"Coffee Luna?"
"Amber, I already told you to just call me Charlotte," I gently corrected. "And I can get it myself, do you want anything?"
She shook her head, still avoiding eye contact in the kitchen with me. I grabbed an extra cup anyways and began to pour a cup for her; my wolf whined out to her, to her pack member that was in so much pain–pain which we caused.
"Amber, do you want cream or sugar?"
She shrugged. "However you take it is fine."
"You sure?"
She nodded silently. I sighed and fixed our coffees up as Angeline trotted into the kitchen area with a bright smile. "Ready for today?"
I shrugged as I stirred up Amber's coffee first. "Yes and no. I just want this over with."
She nodded to me with a half smile before she turned her eyes to Amber. "And who's this."
"This is Amber," I answered as I walked over to hand her the cup I had mixed up for her. "She's been helping Lyanna and I with all the pack things that seem to keep piling up."
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Angeline gently said. "I'm Angeline, Luna over at Lilaq, but everyone just calls me Angie or Lina."
"It's nice to meet you," Amber quietly replied with a tiny smile.
I sighed as more people started to pile in. We were having a meeting today, a meeting with Ethan's mountain group, the vampires that were already here, and some others like Jake, David, and Ryder to try and sort everything out before Ethan called the other alpha's in the region; by now news of their trip–of Billy had spread and the calls to Ethan and I were starting to pile up.
"Charlotte!" A young voice rang out.
I took a sip of my coffee then bent down to greet Penelope as Evangeline walked in behind her. She jumped into my arms and let me pick her up where she rubbed her cheek against mine before she turned to Angeline and Amber with curious eyes.
"Hi, I'm Penelope."
Angeline chuckled lightly. "I'm Angeline–"
"Deryl's mate right?" Penelope injected.
She nodded. "That's right."
"I like him. He taught me how to make a slingshot earlier," she stated.
I bit back a laugh while Evangeline rolled her eyes as she walked over to me, rubbing her cheek against mine before she turned to Amber. Evangeline's expression softened at the brunette wolf, she walked slowly towards her with her cheek offered.
"Hey, Amber," Evangeline greeted.
Amber quickly rubbed her cheek against Evangeline's with a look that looked almost like relief. Penelope smiled then dipped her head a bit to better see Amber. "Your name is Amber?"
She nodded. "It is."
"Your eyes are Amber," Penelope pointed out.
Her lips slightly quivered as she nodded again. "It's why my mother named me Amber. You're Penelope?"
"Yes, but Alpha Ethan calls me Penny," she grumbled.
Amber slightly smiled into her coffee. "It's alright, my brother always calls me Ambi-Bambi, it drives me crazy."
"I hate boys," Penelope grumbled.
"Really?" Evangeline said with a raised brow. "So you totally hated it when Lyle kissed you the other day?"
Penelope's cheeks turned bright red before she buried her face in my neck. Angeline and I bit back smiles while Amber smiled into her cup. "Penelope," I said slowly. "Did Lyle kiss you?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Well come one," Angeline replied slightly deviously. "Spill!"
"He told me that he was sorry for being a jerk and that he only was trying to look out for me, and I told him I could and my dad could–cause my Dad's like the toughest, well, besides Alpha Levi."
I suppressed a laugh before I nudged her with my cheek. "And?"
"He told me he wanted to because he said that he loves me and the only reason he was sure is because he always gives me his extra brownie at lunch, and Lyle doesn't share with anybody."
Amber covered her mouth while Angeline bit the inside of her lip. "So do you love Lyle?"
"I don't know, I think he's still a turd."
"Well, what if someone else loved Lyle?" Amber pointed out.
Penelope growled lowly, which startled me. She was young, not even turned and her wolf was much closer than many children her age. "No, he's my turd."
"Are they mates?" Amber mouthed to me.
I shrugged. "Maybe?" I mouthed back.
