Reaching Out

Elise is Twenty-One Years Old

Elise was beyond excited. FINALLY! I was going to see Mel in person and not just for a few minutes on skype. I swear that girl had only gotten busier these past two years. Rhea replied, “Seriously. I feel like we should investigate how she isn’t set to graduate this year.”

I joked, “We should. With all her extra classes and extracurriculars she could be graduating. Right?”

Rhea scoffed, “Easily.”

Honestly, I was ready to give her teachers a piece of my mind. I’d tried to talk to Mel, but she just kept saying it wasn’t forever. I knew that. The problem was they were manipulating her, and she was letting them. That part I didn’t understand. Melanie didn’t take crap from people.

Sadly, it all came back to her living her dream. It was like with that set of words we all just accepted everything. It annoyed me. I wanted her to be happy and live her dreams. Something about this bothered us all though, and we just all backed off once those words were spoken.

Sometimes it was like there was an itch on my brain trying to figure out what was so weird about all of this, and I just couldn’t scratch it. The more I thought about it the more it itched, or my head pounded with pain. Eventually I’d just give up.

I didn’t understand what was going on. The more I didn’t understand the more I would get confused. The whole thing made me want to throw my hands in the air. Then as if my mind knew I needed the reminder, the thought that this was her dream would flood into me. It was like cold water.

I was trying to stop her from living her dream for my own selfish reasons. I missed her and wanted her home. Of course she wanted to go to Julliard. It was an incredible honor to be accepted. I should be happy for her, and I was. Wasn’t I? Of course I was. I shook the thought off.

Today wasn’t about that though. Today I was going to see her. I could get more of a sense for her feelings today. I was finally going to see her in person. Technically, I should wait until our dinner tonight because it was very early in the morning.

Screw that though, I wanted to see her now. I missed seeing her face to face. It was hard with how busy I was, combined with how busy she was to even talk at all. Rhea chuckled, “But she’s coming for dinner tonight.” She was.

I was so excited about it. I told her Alexander would be there too and she seemed excited. Not like I thought she would be, but still excited. Honestly, everyone was ready for this dang dinner. This was finally going to be resolved. They were mates. Alexander still worried they might not be, but EJ and I knew.

Rhea chimed in, “Plus, Melanie has always been adamant about the fact that he is hers.”

True. I told my dad I was going to pick her up my damn self. I was not taking no for an answer. Not this time. EJ was even going to send William, Wesley, and Buttercup with me. It basically came down to the fact that I was not leaving Red Run without Ladybug.

I had warned the pack not to bog me down today. My morning was fine, but I wanted to be in Red Run by dinner time. Did anyone listen to me? No. Did they regret that? I was positive they did. By the time I’d wrapped for the day it was well past dinner. I needed to eat myself.

One of the girls that had been sent to our pack walked into the kitchen timidly. I smiled at her, and she sat down by me. I couldn’t leave to see Mel now and I knew that. These pack members needed some tender loving care. That was my job as their Luna, and their needs came before my own.

I smiled at her, “Hi, Paisley.”

She smiled, “Hi, Luna Elise.”

I asked, “How are things going?” Paisley smiled softly, “It’s so nice here. It’s very different. Everyone is so kind. Haley is like a lifeline. The letter said you both would be.” I nodded.

The people that came to us usually had a letter. This was the first time I’d gotten any inkling as to what was in them. Rhea snorted, “It’s more than a letter with this one.”

Rhea thought Paisley knew someone that talked about us.

There were moments when recognition would flare in her eyes. I’d swear she ran away from Alexander for some reason though. I’d sworn I saw disappointment in her eyes once, but that didn’t make any sense. I must have been wrong.

Most just said they were told to come here. Paisley had been given a bus ticket. She woke up in a hospital and a doctor put her on the bus. We’d tracked him down, and he told us he’d gotten a note too. That he was helping his patient.

There was more there to his story and hers. Haley believed she was getting over a rejected bond, but we didn’t have proof of that. The doctor that sent her here was renowned in the Werewolf world as a surgeon. He was the very best. Why would he have a patient that didn’t require surgery? We thought he could be part of the circle group, but there was nothing to confirm it.

Haley suspected that the blue circle group helped him, and now he helps them. He has four pups, two daughters and two sons. One daughter had basically withdrawn from her life for six months. She was slowly coming back to herself and we were monitoring her.

Haley even spoke with the doctor. She’d given him her card. She knew what was going on with his daughter. They had skype sessions, but of course she couldn’t say much. She took her oaths very seriously.

