“ARIANNA ATHENA SHIELD YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO JOIN THE WAR OR FOLLOW US WITHOUT MY SAY SO,” I pour every ounce of my power into my command. She staggers back in shock. “I need you here baby. I need you to be here for the women and children while I’m away. You will forgive me one day.”
She turns away from me, and her rejection is the worst thing I’ve ever felt, but it needed to be done.
“I’m sorry, Ari. I love you,” I say hoping that she will look at me, but she never does. I kiss her forehead then walk out the bathroom door.
After everyone says their goodbyes, much sweeter than my parting with Ari, we squeeze into about 100 large vehicles and make our way to the Spokane airport.
Our pack mate in Seattle, Gray Fuller, is sending two large planes to bring us to him. We will be meeting up with him, along with almost 300 more of our wolves that reside in the area. From there we will rest, then those same planes, plus another, will be dropping us off in Canada near Kluane National Park. From there we will travel in wolf form, hopefully sneaking up on the group Alpha Wilder’s men came across preparing for battle near Alaska’s border.
Ari never comes down, but I find Ari watching out the window from our bedroom upstairs. Women, children, and Jerek wave us on. I can’t think about the mess I’ll be coming home to. Focus is what I need so that I can make it home.
Ari
He left. Darien took my freedom of choice away, and he got in a car and left me behind. I knew that everything in my life was going too perfect. It’s like the last few weeks never happened, and I am still back in Alaska with no life and no real choices of my own.
“Hey,” I jump and turn to see Jerek standing in the doorway. My self-pity is clouding my senses.
“What’s up?”
“I know you’re mad and upset with Dar—
“Don’t!” I snap. “Do not defend him. Not right now.”
“I’m sorry, I won’t mention him again, but we have a shit ton of people downstairs to take care of,” he says, and I can sense the stress in his voice. He’s right. No matter how upset I am, I won’t let it destroy me. I am still the Alpha’s mate and wife, and I have a job to do.
Together we head downstairs and find everyone sitting around chatting. I expected sadness and stress in the group, but they all seem relaxed and confident. Maybe I should feel the same, but I feel anything but calm.
Alexia’s eye catches mine, and I make my way to her. She seems unfazed just like everyone else here. Of course, the guy she likes is still here, safe and sound while the love of my life is in danger. Why does no one here care? Why do I have this need to fight, while so many others are content with the way things are?
Every eye in the room openly stares at me, sensing the storm of emotions coursing through me. My problems shouldn’t be made theirs though, so I try to rein them in.
First, we need to figure out where everyone is staying. Alex can stay with me, and Jerek offers to take the couch, so we need to figure out who gets the remaining six bedrooms. It’s like picking battle partners. I can do this.
With my friends help, we assign two females and each of their children to the king suite in the barn. For the four remaining children, I give them the last king size bedroom since they can all fit in the one bed together.
That leaves six women to split the remaining three queen size rooms. That leaves 18 under my care, plus Jerek and Alex, and a remaining 27 that need to find a place to stay.
The last four other women that live in town are here, and offer their space for them, but I don’t want to spread us out too thin.
I have trained some of these women, and they are good fighters, but when all the men leave, we are vulnerable to other attacks. If other packs get word of battle, they will try and steal the women left behind.
So, maybe keeping them rounded up would be counterproductive, but I’m hoping strength in numbers is key.
After the details are taken care of, the women have gone to their arranged homes, and I sit alone outside, trying to calm my nerves. I can’t help wondering if they have made safe passage so far. They only planned to fly into Seattle tonight to meet with the rest of the pack before flying into Canada. They could easily have wolves working in the airport though, and they would easily sniff out hundreds of foreign wolves. Our only hope is that their resources there have been pulled for the attack on Alaska’s pack.
We predict that they are trying to take back British Columbia first. Even though there is a dense population of wolves there, taking them out or getting them to switch to their side would be a huge hit for us.
Footsteps and laughter erupt as the front door opens, and the children come running out of the house. Though they are all different ages, they play together easily without a care in the world. They wrestle on the lawn in front of me, and watching them is a nice distraction.
Only a few minutes go by before I can’t sit still anymore. I want to join in on the fun.
As I approach, they look at me, and it saddens me to see fear in their eyes. I guess my actions in the past few hours have been less than impressive.
“Want to learn how to really fight?” I smile, and their eyes widen in excitement. They all scream, so I take that as a “yes”. That’s all that I need for me to switch into training mode.
In this moment, there is no war. My husband isn’t gone. I am just a trainer doing what I know best.
Training the kids takes much more patience than my other pack mates, but it’s also more fun, as it isn’t nearly as serious. Someday I may be really training these youngsters for battle. Maybe by then I will be able to fight alongside them.
I show them how to fight in their human forms, how to work together as a team, and most of all, how to defend themselves against a stronger opponent. When I assume that they have had enough, they tell me that they want to learn to fight in wolf form too. Who am I to turn down kids that want to learn? I smile and shift, shaking my clothes off, and they follow suit.
