Pack, page 2
part #3 of Five Fangs Series
"Ah!" Posy interrupted. "So that's how James knew who her family was."
I nodded, then finished reading the last bit of the letter.
My loves, I am sorrier than words can say that I ruined your lives and caused you such suffering at the hands of that monster. I pray he meets an appropriate end for his atrocious crimes. Learn from your mother's mistakes, children, and wait for your true mate no matter how long it takes. It may be painful or embarrassing at times, but trust in the Goddess and await her gift.
I hope that all three of you know how very much I love you. May your futures be as bright or brighter than the one I dreamed for each of you.
Your loving mother
"My brothers were right," Posy murmured. "This explains so much. I'm so sad for my mom. She didn't deserve what happened. What Father— No, I'm not going to call him that anymore. I'm going to just say Alpha Briggs. What Alpha Briggs did is truly atrocious, just as my mom said."
At least Kendall Briggs met an appropriate end, Quartz rumbled. I find a lot of comfort in that.
An end you helped give him, I snorted.
Hence my comfort, he said smugly.
"Oh! Do you think I might use my dad's last name instead of Briggs? It's my real last name, isn't it?"
"It is," I told her. "Posy Anne Everleigh. Beautiful, just like you, sweetness. I see no reason why you can't use it if you'd like to."
"Do you think there are any of my dad's family left in the royal pack?" Posy pressed tighter against me and squeezed my waist in a tight hug, and I squeezed her back.
If it pleased her, I'd go through the entire royal pack roster and interview every member of the older generation to find her father's family.
"We'll find out," I promised.
"Of course, they all think he was crazy and kidnapped and killed Alpha Briggs' mate. They don't even know I exist. Maybe I shouldn't try to find out."
"Baby, bringing the truth to light would clear the mud from your dad's name, and maybe bring closure to his family. It's your decision, as always, and nothing needs to be decided today. Take your time and think it over, all right, sweetness?"
"All right." She stretched up and kissed my chin. It was as high as she could reach. "I love you, my dragon. Thank you for coming with me today."
"Oh, Posy. My sweet girl.” I kissed her forehead. "I'd lose Rock-Paper-Scissors for you anytime."
2: A Day in the Life
Quartz
"You guys are hot!" Posy giggled.
She'd finally managed to swim up from the bottom of the puppy pile, gasping for breath and sweating a little.
Thanks, mate. You are, too. Very sexy, Granite teased her, rubbing the top of his head on her knee.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," she scolded him with a grin. "Cuddling my wolves with all this fur is making me overheat. I mean, it's July! Didn't you guys shed any of this?"
Of course we did. This is our summer coat. Topaz rolled onto his back and squirmed around until she rubbed his chest. We get fluffier in winter! Much, much fluffier!
"I can't wait," she laughed.
Mate like fluff? Sid asked and shyly covered his eyes with one paw when she looked at him.
"Oh, yes." She gave him a gentle smile and booped his nose. "I love fluff."
Our boys usually don't let us shift in the house because we shed everywhere, Garnet told her. They are being very generous tonight.
"Aw, I'll vacuum it up later."
Uh-oh, Garnet and I said at once.
The three pups untangled themselves and sprang to their paws.
Vacuum?! they shouted in unison, their tails lashing back and forth in a frenzy and their tongues lolling.
Posy turned to Garnet and me where we lay at her back, then quirked an eyebrow in question.
Go get it, if you want to know, I suggested with a wink.
"Are you setting me up for something good or something bad?" she demanded as she got to her feet.
Good, Garnet said when I would have teased her a little bit.
Shrugging, she disappeared for a few minutes while the excited pups sat in a row in front of us. Garnet and I rolled our eyes. Sure, we liked the vacuum, too, but we weren't going to make fools of ourselves over it.
She came back with it and plugged it in, then stood there with her hands on her hips.
"Okay. Now what?"
Suck me! Suck me! Granite demanded.
Posy froze in shock, her eyes wide and her face as red as fire.
Suck me! Suck me! the other two pups joined the chant, and they all began to jump around.
