Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

right. As he tried to think of something semi-intelligent to say, she beat him to it.
    “How come your pack is called the Armstrong-Cordona pack but some of the men you introduced me to today have different last names?” She asked the question so fast, as if she’d been practicing it for a while.
    He eyed her curiously. “Is this normal date talk?”
    Her cheeks flushed. “Nothing between us has been normal, so why start now? Besides, I’m curious.”
    He shrugged. “There’s no big secret. It’s true that most packs are families—like Ana and her sisters and cousins—so they usually carry the same family name, but that’s not always the case, like with our pack. My brother and I decided to form one with other lone wolves, but joining a pack doesn’t mean you lose your identity. And having an Alpha means you always have someone to protect you.”
    “So you’re not an alpha too? Could’ve fooled me,” she murmured. Her breath curled in front of her, mixing with the rising heat of the hot drink.
    “I’m an alpha in nature but not pack Alpha. There’s a difference. I might disagree with my brother sometimes, but Connor is my leader and he’s one of the best Alphas I’ve known.”
    She thoughtfully chewed her bottom lip for a moment. “So, what about betas and warriors…and the enforcer? ‘The enforcer’ is a new term, but I’ve heard the others before. What do they mean?”
    “Betas are simply weaker shifters in their animal form. They’re not as big as everyone else and they depend on alphas and warriors to protect them. Warriors, on the other hand, are guardians for everyone. Born fighters.”
    “You’re a warrior, right?”
    Smiling, he nodded. “Yeah.”
    “So you’re an alpha but you’re also a warrior?”
    Again he nodded.
    “So all warriors are alpha in nature, but not all alphas are warriors?”
    “You got it.”
    “Then what about Kat’s ex? The…enforcer? What’s his deal? Or what is he?”
    That was an interesting question and not one Liam was sure he had the answer to. “Ah, enforcers are…sort of a different breed altogether. Each shifter Council around the world—whether ursine or feline or whatever—has the equivalent of an enforcer working for them. Some have more than one—and in Australia, the lupine Council has two—but here in North America all we have is Jayce. They’re similar to warriors but tougher, harder to kill, and born to that role. I don’t know all the science behind it or even how he gained his title, but I do know that he’s at least five hundred years old and really hard to kill.”
    Her brow furrowed slightly. “I see.”
    He figured she didn’t completely understand what he was saying and he didn’t want to talk about himself anyway. He wanted to know about her. “How long have you lived in Fontana?”
    Her head tilted slightly to the side at his question, sending a waterfall of her thick, red hair tumbling over her shoulder. “Since I was seventeen.”
    “Why’d you move here?”
    She dropped his gaze as she answered. “Because my brother got a job here.”
    There was more to it than that and he wanted to know exactly what. “Where’d you move from?”
    A subtle mask slid into place, making her expression completely unreadable. “I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me more about your family. What happened to your parents?”
    Something dark settled in his chest. He didn’t like talking about the past and it was obvious she didn’t want to talk about hers, but if he wanted her to open up to him, he needed to give her a reason to trust him. Give and take, he reminded himself. “My father died when I was eight. If it wasn’t for Connor, I wouldn’t have survived.”
    Now her face was an open book. He hated pity, but that wasn’t what he saw on hers; it was sadness and…understanding. “I didn’t think your brother was that much older than you.”
    “He’s two years older.”
    “And he took care of you? Didn’t you have any other family?”
    “Our entire pack was killed.” He managed to keep any inflection out of his voice, but he could tell she wasn’t fooled. The pain of losing his father and the rest of his pack still tore at his insides. Time might have healed most of the wound, but the scar was still there.
    She set her cup down and scooted a few inches closer. Placing her hand on his, she didn’t say anything. Didn’t ask how they died. But her touch was exactly what he needed. His inner wolf craved