“I’d like to see my father as my Beta, and Leo agrees,” Nicholas said. “The holdup is my Mom. The Beta couple needs to be wolves, and my Mom is still human. She’d have to make the change.”
“Ian is strong enough to be our Beta. The question is whether Dorothy would risk it?”
“She’s already agreed and was waiting until after the wedding,” Nicholas replied. “She wants to go through it while Leo and Adrienne are here to help her. We haven’t lost anyone, not yet.” It was true; our Pack was now eight-for-eight on changes, and no one could explain why. It was like flipping a coin and getting eight consecutive heads.
“They can do it here,” I said. “There’s the other house, right?”
He nodded. “We should probably make sure it’s livable before we invite them, though.”
I got up and helped him up before we closed up the room and headed for the ATV. I was thrilled to find two of them in the garage; I’d been riding since I was six, and these were high-end, powerful models. There were some helmets on a shelf, so I found one that fit and fired my machine up. I let out a whoop as I accelerated out of the garage, turning right on the road with Nicholas right behind me.
A group of grey kangaroos looked up from their grazing as we passed by. The one-lane dirt road wound along the coast, and it was a fast ride to the farmhouse at the adjacent parcel. Nicholas opened the door, and we walked in. “It’s not musty,” I said.
“The caretaker must be keeping it up,” I said. The lights turned on, revealing a cozy farmhouse with a big kitchen. The refrigerator and freezer contained only beer, water, and cokes. The cabinets had all the plates and utensils needed, and the furniture and main bed were all covered. We checked the faucets and bathrooms, and everything worked. “Let’s open the place up and give it a cleaning,” I said.
“It won’t take that long,” Nicholas agreed. “You’re all right with them coming?”
“Of course,” I said. “We have room, and we all need to talk.”
“I’ll call home while you get started,” he said. Thirty minutes later, the place was ready for them. Ian promised he’d bring ‘an Esky full of meat’ along, which was a good idea for a new wolf.
I’d talked with Alessandro briefly; the other Masters were flying out now, so I’d have to thank them later. Alessandro assured me we could use the property, including the farmhouse, as long as needed. “The three days thing was because you’d be going straight to the airport. We hired a jet to take you to meet up with your family and friends on the Gold Coast. They are at one of my homes on Mermaid Beach for four more days before you all come down to my estate in Sydney. They can fly home from there.”
“They all left?”
“When you invited your parents and your aunt and uncle, they decided to stay behind and fly out with you. The rest of them are having a great time on the beach. You’ll see.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Alessandro. This place is amazing. You’ve done so much for me that I’ll never be able to repay.”
“The other Masters and I are happy we could help out our friends, Vicki. Enjoy your stay.”
“Oh, we are,” I said before saying goodbye.
I found Nicholas sitting outside on a porch swing, watching the ocean. “Our honeymoon will continue on the beach,” I told him before sitting next to him and filling him in.
“That was very generous of Alessandro.”
“It was. Now, I need you to make love to me again before we finish looking at the property.”
He rolled his eyes. “How am I supposed to get anything done around here with your constant demands for sex?”
“You’ll get as much done as I do when Nick Junior gets excited,” I teased back. I stood up, pulling off my clothes and tossing them on the seat. “We should make sure this railing is safe,” I said as I bent over, looking out at the ocean below us.
“Can’t be too safe,” he said as he dropped his shorts and moved behind me.
The railing was still sound, as was the swing, the door, and the kitchen counter.
______________
We drank some water looked around. We found some big coolers in the garage and enough bungees to strap them to the cargo racks on the ATV’s. “We can check out the property, then head into Cape Jervis and get as much ice as we can carry,” Nicholas said. I didn’t mind, I loved riding, and it was only six or so miles away.
There were no decent airports closer than Adelaide, so I was relieved when we found a level section at the edge of the property alongside Talisker Road. Nicholas thought we could put a small airstrip and hangar in and not ruin the rest of the property. We kept driving north on the road to Silverton, loving the views, then headed west to Cape Jervis.
The town only had three hundred people and depended on tourism and fishing to support them. We pulled into the parking lot of the Cape Jervis Tavern and General Store, making me laugh a little. “It’s like a bigger Miesville,” I said. They had ice for sale out front, so we bought all we could carry. The clerk recognized us from the news, so we posed for some photos before heading back out.
We drove back to the room, leaving the coolers of ice by the tub, and made lunch before going out on the jetski for the afternoon. Our bags included our dive gear from the wedding so we could do some underwater exploration as well. The riptides and currents along the shoreline were strong, and the rocky bottom reminded me of diving off Cape Cod.
The helicopter was supposed to arrive at five, so we made sure we had all the ingredients to go along with whatever meats Ian brought. We went outside when the helicopter arrived, waving at the pilot as he left behind the six people we’d invited. I saw Dorothy’s fresh bite; she would make her shift tomorrow. Nicholas took the meat around to the grill while I showed everyone our room. “You can leave our stuff there for now,” Ian told me. “We’ll be up all night with the fevers.”
“We can use the tub in our bathroom,” I told them. I gave Mom and Dad the far room and put Leo and Adrienne in the middle. I figured it would be less embarrassing for my Unka to hear us screwing all night long than my Mom.
“Are you sure you want us around on your honeymoon? You only had a day together,” Mom asked as we checked on the food in the oven.
“I asked you here, remember? Time is short, and I need your help.” We ate at the long table in the dining room, and I got everyone up to speed on the gift from the Vampires and what it meant. “What I don’t know is whether I should take this land that I’ve fallen in love with or move somewhere closer to the other Pack members.”
Leo sipped his wine as he considered his answer, while Olivia just blurted it out. “Your question is your answer, Vicki. You always wanted to live on the ocean, and this property is remote and large enough to let your wolves out. This view is your dream.”
She was right. Leo spoke next. “The real question is how you can be an Alpha when your Pack is so scattered.”
“Exactly,” I said.
Adrienne answered first. “You don’t have a choice at first; they are scattered about, each with their own homes and jobs. Wolves need to shift and run, and they instinctively want to be close to their Alphas. You have a safe place here for them to visit, and over time, you’ll find they will move closer on their own. Adelaide is close enough for those who need work or school in the city. There are fishing villages and land around for those who want to stay rural. Help them with moving expenses, local schools, and employment, and within a decade, most of them will live nearby.”
“We’re selling the business,” Ian said, shocking Nicholas with his words. “South Australia Seafoods made an offer last month to buy out our permits and our pens. With no new permits issued for over a decade, their value has skyrocketed. It’s enough money for your Uncle and me to retire, plus the real estate prices in Port Lincoln are nuts. When Alessandro told us what their gift was, we started looking at homes on this side of the Gulf. Both of our families will find a quiet place nearby, and others will follow.”
I’d expected they might talk me out of living here, but that wasn’t the case. Leo finished his wine. “If your mate can take us out, I’d like to see the rest of the land,” he said.
“We only have two ATV’s,” Nicholas said.
“That’s all right. I need to let my wolf out, so Mom can ride with you.”
“I’ll take Olivia on the other, and you boys can wolf out,” Adrienne said.
“I’ll clean up and get dessert ready for when you come back,” I said. “Nicholas, make sure you show them where I want our house to be. I don’t even know if it is possible to build there, but Leo will.”