WILD

nineteen

Orion sent quick texts to Max throughout the day, wanting to know how Lorena was taking everything. He was upset to hear that she had been crying at one point, but after that, it seemed the day had gone really well.

He sighed as he finished up the last task for the day. As he cleared off his desk, his hand brushed against a white envelope with his name on it. He assumed it was the letter his father suggested that he read tonight, so he did just that.

To Orion,

This is a letter from Lorena's father. I regret to inform you that Lorena's mother has fallen very ill.

As Lorena may or may not have mentioned, she doesn't have the best relationship with her mother. Despite that, my wife was completely devastated at the thought of never seeing her daughter again and ending on the terms that they are currently on.

Now that she has fallen sick, she has realized that she needs to make amends with Lorena.

Please allow us to have a meeting with our daughter. Alpha Warden is bringing us along for a meeting with your father, and we thought it would be polite if we consulted you before seeing our daughter, seeing as you are the new alpha of the pack and her betrothed.

Please consider us and our family.

Richard.

Orion sighed and put the letter in a drawer. Under any other circumstances, he would prefer that they stay away for a while, give Lorena much needed time to adjust and come to like her new home before inviting her parents over. He feared that she might grow very homesick and that she would be less cooperative.

But how could he deny the chance for her mother and father to see their daughter in the midst of what could very well be a serious sickness? If he was told he had to stay away from his father while he was sick, he would lose it.

He grabbed his empty coffee cup from his desk and shut off the light. He would see about it in the morning. Right now, he had his mate to tend to.

Max sent him a text telling him to make his way over to one of the common rooms where most of the younger wolves played and hung out.

He had no idea why, but he just decided to go along with it. He showed up and opened the glass doors. He saw Max standing in the corner while all of the kids were playing around. He made his way over to his friend and poked her in the arm.

Max turned to him and grinned upon seeing him. "Hey, dude."

"Hey." Orion quickly scanned the room. It was a habit of his to thoroughly check every room he entered to make sure there was no threat to his pack or himself, especially when there were pups around. When he was growing up, he thought it was just anxiety and paranoia, but apparently it was just a thing alphas do.

When he saw there was no threat to anyone, he turned to Max, confused. "Was there not an issue?"

Max rolled her dark brown eyes, slapping Orion in the shoulder. "You're doing that alpha thing again. There isn't going to be a problem in every room that you enter, Orion. There is no issue."

Orion relaxed and leaned against the wall and continued to look around as the children played. Luckily, they hadn't noticed him enter the room yet. He loved kids, but he had a long day and he didn't want to be attacked by them at that moment.

"Why did you call me, Max?"

"To watch Lorena and the kids. She's very good with them." She looked down at the coffee mug in Orion's hands. "You're gonna want me to take that."

Orion frowned in confusion. "Why would I need-"

"Get him!"

Orion's head snapped around to the source of the voice, and before he could register it, a large group of kids was rushing to him, jumping all over him. A few kids jumped on his back and some went for his legs, making him fall onto the ground.

He growled as he heard Max laughing but then he started to laugh as well. He knew Lorena was responsible for this.

He roared playfully and picked up a few kids, tickling them and tossing them gently to the side. "Alright, that's enough! Don't make me eat you!" He chuckled as the kids screamed and climbed off of him one by one.

Before he could get all the way up off of the ground, someone jumped onto his back, causing him to grunt with the impact. "What the-"

He stood up and craned his neck to look behind his back. He rolled his eyes playfully and reached behind him with one arm, causing Lorena to squeal as he swung her around. He laughed as he threw her onto the couch and then sat down next to her.

Despite all of the noise and commotion around them, Orion stopped and took the time to observe her. She had a few bruises visible on her face, but she looked...happy?

She grinned, trying to catch her breath from all of the playing around she was doing. He smiled as she placed a hand over his, where it was subconsciously resting on her thigh. "Hi."

"Hey," he retorted. They both stared into the eyes of the other, and Lorena was about to say something, but a few kids jumped up on their laps, wanting to get their attention. Lorena quickly forgot about what she was about to say, turning her attention to the playful and curious kids surrounding her.

A little boy tugged on her arm. "Lo, are you staying with us? You're fun!"

"I wish I could, but I have to go to sleep sometime today! It's been a long one." She placed him on the floor. "As a matter of fact, it's time for you guys to find your parents, don't you think?"

The kids pouted and let out a bunch of complaints, and Orion put a stop to it.

"Mind your Luna, okay? She's right. It's past all of your bedtimes and your parents are most likely waiting up for you in their rooms. You don't want to worry them, right?"

The kids sighed and shook their head. They didn't want to leave just yet, but even they knew better than to disregard their alpha. He watched as the kids cleaned up the room, putting their toys and chairs back where they belonged. He was surprised to see Lorena join in, helping the kids out, which they seemed to greatly appreciate.

He admired her. She looked so happy and so beautiful, and he wanted to see her like this all of the time.

"Oh, you're fucking whipped." Orion was startled by Max's mumbling right next to him. He hadn't even noticed she had come to sit down on the couch.

"Oh, shut up. I am not."

Max shrugged. "There's no use in denying it, really. A blind man could see it. You're falling for her. But who could blame you, really? She's a sweet girl."

Orion nodded. "When she wants to be. But it's more than that. There's something I was drawn to. She's special, Max. It's almost like she can do no wrong."

Max grimaced. "Well, I don't know about all that, but if she's special to you, then..."

Orion unintentionally tuned the rest of her sentence out as Lorena made her way back over to him. "Ready to get out of here?"

She nodded. "Yep. And Orion?"

"Hm?"

"Can we go to your room first?"