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“H ey, Raul. We’re here for Wolcott.” Rudie led their small group into a space Morlie figured was a bar.

They had more than a few in the district, she’d peered into the place a time or two to see what was going on.

Not that she would have been banned from it, because the people who served the rotgut from homemade brews didn’t care who they served as long as the person had the credit on their accounts or something worthy to trade.

However, Morlie stared around the big, clean place, at the walls, like the front door, which was made of thick metal.

There were expansive windows cut into the walls on the front, back, and one side that wasn’t connected to the house beside it, which let in the sunlight and made the space bright instead of dark and dingy like the one in the Dispatch, where people got drunk and fought often.

No, Morlie could see this place wasn’t like that. The few people who were inside and not outside among those setting up for the evening festivities or part of the thinning mass who’d watched the Alpha bring justice, were sitting at a table with a drink or two between them, talking and laughing.

It was another way that she saw the Lupine society, which was very different from what she’d experienced behind the Wall as a human.

Even the violence of the morning had been for a purpose. Chanin had made his cousin answer for the sins against the Pack.

The way Chanin stood before his people in the field, bold, strong, commanding, and confident about his place in the world, had set off a need so great inside her that it made her bones ache. She’d desired nothing else at that moment when his gaze had locked on her, but to run to him and join him.

Her wolf’s whine had been so loud in her soul that its cry for Chanin’s wolf had drowned out even Morlie’s very heartbeat in her ears.

Her beast had begun to stretch out in her core, and it would have forced Morlie to shift and let the wolf present itself to Chanin’s if Lovel and Amira had not been forceful with her in their tone.

‘Now is not the time,’ they’d said and dragged her away.

Morlie would have found herself helpless to submit.

Now that there was some distance between her and Chanin, she felt a clearer head.

Not completely, since Rudie had explained to her about the lunar pull and how at midnight tonight it would be at its zenith so every wolf would be on edge and things would only get worse as the hours grew—the reason for the festival distraction.

Even now, her skin felt alive, as if each cell had its own pulse. The clothes she wore felt too tight, irritating her skin. It was taking all her focus not to strip out of the pants and top.

“You know my brother is down in the lab and habitat.” The stocky man pulled the tap and filled a short, slim glass with a golden liquid, making white foam rise at the top. He slid it down the reclaimed wood bar toward two shifters at the other end.

“Of course. Morlie, this is Raul. He manages the Pack bar. Raul, this is Morlie.” Rudie handled the introduction.

Morlie stepped up close behind a bar next to Rudie. Lovel and Amira were behind her, talking to each other, while Faolan hung back by the door. The Fang Warrior still made her edgy, but it became easier to ignore his looming shadow each time she was around him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Raul. I like your place, it's fancier than I ever expected a bar to be.” Morlie glanced past the bartender at the stocked and intricately carved shelf.

Raul smiled. “Well, the items one can find in abandoned shipping containers from freighters tossed upon the land during the tsunamis are amazing.”

“So, I’m seeing all around the territory.

” During the tour around town with her female entourage, she’d seen not only the refurbished homes of the pack members, but also how various pieces like clothing, household goods, non-perishable foods were set up in containment units welded together side by side or stacked into floors of supplies all run by different pack members.

It made Morlie wonder how different the District’s life would be if they weren’t stuck behind the Wall and had access to some containers before they were divided among the shifter communities.

But that would have meant foresight from their government, which considered those labeled Dispatch something as easily insignificant or tossed away as an old letter.

“Well, when you have to establish new homes and things in a brand-new territory, you pull together all the ideas that will help you rebuild.” Raul rested his weight on his palms against the bar's edge and shrugged.

“Life has been manageable for the most part. Now finding a mate would make it all better.” He winked.

Morlie smiled. The man was kind and seemed good-natured and she appreciated his attitude.

She heard the man’s concern. It seemed to be a resounding echo that filled the community of Lupine.

Places they went that day, and even when her acute hearing picked up on bits of the conversation of those in the bar, all discussing the run that night, and all concerned it would be another empty run—no real mates to be found.

