Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack (Siren Publishing Classic) (17 page)

“I imagine that’s so,” Cindy agreed solemnly. “Well, let’s get some food into those bellies and everything will at least
feel
better. Come on, then, I’ve got a nice booth where you can see the sun and sky, and I’ll get you something to drink.”

They followed the stocky woman along the windows facing the street, the sounds of happy conversation mixed with the jangle of cutlery against plates. Cindy moved with a remarkably smooth gait as she led them to a booth with real flowers in a vase near the salt and pepper shakers and the box of sugar packets. Julianna settled into the squeaky vinyl seat and studied the menu while Cindy returned with a little teapot full of hot tea and two mugs. She winked at Sebrina and smiled, then added, “Take your time,” before moving away to help some other customers.

Julianna stared down at the menu as the scents of the café enveloped them. She could smell joy and hunger coming from some of the other customers. Alternating amusement and frustration wafted to her from the kitchen, and Cindy broadcast satisfaction each time the doorbell chimed with someone’s entrance. Delicious odors of cooked oil, fried food, and baking bread brought up memories of happier times.

Everything around her reminded her of the Sunday mornings she’d come with her parents to enjoy Cindy’s famous brunch after church. Her mother always fussed with her hair, and her father would wink at her when she rolled her eyes and swatted her mother’s hands irritably. Though the café hadn’t changed much over the years, Julianna felt the loss of her father as she sat with Sebrina in the familiar surroundings.

God, Dad, I wish you were still here.

Clearing her throat before she started to cry, Julianna chose Bucky’s egg burrito with onions, turkey, and Swiss cheese. Sebrina poured the tea, and the soothing scents of hibiscus and orange filled the air inside their booth. Julianna set the menu down and inhaled memories. Her mother had brewed the same tea to calm her down from some horrible nightmare when she was a child.

Julianna waited patiently for Sebrina to speak. She was reluctant to broach the subject of pack politics. She’d hated the politics within the university faculty, and she couldn’t imagine they were much different in a Moon Singer pack. To keep her unease at bay, she turned her head to the window and imagined a 1977 Camaro parked in front of the café, Jeff’s sexy body emerging from the driver’s side door.

“I know you’re feeling the Lady Moon’s approach, and you don’t like politics,” the Paiute woman remarked at last, and Julianna jumped in surprise, tearing herself away from her daydreams. “But you must learn what it’s like to be part of this world and how to take the lead.”

“I know, I know. We all have to live by the rules.”

“We do, and they keep us all safe and in peace,” Sebrina agreed firmly. “The packleaders must be more knowledgeable in these rules than the packmembers to protect everyone. For example, our people never refer to themselves or others in our community as anything other than…” Her voice lowered. “
West of left field
when among the humans.”

Julianna stared at Sebrina for a moment, trying to see if she was serious. The older woman seemed too refined to say something so odd. A little laughter escaped, and Sebrina gave her a flat look. Julianna swallowed her giggles and smothered her smile, focusing on the flowers next to the salt shaker as she tried to formulate a proper response.

“
West of left field
?”

“It’s a way to speak plainly without alerting the humans to our true natures. You must understand. Under no circumstances can you reveal who and what you are to the humans. It’s why you never truly knew the Lightfoots or the Winthrops. They had to keep their natures hidden from you because they thought you human.”

That’s why Jeff ignored me when I threw myself at him. He probably got tired of the stupid human flaunting herself at him. Odd that he couldn’t smell through the deception. I guess I’m really good at hiding my true nature.

“That makes sense.”

“This is now true for you as well,” Sebrina pointed out. “No matter the circumstances, you
must not
reveal your true nature to any humans in this town, including your own mother.”

“My mother?”

Sebrina nodded. “Your mother is human. To reveal our species to her will endanger not only your life, but the well-being of the pack, and offenders are dealt with promptly and permanently.”

Julianna’s blood ran cold, and she gripped her tea to warm her hands.

“You mean I’d end up dead.”

“Or banished, exiled from Callowwood and never seen or heard from again, at least not here. It’s not a lightly made decision. Our peace and security depends on the secrecy of
every
member of the pack. So even when you’re threatened or are trying to save someone from something, you
must not
move faster or be stronger than an average human woman. The reason I stress this today is you’ll be tested, daughter, with just these sorts of situations while a candidate for Luna. And you can be tested at any time, any place, when you’re not even thinking about the pack.”

Julianna bit the inside of her bottom lip to keep from snarling. With the full moon so close, she knew she had to be careful, but keeping this secret from her mother ate at her. She owed Beth Morris her life. Hiding her true nature seemed like the worst kind of betrayal.

“So I can’t tell my mother. That’s just evil. What kind of a daughter keeps this kind of secret?”

“The kind who is meant to be a great leader, a leader who protects more than just herself and those she loves. This is also a protection for the humans. Can you imagine the panic they would suffer if they knew they lived among the Moon Singers who are stronger and faster? Think, daughter. How would they react?”

Julianna grimaced. She couldn’t deny the truth in Sebrina’s words. Just the thought of the Department of Homeland Security getting their hands on a Moon Singer made her want to vomit. Humans were ruthless when they feared something, and she couldn’t condemn even one of her rivals to that fate.

She nodded. “You’re right. It would be awful. That idea scares me more than my inexperience among the Moon Singers.” She rubbed the back of her neck with one hand and sighed. “Jeez, I’m so new to this. I could screw it up without even trying. I know how to be human and how to play the human games of appearance, deception, and manipulation. But I know
nothing
of folks
west of left field
. I barely understand the hierarchy rules of the pack, alphas versus betas versus omegas and on down the Greek alphabet. I don’t know what makes me alpha instead of beta or omega. Is it my parentage? Is it my bearing?”

