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Cheyenne asked, “I know it is okay to talk with all of you here, so I would like to ask one question. What exactly did she tell you?” I smiled, “I know the boy we are going to adopt next is Blaine. I know he is the reason you volunteer at the orphanage. I also know that there are stories she could have told me, but she and I agreed they were your stories to tell… if you ever feel comfortable telling me.I know that hiring you as my nurse and assistant means that you will be able to be his personal nurse also, if that is what you would like. I know that you put him up for adoption to keep him safe. We can keep both of you safe. If you accept the position, it will include a room in the pack house. If you have a mate, you can have the cottage next door, if you want.” She smiled, “I would like that a lot. I just found my mate one month ago and he gets a bit irritated that I spend so much time at the orphanage without getting paid for it. He doesn’t know about Blaine. I don’t know how he w
TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic abuse scene ahead (this chapter only)It had been two days since we initially spoke with Cheyenne about being my private nurse and assistant and we haven’t seen her since then. I was starting to get worried about her. I was still in the hospital because I had not completed my physical therapy requirements. My doctor wanted to be sure I could perform all activities of normal daily living safelyWhen the morning nurse came to take her morning vitals, I asked, “What happened to Cheyenne?” The nurse asked, “We are sending one of our coworkers to her place right now. She didn’t call in to let us know she won’t be in. That’s not like her at all.” I suggested, “Let me check on her before anyone goes in.”I watched as the nurse mind linked the coworker to hold off going to Cheyenne’s house, then I tried to get inside Cheyenne’s mind to see what she was seeing at that moment. It was harder than usual to do it, and then I saw nothing in her mind at all. That scared me b
I asked my nurse to help me scoot into my wheelchair and get me to the Emergency Department. She gasped, “But Luna, it’s almost time for your physical therapy.” I responded shortly, “They are bringing Cheyenne in and it’s not looking good. I need to be there. We can reschedule PT until later. It’s not like I’m getting out of here today.”The nurse helped me scoot into my wheelchair and we took off for the Emergency Department like a bat out of hell. When we got there, I found my mate and he was holding our sobbing daughters closely. Heather was the first to see me and she ran to me, “Momma! She’s gone.” I sobbed, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”While Heather climbed into my lap, Isaac approached, “She’s right. They couldn’t save her. Her heart had been still for too long.” I shook my head and started crying. The nurse beside me growled, “I need to see her.” I asked Isaac, “Do you think she and I could go see her?” He answered, “Yeah. I can get you both back there.”I asked, “Are you going
Aadi and I went to the room where Cheyenne was waiting to be taken for burial preparation. I was immediately struck by the amount of blood that was on the sheet covering her body. Apparently, Aadi was also stricken by the sight because she ran to Cheyenne’s body and collapsed onto it.I asked, “Exactly what was your relationship with Cheyenne, Aadi?” She answered, “Cheyenne was my late mate’s baby sister. She took shelter in this pack after running from a human testing facility. She destroyed the place on her way out of it.”I asked, “Did you know that Blaine is her biological son?” She nodded, “I did. Cheyenne swore me to secrecy. I was with her when she gave birth to him.” I asked, “Do you know who his father is?” She shook her head, “No. I don’t know exactly who he is. I know he was a rogue and a trafficker who had sold her to the lab. He took her virginity on the way to sell her. He’s an evil man. It’s a wonder that she was able to give birth to Blaine.”I cried, “So much for one s
Four hours later, I was in my hospital room trying, and failing, to take a nap. I had too much on my mind and I would start sobbing at random times. I could not find peace within myself at all. I felt so guilty that we could not protect her the way she needed us to.I suddenly felt so heavy that I had no choice but to sleep. As soon as the darkness fell around me, I was immediately surrounded by the brightest light I had ever seen. It was red too. My first thought was, “Shit. I have pissed off the Goddess.” Then I heard her voice, “Yes, you have. Zariah, you know more than anyone that you cannot control the actions of other people.”I cheekily responded, “Well, actually, you did give me a certain ability.” The light got brighter, if that was even possible, “You cannot control what they do on their own. Do not patronize me right now. I’m not in the mood for games. Now. This is what you will do. You will stop feeling sorry for yourself. None of this is about you. It’s about your pack, yo
*Trigger warning… Description of child abuse in this chapter. *As soon as I was dressed, the salesman from the wheelchair manufacturer brought my new custom wheelchair into the room. After he made some adjustments, I was happy that I finally had my new wheels. I started moving around the room and feeling like I was fidgeting in my seat.Nurse Aadi walked in with paperwork in her hand, “Luna, it’s time for discharge instructions.” I held out my hand and she approached me, “I’m very sorry for leaving you the way I did.” I chuckled, “It’s fine. I understand completely. This is an emotional time. I have something to ask you.”Aadi raised her brow, “Ask away.” I asked, “Would you be willing to be my personal assistant and nurse? I would make sure to allow you time to volunteer at the orphanage, if you want, and you would also be Blaine’s nurse, because we are adopting him as soon as we leave the hospital.”Aadi smiled, “I would love to accept the position. Would it be wrong if I don’t give
