Craig walked in, kissing me before taking a shower and changing into shorts and a Tottenham Hotspur jersey. He looked hot, and he smirked a little when he caught me looking at his shirt. He liked to needle me since he knew what I thought about soccer. Since he played it throughout high school and watched games every weekend, I couldn’t avoid it. The sad part was I was starting to like it.
There was a knock on the door as I was handing Darryl off to be burped, and Olivia walked in. She had also changed, this time into a Dickinson State T-shirt. “Am I disturbing you?”
“Not at all,” I said. “Here, take Mitchell and burp him while I get a shirt on.” I pulled on a shirt and snuggled in on the couch with my babies and my mate as she sat across from me in the chair. “So what did you want to talk about?”
She was nervous, she had her hands on her knees and was looking down. “You know that Mark and I are having some difficulties moving forward, right?”
“I know he hasn’t marked you, and he’s still living with his parents,” Craig said. “We were trying to stay out of it so you can work things out.”
“That’s part of the problem, actually.” She looked up at me. “He is still struggling with my involvement in what happened to you, Ella.”
“I forgave you, I even told him that he needed to let it go!” I shook my head, I thought we were past that.
“You did, but… you haven’t asked me to become part of your Pack. He sees that as evidence that you still hold a grudge.”
I should smack him behind the ears, I thought. “We didn’t know if you wanted to join us, Olivia. Sooner or later your father would get what is coming to him, and we thought you would return to St. Cloud then.”
“I don’t want to go back,” she said as tears leaked out. “Mark wants to continue going to school here, he doesn’t want to move away from his parents and the rest of his family. I don’t want to leave my brother, either. Please? Can I join?”
“Of course, sis. Come here.” He pulled her to us and went through the process of adding her to our Pack. I couldn’t feel it, but I could see it in their faces when it snapped into place. She smiled as the other members sent their congratulations over the newly established link. “We’ll have a celebration on Friday night, the weather looks great for a pool party if you’re up to it. It’s Labor Day weekend, so it’s the last hurrah of summer. We can also say it’s for the Green’s going away. I’m sure the boys would love to tear up ground with their ATV’s and dirt bikes one last time before they are loaded on the trailer.”
I had an addition made to the house, it was an atrium-like area to help brighten up the cold winters. It had a hot tub, koi pond, greenhouse area and a small swimming pool with a slide and basketball hoop, all enclosed by a greenhouse roof and sliding glass doors. It was wide open on the sides in the summer, letting the breeze through while keeping weather out. When it got too cold, we’d close all the door panels and it would become our little tropical paradise in the frozen landscape. We’d finished it in under a month by using prefabricated panels and shotcrete. It had an outdoor kitchen Craig was itching to try on a big party. “Why not? It sounds like fun, and with school starting next week it’s the perfect time.” I had decided not to start school for a year, I had more than enough on my plate right now, and Craig was just taking online classes.
“That would be great,” she said. “Do you think we could invite Mark’s parents?”
“Absolutely, they are family.” I thought about it for a bit. “Have you talked to Mark about whether he is going to take the change?”
“That is part of why he hasn’t let me mark him, even though we are… you know. Intimate. It’s driving my wolf crazy.”
I giggled. “I bet your wolf is not happy about the idea of your unmarked mate going to live in another town with a bunch of college sluts and parties, either.”
Her eyes flashed as her wolf came forward before being pushed back. “Yeah, that was another reason I needed this Pack. I will need permission from the local Alpha to go to Dickinson with him, and Alphas don’t like lone wolves.”
Craig hugged his sister. “We will call the Alpha tonight and get the permissions we need. You know,” he said with a glint, “We should invite some of our allies to this party. Make it an all-day thing to build bonds. I’m still not traveling since we’re keeping my identity secret, so it makes sense to bring them here. It gives them a chance to see our Alpha heirs as well. We have plenty of room to put them up overnight, and we will need their help to keep the pressure on the St. Cloud, Brainerd and Grand Forks packs.”
