The last week leading up to the banquet was beyond busy. Mat kept me company as I prepped and cooked, even getting some of the other Omega’s to help us with storing the food and rotating dishes through the ovens. I still did every last bit of the cooking and most of the prep work, but it was nice to have some extra hands for the little stuff.
The banquet was tomorrow night and some of the guest packs had started to arrive this afternoon. I avoided the guests as much as possible, glad that I wasn’t having to hide bruises while they were here.
I also avoided Theo as much as possible. I would catch him looking at me from across the room on the rare occasion that our paths had to cross. The only upside to that was the fact that Jewel seemed to notice his attention towards me, no matter how brief, and the anger it instilled in her was oddly satisfying to me.
~Tristan~ The meeting with Alpha Andrew had been uncomfortable at best. We all know the rumors that surround this pack, even as secluded as our pack is, we still keep up with the outside world. We even have internet and cell phone service. Granted we had to pay to put in the lines and towers ourselves, but we have it. We live more simply than most packs, but we still run business and various trades to fund our pack. I listened absent mindedly as Victor and Titus spoke briefly before Victor wandered off to go find his room. I was a little envious of him right this moment. The girls in this pack had already been making eyes at me once they found out I was the Alpha’s son. Our pack members were mingling with theirs at the pack house, probably in the hopes of finding their mate, or in many cases just having some fun, but I wasn’t like that. I had watched too many of my friends sleep a
~Alyce/Faelyn~ *Beep.* *Beep.* *Beep.* The obnoxious echo of my alarm clock started invading the first peaceful sleep I’d had in a long time. Probably because it was such a short sleep. I reached over, smashing the buttons of the alarm clock, silencing it.My feet hitting the cold cement floor as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes got me moving. I didn’t waste any time as I slipped into a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt that came to my knees. I looked like hell, but it was by design. I wanted something easy to slip on after I shifted back. Slipping on a pair of black flats I ran my fingers through my hair and then piled it into a messy bun on the top of my head. Aramyth was prancing around in my head, *I can’t wait, Little One, as anxious as I am to run, I’m more anxious for you to realize just how special you are.*
Mat was laughing at me, “Just picture yourself in your human form, how you look, what it feels like and will your human form to return.” I nodded at him, and closed my eyes, picturing my human self. I felt my bones starting to snap and reform as my body went from Aramyth’s giant wolf to my tiny human self, *How do you even fit? You’re ginormous compared to me!* I teased her. *I’ll admit it’s a tight fit, bit uncomfortable.* she teased back. I rolled my eyes at her and looked at Mat, “Give me your shirt Mattie.” He didn’t hesitate, pulling his shirt off and handing it to me. I slipped it on and smiled at them all, “We should head back before anyone realizes we’re missing. Is everything set for tomorrow?”
~Alyce/Faelyn~ I looked over my shoulder at Victor and shook my head, “No thank you Delta, I’m quite adept at this. Been doing it half my life.” “Seems like a young age to start kitchen work. You can’t be more than what? 19, maybe 20?” “Maybe, but when you’re taken in as an orphan you do what you’re told, when you’re told and are thankful to not be a rogue. I’m 18 as of yesterday.” I knew I was probably giving him more information than I should, but for some reason I found him easy to talk to, like an Uncle I never had. Plus I would be gone soon and it wouldn’t matter. “Well happy birthday, albeit a bit belated. This pack doesn’t do birthday celebrations?” “Thank you, and no, not for Omegas. Sometimes the Omega’s families will hold a small on
~Alyce/Faelyn~ I stepped up beside Mat, greeting them all and apologizing for my reaction. I was still processing it all, but I could, at the very least, be polite. They were guests and had done nothing wrong. I looked up at them all, “Breakfast is getting cold, you all should eat, and Miss Kami has been waiting far too long for some coffee.” I looked at Mat, “You should stay for breakfast too. Thank you for coming when I called.” I murmured and leaned up to kiss his cheek, which elicited a growl from Tristan. I spun on my heel and narrowed my eyes at him, moving from Mat to thrust my finger up into Tristan’s chest, “Listen here, you will not growl at him. If you hope to have any chance of me even considering this mate bond you will behave!” I could feel my alpha aura starting to leak out and quickly reigned it in. That was odd, I’d never had a hard time keeping my aura under wrap
