Romeo was just wrapping a towel around his waist after a shower when Brody knocked on the door. “Come in,” he said, rubbing an additional towel over his shaggy hair.
“I came to tell you, sir, that Carly and the baby are ready for you.”
“Excellent,” he said, smiling. “Thank you, Brody.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
Romeo and Amanda knocked gently on the room that had been relegated to Brandt and Carly when they’d come to stay at the Traverse mansion. When they were invited in, Amanda immediately cooed over the new baby, smiling and engaging Carly in conversation about how the delivery had gone and how handsome the little boy was. “May we hold him, Carly?”
“Of course,” the small woman said. Having been terribly abused by her original pack for not being able to carry a baby to term, Carly looked resplendent as she handed her son to Amanda.
“I don’t mean to rush your decision,” Romeo smiled. “But if you’re going to join our pack, I need to mark this little guy, sooner rather than later.”
“What does that do?”
“It signifies that he is a member of my pack, to be protected and watched over by every member, until he’s able to do so for himself. I would also mark your twins. I can assure you it’s not painful in the least bit.”
Romeo could tell that the new parents struggled with the decision. “I can wait, of course,” he offered. “But the sooner it’s done, the sooner he’ll fall under the protection of our pack. When Sarina’s twins were kidnapped, our entire pack slept on the lawn until they were brought home safely. Every wolf has its place, even the smallest of us.”
“We’ve talked extensively about whether our decision to join your pack is right for our family. As you may know, I struggle, especially after Fenris, to align myself with any pack. I have, however, watched your family for a while now and I know that as our family has grown considerably, I can no longer have them live in a damp, musty cabin that’s barely inhabitable. Does your pack hunt together or alone?”
“We often hunt in smaller groups. Sometimes couples will hunt together, especially if they’re teaching their young during a first change. Sometimes the men will go together or the women who change. This last full moon I hunted with Brody and other members of our pack while Sarina stayed behind with her mother and younger cousin. It just depends. No one, however, is left alone. Safety in numbers isn’t just good advice in my pack. We take the safety of our members very, very seriously.”
Romeo watched as the couple shared a look that spoke much more than any words. He saw the slightest tilt of Carly’s head and held back the grin that wanted to split his face. “I suppose there’s more cause for celebration then,” Brandt said, smiling. “It looks like you’ve just gained five new pack members.”
“Terrific,” Romeo said, cracking a wide grin. “May I?” He reached out toward Amanda and she passed the baby gently into his arms. Then she left the room to allow Romeo to tend to matters. He cooed lightly to little Theo when Carly and Brandt nodded, giving him permission to mark their youngest son. He looked deeply into the child’s dark blue eyes, continuing to coo in a chant-like way, entrancing the baby to the sound of his voice. Romeo continued as he breathed in the breath of the small baby and gave back his own breath in return. After a minute or so he looked up and smiled. “It’s my great pleasure to say that Theo Jason Medford is now a Delta pack member,” Romeo said, handing the small bundle back to his father.
“Can our twins be marked as well?” Carly asked, as she took the fussing baby.
“Absolutely. We can wait until they’re just about asleep as it works better that way for older children. Tonight I’ll mark them and then tomorrow when you’ve rested more, we’ll do a ceremony for all of you, officially.”
“Thank you,” Brandt said, a hitch in his voice. Romeo shook his hand, his own emotions swirling.
“I should thank you,” he said humbly. “You’ve honored my son in a beautiful way. Something you didn’t have to do.”
“Trust me,” Brandt said. “It’s the least I can do. I owe you more than my meager life is worth.”
Romeo rested his free hand over the one Brandt had placed in his. “Then we’ll just say that we’re both very grateful. Now enjoy your lunch and get some rest. You’re going to have your hands full with twins and that little one.”
***
Amanda found Romeo quietly leaving Brandt and Carly’s room. She smiled up at him as he descended the stairs. “How are they?”
“Unofficially, they’re part of our pack. We’ll remedy that tomorrow. For now though, the children, especially little Theo, is a Delta pack wolf. I just marked him as such.”
“How terrific.”
“You needed to see me?”
“I want to go back to the cabin.”
“Already?”