Blaine looked at Isaac and me with determination, “I can tell you who the abusers are, Luna.” I moved my wheelchair close to his and asked, “Are you okay, sweetheart?” He nodded, “I will be okay. I always am.” I smiled, “I know you are. I want to know how you would feel about being able to call the alpha and I your mom and dad?”His eyes went wide as he asked, “Can I call Heather and Lena my sisters?” I laughed as Lena walked in, holding Heather’s hand, “You better, because we will be calling you our little brother.” Blaine smiled, “I would love that, Luna.” Isaac asked, “Do you know what that means, Blaine? Do you know what it means to be our only son?”Blaine shook his head as he furrowed his brows in confusion, “I don’t, Alpha.” Isaac knelt down to his level, “It means you will be my heir. You will be the next alpha of our pack. Would you like that?”Blaine’s eyes went wide again, “I would be happy just having you as my family.” I smiled, “Well, you will also have that for the rest
Ten minutes later, we were all in Isaac’s office, waiting for the rest of the employees from the orphanage to arrive. I sat in my wheelchair next to Blaine while my girls sat on the couch on my other side. Isaac sat at his desk, smiling at all of us.I asked, “What has you so happy, love?” He smiled, “If you could see what I see, you would be happy too. Seeing my whole family together makes my heart happy.”Blaine furrowed his brow, “What do you mean?” I smiled, “Let me see.” I was able to easily access Isaac’s mind and look through his eyes. I smiled at the sight and turned to the kids, “I wish we could frame this memory and display it in the main foyer. It’s absolutely perfect.”I projected the photo onto the white wall and all of our kids gasped. Lena laughed, “Mom, you need to warn us before you do that. Blaine didn’t know you could do it.” I looked Blaine in the eyes, “Son, you are a special wolf in a family of special wolves. We are going to keep this a secret until you are older
We got a big surprise. Well, Heather wasn’t surprised, but she kept it a secret. We have three new grandbabies! Triplets! Lena had two boys and one girl. Blaine was so excited to have two nephews and a niece to spoil. Isaac and I were over the moon.The first baby born was a boy, Joshua Douglas, weighed just five pounds, six ounces. For a triplet, that’s a big boy. The next baby was a girl, Isabel Zariah, weighed just three pounds, ten ounces, and was in an incubator for a few days. They wanted her to gain at least one pound before she left the hospital. Finally, Kenneth Isaac weighed four pounds, twelve ounces and also spent a little time in an incubator to get him to gain a little weight.Isabel and Kenneth got to go home four days after Joshua. We were so excited to spend time cuddling with each of them before we had to go home. As I held each of them, I started wishing I had been able to have a child of our own. I started to get depressed but talked myself into putting that energy
Seven Months LaterI pushed my wheelchair as fast as I could from our bedroom to the living room and yelled throughout the house on the way, “Is everyone ready to go? We need to get to Lena!” Isaac, jogging behind me, started chuckling, “Slow down, love. The babies will come whether we are there on time or not.” I sighed, “But I want to be there as soon as they are born. We need to go.”Blaine’s tires squealed as he came to a stop in the living room, “I’m ready to go. We’re just waiting for Heather and Aadi.” Aadi joined us, “Franco will join us outside. He already got someone to cover his patrols for the next couple days.”I smiled, “He has been a real advantage for our warriors. We need more bird shifters.” Aadi laughed, “I got really lucky. He’s a very good mate. He loves all of you because you are my family.” I gushed, “Aw. He’s already part of our family too.”Heather rushed to the living room and yelled, “Okay! I’m ready! I even remembered my presents for the babies!” I asked, “W
Six weeks laterThe past six weeks have been an adjustment period for all of us. Blaine and Elizabeth have been looking for reasons to see each other, driving us all crazy. We have finally resorted to letting them take turns, every other weekend, taking our packs’ private jets to the other pack. We told each of our pilots they were not allowed to go anywhere else.We felt Lena’s absence each time we sat at the table to eat dinner and each time we loaded up in the truck. Blaine and Heather loved having the extra room in the back seat. Heather was very vocal about her opinion on Lena’s absence the first couple weeks. Thankfully, she has let up on that. Now my heart can heal and let my daughter live her best life.Isaac and I have felt her absence a lot. She always had such a different way of thinking about solutions to problems that we looked forward to getting her input. Heather, however, has another way of finding solutions. Her oracle abilities allow her to see the best solutions or t
We were almost done eating breakfast when Heather walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of juice from the refrigerator and a banana from the fruit basket. She started to walk out of the kitchen, but turned around and smiled, “I’m going for my run. It’s a ten-mile day. The girls are on their way. Also, I do not want to talk about the stuff I heard last night.”We all laughed as she ran out of the house to meet her friends. I smiled, “She is so much like me. I did the same thing. My friends and I got up to twenty-mile days. She’s doing very well at seven years old. She will get done with her run, attend warrior training, allow four hours for Luna training, then two more hours for Beta mate training.“Then she goes to our home gym and meets her Uncle Axle for Gamma training and more fighting style training. She wants to be prepared for everything. She doesn’t stop. She has asked to be homeschooled so she can do it on her schedule. She is staying caught up and getting straight A’s.
