Jillian relaxed finally in her apartment, with Josh and Wally waiting to find out that everything was returning to normal. She needed to get some sleep soon, because no matter what, she’d needed to help at the medical centre. No one expected Helena to go with her because she was Luna, and that position carried a lot with it. Add in her father’s death, the twins’ presence, and now mating. Her job would need her to deal with the pack, its issues, and the effects from the attacks. People would need guidance to get back to the pack’s routine. Jillian didn’t envy her one bit. She preferred leaving her responsibilities at the medical centre when she came home. However, bringing Davis here complicated everything. She didn’t know what to do with him. How did she fix this situation? Jillian didn’t feel a bond between them. Did she?
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Helena found Brian in the office, poring over a notebook. To her, it was a mess of handwriting. He’d hidden his desk under a mass of reports, and he kept flipping through the book, then referring to a report. “How’s it going?” She smiled down at him over the chaotic mess. “Need any help? It’s too early for me to check out how everyone is doing with settling back into their routines.” “Can I ever. I need to verify as much of this information as possible with these reports. The alphas of about seven other packs want to meet as soon as we can arrange something, and they’ll want to see facts along with their receipts. But this notebook… I don’t know who left it on my desk. I didn’t orde
With Jillian gone, Helena got ready to head out herself. But before she could leave, Davis entered with a book Helena recognized. It was Jillian’s diary from when she was a teenager. It felt so long ago, but it truly wasn’t. “Alpha, I need some advice.” The large man stood before Brian’s desk, tapping the book in the palm of his other hand. “How can I help you, Davis?” Brian exchanged a glance with Helena. It would be one of those days where they’d find themselves interrupted repeatedly, it seemed. “As you know, I’ve mated with Jillian. Well, she’s trying to resist it and everything else. I’m not sure how to deal with her. Then I found this. She’s written in it she plans to run
Chris came in to get coffee just after Helena left to get on with her day. “Did I miss anything?” He settled into a seat and looked at his brother over the mass of reports. “How’s all that coming along?” “You missed a lot, and this is slower than I expected. First, the other alphas are demanding a sit-down meeting with us. That want the receipts and accounting of everything we have then. I need time to organize this, and I suggest we wait until Helena’s heat is over. I don’t want any further issues. It’s bad enough I couldn’t go out with her to deal with the pack.” “You want me to cut short what I’m doing? I can send Josh in here to assist you, and Wally can oversee the repairs
The three sat at the picnic table and Aunty Mae served tea and cookies. She was a stickler for tradition and conversation did not start until everyone was served and settled into place. It didn’t matter that they were out in a wooded area. The tradition was important. They weren’t monsters or animals, after all. Once she sat down, Aunty Mae looked at Helena with a smile that turned serious. “Now you said you needed help with something, my dear. Is this official business or family business?” She took a sip of her tea and then rested the cup back on the saucer in her other hand. “It’s closer to family than pack business. Jillian is struggling to understand why everyone is insisting on validating her mating. She claims sh
The three women frowned at the two naked men in the bushes. “Sirs, if you would mind getting decent, we can discuss this further after that. Please remember this is my den you enter.” Basically, a wolf’s den is their domain, and the wolf has first and last words on everything that happens there. With wolf shifters, their den is their home. This is why homes lay closely scattered. It lessened territory disputes between pack mates. The Alphas overstepped Aunty Mae’s hospitality and invaded her domain without permission. “Ladies, we’ll take this inside and give the gentlemen a moment.” If looks could kill, Aunty Mae would have wracked up a couple of kills. Helena and Jillian gathered up the tea service and snacks, then followed Aunty Mae into the cottage. Helena looked at her two angry mates. It wasn&rsquo
The twins headed back to the packhouse but said nothing about this event to each other until they knew they were alone. “What in all that’s holy in this world did we just walk out of?” Chris couldn’t believe how that turned out. Everything they expected turned on its ear and bit them. “Another reason not to trust the council of elders. They manipulated us expertly again. Why can’t we expect Helena to work with us to keep her safe? But that move turning it back on us and expecting us to tell her where we are going.” Brian laughed unconsciously but when he and Chris really thought about it. “Damn. It’s a double standard. We’re supposed to be on equal footing w