~Alyce/Faelyn~ I hadn’t put up a fight when Mat pushed me to Tristan, too in shock that Andrew would threaten Mat like that. It wasn’t until I felt the tingles running through my arm when he grabbed me and pulled me behind him that I came back to my senses. I heard Theo’s swallowed growl and gave him a funny look, he gave me an apologetic look in return. He must still be feeling the bond even if faintly. I suspect the only reason I wasn’t is because Tristan had found me. I was still trying to wrap my brain around that. Second chance mates were rare and it was unheard of for the person who initiated the rejection to have one. I shouldn’t have one, I rejected Theo. Was it because the Moon Goddess understood that I couldn't love someone who had let my abuse go on, even if he didn’t have a hand in it. I watched as Victor stepped up
~Kami~ I followed Titus as he led me away from the group. I knew that Tristan had asked him to do so, and he had done so for a reason. I knew my brother well enough to know that he wouldn’t send me away unless it was important. My family didn’t shelter me just because I was a girl and I appreciated that. *Alyce’s wolf, Aramyth, suggests someone named Vincent as a, and I quote ‘good target’. I’m not sure why, but I suspect she has a good reason.* I heard Tristan over our mind-link. *Interesting.* I responded, *I will find him.* I grinned and looked at Titus, “Let’s go get us a target.” He chuckled at me and we headed for the training area where many of the Red Moon pack members were training, as were a few of ours. I wasn’t the only one who di
~Alyce/Faelyn~ We trudged along the deserted trail in the forest for a good thirty minutes before coming upon what Mat and I had dubbed ‘The Fort’ when we found it all those years. We had spent an entire summer fixing the structural issues and have discretely maintained it over the years. I’m not sure anyone even knew it still existed aside from us. The Fort was a simple building that was maybe 20ft long by 30ft wide and 8ft tall. It was likely a storage building at some point in its life, but by the time Mat and I found it, it had been a fort for kids that were probably adults at the time and it had been long forgotten. We had reinforced the walls and put in a new ceiling with a staircase leading to the roof. There was a secret room in the corner, hidden behind a false wall. It was our escape from kids to teens, and even now we find ourselves here on occasion.
It seemed like time flew by in the coming days. Ivy and I had spent much of it in the Luna’s Library, scouring records and documents for any bit of information we could find. That was a task in and of itself and produced little concrete information.We had found a few mentions of confirmed traits and skills in the previous Crimson Wolves as well as mentions of potential Fae traits as well. We used the information we found and the bits and pieces that Ivy recalled from her time spent with my mother and the Fae that would come into the region to create a list of potential skills I, and even possibly Rian, could end up with.I explained to Ivy about the change in my eyes the previous week and we had tried to keep a vigilant eye out for information on that particular oddity, but no luck. We sat down at one of the tables where we had been taking notes and organizing them.“So we have a decent list after our days of hard work.” Ivy smiled at me as I rested my chin in my hand, worn out from
It was roughly half an hour before I had the burritos all made up, including some for the boys when they returned, keeping them warmed in the oven, not that we would necessarily tell them right away. It was another half an hour before we heard the boys coming down the hall, “Rian! Walking feet please!” Tristan scolded him in a manner that was firm, but gentle as it carried down the hall. “Sowwy Daddy.” Rian called back. He sounded closer and I assumed he had run ahead of the others in his excitement. I heard the door knob wiggle and Kami got up to unlock it and let Rian in. She reached out and scooped him up, shutting and locking the door again just as Brandon got to it, essentially slamming it in his face. “Oh come on girls! Let us in!” Mat sniffed the air. “I smell breakfast… Aly! Did you make what I think you made!?” he hollered at the door. Kami and I were giggling on the other side of it. She carried Rian to the table and set him up with his own smaller burrito, “There’s a
It was a good 30 minutes before Brandon and Kami made it to the dining hall. Both of them were soaking wet. He had actually dumped her in the lake! And joined her for that matter. Whether or not it was voluntary on his part or she drug him in with her was yet to be known. My eyes widened as the two of them came walking in the back doors of the dining hall. Tristan’s brows furrowed at my expression. Mat and Cedric were sitting across from us and thus could not see Brandon and Kami walk in, both looking perplexed at me and Tristan as well. It was only a moment or two before whispers and some scattered snickering filled the hall at the sight of the soaking wet pair. “He actually did it…” I pointed towards the two, drawing the boys’ attention to them. Mat and Cedric turned, not even trying to hide their amusement at the sight. Kami was trying to maintain a scowl as Brandon was laughing and teasing her. Cedric got up and headed out of the dining room, towards the downstairs shower room.
