Winter Moon [Complete]

Chapter Eighteen

We rode in mostly silence except for the music in the background. Occasionally Max would glance over at me in the passenger seat, his face relaxing at the sight of me. Aunt Andra is in her car with all of the things she's packed, leading the way. At some point we wound down a long road, well dirt path was more like it, and we had arrived. It was a more secluded area than I thought it would be, but it only took us about two hours to get here.

We pulled up to what resembled a large log cabin, trees on the verge of overtaking it. Stepping out of the car a wicked cold gust of wind picked up, causing me to shiver violently. We must have driven further north as it was much colder here than in my hometown. I pulled my beanie lower so it covered more bare skin. I stepped forward and looked around expecting to see more people, or werewolves, out and about. It wasn't quite dinner time yet but my stomach grumbled having missed yet another meal.

The front doors open as Aunt Andra walked up beside us. Juda strode out with a woman, her long brown hair waving in the wind. Something about her seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. As they came up to us, Juda's eyes locked with mine and his face lit up.

"Little bird!" His pace picked up, "You came, I didn't think you would." He took my hand and kissed the top of it gently. Max growled aggressively, stepping forward. Juda turned towards him. "Max, you came too! This is wonderful." He raised his hands in a welcoming gesture. I didn't think Max found it so wonderful. I looked between the two of them and sighed, it had already started and we hadn't been here five minutes.

"Where are my boys?"

"Oh, they're inside with the others." Juda stepped toward the house. "Would you like to see them?"

"Yes, we would" Aunt Andra started walking towards the house without waiting for anyone else, eager to see her babies.

Max and I followed them, and the girl that came out with Juda began to walk next to me.

"Hello there." I looked over to her and gasped.

"Ash!" I couldn't believe my eyes, but there was no doubt as she had the same golden eyes. The only difference was her hair and that's why I couldn't place her.

"Yep," she laughed. "in the flesh."

"I can't believe it." I was so excited that there would be someone here I knew besides Max.

"You've met my second I see," Juda hollered back at us.

"Second?" A puzzled look crossed Max's face. "Aren't males usually second?"

"Typically," Juda opened the door for us all following behind us. "Ashelynn is one of the strongest in the pack, however, and we've known each other for years." I didn't understand what they were talking about, so I ended up tuning them out and taking in the room. It was large, big enough for fifty people at least. An ornate fireplace stood against the far wall, surrounded by couches and bean bags. This must be like the hangout room. We passed an archway that looked like the entrance to a dining room, which was also much larger than any I'd ever seen.

"This place is huge," I exclaimed.

"Do you like it, little bird?" He clasped my shoulder as he passed me. "This is my home, well mine, and a few others." He led us up the stairs to the first door on the left. When he opened it I heard squeals of joy. Aunt Andra shouted as she swooped her boys up into a fierce hug.

"Max!" Cale and Jae yelled hopping up from their beds. He rushed to them giving Jae a noogie and then hugging him and Cale together squishing them against him.

"You guys doing okay?" He let them go to give them a serious look.

"Yeah, were great. The food here is wonderful." Cale rubbed his stomach remembering all the things he'd eaten that day.

"And they have all sorts of stuff to do." Jae chimed in. "Look!" he showed Max a handheld gaming device.

"All right everyone, let's get you all settled into your cabins." Ash clapped her hands and motioned for us to follow. She led us back down the stairs, and outside. We walked a trail for a few minutes coming onto a little culdesac-type layout. "This is lot A, Andra and her boys will stay here, Elly you're in lot B, I'll take you there in a bit." She smiled at me as she opened the door to Max's new home.

It was quaint. It had three bedrooms and a bathroom, the living room and kitchen combined into one large room. The three older boys groaned when they realized they'd be sharing a room. Aunt Andra turned around to look at Juda.

"How long do you think we're staying here?" She folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, you and the twins are free to leave whenever," he shrugged his shoulders. "but Max and his brothers are staying." He gave her a halfhearted smile. "I knew you'd want to stay together though so I arranged this larger cabin for you." He turned to me. "While they get settled into their new home let's take you to yours." Max tried to follow but Ash told him he needed to stay and help Andra, assuring him that he'd see me later. I looked back at him one last time and then kept on.

We trekked another five minutes or so from lot A to get to my place. Lot B was much smaller, with only a few cabins scattered here and there. Ash led me to the furthest cabin in the back and opened the door for me. This cabin was much smaller than Max's. It had one large open room to accommodate the living room, kitchen, and sleeping area. The bed was in the far left corner, with a couch and some bookshelves on the right. The kitchen was just my size and had a bar as the eating area. There were two doors at the back, one leading to the bathroom, and the other leading to the back yard area.

"I love it!" A smile split my face as I looked around.

"Wonderful" Juda clapped his hands. "Would you like to stay here or do you want to come back to the main building?

"Uhm," I looked to the ceiling to think about it. "I need to get my bags." Ash handed me the keys to the house and I locked up before we headed out.