“Now that we have time, I won’t keep you much longer. I hope that won’t cause any difficulty, but I needed to be said. Otherwise, their instincts would be to coddle you, protect you, and basically smother your until you couldn’t do your job. Now is the time you need to lay down the law on what you’ll accept and not accept. But please don’t go too far the other way. It can become dangerous for you and others.” The old woman made sense, but Helena still wasn’t sure what she was in for when she got back to the packhouse. “Heads up would have been nice, though. Now, what was it you needed to speak to us about without the men being here?” Helena wasn’t necessarily complaining but informing Aunty Mae of the future. She didn’t appreciate being blindsided by these decis
As they walked back to the packhouse, Jillian asked Helena, “So, are you telling the Alphas about the pack problems?” “After the way, they reacted to me not checking in. No, I would rather deal with it myself for now. This is so far out of hand that it’s ridiculous.” Helena didn’t look at Jillian as they walked. Her mind wasn’t fully on the conversation or where they were going. Her brain worked on ways to get the pack to embrace the changes in their command structure. She didn’t know what would happen if they didn’t, and she feared it would be nothing good for anyone. “If that’s the case, you’ll need someone in your corner. I guess that’ll be me, won’t it? The good frien
Life settled down for them after that, and a routine formed. Their pack understood their unique relationship. It helped when Alfred could come up with some documentation he’d found while doing his own study on their unique bond. It and Bethany fascinated the man became a friend to Helena and Jillian. Nathan and Asia eventually settled on a date to be formally accepted by their pack and to acknowledge their mating. It was something their pack needed to. Life for them soon became full of creating and building. Several of the lone wolves filtered in and requested a place within Nathan’s pack. Davis helped greatly with that because he could identify these lone wolves and vet their stories. By winter, there were enough homes to keep the Blue Mountain Pack safe from the elements. Money appeared out of the rambling and incomplete financial status. Helena didn’t look too closely, but she suspected several packs contributed funds and investments so that they could start agai
Asia now understood how much she didn’t know about wolf shifters and their society. The mating ceremony wasn’t elaborate, but there were meanings behind everything. Luck and good fortune were part of the reason everything was being done. Prosperity and abundance. She was told so many stories and traditions that her head spun from all of them. It was so different from what she’d learned in her time underground with them. The other women were afraid to speak of these things while Clarence was alive. Afterward, there were other things to think about. Now they were looking forward to the Alpha Acceptance Ceremony and their Mating Recognition Ceremony. It was so busy that most nights everyone went to bed exhausted to start again the next day. They could get the new packhouse built and several outbuildings so that they could winter with a roof over all their heads. They planned a school for the new year for all the packs in the area to send their pups, too. So the
The pack came alive with the discovery of the celebration. These were things they lived for. Births, matings, and all the little cornerstones of member lives. They were a close knit family and community. This was something they could sink their proverbial teeth into. Presents weren’t necessary, but someone would always find something to bring.They planned a nighttime ceremony as tradition dictated and that gave most of the day to prepare the simple things for the ceremony.Dusk was falling and Helena cornered Jillian in her apartment to get ready. Davis took an hour and greeted those attending. Jillian fluttered about in a distracted and nervous state. Helena couldn’t figure out what would calm her down. But she started out with some logic.“First off. Here’s the dress. Let’s get you dressed. Honestly, you’d think Davis wasn’t yours already. At least, your instincts were smart enough to catch him. Everything is already recorded and technically, this is just to get your sister to leav
The work lunch was going well, but as the meeting came to an end, Chris noticed Jillian again adjusting the collar of her top. With a frown, he watched her for a little longer. “Is that a bite on your neck, Jillian?” Her response was to put her hand over the mark and blush. “It is! Well, I guess congratulations are in order for both of you. When are you planning to have your mating recognition ceremony?” “We’ll see. We’ve not set a date yet. There’s no hurry after all this stuff happening.” Jillian tried to take the pressure off of the subject, because she hoped they would drop it. “We’re going to have one as soon as it’s possible. No time to waste pretending things might change.” Davis interrupted Jillian’s uncomfortably nervous rambling to state the opposite of his mate’s words. “Davis! What are you talking about? We can’t do that. It’s too soon after all the deaths.” Jillian looked askance at Davis, unable to believe he’d said none of this to her
