Page 26 of Welcome Home: When Shifters Unite!
Watching as the office door closes, I settle back in my seat and close my eyes for a moment. The amount of work that I have to cover is immense, and it's mostly decision making. But I am relieved that I get to train with Leo, and now Thorn, in the evenings because it is stress relieving.
‘I’m ready to fight on Sunday morning.’
Blue is standing in the back of my mind with her teeth showing and a glint in her eye. Honestly, she’s so blood thirsty at times it’s a little worrying. “Calm yourself, Blue.” I shake my head and open my eyes just as the door opens and Mavis walks into the office.
“Oh, hello, Adira. I thought you were out of the office just now, but I’m pleased you are here because look what I found!”
“Is that the book Cayden is looking for?”
“Yes, it is.” Mavis hands the book to me and I can’t help but admire the name ‘Keepers’ in beautiful intricate text, with scrollwork flowing around, right to the edges.
I stroke my hand over the cover, but don’t open the book as I feel it’s private to the dragons. Something that nobody should look at, but themselves.
“Take it to the basement, Mavis, and place it in the safe. We will give it to Cayden when he arrives. In the meantime, we’ll keep it safe from prying eyes.” I hand the book back to Mavis, who carefully pulls it to her chest, wrapping her arms securely around it.
“I’ll do that now, but I will come straight back as we have to talk about the DNA thing.”
“Okay, I’ll be here when you get back.” I am more than happy that the book is in the safe, and as yet only myself and Mavis are aware of its presence. I know Mavis won’t speak of anything unless she has express permission, so she’ll be tight-lipped if anyone ever mentions it.
A few minutes later, Mavis reappears and takes a seat in front of my desk. “I’ve spoken to Dr. Appleyard, and he has all the information regarding the DNA test you need doing. I took the liberty of arranging an appointment with him for this afternoon. You’ll get the results in two weeks approximately. He said it would depend on how much work the lab has on hand. It has to be the human lab that deals with shifter issues, and you know that it’s kept out of the mainstream so nobody can take advantage of the bloods that they take from any of us.”
“Okay, can I pop down when I’m ready, or do I have a specific time?”
“No, on the time, Dr. Appleyard said anytime you have free after lunch. You just need to turn up and he will draw the blood for testing.”
“I’ll go a little later, but first I want to know if you have decided what you are doing about working in the library?” I know she’s been at the library a long time, and they trust and rely on her. That is one of the reasons I feel bad about stealing her away.
“Yes. I resigned from my position. For me to be your secretary here and help as it’s needed then I need to concentrate on what I am doing here. I did, however, tell them if they needed me at any time, then they could contact me and I would advise or assist.”
“That is an excellent solution, and I agree you need to be here most of the day. You are only halfway through organizing and cleaning the library. I think that is an important job all of its own. To help me with the pack structure, and all that the pack entails, I need you to be on hand. But, I am happy that if they need you, you can advise, or go to them to assist. They are all pack after all.” I point to the desk Mavis uses, “There is a letter to go to the Elder Council if you can mail it for me later, please?”
“Oh, I’ll do that when I go home. Do you think they are going to cause you trouble?” Mavis walks over to her desk and picks up a stack of papers. “I’m going through these papers I found in the library. They are legal documents, and I want to find out what is relevant and what is not before I bring them to your desk. Is that okay with you?”
“Perfectly, Mavis. If you can filter out any that I don’t need to cover it will save me a lot of time. I really do not have the time to waste what with all the things that have to take priority. I can look at less important things at a later date.”
After visiting Dr. Appleyard and completing the DNA sample he needed to send to the laboratory, I take a gentle walk back to the farmhouse. I’m nervous regarding the result of the test because it’s the proof of who I am. I’m not interested in the banksituation; it will either be or not. If we get the bank, it will help the pack, but if not, we’ll manage as we always have.
Now we wait. In the meantime, I’ll organize the pack and get Blue trained. I’m not sure what is going to happen, but I have a feeling something is and I want everyone to be prepared.
Chapter 14
*Rom*
Walking along the perimeter of the territory heading toward the main road into town, I can’t help but think that I’ve arrived where I’m supposed to be. “Are you happy now, Ramo?” I ask my tiger, who was curled up sleeping.
‘Yes, I like it here. We are part of something, and something that is good. I have watched and seen the other species. They show no aggression to each other. All supporting Alpha Adira, the pack, and what was the town. It’s a good place, and we can rest well and live here.’
“I’m happy here too, Ramo. I enjoy being relied upon. Trusted and I feel like it’s home.”
‘We like being alone. It is our nature, but as time has changed and hunters have arrived, we need to become pack to survive. That is all species, not just tigers.’
“Yes, many species have gone into hiding. The dragons are hardly seen anymore. I don’t know if they have become so few, or if they have somewhere safe to live in peace.”
‘Dragons are good at hiding. They may have found a place that is not seen by others. They can fly vast distances so would find out-of-the-way islands and other places I would imagine.’
“Let’s hope so, as they are a commanding species and will help if we come to a war with humans. The hunters, I mean specifically. Most humans don’t care about shifters, and see us as just another type of human, which we are.” Ramo, humphs in the back of my mind at my last comment, and lays down, closing his eyes once more. Well, that tells me the conversation is over!
Continuing my own thoughts, I admit I have been lucky to find this place and to have an Alpha like Adria is unusual, refreshing, and has all the males in the pack protective. I don’t think that is a bad thing because we have quite a few human women in the pack. It feels odd calling it pack now instead of town. But it is still a town where people come and purchase things, then go again. That is only the main street that is still considered town, but it’s also pack members. I suppose we’ll hear it called pack and town, but nobody cares. We all are in it together, and that’s the point.
