Liam
I walked out of the room with Ralph, clutching the paper he had written all the information on in my hand. Gavin was roaring in my head, knowing what she had just done. For such a small creature, she sure could be a huge pain in my a*s. I rounded the corner in the hallway leading to the other room and Felix was coming towards me, holding Azalea in his arms.
I knew this was going to happen and I should not have let her go. Since we only had a rudimentary understanding of her powers, we had no idea the effect they were having on her when she was pregnant or any damage they could be doing with her body having virtually no normal wolf abilities.
Felix stopped in front of me, his expression cool and normal but I knew he was expecting me to yell at him for letting her do it. “I know we can’t stop her. Just give her to me and let’s go,” I said insolently. She tolerated Felix, even liked him but didn’t often let him stop her from doing the things she wanted to.
He transferred Azalea into my arms. I held her bridal style as we left the Mayor’s offices. Gavin was ranting about scolding Azalea as soon as she woke up for this, so I tried to push him away. She was definitely getting an earful from me when I knew she was okay. For once, I was glad we drove between the Inn and here. Azalea wanted to walk but she looked so tired still, I insisted that we drive.
Felix opened the rear door for me, and I folded inside, clutching Azalea tightly. “We will bring the rogues to the Inn within the hour,” Axel linked me.
“Felix, have the night staff at the Inn prepare 4 rooms for the group when we return,” I ordered as we pulled out onto the street.
“Right away, Alpha,” he said in his monotonous voice. I sighed as I looked down at my mate. She was so stubborn but so ready to sacrifice her own self to help others. Part of me couldn’t be mad at her for helping a kid with a broken arm. I am sure it was hurting for who knows how long and by the sounds of it, no one in the group was equipped to help him. Even with our ability to heal, a bone not set correctly can hurt tremendously. My mind turned to the mysterious person attacking these packs. Ralph gave an almost identical description of events as Graham had as well as the one the Langston relayed from his group. Whoever this was, they were on a mission. These events happened weeks ago so who knows how many he had come after since then and where all these displaced wolves were.
I did notice how each group had more children than adults. I wondered if that meant the culprit had some semblance of a conscience. I was jarred from my thoughts as Felix parked the car at the side of the Inn closest to the cottage. I offered many times to have a suite built for our own use at the Inn, but Azalea always brushed me off saying she liked our little respite at the cottage. I got out of the car and carried her back to the cottage.
Once inside I laid her on the bed and covered her up. I knew she was going to sleep until at least morning after healing the boy. He better have been grateful. I stopped letting her use her gift during her first pregnancy. It was too risky for her and the baby, and seemed to take a much bigger toll on her while she was pregnant.
–
I woke up to the smell of coffee. I rolled over to see Azalea coming towards me with a mug in her hands and shy smile on her lips. “Good morning,” she said softly, climbing onto the bed and handing me the mug as I pulled myself up into a sitting position.
“Morning,” I said before taking a sip. Azalea climbed over top my lap and gave me a pouty look. I raised an eyebrow at her, still annoyed with her actions but happy that she was feeling better.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked.
“Maybe,” I grumbled. She leaned forward kissing my cheeks.
“I healed a broken arm Liam. He was badly hurt, and it looked like he had left it for some time. He isn’t even of age yet and he was healing slow,” she said softly.
“And what if it hurt you?” I asked her. “We have doctors, Azalea.”
She stuck her bottom l*p out at me. I couldn’t stay mad at her long and she knew it. “But now I gained their trust,” she said. I continued to sip the coffee, holding her gaze. I wasn’t ready to relent quite yet. After a few minutes, her shoulders slumped.
“It was reckless, Little Luna,” I finally spoke.
“I know,” she said a little dejectedly. “But I am fine now.” I reached over and set down the coffee cup on the nightstand next to the bed. I pulled her forward and let her rest against my chest.
She sighed, relaxing into me. “No more reckless,” I told her sternly. I stroked her soft ginger hair as she cuddled into me.
“You’re hungry,” she observed as she ignored my words.
“You’re changing the subject,” I replied.
“Breakfast should be here any minute,” she said with a smile. I rolled my eyes knowing the disagreement was over. I didn’t want to have this fight again anyway. As always, someone knocked on the door to interrupt us.
