Chapter 3

Lily

We didn't leave right away like I thought we would, but it wasn't Thomas's fault. That night a massive storm rolled over Collier.

I hadn't been sleeping well, which wasn't uncommon for my third trimester. After tossing and turning for hours in a mix of baby discomfort and excitement to go home to San Marco and see my family, I was just falling asleep when a large crack of thunder sounded followed by a scream.

It took me a moment to recognize footsteps on the baby monitor as I jolted awake just as a flash of light lit the room.

"Shh. It's okay. Just a storm," I heard my oldest whisper to my youngest.

"I want Mama."

"Come on. I'll take you to her."

I grabbed the video monitor and watched as Cammie carefully picked up Lilah, soothing her once more as she carried her off the scream.

My heart swelled with emotion and tears pricked my eyes.

Thomas sat up quickly and looked around the room.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I sniffed, dabbing at my eyes.

"Slugger, I know when you're upset. I can feel your emotions as strongly as if they were my own. What is wrong?"

Cammie quietly opened the door and tiptoed inside.

"Oh, you're awake."

I held out my arms and she brought Lilah to me.

"I'm scared Mama."

"I know sweetie, but it's just a storm."

I scooted over closer to my mate and invited Cammie to join us. She climbed onto the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck.

"The storm woke me," she admitted.

My firstborn hated storms. It was part of the reason I was so emotional. She'd set her own fears aside to console her little sister and make her feel safe.

I couldn't help but wonder how I'd gotten so lucky with these girls of mine.

With the next boom of thunder, doors opened and the pitter-patter of little feet ended with two more faces peeking into our room.

"There's room. Come on," I told Audrey and Willow.

Thomas was watching me closely.

"I'm okay," I assured him. "Better than okay," I added with a sniff as I settled down next to him surrounded by all our daughters.

"This is why we have a king bed," he muttered before wrapping an arm around Audrey and tucking her into his side while Willow wiggled her way in between us. "Everyone's okay. Let's try to get some sleep."

Just as the girls were starting to settle, alarms went off on both of our phones followed immediately by his phone ringing.

We shared a look as our children clung to us.

Thomas checked his phone.

"There's a possible tornado in the area. It looks like it's a little south of us, but we should prepare for the worst. It's been a while since an actual warning went off around here," Thomas reminded me.

I shuddered. I'd heard stories of the storms that could rip through the area, but I had never actually experienced one. There had been a few scares over the years that had sent the whole Pack to underground shelters, but they never seemed to actually hit Collier.

The one time in the years since Thomas and I had mated that there had been a tornado touch down in Collier, I'd been out of territory visiting my family.

As I gathered my little family up to get them ready to spend at least the remainder of the night underground, a sense of overwhelming guilt washed over me.

If I'd had it my way, we'd already be in California sleeping in my childhood room. But what if something did happen? Thomas and I wouldn't have been here to handle things. My mind quickly spiraled into dark places.

"Mama?" Willow asked.

I shook the thoughts from my mind and leaned down to swoop my little girl into my arms. Confirming Cammie had Lilah, I grabbed Audrey's hand.

"Stay together and don't panic. We're just going down to the shelter as a precaution. There's nothing to worry about."

Cammie shot me a look like she didn't believe me but would still put on a good face for her sisters anyway.

"Mama's right. It'll be like a fun sleepover," she told them.

The shelter was massive. After the last tornado that touched down had left me feeling so lost and useless, I'd convinced my brother to loan us a team of moles who constructed an elaborate underground structure, well three of them, actually, strategically designed to save our entire Pack. The three shelters were each placed in the most populated areas of our territory to ensure the majority of our wolves would have easy access in an emergency.

We'd held an annual emergency plan mock crisis each year since, but this was the first time Thomas was sounding the alarm for real.

As Alpha and Pack Mother we had a direct entrance from our home and another from the Alpha House that led into the same shelter. Thomas would oversee this one while Luke was assigned to shelter two and James would oversee shelter three.

Personally, I hated that those I loved the most were scattered across the shelters, but I knew it was what was best for the Pack. While I would do absolutely anything, even give my life for any one of our Collier wolves, I couldn't help but want to protect those close to us too. Maybe that made me a bad Pack Mother. I often wondered about that.

At a time like this I knew I just had to push those thoughts down and act.

It took no time at all to gather up a few necessities and walk to the subterranean shelter below our house.

"We've practiced this, girls, remember? You know where to go and what to do," I reminded them.

