Cali
The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur, minutes turned to hours as Amber and I worked side-by-side sorting through paperwork, notes left by Freya, trying to put the plans for the Christmas festival into some semblance of order.
We took it in turns contacting the vendors from Blackrock, finalising details for the stalls they were setting up. Amber spoke with Lucas, the head of the education Centre, to see what the students had been working on, and what we could incorporate into the festival.
We held a meeting at the packhouse with Grant, head of house maintenance, to discuss the ball we had planned for Christmas Eve.
By the time night fell, we were both exhausted, but so much had been accomplished that neither one of us could stop smiling at the thought of the upcoming festivities.
"I'm actually really looking forward to Christmas this year. We never do this much. Typically, there is a ball or a dance for the
CaliA scream died in my throat as my eyes wrenched open.The room was dark, the slightest slither of light from the moon streaked through a gap in the closed curtains, but with our advanced sight and natural night vision Tristan's worried face was as clear as it would have been at midday.I felt his hands shaking my shoulders before his words registered in my sleep shrouded brain."Cali. Wake up baby. You're safe." His tone was soothing but loud in the otherwise quiet room.I groaned as I shifted on the bed, my throat was sore, and embarrassment coloured my cheeks as I realised, I must have been screaming in my sleep.Images from the nightmare assaulted me and I shivered under Tristan's grip. Clearing my throat so I forced myself to speak. " I'm awake, I'm okay, it was just a bad dream."A knock sounded on the door before Tristan could reply. "Everything okay?" Roman's sleep heavy voice called through the closed door, a
Cali,It was an era of gender inequality and sexism. Women of all ranks were relegated to the kitchen and other menial tasks, they were raised with the sole objective of learning to look after their men.Only the most basic of education was provided to women from the wealthiest of families and those women that were born into poverty or lower-class households would have been offered basic tuition from their own mother.Women were seen as a means to procreate and a support for the men who ran the pack. It was not uncommon in this time for a man to have several wives who would quite often be pregnant at the same time, the ultimate goal of course, to birth a child who would carry on the name, an heir. And the daughters were quite often sold off as wives in their early to mid-teens.It was therefore no surprise to anyone when the alphas wife birthed two health baby girls, twins, that he paid them very little attention. They had very
Cali For the first time in as long as I could remember it was just Roman, Amber, Tristan and I at the dinner table and every face was smiling. The conversation was light-hearted as we all took turns heaping food onto our plates, there wasn't a single mention of the war, something I was eternally grateful for. A part of me had known since day one what I was getting into, being the mate of an Alpha. It was never going to be an easy simple life, but I've never expected that within my first 6-months of being Luna we would have faced war and kidnapping, death and destruction. The war had sunk into every crevice of this pack, no matter how hard we tried to shelter the innocent and protect the pack members there was no saving them from their own fears. Those fears translated to gossip around the town which in turn made everyone worry more. Even here in the packhouse where we were constantly surrounded by security and t
CaliWithout another word spoken he tilted my head up until his eyes met mine and watched me with such intensity that I couldn't help but squirm in my seat before his lips crashed against mine in a kiss that was demanding in way our kisses never had been before, like he physically couldn't get enough.Hours could have passed, and I wouldn't have known I was so lost in the feeling of his lips against mine, his hands that gripped my hips in a firm hold while his thumbs traced tantalising lines against the skin above my waist band. Eventually he pulled back, his gaze searching as we both gasped to catch our breaths. I had never been so turned on in my life, I couldn't sit still and wriggled against his lap trying vain to get closer to pulsing erection that I needed to feel press inside me."You sure?" He asked, his voice gruff with his own desire and the sound alone made me shiver. Another nod of my head and I watched as he swallowed.
