Under A Latent Moon (A Werewolf Tale)

Chapter 18

Harley's gaze went unfocused. "I bet he would've gotten sick of me eventually. No one wants their little sister trailing behind them all the time."

"Mathias' would've."

Something tapped at the back of her thigh. "Hawley," a tiny girl with stubby blond pigtails gazed up at her, "I haf to go potty."

Lily, Natalie's niece, couldn't have been more than three or four. Her mother, Samantha, warned both Harley and Will that she was mostly potty trained. Thinking about it now, she wasn't sure what exactly mostly meant, but she had a feeling that if someone didn't get little Lily to the bathroom soon, they'd have a big issue.

"I'm on it." Will scooped Lily up and rested her against his hip. "Harley, why don't you go sit by the TV and take a breather. I'll go check on Natalie and see if she needs help with all the babies."

Harley nodded. "How come we didn't get the option to babysit the babies? They were all asleep an hour ago."

Will grinned. "Because no one stops Natalie from getting her baby fix."

~

When midnight rolled around, most of the pack had returned from the run. They meandered through the house, collecting their purses, clothes, and children. An easy chatter worked through the room, the relaxed atmosphere spreading from wolf to wolf.

The pack bond was probably glowing gold at this point. After a pack run, spirits ran high as wolves came down from the adrenaline rush of being their wolf and feeling the freedom of racing through the night with the wind in their fur.

Or so she'd been told.

Harley felt a little overwhelmed, sitting at the island in the kitchen, nursing a cup of water, while all the pack around her excitedly shared how their run went. Will leaned against the countertop next to her. The heat from his arm traced along hers. She had to stop herself from leaning closer into the warmth and falling asleep. Somehow she knew Will would be easy to fall asleep next to. He oozed a warm, safe aura that would be perfect for sleeping.

If she had any money, she'd bet he subconsciously sent that feeling down the pack bond. Most of the pack wolves gravitated towards him. When at the pack house, she found he could hardly go anywhere without someone stopping to talk to him.

Will blinked at her, wary amusement entering his expression. "Why are you smiling like that?"

Was she? A corner of her lip just wouldn't go down when she schooled her features. "Nothing, it's just...you mean something to people, you know that?"

Will's eyes softened. "Maybe it's time you went to bed."

"I'm serious! You do." She leaned closer until her mouth rested near his ear. "Look around you," she whispered.

He scanned the room, tracing the people mingling about. A few people, one of them Natalie, met his eyes and smiled.

"Will." Bailey marched over, her expression bright. Her short brown hair stuck up in spikes--windblown. "You missed a good time." She hopped up to sit on the counter near the sink.

"And my point is made." Harley said under her breath.

"No it isn't." Will nudged his shoulder against hers.

Ready to argue further, Harley opened her mouth...only to snap it shut at the look on Bailey's face. Her focus kept hopping between her and Will. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Bailey sang.

From there Will and Bailey kept an easy conversation about the run and the gossip of who ran near who and oh Joey and Carmella disappeared for quite a bit there, but so did Marcel and Paula. Bailey caught a mouse. Cam and Damon took down a deer with the help of Alpha Mark.