Turning toward the stock room, he almost slammed into a human male he didn’t know. He bared his teeth and snarled a challenge before realizing there were two females with the male—one of an age to be the mate and the other a grown pup.

“You must be Mr. Wolfgard,” the man said with a smile that wobbled. “Michael told us to come through the back door of the coffee shop, but there’s a pony blocking that door, and he didn’t seem inclined to get out of the way.”

“Michael...?”

“Debany. I’m Michael’s dad. This is his mom and his sister.”

Simon gave the younger female a quick but thorough look. This was the sister who wanted to work with animals—the sister who might be suitable to go to Bennett and work with Tolya.

Wishing he hadn’t been quite so quick to snarl, he ran a tongue over his teeth before he tried a smile. “Sorry I snarled.” He wasn’t, but that seemed like the right thing to say.

“You’ve got a lot on your mind,” Mr. Debany said.

“You can come this way to reach A Little Bite.” He led them to the archway that connected the two stores and almost ran into Officer Debany.

“Dad. Why did you...?”

“Mist is in the way,” Simon said, figuring he could distill an entire conversation with those few words. “Where are Ruthie and Merri Lee?”

“They’re here. Any word from Meg? Karl and I were about to go out and help you look for her.”

Touched that Meg would matter to them enough that they would leave their own pack, Simon felt easier about having Debany’s family in the Courtyard. “She’s with Jester at the Pony Barn. Sam and Skippy are with her. Mist is here to bring supplies.”

Debany turned and raised his voice enough to be heard over a buzz of human voices. “Karl! Lieutenant! They found Meg. She’s okay.”

Now Merri Lee and Ruthie rushed toward him. “She’s okay? You’re sure? Does she need anything?”

“Change of clothes. Clothes for Sam. Books. Food for Meg. Boone Hawkgard will make up a package of meat for Sam and Skippy. Mist will deliver it.”

They stared at him for a moment, blinking. Maybe thinking. Then they both rushed past him, calling out greetings to Debany’s family and leaving him feeling less sure of who was in charge. At some point, he was going to have to take the time to establish dominance.

First he would see just how big a human pack he was dealing with now.

<Boone?> he called to the Hawk who ran the butcher shop. <I need some meat for Sam and Skippy. They’re at the Pony Barn. Mist is waiting at A Little Bite.>

<Give me a couple of minutes. I’ll bring it over.>