Liam

I shifted quickly and Azalea grabbed my clothes. I laid down so she could climb up on top of me. By the time she was securely on top of me, another wolf joined us, his facial scar telling us exactly who he was.

“We will catch up with you,” Damien lined me. I nodded at Felix and we took off towards the border where one of the patrols had the group of rogues. Azalea kept her arms firmly wrapped around my neck as I sped through the woods.

About halfway there, we were joined by two more wolves. “How many are we looking at?” Damien linked me.

“10 according to the patrol,” I said. “4 adult and 6 pups.”

“This is larger than the last group,” he said.

“There have been other groups?” Lily said.

“Only two so far. We gave them supplies and they moved along with no fight,” Damien told her.

“Did you two tell Lea about this?” she asked accusatorily. When neither of us answered immediately she knew we hadn’t. We all knew Azalea’s heart was bigger than any other person we knew. Damien and I had been more concerned about where the rogues had come from than anything else when they appeared. “Thought so. She wouldn’t have let you just turn them away,” Lily said.

“How often do we encounter peaceful rogues?” I challenged her. “We have no idea what their true intentions are and it’s our job to protect the pack, not run a charity,” I growled in irritation.

“Liam is right, Lily. We have no idea what they were really seeking when they came here. We had to make a decision with the best interest of the pack in mind,” he said.

“Fine. But now that this is the third time, we need to find out more,” she said. I was sure she understood our decision even if she also was on the side of not sending someone away.

We approached the group quickly. They were nervous when 4 wolves approached with a person riding one. It certainly wasn’t normal for an adult to ride on the back of a wolf. Occasionally parents would shift and carry their pups around for fun, but it was not a normal method of travel. I am sure it didn’t help that Damien and I were far larger than average wolves. He was massive in his human form and the size of a bear in wolf form. I was large due to being an Alpha, but I had also noticed that I had grown slowly after I marked Azalea.

I stopped and laid down so Azalea could slide off me. Lily trotted over to a couple of trees to shift and put clothes on. Once Azalea was safely on the ground, she stood in front of me as I shifted back. She handed me clothes as waited for me to dress before turning around to find the leader of the patrol. Felix quickly joined us.

“Sean, can you tell me what you have found out?” she said.

“Yes, Luna. The group waited beyond the border until the patrol came through. They waved us down and asked for refuge within our pack. We linked Alpha and Beta to determine how to proceed,” he told her. Felix and I stood behind her as she addressed the patrol leader. I couldn’t help but admire how sexy she was when she was in Luna mode.

“I see. Do you have any reason to suspect they are here to hurt us?” she asked Sean.

“No Luna. They have been entirely compliant. They told us they would leave if they would not be permitted onto pack grounds,” he told her.

I looked over at the group. There were 3 women and one male adult with 3 small boys, 2 small girls and teenage girl. Azalea turned and approached the group. I came to her side and Felix stayed behind her. “Who speaks for you?” I asked.

“I do,” said the male.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“My name is Graham, Alpha,” he said bowing his head in respect.

“Where have you come from?” Azalea asked.

“Our pack was destroyed,” he explained. “We have been travelling a long time looking for a new home. We promise, we mean no one any harm. We simply want to find a place we can live safely.”

Azalea looked up at me. I knew exactly what was going through her head. “Are there more of you?” I asked.

“This is all that has travelled with us. Many of our pack were able to escape but everyone went in different directions. I do not know where others went,” he said. I nodded my head and looked at Damien.Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.

“Do you think they could be from the same pack as the others?” I linked.

“It is possible,” he said. “We can’t be for sure. We didn’t take their names previously and even if we had, what is the chance they would know the others? Maybe if they came from a very small pack but that isn’t a guarantee.”

“When was the last time you ate?” Azalea asked them.

“We had a small meal yesterday, Luna,” Graham told her. “We have been saving the food mainly for the children, but we fled with no money and none of us are skilled at hunting.”

“Do you think you can walk a bit further?’ Azalea said smiling at them.

“Yes ma’am,” Graham said to her gratefully.

Azalea turned to me. “We should go back first so we can have everything ready for them. We should have enough beds. Can the patrol escort them to the pack house?” she asked me. She was so good at being Luna.

I nodded. “Sean, bring these people to the pack house. Damien, stay with them. Lily, Felix, come with Azalea and me. We will get them accommodations for the night so we can discuss things in the morning. Damien, please have Jacob meet me in my office as well,” I ordered. Everyone nodded their heads. I walked towards the trees and Azalea followed me. Felix and Lily followed behind us. “Lily, when we get back, can you go make sure rooms are ready for them and see what clothes we have to spare?” I said as we walked.

“Yes,” she said. We all began to undress.

“Azalea, you will stay with Felix. I need to meet with Jacob so you can go down to the kitchen. You do not come out of the kitchen until I am done,” I told her firmly. I knew Felix was listening to every word and didn’t need further direction.

