by Idella Breen
Time seemed to slow to a stop as she watched Cait slump to the ground as blood pooled out of the gaping wound in her stomach. The shock of pain must have instantly knocked the werewolf out as she seemed to pale even as Snow caught her and fell to the ground with her.
“Oh god. No, oh God.” Snow couldn’t seem to think straight as her mind was suddenly blank.
She moved to pull the sword from where it stuck out of Cait’s gut but Aria stopped her before she could.
“Don’t!” the elf called out, holding Snow’s shaking hand in an iron grip.
“What—”
“Don’t pull it out yet. Beck is calling an ambulance. A mithril sword isn’t like silver or even iron. It’s an elven material and once the materials of the blade make contact with the blood of an enemy it will release toxins set to eliminate that enemy.”
“She’s not an enemy!” Snow screamed as she felt her wife’s body sag a little more into her arms. “I didn’t see her. I just didn’t—”
“Snow.” Aria crouched down next to her making the brunette meet her gaze. “Your curse is broken.”
“My curse—” She looked around only now noticing that the screeching of the monsters had stopped. She glanced down at her bare arm only to see that the black tattoo was indeed gone but splatters of her wife’s blood now replaced it. A choked sob escaped her lips and she pulled Cait closer into her arms. “Why must you always protect me? Why do you fight so hard to keep your promises?” Snow whispered as she gasped out a broken sob.
Aria touched her shoulder. “Because, Snow Bennett, this woman loves you. Plain and simple Nothing will ever change that.”
Snow couldn’t hold in the cry of anguish that burst from deep within her heart.
* * *
The first thing Cait became aware of was an insistent beeping, the second thing was that she really had to pee, and the final and in her opinion, the most important was the familiar comfort of a slightly chilly figure snuggled up against her side.
She couldn’t hold back the groan as she opened her eyes and even the low lighting of the room made them ache. The figure next to her stirred slightly. Cait attempted to move her arms but found that even thinking about it made her exhausted.
“Snow?” she croaked out and the woman tucked under her arm gasped before jerking into the upright position bumping the tender spot on the werewolf’s mostly healed stomach.
Cait grunted and Snow immediately apologized before throwing her arms around her wife. The werewolf couldn’t fault her for the hug but it was a bittersweet pain.
Snow abruptly pulled back and smacked the startled werewolf in the arm. “Hey!”
“Who told you to protect me like that?”
Cait frowned. “Who told you to leave open such a huge blind spot! Isn’t Remus teaching you anything?” Cait’s voice was gruff and husky as she tried to yell back.
“That has nothing to do with it.”
“Don’t blame me for protecting my loved ones. I did it once and I’d do it again! And there’s nothing you can say to change that—”
She was cut off by a loud sob and Snow was once again in her arms, albeit a little more gently this time.
Cait sighed and rested her head against her wife’s hair. “Snow, what are we going to do with you?”
There was a mumbled response which had Cait pulling back with an amused smile on her lips. “Want to try that again?”
The brunette pulled back with a small blush. “I said that you’ll just have to love me like a heartache.”
Cait’s smile softened. “You’re more than an ache, Snow. You’re a red-blooded need and I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of wanting more of you.”
The brunettes blush deepened as a goofy smile spread across her lips. She had just touched her lips to Cait’s when the door burst open and the two jerked apart.
“Mom is awake now!” Elena’s childish laughter made Cait grin as Snow helped the little werewolf up onto the bed. Adam nodded to Cait from the door but motioned that he would wait outside to give them some privacy. Snow smiled at her father’s consideration as he let himself back out of the room.
“Can we play now, Mom?”
Cait laughed. “Not yet sweetheart. I’m not in tip-top condition right now. And I always need to be at my best to wrestle with you because you’re so fast.”
Elena nodded sagely as if she expected this answer. “Uncle Remus said that you’re getting old. So, I understand Mom.”
“Did he now?” Cait got a dangerous twinkle in her eyes that Snow knew spelled trouble for the alpha werewolf in question.
