Laura's Legacy

by Lilli Carlisle

  Dedric stormed back to his temporary house where his beta, his parents and the head of the women’s auxiliary waited in grim silence. Mary and Wilhelm, Samson and Rayanne followed him into his office. He sat behind his desk trying to calm the rage burning inside of him before speaking to the group squeezed into the room, all of them wearing the same pissed-off expression. It wouldn’t do to start ripping heads off to find out who was responsible for this insult, but Dedric was so angry he now understood what people meant when they said their blood boiled.

  “Answers,” Dedric ordered. “I want answers as to why what should have been a happy and joyous occasion could have turned into chaos and insult. If we weren’t lucky enough to have Laura’s abilities this would have turned out to be a disaster.”

  “Son, I can’t think of one person in our pack who would do something like this,” his mother said. “Everyone was overjoyed when they found out you had attracted the attention of an omega,” she assured him as she poured him a cup of coffee from the machine on the sideboard.

  “Well somebody did,” Wilhelm groused. “It was plain to see the leg of the table had been cut. It wasn’t a failure due to the weight of the cake and it wasn’t because the table was old, because they’re new. Someone is responsible.” Wilhelm stared out the window. “I think you need to say something to the pack.”

  “I will in the morning,” Dedric agreed.

  “Oh, I think it’s going to have to be a bit sooner than that,” Samson said as he looked out the window and into the yard in front of the house.

  Dedric got up, rounded his desk and looked through the window to find what looked like the whole pack standing in front of his house. Looks like I wasn’t the only one worried about how this affected Laura. “Right. I’ll go speak with them.”

  He reached his front porch at the same time one of his warriors was about to knock on the door. Dedric nodded, walked past him and stood in front of his pack.

  “Alpha, has Omega Laura changed her mind?” A female voice said from the middle of the crowd.

  “Is she okay, Alpha?” another voice asked. “Is she upset with us?”

  Voices rose with increasing agitation until Dedric brought up his hands to silence them. The whole pack was worked up and he needed to calm them. “My pack. My pack. Please quiet down. Laura is fine. She still intends to come back to Newton with us. But, like you, I am concerned, and frankly furious that someone in our pack would do this to my intended mate. We cannot allow this to happen again. Those responsible will be found and removed from our pack. This was a great insult and not what any of us expect from a member of our pack.”

  The group began talking among themselves. It was the ultimate punishment, short of death, for any pack wolf to be removed and exiled. Dedric knew this but refused to bend; perhaps the threat alone would make the person responsible rethink any further incidents.

  He raised his hands again as they quieted. “This is to be a joyous time for us. We are returning home, and we have been blessed with an omega I love whose gifts make our pack healthier and stronger. We have a long road ahead of us and we need to pull together. I have faith in each and every one of you. We will get through this, return home and rebuild a bigger and better town.”

  The cheer was the answer he wanted to hear. The upcoming few months would be hard enough without having to deal with someone with an axe to grind.

  The next day Laura found herself in the passenger seat of a large SUV heading to Newton. Dedric was driving; Gabi and Lily were in the back, along with two warriors, Jensgar and Drune, in the third-row seats. Laura’s chosen mate held her hand as he drove, leading the convoy forward and further away from the place she’d come to live, and where she’d felt safe.

  Since she woke this morning, she had that same grip of fear in the pit of her stomach as she’d had when she’d learned marauding ogres had destroyed her home and village. Dedric seemed to sense her distress and held her hand tighter.

  “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

  She hated making him worry, but in an effort to be truthful with her partner, Laura replied, “I was finally getting used to living in Black Ridge after my home was taken from me, and now I’m moving on to the pack that I hope to make my home. It’s a bit overwhelming. I’ve moved more in the last six months than I have in my entire life.”

  “I promise, I’ll make you happy and you’ll grow to love Newton as much as I do.”