I casually asked, “Your letter mentioned me specifically?”

Paisley nodded, “Yes, it said you would help me, and that your mother in law would too. I was also told that you would always keep my secrets.”

Rhea linked, “Mmhmm, I knew it. She said told.” I reasoned, “That could’ve been in the letter.” She sang, “I’m riiiggghhhtt.” I was thinking she was.

Paisley continued, “And that you are what a Luna was supposed to be. That you are a true protector. Just like Haley.”

I agreed, “All that is true. You can always come and talk to me. Whatever is said will stay between us if that’s your wish.”

Paisley smiled, “You might think that Luna’s are always like that, but they aren’t. Some lie and make you think you can trust them only to let their mates use it against you.”

I frowned, “What do you mean?”

Paisley looked around then whispered, “This stays between us?” I nodded, “Of course.”

She sighed and contemplated for several minutes before whispering, “I questioned things happening in my old pack. Things that shouldn’t have been happening. I went to my Luna in confidence. She always seemed like such a nice, caring woman.”

“I was called into my Alpha’s office the next day and punished. She sat there smirking as if she’d won something. After my punishment, I was declared a rogue. The second I crossed the border I was ambushed and taken.”

I gasped, “That shouldn’t have happened. Whenever you’re ready, if you tell me the name of that pack, EJ and I will take over with our allies. I won’t push you to tell me though.”

Paisley sighed, “I wish I was braver, but that punishment is something I still remember.”

Rhea told me, “Something about that story is off. I think it happened but not all those details were right. Her heartbeat tells me the part of the Luna story is a lie. Her wolf even whimpered.”

I asked, “Why would she lie about that part?”

She replied, “I don’t know, but she did.”

I took Paisley’s hands, “I’m so sorry that happened to you. How long after that did you get out?”

Paisley smiled, “I was lucky I was only there for three months after that. Some of those girls on my bus were there for years. Even one guy. There were more guys, but I guess they just took off. I worry about them sometimes. All of us had different stops, you know?”

I nodded because I did know that.

They rotated between our territories, but anyone like Paisley was here. Someone knew us well. Eric was worried about that. I asked, “Is it common knowledge that Haley Conners escaped the Ring?”

Paisley laughed, “She is a famous double Princess. Everyone talks about her. There are rumors but most outside this area think anyone would be crazy to have done that to King Titus’ daughter.”

She paused, “I used to be one of those people. I doubted those rumors and stories. I looked up to her though. Now, I do even more than before. If she can rise up from the ashes and stand as she does, I can too. I don’t even know how she juggles it all. She’s a double Princess, has twenty pups, is a therapist, a mom, and a mate.” I nodded.

Paisley snorted, “Not to mention highly desired. I always believed the rumors about people wanting to take her and her pups. I bet Alpha Eric is quite busy, as she is, about those threats.”

I gulped but nodded. Those threats always scared me, and I knew I didn’t know them all.

EJ didn’t even know because if it wasn’t a credible threat he didn’t want to be informed. There were enemies of the Fae that desperately wanted to get their hands on EJ and his siblings, along with Haley herself. We had fought against several, but I knew that Haley and Eric thwarted many more attempts ever since EJ, Cassie, and Alexander had been born.

Rhea snorted, “Yeah, but we know those attempts have dwindled since we took over.”

Which didn’t make sense. Rhea snickered, “Unless someone like the circle group is stopping them.”

Then I liked them even more than I already did.

Paisley left the kitchen. I sat back in my chair. My phone started to ring. I smiled and answered, “Hi, Cass.”

Cassie replied, “So, did my big brother manage to stay out of Red Run today?”

I snorted, “As far as I know Alexander hasn’t left the pack. I haven’t even made it there myself yet. No one listened to my directive.”

Cassie tisked, “How much do they regret that?”

I admitted, “I think it’s safe to say they realized they’d monumentally messed up. I think your brother has a personal countdown until tomorrow.”

Cassie chuckled, “I, for one, can’t wait.” I squealed, “You’re coming?” Cassie sounded surprised, “Uh hell yes. Dad is having to turn people away from dinner, so we don’t overwhelm the imaginary Melanie. We can’t have her not like Black Mountain, now, can we?”

I snorted, “She will love it. She’s wanted to come here for sixteen years.”

Cassie grumbled, “If only it was common knowledge why EJ and I are so excited for this to happen.”

I laughed, “I still can’t believe people haven’t picked up on it.”

