“I must apologize to the two of you for yesterday’s events. I’d expected the meeting to pass uneventfully once Jensgar told the gathered omegas that he had already chosen his mate. Miss Fraser’s actions came as a shock to all of us. Finding her chaperone dead in the garden shed is another matter that will be dealt with.”
Lily couldn’t help her gasp of shock. “She used her omega gifts not only to attack us but to kill one of her own pack members?” She’d never heard of such a thing happening. Omegas were chosen by the gods because of their overwhelming need to care for and protect their packs. It seemed as though Jane Fraser had veered off that path like a plow through a hill of snow.
“Yes, it comes as a shock to us all.” King Leonidas lowered his head as if in thought before sitting down on the high-backed leather chair.
Jensgar gave Lily’s hand a squeeze before continuing. “Also, I’m positive my mate has had enough people making decisions for her up to this point. That is why any choice as to what we do and where we live is her decision alone. So whatever you plan on pitching here today should be directed with that in mind.”
He sat back down and nonchalantly pushed the files placed before him over until they were in front Lily. She could feel Jensgar’s emotions through her newfound link. Absolute calm. He had no doubts about his decision, but most of all his pride at being by her side was unmistakable.
She desperately wanted to share her love with him and attempted to send it through the same link, but sadly, he didn’t react. Perhaps it was only a one-way link. Whatever it was didn’t matter in this moment. She would not disappoint her mate or herself by not jumping on the opportunity.
“Thank you, Jensgar. Sire, you were saying?”
Lily had to admit the king didn’t miss a beat—he simply carried on as if this whole thing wasn’t odd at all. Hell, none of this mating had gone as it normally would. They were definitely breaking new ground.
“I was about to introduce the two gentlemen joining us today. To the right is Mr. Thomas Varrow, from the Evergreen pack. The other gentleman is Mr. Jacob Sharquin, from the Bridgeline pack.”
Both men stood and bowed in her and Jensgar’s direction. Lily noticed the one called Jacob stood favoring his right leg as if he were in pain. “Gentlemen, please sit,” Lily insisted, not wanting the man to stand longer than necessary.
Jensgar smiled at her and leaned back in his chair, leaving her front and center. She glanced over at Helena and Ceva finding both of them watching her intently with smiles on their faces.
“These gentlemen are here to plead their individual cases of why you and General—I mean, Alpha—Jensgar should consider their packs when deciding whom the two of you wish to lead. The files in front of you contain all the information about both packs: the population, the area covered, the financial reports, history and a map of the entire location. Both packs have been under my care for many years and have waited for the opportunity to have an alpha pair lead them.”
Warning bells were going off in Lily’s mind and she needed to clarify. “Do both of you know that I am no longer omega?” Because yes, she was part of an alpha pair but she wasn’t what they might be expecting.
“Yes, Alpha Lily, we are aware,” Thomas was quick to answer.
“Alpha?” Lily was sure that’s what he said, but why?
Thomas didn’t fidget or show any outward sign that he was uncomfortable. He simply answered the question without pause. “You may not be an omega any longer but there is a chance that the two of you could lead our pack. That makes you an alpha in my books.”
Interesting, and not exactly what she’d expected to hear at this meeting, but she could roll with it. If anything, she was flexible. “Whether I’m called omega or alpha, I come with no powerful abilities. That does not mean I would not work night and day to assure members of my pack had everything they needed to flourish. But I want no misunderstandings here, or regrets.”
Both Jacob and Thomas began assuring her, but she held up her hand to stop them. “I know you say that now, but you must remember this is a lifelong commitment with no magical way out. If we were to accept either of your packs I must have the assurance from not only you but the members of the pack themselves.”
Both men nodded their understanding and Lily decided to let that go for now. She reached for the files in front of her and began looking through the pages, surprised by what she found on one of them.
***
A couple of hours later, Amalia walked in carrying trays of sandwiches indicating the meeting could go on for several more hours. After depositing the tray on the table, she came around and hugged both her father and Lily.
“I’m so happy for the two of you,” she gushed.
“Thank you, Amalia,” they said in unison as the three hugged. They turned quickly when a soft growl broke through their bubble of happiness.
Jensgar shifted his body so that Lily and Amalia were safely behind him and away from any possible threat. Thomas quickly attempted to cover his growl by coughing but no one had been fooled. Lily chanced a glance over at Amalia and what she found was interesting. The younger woman was blushing and biting her bottom lip, showing no fear. It took Lily all of two seconds to figure out what was going on here.
Lily placed the palm of her hand on her mate’s back, making his tense muscles ease slightly beneath her fingers. Others had stood but so far no one had said a word. All waited for Jensgar’s reaction since the growl had been directed at them. Ceva seemed especially interested. No one ever knew what that crafty white witch was thinking.
“My love,” Lily whispered. “I believe that wasn’t a growl of anger or a threat toward anyone.”
Jensgar turned part way to look at her while keeping an eye on Thomas, who was standing with his throat bared. “What makes you think that, mate?” He wasn’t asking as if he doubted her, but more out of curiosity. He was such a good man.
