"This way," Brody called out to them.
He led them up a few flights of stairs before stopping in front of a door. "This is yours. I'll meet you guys downstairs in an hour for dinner before the pack meeting."
Annie pulled Brody aside while Lucas entered the room. "Can I speak to you for a second?"
Brody nodded. They walked down the hall a little. "What's up?"
"How are you, really?"
"I'm fine," Brody said. His eyes told a different story.
"I don't mean to pry, but I don't think you are. You didn't tell me that your father-" she stopped herself, unable to speak the words.
Realisation hit Brody's face. "I should have told you. I'm sorry."
"How are you, really?"
Brody shrugged. He leant against the wall. "It gets a little easier every day. It was really hard when it first happened, but I had Nate. He kept me going when nothing else did. I honestly don't know what I would have done without him."
"I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that," Annie said. She wished that he had reached out to her.
"Me too. It's better now, but I'm still putting my life back together."
"How's your mother?"
Brody shook his head sadly. "She's not good. She doesn't leave her room most days."
"Losing a mate is the worst thing that can happen to a person."
Brody nodded. He looked down at his feet. "I don't know if she will ever recover and I can't blame her. If something happened to Nate I would be gutted. I doubt I'd live through it."
Annie reached out to him. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for either of you."
"it's just good to see you and Lucas," Brody told her.
Annie nodded. "We can come back after camp's over if you want?"
Brody smiled slightly. "If you clear it with your parents, that would be great."
"Always the responsible one," Annie noted with a smile.
"Go get unpacked," Brody said. "I'll see you later."
Annie nodded. She pulled her suitcase inside the room.
"What was that about?" Lucas asked.
Annie noticed that he was on the top bunk. The room was small, with a small desk in the corner and a large window that faced the space between the pack house and what she assumed to be the school building. She could see Nate talking with someone outside the structure he was building.
Annie sat down on the bottom bunk. "I just wanted to see if he was doing okay since his father-" she still couldn't say it.
Lucas jumped down from the top bunk and sat next to her. "I thought that must have been what happened. I'm surprised that he didn't tell us."
"Me too. I guess it's a hard thing for him to just tell people."
Lucas nodded. Sadness overcame his face. "I can't imagine what he's going through."
"It must be horrible."
"They look happy though, don't they?" Lucas asked. "Overall."
Annie thought back to the way Nate had kissed Brody and the way Brody kissed back for that second before he remembered that they were there. She had never seen them like that before, with that much passion and love.
"Yes. Yes, they do."
"I can't believe that we didn't know that they were mates until the last day of camp."
Annie giggled. "Well, we did think that something was going on between them!"
"We had no clue that they were mates though!"
"That's true," Annie agreed. "They are so suited for each other, aren't they?"
Lucas smiled brightly. "Like puzzle pieces."
An hour later, Annie and Lucas walked down the stairs towards the kitchen. They were suddenly surrounded by loads of people. Laughing children ran past them while parents called out after the rambunctious kids. More people were waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
They followed the crowd to a large room filled with tables. There was food placed on each of the tables and everyone suddenly sat down. Soon it was just Annie and Lucas that were still standing in the doorway.
"Over here!" Annie heard Nate calling to them. She saw him sitting at a table close to the back wall. She grabbed Lucas by the sleeve and pulled him in the direction of Nate and Brody.
Their table was crowded but there were two vacant seats opposite Nate and Brody. Annie sat down opposite Nate and Lucas sat next to her. Lucas instantly grabbed at the food on the table and started piling it up on his plate.
Annie took a second to smile over at the two Alpha's who sat opposite her. Nate's arm was around Brody's shoulders and he was whispering something in his ear. Brody's cheeks were red and he started to laugh. Annie wanted to squeeze their cheeks, they were so cute.
Nate seemed to notice her stares and he smiled over at her. "Eat up," he said.
Annie smiled and reached for some food. She noticed that Nate must have had a shower, his hair was wet and his skin was clear of all the dirt it held earlier in the day. He pulled his arm from around Brody, his loose singlet revealing a tattoo on his chest. Annie squinted as she analysed the tattoo. She was sure that she hadn't seen it before. She didn't think Nate had any tattoos.
"Is that new?" Annie asked. She pointed her finger towards his chest.
Nate looked down at his chest and smiled. He pulled at his singlet so that the entire tattoo was visible. "I got it a few months ago, do you like it?"
The tattoo on his chest was a set of eyes, delicate and detailed, with bright emerald green irises. In fact, the longer she looked at it, the more she realised that the colour was almost identical to Brody's own eyes. Annie nodded in response. "Is that supposed to be..?"
"My eyes," Brody answered for her. "Yes. Apparently, he used to call me Green Eyes in his head before he knew my name."
Annie shook her head in fondness. "You two are too cute to handle."
Nate smirked at Brody. "Well, I had to match him since he has my name on his skin."
Brody pulled down his shirt collar to reveal Nate's name. Annie smiled at Lucas and they shared a moment. Annie couldn't quite put into words what their expression was, but it was an understanding and appreciation of what these two boys had.
