“Yeah, I’d like to go down there and see everyone. I really had a great time at the dance. And maybe I could see more of the gal Dorinda I danced with.” Weston smiled.

  “Okay, well, let me tell you right now there’s a shortage of females in the pack, in most packs. So the bachelor males can feel really territorial about having a new member of the pack target one of the eligible females. That said, if a she-wolf really likes you, the males will not fight you over her. That all has to do with mating for life. We have to be really sure she’s the right one for us, and vice versa.”

  “And you and Gina?” Weston asked, motioning to Gina.

  Maverick squeezed her hand and smiled at her. “We’re definitely dating.”

  “Can we drive down in the Corvette?” Weston sounded hopeful.

  “When there’s no snow on the ground and when we don’t have three occupants for the car. It only has two bucket seats. And just so you know, we have 4,000 acres at the reindeer ranch where you can also run as a wolf.” Maverick got up from the couch and grabbed the empty beer bottles to dump them in the recycle bin. “We’ll have to take my truck. When I do let you drive, when we don’t have another passenger, if you have the urge to shift at all, you would have to tell me right away, pull the car onto the shoulder of the road, and you can strip off your clothes and shift in the car.”

  “It’s a deal. I might even be able to stay with Sarge then down at the ranch,” Weston said.

  “You can do that. I’m sure he’d be glad for the company. What about you, Gina? You do want to come with us, don’t you? I’d prefer you come too.”

  Gina didn’t know about riding in the truck down to the ranch. Now that she’d shifted out of the blue during the day, she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk doing the same on the way to the ranch.

  “Now that you’ve shifted, you should be okay,” Maverick assured her.

  But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see her brother overcome with panic if suddenly he had to shift in the pickup. Nor did she want to see him naked. That was definitely something she wasn’t ready to deal with—wolves getting naked, all except for Maverick, and that was a given.

  “Come on,” her brother said. “You have to come too.”

  “All right.” She said to Maverick, “I thought you wanted me to bite my brother. I was surprised when you did it instead.”

  “I wanted you to make the decision about your brother completely. But then I realized if I bit him instead of you, he’d have more of my royal root’s genetics, and it could help more with his shifting issues like it does with yours. I’ve never turned anyone before you, accidentally or otherwise, so this is a new experience for me.”

  “Oh, okay. You’re right. There are so many matters that Weston and I have to learn about as we go through this journey.” Gina got up from the couch, and when Weston rose to his feet, she gave him another hug. “I’m glad you’re a wolf like me now.” It made her feel better that at least her brother’s situation was resolved and they could share this journey into the previously unknown world of werewolves together.

  “What about Bromley and Patterson?” Weston asked.

  “You’re going to have to convince them the wolf dogs run all over the ranches. That you were mistaken about wolf shifters,” Maverick said as they pulled on their parkas and headed out of doors.

  They got into the truck, and Gina opted for sitting in the back seat, just in case she had to shift again.

  “Okay, I can do that.” Weston buckled his seat belt. “They should trust me. But what if my getting so cozy with all of you after claiming you are werewolves and then saying you’re not makes them suspicious? So much so that they’re afraid I was turned against my will?”

  “Then we’ll have to turn them,” Maverick said. “Though if we can avoid it, we really only want to turn those we have to. And in Gina’s case, it meant her family. Your family.”

  “Also, they might just figure you’re getting friendly with everyone on the ranch because I’m dating Maverick now,” Gina said.

  “What about Sarge?” Weston asked.

  “Don’t tell them about Sarge,” Maverick warned. “We don’t want him having to explain what had happened to him in Maine. Even though he has a made-up story to use, it’s best if your friends don’t know about him or he might slip up about his concocted story.”

  “Okay.”

  Though Gina knew her brother didn’t like to have to keep a secret about that either. “Now you know what it feels like to keep quiet about all this. It’s not easy.”

  “Yeah, I can see that now.” Weston was quiet for quite a bit of the drive, probably thinking about all the ramifications he had to face with being turned. “Man, your car is a real treasure. I can’t wait to ride in it.” For a while, Weston mulled over things in silence again. Then he finally spoke up. “I’m a software engineer, and I work out of my home, so I guess I can still do that.”

  “Yeah, as long as you don’t have to go to in-person meetings or have videoconferences when you are having shifting issues,” Maverick said.

  “I can do that.”

  “And you can’t go out like this unless you have someone with you who can take over for you if you get into trouble,” Maverick warned.

  “Yeah, I got it.”

  But did he? After having shifted herself when she was fully aware of it, she really was feeling more of the impact of having had no control over the shifting. Sure enough, as they drew closer to the ranch, her brother suddenly started to strip off his clothes in the truck.

  “Feeling really hot here. It doesn’t hurt though.” Weston sounded thrilled that he was going through the process, not anxious like she’d been.

  She was glad for it.

  Seconds later, Weston was sitting as a wolf on the front seat and howled his delight. Maverick chuckled.

  Smiling, Gina admired him. “You are a beautiful wolf.”