“Good morning, Alyce darling.” Faith hugged me tightly.Jake wrapped me into a hug and lifted me off my feet, causing me to squeal in surprise and laugh. He set me back on my feet, kissing the top of my head. “You look like you’re adjusting well.”“I am, thank you.” I smiled up at him and he mirrored it, “How are you two enjoying your new space? Is everything working out ok?” I really wanted them to feel comfortable in their new home and pack.“It’s wonderful Alyce, really. Stop fretting.” Faith smiled reassuringly.“Good. Be sure to let me know if you need anything. Promise me. You two have taken care of me for years. Now I get to take care of you, even if only in some small way by comparison.”“Nonsense. You’re the daughter we always wanted. We’re family.” Jake’s tone implied that was the end of that. I just smiled.Tristan pulled me into his side and kissed my temple. “And I couldn’t be more grateful for the wonderful family you have.”“We have.” Faith corrected him. This just made
~Alyce/Faelyn~ The alarm went off at 5am, stirring me into a semi-conscious state and eliciting a groan of protest from me. I was currently laying on Tristan’s chest, his arms wrapped around me like he was afraid I might escape in the night. His fingers were playing up and down my spine, his eyes still closed as I snuck a peek up at him from beneath my lashes. “Good morning, gorgeous.” He murmured softly, still not bothering to open his eyes or make a move to get out of bed. “How did you know I’m actually awake? I could have just been shifting in my sleep?” I slid up his body enough that I could press my lips against his softly. “Good morning.” “I could feel your eyes on me. I can always feel your eyes on me when you’re looking at me.” A coy smile formed on his lips as he opened his eyes to look at me. “Not my fault I can’t keep my eyes off you.” I laughed and rolled off his chest, sitting on the bed next to him. I knew without looking that his smile had grown wider at my laugh. S
~Alyce/Faelyn~ Kami and I had checked the rec room, to find it pretty well deserted. No sign of the boys. So we passed through and continued on our way to the dining room, Rian between us, holding both our hands. We would occasionally swing him up off his feet as we walked, eliciting a giggle from him. We paused in the doorway to the dining room, both of us looking around, expecting to see the boys. There was no sign of them. There also seemed to be less people than normal in the room. “Odd, they’re not here either… So where are they?” Kami asked. “And everyone else for that matter.” I scooped Rian up into my arms and crossed the hall with Kami. “Also a good question.” One of the older kitchen staff caught my eye as we walked through and motioned to the doors to the back lawn with an amused grin on his face. I smiled at him and gave a nod in thanks. We headed to the doors, slipping out them to find a small crowd of pack members watching Tristan, Cedric and Mat dog pile on Brando
I pulled her into my arms and wrapped them around her tightly, holding her close. She instantly buried her face against my neck, inhaling my scent. After a few moments her aura receded and she lifted her head, looking up at me. Her eyes had changed, well one had anyway, her left one was now a translucent red instead of her usual translucent pale green. I didn’t try to hide the shock on my face. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She looked at me, searching my face for the answer. “Your eyes Aly… They’re different…” “What do you mean they’re different?” She glanced over at the others as if looking for confirmation. “Holy shit Aly, one is red!” Mat jumped off the couch, walking over to inspect her eyes. “What?” She jumped out of my arms and ran to the bathroom to look at them in the mirror. “How?” *Aramyth, do you know anything about this?* She did notice the mind link did not cause her eyes to haze over at all though and she could track both the internal and external going ons. That wou
Mat, Cedric and I were waiting on the front steps as Alyce and the group pulled up to the pack house. We had gathered a handful of Omegas to help with the unloading as well. I could see Will driving, and once he had come to stop, our group descended down the stairs to meet them. “Daddy!” I could hear Rian’s excited proclamation as I opened the rear door. I chuckled a little and couldn’t help but draw in a breath as I was also greeted with Alyce’s radiant smile as well. “Hello my loves. Did you two have fun?” I helped Alyce out of the truck before reaching in to undo Rian’s buckles and help him out as well. “Yeah! I got two selfs!” Rian took my hand pulling me towards the back of the truck where everything was. “It wasn’t the worst shopping trip I’ve ever had to endure.” Alyce giggled at Rian’s actions as she spoke. “Whoa Rian. Slow down.” I scooped him up into my arms, laughing a bit myself. “I know you’re excited, and I am super excited to see what you picked out, but let’s get
~Tristan~ We listened to the ring on the other end of the line. Titus, Brandon and I collectively held our breath as we waited. I had put the call on speaker phone after instructing both of them to be quiet and merely listen. A gruff voice picked up on the third ring, “Silver Moon, Alpha Lucian speaking. State your business.” I’m not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it. I quickly recovered from my momentary lapse of speech, “Good evening Alpha Lucian. This is Alpha Tristan of Moonlight Pack.” “I see. What can I do for you, Alpha Tristan?” Lucien was cold and sounded as though he was irritated by the phone call. “I have a pack member who is looking to find a chosen mate. His fated mate passed away many years ago. He is originally from Silver Moon and was hoping to perhaps visit his home pack and start his search there. I would, of course, never expect you to invite a virtual stranger, original pack member or not, into your lands without meeting them first. So I was calli