Julianna shook her head and turned to look out the window with her lips pressed together in a flat line.

“I hate caste systems. I hate encouraging others to look down on ‘lower ranked’ people, and I can’t stand when people treat others as beneath them. That’s sick and wrong, particularly in this country. Despite being
west of left field
, I really do believe in equality and that we can be anything we want to be. Does it have to do with birth order?”

“No, daughter, we all simply have our places,” Sebrina stated implacably, but her voice softened after a moment. “You’re alpha because you are yourself, because that is your personality. You’re a leader, not a follower, and that’s borne out by the way you carry yourself. However, many alphas don’t understand how to treat beta and omega members of the pack. They are to be protected and helped, and they’ll want to assist you whether you like it or not. It’s an honor for them. But they’re not to be used harshly or treated like servants. Treat them with respect and honor, and they’ll be more loyal than anyone could ask. They know their places, daughter, and they accept them. If you defer to them, it will confuse and frighten them. Treat them with honor, but don’t try to make leaders out of those who are meant to follow.”

“I never thought of it that way.” Julianna bit her lip. “Can a lower ranked packmember ever move up in rank? Like can a beta become alpha or an omega become beta?”

“Yes. A beta may become alpha if an alpha member dies, there is no Alpha leader, or they’ve gained enough experience. A lower ranked packmember may also move up in rank if he or she is given a position of honor or power. For example, the members of the Alpha’s cadre are all betas, but they are high ranking betas even if they didn’t start out that way. Once they were nominated for the position of the Alpha’s cadre, they rose in rank.”

“Is there a hierarchy within the cadre?”

“Of course. Usually the oldest and most experienced betas will be the highest ranked within the group.”

“So even an omega can be in an honored position?”

“Yes. Despite this, some alphas have a difficult time treating them with honor.”

Julianna snorted. “True enough! Miss Solaris and the other alphas treat the other packmembers like the dirt under their feet, something to kick out of the way.” She swallowed the last of her tea with a grimace, the dregs burning her tongue as much as the treatment of the other packmembers. “But I can see how the betas and omegas see serving the alphas as an honor
if
the alpha is aware of their own service. They may be lower ranked, but it only makes my responsibility to them more important.”

Sebrina just looked at her for a few moments with approval and something else in her expression. Was it pride and gratitude or sorrow and regret?

“It is a wise leader who looks at leadership as service.”

“Thanks…I think.”

Sebrina gave her a half-smile. “There’s a hierarchy among the alphas as well. It’s based on age, seniority, and strength. For example, because she’s better known in the pack than you and is related to an old Callowwood family, Mistress Solaris is higher ranked, but you’re known to this town since you were a child, even if you weren’t considered pack until recently. That places you higher than Mistress Wolensky, who isn’t from Callowwood, but is still well-known. You’re more highly ranked than Mistress Cutter because you’re older and more experienced in life, even if that life hasn’t been with the pack. However, Mistress Winthrop is higher ranked than you because of her familiarity with both the pack and Callowwood, but below Mistress Solaris because Mistress Solaris is older and has more experience. You must be careful of both these females, daughter.”

Julianna nodded and smiled at Cindy as she meandered to their table. “You ladies ready to order?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Julianna ordered the egg burrito, and Sebrina had steak and eggs. Cindy gave them both a smile and said she’d bring back more tea on her next pass.

“Cindy’s not alpha, is she?” Julianna asked as she watched the café owner stride through the tables to the kitchen.

“No, she is beta.”

“But she’s alpha in her own household, right?”

“That’s correct. To her children, she will always be higher ranked.”

“Good thing. Even human mothers don’t tolerate their kids mouthing off.”

Sebrina laughed. “I’m sure that’s true.”

“My mother certainly didn’t.”

Sebrina immediately sobered, and Julianna caught a stronger scent of regret from the older woman.
What does she have to be sorry about?
It wasn’t Sebrina’s fault Julianna had grown up with humans. Was that why the Paiute woman helped her learn the ways of the Moon Singers, because she’d been raised human?

“Why are you helping me, Sebrina? Why have you gone out of your way to make sure I know the rules of this game?”

The Paiute woman said nothing for a long time, a mask of stoicism hiding all her thoughts. Julianna scented roiling emotion, but it was so muted, she couldn’t identify it.
What is that about?

Then Sebrina gave her a half-smile and a single shoulder shrug. “You’re new to this, daughter, and you must know for what you’ve been chosen. Also, I sense in you a seeker of the old and honorable ways. You don’t tolerate injustice or undue hurt to others, particularly those in your care. This is a good thing and something the pack needs.” Then the smile became much wider and smug. “Besides, Jefferson Lightfoot is your Mate, so you must past the tests so you can claim him and he can claim you.”

Julianna heard the capital “M” on the word mate, and an odd feeling skittered up the center of her back. The combination of excited lust and indignant fear made her shift in her seat. She raised her head and squared her shoulders as if she faced an opponent with whom she had to do battle. The fear made her angry, and she pulled her lips back a little to expose one elongated canine. She didn’t remember it catching on her tongue before.

“There won’t be any kind of ‘claiming’ until I understand exactly what this Mate business is all about,” she said in a low voice, hoping she could disguise her growl.

Sebrina paused, reading Julianna far more accurately than she would have liked.

“Something about Mating distresses you?” she asked carefully, cocking her head to one side. “It’s perfectly natural. You don’t smell like a virgin—”

“I’m not a virgin!” Julianna clenched her hands into fists, willing her voice to drop. Cindy’s son Bucky could probably hear them in the kitchen. “But I’m also not willing to just let any male take what he wants from me. Jeff already tried that at the party, and I set him straight in a hurry.”