Lilah was clinging to Cammie, and Willow had a death grip around my neck as we walked downstairs and settled into our family suite. Not everyone got suites or even beds. Most of the Pack may not even have cots to sleep on tonight. It definitely contributed to my guilty conscience, yet I was also happy to have a safe place for my girls to feel at ease. We'd even taken the time to make our suite a bit homier than necessary. It felt stupid now as I thought beyond of my little family of six to our Pack.

Cammie helped me settle the girls down. I had no idea where Thomas was, but I knew I needed to get out there and see for myself that everyone was okay.

"It's okay, Mama. I'll watch the girls. You need to be out there to support our Pack."

I hugged her. "When did you get so smart? Stop growing up so quickly."

She giggled. "I'm going to be Alpha someday and need to know what this Pack needs, so I've been watching you and Daddy. Right now they need you both out there and visible because just like the little girls, people are scared right now."

I kissed the top of her head. "Try to get to sleep, ladies."

My heart swelled with pride as I left the room. Cammie had a fierce protective side when it came to her sisters.

I placed my hand atop my stomach and felt our newest addition kick. No one had ever told Cammie she would someday be Alpha, but it was an assumption she'd come to over the last few years.

I worried that this little one would be a boy. Her father indulged her curiosity and often treated her like his heir, even though she could never be. It wouldn't be easy to explain the wolf hierarchy properly to my eldest daughter should that occur. I certainly didn't look forward to that conversation.

But I also worried that it wouldn't be a boy. I'd made it clear that, no matter what, this was going to be my last pregnancy. I intended to hold to that, but I also feared what that could mean for our Pack should I fail to produce a son and proper heir.

Just down the hall the main room was filling quickly with exhausted, half-asleep people.

I jumped into action despite my own exhaustion and swollen feet.

Taking a pile of bags of pillows and blankets out of storage, I began to pass them out around the room. Sydney and I had spent hours organizing them all so that each bag contained full bedding and a bag of snacks and bottle of water for exactly this situation. The bags may have been a little dusty from years of unuse, but the inside was clean and ready to use.

"Thanks, Lily."

"Of course. Please find a cot and try to get some sleep. We have people monitoring the storm and damage, but you're all safe down here."

In this situation, my job as Pack Mother was simply to ensure people's needs were being met and to reassure them that everything was going to be okay.

It wasn't long before others joined in to help with the distribution.

Thomas's mother, Cora, was there, along with his sisters, Lizzy and Clara. I knew Ruby would be in James's shelter and Peyton would be with Luke and Sydney. We'd all practiced this so many times, but it was surreal to realize it was actually happening.

"How are you holding up?" Cora asked me.

"I'm fine. The girls are settling back down."

"You should be with them."

"No, I shouldn't. My place is here, and you know that better than anyone."

She sighed. As the Pack Mother before me, she knew damn well that this was no time for me to hide. It didn't matter that I was so fat I couldn't see my swollen feet, or that I had four terrified pups down the hall. I had to be okay with just knowing they were safe and the rest we'd deal with later.

"I just worry about you. We all do."

I smiled. "I'm fine. Really."

"These bags were a wonderful idea," she said, and I knew that was her way of conceding the argument.

"It was a lot of work, but worth it," I admitted.

A loud crack of thunder had more people screaming and scrambling into the room.

"It's bad, isn't it?" I asked.

"Maybe. But the most important thing is that everyone is safe."

"Are we sure of that?"

"Lizzy's taking attendance for this shelter as people arrive. As I understand it, there are others doing the same in the other two shelters. If anyone's missing, we'll know it."

I nodded, but I was still nervous.

My wolf didn't like being underground, but she really didn't like the thought of one of ours being left out in this storm. I started to pace.

"Lily, are you okay?" Sam asked me.

I sighed. Of course Thomas would have insisted he ride out the storm in our shelter. That man was taking no chances with me or the baby and Doctor Sam was his go-to watchdog.

"I'm fine Sam."

"You're pacing."

"I'm not in labor. I'm just worried about my wolves. I'll calm down when everyone's accounted for."

And where the hell was my mate? I hadn't seen Thomas since we came down here. He'd disappeared while I was settling the girls into our suite.

"Lily, this much excitement could absolutely trigger labor. Why don't we go back into your suite and let me do an exam to be sure."

I growled at him. "I'm not in labor. Don't you think I'd know if I were?"

He held his hands up in surrender.

I knew I was still pacing but I couldn't help myself.

"Where is Thomas?" I snapped.