“I liked Montana best, I think. I was there when the leaves turned, and it was magical. I felt at home there,” she said.

“What was the pack like up there?” I asked.

“They were interesting. It was a small pack, super close-knit. They asked me to stay, but I’m looking for something different.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Dunno. Guess I’ll know it when I see it.”

When I ran out of questions for her, I told her about things I’d learned in the philosophy class I hadn’t signed up for but had been sitting in on during the semester that had just passed. She seemed engrossed. Jules pouted a little more every time I quoted Descartes or Foucault.

We took her into town as well. We took her to the best burger joint in the valley. When our food came, Jules and I both opened our burgers. He picked the onion rings off my burger and put them on his. I speared his slice of tomato and put it down the hatch in one bite. We both closed our burgers again and dug into them without saying a word. When we’d finished our meals, we squabbled over who got to pay for Storm’s meal. While we were at it, she paid for ours. When the day was done and we couldn’t convince her to stay out with us any longer, we walked her to the motel she was staying in.

“Why don’t you stay in one of the pack houses? There are lots free and most of them have furniture and whatever else you need,” said Jules.

“Yeah, Dalton offered, but I’d rather stay here,” she replied.

“Why? We’d have the best time if you were at the homestead with us.”

“Nah.”

“Why not?” His voice adopted a mildly nasal tone. I felt sanctimonious. I’d never seen him nagging like that. I felt a smug sense that my stock was going up and his was going down. He’d come on strong, but I was ready to play the long game.

“Don’t wanna ’cause your alpha’s a douche.”

“What?” Jules was agog. “What do you mean? Dalton is great. He comes from good sto…”

“Easy now, don’t take it personally, dude. All alphas are douchebags. It’s part of the job description or something.”

I was pleased to hear her calling Jules dude. So pleased, I stifled a laugh. She gave me an unimpressed little look that made me suspect that my stock had just taken a dive.

It was Saturday afternoon. Storm was attending a workshop with a local artist in town. Jules and I were at my place, waiting for the day to pass so we could head into town to take her out for dinner.

“I need you to back up, Sully,” he said out of nowhere.

“Huh?”