As soon as we were back on the road, I used the burner to text a message to Craig. “Cousins coming, get guest rooms in basement ready. 4 adults, six 5&under + 2 babies.”
A few minutes later my phone dinged. I looked at the message. “Sounds like a fun time, we’ll get the beds ready.” I knew he would figure it out. I didn’t like it, but at least for now they would all have to go into the safe room in the basement. This ultraviolet light stuff was becoming an issue, and Jacob was right; there were too many ties out there with members of other Packs if they start digging. Sooner or later they were going to show up at my home, and we couldn’t afford anyone to get popped as a werewolf.
The adults were all busy with the young ones, trying to keep them busy and distracted from the losses they had experienced. That also worked well for the four adults. I helped change Jimmy’s bandages, he was healing well. He told me about the aftermath of the attack, his injury, and being left behind. “I didn’t want to go,” he said, “but Derek was insistent. He needed a warrior to protect this group and I am no good in wolf form anymore.”
**********
“What about Melody? Why didn’t she come?”
He smiled a little. “She’s a stubborn mate, and they need every able-bodied person to get to the secondary site and keep the Pack protected. I asked her, she just told me to hurry back to her when I’m healed up and can move again.”
“Yeah, well, I’m hoping this madness ends soon. There is too much senseless killing on both sides, we need cooler heads to prevail and talk this thing out. We lived in peace together before, we can find a way to do it again.” We walked back out into the main part of the RV just as Maggie was coming out of the bathroom.
“I swear my bladder is the size of a grape,” she said.
I laughed. “Suck it up, buttercup. You’re only having ONE. Mine was the size of a raisin, I think.” We both laughed a little. “We’re done in there, why don’t you lay down?”
“Good idea, my feet are still swollen. If any of the young ones want in, they can nap too.”
It wasn’t long until she had all the kids puppy piled around her in the bed; the older ones had taken off their clothes and shifted, the triplets still in human form. Their wolves had not come forward and been accepted by their human side yet, so they had little control over shifting. It gave me a question I filed away for later.
I went back out and sat with the adults as we played cards and I filled them in on what had been happening with our Pack. They were horrified to hear of Olivia’s fate, and that of the two children remaining from her old Pack. To lose a wolf, in our culture, was halfway to death. Some of them remembered Olivia from our brief visit there.
We listened to some news talk radio since the kids were asleep. It wasn’t good; there were more and more stories of entire Packs being wiped out, statistics from roadblocks and random searches, and ‘cleansing’ of populations. The Department of Defense confirmed they had completed screening of all military units and facilities, and had ‘eliminated’ any werewolf threat within them. Government buildings now had black lights in the security lines, and cities were starting to add ‘werewolf detectors’ to their traffic cameras and surveillance systems.
It was clear what their strategy was; they were making it impossible for us to move, to function among them. They were trying to force us into the wilderness, where their technology could take us out without endangering civilian populations. I pulled out my iPad and checked the news; there was already drone footage of Hellfire Missile strikes on wolves. They didn’t’ say if they were werewolves or wild ones, but did it matter? If it moved, they were killing it.
We had to find a way to shift the momentum of the war before it was too late.
I had a lot on my mind as we pulled into our driveway and parked the RV next to the garage. Tom jumped down and went inside to prep everyone for what was coming. A new house, new Pack, new people could be difficult to handle. Craig decided that it would be best if Natalie helped with the younger ones, as they might relate better to her.
Craig had everyone waiting in the living room when Natalie came up to get the kids. They were nervous, holding on to each other as they looked out the window at the big house. “It’s going to be all right,” I said. “There are good people here, they will help you and keep you safe. All right?”
“Yes Alpha,” Theo said. “Hold on to each other like before.”
“Come on, I can’t wait to show you my room and we can play!” Natalie’s enthusiasm helped overcome their fear, and they filed off the bus and through the garage and into the house. When they walked into the living room, everyone was sitting down and they had put some toys in the center. We watched as Natalie sat them down among the blocks and the games. They pretty much ignored the adults, which was good.
I had Nathanial in my arms while Shelley was following with Laurie. The babies were soon handed off, they were used to Pack so they didn’t fuss when this happened. Maggie was helped onto a chair, and I introduced Estelle and Michael to everyone. Jimmy Erickson had been here earlier to help, so he already knew everyone and fit right in.
Olivia was sitting on Mark’s lap as Tony and Tina played with the other kids on the floor. Tony was making fast friends with Theo and Reggie, while Tina was playing with the Thompson triplets, Sharon, Sara and Sally at the toy kitchen Mabel had pulled down from the attic. I didn’t even know my old toys were still up there.
Marge and Mabel headed into the kitchen to set up lunch, but I knew they were listening in on what was being said. We spent the next half hour going over what had happened to the Johnson Pack, and our trip. Craig was very nervous about the search. “It’s all right,” I told him. “The hiding places in the RV worked well, and we made it through. We even got into the system as having been verified human, that could help us in the future.”
“It’s too close a call,” he said. “A better search and you’d all be dead or in jail right now.” If I had a wolf, it would be howling in pain at how worried my mate was about me. Alas, I didn’t.
Marge came in and said lunch was ready, so we led the kids into the dining room.
Another lower table had been added that was more their size so they could eat together. Marge had made a huge batch of homemade macaroni and cheese, and for dessert they had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I was glad to see they were starting to relax in their new home.
“I’m still worried that we can be found out here, Ella. My wolf is nervous, he knows that at any moment we could be attacked just like the Anderson Pack was.”
Jacob nodded. “Marge, Mabel and Ella have lived here for a long time, so they aren’t as suspicious as all the new arrivals. If they start digging, they’ll find the disappearance of all the families in this neighborhood suspicious as well. We have to decide how to keep all of us safe.” He looked at me. “Black Ker’s idea was a big help. Those contact lenses arrived this morning; we did a test, it appears it does work against the black light test. There is still the tiniest bit of glow, but not enough for them to call it positive. That means that if we are wearing them, we can pass for human.”
“That’s great!” I was so happy, this was the best news in days.
“One side effect is that it does affect our wolf vision if we wear them, but that is a small price to pay,” Jacob said.
“What about the kids?” I looked over at the table. “They don’t make contacts their size.”