~Missy’s Point of View~
I was standing in front of a huge fire. I looked all around and there were pups with marshmallows and hot dogs on sticks chasing each other. There were even a few puppies around, actual four legged ones. Hollow Hill rarely had any actual pets, since they tend to not like witches and can be easy food for vamps desperate for a quick snack.
“Welcome to my humble home,” Ryan said, coming up behind me.
He had a huge smile on his face and he was obviously proud. His happiness radiated through me.
“Also known as the uncivilized outhouse,” Nate said, laughing, and breaking the moment.
I raised my eyebrow, did they use outhouses her
Ohh!! Someone get some ice it's too hot! Nate is ready to burst!
~Nate’s Point of View~ Time had really gotten away from me, and before I knew it the day of the dance was here. Things at our new pack were really coming along, we had broken ground on the packhouse and a few other key buildings. Their framing was up. We’d hired Ridge and some other trusted packs to help. I think some of them were a bit nervous that once word got out, they might lose some of their people who’d be curious about us. Councilor Quinn had tried several times to interfere and send people he knew to get in on the construction but we weren’t having it and I was sure that would bite us in the ass later on. This was our pack and yeah we were taking their money … but we had to live here. It was our names and our reputations at stake. It needed to be right. I hadn
~Missy’s Point of View~ The anticipation for this night almost killed me, and once I saw myself completely ready, I absolutely thought I was dreaming. I obviously wouldn’t tell anyone, especially my mates but I had been eating only protein and veggies lately. I’d been exercising in my room at night. I found I didn’t even mind it and it actually helped me sleep better since I was so exhausted. I used water jugs as weights and did cardio. I’d gotten down seven pounds in less than two weeks and I’d actually never felt better. Who knew there was some truth to the whole “you are what you eat” nonsense. Well tomorrow I’d be having a cheat day, that much I knew. I already planned on pancakes and cookies. I’d probably gain it all back but oh well. I was so proud of mysel
~Ryan’s Point of View~ If that little bitch thinks she can mess with MY mate, she’s got another thing coming. I know she’s a female and a pup, but she’s gonna get hers. One way or another! I could sense the fury radiating off Nate, and I knew we needed to blow the hell outta here soon. What we had planned next was too important. Also if my wolf had to look at that little bitch anymore he was going to force himself forward and rip her face off. And I wasn’t going to stop him. If this was Long Tooth I’d embarrass the shit outta her, but then again at my pack it never would have gotten this far. Gone on for this long. I really had the feeling there was more Missy wasn’t telling us and I hated that. We had to get her there, and we would. There was still a bit of trust left
~Missy’s Point of View~ I nearly stopped and pinched myself but I didn’t want to wake if it was all a dream. My mates were beyond everything I could have ever imagined and they showed me … they didn’t just give me empty promises. After the paint incident at the dance, the ultimate slap in the face would have been being stuck there and having to watch Celia be crowned Luna. I was certain it happened, but I damn sure didn’t want to see it. Now instead? I was on a beach, swimming in the ocean with my two Alphas, my two soulmates. Well, mostly kissing but there was a bit of swimming. “So tell me how things are going at the new pack,” I asked, as we lazed around, eating bits of the picnic.
Three Months Later ~Missy’s Point of View~ Time is a funny thing, when you want it to go by fast, it doesn’t. And vice versa. I knew I wanted time to speed up, but in some aspects my mates needed more time. So far they only had fourteen people interested in the pack with ten fully committed, not counting us or Nate’s mom obviously. Only three males so far had actually moved in. Clearly that was a disappointing number. I had yet to go actually see the pack lands, or anything they were doing outside of pictures they showed me. They just kept saying they didn’t yet have enough done. Didn’t they know I didn’t care? I would be proud of a birdhouse they had made as long as they did it with pride and di
~Nate’s Point of View~ Ryan and I were truly burning the candle at both ends. We were both just fucking exhausted all the time. On top of everything, the council and the governor were starting to request weekly meetings to update them on the progress. The council asked the hard questions, the Governor? Didn’t seem to give a shit honestly. Needless to say, everytime we had to go back to the council mansion it was terrifying. I dreaded it more and more. “When will you have your first people moving in,” Godfrey asked. “Well Nate and I are pretty much living there now. Our Luna is getting training and we’re working on a charter,” Ryan said. “Exp
~Missy’s Point of View~ “No! No no no, why would you put that there! Come on! Think about it,” I scolded, as I began shoving furniture around. I was trying to help set up the pack daycare, which was extremely important. We had to get this right, it had to be a safe and perfect space. Pups are a pack’s most valuable resource, they are the future! This has to be a warm and inviting place or people won’t want to leave their babies in our care. The three males gaped at me, but just nodded and did as I directed. I could get used to this!! People who listened to me? Didn’t laugh at me? Looked at me as a person of authority? “There, now we’re getting somewhere. Okay what colors are we painting these walls? We
~Ryan’s Point of View~ “... like a lot.” I felt absolutely sick, and actually I had already thrown up twice today. If anyone at Long tooth found out about this I’d absolutely be a laughing stock, everyone would question my masculinity. While of course we had same sex couples at the pack, there weren’t many. But I had always prided myself on being a ladies’ man and being able to get any female I wanted. Nate seemed equally shocked and disgusted, and unsure where to direct his anger. I just had too many feelings over it all, and I never usually had unsettled feelings. When I kiss Missy everything is just so amazing, my body feels at peace. When I kissed him, I felt the same, because I THOUGHT in that moment it was her. We punched each other right after it happened
~Epilogue~ ~Four Months Later~ ~Missy’s Point of View~ “Are you sure you’re ready to try this baby,” Nate asked, from underneath me. I made a face, since I was already struggling like hell with my current position. I was splayed out across the top of Nate’s body with my back to his chest. My hair was likely suffocating him. Between everything with the village and having little Fisher, we rarely take advantage of the witches’ offers to send us somewhere exotic anymore. But tonight had been planned for weeks, and both grandmas were handling things so we could have a weekend away. However, I still had to have Kendra pop in every 12 hours
~Missy’s Point of View~ ~Next Month~ “Kendra I don’t understand, what’s so important that you had to--” I fumbled into the dark room to find the light, wondering why she was dragging me into the daycare at 8pm on a Friday night. I flicked the switch and my jaw dropped. “SURPRISE!!!” I gasped and covered my mouth as everyone cheered and shouted. There were balloons all over and confetti flew through the air. I looked next to Renata and saw a giant cake, easily four tiers. On top was a brown haired doll in a shiny red dress just like she’d made me for the dance. There were two males in tuxedos both holding on to the doll.