“Hopefully, things will change soon. Look at me, I never expected to be a new shifter in your territory.” Morlie didn’t know what else to say. Her life had turned a complete one-eighty and her sister’s, too.

“Yes, Morlie. We all see you as our hope.” His earnest gaze fired the tiny amber flecks in his eyes and illuminated them momentarily.

She felt a weight on her shoulders that she knew she had no control over doing anything about. Hell, how she even got beyond the wall hadn’t been a choice she had made, but one made for her.

“I’m headed down to get Wolcott,” Rudie informed them and began to walk around the bar.

“If you want him to do something that isn’t animal welfare...you’ll need to grab my brother by the mane,” Raul snarked.

“I know. I know.” Rudie laughed.

“You want me to come with you? I’d like to see the lab and what he does,” Morlie started to follow.

Rudie turned and gave her a sharp look, holding her palms up as if to ward Morlie off.

“No,” Amira called out.

Morlie halted, stunned at all their reactions.

“Oh, no. Your wolf isn’t ready to be trapped in a room full of soft, fluffy, tasty rabbits, yet.”

Morlie caught herself halfway through Rudie’s description licking her lips, her wolf filling her mind and reminding her of the taste of them the first night.

“And not want to devour them.” Lovel laughed behind her.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Heat rose in Morlie’s neck and into her cheeks, a little embarrassed. However, she didn’t stew in it; she was among other wolf-shifters, and she was sure they’d all struggled to control their wolves at one time or another.

Rudie disappeared through a thick door behind and to Raul's left.

“Don’t worry, Morlie. Wolcott and Chanin only allow a few Lupine down in the livestock habitat and most of these greedy-ass wolves wouldn’t be able to keep their selves together, either.” Raul shot a hard look around her small group and the room of onlookers.

“Thanks, Raul.”

“Take a seat,” Raul slapped his hand on top of the bar. “Let me get you all some refreshing honey-water while you wait.”

She, Amira, and Lovel sidled up to the bar and let the man serve them frosted mugs of amber-colored water. Even Faolan stepped away from his post, standing beside Morlie as he guzzled his drink.

Morlie had to admit she liked the lightly-sweetened water and allowed her wolf to convince her to request a second glass.

The three of them sat and chatted with Raul in between him serving a few other Pack members who made their way in. Morlie met other wolf-shifters, some of whom purposely came to the bar to meet her.

It didn’t take Faolan long to end up back in his guard dog position against the wall by the door.

The side door opened, and Rudie and a shifter who was just as stocky as Raul and identical in the face, except for the glasses, stepped through. They were followed by another man, who had dark hair and was broad in the shoulders.

“You’re a twin, Raul?” Morlie stared from the bartender to the man hovering behind Rudie holding a mesh bag in his hand.

Ignore the rabbit . Morlie warned herself.

“Yes. But, I’m the oldest and the cuter one, so it doesn’t matter,” Raul joked.

The other rolled his eyes. “Ignore him, Morlie. Saying it makes him feel special.” The man shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose and met her gaze shyly.

Tilting her head to the side, Morlie observed him. Since she’d been a wolf-shifter, her hearing, taste, smell, and eyesight had increased exponentially, so seeing this Lupine wearing spectacles confused her. “You wear glasses?”

Wolcott shrugged a shoulder, and Morlie swore he blushed, before saying, “They helped me fit in with the humans in my courses in college, and many of the animal scientists I worked around before the Catastrophes. Habit.”

“They fit your face well and you look smart. Some might say more handsome than Raul.” Rudie, tiny in stature, stared up at Wolcott standing over her.

It was Raul’s time to roll his eyes. “Spoken from your wolf’s loins not your eyes.”

Rudie and Wolcott gasped.

Morlie rolled her lips in between her teeth and tried not to laugh. However, even she could see the attraction between Chanin’s assistant and the rabbit whisperer.

Lovel and Raul didn’t restrain their mirth.

Amira just shook her head.

The older man who came out with Rudie and Wolcott stepped beside Raul, placing himself directly before Morlie.

“I came up to meet you. I figured this would be the only way to meet you anytime soon with all that has been happening within the Pack.”

There was something familiar about the tall shifter with broad shoulders, and a husky timbre to his voice.