Nathan all but dragged himself back to the camp. He’d not fought all that much. It’d just been a long night. Too long if you asked him. But he represented the Blue Mountain Pack until the end. The witches would not all him to sit in and watch the trial. But he knew that witch and golem were now no longer a threat to the Blue Mountain. Now what would he do since the pack chose him to be their leader? Did he dare think of himself as the perfect candidate? He’d done a right fine job of being a roadblock to the current leadership there. Would he bring that blindness to this pack? Or could he be confident that he’d learned his lesson? If only he could see into the future and everything it held. Asia would see him as the stuff Alpha’s were made of. But he knew she’d read far too many romance novels involving werewolves, and they were far from correct in most things about wolf shifters. The camp was moving today, which meant he wouldn’t get much sleep, nor would the few peo
Jillian watched Davis make sure that her sister and mother, with her mother’s latest side piece, were settled in their cabin. Gods, the guy wasn’t much older than her sister. He’d be better suited to her sister. What did these men see in her mother? She had two adult daughters. She didn’t care if her mother found someone. Actually, Jillian would love her mother to find someone she had something in common with. This guy wouldn’t be able to keep up with her in a conversation and she wouldn’t be able to keep up with him in pretty much any physical activity. Jillian could see this becoming another crash and burn. She bet he’d not met his fated mate and when he did, he’d have a devil of a time removing her clinging mother from him. Or Jillian would have to deal with the high drama. At least, right now, Davis showed no interest in her sister’s advances. He’d spoken to her once already, and her sister acted like he must be mistaken. Now Jillian wasn’t sure if she m
“If we are going to return to some form of normal, we need to finish preparing the Alpha apartments for us. You know. Get all our ducks in a row.” Chris mentioned as they ate breakfast in their apartment. This was the first day of the rest of their lives together in his estimation, and he was becoming impatient at how must mess it left and the sheer number of strings that weren’t tied down. This wasn’t something he wanted to have happened again. “As long as those ducks don’t turn into raccoons or squirrels, I’ll be happy. I thought we setup for them to be renovated by now?” Helena pushed her plate away from her. How this would play out, she didn’t know, but she had to get it going or she’d get bogged down in her grief. “We did, but half of the work crew was called up to hunt. Which put the schedule back and I’ve not been given a revised schedule.” Brian added, and he clearly felt horrible about that. They didn’t need so many people to hunt down the golem or
Alfred walked from the room they used for their courts and formal audiences. It wasn’t used much these days, but it was never pleasant. The council agreed to punish Veronica with imprisonment and being stripped of her abilities. Not a simple thing to do. She’d never live a normal life if she finished her imprisonment. Veronica would have to stay hidden from the mortal world because of the knowledge she could spread. Basically, she’d just trade one prison for another and the identity she knew once would always be a faint memory. In the old day, they’d have just killed her, and Alfred believed that was a far more merciful thing to do. None of this gives her hope and then lets someone else deal with the fallout. Though he could wash his hands of her. She’d go with the elders of the council back to their homeland, which was secreted away. That’s where the sentence would occur. Their coven didn’t have the resources or place to keep her during her punishment. This was the end of th
Veronica didn’t know how long she’d been there. The light turned off and on several times. She could have been there for hours or days. She didn’t know. Finally, someone gave her food. Once she ate, it didn’t take long for a small group of people to come along and haul her out of the prison, she found herself in. She was prepared to celebrate her freedom until she found herself locked in a chair in another dark room. Veronica could hear the movement of people in robes on the edges of the large empty room. She wasn’t sure what to expect from these people. Veronica schooled herself not to give into the fear. She couldn’t quite achieve that, so she sat there attempting not to admit to anything incriminating or to give up on her very life. Finally, the lights came up enough within the room, that left little to the imagination of what they used this room for. It was a courtroom, and she was on trial. They dared to force their views and rules on her. That, alone burst her