I showed them the rest of the basement. We had a twenty-seat home theater next door, then four small bedrooms for household staff. The rest of the basement held storage, laundry, and utilities. “We use multiple ground-source heat pumps to heat and cool the homes, the pool, and the aquarium. There is a sizeable solar farm hidden behind trees up on the hill that provides most of our energy needs. An emergency generator sits behind the garage.”
“Those heat pumps are expensive up-front, aren’t they,” Leo asked.
“As isolated as we are, and as big as this home is, we wanted to be as energy-efficient as possible,” I said. “We didn’t cut corners in this project.”
Leo nodded; as a general contractor, he knew just how well-built our home was. We headed back to the stairs, going up to the second floor. “It’s all bedrooms up here,” I said as I led them into the Master Suite. A California King bed dominated the room, centered on the bump-out and looking over the water. A spacious his-and-her bath suite had separate toilet/sink areas on either side of the deluxe shower and jacuzzi overlooking the cove. Two spacious closets and a sitting area/reading nook finished off the space.
I led everyone back to the hall. “We designed these rooms for the nanny and the nursery,” I said. Mom stared at me, her eyes demanding the answer to her unspoken question. “Mom, it’s too early,” I sent her over the link.
“You mean you’re late,” she said with a smile.
“It’s only the eighth week. After last time, I’m not saying anything until the first trimester is over. I haven’t even told Nicholas yet.”
“I won’t say anything, but you need to tell him soon,” Olivia said into my mind.
I turned to the crowd. “We have five more guest rooms on this level. Thanks to the location, each has a view over one of the coves and private beaches below. Now, if you’ll follow me outside?” I led them onto the deck via French doors from the hallway and around to a stairway leading up. “Welcome to the Observation Deck.”
The pitched roof extended up from the outside of the foundation until it was just over waist-high, then dropped vertically to the decking that covered the top of our home. The stairway exited into a flat, open roof area featuring unlimited views in three directions. A band played at one end, there were tables set up on the other side of the dance floor, and a bar was off to the side. Everyone was at the rails, the warm summer breezes in their hair.
Brent walked up to me and put his arm around my shoulder. “This is beyond anything I imagined,” he said. “You guys did a great job with your home. Your Pack will congregate here, and that’s what Southern Cross needs right now.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I said.
“All you need up here now are some cannons,” Hammer said as he looked out at the ocean.
When the group had seen everything, I led them down a stairway and through a door to the indoor swimming pool. “We used a polymer, translucent material for the roof instead of glass. It is far more energy-efficient, doesn’t collect moisture, and transmits the light without the glare. With low pitch and the walls extending higher, you can’t see the panels from the ocean. Zoning rules limited the roof height, so we excavated the pool deck a meter below grade and dug it out from there. This upper level surrounds the pool area and provides access to the waterslides and lounge areas away from the pool itself. If you want to try the slide, go ahead; otherwise, follow me.” We went down a stairway to the pool, which was divided into areas for multiple activities. There was a play area with deep water for diving off platforms and a three-meter board. In the middle was a chest-deep area for volleyball and basketball plus the waterslide exits, and on the right were full-length lanes for swimming laps. At the near end was a twelve-person hot tub surrounded by a shallow play area with bubblers for the little ones. Next to it was a snack bar and a few tables; lounges and chairs were in groups all around.
“I know where I’m going to be spending most of the party,” Makani said as she looked at the hot tub.
“Maybe later. I want to watch the sunset from the party deck,” Noelani said. The twins were here for three weeks as their mates were off at training assignments. Both had taken the change and were Beta-ranked wolves in the Three Sisters Pack now.
Amy looked over at me. “Then Sharks After Dark? I want to get a sleeping bag and crash by the sharks like the old days,” she said.
“I’m not sleeping on the floor in this house at my age,” Susan told her daughter. Hammer just laughed and pulled his mate closer. “We’ve got a guest room tonight, and we’re going to take advantage of it.” Both pairs were only in Australia for five days, not wanting to leave their children for more than a week.
