I appreciate Thorne's effort to change the subject, especially to something he has no idea how dear to me this place is.
"My mother used to bring us and the other pups here. It's an abandoned limestone quarry that my father had emptied and excavated and turned into a quarry lake. When I took over the luna duties after she died, keeping the tradition of bringing the young pups here for the first swim if the summer was my first act as Luna. I would love to do it once more, but I think my brother's mate should do it, you know?"
Thorne doesn't respond, not verbally anyway. He drops a chaste kiss on my forehead before swimming away towards the shoreline. I follow closely behind him, because I know it's time that we should head back. I only gave everyone an hour and we still needed to run back and change back into our clothes before we finalized the new beta for Willowhaven.
As soon as Thorne's feet are on the shoreline, he shifts into his wolf. I only catch a quick glimpse of his butt before he's entirely on four legs and covered in fur. I appreciate the courtesy that Thorne is offering, even if at times I want to rush things and then take things slow. I really have no freaking clue what I want, I guess. But I like the fact that Thorne isn't forcing me to make a decision now. Nor does he seem annoyed with the pace that I change up from time to time. He's just patient, and I need more of what he's offering me. Time and patience.
I start to swim back, midway to the shore, I shift into my wolf and allow her to take over. The water sloshes over my fur, washing it of the dirt and grime from my earlier run. I let out a small bark, alerting Thorne when I've reached the shoreline as well and he licks my face a few times before running off towards our pack.
The wind is chillier than before, a combination of the waning sun and the water condensation still on my fur. Not to mention the fact that I'm running through the woods. But I don't mind it at all. It feels oddly freeing and serene. Running is natural to me, us, as wolves and even when we're in our human form.
Together.
We run together, side by side back to the place I call home, though soon even that will change. But looking ahead, with Thorne right next to me, the peace that wells up within me tells me that I'm going to be okay. We're going to be okay.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"Do you really have to go so soon?" Lincoln asks as the last box is loaded into the back of the moving truck that Thorne had one of his pack members drive out here, along with another SUV for us to ride in.
I was so happy when Lincoln arrived home two nights ago, his mate Valina beside him. It only took him a week and a half and a few stops over almost half the country to find her. Willowhaven hosted a party, a combination of a welcome home for the two of them and a going away party for me. My pregnancy hormones made it one hell of an emotional night, but my new sister is an absolute sweetheart. She herself is an alpha's daughter as well, so she was already well aware of the ins and outs of everything I showed her of her Luna duties.
Lincoln was more than happy to return to find out that his new beta, Jason was up to speed on what he needed to do to help him with Willowhaven. Thorne was a major help in that area, showing him everything that he had his own beta handling. Some of his suggestions even seemed to streamline the way we did things here. I was positive that once Lincoln returned, he would be happy that everything ran smoothly during his absence.
I can't even lie, the confidence that I gained from his time away has been extraordinary. Or maybe it's because I know that I have someone, besides my brother, who is truly behind me. It's a special feeling knowing that someone is genuinely in your corner.
Valina makes her way from the top steps down to me and gives me a hug goodbye. "I wish we got to know each other better before you had to leave." She tells me as we pull away from each other. I smile and give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"There will be plenty of time for that soon, Val." Though I'm smiling, I'm sad that I don't get to spend time with her now. I had always wanted a sister, and now that I had one, I had to leave her. But knowing that I was right, goddess willing, we would have time to get to know each other and be like the sisters the goddess intended for us to be. "Take care of this punk for me."
Lincoln lightly pushes my shoulder. Normally, it wouldn't move me, but I am caught a little off guard and teeter back a little. Thankfully, Thorne had come up behind me and steadies me by wrapping his arm around my waist. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks and neck as I relax into his touch.
I've had an easier time of adjusting to this weird friendship mechanism that Thorne and I seemed to have developed. We talked every night, sometimes one of us or both of us wound up in tears because our discussion got so deep. Like how our fourth night, we were talking about my parents’ deaths. I told him about my fears of dying the way my father did, lonely and broken hearted. I told him I hoped that I would survive the death of my mate but wasn't sure if I'd be strong enough. My fears got the best of me and I wound up crying, his strong arms comforting me through the tears. It was a little after three in the morning when he walked me back to my room, and just as he had done every night before and after, he left me at the threshold of my bedroom with a kiss to my temple.
We weren't at romance, but this friendship thing we had down pat.
I smile at my brother, we don't even have to say a word between us, physically or through the mind link. We got the message loud and clear. "We'll be okay now."
Thorne helps me into the SUV and I quickly roll the window down. I accidentally glance in the distance behind my brother and see Julien and Natasha staring, well more like glaring, in my direction.
Seemingly to sense my hesitation to speak out loud, Linc switches to the mind link. "You'll give me a call when you have the pup right?"
I nod back at my brother, but a tear manages to leak out of my eyes even though I didn't feel the sting in that normally accompanies tears. "I will definitely call you," I say out loud. A reassuring smile accompanies the kiss I blow to Lincoln and Valina. The moving van starts up behind the SUV with the two wolves that brought the van and SUV to the pack this morning. Between the two of them, Thorne, my brother, and a few other members from the pack, all of the belongings that I planned to bring with me were quickly placed in the back of the van.