"You should have gotten a text book to represent Brody," Lucas interjected. "It would have been more suiting."
Annie nudged him, causing Lucas to cough on whatever food he had just plunked in his mouth. He rolled his eyes towards Annie when the coughing subsided. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"I knew it," Nate whispered towards Brody.
Annie was now the one to roll her eyes. "Not this again."
Nate and Brody shared a laugh. Annie pretended to be upset, but she really didn't care. After a few moments they focused back on their food. As Annie ate, she noticed the number of pregnant women around them. She took some time to watch the families around them. They all looked so happy, so content. She wondered what this place had been like before Brody and Nate were in charge. She somehow knew that this happiness was due to their actions.
Shortly after dinner, everyone started making their way to the school building. Annie pulled Lucas aside as they walked across the field. "The pack really is growing, did you see how many pregnant ladies there was back there."
Lucas nodded. "I saw. I think they may be a part of what makes people feel safer." He pointed towards the bushes.
Annie squinted, her wolf eyesight allowing her to see deep into the bushes. She saw a man in his late forties and a boy in his twenties walking with purpose, their eyes searching the land around them. "They are guarding the area."
Lucas nodded. "They must be on constant rotation. I noticed other men doing that too when we first got there."
"Nate must have trained them up during those combat courses he teaches, don't you think?"
"He must have. It's quite impressive."
Annie nodded. Annie knew that this area was renowned for its large rouge population. She remembered the whispers she had heard about how Brody's brother had died. She knew then that Nate and Brody's influence must have made them feel safe enough to expand their families. She couldn't imagine now hard it would have been for the pack to keep going after Hunter's death. If one of their strongest, an Alpha, was killed by rouges, then what hope was left for the rest of them. Nate and Brody must have changed all of that.
They entered a small gymnasium, where chairs had been set out in rows.
Annie felt someone touch her arm. She turned and Brody was standing behind them. "I'll meet you outside after the meeting," he then looked towards Lucas, "Can you stay back after to help pack up the chairs? Nate will be using this space for combat."
Lucas nodded. "No problem, Professor."
Brody smiled at them both. "I hope this isn't too boring for you. Pack meetings aren't the most fun."
Annie shrugged. "I'm sure we will be fine. I can't wait to learn more about your pack."
Brody smiled quickly before disappearing into the crowd.
Annie and Lucas made their way towards two of the last available seats, in the middle towards the back. Annie had to sit up straight to see over the people in front of her. She watched as Nate, Brody and a few other people sat on chairs on an elevated stage at the front. The entire room grew silent around them.
Brody and Nate took the platform. They stepped up towards the microphone, with Brody speaking first. "Thank you all for coming tonight. We have a few matters to attend to tonight-"
Annie listened to Brody's words in the background, but her attention suddenly shifted onto the people in the crowd. She watched how intently they watched the boys. She watched their proud faces, the way they smiled when Brody spoke of his father, the way their caring and hope shone from their faces unconsciously.
She watched Nate take the microphone as he spoke about the new building and the commencement of another building project to take place next year. He told the group of the improvements made in his wolf combat courses. The crowd clapped when he announced that two more women had made the cut to be a part of the pack's security team.
Annie lent towards Lucas. "They are incredible."
Lucas's eyes never left the stage. "They were made for this."
After the meeting, Annie left Lucas in the gymnasium and walked outside. She waited for Brody. She stood with her back against the wall as families left through the large, double doors.
A man with his arm around a woman was speaking happily as they exited. "-best leaders we have ever had," he said.
"After Hunter," she paused for a moment, "after he was gone, I really wasn't sure if we would ever recover once the Alpha was gone, but these boys have saved us."
The couple walked towards the pack house.
Annie smiled, resting her head against the wall.
"You look happy," Brody said as he walked up to her.
"I am," Annie agreed. "You and Nate are doing an amazing job with this pack. I see it everywhere I look."
Brody smiled and looked down at his feet. "I like to think we are doing well."
Annie crossed the few steps between them. "You and Nate have saved these people."
Brody shrugged. "Maybe their saving me at the same time."
"What do you mean?"
Brody looked over at the door where people were still leaving the meeting. "These people have held me up ever since my father died. I can't thank them enough."
"You're protecting their children, building up their pack, creating a thriving environment for them all. I think that's thanks enough."
Brody looked proud. He nodded.
"Let's go impart some knowledge, hey?" Annie suggested.
Brody pointed towards a door to their side. "Let's go."
As Annie helped Brody teach the class, she couldn't help but admire the life he had built for not just himself, but every single wolf in the pack. She would never have thought that he and Nate would end up here. She remembered the first time she had met them, sitting at those wooden tables of the library at camp. She remembered the countless times she had seen their hands linger or their smiles shine a little too brightly while at that camp. She had known something was going on, but she didn't know then that she had been watching her friends fall in love, more and more every single day.
Their love not only saved themselves, but saved all of these people as well, and that was what made Annie so happy that her heart could burst.
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