“Good idea, honey.” I put the babies in the crib as they had fallen asleep. “We should ask them to bring some of their unmated wolves as well. Maybe we can find mates for Matthew and John.”
“Yeah, that would settle them down,” Olivia laughed. “Maybe we can find a distinguished gentleman or two for Marge and Mabel.”
“Oh, I could just see that!” We all laughed. “It’s a plan. I’m going to run everything past Moe, then we can start calling the Alphas tonight.”
It was going to be an epic party, I was sure.
I spent the rest of the evening, outside of baby care, on the phone with allied Alphas and their mates. There was a lot of excitement over the party idea, and a majority of those I contacted wanted to come. I asked them to respond by Wednesday with the number of people attending so I could arrange housing. I still had five empty houses nearby plus the RV, and if I needed more there was plenty of room for tents.
I gave the boys their last feeding and put them down, then stripped off my clothes and went into the shower. Craig said he still had some work to do, so I figured I’d be asleep before he came in. I came out of the bathroom, towel rubbing my hair, and froze.
In the chair in the corner opposite me was a woman I’d never seen before. She was beautiful, with long straight hair that was dark as midnight and light olive complexion. Her eyes were hazel in color, and very bright, almost glowing in the dim light of the bedside lamp. Her posture and attitude exuded confidence and danger, an apex predator looking over the prey.
And she had Mitchell in her arms.
My anger flared, I went into an attack position. I could sense she was a shifter, but something about the way she moved said she wasn’t a wolf. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. I watched as she gently rocked him, singing something softly in Spanish. “Who are you?”
She smiled and looked up at me. “No one who is a threat to you, Ella Grey Anderson. He was fussing while you were taking your shower, so I helped him get back to sleep. He’s a beautiful boy.”
I nodded, looking around for a weapon I could use if I could get her clear of him. “You didn’t answer my question.”
She kissed Mitchell gently on the forehead. “Why don’t you call your mate and your head of security here. We need to have a talk.” I started to move towards the door, my eyes never leaving hers. I didn’t want to be out of sight, so instead of going into the hall, I picked up my phone from the top of the dresser. I pressed a few buttons and rang Moe. “Moe. There’s an intruder in my bedroom. Get Craig and come to my room immediately.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. She’s holding Mitchell. Don’t do anything stupid.” I turned the phone off and waited by the door. “Give him back to me, please.”
“In a moment, Ella. I find that babies are a good deterrent to overprotective mates acting before thinking. When they get here, you need to keep them calm. I only want to talk to you for a few minutes.” I nodded, thinking. “It’s true, I see. I had not believed that your wolf was gone, but you are Alpha. I found your story disturbing on many levels, and that is why I wanted to help you. You are something special, Ella.
I tried to listen for the sounds in the hallway. I knew that Moe wouldn’t just bring Craig, he’d bring everyone and surround the room. There was no way this woman was getting away, and as I watched her, I think she knew it. I could see her eyes moving and her nose scenting the air. And yet, I didn’t see any worry and nervousness. Honestly, she creeped me out.
I stood by the dresser, the door on my right and her and my son to the left. The crib holding Darryl was behind me, so I didn’t want to move any farther away. It was only a few more seconds before there was a knock on the door. “Enter, and don’t do anything yet. Come only to me.”
Craig opened the door slowly, his eyes going to mine. I looked over at the stranger, and he did as well. His eyes flashed as his wolf came forward, not liking the threat to his child. I grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of me. Moe came in next, calmly taking the scene in and closing the door behind him. I could see Matthew in the hallway, holding an AR-15 at the ready as he took cover in another doorway where she wouldn’t see him. Moe stood by the door, blocking her exit. He knew the windows were bulletproof glass, since he had overseen the installation of it.
“All right, we’re here,” I said. “My mate Craig and head of security Moe. You still haven’t introduced yourself.”