A maroon Ford Explorer made its way up the hill and Isabelle shrieked. “Tristan! Connor, Violet!” She ran towards the car. Her husband braked hard, kicking up bits of gravel with the tires, and jumped out. He ran towards her and picked her up spinning her around. They were both crying freely as the children got out of the car and ran to their mother, clinging to her legs.
Kai reached over and held my hand. All was forgiven.
***
Kai had increased pack training sessions to once a day ever since the vampire attack. It had been a week since Isabelle had been reunited with her family. Kai had been given approval from the council to expose our kind to Isabelle’s husband, Tristan, and to make her family part of the pack. They only made one condition, a witch needed to put a spell on him so that if he tried to tell other humans our secret, he wouldn’t be able to. Tristan seemed shocked at first, but was turning out to be a great guy and was taking the news fairly well. He was a firefighter and strongly built. He didn’t seem too intimidated by us. Kai had a special ceremony to bring him and the children into the pack. This gave them our scent so that other werewolves would know they were claimed and not to mess with them. Kai also gave them a house on the mountain because an unmated female werewolf living in Portland was a disaster waiting to happen.
It bothered me that Isabelle was considered unmated even though she was married. Kai explained that eventually her husband would grow old and die and Izzy would live hundreds of years. She could search for her werewolf mate after Tristan was gone. That thought unsettled me. What if Tristan was her mate but if he never changed into a werewolf then we wouldn’t know? My mind chewed on this for hours.
When Sylvia put the spell on Tristan, she also told me she could open up my magic so that I could better protect myself from vampires and any other threat. I was tempted but Kai seemed against the idea. After the spell was put on Tristan, I confronted Kai about something that was bothering me.
“So no one knows of our kind? We have been around hundreds of years and it’s still a secret?”
Kai looked at me for a long time, weighing something in his mind.
“None of the general human population know about our kind.”
That was vague. “Okay, but some humans know about our kind?”
Kai sighed and leaned in to whisper in my ear. We were outside and a few wolves were lingering about.
“Every intelligence agency in almost every country knows about the three supernatural races. We scare them, and they keep tabs on us, but they don’t approach us. Many younger wolves don’t know that the government knows about us. It’s better that way.”
My mouth dropped open. “So the CIA could be watching us right now?” I whispered back.
Kai shrugged. “Possibly. I know a few wolves who work for the CIA that we could ask.” He winked.
So we had people on the inside? Interesting. I wonder if the government ever felt that our kind was a threat, if they would take us out. I shivered at the thought.
***
I awoke slowly, Sadie’s wedding was today and Diya and the rest of Kai’s family were going home tomorrow. It had been a thought provoking week. Kai had woken early to go meet with pack members living in Portland and establish a bond. Everyone had found their place in the pack and I was still second. Emma was no longer the most submissive member. I lay in bed stretching my back when my door flew open. I jumped up quickly and got into a fighting stance. Diya flew across the room with her hand out and shoved it in my face.
“Trent proposed! Oh my God! Isn’t it beautiful?”
There was a modest princess cut ring on her left hand. I took her hand and brought it closer to my face.
“It’s beautiful.” I agreed. Wow they moved fast. Anna and Jake were talking of a mating ceremony too. Was I jealous? I had asked Kai to go slow. Was I ready for marriage? She dropped her hand and hugged me.
“Don’t worry, you will get one too and yours will be bigger, if I know my brother.” She gestured to my hand. I blushed unsure of what to say.
“So, when’s the big day?” I asked, to change the subject.
“I have to talk to Papa, but the sooner the better! I love Trent.” She swooned and dropped on my bed just as Emma burst into the room holding a small white plastic pregnancy test.
My mouth dropped open.
“I’m pregnant!” Emma screeched. Diya and I starting screaming, then laughed a little at our ridiculousness. If my vision was correct. Kai and I would be married in the next 4-5 months. Emma was heavily pregnant in my wedding vision.
United
I looked down at the deep blue silk dress that clung to my petite figure. My hair was a spill of curls that were expertly pinned all over my head and cascaded over my left shoulder. My lips were stained red with lipstick and I wore heavy eye makeup. Diya had made me over and I liked what she had done. Most of the old Mount Hood pack was in route to Sadie’s wedding, while the new Portland members stayed back to defend our territory. Kai was driving his family and me to Seattle. He kept giving me side glances in the car. I smiled. He cleaned up well. His wild hair was slicked back and he wore a grey silk suit with a bright blue shirt.
‘You look amazing,’ I sent to him.
He gave a soft growl. ‘Amazing doesn’t begin to cover how you look, my dear. That red lipstick is driving me crazy.’
I smiled and puckered my lips.
Sadie’s wedding was in a rose garden at one of the pack members’ house. It was a full moon and the sun had just set. The aisle was lined with white flower petals and tea lights. It felt magical. A man stood at the altar with a large Native American headdress and he was holding a dagger encrusted with rubies.