The next morning, I woke up a little later than usual, but still earlier than everyone else, aside from Aadi. She is always on top of everything. After I finished my morning routine, I went to the kitchen and found Aadi finishing up breakfast.Aadi smiled, “Good morning, Zariah. How did the run go?” I sighed, “Lucas recognized Lena as his mate and accepted her.” Aadi asked, “So does that mean she will be leaving us today?” I nodded, “I think they are planning to leave today, after she packs her things.”Aadi sighed, “I’m not ready for her to go.” She sat my coffee in front of me on the table and continued, “I’m going to miss the hell out of her. She helps me a lot.” I nodded, “I know. She is a big help to the pack, but that means she will be an amazing Luna for Lucas. That’s what I’ve been training her for. It’s all I can ask of her; to be the best Luna she can be. I’m so proud of her.”That was when Alpha Doug and Luna Kathryn walked into the kitchen. Alpha Doug asked, “Are you talkin
For the last two years, Blaine had known that Elizabeth was his mate and it had been making him crazy. He still had another two years before her first shift. Instead of making himself crazy over that, he had buried himself in school and Alpha training.He had also been working on training his wolf. The warriors were shocked and amazed at his solid black wolf with amber eyes that glowed. They were also shocked that his wolf could run and fight when his human form couldn’t move from the waist down. They were also jealous that his clothes stayed intact when he shifted.He and Lena had been looking forward to seeing their mates every two weeks. We had been taking turns with Alpha Doug and Luna Kathryn on travelling to one another’s packs. I was just happy our packs had private jets to use, which greatly reduced travel time.Lena had been spending the past two years in Luna training with me. It gave her a big distraction from the mate bond and she was happy to bury herself in it. She had be
Two Years LaterI was helping Aadi with refreshments when I heard Lena yell for me, “MOM!” I rushed to her room, tires squealing as I turned the corner into her room, “What’s up, sweetheart?” She was standing there, at the foot of her bed in nothing but her bra and panties with a huge pile of dresses on her bed, “I can’t find anything to where and they are going to be here in less than an hour!”I chuckled because we go through this every time Alpha Doug and Luna Kathryn come down for a visit, “Okay sweetie, let’s see what your options are. We don’t want formal because that’s just too much, so take all the formal gowns out.” That reduced one foot of the pile.I sighed, “Okay, are you feeling any particular color for today?” She shrugged, “I don’t know.” I suggested, “I would love to see you in something that highlights your eyes. You have beautiful eyes and he needs to see that.” She giggled, “He already has. He’s always told me I have beautiful eyes.” I smiled, “Then we need to show h
The following month, Alpha Doug and Luna Kathryn brought their two boys and one girl to visit our pack. The poor girl, Elizabeth, was stuck, in age, between both of her brothers, with no sister to have her back.Their oldest son, Lucas, was fifteen and held himself as a future alpha but he was also trying not to seem unreachable. He kept staring at Lena in awe, but it almost seemed as though he was afraid to approach her. I chuckled, “It’s okay if you want to hang out with Lena. Just stay where we can see you.”He let out a breath and walked up to her, “Would you like to take a walk?” She answered as she blushed a bright shade of pink, “I would love to.” As they walked away, I couldn’t help but notice the awestruck look on his face as he kept his eyes on her. I smiled at Isaac knowingly and Isaac nodded in acknowledgement. Aadi chuckled, “We may have a pair of mates.”Blaine approached Elizabeth, “Would you like to take a walk?” Elizabeth agreed and she started walking next to his whe
Within minutes, there were at least one hundred snakes covering his body, biting him, while he screamed in pain and terror. Blaine nodded and all of the snakes stopped biting and started climbing the wall to leave the same way they came in.He was still conscious and yelling obscenities at Blaine while our son laughed, “I’m glad you’re still awake, Devlin. If you thought that was bad, wait until you see what is next.” He nodded at the guards and Heather withdrew the tree roots.We all walked outside and the guards roughly dragged him outside and just let him drop, face up onto the ground. He looked at Heather and she smiled, “Happy to help, brother.” The tree roots started winding their way up his arms again.Devlin asked, “So what now?” He smiled, “This is going to be better than expected. You are going to see your end coming and feel every bit of the pain. Rot in hell, Devlin Thorn. You deserve no less.”We all stepped back and watched as two panthers approached him. He screamed like