“Perfect timing,” she said happily. Her tactic was clearly to ply me with food to make me less angry with her. She hopped up and out of my arms, scrambling from the bed and hurrying towards the door. I watched her walk, noticing she was already starting to do that cute waddle thing she does when she is pregnant. Thinking about her adorable pregnant habits put a crooked smile on my face.
She came back to the bed with a bag of food, presumably from the kitchen. She crawled back onto the bed and facing me as she sat next to my outstretched legs. She was smiling widely at me. She pulled some boxes from the bag and I immediately knew why she was smiling. She giggled as she handed me the box of freshly made croissants and the small container of butter topping.
“You can’t win me over with my favorite breakfast,” I deadpanned even though I was dancing on the inside.
“Yes, I can,” she said biting into a cinnamon roll. I rolled my eyes but dug in as she shot me a satisfied smirk.
“Alpha, the young boy Luna healed last night was asking to speak to her,” Felix linked me. Interesting.
“So, broken arm?” I asked Azalea. She nodded.
“It was really bad, Liam,” she said sadly. She continued to nibble on her cinnamon roll. Ever since the Inn expanded, the kitchen was offering far more options each morning. The menu had improved leaps and bounds with more kitchen staff available. And they were exceptionally good about catering to pregnant Azalea’s whims when we were here.
“How is he this morning?” I linked Felix.
“He needs to sling the arm for a couple days, but she got him almost all the way. She probably would have fainted in front of the group if she had healed him completely,” Felix answered.
“At least she had some sense,” I said. Azalea had her head c****d and was giving me a curious look.
“The boy would like to speak to you,” I told her. Her eyebrows shot up. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea. You and Felix can go speak with the boy and I will go take care of some things with Axel. At least for a small time, the rogues should be moved to the main pack territory so we can watch them more closely. You can find accommodations here if you would like later.”
“Alright,” she said brightly. Another knock on the door interrupted us. I set down my food and got out of bed to check the door. Another impatient knock sounded as I approached the door. I swung the door open to see one of Azalea’s close friends Amy standing in the doorway.
“How did you even know she was in town?” I said in a flat tone.
“Good morning, THG. You look surly today,” she said with a sarcastic smile.
“Still with the Tall, Hot, and Gorgeous?” I asked her sardonically as I stepped aside to let her in. Azalea was smiling brightly as she climbed off the bed. The girls ran to each other, hugging each other tight and making me laugh a little. Azalea and Amy weren’t as close as they used to be now that they don’t work together but they were still good friends. Although she could rub my nerves, Amy was harmless and semi understanding of werewolf issues now that Azalea told her.
“How long are you here?” Amy asked Azalea excitedly. Her eyes went to me.
“Not long. We need to get back to the pack today,” I said. The girls both deflated a little.
“When are you coming back? I miss the kids! I bet Missy is like a whole adult now,” Amy pratted. Azalea smiled.
“You don’t even know. But I am sure we will be back in the next couple weeks…” She trailed off giving me a hopeful look. I nodded my head at her. “And I will bring the kids with me.”
“Fine. I am holding you to that. Or I will come out there and kick wolf butt to drag you back here,” Amy said. Azalea just laughed at her.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
I grabbed my bag and headed toward the bathroom, leaving the girls to chat while I got ready. “Felix, you can come pry my mate away from Amy in about 30 minutes to speak with the boy,” I linked him.
“Yes, Alpha,” was his reply.
Missy
I crept along through the yards trying to get to my grandparents’ house as silently as possible. I was dead meat if anyone caught me out this late. The former Alpha and Luna were stricter than Liam and Lea and would call them on the spot if they knew I snuck out. I had been dreading this part all night. Getting out was easy; I wasn’t sure getting in would be the same.
I finally reached my grandparents’ house and sprinted to the balcony porch I had climbed down. Climbing up silently was the tricky part. I made sure my phone was tucked securely in my pocket before crouching down. I sprung up from my heels and extended fully, managing to grab onto the side of the porch. I hung there for a second, letting my body swing back and forth. After a moment, I slowly pulled my body up enough so I could reach up and grab onto the railing that prevented someone from falling off from above. I got both hands onto the railing and started to pull myself over as carefully as I could. I managed to swing my body over the railing and softly plant my feet on the deck boards. I sighed in relief thinking that I was in the clear.
I slid the door open slowly but stopped when I noticed the figure sitting on the end of my bed. The light switched on and I was staring directly into my grandfather’s angry eyes. “Where exactly have you been?”