Chapter One
Griffin Palmer hated crowds. It took a lot to get him in a bad mood, but the fastest way possible was to stick him among a bunch of congregated people.
That it was the Fortune Falls pack meeting sent his mood sinking even further.
But his dad needed the extra backup. It still wasn’t saying much since one guy growled at another, baring his teeth.
Griffin threw up a black wall between them before they started tearing each other apart. “Anyone who fights is going to lockup for assault. No questions asked.”
Bobby Ball puffed out his chest. “I know you aren’t talking to me, son.”
“I’m talking to everyone.” Griffin met his gaze. “Including you.”
Bobby Ball huffed and narrowed his eyes.
He, the king of used cars, had the best cars in Fortune Falls, according to him and his commercials.
But Griffin had worked on some of his cars for people who’d bought from him when the car they had just bought broke down. He was about as crooked as they came.
Griffin ignored Bobby but left the barrier in place as he walked through the crowd.
Griffin never wanted to be his father’s deputy, but Iven had deputized him a few months back when fighting amongst the pack had been at its worst. The process had happened within seconds and consisted of Dad just telling him and Riley that they were a part of the crew.
And Griffin had been going to the pack meeting ever since.
There was less fighting among the wolves.
Things were improving, but progress was slow.
Riley and Cass stood on a wooden platform that the pack had built.
The meeting took place in a clearing in the middle of the forest. Every resident of Fortune Falls knew the forest belonged to the pack.
Griffin wasn’t sure whether the pack owned the land legally or had claimed it and scared off anyone willing to challenge them for it.
Either way, people steered clear. Griffin grew up knowing which forests he could play in and which to leave alone.
Dad had also deputized Riley, but he wasn’t doing his job.
He was smiling lovingly at Cass. And Cass, being a deputy and a wolf, should have been paying attention to the crowd, too, considering a lot of them were acting as though they were feral.
But nope. Cass was making heart eyes at Riley, which doubled down on the cavity-inducing picture they made.
Even his dad, who was there as the sheriff because his job was to keep the peace, wasn’t paying attention to anything other than Marric, his mate. His hand was even on Marric’s ass. Marric laughed at something Iven said, which drew the attention of several wolves nearby.
But at least Iven and Marric weren’t on the platform as though they were putting on a show like Riley and Cass.
Griffin couldn’t be the only one here whose teeth hurt.
Griffin rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted to tell his family to stop with all the lovey-dovey crap, if Griffin hadn’t been in such a bad mood, he would have found it sweet.
Maybe he should start dating. At the very least, he should encourage his dad to hire another deputy so Griffin wouldn’t have to come to the meetings anymore.
Work was on hold every time his dad summoned him to one of these meetings. His to-do list didn’t get any shorter when he was here. He had a water heater to fix at the Carlsons’ place, a cabinet to repair at his mother’s inn, and the bakery was in the middle of renovations.
He would have preferred to be home anyway. It was quiet there. He’d fenced the backyard, and he had good neighbors who respected his privacy.
Griffin closed the distance when Iven and Marric were close enough. “You two are supposed to be paying attention to the pack.”
Iven raised his eyebrows. “What makes you think we’re not?”
“Your hand on his ass, for one.” Griffin glared at his dad and then at Marric. “Do I need to separate you two?”
Okay, when did he turn into a parent? A better question was why?
He half expected his dad to have something to say about Griffin’s tone, but he just smirked. “It’ll be over in an hour. You’ll be able to decompress at home. Maybe spend some time in your garden. You seem tense.”
Marric frowned. “Are you stressed?”
Iven answered for him. “He doesn’t like crowds.”
“I thought maybe you just needed to get laid.” Marric shrugged and then leaned into Iven.
He probably did, but casual sex wasn’t that fun anymore. Not in Fortune Falls, where he knew everyone and everyone knew him. People gossiped. It sucked. “Casual sex in this town is no bueno.”
Everyone in his family was coupling up except for his mother, who had sworn off finding her fated mate a long time ago. The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree with him liking his solitude. Griffin wondered if his mom would even accept her fated mate if she found them.
