Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

"School day!" Lily shouted as she raced down the stairs, her backpack already on, and the outfit we'd picked out last night on. She slid to a stop in the dining room where we were all already eating breakfast.

"Yes, today is your first day of school, which means you need to eat a good breakfast before you go," I reminded her. I patted the empty seat beside me and she hopped up, immediately beginning to eat the plate that Branson had prepared for her.

"What are your plans for the day?" I asked Riddick.

I was going to the werewolf pack to help with the farm animals. Apparently, several of them had stopped eating and they weren't sure why. Caleb was going with me to talk some things over with Dan about the island and our visit that we left for tomorrow. Branson was going with us to spend time with his werewolf pack friends. Triston had plans with some of our clan, working with them on things we needed done around the property. We weren't giving them much notice, so we had to get as much done so they were ready for our absence.

After the Summit, we'd received calls from a lot more hybrids, and our clan was now over one hundred members strong! Everyone was shocked at how many hybrids we'd located, especially knowing there were likely more out there that hadn't revealed themselves. We knew it would take time to change public perception, but things were already moving in a positive direction.

"I'm going to train with Silverowl today," Riddick answered.

"Don't overwork yourself," I ordered him.

"Pfft, he never does," Caleb said.

Riddick threw his bread roll at Caleb, but Caleb easily caught it and began to eat it.

Lily laughed and asked, "Can we throw food?"

"No," I said quickly. "Riddick is naughty for throwing food."

"Naughty, Rid!" Lily said and shook her finger at him.

"I apologize," Riddick said and dipped his head to her.

Ezio knocked on the front door twice before entering, knowing our door was always open. "Ready to go?"

Lily shoveled her last bite of food into her mouth, nodded, and hopped off her chair to run up to him.

I finished my food, stood, and grabbed my backpack that had lunch, snacks, and treats for the animals. "Yes, we're ready."

Caleb took his time putting his shoes on, earning an eyeroll from Ezio, and Lily hopping from foot to foot anxiously.

"Come on," she whined. "We're going to be late!"

Caleb moved his foot forward slowly. "I feel so heavy! So … heavy."

She squealed, grabbed his hand, and tried to pull him, grunting with the strain. "Come on! I'm late!"

Caleb slumped forward. "Going to … fall!"

"Papa!" she screeched.

Laughing, he scooped her up, and ran to the SUV. "Hurry up, Ezio! We're going to be late!"

Lily laughed and looked over Caleb's shoulder. "Mama! Come on!"

Even after a few months of hearing it, it still made my heart soar and brought tears to my eyes.

"I'm coming!" I called back. After giving Riddick and Triston quick kisses, I hurried out to the SUV and the impatient child vibrating in the car seat.

"Let's go!" I shouted and shut the door.

Ezio started the SUV and drove us to the werewolf den. He dropped Caleb off at the main house where he would meet with Dan, drove me to the farm, and then took Lily to her first day of school. Originally, I had wanted to go as well, to see her off, but Caleb had talked me out of it.

Walking up to the barn, I was immediately welcomed by the animals with a chorus of calls.

"Ember!" Winnie squealed from her stall.

I hurried over to pet her first and say hello before moving to the next stall. This stall housed an older pig who was eating less. "Hello, friend," I greeted.

"Weird smell," the pig muttered.

"Yes, I suppose I do smell weird to you. So, can you tell me why you aren't eating?"

"Hurts."

"It hurst to eat?" I asked.

The pig raised its head and looked at me. "You can understand me?"

I nodded.

"Ember's a friend!" Winnie yelled.

The pig huffed. "That one's weird."

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. "So, when you eat, it hurts?"

The pig snorted. "Yes. Lots of pain."

"Can I look inside of your mouth? I think you might have a tooth that's causing it."

The pig eyed me a moment, but said, "Fine."

Stepping into the stall, I waited as the old pig slowly opened its mouth. I barely had to even look to see the rotted tooth in the back.

"Yeah, you definitely have a bad tooth. I'll let them know so they can get it fixed for you and then it won't hurt to eat anymore."

"Really?" the old pig asked and closed its mouth. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yep. They'll remove that tooth and then you'll eat like you used to."

"Wow."

I patted its shoulder and exited the stall, being sure to lock it up behind me.

The last stop of the day was a little calf was refusing to drink the milk they were providing it. The poor thing's mother had died giving birth to her. "Hello, little one," I crooned. "I'm Ember."

"Ember's nice!" Winnie shouted. "Nice lady!"

"So thirsty," the little calf whined. "Mommy!"

Taking the bottle out, I said, "I've got some yumminess right here. Take a drink."

The calf huffed, but didn't move, completely ignoring me.

"This will help you feel strong and happy," I promised. "Come on." I climbed over the gate, knelt, and squirted a bit into her mouth.

The calf swallowed it, her eyes widened, and she nudged my knee. "More! More!"

After I ensured she finished the entire bottle, I asked, "Would you like to play with some friends?"

"Friends?" she asked and raised her nose up to look at me.

I nodded. "One of my friends is here, a pig who likes to have fun. I know you two would get along great. What do you say? You want to meet her?"

She bobbed her head. "Yes!"

Grabbing the lead, I opened her door, lead her out, then opened Winnie's door. "Winnie, come with us," I said.

"Okay!" Winnie exclaimed and trotted after us, oinking as she followed.

When I got to one of the empty paddocks with lots of grass, I opened the gate and let them both in, then unclipped the lead from the calf. "Now, you two go play and be nice to each other, okay?"

"Tag?" Winnie asked the calf.

"Tag?" the calf asked back, confused.

Winnie went into a long explanation, spinning and oinking as she did, but once the calf understood, Winnie bumped her nose against the calf and started trotting around the pen.