  Laura appreciated the sentiment and his effort, but mere words weren’t going to make the dread vanish. The last thing she wanted to do was to ruin his homecoming, so she smiled at him and squeezed his hand in reply. It would take a lot of work to clean and repair the town, but getting Newton back on its feet meant a great deal to the man she loved. “I’m looking forward to being in Newton, really. But there’s been so many changes in the past few months, I hope you understand, this is a me thing.”

  “I understand. We’ll make it through this together. I love you,” Dedric murmured, and she knew his heart was true; she could see the love in his eyes.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered before kissing the top of the hand that was holding hers.

  It would take most of the day to get from Black Ridge to Newton. They would arrive around sunset, and it was a good thing that the warriors had erected shelters large enough to hold the people who had lost their homes. The others would bunk with pack members whose houses still stood. Considering the alpha’s home and main pack house had been destroyed in the fire, she wasn’t sure where she and the other two omegas would be staying.

  At some point, she must’ve fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was being gently shook. The SUV had stopped and Dedric stood beside her in the open passenger door.

  “We’re home, my love. Come see.” Dedric held out his hand as he stood tall, looking over his land as if it were a missed family member.

  The sun hung low in the sky, covering almost everything in a golden glow. She could see the damage and the homes and shops that were still standing. Large trees stood between the buildings, and the main street had only one stop sign. Everything seemed so green and lush that it brought a smile to Laura’s face. She knew Dedric had hundreds of acres of glorious forest to explore. Sure, the town would take some time to get back on its feet, but when it did, it would be perfect.

  “It’s beautiful, Dedric. I can see why you love it so much.”

  Dedric looked at her closely and after a few moments, his smile widened. “You see the beauty here?”

  “I do. It’s going to take some work to set everything to rights, but it’s truly wondrous,” Laura told him. She could feel her wolf aching to get out to run in this lush new paradise.

  “Your eyes are turning golden; does your wolf want to come out and play?”

  “Oh yes, she does. But I know we have a lot of unpacking to do.” Laura wrapped her arms around Dedric, and he held her tight. Trucks and cars were still driving into the town. Those with homes returned to them. The remainder had temporary shelters built that reminded Laura of a high-end tent city.

  Each tent was raised off the ground by a platform to prevent water leaking in during rain. Laura couldn’t wait to get a closer look; they ranged in size between what looked like thirty to a hundred or more square feet. After all, they’d have to be able to hold families for an indefinite period until their houses were repaired or replaced.

  Large transport trailers began parking in an open field. All the pack’s equipment and supplies were in them. Starting tomorrow morning work would begin and Laura intended to be in the middle of it. She wasn’t going to stand back and relax while other people worked to bring their town back to life. She meant to help, and would.

  “You make me so happy, little one,” Dedric said as he nuzzled the side of her neck. “I want to share everything of my world with you.”

  “I want the same, sweetheart.” Laura agreed as she sank further into his dark eyes. She loved this man so completely after only knowing him for a f
ew months; she couldn’t imagine what it would be like after years of being together.

  “Let me show you around while everyone gets settled.” Dedric took her hand.

  Over the next hour, Laura walked up and down the main street. Her heart ached to see the loss the pack had sustained, but all she could see were smiling faces. The pack was happy to be home no matter the circumstances, and it gave Laura a sense of pride even though she wasn’t officially part of the pack yet. Nevertheless, the hour was getting late and after such a long day travelling, she had to find her bed.

  “Where will Gabi, Lily and I be staying?” Laura asked, looking behind her at their trailing posse. Gabi, Lily, General Jensgar and Drune were following at a respectful distance. She couldn’t wait for the chaperone entourage to be over so she could finally be alone with her mate. Ceva had promised that she would perform their mating ceremony unless she was giving birth to her and Lothar’s first child. King Leonidas would also be arriving for the ceremony because it was always an occasion when an omega found her mate.

  “Rayanne has opened up her house to the three of you.”

