Chapter 20 - Jet

Gathering the pack into the meeting chamber near the front of the house was easy enough. The tricky part would be breaking the news to them that there were magicked shifters, visions, and another pack to worry about.

The room was full of hushed chatter as the last few members of the pack came in. Senna stood by my side, not a step down this time, and I squeezed her hand as the hum of nervous energy swam through our bond. MacKenzie and Kaiden were among the first to enter, and the healer looked up at Senna with an easy smile.

Knowing that my mate had someone else to turn to during all this made a world of difference. I was thrilled Senna had an actual friend. No person is an island, and every wolf—shifter or not—needed their pack.

Senna had been without a proper pack for too long. With what I was about to do it also meant that a voice of support would be found throughout the lower rungs of the pack instead of just from me.

"Edwards Pack!" I called out, and the entirety of the room fell into silence, the eyes of each person there fixed on me.

Senna's hand trembled against mine, and I squeezed again. Even if it meant leaving this pack and fleeing somewhere, though, I'd never let anyone here harm her.

"Thank you for coming. We have, well, we have quite the situation on our hands. As you all may or may not know, the history of wolves spans centuries, and it has always been associated with the presence of the V?lva."

Voices spilled out in frenzied whispers. The magicked shifters weren't something we talked about—a mysterious unknown that haunted pack legends, somewhat like the boogeyman for children.

"That's enough. Calm down." I held up a hand. "You should know that these myths of their existence aren't fabrications or fables. The V?lva are real, and while every shifter without a wolf hasn't necessarily demonstrated those gifts, it's my understanding that they all, in fact, are a V?lva."

"How can you be so sure of this?" A younger wolf's voice cut through the quiet, far too pushy for my liking.

Glaring down at the young man—a stray we'd taken in a few years back, Sean—I spoke to the room while pinning him under my gaze, a bit of the alpha claim singing through the pack bond.

"It has come to my attention that some wolves aren't ever taught about our ancestries. These packs have raised wolfless shifters like they are flukes, mistakes of nature, but nothing could be further from the truth."

Sean ducked his chin down, taking a step back.

"We live too separately. I've said as much for years, and this inability to mingle and the unfounded fear of mixing ‘diluted' blood by breeding an omega without a wolf has diminished our numbers. It's kept the gene pool closed, creating disease and declining fertility."

Kenzie stepped forward, bowing her head before making eye contact with me to silently ask to speak. I nodded.

"Jet's right. It's science. We can't be this disconnected from each other. Wolves live longer lives, so it's been harder to track the patterns than in humans, but we need to diversify as well. It is more than likely, it's downright proven, that wolfless shifters can mate and give birth to wolves."

The room hummed with energy, and I stepped forward, keeping Senna at my side. I opened my mouth to speak, but a gaggle of messy voices cut in—frantic, defensive surges coming through the pack bond from the youngest members.

"Is that why she's here? They gave her up because she has no wolf?"

"We can't just take someone's word for it. She could be barren like so many others."

"We know nothing about this so-called magic. I don't trust it. Or her!"

The pain burning through Senna at the words struck me like a fist across our bond. Her scent had charred, and unknowingly, she'd put a hand to her lower stomach. I could sense the swell of nausea, and looking over at her, there was a glossy sheen covering her eyes as she fought back tears. Oh, hell no.

"Enough!"

My voice boomed through the chamber, knocking each wolf to their knees as I thrust the command through the pack bond. I did it so rarely that I was met with wide, shocked eyes as I sneered down at the few who'd spoken up about my Senna.

"You will not speak about my mate like that." Gasps sounded around us as I pulled Senna close, except, of course, from Kenzie, and I sighed. "Yes. She's not just a breeding partner. She's my mate."

Pulling back on the command, the pack slowly got to their feet, and I hung my head slightly. Senna reached up, smoothing her hand across my cheek as she sensed how much I hated to do that.

"She's a V?lva, too. Isn't she?" Kenzie smiled, nodding toward Senna.

I was lost in Senna's beautiful sapphire eyes until she nodded and put a hand to my lips as I went to address the room again. "It's my turn. Okay?"

I nodded, and Senna stepped forward, looking over the crowd. When she spoke, her voice was steady and even, but I felt every ounce of fear coursing through her.

"Hello, yes. I'm Jet's mate, and I am a V?lva." Senna held up her hands as she saw the bubbling questions rising through the room. "We're telling you this now because we only just figured it out. I didn't know. Terrance—the other pack didn't teach this. He kept no records of the past, and he punished anyone who went looking."

At first, I was ready to launch in as alpha to get them to listen to her, to let her speak, but the pack collectively stilled, giving her their attention. Relief flooded through me, and I took my place at her side.

"I've never been properly pack claimed. That's not how Terrance did things. So, please, believe me when I say that this is the first real home I've known in decades. I would never put you in jeopardy if I could avoid it. I want you all safe, informed about what's going on."

I met the eyes of each wolf there, sending my devotion through the bond.

"A lot is changing. And there's more to come." I sighed, my shoulders drooping as I lowered my head toward Senna. "Senna is pregnant. We don't know who they'll be, but the future of the pack is right here."

