In Heat - Jenlisa

Chapter 79 - Human

"Hey, will it be okay that we left your squad behind?" Lisa asks. "I thought you were supposed to have warriors hovering around you like a force field at all times."

Lisa's hair hangs long and tangled around her neck, her ponytail lost in the fervor of narrowly avoiding a brawl. Jennie idly reaches out to slip her hand between Lisa's curls and her near-feverish skin, pressing down on any knot of tension that she happens across.

Wolves run hot, Jennie reminds herself. If she hadn't already experienced Lisa's skin burning in heat, Jennie would be concerned over what Lisa considers to be her average temperature. The material of Lisa's collar is several degrees cooler in comparison.

"They'll survive," Toby answers, rubbing a hand over his face. "You guys want Starbucks?"

Jennie frowns. "Forgive me, but why on earth would a future Pack Leader hide behind a meat shield?" she wonders aloud.

"Hah, meat shield," Lisa murmurs. She looks like an overindulged housecat, eyes lidded as she strains her neck to provide a better angle while Jennie digs her nails into her pressure points. Jennie can tell she's just a hair away from purring out loud.

"Surely, the ability to protect oneself is a necessary pre-requisite for any future Pack Leader," Jennie contends. "A meat shield doesn't serve to inspire confidence."

Toby nods. "Pack approval is important, or they won't follow me when it's my turn," he intones.

"Precisely," Jennie states, retracting her hand. Lisa whines at the loss. "You are the future leader of a strength-based community. Enlighten me as to one good reason why, knowing that, you would assign yourself bodyguards."

"Wait, there's a Starbucks?" Lisa asks, straightening up.

Toby manages a half-smile. "Keeping my warriors around me is supposed to help with team bonding. It's important that the new recruits view me as their commander instead of my father."

Jennie hums her understanding. "Then the benefits of enhancing social relations and defining roles within the 'in group' outweigh the costs of the wider pack's perception of your strength. Do your packs intentionally structure their society like that of a military installation?"

Toby shrugs. "You'd have the ask the elders."

"You did say there's a Starbucks, right?" Lisa interjects.

"Yeah, just up ahead," Toby answers her, pulling into a crowded parking lot. "I got the impression that Jordan leads the juniors over here, but in my pack, that's my responsibility. I look after the guys myself," he explains to Jennie, catching her eyes in the mirror.

"How very interesting," Jennie murmurs, mind whirring with the implications of Jordan leading the trainees instead of Hugo.

"Oh, hell yeah," Lisa says under her breath. "I haven't had Starbucks in months."

"Toby, will you face punishment for bringing us off-territory?" Jennie questions, reaching over to unlatch Lisa's seatbelt. "In hindsight, I can't imagine the elders would have approved of such a move."

Toby shrugs again as he shifts into park. "My parents are going to blow up no matter what. Might as well hydrate before we face the music."

Lisa winces as she clambers out of the car. "Any chance we can stay with your family tonight?" she weakly asks, seeking out Jennie's hand with her own.

Toby shoots her a concerned look as he locks the car behind them.

"Yeah, 'course, but don't you think you should at least see your parents? Even my elders would pitch a fit if one of our newly bonded wolves snubbed their home pack like that. Yours would probably consider it a capital offense."