  “Are you sure that’ll be all right? There might be families that need the space. The girls and I can take a tent,” Laura offered.

  Dedric cupped her cheeks and kissed her. “You are such treasure, but that won’t be necessary. All the other families have been set up in various houses already. The tents are for single pack members and only then for the men. I would never allow children or the women of our pack to sleep outside unless they’re on a hunt, and then it’s perfectly normal.”

  “I should’ve known you would’ve thought of that.”

  “As always, you were thinking of the pack, and putting yourself last, which makes me proud and honored to have you here with me. Thank you for choosing me.”

  “Trust me, the honor is all mine. Once you give in on this seven-day waiting period silliness we can make it official,” Laura teased while wrapping her arms around Dedric’s thick neck. “Kiss me.”

  “Yes ma’am, whatever you want.” Dedric smiled before kissing her as deeply as they could while still having chaperones. He tasted of coffee and mint, and Laura never thought the combination would taste so good. The feel of Dedric’s muscles under her hands made her moan into the kiss.

  “God, hurry up and mate already or even I am not going to be able to stop you,” Gabi grumbled.

  Dedric pulled away but never took his eyes off Laura. She knew he loved her as much as she loved him. She’d wait the seven days to make him happy, but she wasn’t going anywhere.

  This was her new home and she intended to stay.

  Chapter Three

  Laura wasn’t a fool. She had known it would take hard work to get the town back to working order, but right now she swore under her breath; every muscle in her body ached. Along with helping distribute food and care packages to each family to tide them over until the stores were up and running, she’d healed quite a few injuries over the past five days. Which meant she felt as if she was covered in bruises.

  She watched as the hot water poured into the tub and the scent of lavender filled the room. Laura planned to soak until she became a prune—anything to loosen her muscles. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy helping the pack members clean out the debris so they could start rebuilding; she wasn’t used to heavy physical labor, though she had been more than ready to try. Now her body was screaming at her for the effort. The women and children of the pack had gravitated to her and she was overjoyed. This had been exactly what she wanted—a family, a pack and a loving mate.

  Laura turned off the taps and slid into the lavender-scented water, letting out a sigh of relief. She leaned her head back on the edge of the old claw-foot tub and closed her eyes. The last few days had been a whirlwind of activity. They’d managed to frame five houses, and were ready to put on the roofs tomorrow. Most of the members of Dedric’s pack were farmers, both cash crop and livestock. They knew how to work hard and seemed to be flying through the lumber Karli, Joseph and Rowl had been kind enough to give them from their pack’s mill.

  Soon, the Newton pack would have to resupply, and Laura wondered if there was any chance of going to visit her friend Karli. Laura had been Karli’s chaperone when she had been courted at the Black Ridge pack. They had become friends and Laura missed Karli. Maybe they could make plans to go out sometime soon.

  Laura ran her hands through the hot water and then rubbed the muscles in her legs. One of farmers named Nareaux had had a nasty cut on his right leg and it took her a little bit longer to heal from his injuries. Hell, at one point she felt certain the pain would never go away, but of course it had, as it always did.

  She wondered what Dedric was going to say when she told him the effect healing people had on her body. Laura didn’t intend to keep a secret like this from her mate, but she was worried about his reaction. Would he dare to order her to stop? That wouldn’t go well. At all.

  “Laura, are you in there?” Lily’s voice came from the other side of the bathroom door. She sounded unsure and a touch scared.

  “I’ll be right out.” Laura called out. No matter how she felt, she would never turn away someone who sounded distressed.

  Carefully, she got out of the bathtub, dried off and grabbed her robe. Considering the only residents of the house were female she felt sure wearing a robe would be fine to walk around. Of course, her trusty warriors were posted outside, ensuring it stayed that way. Besides they were all shifters, and every time they shifted into the wolves they had to be naked, unless they wanted to ruin all their clothing. You got over the whole nudity thing pretty quickly.

