*Kyle*I just finished my toast, and Cody was swinging his around like always–so annoying.Mom was rushing around and dressed weird. She usually wore nice clothes, but today she just looked like she was going to exercise.“Mommy, what are you doing?” I asked. She sighed and then smiled at me. “Well, when you guys go to school, I’m going to go to a kind of school of my own.”“Will you get to have recess?” Flora called through her mouthful of toast.“Don’t talk with your mouth full. And no, I don’t think so.”“Bummer,” Cody said, wiping his hands down his shirt.“Okay guys, everyone ready?” Mom called over her shoulder as she stood at the door. I ran to her, already dressed and with my backpack hanging over both shoulders.I grabbed her hand; this house was huge, and it could be scary. I didn’t want to get lost.Flora and Cody came, dragging their bags behind them and yelling at each other.“Come on, knock it off. We don’t want to all be late on our first day,”
*Delilah*The week had flown by between my lessons with Lenora and the kids’ first week at their new school. There hadn’t been any more incidents, thankfully, and the kids seemed to be making friends and starting to fit in.I was glad to see that my reputation wasn’t bleeding onto them, not with most kids anyway.I tried to stay at the manor. I had no desire to run into anyone I went to school with… or my own family.Andrew had made sure to include us with his family for meals, and I had to admit I felt touched by that. Despite everything I felt for him before coming back, I couldn’t deny that he was trying now. He focused on every one of the kids individually at dinner and tried to connect with them. Kyle was the most reserved around him, but Andrew still managed to pull a smile out of him occasionally.I walked with the kids down the various halls toward the large dining room. It was Friday, and they were buzzing around me like bees. “Mom, did you know turtles breathe
*Delilah*I sat with my eyes closed, breathing slowly through my nose. I tried to tune out the sound of Lenora’s breathing, the click of the air as it kicked on. When I started learning from her, I was expecting to do physical training. But apparently, having these powers had nothing to do with physical prowess. My powers were in my mind. The powers of Lunas were varied, from prophetic dreams, like I had, to being able to sense emotions.“You’re thinking too much,” Lenora said softly. I sighed and opened my eyes. She sat with her legs crossed and tucked under her body, her eyes closed. Her long, dark brown hair fell in a single braid down her back, specs of gray peppering it. She had a kind face, and it was easy to feel at ease with her.“How are you so good at this? Your eyes aren’t even open, and you can tell I’m not concentrating.”She opened her eyes and looked at me, her watery-blue depths filled with understanding. “Your energy never lies, Delilah.”I threw my
*Delilah*“Pizza’s here!” Andrew yelled from the open door. “Yay!” the kids yelled, running at the door like they hadn’t eaten in a year. I smiled at that and followed them in, walking past Andrew and trying not to breathe in the scent of him. We went to the dining room and sat in our normal seats. Andrew’s parents were out doing something together that night, so it was just us. Andrew gave the kids their pizza as I got a piece of the supreme. It smelled so good, and I was starving.The kids were hungry too because they instantly started eating, barely taking time to breathe. I ate my pizza, trying to keep my mind from wandering back to the topic of Andrew and me. We weren’t anything, just two parents, co-parenting to the best of our abilities.She watched as the kids talked to him animatedly, and his eyes never left them when they spoke to him. He liked them, and they liked him.I started to realize that I didn’t hate him either, not anymore. He was young when he’d
*Andrew*I stared between them. They were friends; she’d hugged him. How could this be?Before I could ask, Jason said, “I need to go shower. I’ll catch up with you guys soon. Good to see you, Del.”“You too,” she said, smiling at him.I sat back down before asking, “So, you guys are friends?”“Yeah, we met after I moved. I didn’t even know he was from here. He never told me his last name, and I didn’t tell him mine.” Delilah shrugged and continued eating her fruit.“Small world, huh?” I said, hoping my voice didn’t reveal the shock I felt. She chuckled, “Yeah, it really is.”I sighed, not wanting to know any more details for the moment. I drank my coffee and looked at her. She was as beautiful as she’d always been. Her hair was in a messy bun and she was still in her pajamas, but I didn’t care. I’d love her no matter what she looked like.I hated that I’d missed out on the last five years with her and our children. I’d thought of her every single day. Never once
*Delilah*I walked away from Andrew, guilt rolling in my stomach. I saw the hurt look in his eyes when I told him I was going to hang out with Jason. The last thing I wanted was to come between them. They were brothers, after all.I couldn’t believe that either. I met Jason years ago, and I never saw the resemblance. But now, it was undeniable. I walked into the en suite and found Jason rolling on the floor with Cody and Flora, while Kyle laughed at them all. “I’m not sure this is a fair fight, guys,” I said, smiling at them as I closed the door behind me. Jason smiled up at me, and the kids took the opportunity to jump on him. “Unfair!” he said, pretending he couldn’t get up. Flora and Cody laughed together. They were quite the tag team.“Okay, okay. Let him up, please. You guys want to go outside and have a snack?”All three jumped at the chance and said, “Yeah!”Despite spending so much time at the park already, I knew they needed to run off their energy. Th