"Well damn, did anyone save me any coffee? Lander asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Back the hell up Lander, you already drank half a damn pot this morning," Levi grumbled as he walked toward me.
He hugged me and nuzzled my hair then ruffled up Penelope's, drawing a soft smile from her lips. "Hi, Alpha Levi."
"Hi yourself little ass beater," Levi chuckled back. "You staying out of trouble?"
"Yes," she politely replied while Lander walked over to her and kissed her hair.
"You ready to meet Charlie girl? I think your boy's got everything set up with Evan," Levi called out while he pulled out a mug from one of the wooden cabinets.
I sighed and looked down and Penelope then up at Evangeline. "Where's David?"
"Already talking to Ethan, I can watch her if you like?"
"She'll probably get bored," I thought out loud.
"I can take her?" Amber offered. "I have to check some of the cabins since we have wolves moving out of the dorms. Aaron offered to come. We could watch her?"
"What do you think Pen?" I asked, my heart slightly excited because this was the first time Amber had shown an interest in anything but her bed.
She nodded. "I don't mind. That sounds like fun."
Amber smiled slightly. "We can steal some ice cream later too if you want?"
Penelope nodded quicker. "Ok, can I Char?"
"Course, just watch out for the Ben and Jerry's. That's Levi's and you know how he gets," I answered while I set her down.
Levi nodded in approval. "Pen knows the rules about my damn ice cream," Levi chimed in.
I rolled my eyes while Lander watched Amber closely. Penelope just walked right up to her and took her hand with a beaming smile that seemed to spread to Amber. "Can go hunting too?"
"Your dad takes you hunting?" Amber asked with a raised brow.
Levi rolled his eyes. "Yes, I told David that it wasn't a good idea but that damn girl caught herself a damn badger in a trap she made."
"What?!" I looked at Levi who was nodding into his mug while Lander laughed into his.
He sighed and looked up at Amber, the more paternal side of him coming out. "Don't take her too far from the pack house and link me if anything happens."
She dipped her head respectfully. "Yes sir," she politely replied while Penelope started to tug her out of the kitchen.
Amber actually laugh some more then trotted to catch up with the little girl before the disappeared out of the house. Evangeline came to stand next to me, her eyes holding a question that she was itching to ask. "Spit it out," I said to her.
"What was that about?" She rushed out.
I took a sip of my coffee then set it down. "She needs to feel like she has worth again. She's not doing well–barely left her room or come out of bed. Lyanna and I have been trying to keep her busy with pack things, which seems to help."
"How's Aaron?" Lander asked.
"Good," I breathed out. "He's done well helping Jake, and as much as I hate how they came here, it is nice for Jake right now considering everything."
"You actually trust her? I mean Char it's Amber."
I looked over to Evangeline who was giving me a long look with raised brows. Slight disappointment crept up in me as I eyed her; Angeline leaned against the counter and looking Evangeline up and down as well, assessing the future luna.
"Do you have any idea what they have been through?"
"It's not an excuse to do what they did," Evangeline quickly replied back.
"Which is what? Doing what they're parents told them to do? Aaron did it mostly out of fear to protect himself and her, and she was so lost that her only self-worth is what her parents gave her."
"Ya but," Evangeline pushed back. "You don't think they were a part of it? Like at all?"
"Course they were a part of it, neither of them really realized how much or to what extent. Both of them were living in a hell I wouldn't wish upon anyone, they deserve a clean break where they can live without this mess haunting them."
Evangeline opened her mouth again when Angeline slightly cleared her throat. "It's easy to judge from the outside and hypothesize what you would have done in that situation. Empathy is such a lost thing in our world," she added.
Evangeline closed her mouth while Levi set his coffee down. "Little Lina, better go look for your boy. I think he's running late."
She rolled her eyes and muttered a string of curses while she marched out of the kitchen. Angeline scooted next to me while Lander watched ups curiously. "She has a lot of growing up to do."
"We all do," I breathed out.