  He howled again, and she loved that she could now recognize his voice as a wolf. She had to try her howl out the next time she was a wolf too.

  As soon as they arrived at the ranch house, Gina got out of the truck and let Weston out.

  “If you want, some of our wolves who are available can run with you,” Maverick said.

  Weston woofed what sounded like his approval.

  She wished she could too, but she couldn’t summon the need to shift at all. And she realized that was the first time she’d even really wanted to turn wolf.

  Leidolf came out of the house and smiled. “Looks like our newest pack member is finding his wolf half to his liking.”

  “Are there any other pack members who are available to run with him?” Maverick asked.

  “They’re coming,” Cassie said, hurrying outside. “Several are eager to run with a new pack member and make him feel perfectly welcome.”

  Just then six male wolves raced out of the bunkhouse and greeted Weston, surrounding him, licking his face, and he greeted them in the same manner, as if he had been born to this way of life. Gina loved it and again wished she could be a wolf to run with her brother. But she was glad Maverick didn’t go running with her brother. She would have felt left out.

  Then the other wolves ran with Weston, and Gina watched, thrilled that he was having such a good time, nipping at them and racing through the snow-covered pasture toward the river and woods.

  Change! Turn! Shift! She wanted so badly to run with them and play too. She hadn’t imagined it being like that. She wondered if she would feel the same way when the new moon phase appeared and she couldn’t shift.

  They watched as another man drove an all-terrain vehicle after them, just in case Weston needed transport back to the ranch house.

  “Are you all right?” Maverick asked, taking Gina into his arms, and she realized she was lost in thought as she watched her brother disappear off into the distance with the others.

  Chapter 11

  Maverick was afraid Gina was upset with seeing her brother racing with the wolves, but she turned her face up and smiled at him, and she seemed perfectly pleased Weston was a wolf. “Thank you for turning him so I didn’t have to, especially since your reasoning is right on track. I wanted to run with my brother in the worst way. With you too. Thanks for not running with my brother until I can.”

  “I wouldn’t have left you behind. He has enough new friends to be with as it is, and when we can run safely together—at my ranch when we have no tour groups there or here—I’m doing it.”

  “How are you feeling about all this?” Cassie asked Gina.

  “A little overwhelmed after shifting earlier, worried about doing that again in public. But out here? I so wanted to run with my brother and the others, and I still love being a wolf,” Gina said.

  “Good. You’ll get more used to it as time goes on. Come inside, both of you, and we’ll have some dessert,” Cassie said.

  Then they went inside to have fudge cake and cups of coffee in the sunroom.

  “Unfortunately,” Cassie said to Gina, “we can only give you advice about what to do around this time of the month—don’t wear jewelry, be with someone when driving a vehicle, airline trips are out. This is such an individual thing, and it affects everyone differently. As a non-royal, you won’t ever be able to shift during the new moon, and it can take months or years to get a handle on shifting during the full moon. The rest of the month you’ll have a little more control over it.”

  “Cassie’s right. At least part of the problem has been resolved as far as Weston being one of us now though,” Leidolf said. “But you didn’t turn Gina and her brother’s parents yet, did you, Maverick, when they had dinner at your place?”

  “No. We were trying to show them we’re the good guys first,” Maverick said.

  They sat down in the sunroom and watched the scenery for any sign of the wolves. But they didn’t see any yet.

  “How receptive do you think they’ll be now that they’ve met Maverick?” Leidolf asked.

  “My dad loves his car,” Gina said.

  Leidolf laughed. “Okay, good. We’ll keep your brother here as long as he wants to stay.”

  “One of the wolves is Sarge,” Maverick explained to Gina as the group of wolves ran past the sunroom window.

  “Oh, wow, okay. I would never have recognized him. Well, my brother said he wanted to stay with him here, so I guess that will work,” Gina said.

  “It will,” Maverick said. “But if your brother wants to return to the reindeer ranch, he can stay in Josh and Brooke’s house until he knows what he wants to do long term.”

  “If that’s settled, what is the next step with your parents?” Leidolf asked.

  “We’ll turn them,” Gina said, reaching over to squeeze Maverick’s free hand. “Maverick will have to do it so they have more royal roots.”

  Cassie said, “Good. I’m still thinking of us doing it in a more civilized manner with your parents so it’s not so terrifying. Maybe we can tell them about it, show them about your shifting, and then if they don’t agree to taking the more medical approach, Maverick will have to bite them. What are you going to do about Christmas?”

  “Weston and I are supposed to have Christmas at Mom and Dad’s place,” Gina said.

  Maverick hadn’t even thought about Christmas where her family was concerned. This would be a new experience for all of them.

  “That’s the time of the waning gibbous,” Cassie said. “Then New Year’s Eve is a new moon phase, and we have a big New Year’s Eve party here, and your parents can come here for it. If we’ve turned them by then, they won’t have any shifting issues.”

  “That would be lovely. They don’t go anywhere for New Year’s Eve, so I know they’d love it. We should have my parents come to your home for Christmas,” Gina said to Maverick. “If they have to shift like my brother and I did, at least they’ll already be where they need to be—among their new kind.”

