Page 46 of Ascendant Moon (Gladstone Shifters #6)

The journey from Albuquerque to Rancho Lobo gave the four-pack plenty of time for reflection and conversation.

Their brief morning visit with Gray’s grandparents and mother had been awkward and stressful, giving Sergio a rigorous mental workout.

As expected, the woman’s memories had needed significant adjustment, along with her attitudes.

Compared to Tayen, Gray’s mother hadn’t been as sanguine about his homosexual relationship; doubly insulted that he’d chosen someone of Mexican descent instead of Diné.

She also noticed, as expected, Gray’s obvious physical changes—more muscle, increased body and facial hair, flawless skin, and the lack of traditional earrings.

Sergio didn’t do extensive tampering, but some was necessary to convince her that Gray’s appearance hadn’t changed.

As for her son’s choice of life partner, Sergio replaced her anger with open-minded tolerance—leaving room for future acceptance as she got to know Nick and his friends.

They’d left on good enough terms, though Gray had been even more quiet than usual as they got underway. He and Nick sat in the back, with Dante driving and Sergio riding shotgun. Nick reached across the seat to clasp his mate’s hand, filling the air with his calming scent.

“What is it, love? No one blames you for what your mom thinks, and I’m sure she’ll come around in time.”

Gray sighed and turned to face Nick, giving his warm hand a squeeze.

“I hope so, but that’s just part of it. A lot of my people share her feelings, and I don’t want them hurting any of you.

The Diné have a long history of wars and oppression that started back in the 1600s, and hatred is hard to overcome.

On top of that, our own government chose not to officially embrace the gay community.

I want the ranch to be our safe place in every way. ”

Growls of agreement erupted around him, and Gray smiled at the affirmation. Dante made sure they understood his position clearly.

“It will be, I promise. We’ll have to sort out the employees first, since we didn’t hire any of them, but the ranch isn’t just our business—it’s our home and packlands. Shifter or human, I won’t put up with people who have issues with our heritage or orientation. And they better love wolves, too.”

Everyone chuckled at that, given the ranch’s new name, the nearby natural wolf packs, and the true nature of the owners.

As Gray leaned over to kiss his mate, Sergio returned to looking out the passenger side window.

Less than a minute later his altered scent reached them, though they hadn’t realized that he’d been gripped by one of Luna’s visions.

The pleasant aroma was one of delight rather than anger or fear, and since he was safe here, Dante continued driving—just as curious as his friends about what was going on.

Jack had instructed them to simply protect him until the vision ended, and then leave the man in peace if he chose not to share.

In reality, these mysterious episodes super-charged their natural curiosity—dying to find out what Luna was telling Sergio.

As they understood it, visions often contained time-sensitive information regarding near future events, and given that their next stop was the ranch…

well, it was reasonable to assume that something unexpected might happen when they arrived.

And unless their noses were way off base, it wasn’t bad news.

Several more seconds passed until Sergio stirred and looked around.

Nick didn’t waste any time digging for information.

“You okay? Can you tell us what it was?”

Sergio laughed at his nosy friend.

“Yes, I’m all right, and no, I can’t tell you this time. Dante, how far are we from the ranch?”

Dante mustn’t have been far off the mark, secretly pleased with his guess.

“We’re about ten miles from the Arizona border, and unless we need another bathroom break, we should arrive in about forty-five minutes.”

Sergio grabbed some of the trail mix, munching away in an attempt to hide his excitement.

He didn’t want to tip off the others, but he was now prepared to intervene when they arrived.

Dante followed the highway through Springerville and Eager, bypassing Greer entirely, and looped around to reach the north side of Sunrise Lake.

They had agreed beforehand that Rancho Lobo was the name of their business , but the lake’s name would designate their home and secret identity—the Sunrise Pack.

Nestled in a remote White Mountain valley, the area was a patchwork of dense forest and dry desert.

It appeared to be quiet, sparsely populated, and bursting with prey—exactly what a new shifter pack needed.