Suddenly, Jerek’s wolf is beside me. I smile, and we do a mini demonstration, keeping our pace slow so that they can track our movements and learn.
Together we turn our attacks on the children and it’s three against one for both of us.
Their wolves are beautiful and spunky, but all six of them together wouldn’t be able to take one of us down. Not yet anyways, but two of them stand out from the rest; the only girl, Madilyn, and a boy named Cole.
When we are all tired, I look up to find everyone watching us from the porch.
The tension they felt towards me earlier seems to have dissipated, and the rest of the evening is easier to bear.
My stomach burns with hunger so I go inside to shift and change before making my way to the kitchen. Feeding twenty people is a first for me, so I make a giant pot of potato cheese soup, rolls, and a large salad with all the fixings.
Together we eat, and I find myself surrounded by kids. They all gush excitedly about my wolf and my fighting skills. Each one of them is pumped to learn more and begin more training. I thought they would get a good night’s sleep after everything today, but I forget that werewolf pups are full of unlimited energy. I have to admit that they are a blast, but I’m going to have to hide the sugar from them.
I didn’t have to worry though. Right after their tummies are full, exhaustion seeps in. Their mothers smile gratefully at me before taking them to bed.
After three helpings of dinner, I’m tired as well, and I look to Jerek to ask him to tuck me into bed.
“Not a chance,” he says before the words can even leave my mouth, and Alex laughs as I pout.
We all hang out in the living room chatting, but I find it hard to keep my eyes open. I try my best to get to know everyone, and I am genuinely interested in their conversations about the kids that Jerek and I trained and played with today, but it’s not long before I fall into nothingness.
Chapter 19
Waking in my bed next to Alexia, I realize Jerek must have had to carry me to bed after al
l. The thought makes me laugh, but a pain in my stomach cuts it short. I run to the bathroom, barely making it in time to release part of my dinner into the toilet bowl.
Worry for my mate consumes me. Is something happening to him, and it’s affecting me? I brush my teeth and wash my clammy face.
Alex is gone when I come back into the room. I must have grossed her out, or she wanted to find a bathroom not being contaminated by me. I crawl back into bed, dizzy from losing contents in my stomach. Half an hour later, I hear a car pull up and get up to look out the window. It’s Alex. Where the hell did she go so early this morning without telling me?
Someone is making breakfast downstairs, and I am surprisingly hungry now. I change into clean clothes and am about to go meet everyone before Alex comes back through my bedroom door.
“Hey, where did you run off to this morning?” I ask, and she watches me warily. My already shot nerves spike at her shadiness. Using all my senses, I tune into her, watching her every movement. Time stands still as I wait for her to do whatever she came up here for.
For the first time, I realize that she is holding a little black plastic bag. Hesitantly, she lifts it and pulls something out. I tense for whatever it may be but it looks harmless enough, until she turns it for me to see what it says. My breath catches in my throat.
“Have you and Jerek been having sex?” I ask in alarm.
“What?” her eyebrows raise before she shakes her head, “No!”
“Then why do you have a pregnancy test?” my own brows pull together in confusion, and she looks at me like I am an idiot.
“For you, Ari. I think you are pregnant,” she says gently as if she is trying not to spook a timid animal.
“What? Why on earth would you think that?”
“Come on, Ari. The mood swings. Puking two mornings in a row. I slept beside you last night, and I can smell your hormones starting to intensify. It could just be all the stress, but I think you should at least take a test to be sure.”
I stare at her for what feels like forever. Can I really be pregnant? Well of course I can. Darien and I have been having unprotected sex for weeks, but most female werewolves don’t get pregnant this early on. There has to be another explanation. Werewolves have shorter pregnancies, and therefore we get symptoms sooner, but if I’m already showing signs, that would mean we would have conceived in one of our first couple times.
I’ll take the test and prove her wrong. She needs to see that it’s just not possible to get pregnant this easily. Taking it from her, I head to the bathroom.
Not three minutes later I’m staring at a stick that has a stupid plus sign on it. It’s clear as day, but I still can’t believe it.
Alexia comes in without even asking and looks at the stick in my hand. She puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I can feel the giddiness in her, but I personally don’t know what to think.
I’m pregnant with Darien’s child. I never imagined having my own kids. I’d never imagined finding a mate, and I didn’t want my kids to grow up in a world with no choices, so I never even entertained the idea. Why the hell didn’t I insist on using protection?
Darien and I had talked about kids once before, and in that moment, I was actually excited about the idea. We haven’t discussed it since though, and I assumed that I had time to consider the possibility. How could I have been so wrong? Even my mother took over a full year to become pregnant, then another three before she had me.
“Hey, is everything okay up here?” Jerek’s voice cuts into my thoughts. “Something smells different,” he wrinkles his nose before glancing at what I’m holding, “Whoa, are you pregnant?”
The fact that he scents something off in me as well, confirms it for me. I’m truly pregnant. There’s no denying it anymore. My hand goes to my belly. A little piece of Darien and me is growing inside. And he left us. I go back to the bedroom and stare out the window.
With a “Congratulations”, and “We’re here if you need anything,” Alex and Jerek leave me with my thoughts.
