A/N Hi everyone! Unfortunately, this is the last chapter, but the next book on its way! I'll be posting its first chapter soon (once I make a cover for the book lol)
Quinn lurked in the shadows of the meeting hall. Our first official pack meeting with the combined packs was a stressful event for Lyle, but planning it these past few days kept his mind off bigger matters. We hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy yet, and Lyle was refusing to talk to Quinn about the entire situation.
However, Lyle and I sat down and picked out which OB/GYN we wanted to go to. He had been spending hours reading the books Joseph lent him about werewolf pregnancies. I think he was finally coming to terms with the pregnancy, thankfully.
At the pack meeting, Lyle and Ace spoke to the crowd about the upcoming changes going on in the pack such as the construction of another packhouse at the center of the lands, the change in boarders, and some training schedule changes. They both spoke confidently, Ace taking the construction projects and Lyle taking the training and leadership changes. They were a good fit together. I saw Xander stare at his mate lovingly, which I couldn't help but smile at.
Quinn, however, made me nervous. His presence was a constant reminder that something was about to happen. Quinn had assured me that he thinks the pregnancy will be fine, and it's only once the baby is born will he be involved. I prayed and prayed to Artemis, hoping she'd tell me more about the prophecy, but she never answered. Her fear did not make me feel better.
Once Lyle walked off stage, multiple people approached him with questions. He spent another 20 minutes answering questions, and Ace had walked into another room to answer other questions. I waited patiently for my mate to find his way back to me.
It was early in the morning, even though the sun was still rising. Lyle met me by the window. When I looked up to search for Quinn, he was nowhere in sight. I let out a sigh, feeling less stressed without his presence.
"So many questions. People can't understand shit," he whined, wrapping his arms around me to lay his head on my chest. He has been more clingy since he found out he was pregnant, which I have been enjoying thoroughly.
"It will settle soon. Once everything is situated I'm sure people will be able to function better. It's just a lot of change and the pack is much larger now," I assured him, caressing his hair to soothe him.
He sighed, lifting his head up to meet me with doe eyes. "I have to head to training soon. I have a session with the new warriors," he groaned, finally detaching himself from me.
"I can come hang out at the field while you are training. I have some paperwork, but all of that can be done there," I offered, hoping he'd say yes because I was nervous about him going to training sessions. He hasn't been participating in any matches himself, but I still worried about some of the rough wolves around him.
"If you could, that would make me feel better." I nodded, happy he said yes. We ventured to my office to pick up some paperwork before heading off to the field.
Many of the young wolves were already there fooling around with each other. The young wolves in training to be warriors were always very rough. They were strong, but didn't know how to control it.
"Hi Alphas!" A few of the students shouted when we approached. Their ages ranged from 12 to 14. Many of the older students were females because they often took some convincing to join the warriors. Some of the older werewolves were still very traditional, believing the female should not be on the frontline of defense. Females have been warriors in our pack for over two hundred years, but some people still force these views on their children and grandchildren. Lyle had been working hard to train some of the late entering females.
"Hi Mary Ann. Hello Jackson. And good morning Felice. How are you guys doing today?" Lyle spoke so softly and calm, I could barely believe this was the same person who scared the omegas shitless a few months ago. I wasn't sure if this was because he was technically also a Luna now or it was the pregnancy hormones.
Mary Ann beamed at Lyle's greeting, she was 13 and from the Black Hearts. "My parents are finally letting me come to the pack meetings! They say I'm old enough to understand now. You answered all the questions really well this morning!"
Lyle leaned down to make better eye contact with the group. "I'm happy to receive feedback. Now that you all are becoming contributing members of the pack, I value your opinions. I know I may seem scary at times, but I encourage you all to be critical of me," he lectured, keeping all of the students' focus. "Your feedback is key to making sure the pack improves and evolves. Got it?"
I couldn't help but smile at the interaction. He has gotten so good with children since he started this training routine a few weeks ago. Now I wondered if his pregnancy has anything to do with these sudden paternal instincts kicking in.
All of them nodded. They were trying to hold in their giggles and keep a serious look, but they all were failing miserably.
"Now why are you laughing?" Lyle teased, standing up to his full height to tower over the group.
Felice smiled widely before answering for the group. "Because you called yourself scary, but you are anything but! You don't scare us at all Alpha!"
There was a strange, unreadable emotion on Lyle's face as he cocked his head to the side. A few months ago omegas were shitting themselves around the soon-to-be Alpha who had no compassion or sense of responsibility. Now, the young warriors didn't see him as a threat, but instead as a leader and teacher.
Lyle sighed, placing his hands on his hips sassily. "Well, I'm glad that you aren't afraid of me. Leaders aren't supposed to scare you, and if they do they are not very good leaders.Like Blaze and Xander." I gave him a curious look at the mention of my name. "They are like helpless kittens, yet the Moon Goddess chose them to be the leaders of all the werewolves."
The group made noises of understanding, as if Lyle just said something profounding.
"Now enough talking about leadership." Lyle turned to the gathering crowd. "Today we will be practicing disarming your opponent!" He shouted to the students. The students began sitting in rows in the grass in front of him.
I walked to the side of the field, sitting on a fallen tree with the perfect view of my mate.
"Why do we need weapons if we have teeth?" Once of the children interrupted with a sound of confusion.
"Good question! Can anyone answer that?" Lyle responded with a gentle smile. He was so good with them, better than I'd ever be.
A few of them stretched up their hands, attempting to get called on. Lyle pointed to one of the boys in the front who was first to raise his hand. "Because not all supernaturals are wolves. We might have to defend ourselves against witches or incubi or demons!"
