*Delilah*With the other packs gone, school resumed as usual, and the kids were so happy to be able to go back and see their friends. They’d gotten really restless being cooped up in the house for the last week. While the kids were in school, my training with Lenora resumed. I was reluctant to explore my powers further, but I knew I needed to know more, if for no other reason than to keep the dreams at bay.“How are you, dear?” Lenora said as I walked in. Concern etched the lines on her face, and I couldn’t help but feel touched that she cared.“I’m okay. The kids are back in school, and I’m trying to relax about it, but I want to just go up there and sit in their class with them to make sure they’re okay.”Lenora nodded as she moved around the room, lighting candles and incense. “That’s completely understandable. Not only do you dream of them being kidnapped, but you also just experienced the possibility of it happening. That’s traumatizing.”She motioned for me to joi
Chapter 29: A Day in the Life*Kendra*A gentle alarm sounded and my blinds opened on schedule, letting the sun stream in. I sat up and checked my phone to see if there were any messages I needed to reply to before I showered. I worked in marketing for a food company that targeted wolves. I used a lot of our products myself to keep my figure without gaining a ton of weight. I had to keep my slim figure.I went through my normal morning routine of showering and then doing my hair and makeup. I picked a deep-pink, flowy pantsuit with a white button-up blouse and heels. I grabbed my morning protein shake, coffee, and water and got in my sleek, silver Mercedes convertible. I’d spent the time after Delilah left throwing myself into social events with the pack and quickly decided to go to school for marketing, to put those skills to use. I had good standing in the pack and a ton of friends. Delilah coming back put all of that in jeopardy.I hadn’t had to spread rumors about
Chapter 30: Triple the Power*Flora*“Can we get donuts please?”For a long time, it was just me, Cody, Kyle, and Mommy. Then one night Andrew showed up and brought us to live in a castle, basically. He even called me Princess Flora sometimes and I loved it. He saved me the night the bad wolf grabbed me. Before then, I didn’t really like him. He made my mom sad and I didn’t want to make her sad if I liked him. Kyle didn’t like him at all and Cody didn’t care one way or the other.Not until the other night. Now, it was like we were a family. Mommy even let Andrew sleep in her room one night when she was scared. If she trusted him to keep her safe when she was scared, I figured I could trust him too.He smiled at me and rolled his eyes as he laughed. “Is this quiche not good, princess?”I frowned and breathe out hard. “No, it’s not.”“Flora, manners,” Mommy said, and I looked down.“No, it’s not my favorite either. It’s okay.” Andrew stood up and walked toward me
Chapter 31: Training Days*Delilah*I didn’t even respond to Andrew’s statement about training, I was too stunned to speak.The kids had powers. Kyle was the first to voice what his powers were, as soon as I walked into the school, actually.“Mom, it’s okay. I know you’re scared but we’re okay.” That was what he’d said when he saw me before I even had time to as anything. On the way home he told me he could see my emotions.The entire drive to our house we discussed what that meant because I wanted to know everything. About all of them.He said he saw different colors around different people, sometimes multiple colors. He just knew what they meant, he didn’t know how. Cody finally lost his patience and said, “Momma, I can see really far. A dog just stole a sandwich from someone at the park.” He giggled at that.I looked out the window and saw a flash of the park, I couldn’t even really see people. My mouth dropped open and I turned looking at all of them in wo
Chapter 32: Molding Water*Andrew*I wasn’t ashamed to admit the last few days had been the best of my life. I never knew what I was missing before I found out I had children. I knew as soon as I saw them they were mine. I smelled myself on them. And I’d immediately felt guilty for how much time I’d missed.I wasn’t mad at Delilah about staying away, especially when she told me what led her to run away in the first place. I would’ve hated me too if I was her. I thought back to the drive back the first night I saw her after five years. I’d thought about how she spent her entire pregnancy alone, she gave birth alone, and she raised those kids for five years alone. I thought about missing their first steps and their first words. I missed their first day of school. And she’d had to do all those things alone. I knew from that night on, whether she wanted me as a mate and partner or not, I would be there every day of their lives. I was worried about them all coming back
Chapter 33: Let’s Go to Your Room *Cody*“Guys, listen. Mom loves Andrew and he loves her. We need to get them together,” Kyle said as we all huddled under a tree in the backyard. Kyle said there were cool worms out there but there weren't.“So, what do we do?” I asked him, kicking the dirt under my feet.“They’re grown-ups. I don’t want to think about this” Flora said, rolling her eyes.“I’m going to ask Grandma to offer to watch us tonight. Make them go out to dinner. Then, they can fall in love and Mom can be happy.”I nodded. “She’s in the kitchen too so I bet we can talk to her soon.” Being able to see far came in handy so much, I loved it.“Sounds good to me, she’ll give us ice cream too,” Flora said. “Bet I can beat you to the door.”She sped off before she even finished talking.I groaned and raced after her. I just wanted to beat her once. I’d never been able to. But one day, I would.It wasn’t that day though. She beat me by a mile and I threw my ha
Chapter 34: Gallaway Pack*Delilah*After our date, I didn’t stay in Andrew’s bed. I didn’t want the kids to be alone and I didn’t want them to know I had slept in his room. But I had to admit, things had been better than ever since then. It had been a week and Andrew wasn’t pushing for more, but he was there more than he had been before. He started holding my hand when we spent time together and kissing me goodnight when he’d leave my room after we put the kids to bed together.After the first few days, I asked if he’d like to stay and sleep in my room with me. The kids took to it well, as they did everything else and for the last four nights, Andrew hadn’t returned to his room. It felt nice to go to sleep with him there, holding me tightly. It felt even better to wake up next to him. His scent was intoxicating and I was starting to lose all my inhibitions about him. I was still nervous but I knew that he had never been the Andrew I thought he was. True, he wasn’t
Chapter 35: Burned Bridges*Delilah*“I want to take some time.” I got up and walked out of the conference room without looking back. My hands were shaking and my bottom lip trembled as tears threatened to spill. I took a deep breath, walking down the hall. I heard the conference room door open and footsteps running toward me.I turned to find Andrew, his face full of concern, coming down the hall at a trot.I stopped, waiting for him and when he got to me he immediately pulled me to him, hugging me tightly. I cried softly into his chest, gripping his shirt in my hands. He rubbed his hands up and down my back softly, not saying a word. Finally, I took a deep breath and pulled back, wiping my hands over my face. He ran his hands up and down my arms as he looked into my eyes. “What can I do?”I shook my head and laughed at the absurd situation we were in. “I have no clue. What I do know is that I need to find my father. We have a lot to discuss.”He no
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