Cassie snorted, “I’m not. Alexander is good at hiding his emotions from others. It’s harder to do that with EJ and me. The younger siblings have an idea I’m pretty sure.”

She added, “Well, not Angela of course. Honestly, I’ve been tempted to tell her more than once. She would just pop to our house in New York and happen to run into Melanie.”

I snorted, “Someone should put a pin in that plan.”

Cassie sighed, “The only reason I haven’t done it myself is because Alexander wants Melanie to live out her dream. Damn my parents and their respect for other people’s choice mantra that I’ve adopted.”

I laughed, “In this one situation only I agree. Damn that mantra.”

Cassie confided, “I’ve decided, that if she gets into Julliard and they haven’t met by her senior year I’m at my limit. I’ll take a mission in New York and wander around until I find her.”

I laughed, “I like it.”

Cassie sighed, “This whole ‘it’s her dream’ just gets me. I’d never want to take someone’s dream from them. Thank god for Karina’s cookies.”

I ate one as she said it. I told her, “I feel the same way. She’s like my little sister. I want her to be happy. I just know she’d be happy here too. If not happier if she’d just meet Alexander. He could pop back and forth to see her once they’d met.”

Cassie snorted, “Right? Stupid ass rule.”

I saw EJ in the living room. I told Cassie, “I’ve got to go. I’m going to go see Mel. I just want to see her wolf before tonight. Hell, I might spend the night there just so there’s no way she can’t not make dinner tomorrow.”

Cassie laughed, “Sit on her if necessary. I’m a call away if you need a charm or twenty to ensure dinner happens. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I hung up and ran into the living room.

The bond told me how amused EJ was over my feelings. Rhea grumbled, “I want to leave right now. The only reason we weren’t already there was because of pack disputes.”

I agreed, “They will listen to us next time.”

She agreed, “They’d better.” I knew she was excited to see Melanie too. She’d grown so attached to her.

I had a quick chat with Alexander, who was smiling as we discussed dinner. This was absolutely happening. I’d literally put it on her calendar and mine. Ok it was ok EJ’s and Alexander’s too. I had no chill. I even put it on my dad and Drake’s calendars.

EJ grabbed me and popped us to my parents’ house. My heart dropped the second we got there. Drake was crying. I noted Sam was outside with my mom. I could see them on the porch. The only person I didn't see was Melanie. Had they fought after her shift? No, that was unlikely. She might still be out running around enjoying her first run.

Rhea asked, “Then why are they crying?”

She sounded dejected but it just wasn’t possible that Melanie wasn’t here. It just wasn’t. I was firmly in denial. When Drake told us she was still in New York tears sprang into my eyes. Rhea growled in my head. I wanted to scream at them and demand to know how did happened.

Dalton linked, “Sis.”

I shouted, “Melanie and I had plans! We’ve been talking about them for months!”

He replied, “The plane…” I cut him off, “I heard dad explain! Why didn’t she call me? Huh? I could’ve had EJ go get her. This was obviously an emergency that no one would or could have argued over. EJ can pop TO THE DAMN AIRPORT!”

He winced and I knew he agreed. It was weird Melanie didn’t call me or the Gamma’s in this pack. My head began to pound, and I rubbed my temples discreetly. Rhea scoffed, “Are they really telling us her wolf’s color? Of course it’s brown. Beta children’s wolves have brown in their coat, always.”

She was right.

I’m sure her wolf was beautiful. I just wanted to see her. My heart felt like it was broken. EJ was pissed and the bond told me his eyes were a second away from blazing gold. The McAlister’s were all blaming themselves.

I even saw Ben McAlister sitting on his porch with my grandpa. Both were drinking while Ben was crying. Rhea linked, “Why is mate confused about the mandate of no visitors from the school?”

I admitted, “I’m not sure. Surely I told him, right?”

Rhea sighed, “We must not have. It was all very upsetting.”

I frowned because EJ always knows when I’m upset, and that mandate pissed me off. I was in the gym for hours. Had I forgotten to tell him other stuff? My headache was getting stronger. The whole situation was maddening.

My mind drifted back to that aftermath. Drake had called Melanie and told her to come home after that letter, but she begged him to let her stay. I wanted to know what type of paper that school used. All of us had a sneezing fit after we read it. Damn New York. Damn dancing arts school. Damn teachers and their damn dusty paper.

Drake was losing it, and I couldn’t blame him. Rhea groaned, “Here with go with everyone calming him down by saying ‘Melanie is fine.’ I may force a shift if I hear those words again.”