Now, sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV while Thorne revs the engine, I mentally say goodbye to the only home I've ever known. That realization makes me gasp and Lincoln watches me curiously. I hope the smile I offer him reassures him and lean out of the window. My lips gently touch his forehead, since for the moment we were the same height.
"I love you, big brother."
"I love you too. Take care Kai. And call me when you get there," I'm already nodding my head before he finishes. I take a deep breath when the vehicle begins to move away and down the long driveway. The rough hand of Thorne grasps both of mine as they lay in my lap. I look over at him as he keeps one hand on the wheel and stares at the road.
"If you're having second thoughts, I can turn around and we can unload everything for you." His smooth voice soothes my nerves, at least until I realize what he had just said to me.
"What? No. It's just, it's only," I stumble over my words as I consider what I am going to tell him. "This has nothing to do with regrets or cold feet or anything like that. I'm just a little overwhelmed with leaving my home. You know?"
"I don't know the exact feeling, but I can try to imagine what you're going through. I'm sorry."
"What? Don't be. I'm just nostalgic, I guess. Besides, you can't tell under this shirt, but I've already noticed a slight bump. I wouldn't have lasted much longer there anyway before people started to notice that I wasn't shifting." I look through the dark tinted windows at the passing scenery. I had planned on wearing a dress this morning so that I would look nice and decent when I met the Stoneforest pack. However, the dress I had left out of my bags for the day was a snugger than the last time I remembered wearing it. When I looked in the mirror to check myself out, I noticed the tiny bulge that was not there last nigh
t. A flurry of panic and butterflies stirred within me when my hands naturally fell upon it.
Panic because it still felt like I was doing this alone, even though I knew I have Thorne's support. Panic because I was sure I wasn't ready for this step.
Butterflies because I was growing a life inside me. My body was a miracle and soon my little miracle was going to be in my arms.
In the meantime, I quickly changed into some high waisted dress pants and a flowy top that
I feel Thorne's hand move from my own, stirring me from my thoughts as it rests, just briefly, over the hidden bump in my abdomen.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to." Thorne's hand firmly grips the steering wheel and I smile at his sudden bashfulness. Was he being presumptuous? Yes. But oddly, it felt okay.
I gently lift his hand from the wheel, while he sends me curious looks as to what I'm about to do. I take his hand and place it on my belly, just above where the baby bump starts. I swear I lose my breath when I look into Thorne's eyes and see that they look like they're watering.
"It's okay. He or she is yours too, right?" I ask, and mentally curse at the sliver of doubt that I hear in my tone.
"Without a doubt." A soft chuckle escapes my lips when I notice that the both of us are trying our hardest to contain the smiles that threaten our features. Though, hearing his words and feeling his fingers splayed across my middle, eases all the worry and panic I've been feeling.
Conversation is light between us during the drive towards Stoneforest. I have fun listening to Thorne's stories about growing up there and having his cousin slash best friend, Jackson, as his beta. Both my parents were only children, so I have no clue what it's like to have extended family. The closest to such a concept was the few wolves I socialized with within the pack. However, other than the friendship I thought I had with Natasha, I didn't have the closeness that Thorne was speaking of. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel sad or lonely at that thought.
Seemingly, Thorne senses that my thoughts have taken over and lets our conversation dull to a comfortable silence. I grab onto his hand when he tries to pull it away. I may be into my thoughts, but his touch, no matter how small, grounds me. I keep ahold of his one hand with my two as I stare out the window. The passing scenery acts as the perfect spell to lull me to sleep, even though I wasn't tired. Nonetheless, sleep claims me as I cling to Thorne's hand.
"Don't worry about it. Just get her things to the room. And where's Jackson? He's not answering me in the mindlink." The fog in my mind was lifting at a slow pace, I only just realize that I had fallen asleep during the car ride to Stoneforest. "Come on love, wake up for me." Tender fingers brushed my hair back from my face and I begin to stir under his touch. "That's it love."
I sigh deeply as I force my eyes to blink open. My head was turned to the side, towards the passenger door, and Thorne was standing there. His hands drifted down to my shoulders and his thumbs were rubbing gentle circles into my neck.
"Are we there yet?" I ask with a sleepy smile.
"Yeah, we're here. Do you want me to carry you? I didn't want to do it without your permission." It was cute how bashful he seemed at the prospect of carrying me around without my expressed permission to do so. But I was also very glad he waited to wake me up. As much as it seemed heavenly to be carried, especially in his arms, I didn't want the first time I met his people to be unconscious and carried like a baby. No, meeting them on my own two feet was the only way to go.
"Just give me a moment, and I'll be okay to walk." I mumble as I quickly feel around my mouth to make sure I hadn't drooled in my sleep. Once I give myself the all clear I move out of the seat and onto the ground to look at my new surroundings.