“Okay,” she said gently. She wasn’t going to pacify me out of caution. I shifted and laid down so she could climb atop me again. It was probably more practical for Felix to carry her back so I could go ahead but she was my mate. The three of us took off with Azalea in tow. We were quickly back at the pack house as I pushed the pace the whole way. We shifted and dressed as we headed to the front door.

When we got inside, Azalea and Felix headed straight to the kitchen and Lily rushed down to the laundry room where we kept a closet of extra clothing. I trusted that she had taken note of the group and their possible sizes already. I went up to my office where Jacob was waiting for me. I quickly briefed him. He knew about the first group we had encountered so I told him of the second and this one. I wanted him to keep watch tonight over the group to make sure none of them tried anything suspicious. After discussing a few details, he left my office and went to help Lily prepare the rooms. Jacob wasn’t the biggest fan of Azalea even now, but he had dropped his sour attitude and showed her respect as his Luna.

I took a deep breath trying to collect myself. Something felt off about this. When packs were attacked, usually it was devastating with few survivors. If there had been many fleeing, what had happened? “We are coming across the lawn,” Damien linked me. I rubbed my hands over my face. I left my office and headed to the kitchen. Surprisingly, Azalea was seated at the counter. She was assembling boxes from trays of food next to her. Marci stood across from her helping. It looked like they had managed to pull together some stew and fresh bread with small salads for the adults and some breaded chicken, fruit, and crackers for the kids. The meals looked filling and warm. Azalea was wrapping up some brownies and placing them in the boxes.

“They are here,” I came over and told her.

“Great, we are just about finished. Can your hired muscle help carry these?” she said looking over to Felix. I rolled my eyes and nodded at her. Marci and Azalea finished stuffing the boxes and closed them all up. She handed Felix the 6 kid’s meals before handing me the adult meals.

“Thank you so much Marci! I’ll come down in the morning and help get breakfast ready,” she told the older woman.

“Oh Luna, no need. We will be fine,” she said.

“No, you came down in the middle of the night to help so I will come help in the morning,” Azalea told her. Marci just gave her a warm smile and nodded.

“Goodnight, Alpha, Luna,” she said as she bowed her head and left the kitchen. Marci had moved into the pack house about a year ago after her mate died. She had sort of become in charge of all the wolves hired to cook for the packhouse.

Azalea led us to the front door of the packhouse. We arrived as it was opening, and Damien led the group inside. Lily and Jacob also joined us. “Welcome everyone. We have some meals for you guys and rooms prepared,” she said to the small group.

“You should all eat and rest tonight. Tomorrow we can decide how to move forward, ” I told them.

“Thank you so much,” said Graham for the group. Azalea grabbed a box from Felix’s hands and knelt in front of one of the kids. Felix moved with her staying in close proximity.

“Hi. My name is Azalea. What’s yours?” She asked the small girl.

“Ashley,” the girl whispered.

“Are you hungry, sweetheart?” Azalea asked her. She nodded her head. “I had some special meals put together for you. Would you like some?” She said offering the lunch box. The girl reached forward hesitantly and took the food.

“Thank you, Miss Luna,” the girl said. She looked nervously behind Azalea where Felix stood.

“Don’t mind my grumpy friend,” she said. “He isn’t scary.” The girl just nodded, not believing her. Azalea and I passed out the food and had Lily and Jacob take the group to their rooms. Azalea came to my side as they disappeared up the stairs.

“What now, My Alpha, ” she said, grabbing my hand.

“Bed for tired, pregnant Lunas,” I said. She laughed quietly.

“Only if you come with me,” she said.

I bent down and kissed the top of her head. “Okay,” I agreed.

–

I woke up to Azalea trying to wiggle out of my grasp. I just pulled her closer and gave her a small growl. “Liam, let me go,” she said distressed. I let her go quickly and she dashed to the bathroom. I sat up quickly. My wolf hearing picked up her retching through the door so I hurried in to help her. She was crouched over the toilet. I grabbed a small bottle of water from the supply I put in the cabinet for this exact purpose. I sat next to her and rubbed her back until the retching stopped. When she sat back, I handed her the water. She swished some through her mouth and spit it out before taking a small sip.

“You okay, baby?” I asked her gently.

“Yea,” she said. “Just morning sickness.”

I sighed. I wish this wasn’t so hard on her. I would do anything to make it better for her. I stood and helped her to her feet. “I’m going to brush my teeth,” she said, dismissing me. I left the bathroom going to the closet to get some clothes. When I came out of the closet, she sat on the bed rubbing her small bump. She looked lost in thought. Her eyes met mine as I came to stand in front of her.

“Do you want me to grab you some clothes?” I asked her.

“Sure. Something comfy please, ” she said, giving me a weak smile. I went back to the closet, a little worried that she still felt sick. I grabbed her some leggings and one of her favorite shirts and just for good measure I grabbed my old sweatshirt she still loves all these years Later. When I came back out, her eyes were closed as she held her stomach.