I started thinking she was right. We said that a lot. Something pricked at my head, but the headache was pushing those thoughts away.

Without warning, EJ dropped to the ground screaming. Rhea growled in my head. I screamed. I grabbed onto him, looking around frantically. I asked, “DAD! What happened?!”

Everyone looked stunned.

I begged my mate, “EJ?”

He didn’t indicate he heard me. I pleaded, “EJ talk to me! Tell me what’s wrong?”

Nothing had happened to me. Why was he down? Coldness filled me. Oh god. I ordered Tristan, “Call Black Mountain! It’s a Conners. One of the Conners is down!”

Before Tristan could dial, pain hit me like lightning. I shot back from EJ and went down myself. I thought it was through my bond with EJ, but he’d tamped that down tight. I screamed in pain while Rhea was howling in my head.

I heard other howls and managed to look around. To my shock, everyone was down. What the hell? EJ crawled over to me and held me. The pain went away in the next second. I linked Rhea, “Are you ok?”

Rhea answered, “I don’t know. I do know that something very bad just happened.”

I knew that. I just didn’t know what it was.

We had all managed to stand up when Alexander popped in. I was not expecting his anger or the next words out of his mouth. Rhea gasped, “Melanie? We MUST protect her, Elise! I knew that school was evil.”

I reasoned, “We don’t know why he thinks that yet.”

Worry and fear crept into me though.

I talked to Rhea while everyone discussed it. I reasoned, “A wolf contacted him, and hers was the only birthday around this area.”

She agreed, “That’s true but she can’t contact him.”

Rhea reasoned, “Maybe because her memories tell her wolf she thinks he’s theirs she could.” I argued, “That doesn’t make sense. You have to meet someone and their wolf for your wolves to talk.” She sighed.

I got a link from Tessa, our Female Lead Warrior, “Is Alexander with you?”

I answered, “Yes.”

She sighed, “Haley actually looks panicked. I can only imagine what the bond feels like.” I told her, “I’m sure we will be back soon.” She acknowledged, “Alright.” Man, Haley was probably a wreck if you could see it. She was always on locked down.

We tried to figure out what this was. I linked Rhea, “Any ideas?”

Rhea admitted, “I really do not know.”

My brothers ran in the room, all wide eyed and moderately terrified. I linked Dalton, “I thought you were in here. We were linking.” He replied, “We were in the backyard. I could hear the conversation.” Oh, that made sense.

Everyone knew this was weird. Melanie even called. I wasn’t as relieved as I thought I would be about it. Maybe I wanted the Conners to declare this an emergency since Alexander felt so strongly she was hurt. Yes, that had to be it. The headache was back in full force.

Theories went around and everyone decided that Alexander was seen as a protector by those who met him. I mean, he was. There was something there though. I rubbed my temples. What was it? Damn it! I knew the answer was right there.

I couldn’t focus on the conversation. The harder I thought the harder my head pounded. Eventually, my mom dragged me outside while EJ was on the phone. She frowned, “You have a headache again.”

Sam joined us frowning too.

I lied, “It’s nothing.”

Sam whispered, “We get them too. Did you tell EJ?”

I shrugged, “I really don’t know. Maybe? He was confused about the letter from Mel’s school. He can’t lie but I could swear we’ve talked about it.” My mom wiped tears away, “The pack doctor said there’s nothing wrong with us.”

Sam admitted, “I’ve considered going to the Bishop brothers. They are just so busy I feel guilty asking them. Plus, it’s a headache. What can Warlocks do?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know. Are you ok, Sam?”

Sam started crying again.

She sniffled, “Drake thinks this is his fault, but it’s mine. He coddled Melanie so I had to be the disciplinarian. She doesn't blame him, she blames me. I was the mom monster. It’s me.”

My mom consoled her, “It’s not our rule about crossing the border. It’s the Werewolf Council’s. We’ve lost too many pups to rogues. You had to follow the rules.”

Sam sighed, “I was the one who pushed Drake to let her compete in this competition. I just swore the closer we got that she didn’t want to do it. I really thought she wouldn’t go. If we’d just let her come to the Luna Ceremony she’d probably still be here.”

She stammered, “It’s just that honestly that night I don’t even know what came over me. Sometimes I still ask if I really refused to let her go. We could’ve just punished her the next day. I can’t believe we didn't.”

Rhea scoffed, “Neither can I.”

I had nothing but bitterness to add here so I didn’t say anything.

Sam continued, “It was Elise’s Luna Ceremony. What was I even thinking? I mean it had to be the thought of Ladybug dying. That’s all I can come up with.”

