The Green Creek pack meets New York’s Elite Pack
I just finished The Alpha’s Son by Penny Jessup and I had Thoughts. It hasn’t had great reviews, but I thought it was fun. Warning: possible spoilers?
Alpha Jericho of the Elite pack from New York sends his son and heir Jasper with a small delegation to Green Creek to meet with Ox and Joe, ostensibly on wolf business. To Jasper’s dismay, Alpha Jericho insisted that Max joins him as part of the Elite pack’s entourage.
When they arrive, Max is awed when he meets Ox. He’s heard so much about the Werewolf Jesus™ and he’s been nervous for the whole journey to Oregon knowing that he might get to meet him.
Max is super awkward when they arrive. He momentarily forgets how to address alphas so Max calls Ox “my lord” and “your majesty”, and curtsies to him awkwardly like Theresa May does.
Embarrassed and exasperated Jasper holds his face in his hands. The Bennett pack finds Max adorable but have to choke back their laughter.
Max loves all the Green Creek wolves and humans but immediately takes a shine to Robbie. Cubs and young wolves seem to have an affinity with Robbie, and Robbie always jumps at the opportunity to befriend a wolf from Back East. (I could never pin down the accent of audiobook Robbie - was that a Long Island accent?)
Gordo warns Robbie that Max isn’t a stray cub needing adoption—Max has his own alpha and pack, that Gordo is well past taking care of adolescent wolves, and doesn’t want to go through that again
Max and Jasper try to keep their being mated a secret (Jasper is still trying to push Max away—because he thinks Max will be safer if they’re not together) but of course the Green Creek wolves suss it out pretty quick. They notice the dreamy look Max always has on his face when he looks at Jasper or smells him in the room. Jasper tries to put on a steely calm and professional face because he’s on Official Wolf Business, but he can’t control his scent, and they can all smell it on him. They all simultaneously sniff their air, but the Bennett pack politely say nothing at first. Max goes beet red when realises what has just happened.
Robbie asks Max how Max and Jasper met and on hearing that the Blue Moon Festival had a big part in it, Joe snorts and calls it the ‘weird horny meat market thing’ the New York pack does. Everyone is like what? and then Joe tells them what he’s heard about it, about how its just a summer camp for unmated wolves and hooking up isn’t just encouraged but is the whole point of it.
Joe: “have I got that right?”
Max: “yeah pretty much”.
Kelly is horrified, “gross imagine how ripe that place would smell”
Rico says he wishes he had been a New York wolf in his teens
Later, Carter pulls Max aside and says “I get it, right? I didn’t know I was into guys until a dude wolf happened to me too”
Gavin: “Not dude. Stop calling me that”
Carter: “Sorry dude”
Gavin: “Stupid Carter”
Gavin cannot believe that Max never shuts up “Cub always talking. Never stops. Mouth moving but says nothing. All teenagers like this?” No, just twinks with two brain cells like Max.
But Gavin can’t help but ask Max what Jasper smells like to him: “mint and citrus and cherry blossom”
Ox puts on his Zen Alpha Bullshit™ and counsels Jasper about what it means to be alpha and that he doesn’t have to be like his father Alpha Jericho, he just needs to be true to himself, and Ox is all “my daddy said I’d get shit all my life” but the Bennett pack all roll their eyes
It turns out that the Official Wolf Business that Alpha Jericho has sent Jasper and Max on was pretty much a lie. The actual business was trivial and it could all have been done over Zoom. Jericho just wanted Jasper to meet and learn from Ox, and to see that an alpha and his male mate could work (Jericho thought that giving his blessing to Jasper and Max would fix everything but Jasper decided to be a martyr and push Max away—whats with these self-denying, self-sacrificing princeling wolves?). When Jasper realises this, he growls, mad. Ox says he didn’t know, but he can’t help his heart hitching.
They only stay a few days. Max begs Jasper to let them stay a little longer, but time’s up and they have to return to New York. Ox tells Jasper to give him a call if he ever needs anything.
Before they leave, the two packs run together in the forest, and Jasper brings Max the carcass of a recently hunted deer…
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
stormborns
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
vaporwave
discoholicmusic
areudirty
gummygunk