Putting a hand to her stomach, Senna covered mine with her own, smiling. A rush of adoration and excitement swept through the space, and Kenzie clapped her hands together.

"I knew it!"

Everyone laughed, and I shook my head at her, rolling my eyes. "You did. You did. And yes, I'm going to be needing all your help with this."

"Oh, I am so on it, Jet." She smiled at Senna. "You're in good hands. I promise."

Kaiden put his hand on his sister's shoulder, smiling and bowing his head toward Senna and me. I returned the gesture, grateful for the beaming joy I could sense from him.

"We'll keep you both safe, Senna. You and the cub. Jet, you have us all at your side."

With that, a chorus of voices sounded out through the expansive meeting chamber. Those closest to me—Kaiden, Geo and Orion, Grayson, and, of course, Kenzie—called out into the room with a pack vow.

"To the future of the Edwards Pack! We will serve and protect the child of the alpha!"

Cheers erupted, and Senna pulled me down the steps into the waiting arms of my pack—my family. We were scooped into the huddle, howls and cries of approval, and I could hardly stand the incredible feeling of being so swept up in celebrating my future cub.

Grayson snuck an arm around me, pulling me into a hug. I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Well, look at you, you old dog! First heat, first time, and she's carrying your heir? Well done!"

"Ha!" Kaiden echoed my uproarious chuckle, and I pulled back to pound Grayson on the shoulder. "I assure you it was far more than just the first time. Think we got up to five?"

"Jet!" Senna smacked my arm, glaring playfully at me, and then MacKenzie was yanking her into a hug.

"Oh, congratulations, Senna!" She looked down to her lower belly, patting it gently. "Hello in there! I'm you're Auntie Kenzie. You want all the good treats? I'll hook you up."

So much laughter then, laughter and cheers and jokes, and it all felt so damn good.

Kaiden pulled me off to the side as the rest of the pack paid their respects to Senna, Grayson and Kenzie flanking her in silent protection. As we got to the edge of the room, where there was more air and space, I let out a long breath, leaning against the wall, suddenly exhausted.

"You all right there, Alpha?" Kaiden smiled easily as I nodded at him.

"Of course. It's…well, there is a lot to digest. Magic, V?lva, baby. I'm a bit tired, is all."

With a slight bounce to his head, Kaiden pulled up next to me against the wall, kicking his leg up and folding his arms over his chest. For a moment, he just allowed me to be still, to not answer questions or give directions. It was…incredible. Kaiden's subtle fragrance of dew and fallen leaves warmed the space next to me, and I looked over, cocking a brow.

"Something is on your mind."

Kaiden laughed. "Observant as always."

He sighed, his stare finding the floor and drifting away as memory took him. "Before we arrived here, before our parents and most of our pack had been destroyed, Kenzie and I spent a lot of time with our grandmother."

Furrowing my brow, I mirrored Kaiden's arm cross. "Your grandmother? You haven't spoken about her before. And here I thought I knew everything about you two."

Smiling through the unmistakable sadness clinging to him, Kaiden absently fiddled with his thumb ring. "She didn't have a wolf. We didn't know how that would play over. And after a while, it just became something we didn't talk about. She was killed and…and bringing it up hurt too much."

I put a hand on Kaiden's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Truly. You know that it never would have been an issue for me, even before Senna, yes?"

Genuine appreciation touched Kaiden's features, and he nodded with a scoff. "You've never made Kenzie and me feel anything but welcome. Anyway, the reason I bring it up is because I wonder now. I wonder if those keen eyes and ears of hers were actually gifts. Like you were describing. She'd always said she knew when my sister and I were getting into trouble. Maybe she was being more than playful."

Part of me really wished I'd gotten to know Kaiden's family, particularly this V?lva grandmother of his. There was a wealth of information in knowing someone, and there were so few answers to be found in just the tomes downstairs.

"Perhaps. I assure you, if I'd been a strong wolf, older, I would have done everything that I could to help aid your pack. I wish there was a way to talk to them again, not just for my sake, but yours."

Kaiden shrugged, pushing off the wall and clapping a hand down on my shoulder. "Ah, no use in that. I used to spend every waking minute wishing to see them again. But you can't live in the past. Only the present. And right now, you have a very beautiful woman looking at you like she needs a break from all the commotion."

Looking over to where Kaiden nodded, I met eyes with Senna, who did look especially overwhelmed by all the attention. She couldn't possibly be used to having the pack sniffing all over her like they were. Terrance didn't seem the type to promote that type of connection amongst his wolves. Continues to be an unsurprising asshole.

I pulled Kaiden in for another hug, patting him on the back.

"You're a fine man, Kaiden. I should be proud to have you as a beta, though for now…" I looked back at Senna, knowing we still had one more secret to share, "I think we have to pause the trials."

"What? Why?" Kaiden pulled back as soon as the words left his mouth, ducking his head for the outburst. But I knew why he was so shocked, and I hardly blamed him.

Gripping the crook of his neck and sending a comforting wave of understanding through the pack bond, I nodded once.

"We have one more thing we need to tell everyone. And this one is far less joyful."