CaliThe doctor’s appointment had done little to alleviate my fears, instead only leaving me with more worry and doubt.Despite his years of medical training the doc had no idea what kind of affect our abilities would have on the baby.He doubted it would be hereditary since neither of our parents had any additional abilities or skills beyond those that were usual to our race, but he couldn't say for certain. Nor could he determine if there would be any other lasting side effects. He did a quick scan of my abdomen and declared that everything was as he would expect considering my gestation.Unfortunately he couldn't give me any kind of due date, elaborating to say that each shifter pregnancy was different and some Cubs would develop to term in four months while others took eight and that he would be able to give me any idea until he had measurements taken over several months.We then discussed my own abilities,
TristanIt was a little after 2 a.m by the time we got finished with the last of the interviews. Leaving the captives in the capable hands of the Warrior guards Roman and I trudged up the stairs to the main floor of the packhouse, both of us bone weary and exhausted.Without much conscious thought I followed my beta into the first floor sitting room and slumped back on the sofa as Roman poured out two generous glasses of Scotch.Neither one of us said a word until the glasses were half empty. Sure, we had been hoping to uncover some information in relation to the traffickers, how they connected to Liberty pack, why they were interested in Freya, where they were based, anything that would help Damien and Freya, but neither one of us had expected to get the answers we had."Well shit." Roman grumbled before draining the remaining liquid from his glass and I couldn't help but agree. "Surely this can't be right." He continued an
CaliI woke slowly in the huge bed I had become accustomed to over the weeks I had been living at BlackRock and reached out for Tristan, not surprised to find his side of the bed empty, although it was surprising that the sheets were still warm. He hadn't been up for long.A glance at the clock showed it was still early and part of me wanted to curl up and fall back asleep for a few hours but today was going to be a day unlike any other since I arrived here.With visiting Alphas from each of the three alliance packs, the pack house would be busy. I could already hear the bustle from around the house as rooms were prepared and security was arranged.With a resigned sigh I climbed from the bed and made my way into the ensuite bathroom. If nothing else, I should probably put in a little extra effort in this morning. This would be the first day when I would truly be representing BlackRock as Luna to outside packs.I took
CaliOver the next few days, I seemed to operate more on autopilot than anything else. Alpha De'Maine did indeed arrive with 8 cars although thankfully only one of them was full.With 19 shifters from Oak Creek, 24 from Dark Forest and 12 from Lotus pack, plus the almost constant circulation of BlackRock pack members and the main house was filled to capacity.The staff were all working on overdrive to keep up with the demand in the house, something I would be eternally grateful for, as without their help there was no way we could have pulled this off.All in all, my first event hosting was a success. Only Catoil found anything to moan about, but I was reliably informed that it wasn't unusual for him to do so, followed by a comment about how the man was an ass and to feel free to throw him out. The surprising part was that the statement came from Tristan, not Damian.Tristan was less stressed than I would have expected
The pack house was blissfully quiet the next morning, something I was surprised to find, even as I walked down from the bedroom and through the halls, there was no one in sight and no noise, it was actually a little eerie.Roman had explained the night before that the warriors had located Liberty pack and they were planning an attack on their camp so I had no doubt that Roman Tristan and the other relevant people were ensconced away in the war room making plans, but I would have expected, at the very least to run into some of the pack house staff.Cali was sat alone in the sitting room with a trolly full of breakfast foods, her head bend as se read through what had to be the oldest book I had ever seen.“Morning.” I whispered, not wanting to disturb her but Cali closed the book and placed it in her lap before looking around the room and fixating on the trolley of food as though surprised to see it there.“Morning. What time is it?”“A little after nine. I slept in.” I muttered feeling
TristanJackson wasn’t joking when he called it a camp. From the looks of it most of the shifters were sleeping outside under the nights sky. Most of the year that wouldn’t be an issue, especially if you shifted into wolf form to stay warm, but there was still snow on the ground in parts of the woodlands, and the bits that weren’t covered in snow were frozen solid, it was freezing out there.I scanned the picture on the screen, taking in the tarpaulin hanging haphazardly to create barriers from the wind, rain and snow, the single tent like structure and the dozens of shifters, and a sadistic glee filled me, it was animalistic and most definitely came from the wolf in me but it wasn’t an emotion I would fight.These monsters had attacked my home, my pack, put the alliance under the treat of war, injured and killed. Kidnapped and tortured and soon they would receive a taste of their own medicine.“Roman, go through the pictures and videos see if you can put together a map of their camp.