*Andrew*I tried to hide my anger from Delilah, but I was fairly certain she noticed. The look on her face made me regret my reaction instantly, but I couldn’t stop it. It was hard enough to see how close they were, how close he was to my kids. But hearing that he knew who she was, who they must’ve been, and keeping it from me was too much. I fixed my face with a neutral expression and stopped asking questions. Delilah stayed quiet too, focusing on the kids to try to distract herself from the tension that was clearly hanging in the air.My dad walked in then and cleared his throat. “Andrew, the meeting starts in an hour. Don’t be late. You too, Jason.”He smiled at Delilah and ruffled the boys’ hair before planting a kiss on Flora’s head and walking away.“The meeting is today?” Delilah asked. I nodded. “The first of many we have scheduled for this week. We have a lot to discuss.”She nodded. “Should we stay anywhere specific during the meetings? Seems like a lot of
*Delilah*I sat outside watching the kids running around and squealing in delight. They were so close and I loved that for them. Seeing them together, I couldn’t help but think about my own sister, or stepsister, anyway. Kendra and I had played like this as kids. I sighed, wondering where it all went wrong. Flora chased Kyle and Cody, her hands raised like she was a monster. I smiled to myself, happy for the moment. I never imagined my life turning out like this. I’d run away, hoping to leave everyone behind. But I had to admit, I was actually glad to be back. It was hard to live alone, surrounded by a pack that I wasn’t a part of. I was a rogue wolf during that entire time. They knew I wasn’t from there, and they accepted that I lived there, probably because I was a single mom, but they didn’t bring me into their pack. I thought I’d be happier away from the pack that hated me, but they were my pack. And even when I wasn’t there, the pack had come to find me, apparentl
Months Later*Andrew*The gardens looked perfect. The gazebo was decorated with fairy lights and had flowers scattered around the edge of it. I paced the gardens, double-checking everything to make sure everything was in order. Flora had corralled the boys and sent them to work on finalizing touches. Kyle and Cody argued a bit, but Flora kept them in line. I watched them work with a smile on my face. I was so grateful that they had been able to participate, and I know that all three of them were thrilled by today’s event.“Okay, everything looks perfect,” my dad said with a slap to my back. He had a grin on his face as he looked around at the work we had put in. Dad’s grin grew as he watched my mom work with Flora, Kyle, and Cody. “Do you think she’ll like it?” I asked, worried as my nerves started setting in.“I think she will love it,” Mom said, coming to join us. “Now, come on. We are going to go have dinner at our house and we will be back before you propose. I will t
*Delilah*“Mom, Zach told me today that we are basically heroes now,” Flora said as we walked inside together. I smiled, making sure not to laugh and discourage her. “Did he really? I mean, you guys kind of are.” Andrew shut the door after he and the boys walked in behind me and Flora. “Yeah, I mean how many kids can say they could get away from a full-grown wolf?” Andrew asked. I looked over my shoulder at him adoringly and he winked at me as he quirked the corner of his mouth up in a smile. We had been spending as much time together as a family as we could lately and tonight was no different. We had plans to have a movie night and watch the kids' favorite animated movie. I took them outside to run off some energy before dinner. They managed to pull me and Andrew into a game of hide-and-seek. I was able to find him every time but nobody could manage to find me anytime I hid. Kids were never great at hiding or seeking and I could only help so much. I stepped away
*Delilah*“Mom, we’re fine. You and Daddy beat all the bad guys.” Flora looked at me with irritation in her gaze. “I just want to make sure you guys are ready for this. You have all been through a lot and–”“Mom, we want to go back to school,” Kyle said in a serious tone. I glanced at him through the rearview mirror and saw that they all looked eager, excited even. I sighed and nodded, smiling to myself. “Okay, okay.” We pulled up to the front of the school and they all unbuckled and grabbed their bags in seconds. They all told me bye as they flew out of the car, happy to be back with their friends. I watched them go into the school before I drove off. It was so hard to watch them walking away, even if I knew they would be safe. “Mom … moooooom?”Cody’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the moment. “Sorry, babe. What’d you say?”“I asked if we could have a feast for dinner?”I chuckled. His version of a feast was just having multiple pl
