With Hell we Raise | ✔

|28|

Trigger warning: Just a quick warning. The second part of this chapter is a little dark and may be potentially triggering to some readers. There are mentions of suicide and death; I don't go into any detail but it is heavy. Please skip over it if if you need to.  Take care of your mental health! :)

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Lisbeth was not delighted, not that she would say so in front of her Alpha and Luna. It wasn't so much an issue that Antony had brought them by, it was the fact that he had brought them by without telling her first! Had she known, she would have made something far more fitting for their guests instead of the simple hotpot that she had laid out on the table.

The poor woman, flurried about the room, quickly setting two extra spaces at the table all the while chewing out her husband for his lack of consideration to at least send her a mind-link on his way back. 

Orion had to admire the woman, she was so well composed even though her arrival with Seth had obviously been a surprise. She felt somewhat guilty, and wanted to offer the woman some help but she knew she would probably only just get in the way. Instead she followed the woman's direction when she invited both she and Seth to sit at the table. 

Their home was lovely. There was no other way to really describe it. The walls were a pretty sky blue, with wooden shelves lined with photographs and books. The furniture though mismatched only added to its homely feel; the books, abandoned knitting and paperwork left strewn on the coffee table gave the place a lived in look. It was just small things that warmed Orion; it made her wonder what things would have been like if she had grown up in a house with her parents. 

They sat together at the table, Antony disappeared for a few moments before returning with a small boy on his hip. He was an adorable little thing, probably around one; his short black hair sticking up at weird angles since he had just woken up. 

He waved shyly at Seth and Orion as Antony put him to sit in his high chair. Antony introduced the boy as his son, Bo; the boy was about to turn one in a few months but was rather advanced for his age. Orion wondered if being a werewolf, had anything to do with it. He was utterly charming, though nervous around Seth and Orion at first, was eagerly babbling to them.

Seth didn't seem to mind, engaging with the baby easily. Orion on the other hand, didn't know how to act; she had never been around such a fragile little person before. It was both terrifying and mesmerising. She did find it amusing however to watch Seth converse with this baby as if it could understand him; the intelligent glint in Bo's eyes almost had her believing that he did. 

Lisbeth also tried to teach Orion how to use chopsticks; the girl struggled- she had struggled just getting used to eating with a fork after spending 17 years in the wild. She was determined that one day she would learn how to use the chopsticks; it took her quite a few tries, but she managed to get the hang of holding the sticks and moving them properly so that she could eat. 

"So how did you find it?" Lisbeth smiled kindly, as she fed their son a bitesize piece of tofu. "Y'know, your first official day?"

"It was a lot," Orion admitted with a sigh. Even though Vincent had mentored them both, to take on all the responsibilities without a safety net was daunting. She had enjoyed the day, but she didn't realise how demanding it would have been. "I'm glad that we have Antony to help us out."

"The pack is different than I remember," Seth turned his attention to the conversation. He looked relaxed, happy even, as he spoke. Orion couldn't help noting that he looked like a new man, as if he had shed the weight of his past from his shoulders, as if he were at peace. "But everything, and everyone is so wonderful. I finally feel like I'm doing what I was meant to do."