PackRescue (22 page)

“Am I here because it’s the easy thing to do, not the
right thing?”
Fina’s fingers hesitated on the keyboard. She glanced up at
the screen. Staff sergeant Owen Wells was looking at her. The furrow between
his eyes was deeper than usual.
“I’m wasting your time again.”

“No waste, Fina. There’s not many people I get letters
from. Is this still considered a letter?”

She saw his brown eyes glance at the computer he was using.
His powerful shoulders, outlined beneath a plain tan t-shirt, lifted then fell.
He grinned.

“Anyway, the guys respect me more now because I know a
real, live girl.”

Fina laughed. The darkness crowding the home office seemed
to shrink back a little.
“Flirt,”
she typed back.

“Flirt? Coming from your gene pool, you’re one to talk.
Even when he was a kid your brother chased tail whenever he could. One time he
chased Paulette Howard up a tree while he was in wolf form. Kept head butting
her until she rubbed his belly. We were only in junior high then.”

Fina laughed harder when she saw the static images of his
face, contorted in merriment, change about once every two seconds.

“Did Paulette…?”
Owen’s head dipped and his hands
rested unmoving on his keyboard.

“
She and her mate died too.”
Fina’s fingers moved
sluggishly.
“They had two cubs.”

Owen’s mouth curled into a snarl and his head jerked away
from the camera.

“You would have liked her mate,”
Fina typed, trying
to find something to temper Owen’s anger.
“Great sense of humor. Always
putting blobs of shaving cream in people’s mail slots at the nursery.”

She watched Owen turn back to the screen, saw his eyes move,
saw his jaw relax and the corner of his mouth turn up.

“Your mother loved giving him hell.”

“I bet she did,”
Owen replied after a time. His head
bobbed up and down in a nod.

“Fina?”

She turned in her chair as the office door opened. She’d
been so engrossed in her online chat she hadn’t heard Ryan get out of bed. He
stood there, wearing his cowboy pajama bottoms and a blue t-shirt, rubbing a
knuckle across his eyes.

“Hey, Ryan. There’s somebody I’d like you to meet.”
She held out her hands. Ryan came to her readily, crawled onto her lap and
blinked at the screen.

“Hey. You must be Ryan. I’m Owen.”

Ryan looked up at Fina then his finger moved over the
screen. He was able to read out over half the words. Fina filled in the rest.

“I’m Samantha Wells’ son but I moved away before you were
born.”

“Aunt Samantha?”
Fina typed for Ryan.

“Yes.”

“Are you a soldier?”

“Yes. I’m serving in a country called Iraq. Maybe Fina
can show it to you on a map later.”

Owen and Ryan looked at each other for a long minute before
Owen started typing again.

“Your dad was really good at building things. I remember
he built a lot of things at the nursery, and built that little strip plaza with
the real estate office your mom used to work in. She was very pretty.”

Ryan glanced up at Fina excitedly then started talking.
“My
dad built houses. He had other guys working for him,”
Fina typed
obediently,
“and they built a row of six of them near my school.”

Owen smiled broadly then turned his head when someone laid
their hand on his shoulder.

“My time’s up, Ryan. I have to give one of the other guys
a chance to talk to their family. Maybe we can talk again later this week. Send
me a regular email or maybe a picture if you like. Bye.”

Ryan waved at the screen until it went dark, then Fina’s
email screen came up.

“Is Owen our family, Fina?” Ryan turned his face up to her
when he asked.

“Yes. I suppose he is.” She hugged his small body tightly,
kissed his head then carried him back to bed.

Fina held Ryan’s hand as they walked into the local primary
school. The floors gleamed, the air was fresh but the place seemed hollow,
almost sterile somehow. It was too quiet. As she walked toward the door marked
office
she forced a smile and pointed out the bright artwork on the walls. Last year’s
work, no doubt. Each painting or drawing bore a child’s signature. She
recognized most of the family names. “Here we go,” she said brightly as she
pushed the door open. “Hello?” There was no one sitting at the desk inside.