I hopped up onto the wooden fence and watched as the calf and Winnie played, both laughing happily.

"Wow," a werewolf woman said as she approached, a pair or dirty overalls on and rubber boots up to her knees. She leaned her arms on the fence and said, "I thought she was a goner. How did you do it?"

"I can communicate with animals," I explained. "So, I thought I would put my powers to good use and help out animals that aren't able to communicate with their owners."

"So, you're an animal psychiatrist?" she asked.

Chuckling, I shrugged. "In a sense, I guess. Really, I'm just a translator."

"Like that kids' book about the veterinarian who could talk to animals," she said with a nod.

"Ah, I am not a veterinarian. I am a healer, but not the best."

She looked at me a moment and then her eyes widened. "Your Majesty! Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you." She bowed quickly.

"Please, don't fret. I'm not here as a queen. I'm here to help your farm at King Dan's request."

Straightening, she asked, "What's it like going from average citizen to queen? It can't be easy."

Laughing, I shook my head. "No, it definitely hasn't been easy. I'm lucky enough to have a great support system."

"I saw that video of you teleporting that man with the bomb away. It was truly impressive. Just how powerful are you?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't really try to measure it. My goal is to become strong enough, know enough spells, and learn enough to keep me and my people safe. That's all that matters to me, keeping everyone I care about safe."

She hopped up onto the fence next to me while nodding. "That's pretty much all of our goal. At least the majority of the people I know. I saw that same drive in Prince Caleb, excuse me, King Caleb, when he was growing up. I've been working on this farm for twenty years and I've watched him during that time. I have definitely noticed an improvement to him and his attitude since you've come around. He was always a good person, played with the kids, visited and treated all of us as equals, but there was an avoidance, a bubble around him that seemed like it was impenetrable. Women tried to approach him and while he was never rude, you could tell he wasn't interested, but he also looked lonely. Now, I can see that you've filled whatever void he felt. I was beginning to worry since he was in his late twenties, but it seems fate was just making you all wait a bit longer than others."

"While I wish I could have met them all sooner, I do think it was for the best. There were many things we needed to experience to be ready for each other," I said softly.

She smiled and looked towards the city. "That's how I feel about my mate. He was so neglected as a child and I wish I could have found him sooner, to help erase some of that, but we cannot change the past, no matter how hard we wish. The only thing we can do, is make sure they have the brightest future possible."

"What's your name?" I asked.

She held out her hand. "I'm Tanika."

I shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Tanika."

"Ember!" Winnie yelled. "She's my new best friend! Can you believe it?"

"That's great, Winnie!" I yelled back.

Tanika arched a brow. "The pig said that the calf is her new best friend."

Tanika's eyes widened and she looked back at them. "Really? Well, that's good to know. Maybe I can keep them together in the barn until the calf bulks up a bit. What do you think?"

"I'll ask," I said. "Winnie! Do you want to share your stall in the barn with your new best friend?"

"Yes!" they both shouted.

Chuckling, I said, "They both unanimously agreed to that suggestion."

"That is truly the coolest thing. You could probably make a ton of money with the best animal show." She paused and said, "Though, I suppose you aren't really hurting for money."

"If I had more free time, that would be something I considered," I said. "Oh, before I forget, the older pig that's not eating has a rotted tooth that needs removed."

She gasped and snapped her fingers. "So, that's what the decay smell was! I knew he didn't smell like he was dying, but could still smell that decay scent. I'll get them to remove the bad tooth tomorrow."

Branson walked across the yard and I raised my hand, waving at him. He raised it back, but instead of coming to see me, he knelt at the fence to greet Winnie, who squealed happily to see him after so long.

"I always wanted to be a bear," Tanika commented. "I knew it wasn't possible, since my parents are werewolves, but I've seen his animal form a few times and it always makes me jealous."

I eyed the muscular woman and said, "You would have made an excellent bear."

"Right!" she exclaimed and shook her head. "If only I'd been a hybrid, it might have been possible."

Someone wishing to be a hybrid … I never thought I'd see the day.

"Hello, beautiful," Branson greeted.

"That's no way to speak to a woman when your mate is right here," Tanika teased.

"Branson, this is Tanika. Tanika this is Branson," I introduced.

They shook hands and he leaned against the fence beside me. "I see the calf is doing better."

I nodded. "Winnie and she are best friends now."

"Makes my job easier," Tanika said. "Thank you again. I really was worried we were going to lose her."

I dug in my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. "We can exchange numbers and anytime you need me, I'll come help."

Her eyes widened, but she took the phone and entered her information, sent herself a message, and saved my number in her phone. "Thank you. I will probably take you up on that."

"Are you done visiting?" I asked Branson.

He nodded. "Are you finished as well?"

I hopped off the fence. "Yes. Should we head to the main house?"

Branson nodded, intertwined our fingers, and lead the way. I waved to Tanika and she waved back.

"Any word on how Lily's doing?" I asked.

He nodded. "I snuck over before I came here."

Of course he had.

"She's doing great. Remember the little boy she played with at the town during the Summit?"

I nodded.

"He goes to school here, so they're already friends and he's introduced her to his other friends."

"Oh, is a love blossoming?" I asked.

Branson growled. "They're too young for that."

Laughing, I patted his arm. "Oh, Branny Boy, you are in for a wild ride with that girl over the next ten years."

"With you as her mom, I don't doubt it."

I poked him in the ribs, making him jerk sideways. "Rude!"

"If the rabbit tail fits!" He turned and ran towards the house, laughing.

"You get back here!" I shouted, shifted into warrior form, and hopped quickly after him.

"That's cheating!" he yelled as he shifted into his warrior form to run faster away from me.

"There's no cheating in love or war and this is both!" I yelled.