Ezra enters the room, eyes observing the mess I am making. “What’s wrong?” I’m frantically scattering things in my search.
“My pumpkin necklace,” I tell him, just as I remember I had it on at the river because it kept getting tangled in my hair.
“Where did you have it last?” He asks, going to my wallet and looking in it.
“It’s not there. I checked, I had it yesterday.” I cast my mind back, flitting over the painful moments. “It must have broken when I shifted,” I tell him, feeling tears sting my eyes at the thought of losing it.
“We can find it. I will tell the patrols to keep an eye out for it.” Ezra promises me.
“It could be anywhere, I don’t even remember which path I took home,” I whimper, frustrated that I didn’t take it off before I went swimming.
“Worst case scenario, I will get the whole pack out if I have to,” he swears, though it sounds ridiculous, I didn’t doubt he’d do it, the thought makes me chuckle. “See, we will find it,” he assures me, tugging me to him. I wrap my arms around his waist before hearing him open the mindlink, telling everyone to keep an eye out for it.
“A necklace with a pumpkin?” I hear someone reply.
“Righto Alpha. Consider it found,” came from another voice, making me relax slightly.
Ezra
I need to do something about Andrei and Jackson, I can’t let things keep going like this, I can’t keep having her put at risk, and I am now kicking myself that we didn’t do something sooner. Unfortunately, we became complacent when they never stepped over the border.
“Alex, I want you to send as many men as we can spare to Jackson’s pack, I want eyes on them till we make a move,” I inform him. They will be pissed, it isn’t exactly a short trek through the woods, they are the closest pack to us on that side, but five hours is a long distance to travel in wolf-form, but if Jackson’s men were willing, mine would be as well.
My pack wanted revenge for the rogue attack, making me wonder what those animals had been offered to get them to agree. Most rogues tended to live off the land and preferred their wolf form, which can turn them a bit unstable after a while, so it makes me wonder what he was offered in return for their compliance.
“I can send twelve, otherwise, we’ll be running triple shifts,” Alex responds.
“Send them and expand the patrol out further. I want nothing crossing that border, not even a rabbit, anything steps across, kill it.”
“Yes, Alpha,” he replies, before cutting the link.
Marge walks in with a tray, and the scents of pasta, various kinds of cheeses, and fresh tomato sauce and herbs tickle my nose. Based on the composition of it, we are having her infamous homemade lasagna. Hers is the best. Mateo and I love it when she cooks for us.
“Here you go, honey, bet these boys only feed you take out,” she scolds, glancing at me and Mateo before handing a plate to Kat. I shrug.
“Thank you,” Kat whispers.
Marge leans down, giving her a warm side hug. Then, Marge hands me my plate. “There are leftovers in the fridge. I will head home, but if you need any help with funeral arrangements, Luna, I can help if you need me,” Marge offers her, and Kat nods, eyes on her plate.
I can feel how awkward she feels when people mention Shirley, like she doesn’t know what to say. My fists clench at my side, I hate feeling helpless, but when it comes to taking this pain from Kat, I am at a loss.
“Well, I will leave you to it,” Marge chirps, walking to the door just as Mateo walks in with his plate in his hand and three bottles of coke under his arm. He tosses me one before handing Kat one.
“We really need to stop eating in bed, the crumbs always end up on my side,” Kat complains, using her fork to cut her lasagna. Her smile is stretched a bit too wide, but I choose to not point it out, she’s trying so hard.
“I don’t think I have ever eaten dinner at the dining table. I’ve had breakfast and lunch there, but never dinner,” Mateo comments, making me think.
I can’t even remember the last time I used it for dinner, even when I had Alpha visits, we always used the outdoor one. Was there a reason that we avoided it?
We finish dinner, and Mateo clears our plates before returning. I take off my jeans and put on my boxers, tossing the jeans in the laundry basket.
Mateo slips into his room before coming in with his flannelette pajama shorts on, and his pillow tucked under his arm.
“I don’t understand why you don’t just leave your pillow in here, you hardly sleep in your room,” Kat observes with a yawn.
“Because I’m not sure if you two want me in here all the time,” Mateo chuckles, tossing his pillow on the bed next to hers.
“Just leave it in here, shit, I can give you a drawer if you want,” I offer with a teasing grin.
“You have to woo me first before I agree to that commitment,” Mateo gasps, holding a hand to his chest like some shocked puritan. He gives me a wink as I shake my head at him, and he snags the remote from under the TV before flopping onto the bed beside Kat.
I climb into bed and am shocked when Mateo goes to the horror section, making me raise an eyebrow at him.
“What? I’m feeling generous,” he grins, and Kat plucks the remote from his hand and turns on the series we were watching.
I tug her over, spooning her, and she grabs my hand and kisses it. Mateo pulls the blanket up. Kat looks at Mateo before, feeling like she is leaving him out, but I can tell she also feels safer with us both close.
“You can come closer and be my little spoon, Mateo,” Kat offers, and I kiss her shoulder.