Lily looked over at Amalia once again and could see her silently begging Lily for discretion. She would never do anything to embarrass her stepdaughter, but Lily had to deescalate this situation before Thomas found himself in a cell or worse.
She raised her hand and cupped Jensgar’s cheek, hoping this would be enough. “Trust me, love. There is no danger.”
His dark eyes searched her face. Lily hoped he understood they would discuss this later.
“Okay, my mate, if you say there is no danger or disrespect then there is none.” Jensgar sat back and Lily could feel his body relaxing further.
He pulled out Lily’s chair as everyone resumed their seats. Amalia made a hasty retreat out of the conservatory without looking back. Thomas still stood waiting, unsure of what to do. Well, with what she had to say, Lily was afraid the man might pass out.
“Sit down, Thomas,” Lily ordered and the man quickly complied.
“Now that the excitement is over, let’s go forward with questions from the alpha pair,” the king announced with an unmistakable smile on his face.
“Oh I have many questions, but it seems the decision has already been made,” Lily admitted before looking up at Thomas. “Evergreen pack it is.”
As her announcement sunk in, Jacob from the Bridgeline pack flew to his feet. “You choose them over us simply because he’s sweet on the servant. Bring her back. I’ll hit on her too. This is what happens when you allow a female to make decisions.”
Jensgar was up and across the table before Jacob had time to react. Her mate slammed the suddenly quiet man into one of the glass panels. Thankfully, it was laminated safety glass. It broke but didn’t fall in dangerous shards.
“That servant is my daughter, and you disrespected my mate. Is there anything else you would like to say?” Jensgar asked as he lifted Jacob by his neck until the man was several feet off the ground.
“Then…why them?” Jacob wasn’t giving up easily.
Lily grabbed the file off the table and pulled out the picture she’d seen earlier and raised it high. “Because of this.�
� Everyone turned in her direction, but Lily could see the confusion in their eyes. “Mate, put the idiot down please.”
Jensgar leisurely opened his hand, allowing Jacob to fall to the floor. Her mate’s grin confirmed he wasn’t sorry about the man’s hard landing. “What do you see in the picture, Lily?”
Conversations were carrying on around them as the confusion spread. Lily carried the picture over to Jensgar who growled at Jacob, warning him not to move. She lifted his right arm inspecting his new alpha markings. Lily was sure she’d seen it here when she’d ran her fingers over the tattoo last evening.
“Here it is,” Lily huffed as she turned to the back of Jensgar’s bicep. In the cluster of lines and designs there were drawings of places she’d never seen before until she’d opened that file. “See, they match.” Lily pointed at the picture and the side of a building covered in ivy with a small emblem above it, and then she pointed at Jensgar’s arm, which depicted the building right down to the last brick. “It seems the gods have already made this decision for us.”
Lily wasn’t certain how she felt about that. Now, it seemed whenever she was given the ability to decide for herself it was taken away from her. Would this be what her future looked like? Powerless.
Chapter Nine
Jensgar had been watching his mate closely since the meeting they’d attended in the conservatory over a week ago. Lily appeared to everyone to be taking things in stride, but she couldn’t fool him so easily. Though he still wished he had a direct line to her emotions as she had with him.
Lily had explained a few things once they returned to their home. She told him about her ability to feel his emotions as if they were her own, and the fact that Thomas had a thing for his daughter. While the first was welcomed news, the second he’d chosen not to think about. Although he understood his daughter was an adult and could make her own decisions, he couldn’t help but picture her in pigtails running through the forest on another one of her adventures.
Over the past week, they had been preparing to take over responsibility for the Evergreen pack. They’d gone over the pack’s history and learned they’d lost their alpha over three hundred years earlier. The reason for her death was vague. When he’d asked Thomas, the man explained he had only been born a little over two hundred years ago and wasn’t certain what occurred but swore to find the information for them.
Their new pack depended heavily on farming for their main income, but the last several years they’d reported heavy losses due to drought. They’d even brought omegas in to attempt to help the land regenerate but each failed, and the community had been surviving on subsidies from the king. According to Thomas, the pack desperately wished to become self-sufficient and worked hard daily, but to no avail. The pack had one thousand, five hundred and thirty-six members, and their version of downtown consisted of only a handful of stores.
They’d have to invest heavily in the town’s infrastructure and farming to get the pack back on its feet, but a touch of luck wouldn’t hurt either. The money bequeathed to all alphas assuming responsibility for a pack would have to be stretched as far as possible. Lily had been going over the books and together they were coming up with a plan to try to turn things around in Evergreen.
So far, they were on schedule and would be leaving for their pack in the next few days. The king’s representatives already stationed at the pack were preparing to leave once Jensgar and Lily arrived. His mate was staying busy and never once voiced a complaint, but her restless sleep was enough of a hint that things were not quite right.
Most of their belongings were already packed, and that left Lily seated on a pile of extra-large pillows on the floor reading over endless reports. The rest of the furniture had already been loaded onto one of the trucks as a gift from Helena and Aldric. Lily’s family home had been destroyed, and Jensgar had always lived in the assigned housing his rank as general had provided. Therefore, neither had much in the way of personal belongings. Jensgar looked forward to the two of them collecting those things that made a proper home, together.