“Ms. Whitesage?” a woman called out from the inner office. “That
was great timing. I just got here.” The woman who stepped out was about forty,
maybe a few inches taller than Fina with a generous smile and bright brown
eyes. Her short brown hair swung against her neck as she held out her hand in
greeting. “I’m Dodie Smith. The principal. And this must be Ryan Upton.” She
was wearing a pair of tailored slacks, a blouse and, incongruously, a pair of
high-tech running shoes. “Forgive the ensemble, or lack thereof,” she laughed
when she saw Fina glance at her feet. “I’m going for a run after our meeting
and I forgot to bring dress shoes.”

“You run?” Fina asked conversationally.

“I’m training for a 15K in September.” She grinned
conspiratorially. “I know it’s not fair, me competing against humans but I can’t
turn down a good race.”

“Impressive.” Fina nodded. “Wear uncomfortable shorts and it’ll
even everything out.”

Principal Smith laughed. When she stopped she smiled down at
Ryan. “Ready to meet your teacher?”

Ryan glanced up at Fina then back at the principal. He
nodded.

“Miss Lee is in her classroom,” she explained as she led
Fina and Ryan out of the office. “She’ll have you write and draw a few things,
do some addition and play with some blocks. I think you’ll like her.” Principal
Smith turned her attention to Fina. “We keep the kindergarten and first grade
classrooms closest to the office. The washrooms in this wing are designed for
our smallest students.” She pointed as they passed one sparkling example. “Our
curriculum is grounded in the basics but we also put an emphasis on creativity.
Music and art stimulate the students in ways other subjects can’t. We find our
students’ grades are consistently higher than the state average because of it.
Here we are.”

She led them into a spacious classroom. The walls were
covered in colorful cutouts of numbers, days of the week, pictures of different
topographies, mammals and birds. Ryan walked into the room without hesitation,
drawn by the visuals, a cluster of soft cushions on the floor and a neat row of
cubicles. He ran his finger over the names taped above each one until he found
his then he turned back to Fina, beaming. He hung his lightweight jacket on his
peg then headed for the tidy baskets of toys arranged beneath the large, bright
windows.

“Miss Lee will test Ryan’s cognitive skills this morning,”
Principal Smith said to Fina, drawing her attention back to her. “You explained
you didn’t have his kindergarten transcripts or notebooks and didn’t want to
send for them.”

“Yes,” Fina replied firmly. “The pack that took over our
lands is still in the area and…not
you
!”

Fina growled and bared her teeth when a tall black-haired
woman stood up from behind the desk at the far end of the room. The principal
stepped back nervously. Even Ryan looked at her and blinked.

The black-haired, blue-eyed female who had challenged Fina
in the diner and again before the mating run two nights before walked toward
her slowly.

“No.” Fina’s mouth snapped shut. She turned on her heel, grabbed
the principal’s elbow and dragged her out of the classroom and away from Ryan’s
ears. “That bitch isn’t getting anywhere near Ryan,” she hissed once they were
outside.

Principal Smith’s mouth dropped open. She closed it slowly. “Of-of
course. If you wish,” she whispered then glanced up at Fina from beneath
lowered lids. Even though she was a good three inches taller than Fina, Fina
felt like her body towered over the other woman’s. “But Melinda is one of our
best teachers. I know she…” She took a deep breath. “She challenged you.”

Fina snarled and the principal paled.

“Of course,” Principal Smith repeated. “Melinda is our only
first grade teacher but there are a few weeks before the start of the school
year. We should be able to get a replacement as long as you don’t mind a
non-were teaching your surrogate son. Otherwise we can have one of the other
teachers switch—”

“Please.” Melinda Lee stepped up to them. Despite her
height, which was impressive, she dipped her head in submission to Fina. She
was wearing a pair of summery pants and a modest, brightly patterned,
short-sleeved shirt. She exhaled nervously. “Okay. I was angry when you showed
up. More than angry,” she admitted and shoved her hair behind her ear. “But the
simple fact is my pack has a new top bitch. I may have perceived you as an
interloper but you’ve demonstrated you’re tough enough to handle the job. He’s
bonded with you. They both have. I can’t compete with that.” Melinda held her
hands out in a helpless gesture. “I had three options. The first one was to
challenge you…been there, done that, lost,” she admitted without rancor. “Two,
leave this pack for another—not with the great pension plan I’ve got here,” she
added dryly. “Or three, start making friends in other packs, try to find my own
mate and haul his shaggy ass back here.” She lowered her voice, glanced into
the classroom to make sure Ryan wasn’t listening and whispered when she said
the word ass.

