Pack, page 7
part #3 of Five Fangs Series
"Do you know how your mom died?"
I knew why she was asking. It was unusual for a luna to be on the front lines and not in the safe room with the pups and other vulnerable pack members.
"Uncle Jay found her a few feet from my dad. She was quite a warrior, one of the best in Dark Woods, actually." I chuckled. "Uncle Jay used to take credit for that, saying he was the one who taught her everything she knew about fighting."
"Wyatt said he'd teach me some self-defense. I haven't brought it up again because you seemed against it, but I would like to be able to take care of myself."
"I know, and I thought about it since we had that conversation, and he's right. You never know what situation might crop up, and you should have options, as Peri likes to say." I pecked her forehead. "And it's just smart."
"Thank you. I have no desire to be a warrior, if that eases your mind. In fact, I'm not even sure I'd make it through a single session of fighter practice. But yes, I'd like options in case I ever find myself alone in a bad situation."
"Then we'll make that happen." Looking back at the photo album, I turned the page to show five boys and one girl climbing a tree. "Here's all of us with Mason's twin, Willow. He told you about her, didn't he?"
She nodded as she studied the picture, and I continued telling the story.
"Uncle Jay was best friends with the three alphas whose territory bordered Moonset. Royal Price, Mason's dad, Shawn Black, Wyatt's dad, and Nathan Barlow, Cole's dad. After I went to live with Uncle Jay and Aunt Denise, we always were at one of their places or they were over at ours. That's how we boys became such close friends, along with Willow, and our dads encouraged it."
"Did they know then?" She looked up at me with curious blue eyes. "Did they know that their packs would one day merge into one?"
"No. Not then." I turned the page to show her Royal and Julia Price with Mason and Willow the year before the sickness hit. "Poor Willow died in the first wave of the sickness, then Nathan's wife, Kelly."
"She's Cole, Peri, and Archer's mom?"
"Yeah." Going to the next page, I showed her the Barlow family. "She was a great lady. Very independent. Very strong. Of course, that's the memory of a twelve-year-old Ash."
"Ah. I see she’s the one who Cole gets his darker skin tone from.”
"Her dad was Maori, one the aboriginal peoples of New Zealand, and her mom was from the Haida tribe in Alaska,” I explained. "Cole and Archer got Nathan’s green eyes, but all three of them got their mom’s dark hair and brown skin, and Peri got her brown eyes.”
"Wait. Peri has blonde hair.” Posy tilted her head as she looked at me.
"She dyes it, baby.”
"Oh!” She blinked, then looked back at the photos. "It's so sad to see their smiling faces in these photos and know that they were gone less than a year later."
"I know." Draping my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her into my side. "You want to keep looking or stop here for now?"
"I'd like to go on. Is it too hard and sad for you?" She turned her earnest face up to me, and I smiled down at her.
"You're such a kind, considerate girl. It is hard and sad, but I have many, many happy memories that help."
She turned the page for us and saw the Carsons with Jay and me on either side of them.
"I just realized that Jayden's name is made up from his parents' names," she said with a smile. "Jay and Denise."
"Yeah. They thought Jay Junior would get too confusing, but we call him Jay most of the time anyway. They were great people, Posy. I wish you could have met them. Aunt Denise would have loved you so much and Uncle Jay would have teased you about your height mercilessly. I can almost hear his voice calling you Minnie Mouse."
She laughed, but it was true.
"I'm glad you had them to love you after your parents died."
"Me, too. They died within three weeks of each other." I looked up at the ceiling and blinked until the stinging in my eyes passed. "After losing his luna, Nathan was struggling to keep his family together while running Great Rocks. Royal was in slightly better shape over at Earthshine, so he and Shawn pitched in to help with Moonset, but I think they were all wondering what they were going to do. Thankfully, the sickness had nearly run its course and our doctors were administering vaccines and cures."