I slide the window open for some fresh air.
Darien is heading into war with no guarantee of returning to me, and he has no idea of the condition he has left me in. I won’t raise this baby without him, or under the rule of another leader. He needs to come home to us.
Without even having to think about it, I leap out the window. When I land, something holds me in place. Darien’s stupid command. I can feel the power he put into it, and it’s stronger than anything my father has thrown at me. He really wants me to stay put.
Too bad.
For my third time ever trying, I break the command with ease. In the next second, I’m a wolf, running west into Washington.
I can get to Spokane and fly straight from there to Canada and probably get there close to when they arrive. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.
My senses are in high gear, and I know I’m being chased.
I smell Jerek first, but I sense another further behind. I can outrun them, but I don’t want to push my body too hard when I am with child. It will be easier to take out my pursuers first. I’m posed to attack when Jerek comes into view.
He blows right passed me, then turns to look back, wondering why I’ve stopped.
Just as I thought, Alex’s scent reaches me next, and it’s not long before she finds us. They both look at me, waiting for direction. I forget that I am in charge when Darien is away. They know I shouldn’t be doing this, but three is better than one. Do I really want to put my two best friends in danger? No. But if we can make it there in one piece, the three of us could make a difference. My decision is made.
They flank me as I take the lead, but before I get up to speed, another scent catches my nose. This must be what they call “pregnancy nose”. It’s a familiar smell, but it’s too far away to tell so I follow it. Once I’m closer to the fresher scent, I know with certainty exactly what it is. I stop in my tracks, and my heart sinks into my stomach.
Alpha Flint is here.
Jerek and Alex whine as the scent of foreign wolves meets their noses. Together we realize exactly what’s going on.
The army gathered outside of the Alaskan border was a ruse to leave our packs women and children unprotected. John Flint and his men could be hiding nearby, or already on their way towards the women and kids that I left behind.
We need to get to a phone to call Darien, now. I start sprinting back towards home with my wolves on my heels, but then I remember my telepathic communication with my mate. We’ve never tried to use our ability at a distance though, and if he isn’t in wolf form then I am screwed. All I can do is try. Unfortunately, we are probably screwed no matter what. They will never make it back to us in time.
Darien! I focus on him, our love, our connection, and pray that he can hear me.
Darien
We quickly make it into Seattle. I call Alpha Wilder for an update. His men are at the ready, but so far there has been no movement. Are they giving us time to get there and get organized? Something doesn’t seem quite right. My gut hasn’t steered me wrong so far, so I listen to it, and even though we are all ready to change plans and go ahead with the next step, something is telling me not to go any farther.
There are lots of forests in the area so I order everyone that doesn’t have anywhere to stay to go to the woods to hunt and rest before we leave in the morning. We park our cars in a visitor parking lot, which is typically used by hikers and off-site campers. Technically we fit the bill.
Hiking into the woods, we deposit our clothes somewhere safe and shift. It’s not often we get to run with basically the whole pack nor hunt together. In fact, I don’t think we have ever had so many wolves together like this. There’s excitement in the pack, and we run, hunt, and even play together. Life like this is so much simpler.
In the morning, a surge in my power wakes me. Ari’s emotions have been going haywire since yesterday so maybe she needed a pull of power to settle down. I don’t have time to dwell on it though. We n
eed to get moving. Everyone else is still asleep so I gently start waking everyone. Waking nearly a thousand wolves takes a while. Maybe I should have just commanded them awake, but that would set a bad tone for the day.
Once everyone is awake, we go in hunt of our stashed clothes, wallets, and cell phones. Apparently, we ran pretty far into the woods last night because it takes over half an hour to reach my items.
I am mid-shift when Ari’s terror laced voice brings me to my knees. My wolves whine around me as I stop my shift.
Darien! I’ve never heard such fear in her voice before.
Ari? What’s wrong? Where are you? How am I able to hear her when she is supposed to be hundreds of miles away?
Oh, thank God! I was coming after you, but I didn’t get very far.
Dammit Ari, how did you break that command? I had put everything I had into that.
Not important right now, Darien! THEY ARE HERE! She screams at me through our connection, sounding nothing like my strong woman, and her words shoot ice into my veins.
Who, Ari?
Alpha Flint! And God knows how many of his wolves. My gut clenches at her statement, and I puke every bit out. I’m such a fool. I played right into their hands, and left my woman in danger. My nightmare from the other night is coming true.
Jerek, Alex, and I are heading back to protect the women and children now. I’m so sorry that I left them.
No Ari! RUN AWAY! Find safety until we get back. We will try to contact the others and let them know to do the same. You three need to save yourselves. That’s an order.
Do what you have to do Darien. Give the women a heads up, but I’m not going to hide. Just as you told me before, I need to be there for the women and children. It’s my duty to protect them.
I’m already running out of the woods to a car, not giving a fuck if anyone sees my wolf. However, I stuffed all of my clothes and other items in my mouth so that I would have them when I needed them. I feel the pack following, and I know they sense that something is wrong, but my focus is on my mate.
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