Azalea

I sat in the front hall listening to Junior and Leo tell me about their days at school. I sat Leo in my lap as he prattled on and on. Relief started to warm my senses knowing that they were none the wiser to what was happening. I loved Liam with all my heart but sometimes I worried about our children one day being responsible for the harsh realities that come with being Alpha and Luna. I knew it was simply the way things were, but it didn’t make my heart hurt any less knowing my sweet, innocent children wouldn’t be before they were ready.

When Lyssa arrived, Leo hopped right off my lap and ran to her. She scooped him right up, clearly thrilled to be spending time with them. He asked her if he could go get Missy and she set him down. He took off up the stairs without another word. Liam came into the hall and kissed his mother on the cheek. “Junior, let’s go put your things in the car for Gramma,” Liam said. Junior jumped at the opportunity to do a big boy job with his father.

“Has the culprit been located yet?” Lyssa asked me once Liam and Junior were out the door. I turned to her. Of course, she knew. I schooled my features.

“We are handling it,” I told her.

“Are the rogues being investigated?” she asked.

“Lyssa, please. Liam and I will take care of the situation,” I warned. The former Luna was not as pushy as her mate when it came to affairs of the pack, but she still seemed to think that Liam and I would fail at protecting the pack.

She eyed me carefully. “You have surprised us in many ways since becoming Luna, Azalea. But Robert and I can still worry that our son’s preoccupation with your safety and wellbeing can cloud his judgement as Alpha,” she said. Her tone was condescending, and it plucked my nerves.

I stood up from my seat, ignoring the pain in my side. “Lyssa, I have been leading this pack by Liam’s side for over 6 years now. I appreciate your concern, but it is unfounded. We are doing everything possible to find the culprit behind the attack. The information is in the hands of those necessary. I would appreciate it, if you would allow Liam and I to do our job as Alpha and Luna,” I finished as Liam came in the door. He eyed Lyssa and I carefully as he approached.

Missy and Leo made their entrance at the same time with Vlad in tow.

“All ready!” Leo chimed.

I looked at Missy who had was holding hands with Vlad. He was also carrying her small bag. I raised an eyebrow and he set the bag down. He whispered something in her ear before letting go of her hand. “Alpha, Luna,” he said bowing his head. He hurried past us and out the door.

I looked at Liam whose face was tight. I knew it bothered him relentlessly to see Missy so attached to Vlad.

“Why don’t we get going? You kids can help me make dinner for Grandpa tonight,” Lyssa said in a pleasant voice. She was back to doting grandparent instead of disapproving mother-in-law. I bent down and hugged both boys tightly.

“Have fun,” I told them, kissing each other their cheeks.

“By mommy! Keep my baby safe!” Leo said as he broke away and went to his grandmother. I gave him a smile. He was excited for his baby sibling. I turned to Missy.

“Please behave,” I asked her softly. She nodded. “Mind your grandparents for the weekend and I will let you spend a whole week at the Inn this summer,” I promised. Her face lit up with excitement.

“I can go stay with Lemon?” she asked excitedly. I nodded. She grabbed her bag and rushed towards the door. “Bye!” she called. Liam laughed.

“Is she really that easy?” he came over to my side to ask. His arm wrapped around my waist.

“Of course. Lemon is far cooler than I am,” I joked. Liam rolled his eyes. Lemon always had this dreamy look in her eyes when she saw him, and I assumed she harbored a not-so-secret crush even all these years later. She once causally asked me if he had a brother. I had to stop myself from making a crazy cousin joke. Her and Amy knew bits and pieces about my kidnapping by Kol but not the whole story.

“We’ll be off. See you in a few days,” Lyssa called, ushering the boys out the front door. When the door closed Liam turned me to face him.

“Alright. Children are taken care of for now. You need to lie down,” he said sternly as he brought his large hand up to cup my cheek. His calloused thumb rubbed my cheek gently. My phone rang from my pocket, distracting me from his warm touch. I fished it out and answered quickly.

“Hello,” I said.

“Luna, we need to speak with Alpha right away,” came a gruff voice. It was Axel. He was a pack warrior who stayed in the human town where the Inn was located. We helped relocate some wolf families there including warriors as we expanded the Inn. Liam wanted there to be more protection around the area if I would be spending time there. The town has grown in earnest over the last few years and now about 15% of our pack resides there.Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.

Liam didn’t give me a chance to ask why when he grabbed the phone from my hand. “Yes, what is it?” Liam said. I strained my ears to hear their conversation, but Liam stepped back from me, earning a scowl.