I offered to show the guest house to those interested, but I’d lost many to the changing room or places they’d previously seen. Brent and Olivia, Ian and his mate Svetlana, Ivan and Karen, Leo and Adrienne, plus Masters Cyprian, Alessandro, and Emily all joined me for the tour. The guest house wasn’t huge, but it had a small kitchen and living room, a master bedroom overlooking the beach, and two smaller rooms. “It’s beautiful,” Adrienne said.
“I never expected I’d live so far away from you guys,” I said as I started to tear up. “I love you so much, and I miss you. There’s plenty of room for you to visit and stay for a while, and you can have your privacy,” I said. The tears kept coming. It felt like everything hit me at once; stress from the party, pregnancy hormones, and work pressures. Mom pulled me into her lap and comforted me, waving the others went back to the party.
I rejoined them when my emotions were under control again.
***********
Vicki Corcoran’s POV
Deep Creek, South Australia
People say that all parties center around the kitchen, but no one at our housewarming wanted to be there. Not with everything else around; they’d take a plate and sit on the window seats overlooking the ocean. Others went to the pool or downstairs to watch the fish swim in the aquarium. I’d been circulating throughout our home all night, greeting people and socializing. It was after ten at night, and I was up on the roof. Nicholas was taking me for a moonlit spin on the dance floor.
“This night has been perfect,” I told him as I leaned my head onto his broad shoulder. “The party went without a hitch, and we caught a break with the weather.” It was cooling off now, just below 20 Celsius, as I got used to the whole Metric thing. There was a light breeze off the water and a few high clouds in the sky. The railing around the roof had downward-pointed LED lights that illuminated the edge gently without spoiling the view. There were only three other couples on the dance floor and a dozen more drinking at the tables. “I need to tell you something,” I whispered in his ear.
“You’re pregnant,” he whispered in my ear.
I stopped dancing, stepping back from him in shock. “You knew?”
“For a week or so. The nose knows.” He pulled me back in and started dancing with me. “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I just…”
“You couldn’t say anything until you were farther along because you’re afraid you’ll lose this one too,” he told me. Damn, he was good at this mate stuff. “You’re right. Many couples don’t announce it to their friends and family until they make it through the first trimester. I think in this case, you should announce it now before the party breaks up.”
“Why?”
“First off, people already suspect because the scent is faint around you. Still, you’ll never have this group of people in one place again. If you wait a month, they will never be able to congratulate you in person. Our Pack can use this, too. Heirs settle a Pack and give them hope for the future.”
He was right. “How should we do this?”
“Our parents should hear it before anyone else. Ask them to come up here.”
I sent them a mental summons and asked them to bring Linda, Amy, Makani, Fiona, Carly, and Noelani too. Those girls had helped me through my miscarriage, and I wanted them to be among the first to know. I led Nicholas to the edge facing the larger of the two coves; with the band taking a break, you could hear the surf below along with the noises from the party and the pool. Soon the group gathered around, and Nicholas held me from behind with his hands around my stomach. “I have an announcement to make,” I said as their faces lit up in anticipation. “I’m pregnant. Eight weeks along.”
The screams from the twins caught everyone’s attention, and I got pulled from one hug to another as we celebrated the news. Only Mom stayed back since she already knew. Amy whispered in my ear when she got her turn. “Don’t say anything, but we’re pregnancy buddies this time around. I found out just before I left home.” I hugged her extra tight; she was a great Mom, and I was thrilled for her and Kai.
The bartender poured champagne and sparkling grape juice, and they toasted my news. “I have to tell the others,” I said. We repeated the scene in the great room, pool, and Sharkbait’s Cave. My Pack was thrilled with me joining the worldwide WolfyBabyBoom. The new couples from the SWIM had wasted no time in adding to our numbers. Mates, transfers, and babies had swollen the Southern Cross Pack to over a hundred and twenty now.