Three werewolves of several hundred pounds each bouncing around a living room had a predictable outcome. Frames fell off the walls and a lamp tipped over before Posy got them to settle down.
"I think you mean you want me to run the vacuum cleaner over you?" she asked in a hesitant tone.
Yes, yes, yes, they yipped, looking like they wanted to start hopping around again, but her stern expression froze them in place.
Put the black thingy on the scrunch-scrunch hose and suck us, Topaz instructed.
Fortunately, our girl was smart and caught on quickly. In a minute, she had the pet grooming attachment hooked up and the vacuum turned on.
"Who's first?" she asked with a bright smile.
After Garnet and I got her back on her feet and scolded the pups for tackling her, Garnet told them that we'd go by age order, youngest to oldest this time.
Cackling, Granite laid down in front of her, and Posy began to run the 'black thingy' all over his fur. He sighed in pure bliss, making our girl giggle.
We might have to set a time limit, Garnet said. Five minutes per wolf or you'll be here all night.
Five minutes! Topaz and Sid whined.
"Ten minutes each sounds perfect to me," Posy said.
That's almost an hour of vacuuming wolves, I told her.
"I can do it. It's fun!"
You're going to have to empty the canister after each of us then. It'll fill up fast.
"Not a problem." She ran the groomer over Granite's cheek, making his eyes roll back in his head. "But I want one thing in return for this special treat, boys."
Anything! the pups promised in unison.
"Say, 'Groom me,' from now on, okay?" Her cheeks flushed cherry red again as she muttered, "I almost had a heart attack when you said to suck you."
In their innocence, the pups agreed readily, eager to please her, while Garnet and I shared a very adult snicker.
#
Posy
On Wednesday, the boys were off to work as soon as we finished breakfast. They wanted to take care of as much as they could today so that they'd be free all day for Tyler's birthday tomorrow.
After goodbye hugs and kisses, I decided to make sure I had all the food taken care of for the party. Mom and Dad were bringing hamburgers and hot dogs to grill, Mama and Papa were in charge of side dishes, and I was picking up buns and drinks. As soon as I wrote out my list, I'd find someone to run me into town and get this job done.
A knock at the door had me leaving the kitchen to look out the front window. Two filthy dirt bikes were parked at the end of the walk, and I could see muddy footprints coming all the way up onto the porch.
Argh! Not something else to clean!
My mates did a great job of picking up after themselves and surface cleaning, for which I was grateful, but scrubbing was not on their radar. I found myself itching to do a deep clean of the whole house, but it was so large - and so many people came and went all the time - that I was really considering asking my mates if they'd hire a cleaning crew to come once a week and help me.
They are billionaires, after all, I muttered to myself, and surely some wolf in the pack can use the extra bucks.
Since I smelled familiar family wolves, I opened the front door to reveal Archer Barlow and Wayne Black standing on my porch, wearing nothing but swim trunks and covered in mud from their shoulders down.
"Hey, luna!" they said in unison and waved with the hands not holding mud-splattered helmets.
I had to look up to meet their eyes. Even at age fifteen, they towered over me, Wayne by six inches and Archer by eight, and I frowned.
Being a runt, I was used to always being the shortest person, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
"Hi, guys. I'm afraid your brothers aren't here right now."
"We know," Archer said.
"Mom sent us over to help you get ready for tomorrow," Wayne explained.
"I appreciate that," I said, "but why do you both look like mud puppies?"
"Ha ha ha!" Wayne giggled. "Hear that, bro? Mud puppies! Ha ha ha! You're funny, big sister!"
"We, uh, took a little detour on the way over," Archer snickered.
"Don't worry. We'll use the garden hose and wash the bikes and ourselves down." Smiling widely, Wayne reached out to pat my shoulder, but I pulled back before he could get mud on me. "Oops! Sorry. Anyway, you think of some jobs for us to do and we'll do them, okay?"
"Well, for starters, can you rinse the walk and porch off after you hose yourselves down?" I returned his smile with a dimpled one of my own.