At length, they came to a long dirt drive that brought them to a neat and well-maintained ranch.

On the left was the main house, a single-story home painted bright yellow with hunter green accents.

On the right were several fenced paddocks for shaggy, big-eared Angora goats, with a Churro sheep pasture further out.

Straight ahead they found a conglomeration of barns and outbuildings.

Dante parked the SUV and they got out to stretch and look around.

A stiff breeze made scenting anything specific difficult, but the mountain air was dry and crisp with a hint of animal dung.

Their arrival must have been noticed, and a tall, young Diné woman dressed in denim coveralls approached them from the largest barn.

Sergio assumed this was Sakari, the employee who had been managing the ranch in their absence and had promised to greet them on arrival.

His lupine senses could clearly see it was the same person from his vision, and he purposely stationed himself at Dante’s side.

The tall, muscular Alpha had already zeroed in on the human woman, growling softly while he sniffed the air for clues.

Neither Gray nor Nick were paying any attention, clueless as to the pleasant surprise awaiting them.

A gust of wind finally brought the woman’s scent past Dante’s twitching nose, and he whispered the expected word.

“Mate!”

That caught Gray and Nick’s attention, and they turned to see what was going on. To prevent scaring the woman, Sergio redirected Dante’s impulse to carry her off for a vigorous claiming.

Human.

Be calm.

Go slow.

No growling!

It was impossible not to notice Dante’s intense stare, and when she reached the group, Sergio touched her mind.

We are friends.

You are safe.

Trust him.

Gray caught on and approached to introduce himself.

“Yá'át'ééh (it is good) . I am one of the new owners, Gray Claw, and this is my partner, Nick Garcia.”

Nick raised a palm in greeting and cranked up his scent. Gray did not attempt to shake her hand, which would have been a mistake regardless of Diné social mores, and the woman responded.

“Yá'át'ééh. My name is Sakari Nez. I’m glad you have come. The rest have gone home for the day, but will return tomorrow. We have been short-handed after the previous owners moved away.”

Gray motioned toward the others, who were waiting to be introduced.

“It’s good to meet you, Sakari. This is Sergio Rivera, and Dante Navarro.”

Sergio simply nodded in greeting with a quiet hello, while Dante stepped right up to the woman with a warm smile. They were nearly the same height.

“Your name is very pretty. What does it mean?”

An inner struggle she didn’t understand encouraged her to embrace the attractive man, but she resisted the silly idea.

“Sakari means “sweet” and Nez is the word for “tall.” Are you also one of the new owners?”

“Yes. I am the Alph.. uhhh, leader of our group. I would be honored if you would show us around the ranch.”

Sakari, with Dante at her side, began at the house, followed by the guest cabins—including one she’d been using temporarily.

By the time they reached the barn, Dante ached to touch her, and asked if he could hold her hand.

She gave him an odd look, along with permission, and he lifted it to his lips for a soft kiss.

Somehow he hadn’t frightened her, yet, and Sergio marveled at his old friend’s self-control.

The tour continued until they’d seen most of the operation, firing off questions as they went.

While the house was clean, it lacked furniture and all things kitchen.

Gray and Nick agreed to make a run into Springerville for groceries, dining implements, cookware, and other household basics.

Meanwhile, Sergio stayed behind to act as the budding couple’s chaperone and make sure Dante didn’t push for too much too soon.

Sakari seemed to be holding her own, totally unaware that a wolf shifter was prepared to claim her as his mate.

Following supper, they observed Sakari’s evening routine with the animals, getting them fed and settled for the night.

She answered more questions, and Gray’s work experience helped him understand how the operation worked.

Bedtime, however, became something of a problem.

While Alpha Sheppard had arranged for an open-ended charge account at a furniture store in Tucson, getting it here would take time.

The only beds available were those in the guest cabins, and since they needed four and only had three, someone would have to share.

Sakari solved the problem by inviting Dante to her place for the night.

He responded with a lusty growl, picked her up, and headed for the cabin without a backward glance.