"True, we all do," Angeline replied into her mug.
"Come on Charlie girl, let's go get this shit going," Levi said as he pushed off the counter.
I nodded then walked over to him where he pulled me out of the kitchen with him. His beast was uneasy, ancy, and I didn't blame him. We were in a storm of shit with no end in sight.
"Don't worry bout Evangeline, she's going through a phase," he said into his coffee mug.
"How are they?" I asked.
Levi nodded. "Liam's good, getting stronger–been a big help to Lander and me. Evangeline is good, she's been helping Claire out a lot. She still has a ways to go–they both do."
"I need to tell you something," I said quietly.
He eyed me curiously then nudged his chin towards the storage closet. I nodded and followed him in, flicking on the lights as I shut the door. Levi took a long sip of his coffee before he sat down on a bucket that had been turned upside down. "Well, spill Charlie girl."
"I saw Lucas." It spilled out of my mouth causing his brows to raise high and his wolf to stop pacing in his tracks.
"What do you mean you saw Lucas?" he slowly said, annunciating each word like I didn't realize what I was saying.
"Well," I started before I chewed on my bottom lip a bit. "Ok when I was in heat it was so bad and I was–well anyways, one night I woke up and there he was sitting next to my damn bed. He told me he was 'ghosting' my ass–he didn't leave until Ethan got back."
"What?" Levi breathed out. "Ghosting?"
I shrugged. "I mean I don't know, it's what he told me. We watched movies. He made me watch 'Die Hard' then we watched the 'Mad Max's.' He said he was looking out for me, that he wanted to try the 'shit you see on Ghosthunters.'"
Levi's surprised facade was cracked when laughter started to pour out of his lips. He clutched his chest and shook his head before his tired silver eyes looked back at me. "Well, that sounds about like Lucas–little shit. I actually thought you were going to tell me you were pregnant, this though–"
"I'm not pregnant," I quickly injected. "Ethan said he couldn't smell anything and I can't either."
Levi rolled his eyes. "We'll see about that Charlie girl." I looked down at my stomach while Levi stood, scratching his head before he turned to me. "You and him would have been a pain in my ass Charlie girl."
"I feel like we still are," I grumbled.
He walked over and hugged me before he started laughing again. "That damn boy, can't wait to beat his ass again."
I pushed the door open and flickered the lights off. "I am sure he feels the same."
Levi laughed to himself as we continued down the hall. "'Die Hard' was his favorite movie as a kid and 'Mad Max,' well, we used to watch all those together. He loved those damn movies, even as he got older."
My heart twisted a little as we walked into our meeting room. Levi nudged me while the vampires started to walk down the hall. "Don't be sad Charlie girl, one day we'll all be together and then I am going to be real happy when Lucas is busy pestering you rather than me. Never got to eat my damn ice cream in peace when he was around."
I rolled my eyes then walked down the stairs as Jake and Ryder waved to me from across the room while David talked with Liam and Ethan. I set my coffee next to where Ethan had left his then walked over to David; he gave me a long hug and kissed my hair. "I'm sorry David."
"Thanks," he breathed back.
"Hey Char," Liam said before he hugged me as well. "Nice not having to call you."
"Yes because you were so comforting," I replied dryly while Ethan rolled his eyes.
He walked over to me as the vampires walked in, chatting with Levi and Lander before they started to pile around the room. Evan was chatting with Jake while Lyanna, Bernard, and Dagny were looking over some set of papers together.
Arms were pulling me into a warm chest before lips kissed my temple. "Hi."
"Hi yourself," I breathed back.
Ethan started to smile at me before it broke, it broke when Andrea, Jaxon, and Caden walked in with Deryl. The murmurs in the room started to quiet as she walked down the stairs, hugging Levi and Lander before she walked over to me.
I rubbed my cheek against hers then hugged Jaxon and Caden, who both looked like they had been through the ringer. Deryl walked past us with a laptop that he started to connect to some kind of projector.