“Yes,” Amanda said, steeling herself for what she was about to add. “I want to spend the night there, alone.”
“No,” Romeo said, not even stopping to debate with her.
“Romeo,” Amanda sighed. “I need to see this through. I need to know what this all means.”
“No way, Amanda. I worked my ass off to have you, to build our pack, to keep everyone safe. I won’t risk my queen, because she has a hunch about a cabin that she can’t see.”
“Your queen has a name,” Amanda said testily.
“Amanda,” Romeo said, taking her hands in his. “You know that I want answers for you just as much as you do, but we can’t have you gallivanting around the countryside. Not when we’re about to induct five new members into our pack tomorrow. You need to be here, to be present.”
“And I will be. I’m not talking about moving there. I just need to see what this cabin meant to my ancestors and why I can’t see it.”
“Absolutely not,” Romeo said, his voice telling her his decision was final. A spark of indignation swept through her and he had to grin. No wonder Sarina was the way she was. There was no denying she was Amanda’s daughter.
“You know I’ll go on my own anyways.”
“And you know I’ll do everything in my power to stop you,” Romeo said, backing her up to the wall near their bedroom.
“Oh?” Amanda tried her best to keep a serious face but a chuckle escaped her. When she found Romeo’s eager readiness, a fired mixture of want and need exploded in her inner being. Acquiescing to him and her own fervor, Amanda allowed him to carry her into their room, kicking the door shut with her foot as he did so.
***
Sarina tiptoed downstairs well after dark for a drink and found her mother rummaging through the fridge in what looked very much like jeans, a t-shirt, a flannel outer garment and hiking boots, if she wasn’t mistaken.
“Mama?”
She squelched a giggle when her mother started, hitting her head on the top of the fridge. “What are you doing up?”
“I was thirsty and came down for a drink. What are you doing?”
“I’m getting some food.”
“In your day clothes? It’s nearly two in the morning,” Sarina said, nearly cringing at just how much she sounded like the very woman she was interrogating.
“I’m a grown woman, Sarina Mabel,” Amanda huffed.
“And yet you still haven’t answered my question,” she pointedly declared. “You’re going to the cabin aren’t you? And without Dad.” It was a statement, one neither of them wanted to argue about.
“I don’t have time to justify my actions to you. Not that I need to, to begin with. Go back to bed, Sarina. Forget you saw me here tonight.”
“Nice try,” Sarina said with a sly smile. “I’m going with you.”
“The hell you are. You have babies who need you.”
“My babies are fine with Brody. You’re my mother and I’m not letting you go into the woods in the middle of the night to a cabin you can’t even see.”
“Fine,” Amanda bit off. “Hurry up!”
Sarina was downstairs with her own pack in ten minutes, having left a note for Brody and Romeo to follow in the morning. She didn’t know why and she knew her mother might hate her for it, but she had a nasty feeling about this cabin when it came to her mother.
“Aunt Pen?” Sarina said when she saw her aunt headed toward them.
“I’ve been expecting your mother’s call for nearly a week now,” she said, a conspiratorial smile on her face.
“And Uncle Elijah is just cheering you on from the side lines?”
“Hell no,” Penelope Traverse smiled. “I’m sure he’ll be hunting me down when the sun comes up, just like your father and mate, if I’m not mistaken.”
“True,” Sarina said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Alright, we’re burning darkness. Let’s go see what this cabin has to say for itself.”
“That’s my girl,” Amanda piped up, wrapping an arm lightly around Sarina’s shoulder.
***
Two hours later, Sarina was standing with her mother and aunt outside the cabin that Brandt, Carly and their twins had occupied less than three weeks prior. “I still can’t believe they lived here.”
“Tell me about it,” Penelope said, shuddering. “So, how do we want to do this?”
“Well, I can’t see it,” Amanda started. “So I need you and Sarina to give me every detail you can about it.”
“It’s a dilapidated pile of shit,” Sarina said with a chuckle, only half kidding. “Seriously Mama, you wouldn’t worry so much if you could see it.”
“Be that as it may,” Amanda said, “I can’t see it and for some reason my ancestor’s saw the need to keep a record of it. I need to know why.”
“So what do you need other than details?” asked Penelope.
