We pull up to my brothers house, and my nephew comes running out.
"Auntie Carter!" he screams.
"Hey, munchkin." I say and hug him. Axel comes around the car with our bags.
"Hey Junior!" he says to my nephew.
"Hi Alpha." he says and bows. Axel crouches down to his level. "You don't have to call me that. Call me uncle Axel." he says and Rucker Jr. smiles. "Okay!" he chirps.
Rucker walks by with our bags, he gets to the porch just as Jasmine comes out. He plants a kiss on her lips.
I leave Junior and Axel talking, to greet Jasmine. I give her a hug.
"How have you been?" I ask her when we pull apart.
She smiles. "I've been good. Real good. Rucker Jr. has been a hand full as usual but it's okay."
"Just like his father." I point out and we bother chuckle. Rucker comes back out, bag-less.
"What's so funny?" He asks. Both of us say "Nothing" at the same time. He eyes both. "Rrrrright. Anyways, your bags are in your room. Now if you excuse me, I need to save your mate." He walks past us heading to his son and my mate. I chuckle when I look over and see that Junior is making Axel play horses. Let's just say Axel is not the rider.
"Well, let's go inside." Jasmine says. It's getting dark out and the mosquitoes are coming out. We go inside, and the scent of Jasmine's amazing cooking hits my nose. Man, did I miss her cooking. "I hope you're hungry. I made Hamburger soup, and home made Peta bread."
I'm pretty sure there's drewl running down my chin. "It smells wonderful! Thank you." She gives me a bowl as the boys come in. Rucker takes the rest of the bags up to my room, and Axel comes over to receive a bowl also. He shares the same reaction as me when he smells our wonderful meal.
We sit down at the table and my family comes to join us. "Thanks again for the food Jasmine. It's so good."
Axel nods in agreement. "Yes, this is wonderful. We must get the recipe." I smile at him.
"I'm sure I can make that happen." Jasmine says with a smile.
"So what's the plan?" I ask, focusing my attention on my brother.
"Well, the funeral is on Saturday. We have more family arriving tomorrow sometime. Other than that not much of a plan. You know how Mom was, she had everything planned and written out in her will." I chuckle. I don't have many good memories of my parents, but there are a few.
"Who all is coming?" I ask him.
"Mostly Mom's side." I nod my head. Dad didn't have much of a family.
I look at the clock, and see that it's just past 7pm. "I think I'll go visit with Jackson after we finish supper." I tell my family.
"Um about that..." Axel begins. I look over at my mate in confusion, waiting for him to go on. "I want a guard with you at all times we aren't together. I understand that we're at your home pack, but you're no longer just the Alpha's sister. You're the Royal Princess. You must have protection at all times."
I start to chuckle but I suddenly stop when Axel doesn't crack a smile.
He reaches over to take my hands. "I know it seems unfair, but I just want you to stay save my Rose. Okay? Please do this for me."
I nod my head. "Fine..I will but I'm not going to be happy about it." He smiles and kisses my cheek.
"Thank you."
"Seconds anyone?" Jasmine asks.
"Yes please!" Axel answers. We all jump back into conversation.
After dinner, Axel and I head to Jackson's house. His house isn't that far from mine, but far enough. We past several other houses on the way. I wave to the familiar faces. Some smiling, others sympathetic.
"You know, I didn't want my first visit back to be like this." I tell Axel.
"I understand. I wish it was different too, but we just gotta roll with the punches." I stop him in the middle of the street and plant a kiss on his lips. He smiles as we pull back. "What was that about?"
"A thank you, for being here with him."
He smiles again and kisses my lips.
We reach Jackson's house shortly and like usual, it's a zoo. Hard not to be with 7 siblings. Jackson's parents were very busy. The door is wide open, with chaos going on inside.
"Jarad put that down!" Jackson's mom, Marcy says. "Jedidiah! Put your sister down!"
Like I said, chaos.
"Hi Mrs. Andrews!" I say. She looks over at me with surprise!
"Carter! You're back! How are you? I'm so sorry for your loss," She says as she hugs me.
"I'm good and thank you," I say with a smile. Her attention quickly changes to one of her kids.
"Jessie, put the crayons down." She says. Jessie looks at her mom, and drops the crayon she was holding. Jessie was in the middle of giving her hair a makeover when her mother caught her. "Bathtub right now."
"How many kids are there?" Axel asks in shock. I chuckle.
"8 total. 5 boys and 3 girls. To make it worse, all 'J' names." I tell Axel. He looks stressed. I look over at Marcy. "Hey Mrs. Andrews, is Jackson home?"
She doesn't even look up from her messy daughter, just points upstairs. I nod and say thank you as we walk upstairs. We reach Jackson's room shortly. I knock on his closed door.
"I told you I didn't want to play, Jason." He says as he swings open his door. He looks at me in surprise and practically jumps into my arms. "Carter! I was wondering when you were coming."
I hug him back, and after a few seconds I felt a tug on my shirt. I put a hand on his chest to calm his wolf down.
"When did you get in?" Jackson asks.
"About an hour ago. We had dinner with my family. Wanna hang out for a little bit?" I ask him.
"Yeah sure. There's some games tonight. Wanna go watch?" He asks. It surprises me that Rucker is allowing games during this tragic time but there's nothing better than a distraction.
"Capture the flag?" I ask him.
"Of course," He says with a smile. He grabs a sweatshirt and then comes towards us again.
"How can I resist?" I say with a smile.
We are standing around the bonfire aka finish line. The games just began. "You know the games haven't been the same since you left." Jackson comments.
I'm wrapped up in Axel arms as I look over at my best friend. "Oh really? What did Sugar actually quit trying to beat my record?" I ask with a chuckle.
"Oh honey, I wish. It's embarrassing watching her try. No one can get close."
"Good." I say with a smile. My record is 10 minutes. It took me 10 minutes to get everyone else's flags and get back to the bonfire.
"Your mate is quite good at this game," Jackson tells Axel.
"Oh really? My pack and I used to play games like this when I was a kid. It was fun. But of course everyone was afraid to beat me incase my dad decided to kick them out." He says with a smile laugh. I can feel the vibrations on my back. I look up and him and smile.
It's nice to be back. I missed my pack. I love my pack and I love my mate.