Azalea

Last night after the party, I gave Missy her phone back, and I thought she would pop me like a balloon when she hugged me. I told her she wasn’t completely ungrounded, but I was loosening the reins for her excellent behavior. I was relieved this morning to find her chatting away with the rogue children about going swimming instead of secluding herself and texting Vlad. I hadn’t missed him showing up to the party, and we couldn’t exactly exclude him. I was also sure she had stayed up all night on the phone with him, but she was still acting normal, so I was going to let it lie for now. I was happy she was hanging out with kids her age other than Vlad finally.

My office phone rang, and I picked it. “Hello,” I answered.

“Lea. Did you decide when you are coming back up to the Inn?” Lemon asked me, frustrated. “The contractor is coming on Monday with the designs for approval.”

I looked at the calendar on the desktop of my computer. “Hmmm. It’s Saturday today. Why don’t we come in tomorrow evening, and then I will be ready on Monday morning. I can bring the kids with me and stay for a few days,” I told her.

“That will be great. I really want to go over some things with you,” Lemon went on, all business.

“Lemon,” I stopped her. “Have you taken any vacation time yet?”

“No,” she said guiltily.

“I told you to put in for vacation. It’s summer, and you’re still so young. Go lay on the beach somewhere and sip fruity drinks,” I toyed with her. She gave me a small chuckle.

“What boss encourages their supervisors to just run off on vacation?” she prodded.

“The one that knows her treasured employee is still pining over the loser that dumped her nine months ago,” I said pointedly.

“No, I am not!” she accused.Content rights belong to .

“What about taking Missy out shopping? Can I get you to take an afternoon off for that? I think she could use some girl time,” I asked.

“Now that I will happily take time off for!” she laughed.

“Okay. We will see you tomorrow night,” I said.

“You, the kids, and your muscle?” she asked.

“Yea. Liam will probably stay home. He’s swamped right now,” I told her.

“Okay. See you then,” she said before hanging up the phone.

I looked up to Felix, who was, of course, watching me. “No, I am not asking him permission. Everything is calm now, even if we haven’t found anything on Gwen’s killer. Plus, I have to take you everywhere, right?” I said as I looked back down at the papers in front of me. I piled them all up neatly and set them to the side before rising from the desk. Felix opened the door as I came towards him. “Does my all-knowing bodyguard know where my daughter might be?” I gave him a sweet smile, but his expression didn’t change.

“Pool,” he gruffly said as I walked out of my office and headed downstairs. I decided to find Missy and make sure she wanted to go first before telling Liam. We headed downstairs and out the back door. There was a large group of kids in the pool, with a few seated along the edge. There were also a couple of adults sitting out of the splash zone, chatting happily.

I spotted Missy along the side quickly. She caught my eye as I came over and waved at me. A few of the other children turned to see me coming towards them, all the older ones bowing their heads in respect. “You all look to be having fun,” I stopped next to them. “Missy, can I have a quick word?”

“Sure,” she said, hopping up. I noticed Maddox’s eyes follow her from his spot in the water. We stepped away from the pool and towards the grass of the lawn. When we were a few yards away from the pool, she asked, “What’s up?”

“I am going to head to the Inn tomorrow evening. I’ll be taking the boys with me, but I wanted to give you a choice to stay here or go along. Lemon said she would take you shopping if you wanted to tag along,” I offered.

Her eyes grew wide with excitement. “I can go out with Lemon?”

“Yep,” I said. “Your grades were excellent, and you have been behaving. You can go with Lemon.”

She squealed in excitement. “Yes, I want to go!” she said quickly but then stopped and looked over at the pool before turning her eyes back to me. “Can I bring someone with me?”

I was a little surprised by her question. As she had gotten older in the past couple of years, she had taken to wandering around town, spending time in the cafe or library, while we may be busy working during our time at the Inn. She had never asked to bring anyone along with us.

“Can I ask who?” I watched her carefully.

“Well, Maddox and I have been having a lot of fun together, and it doesn’t seem like he has made friends with anyone else here. I was going to ask Liam if we could go for a run tomorrow so I could show him more of the territory, and I feel bad about ditching him,” she admitted.

I smiled at her, a bit of pride welling up inside me. “I will talk to Liam about it, okay?” She nodded with a smile on her lips.

“Thanks, Lea. I’m going to go swimming now,” she said, turning and running back towards the pool.

“What is my Little Luna so happy about this afternoon?” Liam’s voice interrupted my thoughts as I watched Missy join her friends once more.

“Our daughter is making new friends,” I told him.

“That is something to celebrate,” he sounded happy. “Maybe you should come up to my office, and we can do just that before I meet with Abraham.” I rolled my eyes as I strolled back towards the packhouse.

“I’ll come to your office but no s*x,” I replied sternly.

When I got up to his office, Felix stopped outside as I stepped in, not bothering to knock. Liam was seated on his little couch with reports all around him. He looked up and gave me a sad puppy dog look, making me giggle. I went over to his desk, sitting atop it as he stood and climbed out of his mess to come over to me.

“The kids and I are going to the Inn tomorrow. Felix is coming along as well,” I told him.

“Like that was up for discussion,” he frowned at me. I knew he was not happy with the thought of me leaving without him.

“Missy has a request,” I continued, distracting him.

“She just got her phone back. What else could she be asking for?” he questioned.

“She would like to bring Maddox along, the boy that I healed. They have been getting along well,” I told him. Liam nodded his head with a contemplative look on his face.

“Is Vlad still her boyfriend?” he finally asked. I smiled, stifling a chuckle.