“I’m not sure yet, but I figured if you could see it, then there must be some reason I can’t. You are my proof checker.”
“Great,” Penelope scoffed, acting hurt. “Alright queenie, it’s only because I love you that I’m doing this.”
“And know that I will always appreciate you for it,” Amanda replied in return.
Penelope lifted her hands as the wind began to swirl around them. Sarina smiled as she felt her own power begin to sizzle down her arms. Joining her power with that of her aunt wasn’t something she was used to, but she couldn’t deny how right it felt. Grabbing Penelope’s hand, Sarina absorbed the electric shock that zinged up her arm. Instantly, snapshot pictures of the cabin flashed through her mind. One showed a young mother tending to a toddler, her belly swollen with another pregnancy. Her dress was threadbare and her skin was bronzed from spending her days in the sun.
The next picture was of a tall man dressed in coveralls, a straw hat crumpled in his hand. He stood over two graves and hate brewed in his heart. The next picture that flashed showed a massive wolf stalking the cabin. Sarina knew instinctively that it was a werewolf. Just his size was enough to attest to that fact. His dark eyes sent a shiver through her and then, like a movie reel, Sarina watched as he attacked the woman and her small daughter. The woman died protecting her child.
Releasing Penelope’s hand, Sarina dropped to her knees and retched on the ground, her body trembling. It took her nearly fifteen minutes before she could tell her mother what she’d seen. Even then tears poured down her cheeks. “The husband had such hatred in his soul. Not that I can blame him really. He came home to find his whole family torn to shreds. It doesn’t explain though, why you can’t see this cabin.”
“We need to try again,” Amanda said. “But not now. You two need to rest and recharge. We’ll see if we can’t do this again in a few days. I need to talk to Romeo and get Brody and Elijah out here as well. All three couples need to understand what this might mean for me and for our pack.”
***
“Where the hell have you been?” Romeo asked, his rage easy to read, even without Elijah and Brody following behind him. “I woke up to Brody telling me our daughter left him a note. And don’t you dare take this out on her. She knew you’d need us,” he added when Amanda looked sharply at Sarina, who, to her credit, didn’t flinch.
“I told you I’d come out here on my own time,” Amanda said defiantly. In their nearly three decades together, she’d done little to defy him, especially after they were married. But this was something she couldn’t put off or ignore as if it didn’t mean anything. “I’m sorry if keeping this from you was my only course of action, but I did warn you in all fairness.”
Amanda watched her husband sigh as her daughter and sister-in-law moved to stand by their respective mates. “I’d like to throttle you for scaring ten years off my life, but I’ll settle for hearing what you three found out.”
“Well,” Amanda started, turning for home and waiting for Romeo to join her. She took comfort in him when his hand reached for hers. “We’ll have to wait for Sarina to tell that part as it was she and Penelope who were able to see the most. It’s still hidden to me, along with whatever happened there.”
***
Sarina told her father, uncle, and mate everything she’d seen and how she and Penelope had been able to convince the cabin to give up its secrets. “Aunt Pen’s got one hell of a grasp on that wind power.”
“It only took me the better part of my life to get there, darling,” Penelope said with a wink.
“Regardless, you were magnificent.”
“Thank you,” she said, stopping at the edge of the yard that belonged to the Traverse mansion. “Just let me know when you’re up for it again. I’m going home so my man can make me breakfast.”
“Uh-huh,” Elijah replied with a smile. “We’ll see you all later.”
Everyone said their goodbyes to Elijah and Penelope as they turned to head into the house.
“We’re going to grab the boys and head home,” said Sarina.
“You’re sure?” Amanda asked, unable to keep her disappointment from showing.
“Yeah,” Sarina added. “You have a house full and there’s really no need for us to be here anymore, at least not for more than a visit.”
“You’re always welcome,” Romeo said, pressing a hand gently to the small of Amanda’s back. “Regardless of the reason.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” Sarina said, kissing his cheek. “I just think we’re ready to be back to our own routine.”
“We can understand that,” Romeo acknowledged.
It took Brody and Sarina two hours to get the boys and all their belongings collected and say their goodbyes to everyone. Sarina checked in on Brandt, Carly and their children, taking a moment to snuggle the baby.
