Walking into the living room, Erin was shocked to see that I was already awake and going at it. “Layla? Is everything okay? Did you sleep at all?” she asked, and with a wave, I brushed it off, calling her attention elsewhere. “None of that matters. I think I've come up with a plan to help us solve this problem. Come, take a seat,” I urged, tapping at the seat beside me. Curious, she took a seat and raised a brow at me in concern. “Hey, this is pretty early. You can take a quick nap and I'll just-”“No, this is urgent. We have to talk about this now.” With a sigh, she nodded, and I filled her in on the details of the plans I had made in the frenzy of the night, letting her know that I would be sending she and Remy to the packs whose help we needed. “In a few days, they can find their way here after gathering the people they select to make the journey. You can come right back. It's perfect, if you ask me. What do you think? Are you okay with that?”She nodded, and I sighed in relief
In a few hours, the worst of the cleaning was over. The pack members had taken to wearing nylon bags on their hands so they could go over to the sites and pick up all of the ok clothing that could no longer be worn, and on the other end, a makeshift shower had been created, away from other water sources, so they could have their baths. The pack house was already clean from top to bottom, but I went around to all of the rooms and made sure that they were all clean, packing away all of the valuables into one of the other cabins belonging to the pack. Satisfied, I had instructed the move of the sick people to begin, going into the kitchen to check in the broth that was being prepared for the sick. The sight of carrots and floating bits of meat was enough to warm me up, and I thought about what it would do for the rest. “Well done guys!” I called, smiling at them.In return, I got a host of smiles, which satisfied me. “Thank you,” they chorused, beginning to dish the food into bowls. B
By that evening, multiple bodies of different animals had been brought around from all sides of the pack, and I had marvelled at the number of animal bodies that had been found. They had even gone further and traced all the water sources in the area asides from our own to a singular source, and now the plan was to go ahead to treat it the next day. Lunch and dinner hand gone over well, and although it was probably blind hope from my ends, it looked to to me like everyone who had been ill looked a little better. I had gone around finally to visit Eric, Kimora, Margot, and Lee. The latter had still not opened up his eyes, but the rest had peeled their eyes open and had been told about what it was like to find out that my parents were rogues and I had a family that came from a pack of warriors. They could barely speak, except for Margot who had said, “cool.” which had been a sign to me that I had been forgiven. At the end of the day, I climbed up to Brad's room, unafraid of cross con
Three days into our new routine, dawn brought us the return of Erin and Remy, the joy on their features was a stark contrast to the mood in the pack, but with them they brought good news that lit up my eyes.“Erin, Remy! Oh, thank the gods that you are home and safe. I was so worried about you, I kept saying prayers to the moon goddess to keep you safe.” “Hey Layla,” Remy giggled, “thank you. We were definitely safe, and I'm sure it was your prayers that kept us going. We came with help. Alpha Dan and a few others insisted on coming to help, once we let them know who we were.”With that, the throng of people behind them stepped away, and I saw the face of Alpha Dan, and a few other Alphas the outcasts had an ally ship with. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks with gratitude, and I looked between them and Remy, arms flailing. “I can't even begin to thank you enough. I can try, but my words will fail me. Thank you so much, oh gods, I'm going to start crying,” I wept, putting a hand to my
In agreement, Brad turned to face me, nodding in agreement. His skin was still a lot paler than it had been before, but color had started to return to his cheeks, rounding him out a little bit. I helped him back to the bed and sat down beside him, chastising him for getting out of bed. “I'm trying, okay? It's just hard for me, ai hate being bedridden and not being able to help when the oacknso obviously needs me." Pulling him into me, I gave him a tight hug, understanding where he was coming from. Although he was weak, he returned my hug with the same intensity, placing his chin on top of my head."You'll be back to your usual self in no time," I assured him, tilti g my head and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "But for now, I need to fill you in on everything that's happened."Stepping back from him, I began to catch him up to speed on the events of the past few hours, from the arrival of Alpha Dan and some other allies, along with the progress being made in restoring the pack. “
The next morning, I got to work alongside the members of Alpha Dan's pack, and I noticed a dissonance between them and my pack members. Gone was the openness that my pack members had displayed when they had first arrived, in its place was a hostility they did not bother to hide. Calling Seth over, I asked him what the entire skirmish was about. “Seth, I see that you do not get along the best with the allies. Is there a problem? Everyone in the pack seems to be following your lead, more or less, and I don't want any fights to break out.” Seth, usually a man of few words, opened his mouth and shut it, like a fish, seemingly deciding on what to say to me. Finally, he came to a conclusion, and met me in the eyes, the blinding blue of his keeping my focused on what he had to say. “Alpha Layla, they are bad vibes. There's something about all of them that just isn't right, and while they works, they sing songs of plundering and destruction, and we don't like that in our pack. I'm sorry.
A week had passed, and the construction project was well underway. According to the reports I had gotten from Seth, in less than a week we should be all set. The tension that had once simmered between the two packs had eased, thanks to Alpha Dan's willingness to address the issue with the plundering songs his men had sung. My pack members and his had gradually found common ground, working together with the aim of getting the job done as fast as possible.I had stayed by Brad every day, watching him regain his strength bit by bit. He was back on his feet, and though he still had some recovery ahead, the improvement in his health wasn't too hard to see. All around the pack too, everywhere, the sick began to get better, and many of them were convalescing well, volunteering to help out at the construction sites. The new harmony was so beautiful that I found myself stepping away to watch it all unfurl without me. Unknown to me, beneath the surface of this newfound harmony, a sinister pl
The construction project had been quite a huge task, and now, after weeks of hard work from members of both of the packs, the buildings that would serve as shelter for the displaced outcasts were finally complete. The sense of accomplishment hung in the air like sweet nectar, mingling with the anticipation of the unveiling of the homes. Alpha Dan's pack was due to leave the next day, and the bittersweet reality of their departure loomed over us. The bond that had formed during our time together was undeniable, and saying goodbye wouldn't be easy.Asides from the drama that seemed to surround our union, it had been nice to live in a shared space with our old neighbors again, and it felt good to have them around. It was a shame that they would have to leave very soon.Seated around a large bonfire, the crackling flames casting dancing shadows, we shared happy stories and laughter. It was a moment of joy; most of the people who had been sick were now all better, and some of them ran ar