“All signs still point to yes,” I answered.

“Fine. But I want to speak with the boy, and I want a few extra warriors to go along,” he said.

“Has Damien confirmed both groups’ claims yet?” I asked.

Liam sighed. “No. He is so wrapped up in what happened to his sister; he spends half his time rage training and the other half going over all the same things we have combed through a hundred times already….”

“Please tell me he isn’t hurting anyone,” I begged.

“Not too badly…” he said.

I sighed. I spread my legs a bit and pulled my arms up around Liam’s neck, pulling him to me. He wrapped me in his arms; his body now flush to mine. “There is one more thing I should talk to you about before I leave tomorrow,” I said.

“Hmmm?” he hummed, not breaking our hug.

“Maddox wants to become a warrior. He was very passionate about it when he spoke to me,” I told him. Liam was quiet for a moment.

“The kid is 16, right? Did he not have any training in his old pack?” he asked.

“I don’t think so. But it seems the events leading up to them being here has Maddox reevaluating his priorities.” Liam was quiet, and I was wondering what he was thinking. After a few minutes, I pulled away from him and gave him an inquiring look.

“If he is going to follow Missy around like a puppy anyway, maybe I should let him. Train her a bodyguard young,” he joked. I rolled my eyes.

“Will you talk to him? He’s a good kid, Liam. I believe him when he says he will do whatever he has to,” I pleaded.

Liam brought his hand up to my face, tucking a curl behind my ear. “Yes, Little Luna. I will talk with the boy when you return from the Inn,” he agreed. Then his lips were on mine, not letting me say anything else.

–

Junior and Leo were dozing peacefully in their car seats. They had spent a good part of the day running around with Delilah and Lucas, tiring themselves out before we left. Maddox and Missy sat in the furthest row back, each with one earbud in and watching something on Missy’s phone. They made me smile, seeing how easily they got along. Part of me hoped that spending enough time with Maddox would make Missy realize that maybe Vlad isn’t her mate. She was undoubtedly more social and vibrant around him rather than around Vlad.

Felix drove us towards the human town. As always, he was quiet and passive, never bothering with small talk. A few years ago, I had been adamant to finally find out anything about his life before becoming my personal guard. For three months, I questioned him relentlessly, thinking he would eventually get so annoyed he would give me anything just to shut me up. That failed entirely. Then I tried bribing him with confections which also failed miserably. I found out he would eat anything even remotely edible, taste not even being a factor. He was this strange enigma that was just a constant in my life that I eventually forced myself to accept.

I looked down at the book in my hands, only half of the words I was reading registering in my mind. I was looking forward to getting some things done at the Inn and spending some time with the kids. I already missed Liam a lot. He had been very hesitant to actually let me leave. I half expected him to show up at the Inn by tomorrow evening. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled, seeing that it was a message from Liam.

MY ALPHA

| Stop missing me, Little Luna. I can’t work when I know you’re sad.

Goddess, I love this man. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and tried focusing on my book for the rest of the drive.

When we got to the Inn, I gently woke the boys up in the back seat. Junior was cooperative while Leo was not. Missy offered to carry him back to the cottage. Maddox stepped in and lifted him from the car, telling Missy to lead the way. I smiled at their retreating forms. I grabbed Junior’s hand, and Felix followed us in through the front doors, where we found Lemon on the phone at the front desk.

“Aunt Lemon!” Junior called happily. She smiled brightly at him, quickly ending her call. He ran around the desk to hug her.

“You are getting so big little L,” she complimented him. He flexed his little biceps for her.

“Yep. I beat Delilah in arm wrestling yesterday!” he boasted, earning a laugh from both of us.

“The cooks whipped you up some pizza. Are you hungry?” she asked him. He nodded quickly. “It’s already set up for you in the dining room,” she said. He jetted away from us, searching out the pizza. Lemon turned to me. “Where are the other two?”

“Leo wouldn’t wake up, so Missy was taking him to the back with Maddox,” I told her. Lemon’s eyebrows shot up.

“Maddox?” she prompted. I gave her a knowing smile.

“Not the boyfriend but definitely a boy friend,” I told her.

“She still hung up on the other one? Vlad, was it?” she asked. I nodded. The bell over the door chimed as someone came in, interrupting us. I moved around the counter so Lemon could help them. Felix, who usually stayed out of the way, was next to me quickly, grabbing my arm trying to pull me away.

“Felix, what are you doing?” I hissed quietly.

“Let’s go, now,” he said almost inaudibly. I tried to pull my arm away and earned a sideways glance from Lemon.

“No. What is going on?” I whispered. He leaned over, his lips coming close to my ear.

“Vampire,” he said so only I could hear. My eyes went wide. What? Who? Where? I looked at Felix, who had his eyes trained on the man checking in. Him? I couldn’t get the best look at him, but he was around average height and wore a shaggy-looking suit with a matching hat. He seemed harmless with his slightly hunched posture. I had never seen a vampire, although I was aware they were the natural enemies of werewolves. Certainly, he wouldn’t be stopping here if he intended to cause an issue? There was the definite smell of werewolf all around town that any supernatural being could identify. Felix tried pulling on my arm again.

“I am no fool. I know that you are trying to remove the she-wolf for her protection. I assure you, I mean no harm to any member of your pack during my stay,” a voice injected itself into my head. Felix must have heard the same thing because he stopped completely, giving the man a bewildered look.

“Yes, we vampires have telepathic powers. You can hear my voice in your minds similar to how your species can communicate amongst yourselves,” he answered our unspoken questions.