Dan:
"She is doing well" Ethan poured me a drink.
"And the human?" I asked looking at the glass in distaste.
"You would know if he does something he shouldn't. Give yourself a break"
"We have no time to sit back Beta. Your Luna will soon join us officially. It's time to make preparations" I reminded him.
"Are you sure we aren't rushing things?"
"Are you questioning my capabilities" My wolf pinned him down with a cold glare.
"No Alpha" He lowered his gaze immediately.
"Good" I nodded "We have six months"
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"The little one's here" Eric informed hesitantly into the silence of the office.
"I know" I muttered "Is she healthy?"
"Yes. There were no issues as such. The baby is perfectly fine"
"Good" I nodded "Name, bio-data and medical history. Double check it all and put her in our records"
He nodded "Dr. Turner's reporting to dad once he returns. You will have nothing to worry about but..."
"What?"
"She is not a part of Bluewood. Do we need to keep her in our records?" he asked
"We do"
"But..."
"Eric" I closed my eyes in frustration "Just do it for emergencies okay?"
"Okay" he mumbled "What now?"
"five months" I took a deep breath "We wait five months"
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"You look happy" mom ran her fingers softly through my hair as I sat at her feet by the sofa.
"I'm excited" I told her.
She smiled "I know. I'm happy that you took her situation into consideration. You are one of the bravest wolf I have ever known and I'm proud of you"
"I think you spoke too soon mom" I leaned into her touch "you don't know of my intentions"
She shook her head "I'm just happy that the baby's here, safe and sound. I thought it will happen again you know. I thought it's a curse. Thank you for lifting a decades old burden off my shoulder"
"How do you do it?" I barely whispered "How do you live with his past every day?"
"I don't know" she took a heavy breath "Sometimes it's easy to forget for months. At other times it pinches me at the back of my mind staying with me as a reminder. And then there are days when something happens and everything comes crashing back. I sometimes suffer in silence at my own shallowness and at some not-so-proud moments I lash out at him wanting to hurt him as much its hurting me. I don't mean anything I say. I know he suffers more than me. But he takes it all. He never complains. Looking into his eyes helps. Knowing that no one could ever love me like he does helps. And at the end of the day, I can't imagine a life without him. I don't know what life would have been without him. A part of me would always have been incomplete. It scares me.....to think of a life like that"
She has never said so much. Not even when I demanded answers in the heat of my teen years. I think she realizes how similar we are at this point.
"Yours is not a situation like me" she continued as if reading my mind "Your mate didn't know she was supposed to wait for you. She didn't know you belonged to each other. She didn't do anything wrong at least not towards you. There are a lot of wolves whose mates were in a committed relationship when they found them. It mostly happens to those who have human mates. It's not as uncommon as our community would like it to be. Don't hold a grudge son. She is at a very bad place"
"I know"
"And she loves you. We are all guilty of pretending that we didn't see that bit of her because that was convenient at that time. Had we searched for deeper meanings, done more research on it, things would have been different"
"You knew?" I frowned
"We all knew. She's very bad at hiding her emotions for someone who is supposed to have a stone face"
"Do you think her feelings are stronger than mine ma?"
"Why do you say that?" she asked.
"She has more years to count then I do. Do you think I will ever be able to catch up and make her feel like we are at the same intensity?"
"But you loved her in your own way. You protected her, cared for her in ways that you thought was right. Love doesn't always have to be romantic" she smiled "Besides there was just one person who dared to bite a scuff off your wolf's fur and lived to tell the tale. That's saying something"
I rolled my eyes at that "Will you guys ever let it go? She was a kid"
"And you still treat her like a kid. You have no idea how much she hates it"
"I'm not going to do that once she comes back" I promised.
"Oh! The six months deadline" she frowned.
"Four months" I corrected her.
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"Don't test my patience" I warned Luc.
"Fine" he fished out his phone from his pocket and handed it over to me.
"She looks happy" I mumbled as I scanned through his photo gallery.
"As if you don't have spies all over to get you her pictures" Luc said stiffly.
"Not with the child, no" I shook my head "She's a beautiful mother. My men are dumb enough to think that the child isn't important"
"She is?"
"Yes. Every aspect of my mate's life is important to me including her motherhood"
"Doesn't that hurt you?" he asked softly.
"It does. It reminds me of how I have to share space in my mate's heart with the human" I sighed "But then I'm glad she has a child to call her own so I wouldn't feel guilty about not being able to give her one. Had this child not been a part of her life, she wouldn't have known motherhood. She's a gift to my mate and I won't belittle her by complaining. This look" I nodded at the picture of Anna smiling down at a wide eyed Hazel in her lap "This will be the only time I see this side of her. She's beautiful"
"You shouldn't put your hopes up" Luc voice was strained "This child, you may not ever get to meet her"
"Tell him I wouldn't take his daughter away from him"
"It's not just about Hazel. He refused to sign the papers yet again. His lawyer says it's too early with Hazel being only two months old and in a way, to the humans it is justified" Luc explained.