Taking a deep breath, I turned to the next page in the album. The hardest page to look at, even harder than my own parents and my adopted ones. In the photo, Shawn Black stood with his arm around Evie's waist. Wyatt was on their left and Wayne on their right. Wade stood in front of Wyatt and Wesley in front of Wayne.
"Then, right when we thought we were safe, we lost Shawn Black."
I couldn't talk for a minute. Couldn't even look at the man's picture. I wasn't ashamed of the tears that ran down my cheeks, but I didn't want to upset our girl.
"Ash," she whispered.
Picking up the photo album, she moved it to the coffee table, then took its place on my lap. I hugged her as close as I could and buried my face in the crook of her neck and tried not to sob.
"It's okay, Ash. You can cry. It's okay to grieve when we lose someone we love."
"He was a great man," I choked out. "I mean, you hear that all the time about people who've died, but Shawn Black truly was. He was kind and funny and smart and compassionate. He always knew what to say and do. He stuck up for Mase against Royal all the time. He wasn't afraid of anything. He loved his mate and kids. He was fair and brave and charismatic. All of us boys idolized him."
I released her to grab the neck of my t-shirt and wipe my eyes, then cupped her face in my hands.
"When he died, it hurt everyone who knew him." My voice came out as a husky croak, and I cleared my throat. "But Wyatt? Goddess, Posy. It shattered Wyatt. That's his story to tell when he's ready for you to know, but I was so scared. All of us were. We thought— We thought he might try to—"
I couldn't even think it, let alone say it.
"Shh." She ran her hands through my curls and kissed my forehead as tears filled her own eyes. "Thank the Goddess he didn't. I don't even want to think what life would be like without Wyatt."
Right as I felt her body tremble, the alpha link was slammed with my four brothers demanding to know why our girl was upset. Rolling my eyes, I didn't go into more detail than to say that she wanted to look through the photo album her brothers gave her and that led to looking through our photo album.
Do something to make her happy! Wyatt insisted.
Don't dwell on the morbid past that nobody can change! Cole snapped.
See if she wants to make brownies, Jay suggested. That will cheer her up.
Mase remained silent. In the past, that wouldn't have been unusual; however, since Posy came into our lives, he'd become more vocal, and I wondered if he was thinking, or if he'd run into trouble with the Cold Moon representative.
Mase? I asked.
She has a right to know, he said begrudgingly, but take a break if she gets too overwhelmed.
"Is that when your surviving parents decided to combine packs?" Posy asked, drawing my attention away from my brothers.
"Yeah. We started hearing stories of rogues raiding decimated packs and other alphas taking advantage of the situation to claim territories that weren't theirs, although King Magnus put a stop to that. It was one of his last decrees before he abdicated the throne to King Julian."
I shifted her to lay in my arms before I continued.
"Nathan couldn't hold Great Rocks together without a luna to hold him together, and Evie was, well, she was in no condition to hold her family together, let alone River Rapids. Royal and Julia had completely taken over running Moonset after Shawn's death while still trying to run Earthshine. With Dark Woods folded into Moonset, they were running three packs. It was insane. So the four of them got together and made the only decision that made sense."
"And the Moon Goddess approved?" Posy snuggled closer, and I ran my hands down her long hair.
"Yeah. At the next full moon, they made the announcement about the packs and that Nathan and Evie were choosing each other as mates, and the Goddess blessed their union as well as the merging of the packs."
"That must have been something to see." She raised her head to meet my eyes.
"It was dazzling. Like being in the center of a meteor shower. We all felt a sense of rightness and relief." I grinned down at her. "That night, she visited me and my four brothers in a dream and told us we'd find you."
"So that's how you knew." Her big blue eyes stared up at me with pure love, and my heart squeezed.
"So that's how we knew." I kissed the tip of her nose. "Now, how about we take a break from the past and make some brownies?"
"Brownies? Yes, yes, yes!"
And to the kitchen we went.
8: Tag!
Lark
Someone tickled my mate link and woke me up.
Psst! Lark!
Granite? I muttered. What’s wrong?
Nothing. Wake up and come play with us!
