Nearing the restaurant, they could see it was crowded with a line. Luckily Shado's dad had let Xael know that he already had a table for them and to just come in and towards the back. Finding a parking space and vehicle parked, Xael got out to help her Grams. As they walked to the front, the line to get in seemed longer.
"Oh Xael! It's so busy!"
"It's okay Grammy, Adam's dad already has a table for us."
"Oh good!"
As they got closer, Xael took up a protective stance next to her Grams. She led her to the door which was already open.
"We can just go on in Grams."
As the Elder made her way into the restaurant, a man moved and blocked her entry.
"Excuse me." She was calm about it and figured he didn't know they were behind him, but he did. He looked at her and turned back around. Xael was not having it as she walked up to him, she already knew others were upset that they were just walking in but she didn't care.
"Move" Xael growled at him but he growled back. His buddies were laughing. Xael changed her scent as her eyes went red.
"MOVE."
This time she used her Prime Alpha voice and snarled a warning at him, her canines prominent. Now he backed up, silencing his friends and anyone else that had an issue with them not waiting in line. Being a Prime, the Alpha was below her in status and had no choice but to submit. Xael stood between him and her Grams as she quickly entered, once inside the Elder gently tried to pull her inside. Xael retracted her canines but was still pissed. Before she left, she got uncomfortably close to the Alpha.
"Show some fucking respect!"
With that she turned and followed her Grams inside. Walking towards the table, other's quickly moved out of their way. Xael's intimidating red glare was all it took as she walked behind her Grams, making sure no one else moved to disrespect her. Xael tried to calm down before reaching the table but it didn't work.
"Whoa! Someone's not happy!"
"Sorry Mr. Shado. Mr. Shado this is my Grandmother, Emma Red Wolf."
"It's so nice to finally meet you!" Adam's dad surprised them both by giving Ms. Emma a huge hug. "You two have a seat."
Placing their orders, Ms. Emma and Adam's dad chatted away. Xael excused herself as she went to use the bathroom.
"Ms. Emma, your granddaughter is something else!"
"Ha ha hahaaa, that she is. I'm so happy she finally found such a good and true Mate!"
"I'm glad my son has her as a Mate as well." There was a brief moment of silence as the older Shado tried to formulate his next sentence. "Has she told you about the visit to see my Grandmother."
"She did. Xael has always been close to the wolves around our area. They are extremely protective of her and she of them also."
"Do you know what she really is?"
"Dear, as far as I'm concerned, she's my granddaughter."
"I understand."
Ms. Emma wanted to change the subject as they were in a public place and she didn't feel comfortable discussing Xael's status or origins. "Oh! Thank you for the gift of the cabin. Those two are going to be so happy with it. You should come out to the town some time to visit soon."
"Oh it was nothing. I'm just glad Adam has been able to find such a wonderful Mate again."
Xael returned to the table but quietly sat next to her Grams as she didn't want to disrupt the conversation.
"Yes, he's supposed to be doing a release ceremony later on today I think."
Xael was surprised as she didn't know anything about this. "He is?"
"Yes dear, I think it's part of the reason he cut his hair after you two mated. He really does want a fresh start as far as you're concerned."
Xael smiled. She was glad her Alpha thought so highly of their relationship to do that as it meant discarding everything from the past. The lunch was a nice one as Adam's dad and her Grams sat and chatted away. He was amazed and grateful that his son was getting exposed to and learning about their customs and way. If there was one thing he regretted in raising his son it was not teaching him more about his culture and exposing him to his Grandmother more. Ms. Emma let him know that they as parents could only do the best that they could and now that Adam had connected with this Grandma again, there was still time for both of them to learn from her.
With their lunch now over, Xael was getting tired. They had gone through a lot emotionally today and she just wanted time alone with her Alpha. Plus they had a new home now that needed their attention. Hugging goodbye, Mr. Shado promised to visit on the weekend. Xael was happy and let him know to plan on staying for the entire time. Parting ways, Ms. Emma picked up on her granddaughter's state of being.
"You're getting tired dearheart."
"Hmm, is it that obvious Grammy?"
"Yes."
"Well I think I'll take you home and pick up my boys. I believe we're still staying at his apartment."
"That's fine. You know what? Since the guys are at work, why not stay and have a nap. I'm sure your boys would love to nap with their momma."
"Are you sure Grams. After today you and Unc are going to be bonding....wait!! That's perfect! I can cook up food for you at your place and just pop it in the freezer!"
"Oh that's true!! I'll tell Wes to bring Adam out to the house when they're done and you two can drive back with your boys."
"Mn! You know, I was thinking of going to the tribal market this week. I really think this winter might be a bad one. Since we have our own place now, I wanted to start prepping for the winter months. I'm going to start canning a bunch of stuff, it's cheaper and healthier than buying a bunch of canned goods. Plus I wanted to see if Unc and Adam would possibly hunt for a deer."
"Oh, you feel it too. Me and Wes talked about that last night. I actually wanted to see about getting a side of beef to put up along with a few dozen chickens."
"Hmm...I have an idea! I can ask my brothers if they want to learn to hunt, maybe Unc wouldn't mind teaching them and Adam for that matter. I think my Grandad said that there's getting to be too many deer for the area. Since the dinner will be closed, I can use the time for canning up at the cabin and stocking up the pantry."
"Oh Xael that's a wonderful idea!"
"I have my moments. I can pick some things up for you two, and drop them off once you two are done."
"Sounds good! Next week we can all go out to Hilgers and get the beef and vegetables. I say you two spend the weekend at home that way we can pressure can stuff while the men are out hunting."
"Wonderful! I'll let Adam know the plans tonight. I don't think we'll be doing much."
Having things in place, Xael felt better heading into winter. The drive back home was a quiet one. On the way back, Ms. Emma called Skylar to let him know to bring Adam home with him as Xael was going with her to rest for a bit. He asked how the meeting went, Ms. Emma told him she would talk to him about it later tonight.
Reaching the road to her Grandma's house, Xael was already missing it. It had been the only place she had and would probably only consider 'home'. Pulling up to park, she could feel her pup's excitement. After helping her Grams out of the jeep, Xael rushed to the door to let her boys out. There were lots of happy yelps, tail wagging, belly rubs and kisses. She'd missed them and they had missed her. Gunner almost knocked her down, he was so happy to have his momma back. After Ms. Emma smudged both her and Xael, they went inside and Xael made a beeline for the kitchen. Her Grams offered to help but Xael refused, she wanted her Grandmother to rest and finish preparing for her upcoming bonding time.
In the kitchen, Xael started on quick but filling meals. She knew they wouldn't want to eat that much or anything heavy, so it made meal prep pretty easy. Xael had to check with her Grams to see if she needed anything special like the healing broth. Ms. Emma told her no as she prepared the bed.
It took Xael about 2 hours to finish with the cooking. She labeled and portioned everything. Some items went in the fridge and others in the freezer. Ms. Emma, who had been resting in her chair, went in to check on things. Xael was cleaning up and showed her Grandma all that had been fixed for them. Cooking at the house made it so much easier and freed up time for Xael. Now she didn't have to use the diner at all. With everything done, Xael went to rest until Adam showed up.
While Xael slept in her room with her pups, Ms. Emma got busy ordering the side of beef and chickens. Since they would be going to the Tribal Market, she also called ahead to have their order set aside. It was a huge one as she needed to restock her pantry for the coming winter also. Now with some downtime, Ms. Emma made a list of drygoods that Xael could pick up for her while she was out stockpiling.
All of that out of the way, Ms. Emma relaxed as well. The sound of snoring pups lulling her to sleep in her chair.