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Doug had brought in all of my purchases and I had to move them to the pantry until after lunch. The kitchen was smelling so good, I started humming as I worked. I prepared lunch and waited until Alpha Ben returned with the alcohol to serve it. After setting the table, I announced that lunch was ready and people started filing into the dining room. After everyone was done and the all the dishes were washing in the dishwasher, I pulled all the watermelons out of the pantry. I immediately put two watermelons into the spare refrigerator for the ones with no alcohol, then I sat four on the counter to wash. I washed each one, then I sat them aside, knowing Alpha wanted to help with it. I found my apple corer to help with the task. While I waited for Alpha and Luna to join me, I started rinsing the berries and sorting them. I put them in big bowls with lids after drying them on a paper towel. I put them in the spare refrigerator just when Alpha and Luna walked into the kitchen. Alpha Ben pl
The next three days were spent with Doug prepping vegetables and me making desserts that could be refrigerated, preparing dinner roll dough, freezing it, and cooking meals for the pack. Today is the day before the ball and I was able to really start my cooking and baking. I had asked Luna if she wanted me to precook the roasts or the dinner rolls, but she answered, “Neither.” So, I am going to concentrate on desserts today, so I already have my cakes in the ovens, I have already made the hot-hot and put it in a giant bowl. I covered it and put it in the spare refrigerator, then I started washing strawberries and slicing them I set aside enough for a strawberry pie. I put them in a bowl and put them in the main refrigerator. I continued slicing them until I had enough to macerate for ice cream topping. I poured sugar on those and then put a lid on them. I then sliced the rest of them and macerated them for strawberry shortcake. When the cakes are done, I set them out to cool and starte
Joshua POV “Come on, Joshua! We’re running late! We need to get there in time to get dressed for the ball,” Matthew yelled from the foyer. I trotted down the stairs carrying my duffle bag and my suit on a hanger covered in dry cleaning plastic, “What the hell, brother? I’m really not looking forward to this. You know that.” Matt’s mate, Jessie, sighed, “Josh, we just want you to find your mate. You deserve to feel complete and I really need my beta.” I rolled my eyes and laughed internally, “Let’s get this over with. I’m not crazy about that pack, but we’ll see if my mate is there.” I’ve been looking for my mate for five years and still haven’t found her. A chosen mate is not an option. It’s not fair to our fated mates, if we find them, or each other. I am beta to the Cold Springs Pack and my brother, Matthew, is Alpha of our pack. He found his mate, Jessie, four years ago and they just found out that she is pregnant with twins, so she has been more determined, now, for me to find my
Isabel POV I hid in my room for a short while, but realized that I have to get back to the kitchen. I went back and Gabrielle was still there, waiting for me. She smiled brightly at me and I was on the edge of tears. She opened her arms and I hugged her, “Why would a high ranked wolf want me?” Gabrielle laughed, “Are you kidding? You’re beautiful, you’re smart, and you kick ass in the kitchen.” I laughed, “Thanks. I just know he’s going to reject me.” Gabrielle grinned while shaking her head, “He came in here looking for you. I talked to him. Hon, he wants you. He doesn’t care what your rank is. You are a blessing to him.” I shook my head, “How can I be sure of that?” She shrugged, “You can’t; all you can do is trust the Moon Goddess.” I sighed, “I’ve trusted her my whole life. I guess I should do that now too. But, first, I need to get through this ball. I’m not supposed to be seen by anyone. Can you check the food for me”? The rest of the night went very well. Gabrielle said everyo
My mate raised his eyebrows and looked at Alpha Ben, “If you want to protect your mate, you will get her to stand down. I will not leave my mate here. She was given to me by the Moon Goddess and to reject her is to reject a gift from the Goddess herself. I will not do it.” Luna Kate turned white as a sheet and Alpha Ben replied, “She is valuable to us. She is the only one who knows how to cook well.” My mate just shook his head, “What were you planning to do if she found her mate?” I spoke up, “Luna Kate told me to reject my mate if I found him. She told me I was to never be seen by anyone outside this pack.” He asked, “Do you want to reject me?” I could see the hurt in his eyes as he asked the question and I shook my head, “No, I don’t. I don’t want to reject my gift from the Goddess.” He smiled and pulled me closer. He looked back to Alpha Ben and Luna Kate, “I, Beta Joshua Roberts of the Cold Spring Pack, accept you, Isabel Myers, as my mate and Co-Beta.” I looked him in the eye and
We decided that we would go ahead and just get to the pack and we can sit in Alpha’s office and I can tell my story. I would rather have talked about it in a private setting anyway. I got to just relax in my mate’s arms the entire way to my new home. The closer we got, the more nervous I got. Not because I was nervous about being Co-Beta, but because I was going to have to tell all of them everything that had happened to me. I was worried about being seen as weak or being looked at with pity. I didn’t want to be pitied and I felt that everything I had been through made me stronger. I started to bite my lower lip and pick at my fingernails, a habit that I had developed when I was anxious, and Joshua put one hand over my hands and gently moved my lower lip from my teeth and asked, “What’s eating at that beautiful brain, love?” I sighed, “Just stressing over what all of you, but especially you, will think of me after I tell you everything.” He responded by kissing the top of my head and t
