Dillon walked into the large hall. The building had cream walls with dark brown half-wainscotting. The ceilings were high, increasing the feeling of space. Not bad. It had been one of the first buildings put up since the pride didn’t have a place for large meetings before.

Saul and Keith followed. Dillon paced through the path between the tables. The alphas told them to talk to people and find a place to sit. They could pick anywhere to eat. The alphas encouraged everyone to mingle. Even the new alphas were still getting to know their people. Now to find a place where they could sit together.

Sara was here somewhere. She’d texted a couple minutes ago asking if they’d arrived yet. He didn’t see her though.

Easton waved at them. A woman and two men stood with the alpha a couple tables ahead of them. Dillon frowned. Did the Alpha want to introduce them to someone?

“Let’s go see what the Alpha wants.” Keith patted him on the shoulder. “Luckily, we’re as unpacked as we can get until we move into a larger home. We can get to know our pride mates and relax now.”

They strolled over to where Easton stood with woman and two men. Easton smiled when they stopped in front of the group.

“Keith, Dillon, Saul. Good to see you. We told you about the woman who is a paralegal. This is Kelsi and these are her mates, Raleigh and Vander.” Easton gestured to the woman and then the blond man and the black-haired man, respectively.

“It’s nice to meet all of you.” Dillon nodded. He glanced at the woman standing between her mates. “Do you have a job with a law firm currently?”

“Yes, I work with a firm in the city. The alphas mentioned applying for the position when you set up your offices here because pride lawyers need someone who can work with them on pride matters.” Kelsi nodded.

“That is true. Bringing in a human isn’t optimal unless there isn’t a choice, or they are unquestionably loyal to the pride. That’s a hard thing to come by.” Saul nodded.

“And you’re mated which solves one of the problems that we occasionally have with paralegals and secretaries.” Dillon smiled.

“Yeah, I’ve worked around enough lawyers that I wouldn’t have anything to do with them in a dating relationship unless they were my mates. And that’s no longer a possibility for me.” Kelsi laughed and glanced at her mates. “The secretary part I can’t help you with. When you get your offices set up, I’ll apply and interview if you want for the paralegal position.”

“We have to set up an office. We’ll find the city office. It may take a month or so to find a suitable building in the city. At the same time, we need to obtain a place here to temporarily work and look for a permanent pride office. You have an advantage. You’re already part of the pride. We’ll contact you when everything is in place, including our website.” Dillon nodded.

“Are all of you lawyers?” Raleigh, the blond male at Kelsi side asked.

“No, I’m a chef and intend to start a restaurant here. I keep them fed and sane on nights when they need to work into the wee hours on a case.” Keith smiled. “I’ll start looking for a place to set up a restaurant. It will take me longer to get everything in place to start my business. I have more to do. They need to find offices, maybe renovate a little, and then they can open.”

“He’s a great chef and yeah, he’s kept us from starving when cases took over our lives.” Dillon nodded.

“What kind of law do you practice?” Kelsi tilted her head to the side.

“With the pride, it’s usually more on the business law side with occasional forays into criminal trial law. Our firm will focus on both but usually practice more criminal law than business law.” Saul smiled. “What does the firm you’re with currently do?”

“Mostly criminal cases, but some business and estate stuff as well with one particular lawyer.” Kelsi shrugged.

“Good, you know a lot of what we expect to deal with.” Dillon relaxed. It wouldn’t be difficult to train her if needed, but she seemed to have the experience in the necessary areas.

A gust of wind blew through the hall as someone opened the door and held it. A sweet scent of vanilla drifted to him. He inhaled and turned toward the door. A woman came in followed by a family with two children.

“Are either of those women single?” Dillon turned back to Kelsi and gestured toward the woman and the small family.

Judging by the two men with the woman and two kids, that woman had mates, but the other one on her own might be single. Hopefully, she was the source of that delicious scent and not one of the women seated at the tables between them and the door. Walking around and sniffing women wasn’t a great way to introduce themselves.

“Lynne is. She’s the chestnut brown-haired woman walking in front.” Kelsi grinned. “Why don’t I see if she’ll come over here? Pardon my yelling in doing it.”

Dillon chuckled.

“Hey, Lynne.” She lifted her arm and waved her hand.

The dark brown-haired woman turned. She was classically beautiful. She had an oval face and creamy skin. Her red lips curved into a smile.

She wove her way around the tables and paced toward them. A bright, gem blue shirt emphasized the curve of her breasts and tucked into the long black skirt she wore. Nothing overtly sexy to the outfit, but his fingers itched to unwrap her.

“So, her name is Lynne? Lynne what? Is that short for anything?” Saul turned back to Kelsi.

“Lynne Farrow and no Lynne isn’t short for anything, but you can get her middle name out of her when she gets here. I’d keep the interrogation/cross examination levels low. Especially if what I suspect is behind your interest.” Kelsi grinned. “Probably best to keep her in a good mood.”

 “No plans to sit her down and demand answers. I want to know everything about her, but I can wait to learn more when the time is right.” Dillon shrugged.

Lynne edged around the table and walked over to them. She smiled, but the expression trembled as she drew in a deep breath.

“Hi, Kelsi, you yelled.” Lynne looked at her friend and then back to them.

“Yeah, these men wanted to meet you. Let me introduce you to Dillon Long, Saul Houston, and Keith Rhodes.” Kelsi grinned, stepping over to her friend.

“Are they what I think they are? Because while my sense of smell is good, I’ve never felt like this. When I got close to this group, I wanted to get even closer.” Lynne licked her lips.

“I’m fairly sure you are. Dillon caught a scent when you and the people behind you came into the hall. He was practically craning to see who it could be.” Kelsi patted her shoulder. “They’d know for sure, and they won’t lie about it. That’s a terrible thing in most prides.”

“Are you my mates?” Lynne turned mahogany brown eyes to them.