"The hell is that Deryl?" Levi called out.
"We've got to Skype in Ajax," he replied before he flicked a couple buttons on. Evan jogged over and pulled a white board on wheels out with a white sheet draped over it. "His mate had their baby two days ago so he's back home."
"Alright, let's get going then," Ethan called out.
I walked back to our seats right when Deryl clicked something on, displaying an image on the screen; Ajax, tattoos covering every bit of his torso and arms, was cradling this little baby wrapped in a fluffy blanket with a blue hat one.
"Well damn, good thing he looks like your mate," Deryl teased.
Ajax rolled his eyes then looked at the camera with a warm smile. "I could say that about your children as well Deryl," his voice replied from the small wireless Soundboxes that Deryl had set up around his laptop to use as speakers.
Deryl growled lowly which made Ajax just smile deviously while the baby curled a little more into his chest. Evangeline was practically melting at the cuteness. "What's his name!?" she whisper-yelled out.
"Adam," Ajax answered. "And don't worry. Talia and I lucked out, this one is a hard sleeper."
"Must be nice," Angeline grumbled out.
"Well," Levi said as he looked around the room. "Seems we got ourselves a real proper fucking mess."
Ethan nodded in agreement. "Sounds about right, uncle."
"Why don't you go first Ethan," Lander said calmly. "Tell us about the mountains?"
Ethan nodded then looked across at Becker who gave him a firm not as well. "Well, Charlotte and I will not be vacationing there anytime soon–"
"You got that right," Ajax added with a light laugh.
"The northern packs are working with the rebels–or whoever is running their show. We found rogues in a gave not far from Abram's pack, there were about a hundred of them asleep in there.
"As you know, Abram and Enoch followed us and took wolves from us. We killed them, but we were chased down the mountains. On the way out, we were able to see Enoch's pack members–omegas, pushing wheelbarrows of those rocks around. We didn't stay long enough to see more, but I have a feeling that they are making those rocks up there."
"They would need a lot of blood then, strong blood," Bernard added.
"How strong?" Deryl asked.
"I would say strong to semi-strong. Gammas would do if that puts it in perspective for you," Bernard replied back. "I wouldn't be surprised though if they were not using their own. I had some of my coven members look into it, and there are not any reports of a large number of wolves, vampires, or witches missing–meaning they have their own source."
"Oh my God," Angeline gasped out. "That's horrible!"
"Worse has been done for other causes, I am not surprised," Bernard replied dryly.
"We can look again," Dagny said with a soft smile. "But Bernard does not lie. We haven't found any missing person cases that look connected."
"What about the other trips?" Barrett asked. "Do we suspect them to be there?"
"Maybe," Ethan replied as he slipped an arm around my waist. "It's not mutually exclusive. I talked to Elliot and Frank before this meeting; they know to take more than extra precautions considering how our trip went. Lucky for them they don't have to go through any pack land."
"What about the rogues here?" Lander asked. "There were rogues on your land Ethan, while you were away, and apparently on Ajax's as well."
Ethan and Jake both growled lowly. "I have men doubling up on our borders, especially the ones that face the mountains," Jake said.
"And I have trackers scouting the borders for any trace of rogues or magic. We were able to find some which has been a huge help," Ryder added.
"You did?" Ajax asked, his voice slightly distorted from the delay.
Bernard nodded. "We found traces of it, of the blood magic they used to vanish in and out of here. It's old magic; I sent it off to Caleb to look at and sent for some old texts that could help. They could be combining things, but right now it's too early for me to tell."
"Collected some?" Levi asked slowly.
Bernard smiled slyly. He pulled out a salt shaker and unscrewed the lid then poured all the contents out on the table in front of him. Evan just groaned while Lyanna smiled slightly in amusement.
Bernard rubbed his forefingers together while he muttered something under his breath before he snapped his fingers, causing all the salt to move into the container as if they were magnets looking for each other.