Blinking my eyes open, I realized Posy was still asleep, and it seemed like the boys were, too, judging by all the wolf-lit eyes that peered down at me.
What time is it? I asked when I saw no light coming from the windows.
Who cares? Topaz bounced off the bed with a giggle. We want to play, dearest!
Blinking, I looked at Quartz, who wore a tiny smile.
Only if you want to, little mate, he said with a shrug.
We shift when we get outside, Granite said. Hurry, my love! Before boys stop us!
Okay, okay. I slid off the edge of the bed and almost stumbled to my knees.
Thankfully, Garnet caught me before I hit the floor.
Sorry. I still not used to our human body, I apologized with a blush.
It's okay, sweetheart. He smiled and leaned down to boop my nose with his. You'll feel steadier once you walk around a bit.
I nodded and let him lead me to the stairs.
Um, I think I better carry you down, sweetheart, he said, and I agreed wholeheartedly.
Falling down the stairs would put an end to our adventure real quick, although some of my mates were far from stealthy. Topaz, Gran and Sid had their hands over their mouths to muffle their giggles, but were still obnoxiously loud.
Sure, Posy was dead to the world, but if at least two of the boys weren't awake by now, I'd never chase another chipmunk.
For whatever reason, their human halves were letting us 'get away' with sneaking out, and I guessed they were either too amused - Cole and Jayden - or sleepy - Wyatt and Ash - to object. Or maybe they just wanted to give us bonding time.
It hard to tell what humans thinking unless they tell you, I admitted to myself.
As soon as we were downstairs, my wolves hustled us to the front door and opened it, dropping their t-shirts and boxers in a pile on the porch before shifting into their wolf forms. Going with the flow, I pulled off Mason's big t-shirt and skinned my panties down and shifted, too.
Run or play in the yard? Sid pranced in a circle with excitement.
We'll stay in the yard since it's dark, Quartz decreed, and no one argued with him.
Granite sidled up next to me and put his snout in my ear.
My love, you know how play tag? he whispered.
Yes, I whispered back.
Good. You it! he shrieked, then took off.
That not fair! I pouted. I too slow. I never catch any of you.
You can do it, my darling, my shy Sid encouraged me. Just try.
Stirred by mischief, I sprung forward and surprised him. I almost caught his tail before he dodged away with a joyful yip.
That started a chase that led all over the yard and to the treeline and back to the porch. The other wolves joined in, and I finally managed to tag Garnet. I knew he let me, and I was fine with that. I couldn't compete with any of them physically, and Garnet could only stand to watch them tease me so long before he intervened.
Just like Mason with Posy, I thought to myself with a secret smile.
The game grew more intense now that I wasn't it, and I laughed and howled as my wolves contorted and dodged and leaped over each other. When Granite was tagged, he came for me, but I dove between Sid's front legs and kept going, emerging from under his tail, and ran for the driveway.
Ash had left his SUV parked there instead of in the garage, and I knew I could fit under it. I was almost positive that Granite, who was nearly four times my size, couldn't - and I was right.
While I snickered at him from under the vehicle, he ran around and around it while whining that I was cheating.
I am not, I told him. I take advantage of my size and outwit you.
I could tip this over if I want to, he taunted. Come out or I will!
Don't hurt Ashy's toy! Sid called, making me grin.
Yeah, don't hurt Ashy's toy! I told Granite. Better hope you no get a scratch on it already!
Aw, you no fun, Lark.
From my spot on the ground, I saw Topaz's paws sneaking up behind Granite and had to hold back my giggles so he wouldn't suspect anything. Right as Granite dropped his front half down and stuck his head under the bumper, Topaz grabbed his tail and tugged it.
As Granite yelped and whirled on his brother, I slipped out the other side and ran to find another hiding spot.
Here, little mate, Quartz murmured.
I raced up to where he sat on the grass, and he raised one paw. I slipped in under him and squiggled around to face forward as he lowered his foot. Careful to keep my nose down, I peered through his chest hair to watch Granite chase Topaz. He managed to tackle him when Topaz began to wheeze with laughter.