RomanThe sense of relief was astounding, even Smoke was calm inside my head for once, laying with Amber wrapped in my arms, our cub growing safely inside her, for the first time I felt like I was home. I guess it’s true what they say, you don’t know what you have until its gone. The risk of loosing Amber over this made me realise just how much I needed my mate, and only part of that feeling was due to the bond we had created.For the most part it was all her, her smile, her gentle approach, she tempered me in a way I didn’t know was possible, even Smoke was generally calmer when she was around.Her fingers traced the ridges on my chest and stomach, the now familiar tingles leaving bump on my skin.“You okay?” I asked, loathe to break the comfortable silence, but we couldn’t ignore this, a baby wasn’t just going to disappear. The no of her head against my chest wasn’t the most reassuring answer he could have given. “Amber, baby. I need you to talk to me.”“It hurt. Knowing that this t
CaliTristan genuinely looked like he was at his wits end, not that I could blame him, yet again he was shouldering a hell of a burden and there didn’t seem to be a reprieve around the corner. I watched as he sat back in his office chair, scrubbing his face with his hands as he took deep breaths, trying to control the overwhelming emotions running through him, frustration, anger, disappointment, disbelief, not one of them were positive and left me feeling overwhelmed and I only felt the echo of his emotions.Anger seemed to tip the scales a little as he dialled the phone and placed the call on loudspeaker on his desk waiting for the other person to pick up. He tapped a finger on the desk, and I bit my lip, I had a feeling that Lotus pack were about to be on the receiving end of all of Tristan’s pent up frustrations.“Leroux.” A young voice answered and my eyes flicked up to Tristan in surprise. Alpha Paxon was far from young, his son Abel was set to take over any day, but word was tha
AmberWhen I suggested to Cali that we take Amie out of the boot room, I was just trying to be the bigger person, and if I’m honest I was feeling a little guilty, the girl couldn’t be much older than 18 if at all, and she was on the receiving end of a hell of a lot of hate, even if she hadn’t witnessed it, I didn’t want to be one more person in her life that hated her, when truth be told, Cora was right, that cold have just as easily been me.But the story she told actually broke my heart. No one should have to live in that kind of a household, no one should be belittled by the people that are genetically engineered to love you. I couldn’t help but rub my hand over the rounding belly that contained the bundle of life I already loved so much.I couldn’t even imagine.“Amber?” The question startled me, I had actually forgotten that Roman was here, I also hadn’t noticed that everyone else had abandoned me. I guess it was for the best. No one wanted to be a part of this kind of conversati
Cali‘Well that escalated quickly.’ Thalia’s thought in my head was pure amusement as she practically drooled over how protective and strong our mate was. Damn baby hormones. We were in the middle of a nightmare situation and all I could think about was how much I wanted my mate.Tristan growled at the older man before issuing a threat of his own, his tone pitched low enough that bumps rose on my arms, if the man wasn’t wetting himself he was an idiot, I more than anyone, knew just how soft and loving Tristan could be, but in Jacks shoes, I’m not entirely sure I would still be conscious.“You have some nerve, coming into my home, throwing around your accusations, threatening my beta, demanding things like you have a right and now you have the balls to throw a vase at my mate, my Luna. The only reason you’re still breathing is because of that young girl over there. The very girl you were ready to abandon, the girl you call a whore, just saved your life.”I felt the tell-tale signs of t
RomanJack Elisse’s voice carried when he was mad, I didn’t even have to force my hearing to listen in on their conversation, standing in the hallway, with the door closed, I could hear him as crystal clear as if he was stood beside me, and every one of his words sliced through my patience like a knife through butter. I could practically feel Tristan’s displeasure from here, and I had no doubt that after this performance I was shortly going to be on the wrong end of another one of the Alpha’s rants.The fact that I had to step out of the room at all was just icing on an already fucked up cake.“Look at you, standing there like you think I’m in the wrong. They always said that Alpha Leroux was fair, tough but fair and yet you’re taking that bastards side without blinking. You have to know that he’s in the wrong here, behind that blank mask of yours, you cannot be this blind.” I winced at the older man’s words, knowing just how pissed off Tristan was right now, there was no way that wou
AmberIt literally felt like my heart had been torn from my chest. The only man I had ever loved, had a child with someone else.“Romans talking with Tristan, he was up here with you for a while but Tris is pissed.” Cali informed from her seat beside me on the bed, although I could barely focus on her words, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.“I don’t want to see him.” I muttered and Cali shook her head.“Don’t talk like that, you’ll work through it.”“I don’t care, right now Cali, I do not want to see him. How could he do this to me?” I asked as the tears fell from my eyes and my hands went to my stomach. The child he had been so worried about, scared to raise, wasn’t even his first.“There’s still a chance the baby isn’t his.”“I don’t believe that, and neither do you. We both saw his face Cali. The baby is his.”“So, what are you going to do?” The question was asked tentatively but that was the question of the hour, what was I going to do?“I don’t know, but I can’t, right now I just c
RomanOf all the fucking things, and all the fucking timing.I grit my teeth as I stroked the hair back off Amber’s face. My pregnant mate had literally passed out from the news that I had apparently fathered another she-wolfs cub. The doc was on his way over, while I had managed to catch Amber before she hit the ground, I wasn’t willing to take any chances with my mate or my cub.Now I just had to figure out what I was going to do about the girl and the baby.I recognised her, of course I did. She was a member of Lotus pack, a she-wolf I had met over a year ago while Damian and I were on assignment there.Was there a possibility the baby was mine? Unfortunately, yes. I was always careful, I always had been, with everyone but Amber, although that didn’t really mean a lot, shit still happened. But I hadn’t been her first, and I doubt I was her last, so was there a possibility that the cub belonged to someone else? Sure. And fuck was I hoping that was the case.A knock on the door had m