Levi nodded approvingly. "I need that for my damn car, there's pink sprinkles still in the bottom of it."
I smiled inwardly while Ethan gave me a curious side eye. Bernard started to put the lid back on the salt shaker with his long fingers. "All I can say is whoever did this has it figured out. There is strong power even in this powder that I can still smell. It could be from one of the main three covens, or it could not be. But the witch who did this knows what they are doing, they know very well what they are doing."
"So what the hell are they waiting for?" Deryl said, throwing his hands up before he tugged on his hair. "They have more than enough hard power, a smart ass witch, and from the email that Lyanna sent us–more than enough to cause problems with the treaty."
"We did too, though," I thought out loud. Deryl snapped his vision to me while curious brows filled the room. "Well, I mean Ethan had enough to challenge Thomas on for a while. To tie him directly to the attack? No, but we could prove other things that would have been good enough."
"She's right," Evan added. "With Thomas, we were just waiting for what we needed to pin him for the attack. Maybe it's something like that? Maybe they still have a piece missing?"
Bernard nodded to Evan in agreement. "There's no reason for them to hold back otherwise. There are other plans at work here."
"That army of rouges could come down these mountains and tear up a hell of a lot of wolves," Levi breathed out, his silver eyes starting to swirl with hints of dread.
"We need to start chasing what the rebels were, see what Jeremiah was after. Maybe if we take a look at everything with fresh eyes, we can see whatever it is that they want, find what it is and stop them before it's too late," I said while Ajax started to rock his baby gently.
"I'll see what I can get you from my coven little wolf, Caleb may want to come down here himself actually," Bernard added.
"Us too Char," Derek added.
"Yup, Leo had all our records moved to a digital catalog not long ago. I can give you my password so you can start to look through it," Elliot said while Derek slipped an arm around his waist.
"So what have you and Lyanna found so far?" Liam asked. "She explained a little to me..."
I nodded to Lyanna who leaned over to look at her brother. "Well, while Charlotte was out, I started to plot out all the incidents on this map of the U.S. That Ev and I dug up. There's definitely a trend, and I'm not even finished. Bernard was going to take a look when I'm done.
"We know that the vampires have been covering up a lot, both sides have. It was in an email I sent to all the alphas in the room, Levi can show you," She added. "But we got that lead from one of Jeremiah Black's journals, it seems he was keeping track of it all. We're not sure why, but I think it may be key to figuring this mess out."
"Derek?" Levi asked with a raised brow.
Derek nodded slightly to him. "It's true, but do understand that we are on your side. Our friends are dying and none of us wish to see anyone else get hurt. We'll help however we can as well."
"Agreed," Barrett said, facing Levi who gave Derek a soft half-smile while they seemed to be silently communicating something. "Lyanna doesn't lie. There are some things that we are not one hundred percent sure about, but we can certainly look into it."
"Would Alex or Leo know more?" David asked.
"Good luck getting them to talk," Derek breathed out with a sharp laugh. "Alex is incredibly protective of his progenies and I feel that Leo is probably hands-off, just wanting to stay out of it."
"We need to know Derek, you know that," Levi pushed back, a soft firmness tone in his voice.
"I can see what I can do, I'll try to pry around with Leo," he replied.
"I can with Alex," Barrett added. "Evie and I are going to visit Steven soon, well after I check up on Dominic, so we will hopefully know more then."
"What do you think their goal is?" I asked. "To start a war? Tear apart the treaty? Both?"
"Well, one reason we waited so long to challenge Thomas was to make sure the pack is with us, so maybe–"
"They aren't trying to destroy us but unite us," I finished, meeting Ethan's eyes that widened at the realization. "They just need something legit to convince other packs that they need to abandon the treaty. What if they don't want to march the rogues down here? What if they want to use them for some kind of marshal law?"
"People would have to be really ok with that Charlie girl, and I sure as hell wouldn't," he replied.