  Laura let the water out of the tub and opened the door to the bathroom to find Lily waiting. Lily was a quiet and reserved omega who showed her love through her food. She was an excellent chef. However, right now she looked like she was ready to cry. A wave of anger fired through Laura’s veins. Who would dare hurt someone so sweet?

  “Lily, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Laura asked as she gathered Lily into her arms and led her toward her bedroom.

  “I’m not hurt, but there might be something wrong,” Lily responded as they walked in to her bedroom and shut the door behind them. They sat on her bed and Laura grasped Lily’s hands. “Tell me what’s bothering you. We can work through it.”

  Lily looked as if she was afraid to answer but she took a deep breath and spilled her secret. “I think I’ve found the man I want as my mate.”

  It took Laura a moment to put two and two together. “He’s not an alpha?”

  “No, he’s not. Nevertheless, he’s an honorable man, with strong morals and he’s a decorated war hero. But he isn’t an alpha.” Lily looked down and shook her head. “How old do you think I am?”

  This was a strange question but Laura went with it. “Well I’m only fifty, and you can’t be older than me. I’d say we’re still rather young for shifters that could live to a thousand.” Wolf shifters tended to age slowly after they reached the age of twenty-one so it was difficult to pin somebody’s age correctly.

  “I’m one hundred and fifty-nine years old,” Lily stated. “I should’ve been mated and have a family by now, but here I am.”

  “Why haven’t you chosen a mate in all that time?” Laura asked.

  “I swore to my mother that I wouldn’t take a mate until I found the man that truly moved something inside of me,” Lily explained while twisting her fingers together.

  “Moved something?” Laura wasn’t quite sure what that meant.

  “Yes. Not only sexually, but only if something deep inside of me calls out to that man. I know it’s silly to swear such a thing but over the years, I believe my mother was correct. I’ve met lots of alphas and no one moves me the way General Jensgar does.”

  “General Jensgar? He’s the one you’ve chosen. That’s wonderful; he truly is an amazing man. You know he has been mated before but she passed away? He has two adult children back in Black Ridge.”

  “Y
es, I know, and I’m afraid that I won’t be able to compare to his last mate. Then I gave myself a headache thinking about me being an omega and him being a warrior and the backlash we might receive because of it. I don’t even know if I should approach him.”

  “So General Jensgar has no idea?”

  “No,” Lily huffed.

  “But remember Karli had chosen two warriors to be her mates and after a few bumps in the road she has her men.” Laura was pleased she’d come up with a perfect example to cheer Lily up.

  “But Joseph and Rowl are now alpha and beta of their own pack.”

  Shit, so much for that. “Do you really want to see if there could be anything between you and Jensgar?”

  “More than anything,” Lily confessed. “He’s brave, handsome and caring.”

  Laura thought about it for a moment before saying, “Let me talk this over with Dedric so we can come up with a plan to get you two alone. Then you can have a chaperoned conversation about it.”

  “You would do that for me?” Lily asked.

  “Of course I would. You have been nothing but kind to everyone including me. I’d be more than happy to help you.”

  “Thank you. I think that would be great. Now I need to figure out what I’m going to say.”

  Laura wrapped her arms around Lily and told her, “Well, I can’t help you with that one; you’re on your own.”

  “We’ll figure everything out as we go. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Dedric sat staring at the evening sky from one of the twenty-five foot beams that would hold up his and Laura’s new roof. He still couldn’t believe that his world had changed so much and that he’d soon be mated. He, the alpha of a small pack in the middle of hundreds of acres of forest and farmland, had his own omega to love and cherish.

  Laura was an amazing woman and he’d thought that before she had even talked to him all those months ago. Now he knew her heart, and believed she would work side by side with her pack no matter how hard the job was. She was kind, loving and strong. Then of course, he couldn’t help but think how beautiful she was. Which caused his body to react at the thought of the day when they’d finally be able to be together.