Both Melinda and the principal looked at Fina warily.

“If…
if
I decide I can’t trust her around Ryan, you’ll
fire her?” Fina asked darkly, directing her question to Principal Smith.

“Yes.”

She turned to Melinda and scowled. “Make me believe I should
trust you.”

Melinda exhaled slowly. “I’m good at my job.” She held out
her hand and led them back into the classroom. “I’ve set up a few key tests
which will measure Ryan’s language and math skills.” Stepping up to a cluster
of child-sized tables, she handed Fina the papers sitting on one. “Like all
students, he will have forgotten some of what he learned last year but he
should still function at a certain level. I’ll test his comprehension and
problem-solving skills as well. That’ll give me an idea of his general
cognitive abilities.” She lifted her chin. “Children respond to me, Ms.
Whitesage. They like me and I like them. I’m firm but fair. I provide
structure, individual attention, encouragement and discipline when necessary. I’ve
also got a kick-ass,” again she lowered her voice, “file full of group games
that teach cooperation and are physically and mentally challenging.”

Hands on hips, Fina looked into Melinda’s wary eyes and
considered what she’d said.

“The two weeks Ryan and I were on the road, after our pack
was killed,” she whispered, directing her question to Melinda, “Ryan’s ability
to form complete sentences diminished. We’ve been working hard at it at home
and his speech and reading are back to where they were.”

Melinda glanced at the principal then turned back to Fina
and nodded. “Homeless children start to lose their communication skills,”
Melinda said quietly. “He’d have started to shut down, even without the trauma.”
Something in her expression softened. “I also know you got him out of Tennessee
alive.

You’ve protected him, cared for him like he was your own
cub.” She glanced over at Ryan. “That child is also my Alpha’s surrogate son.
That means I’ll defend him with everything inside me…maybe even more than you
would because he isn’t mine.” She grinned crookedly. “I always take better care
of other people’s things than I do my own.”

Fina looked at the principal, who was nodding hopefully,
then back at Melinda. “All right. You can be his teacher. I will however be
monitoring your treatment of him. If I catch so much as a whiff of animosity or
hostility, I’ll drive you out faster than a pneumatic nailer.”

Melinda blinked then dipped her head in a submissive pose. “Thank
you. I’ll get started on his testing now. It shouldn’t take longer than twenty
minutes.”

“I’ll wait outside,” Fina replied.
Within hearing
distance
, she added mentally and stepped out of the classroom.

“Melinda designed the tests to run twenty minutes,”
Principal Smith explained as they left. She was talking faster and her voice
was pitched a little higher than before. “Students his age should be able to
focus that long. It’s another test she’s built into the others…” The principal
rambled on, selling their first grade teacher to their new top bitch and
explaining the different programs the school offered while Fina kept one ear
tuned to what was going on behind the door.

When it opened again, exactly twenty minutes later, Ryan
beamed up at her and handed her a drawing. She hugged him and smiled when he
excitedly pointed out the horse, Cutler, Nath, her and him. Fina rolled it up
carefully and said she’d tape it on the refrigerator, unless of course Cutler
wanted to take it to work and put it on the board in his office.

Ryan promised to draw another if Cutler wanted this one. He
ran back inside to get his coat.

“I’m probably not the first one to tell you you’re a greedy
bitch,” Melinda harped good-naturedly, albeit warily, when she joined the other
two women. “You just had to claim
both
brothers, didn’t you?”

Even Principal Smith grinned.

“Now, unless you have any more questions, I’ll finish
grading Ryan’s tests.” Melinda stood up straight. “But from what I saw,
everything looks good. He shouldn’t have to repeat kindergarten or any part of
it. In fact his reading is better than what I would have expected. You’re
probably responsible for that.”