You it! Granite shouted, then went back to Ash's SUV. It okay, Lark. Paz it now. Come out, my love.
When I didn't respond, he dropped down to check under the vehicle.
Hey! She gone! he shouted.
See if you can find her, Gran, Garnet told him, then linked me to stay still. None of the pups saw where you went. See how long you can fool them.
Hide and Seek! Sid screeched, and Topaz spun in frenzied circles.
That wasn't an easy game for wolves to play since we couldn't turn our keen noses off. Right now, though, Quartz's scent was covering my own; as long as we didn't move, none of them could sniff me out.
The three pups put their noses to the ground, but I'd run all over the place in the last hour. My scent was everywhere, from the yard to the treeline to the driveway.
You have to try harder than that, my loves, I crowed.
Quartz's chest vibrated above me with silent chuckles, and I wagged my tail, pleased with myself for amusing him.
Where is she? Topaz demanded after a few minutes. Did she go back in the house?
No, Garnet assured him. She's out here somewhere.
You know! Sid accused and tackled him.
Topaz and Granite joined in, and Garnet huffed with laughter as the three pups rolled him around and jumped on him.
I don't have her, he managed to get out.
That's when their beady eyes turned to Quartz, and I slowly and silently withdrew even further under him.
Q! they whined in unison and came over to stand in front of him in a half circle. Where is she?
Here I is!
I burst out from under Quartz with a big grin, making them jump back with a start.
My darling! Sid poked his nose in my left ear.
My love! Granite licked my right cheek.
Dearest! Topaz rolled me onto my back with his paw and snuffled my belly.
Giggling, I let them fawn all over me for a few minutes. By then, the sun had come up and we all knew the boys would have to get their day started soon.
I have so much fun, my loves, I said as Quartz shooed the pups back and Garnet helped me stand up. We do that again sometime!
Maybe we can go swimming together! Topaz suggested. I love swimming!
Yes, yes! We have great big pool in backyard, I chirped.
We're forbidden to go in it, sweetheart, Garnet informed me. We shed too much hair and it clogs things up. I don't understand all the workings of it, but we did it once, and our boys had to spend a lot of money to fix it.
Oh, I pouted.
But we can swim at lake, Granite said. We swim there lots in hot weather.
Oh, boy! I like that. It sound like lot of—
Ash's alpha tone interrupted me.
Rogues in Dark Woods!
And just that quick, our fun morning turned into an emergency.
#
Ash
We let the pups have fun under Quartz and Garnet's watch, not too worried about it and happy to see them happy.
Then I felt the border of Dark Woods quiver as rogues crossed it.
Rogues in Dark Woods! I shouted, then closed my eyes to concentrate on what the territory was telling me. They're chasing something, another shifter. I can't tell what kind, but they're heading toward the Moonset border. It's like they're on a straight path to Emerson's.
How many? Cole asked.
Feels like twenty, but my gut says more. I can't explain it.
Twenty! Wyatt growled. That's a big pack for rogues.
It was. Most banded together in small groups of four or five, maybe ten at the outside. Twenty made us all wonder if something bigger was happening.
Might be some kind of magic at play, Jay suggested.
Lark, go to the safe room and give Posy back control, Mase commanded. Posy, keep the mate link open. We'll send the betas to you. Don't let anyone except their mates in the safe room. Then you stay there until you hear from one of us. Clear?
Clear. Our girl didn't hesitate. Her furry little butt flew toward the porch and through the open front door.
Seeing that, we took off, giving our wolves free rein to run, and issued orders as we went.
Rogues in Dark Woods, I linked the pack. Border patrols, maintain your routine. All available warriors, to the border near Emerson's. Do not let them cross into Moonset.
Emerson, they're headed your way, Wyatt linked all the betas and Angelo. Get Reau into your safe room, then try to get us a visual. Take Gelo and Leo with you. Hold the line if you can. Rest of the betas, to the alpha house now. Your luna is in the safe room. Your mates can join her if they want.