"Sure thing! Playing with water is fun!"
"Although playing with fire is funner," Archer snickered again.
Oh, Goddess, it mini Wyatt and mini Ash, Lark marveled, but no mini Jayden to balance out trouble!
"Come around to the backyard when you're done," I said with a laugh, "and you can help me figure out what I need to do."
Leaving them to it, I went back inside the house to finish up my list. I'd picked up my pencil again when a brilliant idea struck me.
A mini Jayden, huh? Hmm.
I tapped my pencil on my chin a few times as I debated, then finally decided to just do it.
Oh, Emerson, I linked. Are you busy today?
#
Angelo
I was worried about Thoreau.
He'd been with us for seven days now and still could not sense his wolf. We fed him well and made sure he had proper sleep, I healed his bruises and wounds, and the streghe (witches) gave him antidotes to the wolfsbane, but the boy's wolf did not respond.
I think we all know the truth, but don't want to admit it, I thought to myself as I watched Emerson.
He was coaxing Reau to take a second drink of the potion my sister had brewed and sent over. The first dose should have neutralized the aconite he'd been shot full of, and it hadn't. Reau despised the taste and texture of the potion - not that I blamed him; it was nasty stuff - and was working himself into an epic meltdown.
"Em, if he drinks any more of that, it'll make him sick," I said in a gentle tone, not wanting to stress my mate out any more than he already was. "It's not doing anything, anyway."
Looking as helpless as I felt, my love set down the glass and pulled Reau in for a tight hug, holding him against his chest until the boy stopped crying.
"Sorry, Reau," he muttered into his baby brother's thick curls. "Why don't you go see what Leo's doing?"
Reau nodded and leaped to his feet after Emerson released him.
"Remember to knock first if his bedroom door's closed," I called as the boy raced out of the living room.
" 'kay, Gelo!" he shouted, making me shake my head with a smile.
The day we brought Reau home, Emerson had explained to both me and Leo how the boy was born with a condition that affected his social and emotional development. Reau could learn things in school as well as any kid, but he acted much younger than others his age.
He also said Reau hated loud noises, even fun ones like the fireworks we tried to watch on the Fourth, but he could get loud himself if he was happy or excited.
We also discovered that he got scared and panicked easily. Em said he hadn't been like that before, and we knew it was an effect of his parents' abuse. We hadn't been able to get many details out of Reau yet, but his physical condition told a lot of the story.
The poor kid's mental health was just as roached. He kept asking when we were going to make him go back in his cage, which broke our hearts. How often did they lock him in that dog crate?
Finally, two days ago, I took him outside and we set fire to the thing. He was more fascinated watching the flames than celebrating the destruction of his torture chamber.
I wasn't sure he fully understood the gesture, but he hadn't asked about his crate since then.
Now, with a heavy sigh, Em plunked down on the couch next to me, rested his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head in his hands.
"What do we do now?" he mumbled.
Clamping my hands on his shoulders, I kneaded the tense muscles.
"Orsacchiotto (teddy bear), do you remember the luna telling us she'd been given wolfsbane several times? Let's take Reau over for a visit. She's the resident expert in this, so maybe she knows or sees something we don't."
His head shot up and he looked at me with a hopeful smile.
"Okay. We—"
Then his eyes fogged over, and I figured he was about to be called out somewhere, which was fine. Our plan could get shelved until tomorrow, when we were going over to the alpha house anyway for Beta Tyler's birthday party.
"She's actually asking if we can come over. She wants Reau to meet the alphas' younger brothers, and needs one of us to take her into town for some supplies."
"See? The Goddess' hand at work." I grinned at him. "We'll take Leo, too. He needs to get out of the house a bit."
"Good idea."
#
Thoreau Jones
I jumped out of Bubba's big car and looked around. My little eye spied a pair of bikes parked at the top of the lot, and I ran to them.
"Reau! Don't touch!" Bubba called.
I just wanted to look. To show him that, I shoved my hands in my pockets as I walked around the two bikes.
They looked like fun! I wondered if they went fast.
