The Council was made up of members from all of the lycan groups while the Archives was their central repository where all knowledge was gathered and stored. The Council was charged with protecting the existence of all lycans and the information in the Archives was an integral part of that.
“Six weeks?” Nafarius asked.
“Seven, at the most.” Thomas confirmed. “I wish I could do more…”
“No,” Nafarius cut him off and stood. “You’ve done enough. I wouldn’t want to see any of this fall back on you. I appreciate you keeping this confidential as long as possible. If something changes, if others come asking after Sam, or anything out of the ordinary happens, I would appreciate it if you would send word.”
“Of course,” Thomas stood and took the hand Nafarius offered. “Good luck.”
Nafarius nodded and left. There was little he could do tonight except return to his mate and get ready to return home. He had to admit that he would feel better once they were home. The Council had a long reach and it wouldn’t take them long to find him and Sam. Still, he would feel better facing that situation on his turf as opposed to in the city.
The next morning Nafarius decided not to tell Sam what he’d discovered. She had enough to worry about with her pregnancy and having twins. He had six weeks before the Council was likely to arrive, plenty of time to talk to her.
Sam was surprised when the day came for them to start for home to find that she was more then ready to go. She loved the city and would definitely be coming back, but she loved home more and right now that was where she wanted to be.
The drive back to town seemed to speed by, Seth and Jake were full of stories, several of which made Maddie blush and Sam roll her eyes. Alex filled them in on his family and their reaction to the news of his ‘marriage’. Sam had to admit that he’d done well by Maddie and was glad to hear that his family had accepted the young woman. Nafarius was again quiet which surprised Sam. She thought for sure his happiness at returning home, mate in tow, would have lightened his mood.
Nafarius concentrated on getting them home, knowing that one of the first things he would need to do would be to sit down with Roland and start making plans. Things were going to heat up once the Council arrived and they needed to be prepared.
It was mid morning when Nafarius pulled the SUV into storage. Relieved to see several pack members already waiting for them, he quickly issued orders that sent everyone scurrying.
Sam watched in fascination as her packages were unloaded, distributed and disappeared into the woods. A second group would be coming down in a week to meet the delivery of the rest of their supplies. For now, there was nothing left for them to do but head home.
Two days later, Sam stepped into the clearing surrounding the entrance to their home and breathed a sigh of relief. The walk hadn’t taxed her overmuch but it had been a long ten days and she was glad to be home.
Home. The entire pack was there to greet them, everyone milling around, eager to reassure themselves that their leaders were back safe. Roland was particularly enthusiastic at their return. He had been reminded, once again, why he never wanted to be pack leader. The past ten days had worn his patience thin with everything from petty squabbling to a sparring accident that left one young pup unconscious for two days. He was more then ready to hand back the mantel of leadership and go back to his (relatively) quiet days with his mate.
That night the pack celebrated their return with food, drinking and even some dancing. There were shouts of joy at the news that Sam was expecting twins followed by some good-natured ribbing at the amount of stuff had been hauled in. It wasn’t until later that Nafarius realized that Sam had been quietly moving from group to group handing out packages that he understood. Most of what she’d brought back were for the pack members. There were new books, lightly scented soap and even chocolates. Each piece had been hand picked with a particular member in mind. Nafarius didn’t think Sam realized just how much the gesture meant to each member. She didn’t forget a single one and there wasn’t one person that didn’t cherish what she had given them.
Nafarius looked up at Roland’s hand on his shoulder. Lowering himself to the floor beside his leader, Roland took a swing of beer. Werewolves didn’t become intoxicated the way humans did but he still enjoyed the taste of a good beer and Sam had brought him back a six-pack of his favorite. “Did you learn anything,” he asked.
Nafarius quickly and quietly filled his second-in-command in, ignoring it when Roland paled at the mention of the Council.
“How long?” He asked.
“Six, maybe seven, weeks.” Nafarius answered.
Roland followed Nafarius’ gaze and watched as Sam chatted with several other women. He noted that all of them were mothers and could guess at the topic of conversation. “Have you told her yet?”
Nafarius shook her head. “Did you know that I’d never seen Sam carefree until this past week? She lights up, from inside, and you can’t help but be drawn to it.”
Roland was surprised to hear Nafarius sharing so openly about his mate.
“I almost hated to bring her back, knowing that the weight of her responsibilities would cause that light to dim.” Nafarius shrugged, almost embarrassed. “I guess I wanted to give her tonight before burdening her with the rest.”
Roland nodded, “If it counts for anything, I know she’s happy here. She may not be ‘carefree’ but she takes a lot of pride, a lot of pleasure, in taking care of the pack.”
Later, Nafarius stared up into the dark, Sam tucked in next to him. “Sam.”
“Hmmm…” Sam was nearly half asleep.
“We need to talk,” Nafarius said.