  “Absolutely. Would they be receptive to having Christmas at the ranch?” Maverick asked.

  “Yeah, because they think we might be becoming a couple and they would be happy to help make that happen.”

  “That works for me. Josh and Brooke will be having Christmas with us also. My brother and I and Brooke no longer have any family, so we’re it for each other.”

  “Oh, wow, okay, so my parents will have to adopt the three of you.”

  “Yeah.” Maverick smiled. “That would be nice. They’ll need to meet my brother and sister-in-law too.”

  After his brother had married Brooke, Maverick had never expected to meet, well, turn a woman who had parents and a brother. He’d been kind of thinking when he met the right wolf, she’d be on her own like Brooke had been. But he was glad to have more family, and he knew his brother and sister-in-law would be too.

  “What happens if my brother unexpectedly shifts out in the snow?” Gina suddenly asked.

  “That’s why a couple of men followed them in an all-wheel Jeep Wrangler to pick him up, and they’ll have spare clothes for him,” Leidolf said. “We have a lot of experience dealing with new wolves.”

  “Okay, good. I wasn’t a wolf that long after I shifted this last time. And of course I was in the house, so I haven’t run as a wolf yet either.”

  “Yeah, we’ve got it covered.” Leidolf got a call. “Yeah?” He looked up at Gina and smiled. “Okay, see you in a few.” He put his phone back on the chair. “Your brother shifted, and he’s dressed and on his way here to join us.”

  “Oh, wonderful,” Gina said.

  “Oh, good,” Cassie said. “We can give him some cake and coffee too.”

  It didn’t take long before Weston arrived at the house, wearing his own clothes that he must have changed into in Maverick’s truck, and everyone greeted him. Gina gave her brother a hug, and Maverick shook his hand, smiling. “Well, how was it?”

  “Oh, man, that was the thrill of a lifetime,” Weston said.

  Gina smiled at him, and Maverick heard her sigh in relief. He rubbed her back, and she relaxed a little. He guessed she’d been worried about how her brother would have felt after turning into his wolf and running with the others.

  “That really was an experience and a half. Smelling all the scents, hearing so much more, seeing things I never would have, and being so low to the ground it’s like someone had shrunk me in size. But also running like that for miles and so fast was totally cool.” Weston sat down with them in the sunroom while Cassie brought him a cup of coffee and some cake.

  “Thanks so much. I guess as wolves we can still eat chocolate.” Weston took a bite of his cake.

  “Yeah, as a human, you can eat anything you normally eat. As a wolf, you can crunch into uncooked bones that you couldn’t as a human. If you ate chocolate as a wolf and you shifted quickly enough, you would be okay. I wouldn’t recommend eating chocolate as a wolf otherwise,” Cassie said.

  “Good to know. I hoped you would come running with us,” Weston said to Gina.

  “I wanted to, but I couldn’t call on the ability to shift.”

  “Next time you can do it,” Maverick said, hoping that it would happen when they both shifted at the same time. “Or one of these times.” All he knew was he wanted to run with her as a wolf.

  “Are you staying with Sarge at this ranch?” Gina asked.

  “Yeah. He has plenty of room for me, and he said I could stay with him as long as I like.”

  “That’s great,” Gina said.

  “And you?” her brother asked.

  “She’s staying with me,” Maverick said before she could answer.

  She smiled at him.

  They finally got ready to leave, and she hugged her brother goodbye and thanked Cassie and Leidolf for everything.

  Then they left, and Maverick was feeling good about all of it so far, though still concerned about turning her parents. He thought about having Christmas with them and turning them then—here’s your Christmas gift. Merry Christmas.

  “Is it really fine with you and your brother and sister-in-law if we have Christmas at your place?” Gina asked on the drive back to the reindeer ranch.

  “Yeah, it sure is.”

  “Okay. My parents will be delighted about going to the New Year’s Eve party. We have another problem though. What about Christmas Eve dinner? We would always spend that time with my parents too.”

  “They can come out to the reindeer ranch and stay overnight. Then they can have both meals with us.”

  “Okay, that could work. Otherwise, I was afraid we would have a problem with them wanting to have us over for Christmas Eve dinner.”

  “Right. And both you and your brother could possibly shift. As long as they are fine with staying with us, we should be good.”

  “What about shifting issues for my brother and me when our parents stay overnight at your place?” she asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about that. There’s no way to plan for every eventuality.”

  “I still want to go to the zoo so I can see the animals and learn their scents so when I’m out running in the wild, I can distinguish all the scents I’m smelling from each other. I think after New Year’s Day will be great. But I’m also going to time how long between shifts I can expect to go.”

  He hated to tell her they couldn’t predict a need to shift like that for the recently turned. But he wanted her to know the truth so she would be better prepared, though even then he assumed anytime that she would have to suddenly shift would be a shock to her for some time to come.

  “I would do that too, though shifting can be unpredictable, particularly in the beginning and during the time around the full moon.”