"Hey, man. Who are you?"
I didn't know that voice, and I spun around to see who it was. We were here to see the pretty luna, not meet new people. My little eye spied two big boys. They were only wearing swim trunks and were all wet. For some reason, my insides fluttered as I watched the water run down the interesting bumps and lines of their chests and bellies.
Why are there butterflies in my tummy? If I fart, will they go away?
"You like our bikes?" asked Mr. Blond, walking up to me.
He was taller than me, which was scary, and I hunched my shoulders.
"I didn't touch!" I shouted.
"Okay?" Mr. Blond looked at Mr. Black-hair for a second, then back at me. "You want to go for a ride?"
With round eyes and a big grin, I forgot my fear and nodded my head really fast.
"I think that's a yes, Arch," laughed Mr. Blond. He came closer and held out his hand. "I'm Wayne Black."
"Can I take my hand out of my pocket?" I asked.
"Why do you need to ask?" Wayne Black tilted his head as he frowned at me.
"Bubba said not to touch. I put my hands in my pockets so he can see I'm not touching."
Frustration made me frown. Explaining took too much time, but Bubba said to be nice so people like me, and I wanted the boy to like me.
If he likes me, he will take me for a ride. If I make him sad or mad, he will hurt me and not take me for a ride.
"Oh. Yeah, sure." Wayne Black said. "That way, you can shake my hand."
I did, then looked at Mr. Black-hair. A giggle slipped out before I could stop it and I put my hand over my mouth.
"What's funny?" Wayne Black asked.
"You're Wayne Black and he's Mr. Black-hair." I giggled again behind my hand.
"I'm Archer Barlow." He held his hand out, too, and I shook it.
"What's your name?" Wayne Black asked.
"Thoreau Ezra Jones, but my nicky name is Reau."
"Sweet. Good to meet you, Reau." Wayne Black grinned. "I don't have a 'nicky name,' but you can call Archer Arch if you want."
"Arch." I stared at him as he stared back at me. "You are quiet, but you have pretty green eyes. I love them!"
He frowned, but Wayne Black laughed so hard that his face turned red.
"What is Wayne Black laughing at, Arch?" I asked with a tiny frown of concern.
"Just call him Wayne," Bubba said, coming up behind me. "You don't have to say his last name every time. He is one of Alpha Wyatt's younger brothers, and Arch is one of Alpha Cole's younger brothers. They're both your age."
"Wayne and Arch, I am Beta Emerson Jones' younger and only brother. Gelo is my brother-in-law, and Leo is our friend." I nodded my head, proud of myself for getting everything straight.
"Good job, Reau." Bubba patted the top of my head, and I looked up at him with a happy grin. "Are you okay hanging out with these guys for a while? Angelo, Leo and I want to talk to the luna for a bit."
"We got you, Beta," Wayne said. "He wants to go for a ride on the bike, anyway."
"He doesn't have any safety gear," Bubba started to say, but Gelo talked over him.
"He'll be fine, Em. Boys, don't take him far. Reau, have you ever been on a bike?"
"A bicycle!" I crowed. "Bubba taught me how!"
"A dirt bike is a little different, but we're experts, so you're in good hands," Wayne said.
I looked down at my hands, then his. Nobody's hands were on me.
Bubba leaned down and whispered in my ear.
"He means you'll be safe to learn with them because they know what they're doing."
I nodded, even though I thought it was a silly thing to say.
"All right, then." Wayne grinned, showing nice, white teeth. "We'll just go up and down the driveway. Nothing to jump, but you can really open 'er up since our brothers got it paved."
"Don't go too fast," Bubba told them. "And no wheelies!"
Leo laughed, but Gelo rolled his eyes and grabbed Bubba's elbow.
"Come on, worrywart," he said.
He pulled Bubba toward the front porch and had to put a lot of effort into it. Bubba was a big, big man.
"But they don't know how he is," I heard Bubba hiss.
"Then let them find out!" Gelo hissed back.
Leo followed them, shaking his head with a funny half-smile.