It seemed reasonable that he should at least start dating again.
If he did, then he wouldn’t have to watch his brother and Cass fall all over each other, and his dad with his hand on Marric’s ass as they strolled through the crowd as though it were just another Sunday in the park.
Kinnison, Marric’s father, was the most reasonable one out of all of them, which wasn’t saying much considering he stood on the platform with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes all canine.
He aimed his growl at Danny. Griffin had no idea why.
“So find your mate.” Marric said it as if all Griffin had to do was think really hard.
Griffin rolled his eyes. “I’ll get right on that. Maybe if I googled the word mate, a picture of mine would pop up in the search engine.”
“Or you can break into the wrong house. That’s what I did.” Marric smirked. He had the quickest wit of anyone Griffin had ever met. It was fun to spar with him simply because they could keep up with each other.
“That would earn me a day in lockup and a long lecture from my dad. I’ve already experienced both things more than once and don’t want to do it again.”
Marric turned to Iven. “You put him in jail!”
“Twice. Once for underage drinking and once for—”
“And the other time we won’t talk about ever again. You promised, remember.” Griffin never wanted the story to get into the wrong hands. The wrong hands being Riley's. His brother would never let him live it down.
Iven chuckled. “I’ll tell you about it later, honey.”
Marric nodded.
Griffin huffed and turned, walking away. He was so over the whole day.
“Wait.” Marric caught up with him. They walked through the crowd in companionable silence. “Would you let me set you up with someone?”
“Man, woman, or non-binary?”
“Which of those people do you like?”
“Anyone with masculine energy.”
“Well, I met someone at Regan’s school who’s cute. He’s the dad of a kid in Regan’s class. I don’t know if you’d like each other, but he’s attractive and single.”
“And into guys?”
“He said he was bisexual when I asked him.” Marric wiggled his eyebrows. “I showed him a picture of you. He liked what he saw.”
Great. Someone thought he was attractive or whatever. That was good. Probably. “I’m looking for someone who wants a meaningful relationship.”
“So you don’t care that he finds you attractive?”
Griffin shrugged. “It’s good, I guess. But it matters the least.”
“Can I give him your number?”
“Sure.” What could one dinner hurt? “Your dad looks pissed.”
Marric frowned and then shrugged. “What do you mean? He looks normal to me.”
For the first time, Griffin chuckled. “Right.”
“That’s why everyone is behaving.” That was probably true.
Whenever Kinnison ran the meetings, people stayed calm.
A lot of it had to do with Kinnison’s strength radiating off him and across the clearing like a sound wave.
Even Griffin wasn’t nearly as sour with Kinnison there.
Crowds were crowds, so he couldn’t avoid his bad mood entirely, but Kinnison’s alpha presence had a positive effect on him, even as a warlock.
“Maybe everyone’s ready to unite for the cause, too.
” They were all ready to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.
They had done battle with the Timeston pack a few months back, but it had been crickets ever since.
Timeston had plenty of time to recover. Everyone, including Griffin and especially Iven, had expected an attack.
The anticipation made everyone antsy and tense, which is why Griffin and Riley were needed.
Even Griffin, who really didn’t have a stake in the game, wanted Timeston to make a move already just to get it over with.
“Timeston was sneaky before. I know a lot of that was Merlin’s doing.
He’s always been a sneaky bastard.” Marric shook his head.
“Now that he’s not in the picture anymore, the pack needs to either regroup or get absorbed into Fortune Falls.
I talked to my dad about it. Neither of us knows which it is. ”
“We’ve been on pins and needles, and it might be for nothing.”
Marric smirked. “It’s the ultimate torture, isn’t it?”
“It’s not comfortable.” Griffin bumped shoulders with Marric. “Neither is watching you and Dad fawn all over each other.”
“Do you honestly feel that way?”
Did he? Some days, he thought maybe he did, but his dad was happy. That was all that mattered.
“I’m happy for you.” Griffin shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m just lonely.” That didn’t mean he was ready for someone to come along and invade his peaceful existence. It didn’t mean he wasn’t ready for that either. As long as it was the right person.