"But people would be ok fighting with rogues if maybe they had a good reason too," Evan added. "We waited until we had solid evidence to show our men which convinced them to fight with us. They could be waiting on that–drop the bombshell then just sit back and wait for the packs to naturally turn against the vampires."
"All they would have to do is swim in and lead them against the treaty," Liam said with wide eyes that met mine in a mix of fear and fury. "They could easily either take it to a council meeting a drop it–say they tried to do things 'the right way' only to really set off a bomb."
"Which would give them a good excuse to start a war–march against their enemy, us," Lander added. "We're ground zero, we're fools to think we are not."
"Shit," Ethan hissed.
Ajax was looking at his child, the little pup who was snuggled up in a plush blue woven blanket sleeping peacefully in his father's arms. He looked back at us with faint determination. "So what would they need? What would legitimately tear apart the treaty or what do we think would cause packs to flip. I know personally it would take a hell of a lot to make my pack flip, we have good relations with the vampires and do not wish to see that abandoned."
"Well," Levi said before he took a long sip of coffee. "Anything that shows one side is not abiding at all, deliberately betraying the other side, undermining the other side–that type of shit."
"But they already have what's in Jeremiah's journal, how is that not enough?" I asked.
"That could go either way Charlie girl," Levi replied grimly. "For example, you could say that in Larissa's case, that both sides did come together to a peaceful agreement–which technically is true. They would need something absolutely irrefutable, like what you two had with the challenge. Something that no one could worm their way out of."
I nodded and chewed on the inside of my lip while Ethan sipped his coffee, brows furrowed as his thoughts marinaded in his brain. "Who were the original rebels when you were trying to pass the treaty?"
"Well, Emmett, Jeremiah, and the Clawfoot's," Levi answered.
"I thought there were seven?" Ethan asked. "Aren't they the pure seven?"
"They are but those were the three that started it, the other's stemmed from those lines. The pure seven is also a reference back to the original seven werewolves, like their way of saying that their lines were purer–more deserving of this life than the vampires," Levi answered.
"But we know there is this character called, 'the Snake," Lander added.
"We didn't know all their names back then," Levi stated. "Those bastards were very good at covering their tracks which is why it was so damn messy. There was Micah Clawfoot, Calen's brother–both died during that time. There was a cousin of Ajax's, but he died too."
"My father killed him himself," Ajax added firmly.
"Thornes have always fought to protect the peace," Lander stated, his wolf shaking out his fur to challenge anyone that would challenge the idea.
Levi chuckled darkly. "Yap, my father and granddaddy Leland would've skin our asses if we ever so much as thought about dallying with this bullshit."
"We need everything anyone has one those families," I stated firmly, looking at everyone around the room directly in the eye. "This somehow goes back to all of there, is there is something there than we could know."
"Too bad we can't ask," Liam grumbled.
"We could try?" Ethan mused.
"The tree?" I breathed out.
Ethan nodded. "I don't know but maybe? Maybe we could ask for Ezra? He was around back then?"
"I guess it's worth a shot," I replied, my voice a bit wary but Ethan was right. If we could talk to someone like Ezra, then hell, maybe he could fill in the missing gaps?
"Well, on our end, apparently I have fallen out of favor with Ragna and Camille for staying," Dagny said, her voice firm but quiet as she twirled an ombre pink curl around her finger. "Like I give a shit! I'm so tired of those two," she bit out, magic crackling around her.
Bernard eyed her then sighed. "I'll call Caleb, he'll probably let you come to our coven if you wish."
"Really?" she asked, eyes lighting up and fingers freezing from their mindless task.
Bernard nodded, almost reluctantly. "Yes, little pink one."
"You should call Camille while you're at it," Levi practically growled out. "She more than owes us an explanation for what's happened here."
"And how much do I have to pay for you to beat it our of her?" Bernard replied back, his voice dark with wicked intention.
