Grey's Tribute

Who Is She To You?

After two cups of coffee back to back, I feel ready to start my day. It's quiet with just the females in the pack house.

Loving the teasing and quick whit of these females. They might be traditional in some ways, but in others, they're more forward thinking than my old pack.

I'm starting to slide into their routines, helping prepare the morning meals, usually having one of them show me around, visiting pack members, slowly exploring the territory.

Just thinking about all their territory has me in awe. Pristine forests with lakes and rivers that snake their way through the meadows, gullies, and land. Land so abundant, so fertile that I have a hard time believing this all belongs to just one pack.

I'm itching to run, to explore all this. The northern says not until I'm branded, which is at dusk tomorrow. I'm nervous. Taking the brand of a pack is for better or worse, in sickness and health.

You're with them until death or you leave and become something else...rogue.

That Northerner has been keeping his distance since the truck incident, never alone in my presence, never coming close to me.

"You look far away." Looking up, smiling at the beautiful women who's his mother.

"I'm just thinking about things." Saying in a low tone.

Nodding with a knowing smile. "It's going to be fine," she says, patting my hand.

Breathing out, I say, "I know. It's just... Grey doesn't want to be around me."

"Oh." She laughs at me. "Ladies, come here. Meela thinks Grey doesn't want to be around her." They all start laughing, it's a good-natured sound, nothing t

Sophie sits beside me. "Are you kidding me? Can't you see the way he looks at you, the way he's always got his eyes trained on you? He's constantly checking in with us on what you're doing, who you're with."

"That makes me feel better, but why's he avoiding me? It's like he's mad at me about something"

"No dear, he's doing this so he stands a chance to make it to the taking Claiming Ceremony. I think he's having a really hard time with this. He thought it would be easy. I warned him that there's no greater temptation than a mate's draw."

"Do you think he would really do that to me? Take me like that in front of the pack?"

"He's not prepared to do that, he doesn't understand everything that's involved with the ceremony so he stands no real chance of making it to the end. You can always speed that along. Use what you have, tempt him, lure him, make it impossible for him to wait for the ceremony. It's what I did to his father and what his grandmother did to his grandfather."

I'm a little uncomfortable with our conversation. It's really not something you talk about with your future den mother.

Sophie pipes in. "You were a baiter in your old pack? Bait him! The moon will be full tomorrow, the pull to your mate the strongest. Use all your skills on him. Eventually, he'll cave."

The former Luna smiles at her memories. "Oh, yes, eventually they all cave in. Grey will be no different, just a little more stubborn."

Our conversation is interrupted by the group of males coming back from training. Taking our seats, we begin our morning meal.

Taking a sideways peek at Grey, he's still sweaty from the workout, his muscles pumped full of blood. I have a slight compulsion to run my fingers over his skin, trace the engorged veins up his arms, down into his chest. Shaking my head at that thought. Looking up, I see Stephanie, the almost pretty blonde, all sweaty and in a very tight gym outfit, saunter in like she owns the place. The other females bristle slightly with her presence.