“These poor people. No matter what they did to try to save their crops, nothing seemed to work or had little effect. Yields have been declining by dozens of bushels an acre every year in soy, wheat and corn,” Lily explained without looking up from the papers in her hands.
“Irrigation systems are failing, and there have been far too many days without rain. Record levels of heat aren’t helping the situation. Even after the king sent white witches and omegas in to help, nothing changed. The pack had even been slated for relocation but the members refused to leave,” Jensgar stated as he poured the hot water.
“That pack has been in existence for over two thousand years. I can understand their resistance,” Lily stated. “We can’t move the pack. We have to make it work there, somehow.”
Jensgar lifted the two mugs of coffee he’d prepared, one black, the other fully loaded with cream and sugar, and carried them over to his mate. Careful not to spill a drop of his mate’s favorite drink, he set them down on the hardwood floor before joining Lily on the pillows.
She smiled wide, set the papers down, and reached for her mug, giving him a chance to take both of her hands in his. “Lily, talk to me, please. I know you’ve been out of sorts since discovering we were destined for the Evergreen pack.”
Lily stared down at their joined hands, silent for a few moments before looking in his eyes. “At first, I resented the fact that yet another decision was taken out of my hands. I was angry, not with you, but at the situations we keep finding ourselves in. It felt that the moments I’d been given the power to decide my own destiny have been ripped away yet again.”
“Lily, I’m so sorry…” he began but was stopped by a shake of Lily’s head, which caused her unruly blonde hair to fall over her shoulders.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, and actually I’ve made my peace with it. After reviewing all of the information and reading what these people have been through, I believe they need our help. Even if I don’t have my powers over the flora any longer, I’ve learned a lot along the way that might help.”
She smiled as she released one of his hands and caressed the petals of a nearby bloom. The foliage had taken over their house. He searched for any indication that what she was telling him was less than genuine and found none. No matter how many times he thought he knew Lily, she was always surprising him with her strength and courage. After everything they’d been through, he admonished himself for doubting his mate would rise to the challenge, even when it seemed as if the gods themselves were working against her.
Jensgar ran his fingers through her soft golden curls before cupping the back of her head and tilting her rosy lips up for a kiss.
“You are a blessing to me, never forget that. This pack will be lucky to have you to watch over and care for them, as I am.” He meant and felt every word down to his soul.
“Well that is yet to be seen. We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Lily told him as she reached for a particularly thick file folder and unceremoniously deposited it in his lap. “Get to it, Alpha.”
***
Well, this is it, Lily thought as the town of Evergreen came into sight. The name itself conjured images of lush green forests, fields laden with crops surrounded with wildflower borders and thick lawns where children could be found playing in the shade of a mighty oak tree. In truth, various shades of grey saturated the area. From the dark depths of a dying forest to the parched earth their tires were currently driving over, the area seemed to have had the life sucked out of it.
She heard the gasps from the back seats of their SUV. Amalia and Marcus had decided to move to Evergreen to support their father, and Katrina and her young son joined them to start anew. Along with them, several soldiers who had trained under Jensgar jumped at the opportunity to help save this pack. A young warrior named Chris had joined from Dedric’s pack.
Thomas was leading the way in his own vehicle and any suggestion of Amalia joinin
g him for the drive was quickly axed with a menacing growl from her father. The two had been exchanging heated glances since their first meeting back in Black Ridge and Lily wondered why they hadn’t acted on their obvious attraction. It couldn’t be because Jensgar was growly. Amalia was an adult and had been for a long time.
As they drove through the town, Lily was impressed with the outstanding craftsmanship used to construct each of the timber buildings. They may be in need of a few new coats of paint but the structures looked strong and sound—built to last until long after she was gone. As they made their way to the center of the community to where the main pack house was located, pack members began to flood out onto the street.
Young and old alike waved as they passed and Lily couldn’t help but smile wide and wave back. The hopeful expressions on each of their faces only drove home the fact that these people were praying for a miracle. Lily was certain she couldn’t provide them with one without her powers, but hoped that she could still somehow make a difference here. Besides, other omegas had tried but that hadn’t worked. It was time for something new.
“It’s as if the land—the entire area—is slowly dying.” Amalia spoke barely above a whisper as the magnitude of the situation started to hit home. “How will we fix this?”
Lily buried her apprehension before straightening her spine and looking at her mate. “With a lot of hard work.”
Jensgar’s large hand enveloped hers and he brought it to his lips to kiss her palm. His unending strength and firm belief that together they could move mountains provided her with a newfound contentment. “It won’t be easy, but these people deserve a chance to save their home.”
“Our new home,” Lily corrected with a smile. “Now remember, no long faces. These people need hope, and that’s exactly what we’re going to give them.”
“Auntie Lily, will there be kids for me to play with?” The sweet voice of Katrina’s five-year-old son echoed from the back of their vehicle. Lily hoped the steel band tightening around her chest eased in time. She’d gone into this with both eyes wide open. She’d made her choice knowing motherhood would never be in the cards for her.
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