A Fate Foretold (formerly: A World Gone Mad)

A Fate Foretold 7

            Days in Alaska passed quietly for Ally. A nat amatra did not have many day-to-day responsibilities, and after unpacking and settling in, Ally did her best to help out around the house.

            Clarice played mother hen to most of the pack unit, and kept the house in order. Zazzie did most of the cooking, although her love of cooking often led her to make strange, extravagant dishes that had to be paired with something more substantial that Clarice whipped up quickly. Ally had never cooked much of anything, but volunteered to be ordered around the kitchen doing basic chopping, stirring, and washing up.

            Zazzie was quickly taken with Ally, and the pixie-like girl with hair violently dyed pink welcomed her help in the kitchen. Loud and boisterous as she was, Zazzie was very much a private person and had her own business to take care of, and so while the rest of the pack unit took their time adjusting to their future alpha’s nat amatra, Ally was left largely to herself. Even Clarice was a bit hesitant around the new girl. The others had work to do, and were either out meeting with werewolves in the area or in the office doing paperwork and filing reports to send south.

            Ally had met Nancy, a frail, old woman who could no longer shift, the day after her arrival. She was a strange lady who kept to herself, but had a wealth of knowledge concerning the pack’s history.

            Christian tried his best to make Ally feel welcome, but he did have business to attend to every day. Once a week or so he drove out several hours and back to see pack members. Ally had to keep attention away from herself, also as a nat amatra, and was never invited along. But he did spend every night in her room, sometimes just lying next to her as they dropped off to sleep.

            It was in these evenings that Ally subtly questioned Christian for information on each of the members of the pack unit. He told her illustrative stories about each of them and the work they did, by her gradual coaxing. He added information about the security situation to the facts she had already gleaned. And slowly, very slowly, Ally began suggesting slight improvements to that security, particularly with regard to the forest right out her window. It had been some time since she had done spy work in the field, and feeding information to sources was a difficult feat that required discretion and tact. But it was good practice, to ensure her skills didn’t get rusty. Ally was sure she’d need them again.

           

            A little over a month since they’d arrived, Christian yawned as he stretched out on Ally’s bed. He hadn’t actually used his own bed for five weeks. But he’d soon have to again.

            “Kate Hawkins is arriving soon,” he said to Ally, forcing his tired eyes open to gauge her reaction.

            She didn’t appear to have much of an opinion one way or the other. That irked him. Didn’t she know that once Kate got here, things were bound to change?

            Ally looked at him levelly. “When is she due?”

            “Five days or so. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. It slipped my mind.” And it really had. Maybe it was wishful thinking, how he’d put off thinking about it.

            Although she didn’t show it, this was very significant news to Ally. Of course it would change her relationship with Christian – the new dynamic would take some getting used to. Ally foresaw this and knew how she would tackle it, but how Christian and Kate would react was still to be determined. Their volatility had to be taken in consideration. And more importantly, Ally again had to worry about being recognized. Kate was bringing a small group of friends to live with her. Ally’s investigations and inquiries into each person in the house would begin again.

            Christian faced the next five days with dread, and so naturally they passed quickly. The day itself was wrought with tension, as everyone in the house worked with an eye to the clock. Ally stayed out of the way, either in her room or in the kitchen, helping Zazzie cook an enormous dinner to welcome the newcomers.

            It was nearly six o’clock when the sound of two cars pulling up filtered through the kitchen window. Ally rinsed her hands and turned off the tap, her eyes never leaving the scene outside.

            Four people stepped into the sunlight that was still strong and would be for hours to come in the Alaskan September. Zazzie screamed at the top of her lungs for everyone to quickly gather. Most were already in the living room, including Christian who was pacing back and forth in a daze, but Mia and Caleb rapidly joined them. Christian snapped out of his stupor and went to open the door.

            Kate Hawkins, soon to be Kate Sullivan, was a woman of average height and build, with dark blonde hair and a heart-shaped face. She was about Christian’s age, or maybe a year older, and obviously took great pains to maintain her appearance, an observation supported by the incredible bulk of suitcases being removed from the cars.

            The three people she had brought with her were those who would be living in the pack house from now on. Ally had caught snippets of conversation centered on convincing the Hawkins family that other friends and family would wait another ten days before turning up for the wedding and it’s preparations. Evidently the Sullivan’s arguments had worked, and only Kate’s cousin Michael and her friends Avery and Elsa accompanied her.

            Christian, as was his duty, had greeted the foursome and was performing introductions around the room. Avery and Elsa were already talking animatedly with Mia, while Michael seemed to be the taciturn type, who stood in the background looking intimidating. He would make an excellent addition to their security forces.

            “And this is Ally, she’s my – my nat amatra.” Again, Christian stumbled over the words. Ally would have rolled her eyes, had she been alone. Although she did have to concede that it’s not every day that a man has to introduce his wife to his mistress. Still, everyone was well aware of the situation; in fact, Ally was the latecomer to this arrangement. Kate, Christian, and their families had agreed to this scheme months ago.

“Hello,” Kate said shortly. She stood a couple inches shorter than Ally, and she strained to stand up as tall as possible.

            “It’s lovely to meet you,” Ally nodded, smiling gently, and trying to arrange her face in the most welcoming, non-threatening expression possible.

            Although she managed it quite convincingly, Kate merely looked at her coldly. “Likewise.”

            She quickly moved on to talk to others. Ally didn’t mind. She didn’t even mind the frostiness of Kate’s greeting. It was to be expected. She would do her best to be as unobtrusive as possible this evening, and the following few days, to avoid making Kate feel uneasy.

Kate, to her credit, did an excellent job of pretending Ally didn’t exist. Consistently for the two weeks leading up to Christian and Kate’s wedding.

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