Run With Me

Chapter Two

It was the slamming of a door that had everyone lift their heads from whatever they had been working on. In Kirk Hanson's case, it was reviewing the quarterly budget of his company. His Beta, Jonathan Dorsey, looked up from his phone with a frown. They were sitting in the large open basement of the house, filled with couches, pillows, and lounge space. Darren had explained that since their family farm house also served as the pack house, he had the basement renovated to become an entertainment space. It was such a brilliant idea that Kirk had already made a mental note to do the same thing with the basement at his own pack house, rather than the storage dumping ground it currently was.

Currently, there were alphas from three other packs visiting, all there with their mates to help plan this year's winter moon gathering. Kirk was the last unmated alpha in the region and it was starting to agitate his wolf in very unhealthy ways. He was similar in age to the alpha of the Edgewood pack, but even with attending every gathering and traveling broadly, he still had yet to meet his mate. He had long since been resigned to the fact that she likely wasn't out there. It did happen on occasion, so he was putting more focus into making sure that his pack mates had healthy stable homes.

"Maybe we should go offer to help with dinner?" Jonathan glanced over at Kirk since the slamming of the door upstairs had been followed by some very audible growling filtering through the floor.

"And get chased out by Luna Kayla for taste testing the food? Again?" Kirk grinned over the papers in his hand. John was always wanting to help, ever eager to please. No matter who this Terri woman was that Darren had mentioned in their initial conversations, John was more than likely going to treat her like a princess.

"I only wanted to see if the ingredients were fresh," a laugh was smothered from Jamie, Luna of the Copper Sands Pack, when John responded.

"Stealing a large spoon of icing is not checking if the ingredients are fresh. She chased us all out of the kitchen for that one," everyone enjoyed a smile over the memory of Kayla almost wolfing out on them and chasing them downstairs. Being banished from the activity of upstairs was embarrassing, but also put them at ease. Since they had arrived the day before, the tension with some of the members of the Waller family had been thick.

Darren had contacted all the alphas saying that he would host this year's gathering in the hopes of making a match, true mate or otherwise, for his younger sister. According to the rumours, she was a genius scientist in the biomedical engineering program at a nearby university. But despite being from a strong alpha line, had never shifted. Darren wanted to ensure that she had a pack and a family to be a part of when she was done her degree, but she was making no efforts to meet anyone. Human or shifter. Since Jonathan's mate had passed away a few weeks after they had met, before they had actually mated, Kirk made the suggestion that John come with and meet her. Worst case scenario, they say no. But with his temperament, it was more than likely going to be a perfect match. And having a biomedical engineer in their pack would probably be good, more opportunities for investment and growth.

"Hey, time to put eat!" Kayla shouted down, causing everyone to put their phones and books away. Kirk tucked the papers back in his bag and headed back up the stairs with everyone else.

The kitchen smelled delicious. Kayla had obviously cooked up a storm, something that wasn't uncommon with any Luna. A Luna often became a pack mother, taking care of larger meals and acting as the unofficial hostess. Kayla took to it naturally and her guests were not disappointed. She handed each person that passed a dish to take the the large table in the next room. As Kirk held out his hands, he caught a whiff of something earthy. Looking at the salad he held, he glanced around for it's source. Kayla just looked at him for a moment before ushering him into the dining room.