We all sat down with a bottle of water and Alpha Matthew started, “Okay. I got the vibe, while we were at Red Moon, that you were supposed to be kept a secret.” I nodded, “I was. I spent well over half of my childhood in the dungeons.” Gabrielle and the guys nodded as I continued, “My parents were killed by rogues when I was five years old. My mother had started teaching me how to read, write and do math when I was three. So, I was much smarter and more articulate than they expected me to be. I think that might have threatened Luna Kate. I was found in the forest by Alpha Ben and he took me back to the pack house with him. For the first couple days that I was there, I was in a guest room. On the day of my parents’ funeral, I was moved to the attic to sleep on a cot with only one blanket. No heat in the winter and AC in the summer. No insulation in the walls or the ceiling. I had a desk and a broken-down dresser and that was it. Gabrielle hid two blankets in my closet and I had to make
After visiting a while longer, everyone left and Joshua and I were left alone for the first time since we got out of the car. He asked, “Are you hungry?” I smiled, “I am pretty hungry. I didn’t eat breakfast.” He cringed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t even thing of that when we left. I just wanted to get you home.” I smiled as I hugged him, “I’m glad you did. I’m used to skipping meals. It was happening quite frequently. What did you have in mind?” He smiled, “I want to take you to my favorite restaurant here. Are you ready to go?” I smiled, “I am.” He led me out of the pack house and to a Jeep Wrangler. He helped me into it and got in his side. We went to town and I instantly fell in love with Main Street. The street had nothing but small businesses on either side of the street. There were no nationally known corporations on this street and it was really nice. He smiled as he watched me look around in wonder. He took my hand and smiled as soon as he parked the car. I asked, “What’s so funny?”
It has now been twenty years since that awful day. We have had so much happen since then. Kenny took his rightful place as Alpha of the Red Moon Pack when he was eighteen and Kyle took his place as Beta of Cold Springs pack at the same age. Kyle met his mate, Kelly, when an Alpha from another pack brought his family to visit the pack. This is common practice when an alpha wants his daughter to find her mate. They had a boy and a girl and we are so happy to be grandparents! Kenny hasn’t found his mate yet, but I’m sure he will. He is about to go overseas for a summit with a wolf pack in Russia. There is really no point in an alliance with that pack, because it would serve no purpose. We wouldn’t be able to provide aide in a timely manner and we wouldn’t be able to invest to be able to see where the money is going. I have a feeling he is just going to see if his mate is there and I am very happy he’s at least trying to look. Andrew stepped back from his duties as Co-Alpha and built a h
Five years later, I had just given birth to my sixth, and final, child. My son, Ace, may be the youngest, but he is an Alpha through and through. He was a huge baby, weighing fourteen pounds, six ounces and he was twenty-four inches long. It seemed like giving birth to him took forever! He’s a sweet boy, but very impatient. He does love having his butt pounded and being rocked roughly though… just like his brothers and sisters. He started sleeping through the night at one week old and nearly scared me to death. I got no sleep that first time. I was up every hour, checking to make sure he was still breathing and listening to his heartbeat. He has been doing everything earlier than his brothers and sisters. He’s the chubbiest little boy I have ever seen and I giggle each time I see him laugh. Yes, he is one month old and already laughing. I mean laughing so hard his fat rolls jiggle and I love every second I get to see him do it. So do all of my other children. Kenny and Kyle are in sch
The next morning, Joshua and I went to the doctor and found out that I am only one month pregnant, so there is plenty of time. It also looked like there was only one this time, so I was grateful for that. When we left the clinic, Joshua took me to his car, “Get in. I need to show you something.” I got in the car and I giggled as I watched my big, burly mate nearly skip to the driver’s side of our car. When he got in and started the car, he was almost giddy as he started driving. I laughed, “You are acting like a kid with a huge present in front of him.” He laughed, “I can’t wait for you to see this.” We were only on the road for ten minutes and we pulled into the driveway of a house that looked exactly like the house we had designed. It had a huge, fenced-in yard and the house had a Victorian design with lots of windows, curves, and a beautiful porch with a porch swing. I smiled, “This is really pretty. It looks like the house we designed for our family.” He smiled, “Because it is the