~Missy’s Point of View~ *Are you really not going to shift back,* I said, feeling defeated. My wolf and I laid in front of the packhouse and everyone gawked at us. It had been hours and hours since my shift, and my wolf seemed to be content to stay. She was still mad that I forced her shift early, she was mad that our mates weren’t here to see it and help. She was determined to stay until she got to see them and offer a piece of her mind. I was certain her little badass attitude would fall away once she saw them. The humans were very curious about her, and she let them pet her. She thought it made her feel special and important. Admired, when she couldn’t get that satisfaction from her mates. “Everyone can
~Nate’s Point of View~Could there be anything more impossible than both my mates needing me and having to choose? Missy only gets her first shift once, we had to know it would happen after getting marked. But we couldn’t put off the invasion, not when the Shadows were all ready to go.Would Ryan have been okay without me? Probably. It wasn’t like I did anything but try to comfort him anyhow. This was a whole new dynamic that would take some real thought. Two mates absolutely dependent on me, and Ryan having two dependent on him as well. We were as joined as three people could be. If you’d asked me even a month ago who I would choose in a moment like this, of course I’d have said Missy. She should always be the number one choice. But now I also know, if anything happened to Ryan it would positively devas
~Renata’s Point of View~ I felt Diego now as if he were so close, but I still couldn’t mind-link him. I watched out the window as there was a crazy rain storm that seemed to come and go, then a glowing light in the distance made my jaw drop. I quickly opened my two windows in shock, trying to be sure I was seeing things correctly. A forest fire. Ohh goddess! They’ll never put that out! They’re gonna burn the damn pack to the ground! Oh fuck I gotta get outta here! My mind went into overdrive and I suddenly had to wonder if I could shift and be able to get out of the ankle cuff, I’d have a smaller leg. Would that work? Desperate times Renata… I cle
~Ryan’s Point of View~I hadn’t been in the battle of Blood Claw, but everyone damn well knew the stories. A witch that could raise the dead, use them as a fucked up to way to fight your enemy. And in smoke so thick you can’t even see what’s coming at you? I didn’t sign up for this shit!*Renata, it’s all for her. We are here for her,* Huck reminded me.*It’s all for killing our fucking father,* I reminded him.We all had knives or daggers of some sort, but no guns. Did guns even work against the dead? Did knives? Fuck if I know, there isn’t a training manual for batshit crazy witches!*Katrina thinks this wit
~Missy’s Point of View~ I can only make popcorn for so damn long, what am I going to do for all these people tonight? On top of that, I had a huge migraine and my skin was just super itchy. Maybe if I could sneak away and get a bath I’d feel better. I was already sick of the wink and nudge act from Nate’s mom who kept finding excuses to look at my neck. Although, several people did. They said I smelled different and of course everyone knew what that meant. “We’ll have to have a proper Luna ceremony,” someone said. I had no idea what that entailed, but with my mates gone and my best friend kidnapped it was hardly something I could waste my brain space on for now.
~Diego’s Point of View~ I stood on the practically barren Blood Claw lands, and could hardly imagine what this looked like once upon a time. Tyson didn’t much like to talk about his childhood, he said he was just a mindless zombie doing and going where he was told much like everyone else. That was hard for me to believe now, knowing how strong and confident he was today. But I guess we were all children at some point, just eager to please our parents. Goddess knows I was always trying to prove myself. I had a massive family but we were now spread out all over the place. My parents still live with my youngest sister who has yet to shift. I have no clue what they’ll do when they finally have an empty house, maybe … just maybe I could convince them to come here. They didn
~Renata’s Point of View~ After Tyler’s stupid ass witch succeeded in scaring the shit out of me, everyone left me alone. One of the cooks from the packhouse I knew so well … an older female named Mary, brought me some fruits and finger foods. She refused to really look at or speak to me though. I couldn’t hold it against her, she was obviously scared. Sometime around two in the morning I did drift off to sleep, though it was so light and paranoid I woke barely feeling I’d slept. The sun was up, yet I was still here. I absolutely did dream I woke up back at home, in the strong arms I’d come to know so well. To depend on. How’s this possible? Aren’t they coming for me?