I hugged her while my head pounding. Rhea sighed, “She’s right. Denying Melanie the right to come to our ceremony isn’t like the McAlister’s.”

My headache came roaring back. We walked back inside, and I just rested my head on EJ’s shoulder until we went home.

After that, the rumors were rampant that the Moon Goddess had been hurt and that’s why everyone went down. We found out that all Werewolves worldwide had gone down for a few moments. It was unheard of. EJ was worried about it, but there was nothing to find about it. Eric had the council researching, but nothing even in legends gave them a clue.

They focused on that while I focused on the drug ring. We’d managed to push the drugs out of our area, but not Blue Moon or Red Run. All our allies still had a slight problem. My grandpa and Alpha Cameron were going this time to the meet.

I stepped outside an hour before the meet was going down for some fresh air. Haley popped to me. She greeted, “Hi Elise, how are you doing?”

I smiled, “Good. How’s everything with you?”

Haley waved her hand answering, “Well, I have partial Fairies to find and train, and twenty kids running around. I know something is bothering some of them, but they aren’t ready to talk.”

She admitted, “It’s fucking hard. I just want to make everything better for my kids. They are the only ones that I find it hardest to respect boundaries for. I’d give the world twenty fucking times over to make everything easy for them. Something is going on with them, but they don’t want me to know. That’s their choice, but I just want to fucking fix it for them.”

I patted her hand, “I know you do. I think it’s great that you give them space.”

She nudged, “More with the adults than the younger ones. It’s still fucking hard though.”

I conceded, “I bet it is. Thank you by the way.” She tilted her head, “For what?”

I answered, “Not pressuring me for grandpups. My friend's mothers-in-law ask about pups all the time.”

Haley laughed, “It’s your body not mine. I don’t tell people when they should be ready to do things. That’s between you and my son. It’s your body though so if he pressures you, you’d better fucking tell me, and I’ll put his ass back to sorts.”

I assured her, “He’s very respectful of my decision to wait. You raised an amazing man. All of them are very respectful.”

Haley smiled, “They’d better be, or they get to deal with their momma.”

I nudged her with my shoulder smiling.

Her phone rang ending our moment. She sighed, “A partial Fairy calls.”

She kissed my cheek, “Keep carving your own path Elise Conners. No one can tell you how to do that. Everyone’s journey is different. If you aren’t ready to have a baby for your first century with EJ, then you aren’t. If you’re ready tomorrow, then you are. Whichever you choose, I’ll always be in your corner.”

I squeezed her hand, “Thank you.”

It was so weird to talk about being alive for centuries. I didn’t think I was going to take that long to have a pup, but Haley was right. I could. It was so nice talking to her and getting her perspective. She was right. This was EJ and my decision. I was lucky to have in law’s that saw it that way.

The next person to come sit by me was my father in law. I smiled greeting him, “Hi, Eric.”

He nodded in reply saying, “You are nervous.”

I sighed, “I’m nervous about a lot of things. I know there are people who want my husband, his mother, and my husband’s siblings that I consider my own.”

“I know you spend a lot of time thwarting those efforts. I’m worried about my grandpa today. I’m worried that I’m just sitting on the sidelines while Mel is being taken advantage of.”

Eric frowned, “Would it help to know I’ve been paying someone to watch her?”

I stared at him for several moments.

Rhea said, “I mean, I told you he would.”

She knew him in a past life so she knew him pretty well. I asked, “You have?”

He nodded, “Yes. He followed both Tiffany and Melanie for a while because he didn’t know which one was Melanie. From what I’ve gotten, they have the same schedule.”

He admitted, “I had no pictures of her to give him. He got their routine down easily. One morning he was waiting in a coffee shop they frequented. Tiffany thought he was cute, so Melanie walked over and introduced herself and her roommate.”

I asked, “Does he send you pictures? I’d love to see her life there.”

Eric snorted, “The man is not a photographer. He can’t seem to catch her from the front. I still haven’t seen her face. I may not officially know if she’s my future daughter in law, but the love you and my son have for her mean I’m keeping tabs. She’s not from my pack so what I’m already doing is sticky. My man stays back in the shadows. It’s just occasionally checking in.”

I touched his hand, “Thank you. That’s more than I could ask for.”

Eric smiled, “It’s more than I should do. The whole damn thing gives me a headache.”

I snorted, “Me too.” He nodded and stared off into space before rubbing his temples like I did.

He got up, “Everything will be ok today.”

