It was late when we finally got home; Olivia had slept the rest of the way. She was already looking better, her wolf healing kicking in to heal the cuts, and her bruising had reduced quite a bit. She was nowhere near being healed, though. Moe carried her in and Mabel led them to a guest room she had prepared for her arrival. The Greens left for their own house while Mabel and I got her changed and into bed; she didn’t even wake up.
Sunday was a lazy day, normally. The Green children and mates plus Mark had planned to be out on the ATV’s all day, riding around the extensive properties I owned here. Moe and Theresa volunteered to run security while they were having fun.
Richard and Doris Darling had left on Saturday morning for their home pack; he only wanted a part time job and they missed their friends, so they would be gone a couple weeks.
Tom and Shelley had gone back to their old house to move some more things now that the cleaning crew had removed the bloodstained carpet and walls. Shelley still couldn’t bear to look into Mark’s room, even though he had cleaned out all his stuff. I was glad they were happy with the new house down the street.
The Spencers went to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Carl and Angela loved to travel, and they wanted Josh and Jane to see as much of the United States as they could. Angela worked the trips into her homeschooling plans for them, and she also thought it did Josh good to get away from the computer for a while. I made arrangements with allied Packs to allow their visit and to ensure their protection.
Melanie Schefter and Nadine Anderson had both stayed behind, so along with Marge, Mabel, Theresa, Linda and Katy, we decided to have a girl’s day. Chick flicks, ice cream and homemade pizzas. We had originally planned to go shopping in Minot, but I was still tired and Olivia still sleeping.
We had let Olivia sleep in, and when she woke up at two in the afternoon she found us in the theater room, surrounded by junk food and watching Beaches. “Hey Olivia,” I said as I got up awkwardly, my pregnancy belly making my balance off.
“You don’t have to get up, Ella!” She moved over to me and gave me a hug. “Thank you for getting me out of there.”
“You’re welcome, and don’t worry. I have to go to the bathroom anyway.” I moved past her and down the hall as the other girls introduced themselves. By the time I came back, Melanie had her lying down on a theater chair and was starting to work on her nails. The group of us bonded quickly with her, we all had been damaged in one way or another, and we knew how important it was for her to find a Pack now that her father and fiance had kicked her out. Ours wasn’t conventional, but it was working for us. Even the ones who still belonged to other Packs could feel it.
By the time dinner rolled around, Olivia’s nails and toes had been done and she was sleeping on the chair with Melanie tucked in with her. They had both broken down and shared their stories with the rest of us, and now were emotionally exhausted. We left them in the quiet room as we moved to the kitchen. Theresa and her girls commandeered my kitchen, turning it into a production line of dough and tomato sauce. As you might expect in a werewolf household, the toppings were mostly meat, and veggie pizzas weren’t even considered. By the time the first pizzas were coming out of the oven, the boys had returned. Mark was meeting his parents in town, but the rest of us settled down around my big dining table as the food started coming out.
When I was done, I took a couple plates and a variety of slices back into the theater room and set them on the table next to their chair. My movements weren’t those of a stalking wolf, I was human and pregnant and I may have bumped some things, and it was enough to startle them awake. “Hi guys. We made some pizzas, I didn’t know if you were ready for the big crowd so I brought you some.”
“Thank you, Ella,” said Olivia as she rubbed her eyes. “I’m starving.” She sat up and grabbed a plate as Melanie moved to the next chair over.
“Thank you, Alpha.” I smiled at Melanie as she reached for the food.
“You’re welcome. If you want more, come back or give one of us a yell. We’ve got the Green’s over tonight. Olivia, if you are up to meeting the rest of Moe’s family just come on in.” I left them to think it over; Melanie was slowly warming up to the men around me, but needed encouragement. What she really needed, I thought, was to find her mate. I decided that I would start bringing her along when I visited other Packs to give her a better shot.
Actually, Olivia needed that too. Now that she was free of the bond her father pushed her towards, I wanted her to find her true mate as well. I guess it was a good thing my RV was arriving tomorrow.
I had decided we needed a more comfortable way to travel, and I had the money, so I went for it. I bought a 38 foot Fleetwood Expedition diesel pusher Class A in March. A friend of Moe’s knew of a custom shop that would perform some specific modifications for cash and keep their mouths shut, and we sent it there. Some changes were simple, like the lockable “doggie door,” while others required more discretion. These included false backs to some of the storage compartments, a “safe box” under the master bed that was armored and lockable from the inside, and a false tank accessible from under the carpet in the living room. Moe had convinced me that these compartments would come in handy when we had to transport stuff that wasn’t so legal. The RV dealer had sent it to the shop and was delivering the completed rig to me, as I had bought it over the internet.
The next morning, I was sitting around my bedroom waiting for the RV to arrive and doing some of my homework. I ran outside when I got a text message from Luke who was manning the security center, the delivery was arriving. It was a thing of beauty. I had asked Moe, Mabel, Marge and Mark to be there as the sales representative walked through everything with it for the next few hours. He covered everything from operating the three slideouts to the microwave. Once we were comfortable with operating the gear, I invited anyone who wanted to come to go on the shakedown drive. Olivia wasn’t feeling up to it yet, so she stayed home with Marge. Melanie, Nadine and Theresa all wanted to come, so we all climbed on board.
Mark, Moe, Theresa and I took turns driving the bus-like vehicle with him giving us tips. It was weird being so high, but I got used to it quickly. We drove the sales rep to the airport, then grabbed some pizzas and had a little feast at a scenic turnout over the Missouri River. It was a lot of fun, and I really liked the comfort I could travel in as I was getting more pregnant- even if it was tough to get out of those big chairs without help!
“You know,” Mark said, “We don’t have much going on next week. I’m off school, and you said you’re almost done with your Internet schooling for the year. Why don’t we take a road trip?”
I had to admit, I was itching to get this thing out on the road. “Where to?”
“Well, you said you don’t want to see a human OB-GYN anymore because werewolf babies develop slightly differently late in the pregnancy, and you don’t need a human to see that if they are wolves. We could drive down to visit your Aunt and Uncle and have the Doc check you out. We could stay there for a bit, then continue down to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole.”
“That’s a hell of an idea, Mark. I’d love to see some things before I get too big and uncomfortable to travel! What do you think, Moe?”
He nodded. “That wouldn’t be a problem, your team is working well. I’d send some people with you, just to be safe. I need someone on this RV with you, and another watching at a distance.” He looked at Theresa. “You know, we wouldn’t mind that trip. It would be good to get back to the mountains and run for a while.”
“We’re not complaining,” Theresa said, “but our wolves need the break. Plus, I want to visit some friends.”
“It’s settled then,” I said. I made a phone call to my Aunt Remi, who was thrilled at the idea of us visiting. I told her Mark would be along, as he wanted to be there for the baby exam, and she said that would be fine- after all, he was the presumed father and he already knew about us. I told her there might be a few more, but that was fine too.