Six months later, my little girl was already starting to learn sign language from one of the pack members in Cold Springs Pack. Her name was Lindsay, and she recently moved to the pack in order to accept a teaching position at the new school. When she heard that Jessica was an oracle, she offered to teach her sign language so she could have the ability to communicate her visions. I paid Lindsay extra for the lessons, because she was teaching me, Luna Jessie and our mates at the same time. That extra ability to communicate was invaluable for all of us. We didn’t expect our boys to be so comical about it though. Once in a while, Kenny would try to get Jessica going by standing between me and Jessica while she tried to sign to me for something. I would shake my head at him, chuckling, while he tried to sign back to her, making random movements with his hands. She would get so frustrated she would start yelling, “MA!” I laughed out loud and asked, “What do you need, sweetie? Is brother ma
Joshua and I slept like rocks that night. The next morning, I had to laugh. Joshua asked, “What’s so funny?” I laughed, “I can remember a time when a night away from the kids caused us to get horny as hell. Now we get sleepy.” He laughed, “I guess we need more than one night in a row. One night to catch up on sleep the next night to catch up on each other.” I smiled, “I like that idea. We will have to remember that for next time.” He smiled, “I think we need a weekend away at the enchanted cabin. Just the two of us.” I smiled as I felt his arms snake around me and a kiss on the back of my neck, “I think we need to make that happen soon. For now, we need to go find out what Jada found out.” He reluctantly agreed, “Sometimes, responsible parenting is the biggest cock-blocker.” I sighed, “But it’s worth it. Don’t even try to say different.” He chuckled, “You’re right. These kids are our biggest blessings. I would just really like to try for more.” I laughed, “We can do that any night, aft
That evening, we were in the dining room, eating dinner with all of Red Moon Pack. After everyone was done eating, I stood up and waited for the room to quiet. When I had everyone’s attention, I spoke up, “Red Moon Pack, I’m so happy to be back with all of you and so is my family. As you all know, our daughter was born. Her name is Jessica Marie. I have something to tell you about her that I need to keep within the pack. She is an oracle. I need all of you to keep this information about her in the pack. If word got out, it would set a target on her and our pack. There are still alphas who would use her abilities for nefarious purposes. Are we all in agreement with that?” I heard the whole pack agree, “Yes, alpha!” I continued, “Now, your alpha heir would like to make an announcement, then I will clarify it.” I watched as Matthew and Joshua stood Kenny and Douglas on the table. Kenny put his arm over Douglas’ shoulder and puffed out his chest. He yelled, “My beta, Douglath!” Everyone l
Two months later, Cold Springs Pack was really starting to transform. The school buildings, the rec center and the Jo-Ann Fabrics store were all being built at the same time. The roads leading to each had been created and parking lots for each had been cleared. I had the franchise agreement signed within a week, because I was able to pay all franchise fees for a term of ten years up-front. When they had that much money offered to them, they couldn’t refuse. Jessica started sleeping all night at one month old and Joshua and I couldn’t have been happier about it. I sometimes wondered if she had already started having visions, because she was waking up so much more than our boys did. There was no way to tell if she was. Joshua and I decided that we needed to go down to Red Moon Pack for a couple of days, just to introduce her and have our pack meeting about her. I know that since we already had two oracles in the pack, it won’t be a big issue for Red Moon to keep her abilities to themsel
Joshua’s back stiffened instantly so I started rubbing comforting circles on his back to help him chill out before he answered. Joshua linked, “Thank you, love. I needed that.” Then he turned to the man and replied, “A gifted wolf of any kind makes a pack much stronger. They are highly sought after by alphas with nefarious intent. An oracle has the ability to see into the future from a very early age. Our daughter will be training at Red Moon Pack with a couple of my mate’s cousins to learn how to deal with the things she sees and what to do with them.” The man lowered his gaze, “I’m so sorry, Beta Joshua. I didn’t mean to sound bitter, but Alpha said he would take questions after the meeting, but with all the other excitement, he probably just forgot. Your secret is safe with me. Co-Beta, thank you for all you are going to do for our pack. I think they are all really good ideas.” I smiled, “You’re very welcome. I want to see our pack happy and flourishing.” Joshua replied, “You’re fin
One week later, Alpha Matthew called a mandatory pack meeting for all pack members. Joshua and I had decided to eat dinner in the dining room with our children this evening, so that we could make it to the meeting. We were bombarded with pack members constantly walking up to us and gushing over all of our kids. Joshua waited until no one else was around us and leaned into me, “This is what happens when we don’t eat with the pack regularly.” I sighed, “Okay. I get it. Should we eat down here a couple nights a week?” He replied, “That might not be a bad idea. It may get to be a bit much for you to cook after you work in your office all day. Especially with these three, if you aren’t going to use the daycare.” I sighed, “I want all of our kids to learn by example. They will learn what a co-beta does and what a beta does by watching us. I think that’s really important. I would also like our girls to spend time watching Jessie too. Some of our girls may end up being luna.” Josh laughed, “