Thorne parked right in front of the pack house. Which looked amazing in it's own right. It looked the same size as Willow Haven's house only Stoneforest looked like it was built into a huge mountain of stone. It was a beautiful and practical meld of glass and stone.
"How?" I ask the very proud Thorne as he watches my reaction. His wolves are carrying my boxes and furniture to a loading dock that looks like the mouth of a cave. I watch as one of them presses a button and a lift starts to take them upwards into the depths unknown.
"There's also floors beneath as well. When my pack settled here decades ago, they found this cave. Naturally, it was explored, and they discovered other caverns and tunnels that lead all throughout the mountain range. Most of the caverns were dug out and expanded for use as storage, bedrooms, or other utility rooms. The ground floor has a huge den and kitchen that everyone is welcome to. The underground floors are mostly barracks, except for the huge theatre room that was recently renovated down there. We try to have regular showings for everyone.
"Over here," Thorne pointed out the rest of the building that was mostly glass but had a stone façade that matched the rest of the mountain. "This is the renovated pack house that we had added in recent years. A lot of the pack wanted windows, which not all of the bedrooms had in the old mountain. So, we built this. Our room is a beautiful blend of the two structures. The sleeping area is nestled in the mountain while the bathroom, two closet spaces and sitting area are in the new structure." I sort of gasp when he mentions our bedroom as he leads me towards the front door or the glass and stone side of the house.
This was definitely bigger than my old home. Unease begins to set in as I take in the house. There's hardly anyone in the house, as Thorne leads me through the kitchen that was on this side of the house. Thorne tells me that it costs a fortune to keep both kitchens stocked, and I can only imagine.
The office area is exceptional. Thorne explains that I would meet by receptionist tomorrow and shows me the area where I would normally find her. My office, as Thorne points out, is much bigger than the space I was accustomed to back at Willowhaven. However, my office is somewhat conjoined with Thorne's, as there is a cozy sitting area in between our offices. It was a private room that could only be accessed from our offices.
"This is your space to do with however you see fit," Thorne says to me after he hands the key to the office to me when we leave. I look over to the empty reception desk and wonder where everyone is.
"They're outside, enjoying the weather." I run back the last thirty seconds in my head, trying to figure out if I asked that question out loud. I don't think I did though. "I saw you peering down the hallway. I ordered everyone away from the pack house temporarily. This was an overwhelming change for you Kairi, and I didn't want to bombard you with meeting a ton of new people at once."
Thorne begins to lead me up the staircase and proceeds to tell me that currently the second floor is empty. Pack guests stayed on that floor when they visited for whatever reason. Pack officials like Jackson, his beta, all lived in town on the edge of the forest. Running in their wolf form, they would make it to the pack in the case of an emergency in less than five minutes. Other wolves, if they chose to, stayed in the barracks in the caves; a tour that Thorne promised me another day.
After another set of stairs, we find ourselves on the third floor.
"Our room is the last door on the right." Thorne grabs my hand and starts to lead me down the hallway. On my left, there's a closed door that had a placard beside it that said caverns. I assumed that this was the door that led to at least the lift in the mountain I saw earlier.
The door that Thorne led me to opened up into a beautifully decorate bedroom. A fireplace was to the side of the room, to warm it up during the winter, but right now at the beginning throes of summer, the rock of the mountain kept the room cool.
"I slept in the middle of the bed, so I don't really have a side. Whichever you prefer is fine. But my preference for you would be the right side of the bed. But whichever one you want is fine."
"Why is that your preference for me?" I ask somewhat amused.
"If the unlikely event of falling under attack were to happen while we were in bed, I'll be closer to the door on the left side. To protect you."
I nod in understanding and p
lace my purse on the right side of the bed. "Right it is." My hands rub together in nervousness as I take in the rest of the room.
"Over here is your closet. It's the bigger of the two. I always anticipated my mate would have a lot of clothes." My heart warms at Thorne as we walk into the huge space. My bags and boxes of clothes are already loaded in the middle of the floor by the island of drawers that my jewelry and accessories will go. "That door over there leads to the bathroom," Thorne points to a door opposite the one we came in. "Or you can get to the bathroom through the door off the sitting room."
"Two ways into the bathroom? That's a nice layout," I add.
"Well, technically there's three. I have a door to my closet too." Thorne leads me through the door to the bathroom and oh my goddess it's gorgeous in here. It's a literal spa. There was a huge bare white freestanding tub in a bay window. Rolled, plush towels lay on the seat of the window. I walk closer to the window to get a look at the view, and all I can see are the trees of the forest. It's so beautiful out here.
To my right, a beautiful mural of a peacock lays on a wall that's encased by an all glass shower that looks like it can fit ten people. There is a sitting bench and plenty of shelving for bottles and other grooming accessories. I really didn't want to think of all the things that could happen in a shower that huge but, I did. I quickly turn my head away from the shower to take in the rest of the room. There are dual vanities with a nice combination of closed and open storage. A closed door revealed a room for just the toilet.
The Rejection (Luna of the Pack Series) Page 14