I crossed my arms and waited for him to finish. He nodded his head and muttered a word occasionally as Axel informed him of what was happening. “I’ll update you shortly,” he said before hanging up. I gave him an expectant look. “There has been a problem,” he said.

“Is it related to our current situation?” I asked, annoyance still clear in my voice.

“Possibly. Although it is hard to tell. They came across another group of rogues. Peaceful and requesting acceptance to our pack just like the other groups,” he said. My eyes went wide.

“Really? I mean we just found this group a few days ago,” I said.

“And we haven’t confirmed they had nothing to do with…” he trailed off.

“I know, but Liam I really don’t think they did. I have a feeling this has nothing to do with them…” I said quietly. He sighed, his hand running through his hair. He did this a lot when he was stressed.

“What do you want to do?” I asked.

“I should go over there but I don’t know if it’s wise to leave right now,” he said. “And I am not sure Damien should be left in charge with everything going on…”

“Why don’t you go, and I’ll stay?” I suggested. Liam’s face hardened.

“If you think I am leaving you here even with Felix and Damien here, you are crazy. Azalea, I have not discounted that this could ultimately be a threat to you,” he said in a harsh tone.

“Then what?” I asked timidly. His face softened a bit. I don’t think he meant to bite at me. He pulled me close to him.

“Let’s go lay you down for right now. I will talk with Austin, Jacob, and Gentry and see what we can come up with,” he said. I nodded, giving into his request. I was very tired after not sleeping last night and worrying so much. Liam held my hand and walked me upstairs.

Liam

When I finally got Azalea to lay down and fall asleep, I carefully extracted myself from the bed. I had already linked Felix to come watch over her while I met with Austin, Jacob, and Gentry to figure out how to handle this other group of rogues and the situation here. When I walked out of our room, Felix was standing there ready. I gave him a nod and went to my office. I sent messages to everyone on my way to my office.

When I walked in, I was surprised to see Damien. I raised an eyebrow at him as I moved behind my desk. “Why aren’t we interviewing the rogues?” he growled.

“We have no evidence they were involved,” I said. I knew we didn’t need any, but I agreed with Azalea; I didn’t think they had part in this.

“They are rogues. We have no idea what their true intentions are,” he shot at me.

“Damien, we haven’t even finished verifying their claims about their pack. And do any of them strike you as someone who can get in and out of a guarded prison undetected?” I reasoned. He quietly simmered.

“Look, we have another problem. Everyone else is on their way here now. Another group was found up in the human town. Axel called. They are holding them for the moment, but we need to make some decisions quick,” I said.

“You don’t find this a little suspicious? All these groups of pack-less wolves?” he said.

“I do. I find this very suspicious but if what the others have said is the truth, then it adds up. You know just as well as I that normal rogues have been cast out of their packs for their crimes and behavior. Their minds are already skewed against their packs which ultimately leads to their aggressive behavior. But these wolves do not seem like this. They are acquainted, travelling in groups and have similar stories to others that we don’t have any reason to believe they have a connection to,” I explained.

Damien let out a frustrated sigh. “I want this fucker found,” he finally ground out.

“I do too,” I assured him. The others finally arrived, and it was time to brief them so that everyone was brought up to speed on the situations at hand.

–

I held Azalea in my lap as Felix drove. We were heading to the human territory to handle the rogue situation. There was no ideal way to handle everything, so I decided to go handle the rogues myself while we were still searching for clues about Gwen’s murder.

Azalea wouldn’t wake up when I came to get her, so I had Felix take our things to the car and simply carried her down with me. She continued to sleep soundly cradled on my lap. Marci had been kind enough to pack some food for us before we left, putting in plenty of options for Azalea. I gently stroked her coppery hair as the car sped along the road.

The events of last night kept rolling around in my head. Something didn’t make sense and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Gwen had been locked up for years now. There were plenty of pack members who had simply forgotten about her and others stopped asking questions long ago. Declan and his mate put all their effort and attention into Lily, Damien, and their pups almost as if they were pretending they didn’t have a daughter. It made no sense to attack her now after all this time. It was also suspicious that it happened right as this new group arrived on our borders. It felt like someone was trying to orchestrate a distraction.

B***d Eclipse was not without its enemies like any other strong pack. But in recent years, Azalea had been instrumental in harboring some agreements between some of our rivaled packs. We had not seen any major conflict or threats for a few years now.

Azalea stirred in my arms. “Shhh,” I tried to put her back to sleep.

“Where are we?” she asked groggily.

“Almost to the Inn,” I told her. “It’s okay, you can sleep.”

“You’re worried. I can feel it,” she said. Her eyes came to mine as she looked up at me. I nodded my head.

“I have a feeling that whoever did this to Gwen, if after much more than just her…”