sense of smell to determine if they were friend or foe. He seemed satisfied, and trotted over to the living area of the suite, pausing to look back at them like they should follow.
"Well, we know who the Alpha is here," the shorter guy said, and the three males burst out laughing.
Lucky didn't quite get it, until a moment later. "Flappy is the best Alpha ever." Traven led the others into the living area, and they all sat down.
"Oh, hell. We haven't introduced ourselves. How rude of us. Eli Thorn, Beta of the Desert Moon Pack. This is my brother, Daniel." The two of them stood up and shook hands with Traven, with polite nods to Lucky. This was not meant to be disrespectful, it was a sign that they recognized she was Traven's mate. Some male werewolves were excessively overprotective when it came to their mates, and their pups.
Eli and his brother were identical, but Eli had longer, shaggy hair. He reminded Lucky of a surfer, with his relaxed, friendly demeanor. Daniel had a crew cut and a long beard, and looked like he belonged on the cover of a hunting magazine.
"Traven," he replied, "no pack affiliation." He hated admitting to being a rogue, and he had considered giving them a fake name. He decided against it, as he had never been a good liar.
Eli raised his eyebrow, "no pack affiliation? We were sure you were from Midnight Moon, but no one called to let us know you would be visiting."
Traven squirmed in his seat, his mind racing as he considered his response.
"We aren't from Midnight Moon- well, it's kind of a long story. We aren't exactly rogues, not a threat, just looking to build a life together. We are fated mates. We just met, very recently," Traven explained, hoping it would be enough to keep them from digging deeper. No such luck.
"Well we know for a fact that Midnight Moon has one fugitive. Traven Blackpaw. Pretty sure that's you." Eli said casually, and a low growl came from Lucky, causing both the newcomers to look at her with surprise. "Not sure who this lovely lady is, there hasn't been a wolf missing from Midnight Moon since Lola disappeared. Not until Traven got himself in hot water." They knew who he was. Traven had dreaded this moment since he left his pack.
Lucky rose to her feet, her presence surprisingly commanding despite her diminutive stature. "There are things you don't understand." She told Eli, and Traven pulled her into his lap, impressed at her bravery.
Eli looked right into her eyes, and she saw the compassion in them. "We do understand. We are close with Midnight Moon. I was there on business when all of that insanity went down four years ago. That trial was a joke. I even spoke to my Alpha about it, since yours wouldn't listen. He was going to intervene on your behalf, but then you escaped."
Well, that was unexpected!
Lucky breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn't be losing Traven today. Flappy curled up at Traven's feet, started snoring, and their laughter shattered the tense moment.
Once again there was a knock at the door, and he leaped up and barreled towards it, like a barking doorbell. "He's not used to seeing so many others," Traven explained, looking embarrassed.
"He is a great security system," Lucky smiled fondly at the dog, she knew he was just letting them know someone was there.
"That's probably the whiskey." Eli stood up and went to go get the door. Lucky realized the only glasses they had were the plastic cups provided by the hotel. She offered them to Eli. He laughed.
"This is great whiskey. Not fit for plastic cups. Straight out of the bottle works for me!" He handed the bottle to Lucky. "Ladies first," he told her.
She'd had whiskey before, at a party when she was in high school. She'd gotten a little drunk that night, and had to walk home rather than ride with her friends, who had no designated driver. She had worried sick about them until she had heard from each one the next day.
She took the bottle and took a big swig. She tried not to make a funny face as the liquid burned her throat and warmed her body. Actually, it wasn't bad. She pulled on it one more time before passing it to their guests. It began making rounds around the room. She couldn't believe she was drinking whiskey out of a bottle with three werewolves. Her life just kept getting crazier!
"So you are not going to call the Alpha of Midnight Moon and tell them you have me?" Traven asked, looking at them nervously.
"No, man. What happened that day was as bad as Neveah getting murdered. The evidence was circumstantial at best and there wasn't enough of it to warrant a murder conviction and a death sentence. Like I said, your Alpha wouldn't listen to reason. I was seriously considering intervening on my own, but I needed to run it by my Alpha. He can be a little grumpy about that sort of thing. He likes to know what is happening, you know." Eli passed the bottle to Daniel, who took it eagerly.
"Our Alpha was going to challenge the decision with the werewolf council, but you escaped on your own. We were glad to hear that. We have watched you these past four years, when you have stopped in Albuquerque for supplies." Daniel spoke. His voice was deep and buttery, like a radio announcer from long ago. He smiled, and it reached his eyes. "We tried to look out for you, warned our pack members to leave you be. We didn't want anything happening to you or that cute dog of yours. We have never had dogs as pets, always figured it would be hard to earn their trust. Most dogs are a little afraid of us. We smell different than humans."
Lucky decided she liked these two werewolves, or maybe it was just the whiskey. But for whatever reason, she felt like she could trust them. She began to relax, enjoying the slight buzz.
"We actually came on behalf of our Alpha to offer you, and of course your mate, a safe place within our pack. If you want it, that is." Eli said to Traven, whose eyes lit up.
To be part of a Pack again, to feel that kinship, after all the years roaming the desert from town, to city, to nowhere in particular. To be with other werewolves, to let his wolf run with the pack, he had not expected to find an ally like this. Not ever.
"I don't know how to express my gratitude. You took a risk, coming here, to offer me a place to call home, to be a part of a pack again, I don't even know what to say." He looked at Lucky, who was finishing a drink of whiskey.
"I think that would be great but in the interest of being honest, I have to say something first before we go any further with this." She cleared her throat. "That wolf in Las Vegas. Do you know what I am talking about?" She asked their guests. Both nodded, watching her carefully.
"Who hasn't heard about that? It was big news. Huge. The story is still being updated every day." Eli said, eyeing Lucky carefully but encouraging her, "Why do you ask?"
For some unexplainable reason, she had a feeling he already knew. She didn't want to have to keep secrets from friends, or endanger their pack with her presence. "Because that wolf was me."