53
Lucas
Tucking Kaylee into bed, I linger for a moment to watch my mate sleep. Dark circles had formed under her eyes these last few days with the battle approaching so quickly. I knew she was stressed out from her duties to Ivory Fangs and thinking about how we would protect our little pup.
I’d caught her many times in the middle of the night, sitting in the living room with a mug of tea in hand, watching the fire in the fireplace. She told me she was thinking about Aspen and any other pups we might have—how she worried about what to do if any one of them had powers passed down from me.
I would sit with her curled in my lap for hours, discussing the safety measures we could implement if our pups showed even the slightest hint of powers. If my own visions led us to discover our pup’s ability to see visions or some other ability before they showed, we could prepare for that day and help guide our pupthrough it. In the end, Kaylee would fall asleep in my arms, and I would carry her to bed to sleep properly like she is now.
Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, I leave the bedroom and go to the kitchen. Kaylee will want tea when she wakes up, so I fill the kettle before leaving the cottage. Deciding to leave the truck here for Kaylee since she’s restricted to how many times she can shift until the first trimester of her pregnancy ends, I shimmy off my clothes and toss them into a tote bag before shifting into my black wolf form.
Shaking out my fur and stretching my legs, I take a deep breath to scent out anyone lurking nearby. Our pack knows not to disturb Kaylee when she’s home unless it’s urgent, so I’m surprised when I catch Jenny’s scent nearby.
Picking up the tote bag by the handles in my mouth, I trot towards the direction of Jenny’s scent and burst through the tree line into a field of wildflowers. Jenny stands in the middle, her eyes watching four pups run around picking the flowers and squealing with delight. I guess I missed their scents due to the flowers masking them.
“Beta Lucas,” Jenny calls out, smiling and waving at me. I nod, letting her know I heard her before trotting through the flowers that seem to hide even my large frame from view. Reaching Jenny’s side, I place my tote bag down and sit back on my haunches, my eyes watching the pups who wave at me before disappearing into the tall flowers.
“What brings you out here?” Jenny asks, crossing her arms as a gust of wind blows past.
[I was dropping Kaylee off at the cottage. She’s taking a day off to rest,] I answer, watching a flicker of understanding cross my packmate’s face.
“Good. She works so hard for the pack. I never knew how hard she worked until I took over training the pups with Kurt. To think she came up with everything on her own amazes me,” Jenny muses, making me smile with pride.
[Kaylee puts her all into everything,] I agree, catching the look of approval thrown my way.
“She’s changed you for the better,” Jenny says after a pause of silence passes between us. “When I was an omega in Oak Fur, I was terrified of you because of how much you resembled Ramos...in both mannerisms and looks,” she continues, her eyes hardening.
Guilt creeps into me at how I acted after my mother’s death. I took much of my anger and frustration out on the omegas, thinking they were nothing but lowly wolves beneath me.
Kaylee, as usual, took me to the training ring there and happily knocked some sense into me. She was thirteen at the time, and I had just turned sixteen. I was newly shifted, and even then, that no-nonsense she-wolf I’m deeply in love with could kick my ass into next week. After losing to her, I kept my distance from the omegas and used the ass-whooping lesson Kaylee gave me to fight my emotions in the training ring, with her father—Easton Kingsley—being the one to help me through it.
[She’s been changing me since we were pups. I just never realized how good Kaylee was for me until after I rejected her,] Iadmit, watching as a little girl who looks exactly like Jenny runs up to her and hands her a flower crown.
Jenny smiles, bending down to allow the little girl to place it on her head, and I watch on happily. One day, this will be Aspen and Kaylee running around in the flowers and making crowns.
“I made you one too, Beta Lucas,” a small voice calls out. I turn my head to see a little boy holding out a flower crown to me. His eyes hold a slight bit of fear, and I slowly shimmy my front paws forward, trying not to scare the boy further until I lay on the ground before him. Placing my head on my paws, I wag my tail and watch as the little boy steps closer until he’s right beside me. He tentatively places the flower crown onto my head, his face lighting up in a smile as I slowly sit up to not disturb it.
[Can you tell him I like it?] I ask Jenny, watching a smile light up her face once again. She does just that, and the little boy unexpectedly hugs me before he and the girl, whom I assume to be Jenny’s daughter, run off to continue collecting more flowers.
“That crown suits you,” she states, her voice clear and friendly. Had this been a year ago, I would have thought Jenny was mocking me. But now I know she genuinely means her words.
I thanked her, telling Jenny to be safe out here, before picking up my tote bag and trotting toward the packhouse. I can feel her gaze follow me until I disappear through the trees.
I trot by warriors on patrol on my way to the packhouse. Some comment on my flower crown, to which I proudly state through a link that a pup gave it to me, my tail wagging happily as I pass them. They get a chuckle out of it.
My aunt must have heard through the pack link that I have a flower crown on my head because she meets me by the steps, cell phone in hand, and quickly snaps a picture.
“You look quite dapper,” she says playfully, eyes full of laughter.
[Thanks. Think you can take it off for me so I can shift?] I reply, stepping closer to my aunt and allowing her to remove my flower crown. I shake my fur out, happy to know I brought my little gift to the packhouse safely, when howls ring through the air.
With eyes widening, I open the link to all the warriors and demand to know what’s happening.
[Some wolves snuck into the borders. They’re heading towards the packhouse,] Ryder responds through the link. Aunt Amelia must have heard it, too, as she carefully handed my flower crown to an omega, telling her to take it to my office with my tote bag full of clothes. After the omega had made it safely inside, she shifted into her own black wolf, and the two of us followed the sounds of howls.
Unease begins to fill me. We’re headed in the same direction Kaylee’s and my home is—the same direction where I left Jenny and the pups—the south border.
[Jenny!] I call through the link, hoping to reach her.
