My smile stretches impossibly wide when the car pulls up in front of the house. Jeremy is standing just behind me, watching as well, waiting for the back door to open. I squint and lean forward, trying to see through the tinted glass windows. My feet tap restlessly against the ground, and the driver gets out. He walks over and opens the door for her. When she steps out, I lose all sense of patience and run to her. Lindsey laughs as I engulf her in my arms.
"I missed you!" I shout. "I can't believe it—you're actually here. I didn't think you could leave him."
She chuckles and hugs me back. "How could I say no? I'm dying to see what your new life is like."
"It's different," I tell her as I pull back. "Ugh—we have so much to talk about."
Jeremy wrangles us inside and I ask him to take us on a tour so Lindsey can see everything as I did on my first day. "You can take her yourself," he suggests. "As long as you stay within the boundaries, you two can go wherever you please. All I ask is that you are back by dinner. The Beta and his family will be joining as well."
"With the twins?" I ask, and Jeremy nods. "Oh, Lindsey you'll love that. Tarlo has two little boys—they're two and a half."
"You like children?" Jeremy asks her.
Lindsey brightens. "I love kids. I've been helping at the school back home."
"What? Since when?"
"For about a month," she says. "You've missed so much. My brother had his first shift and it was an utter mess; it happened in the house. He was freaking out, destroying and breaking everything—my mom is pissed."
Jeremy steps out so we can continue to gush and laugh and shout about things he has no care to know of. Eventually Lindsey can't wait any longer, and she slyly asks, "Where's the Alpha?"
"Oh, well, he's busy, you know? His days are pretty packed, so I mostly see him in the evenings."
"Right, of course. But what is he like? You hardly talk about him in your messages."
I withhold my blush. "Yeah, I know. Things are just complicated. It's hard to explain."
"But you're here, right? Clearly you're getting along if you haven't run off across an ocean. To be honest, I thought I was going to be met with an escape plan. I thought you needed me to be a distraction or something while you slipped out of sight."
"Oh, no. Nothing like that, I promise. I just wanted to see you. I really did miss you."
She smiles and says, "I missed you too, Brigette. I'm just happy that you're happy—you are, aren't you?"
I take a breath and force my lips to smile back, unsure of what I'm about to say is true.
"I am. I'm happy."
"I'm sure your mom is happy to hear that," she jokes. "How about that tour? You can tell me all about your mate on our way around."
Lindsey and I follow the same route that Jeremy showed me. As someone who also comes from the same humble beginnings, the lifestyle of this pack seems to intimidate her as it did me. She stares at the guards, those training, and says, "Oh wow," when I tell her about the borders.
"There's no way I could have escaped," I admit. "Everyone here has some kind of basic training, but the border guards are beyond anything back home. I didn't even try—not that I would. I've gotten used to the way things are. I don't really think much about leaving anymore."
"So you're giving in to the bond? You're giving the Alpha a chance?"
"I think so. It's hard not to. David is just—it sounds stupid, but he's irresistible. It's coded into my DNA to..."
"To want to be with him?"
"Yeah. Pretty much." My eyes trail outward as we walk away from the training grounds. We start to head into the town area, and it jogs a memory. "Hey, do you remember always going to the ice cream place back home?"
"It was the only place to go," Lindsey says.
"I miss those things—just going out to the lake and talking, or staying up all night in my room, gossiping about whatever. The best time was when you first found Timothy, and we would talk all night about what you were going to do. I wish we could have done that when I found David."
"We can do it now. We'll stay up until the sun rises, okay?"
I glance over. "Okay."
We pass the shop where I got my dresses with Jeremy, so I tell her about Alpha Nicodra's visit until we're circling back to the house. "I can tell David wants nothing to do with him," I ramble," and I don't blame him. He just always seems like he's conspiring against you, or—or thinking about you naked."
"No wonder the Alpha doesn't like him."
"Anyway, Helena might be at the house. She's the best; besides Jeremy and David, she's the only person I trust."
Lindsey asks, "You haven't been able to make any friends?"
"It's a little strange when you're Luna. By now people know who I am, but I'm still the new girl. They all just look at me like I'm some caged exotic animal. And other Lunas, well, so far they aren't the most genuine company. Everyone is looking out for their own packs."
"Huh. Maybe once everyone is used to you, they'll be less hesitant to introduce themselves?"
"Maybe."
We walk into the house and I introduce Lindsey to Helena. Helena beams and merrily welcomes my friend, asking if she needs anything and insisting on making us a snack to hold us over until dinner. "How long are you here for, dear?" She asks.
"No longer than a week," she says. "If I stay too long, my mate Timothy won't know what to do. I already promised to call twice a day."
Helena smirks while wiping her hands. "They say women are the clingy ones, always wanting to be with their love, but I think it's the other way around."
"Timothy is protective," I comment. "I'm surprised he let you come at all, especially by yourself."
"I wore him down, but he'll be fine. I told him there was no safer place than with a Luna."
"That is true," Helena agrees.
I bite down on a carrot and nod. "With all these guards and their training, I don't think even a ghost could get past those borders."
"That's how we like it here. In the past, there used to be issues with rogues, but now that they can't bother us anymore, they've moved on."
The sound of the front door opening causes me to perk up. "He's early," I mutter and slide off my seat at the counter. I tell Lindsey that I'm going to go get him before slipping into the hall. At the very end, I can see David leaving the foyer. He catches sight of me and exhales, a breath of relief.
"Lindsey is here. We're just with Helena in the kitchen."
David comes over and I lead him in. Lindsey and Helena turn as we enter—Lindsey straightening up and smiling neatly. I roll my eyes and innerly chuckle at the thought of her being nervous in the presence of the Alpha. Then again, I know how intimidating David can be. He smiles back and shakes her hand kindly. "It's nice to meet you, Lindsey. I'm glad you were able to visit."
"Oh, of course, but I have to thank you for letting me visit. We've really missed Brigette back home. It's been so nice catching up," she says, showing hints of jumpiness that only a best friend can spot.
"I showed her around a bit," I tell him. "But we're excited to meet the boys at dinner. Lindsey is great with kids."
"Right, he reminded me earlier. I better clean up before they get here."
"Oh, we will too. Lindsey, I'm sure you want to unpack and everything. I can show you to where you'll be staying."
Everyone breaks apart to meet back together only an hour later. Tarlo and Jaeda arrive with the boys just as Helena is finishing up with our meal. I've been curious to meet Tarlo's family, and just as I expected, they are as warm and as comforting as he is. Jaeda hugs with a motherly hold that reminds me of my own mother and the way she would hug me the few times I let her.
We gather in one of the living rooms before eating, and Jaeda places her children on the floor. Both boys walk around the carpet, leaning on the table and collapsing to their diapered bottoms. Lindsey sits on the ground with them, so I follow suit. David, Tarlo, and Jaeda watch as the boys grab onto us. Little Leo sits in my lap, and to my surprise, Jaeda says, "Children suit you."
Instinctively, I look to David. He captures the image of a child in my arms and peers to Jaeda. "Natural traits of a Luna," he tells her. "They are the mother of the pack."
For a second, I pause. I hold my eyes on him and let my lips slightly part. Jaeda says, "I've never heard that before, but it's fitting isn't it? Luna, the mother of the pack. Your mother would have loved to be called that."
"I'm sure she knew she was," he says.
Leo grabs my hair, tugging me out of my trance.
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A bit of a shorter part, but the next one will be up by the end of the week!