I sighed, “I wish we knew that for certain. He replied, “We have healing Fairies on our side. We have a better chance than we’d have otherwise, with my Angel and pups here.”

He was right. I nodded to him, and he walked away.

When it was time for everything to go down, I walked inside. We were all waiting. Rhea grumbled, “I hate waiting. I thought we had a plan for this to be a part of the action.”

We had but things changed. The time for them to come back or call had passed.

I locked eyes with my mom on the video call. We were both worried. EJ signaled to Alexander, who left. When he popped back, I nearly threw up. My grandpa had been shot. I ran to him while Alexander healed him.

I held him as they explained what happened. He linked me, “I’m alright, Elise.”

I couldn’t reply or let him go. Honestly, their voices faded into the background while my mind replayed that my grandpa had been shot.

The other side was now using snipers, and our sure shot sniper hadn’t been there. Fear gripped me. Was the original sniper ok? Rhea reasoned, “Surely, ours is fine.”

She had to be correct. I didn’t want to think of something happening to our sniper. They’d done so much for me and this family.

EJ was pissed. I knew he’d been trying for years to get a name about the circle group. Honestly, I was pretty certain it was a ring. It seemed obvious since they were an anti-ring group. What I couldn’t work out was why they didn’t want to join forces.

Haley shared her thoughts. Something about it felt wrong, but right to me about it. I still kept circling around to someone who knew what the Ring was. Someone who was Ring adjacent in a way. That probably didn’t make sense, but it clicked for me. Someone who was playing the Ring on the outside but destroying them from the inside. Rhea agreed, “It makes sense.”

Rhea added, “Haley pointed out with more snipers coming into play they might be able to pop to them.”

I argued, “Not if they were technically involved in the Ring. They’ve clearly found a way to conceal themselves from Fairies. If these people are involved, but not, they might have some sort of protection on them so the Fairies couldn’t pop to them.”

I stopped thinking about it because my headache was coming back.

Alexander and EJ exchanged theories and made plans. Alexander was going to reach out to his contacts this time. He wanted answers. I was marginally surprised he hadn’t tried that before.

When we finally left, I knew what I had to do. I could feel EJ’s tension in our bond, and I could see it in his body. I hated that he felt inadequate because he couldn’t figure this all out. I know we all felt there was something obvious we were missing but it alluded us. Someone should’ve been able to pinpoint it, but so far we were all confused.

We needed a distraction and gave each other one for hours. The next several weeks were crazy. We had meetings going on all over the area. The regular sniper was still missing. A fear I didn't understand was plaguing me about it. My mom and Sam felt the same thing.

It didn’t make any sense. I’d never met this person, but I’d lock myself in the bathroom and cry after every report that it wasn’t the regular sniper who had been on scene. I wiped my tears and walked back downstairs to EJ’s office.

I worked in there too sometimes, but I also had a separate office for private meetings. The pack needed to know they could come to me without EJ knowing we were talking. I had followed Haley’s lead and found it worked best. I split my time between the two offices.

Toby came in right after I’d gotten back from my own office. Rhea snicked, “Phil will have something fun for us to think about.”

Hopefully he did, because my thoughts were depressing and going to land me in my mother in law’s therapy building soon.

I held out hope Phil could turn my thoughts around because it was clear his excitement had rubbed off on Toby. Everyone started filing into the room. Rhea perked up, “Now I am intrigued. Phil must be next level about his news, to be corralling everyone together.”

She was right.

Phil entered the room actually hopping, like a rabbit. I was surprised he was excited about something involving not only a Nashville pack, but Black Path. There was bad blood with them around here. Rhea whisper squealed, “I know! It must be juicy since our father in law always has to send Alpha Theo down to them as a council representative.” True.

I still couldn’t believe Lucas and Alpha Theo could manage to be on the council together. Stranger things had happened, but it felt like a step with them. The point was Alpha Theo always had to go to Nashville. The packs were overly aggressive if Eric or Lucas went because they thought they needed to prepare for war.

Rhea scoffed, “They are never happy if Alpha Theo goes either.”

She was right, but that amused him. He and his son Lux enjoyed needling them. Lux was his oldest son, a partial Werewolf. We didn’t know anything about his mother. They were oddly quiet about her, but I knew Eric didn’t like her.

I liked Lux though. He was fun, but in a different way from the partial Fairies. Or really any partial Werewolf I knew. He had a beautiful singing voice and could play the guitar too. He was quite popular in his pack. Rhea chuckled, “All packs really. Even the girls here fawn over him.”