*Delilah*I fixed the back of my earring and sighed as I looked in the mirror. My injuries from the various fights I’d been in were finally healed but I couldn’t say the same for my mind. Today was the day we all said goodbye to Kendra. Despite what she’d done, I still mourned for her. She was like my blood and at one time, I’d loved her dearly. I remember being a child and being so excited to have a younger sister. I thought we’d be best friends and that I’d always have someone there for me. And someone I could be there for. Our lives hadn’t ended up that way, but for a while there I thought we were finally getting close to that. I still had a hard time believing that she had been so nice to me and to the kids all while planning to have them kidnapped. Andrew said that the only reason they attacked was to be a decoy for Kendra to get the kids, and then eventually me. One of the prisoners had easily given up the information after the battle was over. The Carter pack wasn’t e
*Delilah*After the fight ended, I stayed huddled with my children, fingers linked together. I vowed never to let go of them, at least for the rest of the week. I knew I would have to let them be away from me for school and pack activities but I wasn’t ready to let go of them any time soon.“Delilah,” Andrew whispered, “Delilah, it’s over. It is all over. Everything is alright.”I didn’t respond, knowing it wasn’t alright but scared to face the reality of what happened. So instead, I buried my head into the bundle of children. They smelled so delicious; like shampoo, sweat, dirt, and soap. I couldn't imagine if I had lost them. They still smelled like babies to me, so I inhaled deeply. Andrew approached us and wrapped his large arms around all four of us. I felt a sense of calm fall over me. The safety of his arms was powerful and I knew our children could feel it too. They had all stopped shaking and crying and we all silently held each other. “What about Kendra?” I asked
*Delilah*I quickly whirled around, scooping the kids with my back leg and tail and flinging them as gently as I could behind me. My attacker pulled up quickly, snapping her jaws shut short of my neck as I bit down. Shock coursed through my veins like ice as I took in the sight of the snarling wolf that was my sister. I crouched low and growled, gnashing my teeth at her. She backed up and shifted into her human form. “Why did you have to come back?” she all but screeched at me, desperation filling her eyes.I shifted as well and looked at her with wide eyes as I threw my hands in the air. “Why are you doing this, Kendra? Was tormenting me in high school not enough for you, you had to try to hurt my children?” I roared at her. I was done being nice to her, done trying to reason with her. She’d gone too far and I would make sure that after this day, she never thought about even looking at my children again. I chanced a glance at them and she took that opportunity to sh
*Delilah*I fled away from the fighting as fast as I could. I smelled the children in the forest that bordered our lands. What on earth were they doing there? I picked up another familiar scent as I ran but I ignored it. The only thing that mattered to me at that moment was my kids.I sprinted, leaping into the air as a wolf tried to attack me and landing on his back, sprinting away as another member of the Blackwell pack came up and finished off the wolf.My nightmare had prepared me for this happening and it at least had managed to help me remain calm. This was the second or third kidnapping attempt on my children in less than a year. I couldn’t imagine what they must be feeling at that moment. The thought spurred me on and I increased my speed as I cleared the battlefield and darted down a trail. As I ran the kids’ scents got stronger and stronger and I knew I was on the right path. Whoever was trying to take my children better have an army because I was ready to run like a
*Andrew*I focused on the wolves around me. The Carter pack wasn’t small, and it seemed like they’d brought a large force with them. I had to admit I was impressed by their determination to defeat us. But it wouldn’t grant any of them mercy. I didn’t care why they were here, only that they learned that they would pay for daring to invade my territory. I didn’t know how many wolves I’d downed at that point, but it wasn’t a small number. I whipped around as a wolf tried to attack my hind leg. I jumped, pinning his back with my front paws as I leaned down and snapped his neck in my jaws. I dropped the wolf to the ground and looked around, snarling. My wolves were doing well, and it looked like we had very few casualties. Some wolves were dragged away from the battle by others and healers were quick to attend to their injuries. It seemed like the Carter pack might have been retreating. I was slowly but surely moving toward the leader, making sure to take out whoever came into my
*Flora*Walking through the woods, following Aunt Kendra, had grown tiring. I wanted to go home to sleep. She had woken us “Flora.” Kyle nudged me. He had been the quietest during our journey through the woods but I don’t think he was playing the same game Cody way. “Flora.” Kyle nudged me again and I shot him a look before glancing back at Aunt Kendra.“Shh, Kyle,” I said to him. I wanted Aunt Kendra to like me and if she was trying to help keep us safe then I needed to listen to her and keep quiet. “Flora, listen to me,” Kyle insisted with a harsh whisper. I grumbled but let him pull me back, slowing our pace to distance us from Cody and Aunt Kendra. When we were far enough away from them, Kyle leaned toward me and I leaned into him. “I don’t know how to explain it,” Kyle started.“Just try, Kyle,” I encouraged, smiling at my brother. “Aunt Kendra,” Kyle paused again, thinking about how to phrase it for me. “Aunt Kendra, well, her colors are off.”“What do y