Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A9: I've recently come into contact with a changeling group and had an opportunity to sense an old changeling imprint. It was less…visceral than other imprints of a similar age on the same surface. I'd like to hear further from those of you with experience with changeling imprints. Is this normal?

Jervois: I've never had the chance, but I'm curious to hear from the others, too. My family is considering a business venture with a small changeling group, so I might come into contact with their imprints. I would like to be prepared.

TNS: I've had multiple opportunities to sense changeling imprints. A9, your experience is similar to mine. We can still read them, but not at the depth we can Psy or human. And in passive mode, I find that I'm not discomforted at all in even heavily changeling-imprinted spaces. I've theorized it's as a result of their natural shields.

Jervois: That is intriguing to me. After all, Psy have heavy shields, too. Why are we impacted so strongly by our own race then? Humans, it makes sense, since their natural shields are paper thin.

A9: Perhaps we are sensitized to other Psy in a genetic sense? Or perhaps it's because a changeling has a dual aspect to their nature, which might somehow scramble our senses.

TNS: Valid theories—perhaps one day one of us can get a grant to study the phenomenon. Though, A9—I see from your profile that you've posted in the pregnancy subforum—I can't tell you anything about how your current physical status will impact the effect of changeling imprints. It's not something with which I've ever had—or will have—any experience.

A9: Hopefully another one of us can chime in with more knowledge.

Enna: It's been seven hours. Does no one have more information? This is the most interesting thread we've had in forever.

—Thread on Psycho both were single, and with Mliss being a senior maternal to Theo's sentinel, there was no power imbalance.

Mliss snarled at him, but backed off. Theo, meanwhile, finished off his final cookie and said, "You want me to handle more stuff here?"

Mliss answered before Remi could reply—and this time, she was in her COO avatar. "Won't work. Not yet—not with the meetings anyway. Has to be you, Remi."

Mliss had come to RainFire from a small pack built around a sprawling family—all the adults left at some point, to find mates and experience life in other packs. Some returned to their familial pack, bringing their mates with them, while others stayed put in their new packs.

Remi had all his digits crossed that Mliss would stick with RainFire long-term, because the other thing about that familial pack was that they punched way above their weight in the business world. In this sphere, Mliss had more knowledge in her pinky finger than the rest of them combined.

Which was why Remi didn't argue with her statement, just said, "Why?"

"Because we're not DarkRiver or SnowDancer with their decades-long track records. In business circles, while their alphas are respected and considered dangerous adversaries, DarkRiver and SnowDancer are the brand—exactly as it should be for any pack that wants to stay healthy for generations."

Claws retracted, Mliss used a finger to worry absently at one of the grooves she'd created on the tabletop. "We're new, and our track record is so thin as to be nonexistent. Right now, people want to deal with the boss, put a face to the pack, build a personal connection. You're RainFire's first alpha, Remi—you're the one who has to turn it into a brand. But to do so, you have to act as the foundation."

Dark eyes meeting his. "And, fact is, while you might hate the schmoozing, you're good at putting others at ease. I see you at these meetings and I understand the string of deluded women who call you charming."

"Damn it." Remi could feel his eyes shifting. "How long will it take before you or Theo can take over?"

"Not for years yet." Mliss closed her hand over his fist, her fingers long and her nails polished an opalescent pink. "Right now, RainFire doesn't exist without you. The first alpha, or the first alpha who comes in after a bad period for the pack, is always the brand for at least a decade—it's around that point that, if you've done your job right, we can distribute the weight among the pack."

Groaning, Remi shoved both hands through his hair. He knew she was right. It took time to create the kind of business reputation enjoyed by DarkRiver and SnowDancer. He didn't know much about the history of the wolves, but he knew DarkRiver hadn't done it overnight, either. It had taken years and years of hard grind.

"Our job," Lucas had said to him during his mentorship of Remi, "is to leave the pack better than when we took over. It isn't about us. It's about the pack."

"Oh, by the way," Mliss said, her clear voice mingling with the memory of Luc's. "Lark mentioned the Scott up at the cabin, so I poked around a bit—their compound just out of town has gone into serious overdrive over the past eight months. Prior to that, it was closed up for most of the year."

Remi's abdomen clenched.

Eight months.

Longer than Auden's pregnancy, but not by much. Preparation for the eventuality?

A rustle in the doorway, young Phoebe poking her head in. "Um," the teen intern whispered, her cheeks pink and soft brown eyes rounded, "there's a leopard at reception? He says he's come to visit his sister?"

"Name?" Mliss asked, no-nonsense but not unkind.

Phoebe, who worshipped the ground Mliss walked on, went bright red before looking down. "I didn't get his name. I'm so sorry, Mliss."

"It's all right, kitten," Mliss said with a smile. "That's why you're here. To learn."

Remi pushed up to his feet. "You two carry on. I'll go with Phoebe." When he tumbled the juvenile's fine blond hair, she leaned into him with a trust that made Remi's throat close.

This , this was what he wanted to create with RainFire. A home. A safe place.

No cub of Remi's would ever feel lost and unwanted.

Phoebe was old enough that she hadn't been born into the pack, had entered RainFire at age twelve when her adventurous parents decided to throw in their lot with Remi right back at the genesis of the pack. That Remi had managed to earn the trust of her young heart? It meant a fucking lot.

For some odd reason, it also made him think of Auden. Whom, he wondered, did she trust? Clearly not anyone she could ask to teach her how to shoot. Unless, of course, that had all been a game, a way to play him.

For what reason?

That was where he got stuck. Because he couldn't think of a good one for Auden Scott, part of the hugely influential Scott family, to bother ensnaring the alpha of a newborn changeling pack.

"I forgot," Phoebe whispered. "To ask his name, I mean. I got distracted."

"Come on." He put his arm around her shoulders, cuddling her close. "Show me to our guest."

Snarky muttering started up behind him the second he left Mliss and Theo alone. Smirking, Phoebe whispered, "Jeez, get a room."

Remi grinned. "Shh. We suspect nothing."

Phoebe mimed zipping her lips closed.

Funny kid. And a kid who was usually onto it—one of the reasons she'd been selected for this internship. Yet she'd forgotten to get their visitor's name.

That she'd left the visitor alone in reception didn't matter as much; Remi had chosen an office space with a secure door behind reception, which meant guests had to be walked in by one of the pack. It also meant RainFire didn't have to assign a security team here on a day-to-day basis.

Reception itself was protected inside a spacious and bulletproof glass cubicle that backed onto another door leading to the back. Their designer had made it seem a feature, complete with water falling down one side of the cubicle and thriving greenery everywhere.

The entire thing had cost an arm, a leg, and both of Remi's kidneys—but it had already paid itself off by setting his dominants free from having to stand guard. That was the better look, but they were too small to spread their manpower so thin. This way, the pack appeared polished and professional, while making sure their receptionist—whether it was Phoebe doing her intern hours, or their official receptionist—was protected against any threat.

Remi might not have thought of threats a decade before, but the past few years had been full of unrest. Pure Psy, the group with which Auden's father had been associated, had vanished out of existence in terms of a public presence, but word was that malcontents who blamed changelings for the changes in the Psy race were still floating around.

Then there were the usual idiots who might think to target a small pack in the hope they could kidnap and hold a packmate for ransom.

Not happening under Remi's watch. "Let's go find out our mysterious visitor's identity." He pulled open the secure door.