"What is Ray's legal team doing? Tell them to take the longer route to the court then. And if he can't do it ask Henry to put our people at work"
"Anna wants a little more time to convince him. Ray's giving her that time. She doesn't want it to be bitter with Alex" He sighed.
"Not my problem. I've done enough for the human already. I spared his life"
"Oh! And not to excite your wolf or something but she's keeping a tab on you and she doesn't want you to know. So pretend like you never heard it from me"
I smirked "I know. Why else do you think my beast's behaving so well?"
"I still think we should tell her of the preparations here"
"I did tell her before she left. It wouldn't be my fault if she thinks the alpha's words aren't written in stone" I replied "She still has three months to recall my words"
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"How are the kids treating you?" I watched Violette frown at her cup of coffee.
"Seriously Alpha, you call them kids?" She looked almost disappointed at me "They are like giant hormonal wolves. There's nothing 'kid' about them"
I chuckled "Everyone in Bluewood is like a kid to me. Size doesn't matter"
"That's totally not weird" she mumbled "Anyways, they are a handful but they keep me busy and I'm not complaining"
I smiled "Are you sure this is all that you want from life?"
Her dark eyes snapped to me at that "I thought you were the only one who wouldn't expect me to move on"
"I'm not asking you to move on. I'm trying to stop you from being a workaholic. I get your reports from mom and it doesn't please me"
"I'm thinking of something..." She hesitated
"What is it?"
"You have to promise not to tell anyone. I don't want to have Cara all excited"
I nodded.
"Adoption" she barely whispered "I have the resources and love to spare. I was thinking it would be a good idea" She looked at me hesitantly as if waiting for my approval.
I grinned "That's wonderful"
"Seriously?"
"Yes. I think it will make you happy"
"I think so too" She grinned back with more confidence this time "When's Luna coming back?"
"Two months" I shared my joy with her.
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"Do you want me to rile up things at business front for him. I've been tracking his movements"
"Goddess knows I would enjoy that so much" I groaned over the phone "But I can't" it hurts me physically to say those words.
"Phew!" Henry whistled "Good to know that I'm not the only one whose mate has a lease around their neck"
"I'm not a bloody dog" I growled at the insult.
"Sure. I'll pretend I believe you bro"
"I'm in a delicate position" I defended myself "One wrong move and I could lose her"
"Try spending seven months in the Amazon" he said "and you will know how delicate my position is. The damn spiders scare me. Jazz refused to believe I'm a werewolf on the sole basis that wolves can't be afraid of insects. It's a hugeass spider bro not an insect"
I rolled my eyes. Henry is like the most pampered kid in the house even though he's second only to me when it comes to being a giant. He gets away with many things and no one can say no to him. Some people are just lucky that way.
"So what's your plan? Are you bringing your mate home? Like is everything sorted now" I enquired
"Far from it" he grumbled "But Jazz is a curious cat and promised to introduce my wolf. So yeah we are coming home but well we aren't together.....yet"
"You know that's dangerous Henry"
"I'll take extra precaution. Jazz wouldn't cause problem for the pack I promise"
As if. Henry's mate is trouble in bold letters.
"Good! Cause I've had enough headaches that photographer causes the first time around. I don't need a repeat telecast. If anyone needs a leash against their throat; it's your out of control mate"
"Ooo kinky"
"Shut up" I blasted in frustration "Your Luna will be here in a month. Be there for the initiation"
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"You know things aren't going to be easy, don't you?" dad looked out of the window from his study.
"I'm going to make it easy for her"
"What if she never forgives you for that?" he countered "Your plans and her situation doesn't sit well together"
"I will live with that" I told him "Mom never forgave you but you still have her. Don't you think that not being forgiven is better than not having her at all?"
He sighed in disappointment "That doesn't make it right"
"I don't see you complaining" I tried to rile him up. I sometimes hate the composure that he carries.
"I don't want you to be me"
"You have nothing to worry dad" I replied "I'm nothing like you. Unlike you I haven't forgotten I'm half a beast"
"Don't forget you are half human too and the human in you will forever crave for her approval" he turned to look at me.
"I'm only making the choices that she's too afraid to make" I assured him.
"I know you have her best interest in mind" he nodded "I wouldn't have let you go ahead with your plans had that not been the case"
I raised a brow "I thought I'm the Alpha here"
"I'm the Alpha's father" he retorted.
I chuckled and stood up "Well, dear father" I emphasized on the last word "I will have to take your leave. I have my Luna to welcome and a pack to regulate" I winked at him and whistled on my way out of his study "It's D-Day"
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