“You’ll be here for the ceremony won’t you?” asked Brandt.
“Of course we will,” Sarina promised. “How could I miss inducting my favorite new pack members into our family?”
“Your father won’t make a big deal out of it, will he?”
“I honestly wouldn’t know as I’ve never seen it done before. When Brody brought his pack here, I spent so much time on making sure they were fed and comfortable that I sort of glossed over all of that. In all fairness there was a whole lot of other stuff going on then, but I can’t imagine my dad dragging your induction out or anything. It should be fairly straight forward. Then we can eat.”
“Food sounds so good,” Carly chuckled. “I have a confession to make.”
“Uh-oh,” Sarina said, smiling. She sat next to Carly on the bed, admiring the way she took her role for the newborn. “I promise not to hold whatever it is, against you.”
“I felt intimidated by you,” Carly blurted as if she simply couldn’t hold it in anymore. “When Brandt first told me about you, about what he’d done to you; I couldn’t imagine a woman who’d let a man do that. Not that I had much room to talk in my condition and circumstances. But I was blown away by your kindness and the ease with which you welcomed us. Even after the twins I couldn’t get over how wonderful you were. I just kept waiting for the hammer to drop. I’m thankful that you are as wonderful and amazing as you’ve always been and that I don’t have to worry about some veil lifting to reveal the real you. I’m very grateful to call you my friend.”
Sarina didn’t know what to say to the fragile woman who was so open with her. Tears stung her eyes as she sat there in the silence. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m not sure anyone’s ever said anything that eloquent about me before. I’m not sure I deserve the praise, but my ego appreciates it.” Sarina chuckled as she handed Carly a glass of water. “I can tell you, Carly, that I am no one special. I happen to be a woman who is also a werewolf and a witch. My mother hasn’t really explored all my powers yet, but I’m pretty sure that’s all part of my witch heritage. I will tell you though that I want what every woman wants. I want my family to be safe and happy. I want to watch my children grow up and enjoy their lives. And I want to spend as much time with my friends and family as possible. If I can do that, I’m living the dream. I’m thankful that fate or karma or whatever you want to call it, brought us together as I consider you a very dear friend. That being said, get some rest and feed that little guy. I’ll watch him for you in a bit so you can get a shower before the ceremony.”
***
Sarina held little Theo as she walked downstairs. When Brandt headed her way she smiled and handed the little boy to his father. “How’s Carly?”
“Probably feeling like a million bucks about now. I left with Theo so she could take a shower. She’ll be down shortly and then we can welcome you all into the Delta pack in style.”
“Terrific.”
The ceremony was low-key, much as Sarina had expected. Standing in the back yard with her immediate family and the entire Delta pack spread out all around, Sarina realized how special she truly was. She belonged to the largest werewolf pack she knew of and thanks to her amazing father, things would continue to go on for generations to come. She was privileged to be a part of it, alpha’s daughter or not.
After everyone had eaten and enjoyed greeting the newest pack members, along with celebrating over the brand new baby, Brody and Sarina took the short walk back to their own house, their little boys in tow. By the time they got in the door, both boys were sleeping, one in the arms of each of their parents. “How about we lay these two down in our bed and go out back?”
Sarina smiled, knowing full well what her husband had in mind. “I’m game if you are,” she replied.
“I’m glad you left the note for me,” Brody said, looking her in the eye. “I thought your mom was going to jump out of her skin.”
“Me too,” she said, laughing. “I wasn’t sure how Mom was going to take it, finding out I’d sort of snitched on her. I just couldn’t head out there and do what she wanted to do, without knowing there’d be some backup coming, just in case. And I can just imagine how the next little while is going to go. If I hadn’t already had the twins, I’d be worried.”
“I’m not blaming you,” Brody said, touching her hand. “I absolutely agreed that you did the right thing letting us know that y’all had headed out there. If anything had happened, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”
“Good,” Sarina said with a sigh. She stepped up into their hot tub, still dressed in the same dress she’d worn into the woods that morning. “And you already can’t live with yourself, well, not productively anyway.”
“You don’t want to take that off first?”
“Mm-hmm,” she cooed. Brody smiled as he headed up to join her.