Levi chuckled and shrugged. "This one be on the house."
I rolled my eyes then looked over at Bernard, dressed in his usually black tailored button-down shirt, black slacks, and shiny black shoes. "Did you talk to Caleb about our region? Because if we are being honest, I will probably tear those women apart if I see them again."
Ethan rumbled in approval before his kissed my hair. Bernard chuckled then nodded to me. "Caleb agreed, he likes to piss off Camille anyways. Good thing too, you need some better protection spells around here anyways. Half of your natural protection like the trees are fading out and need to be fixed. There's also a few tricks we can use, like tracking spells for non-pack members, some natural weeds/herbs that your pack members can hang in their home–it would ward off any basic spells trying to harm them."
"What about where the borders are vulnerable?" Jake asked. "Like towards the north?"
"We can cast some hexes and enchantments to entrap or ensnare trespassers. There's some other things we can do that I can go over with you, I assume you are the new Master of Arms?"
"He is," Ethan answered.
"We'll talk then," Bernard said with a firm nod to Jake before he looked back at Ethan and I. "I am going to need to bring other coven members down here, this is a bigger job than just me if we are talking about the region."
"I thought you weren't Caleb's favorite?" Barrett asked with a curious brow.
Bernard rolled his eyes. "That's what we like people to think."
"Why?" Barrett replied.
"God you people are so dense," he drawled out. "You don't shout out your strengths to your enemies now do you? Someone needs to go check on Theon as well, I have a feeling he and Steven have been up to their usual bullshit."
"Evie and I can swing by after we visit Steven," Barrett replied, his voice tired as it carried over to the witch.
Evie nodded as Barrett slipped a cautious arm around her. "We're due for a trip anyways, as much as I 'love' Theon."
"I'll talk to Leo, but I can try Sylvia, she may be easier," Derek added.
"We can think of ways to get rid of those damn rouges," Deryl bit out. "If there is a way to just blow the caves up, then we should consider it."
"Agreed," Ajax added. "You and I can work on that."
"We have our trip coming up soon and I know that Elliot's is soon too, we'll keep you all posted on what we find," David said, his eyes flickering to Levi's that looked uneasy at the thought.
"Why don't we take a break? I think we have sandwiches out for everyone?" Ethan called out.
The room started to disperse while Ethan and I sat quietly as the room emptied. He rubbed his face, tired with red eyes before he looked over at me. "We could take a nap after this?"
He shook his head. "There's too much to do sunshine."
"We won't be able to do it if we're half asleep," I pointed out.
He nodded slightly before a yawn broke through his lips. My lips wanted to twitch into a smile, but Ethan just narrowed his eyes at me. I rolled mine then leaned forward and gently kissed him, melting slightly before I rested my chin on his shoulder.
"What if we nap, then go to the tree?"
He nodded. "That damn tree."
"It's worth a shot," I added. Ethan sighed then linked out hands together pulling me out of the meeting room and down the hall. The pack door were open, letting the soft summer breeze graze through.
Ethan and I stopped to look outside where David and Lander were watching a skinny amber wolf–a female play with Penelope in the valley with another male amber wolf.
Smiling, I walked outside to stand next to David who watched on with a faint smile on his lips. Aaron's wolf would run a circle around Penelope and Amber, playfully nipping while Penelope squealed before she ran after him.
She and Amber cornered Aaron before he dramatically flopped himself on the grass, letting Penelope jump on him before she and Amber decided to lay down in the soft grass next to him. Penelope started picking some flowers around her, white and light blue small wildflowers that grew all along the valley, then started placing them on Amber's head; the she-wolf eyed her curiously before it looked like she was smiling in contentment.
Smiling as I watched, Ethan came to stand next to me while Lander shook his head. "Pen could make friends with a damn tree if you let her."
"Thanks for letting Amber watch her," I said.
He waved me off. "She's not that sour Char, she's just been through a sour time. They both have."