Lyle nodded along, giving an encouraging smile to the young boy. "That's right. Not every supernatural has teeth to fight with, so you need to learn how to disarm other beings to protect your pack. Today we will learn how to disarm your opponent when in your human and wolf forms."
The students nodded along, more attentive than I was at their age. Lyle went on to explain different types of weapons they may encounter, such as bow and arrows, knives, spears, and hand guns.
"Bow and arrows are best used at long distance since they aren't too powerful up close since they take time to load and launch. Making sure either the bows or arrows are out of reach is the best thing. If you have the opportunity to break the string on the bow, take the chance." Lyle used a bow to demonstrate while he spoke.
Next he pulled out a knife. "We've gone over the basic techniques of holding and handling knives last week. Knives are best used up close, unlike arrows. Throwing knives isn't very accurate and most people prefer to throw spears instead. It's best to take control of the knife if you have the chance, or kick it out of their hand at a further distance."
A few students, mostly females, were taking notes in notebooks. Other students preferred to listen and watch.
"Spears can be useful both long and close distance. Not many supernaturals use them, but they could be to your advantage if you come upon a demon. Demons can only be killed if you stab them through the head or cut their head off. When disarming spears, you want to render your opponent's hand or arm useless. That may be kicking it or biting it if you are fast enough. This is best to overcome when upclose."
"Guns can be difficult to manage. The best thing is to grab the wrist of the opponent," Lyle continued to explain, showing the class with an unarmed handgun. "The hardest part is making sure it doesn't go off during the struggle. Look to see if the safety is on."
I felt like I was even learning a lot. I knew that Lyle had done extensive training in weapons while I preferred hand-to-hand combat, but I didn't realize to what extent.
Lyle did a few examples with a student who I recognized to be Alex's younger brother. After defeating the poor kid effortlessly, he split them all up into groups of 4. Each group had one of each weapon. They were instructed to each take turns being on the offense and defense of every weapon.
I stopped paying attention after a while as I needed to get paperwork done. There was a lot of chatter from the students. They were mostly middle schoolers and it showed. They made a lot of weird jokes that all of them think were funny. They made a lot of karate kid and anime jokes too.
Glancing up, I noticed Lyle turn his back on one group to help another. As he had his back turned, one of the students had their knife wacked out of their hand very messily. It was directed right at Lyle, but before I could react, a golden knife intersected its course, veering it to the side. Lyle was left without a scratch.
The whole field went silent. The giggling subsided almost immediately and all eyes were on the fallen knives.
"I'm so sorry Alpha! I didn't mean to knock it in your direction!" Jackson cried, rushing to make sure Lyle was alright.
Lyle, who wasn't aware of what just happened turned to the boy, glancing down at the weapons. "It's okay, that is what training is for," he calmed the boy, but his eyes were searching the trees.
"Why don't we call it early? We will review the next session then have a test on what you learned the following session," he announced. The students seemed hesitant, but nevertheless scattered.
Once the students cleared out, Lyle stood impatiently. I made my way to him with concern. "Quinn, where the fuck are you?"
Quinn hesitantly popped out of a tree, further into the woods than I expected. He had a discontent look, like a child who knew they were about to get scolded.
"Are you stalking me? Seriously, I see you fucking everywhere. You are always in my office, always creeping around the packhouse even though we both know you hate the smell of dogs. You steal my bloody tissue to run a pregnancy test, and now this? Watching me from trees?" Lyle's face was red, and he panted a bit at the end of his rant. His hands were on his hips as he waited for a response.
Quinn shrugged in an attempt to stall time. "I just can't shake the feeling, okay? I feel him, and I feel the need to protect him," Quinn admitted, never meeting Lyle's eyes.
Lyle scoffed, rolling his eyes. "What are you, his mate or something? Why are you obsessed with my child?"
Quinn just shook his head desperately. "Blaze said that Artemis talked about a prophecy. This prophecy has to involve me protecting your son. I know you must feel it, too. From the moment you met me, you've protected me. It was completely out of your character, but you cared for me. It is no coincidence our paths crossed. The fates, they have something in mind-"
"I don't give a damn about the fates. I don't give a damn about this fucking prophecy. You will not involve my son in your shit. You hear me? Stay the fuck away from me and my baby!"
Quinn grimaced, but his eyes weren't on the boy yelling at him. I turned to see Xander, Ace and Alex. Lyle's face went white. He closed his lips and blacked away from Quinn.
Ace blinked, trying to understand the conversation. "Some of the training warriors said that Lylealmost got stabbed. We, um, came to figure out what happened," Ace explained, awkwardly looking to his mate for help.
Lyle turned back to Quinn, who looked more than pissed at the moment. "Don't be ignorant, Lyle. I know all too well what happens when you try. You can't run from the fates, whether you like it or not." Quinn glanced at me before walking passed them all. Alex watched in desperation as his mate stormed off.
Lyle sighed, rubbing his temples desperately.
"Um," Xander mumbled, "Are you pregnant?"
Ace hit his mate quickly. "Xan! Don't be rude!"
Lyle squeezed his eyes tighter, grabbing my hand for comfort. "Yes," he finally said. "I'm due in less than two months."
"Two months? That doesn't add up? How long have you been pregnant?" Xander bombarded us, rushing closer to examine the pregnant Alpha.
"Somehow since we mated. The pregnancy is moving fast because we are both Alphas," I spoke up, clutching my stressed mate. "Quinn knew because of course he knew." Everyone nodded like that wasn't surprising information.
"You are going to be parents? Already? Are you guys ready?" Ace questioned, looking concerned.
Lyle looked to the distance where Quinn left.
No, we were not ready. We both knew that whether we liked it or not, our son was coming. And whether we liked it or not, he is in danger.