A Friend To The Elements

Chapter 16

"Finally! Some of the spark I have heard so much about. Our new pack could use that. But I digress. Ultimately it was your own fault. You knew I was out there and still wandered off on your own. You were a sitting duck and really if you think about it, I couldn't let you two seal your bond. He would have been able to find you as soon as you gained even the slightest awareness. This way we can just kill off the useless mate and find you someone a little more...malleable."

"He will find me. You won't live long enough to see your son live. Thank god your son will never have to be exposed to a deluded monster."

He reached onto the wall, and I heard something remove. I should have kept my mouth shut.

*Adam's POV*

Running...always running. Running was easy. I wasn't ever sure where I was going, but anything was better than staying still. She was out there. Somewhere.

I felt Noah before I saw him. He stepped out from a crowd of trees and gave a low grumble. I slid sideways trying to keep myself from running straight into him.

He threw his head towards the house, and I followed behind him in a slower trot. As soon as we reached the edge of the woods, I saw Jameson waiting for us at the back door of my house. He stood up from the chair on the patio and gave me a weary wave. I shifted into my human form and adjusted my shirt. Noah did the same and slapped an arm around my shoulders.

Jameson's father was a second beta to the pack. In the original pack Jameson's grandfather was the beta, but in the borderline rogue pack Noah's father was a beta. We decided having a second beta couldn't hurt. Like three musketeers.

I saw a quick flash of red inside alerting me of Riley's presence. Noah turned his head slightly so that Jameson couldn't see his mouth and barely whispered, "Be happy. He needs a leader." I nodded and gave Jameson the most genuine smile I could. He reached out his hand and pulled me in for a hug putting a heavy hand on my back before pulling away.

"Adam...we have some personal news we want to share. Good news." He called Riley and she pushed the sliding door open and bounced out. Her red hair moved up and down as she shifted weight between her feet. Jameson grabbed her hand steadying her, but the excitement was too much, and she took her hand out of his.

I was getting impatient when she stepped forward and took my hand in both of hers. She was so close I could smell her floral perfume. "We would like to ask you to be our baby's godparent." My eyes widened and Noah laughed loudly as I remained frozen. She stood still with her smile slowly fading until Noah slapped my back almost too hard.

I forced a smile and pulled Riley into a hug. I forced out a congratulations and turned to shake Jameson's hand, but she grabbed my hand even tighter for a second time.

"Jameson asked me not to say this part, but I feel like I have to." He tried to step up and pull her away, but Noah put his hand on Jameson's chest.

"Riley...now isn't the time."

His face was covered in concern as his eyes glanced between his mate and me. "It's okay. You'll quickly learn that the last thing you'll want is something on the mind of a pregnant woman in the middle of the night. You'll never sleep again."

"We are asking you to be one godparent, but we want Lily to be the other godparent. It only felt right." Noah glanced back at me having clearly not expected that to be what she needed to say. I froze and felt something in my stomach turn. Her eyes locked on mine even though I could see her tears already forming. When she blinked, they started falling down her cheeks but she refused to release my hand to wipe them away. "I know she will be back. I can't tell you how I know, but I feel it. She will be back before our baby is here and she will be here to help welcome them into our world." I nodded and stepped away. I did my best to pull my hand from hers without hurting her feelings.

"She will be beyond excited when she comes home. If you'll excuse me, I have been running for most of the day, and need a glass of water. I hope you will stay for dinner with us to celebrate your news." I nodded at each of them and made my way inside. As I was closing the door, I could hear Noah and Jameson gently chastising Riley for mentioning Lily.

I felt like a knife was twisting in my gut, but at the same time I trusted Riley. Some shifters were born with extra abilities. Full powers like Lily were almost unheard of, but smaller abilities were somewhat common. In our pack we have Riley who somehow always has a feeling of something that is going to happen. Noah had a way with people. It was odd when we tried to pinpoint what exactly was happening, but he had a way of making everyone calm around him. There was a girl named Sammy that was in second grade, but she was already faster than any other wolf her age.

I flipped on the faucet and filled the glass of water. Mom sat in the barstool across from the sink holding a coffee mug in between her hands. She looked up at me but didn't bother putting on a fake smile I am sure she wore for Riley's news.

Here we didn't have to hide that we weren't happy. We didn't have to pretend we weren't being torn apart inside. Something was missing and we both knew it. For her it was Charlotte. For me it was Lily.