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finished tiredly.
    Alex questioned her further about the Sparrowhawks, the council, and the men she’d fought, asking what type of reception she thought she’d receive when she returned. Then he explained how the Raven pack operated, its hierarchy, and the duties of the various pack members.
    16 Zena Wynn
    In an effort to reassure herself and Alex, she questioned, “How bad can it get? I’m the alpha-fem. Magnus was my father. I’m supposed to be strong. The alpha’s my brother. He won’t let them do anything to me.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I hereby formally offer you the protection of the Raven pack. No one knows that you’re here, and if you want to stay, you’ll be more than welcome.” He raised his right foot and propped it on the bed rail, then linked his hands around his knee, studying the floor as he continued. “I’ve never agreed with the practice of forcing our women to take mates. It’s archaic and distasteful. It sounds like your brother picked up the practice from your father. If you decide to accept our protection, I’ll make sure you have an escort when you go home to pack your things. I’m not asking you to pledge your allegiance to the pack. I would offer the same protection to anyone in your situation. By going back, you may be returning to a potentially life-threatening situation, depending on how much of an example your pack’s council wants to make of you and on which side of the issue your brother falls. At the very least, your life is going to become extremely difficult.” It’s one thing to think she might have FUBAR’d the situation. It was totally different to have someone else confirm it. Damn it, she didn’t want to stay here. She wanted to go home but highly suspected that was no longer possible.
    “You don’t have to decide now,” Alex said, almost like he’d read her thoughts. “Take your time. If someone comes looking for you, we’ll assure them you are safe but only allow them to see you on your say-so, and that includes your brother.” Shannon didn’t need time to think about it. She’d already made her decision. With the Ravens, she wouldn’t have to hide how strong her wolf was. It wouldn’t be an issue.
    She hated being the alpha-fem, hated the responsibilities and restrictions it placed on her life. She would be happy to be one of the pack. There would be no one looking up to her, no one holding her responsible for setting an example, and no one judging her because of her position. She would be giving up all that was familiar to her, but that could be a good thing.
    After all, she was almost thirty years old and still lived at home with her brother.
    Maybe it was time for a change.
    “Staying here was not the course of action I was seeking, but a clean break is probably for the best. Consider me the newest member of the Raven pack.” They ironed out the rest of the details, and then Alex took her into the kitchen where Kiesha, Carol, and her mate, Mark, were waiting. Carol was tasked with providing Shannon with an escort when she went to retrieve her belongings. Kiesha just happened to need a CPA to handle the accounts for her consignment stores, which was fortunate since Shannon doubted she’d be allowed to continue to handle her former pack’s accounts.
    As Alex and Kiesha were leaving, Kiesha pulled Shannon to the side. “I’ll get with you tomorrow with more information about the job.” Then she followed Alex out the door.
    Nikolai’s Wolf
    17
    Within a couple of days, Shannon moved into his parents’ house, which lay on the outer edge of the property. As far as she knew, there was only one other house farther up the mountain, though she didn’t know to whom it belonged.
    Alex refused rent. He argued that the place needed a live-in caretaker. Since her new home was also the pack’s safe house, she could expect to occasionally share it with fellow pack members as the need arose. For the most part, she’d have the place to herself. That