“Don’t be too hard on him, Cait. He’s actually the one that’s getting old.” Snow giggled making her wife grin in response.
“I think it’s time we went a few rounds in the ring. Once I get a clean bill of health and before we take off again, Remus and I need to have a little conversation on the definition of old and how it’s defined by how hard you can hit.”
Elena laughed and bounced slightly on the hospital bed. Snow bent down to pick her up and rest her on her hip. Snow laughed along with her. Once they settled down Cait smiled up at the two of them and gave them a dopy grin. “I told you we would pull through it.”
Snow nodded. “You always keep your promises.”
“That’s right.”
The brunette turned serious and held her wife’s gaze for a moment before voicing her request. “Then I want you to make me one promise you will never break.”
“Anything.”
“Value your own life as much as you value both of ours. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life Cait but I guarantee I would hate every minute of it.”
The werewolf nodded but the serious moment was broken when Elena laughed. “I promise to protect you both!”
Cait and Snow smiled at their daughter and Snow consciously felt the heaviness leave her heart. They would be alright. So long as they had each other.
Epilogue
“Are you sure about this? Isn’t she too young?” Snow asked as she followed Cait down the driveway and up to Remus’s house.
Cait shook her head and ruffled Elena’s hair before glancing over to her wife. “She has her wolf so she qualifies.”
“But I thought it happened after their first hunt?”
“Babe?”
“Yes?”
Cait smiled. “Trust me. It will be fine. Elena will know what to do when the time is right.”
Snow frowned but the conversation was put on hold as Cait knocked on the door. It swung open and Gwen greeted them. “Hey! You’re here just in time. The boys and girls are all set up in the backyard and ready for the kid.”
She bent down and pinched Elena’s cheek making the girl giggle. “Are you ready, pup?”
“For what?”
Gwen frowned and looked up at Cait. “You didn’t tell her?”
Cait smirked. “It’s a surprise.”
“Well, it will be one heck of a surprise, alright. Will she stick beside you?”
Cait nodded and Gwen stepped aside to let them enter. Snow whispered to her as they made their way into the backyard, “Is the first time difficult?”
Gwen thought the question over for a minute. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether she’s a natural or not.”
“What if she—”
“Snow?”
“What?”
Gwen chuckled. “Calm down. She’ll be fine.”
Snow gave an exasperated sigh. “Why do I feel like I’m the only one worrying about all of this?”
“Because you are. Elena is a Fallon. Not only that, she’s your’s and Cait’s daughter. She can handle this.”
Snow met the omega’s gaze and for the first time that night she felt some of the anxiety unclench from her gut. She breathed a sigh. “Okay.”
Gwen smiled. “Good. Now, will you sit with me for old-times-sake?”
Snow nodded and waved to Cait and Elena as they walke
d over to the center of the backyard where the rest of the Lander Clan were seated, scattered about, in their wolf forms. Gwen pulled her over towards a blanket that had a thermos of what smelled like coffee resting on it. She raised an eyebrow at Gwen who only shrugged. “It’s been a long night.”
Accepting that explanation, Snow sat next to the omega and they waited. When the full moon reached the highest point in the sky the first howls of the alphas greeted it. Cait’s deep smooth song and Remus’s rough howl melded together into a warm melody as they sang in the natural tongue of the wolves.
“I sing a song of the new one, let all who are near answer. I, Cait Fallon, welcome my kin to the Fallon Clan. She is young but strong and born to lead. I sing an oath to Elena Fallon. I swear to guide you, I swear to lift you up, I swear to be your words of reason, and to never let you give up.”
The other wolves from the Lander Clan sang in chorus, their howls rich and lyrical. As they sang they began to taper off until there was an anxious silence. Snow worried her bottom lip and pinched her eyes closed. They popped open when a youthful howl broke the silence of the night. The song she sang was sweet and innocent and filled Snow’s heart to the brim with maternal love.
“I am Elena Fallon! I sing with my Mom and Uncle Remus. I will be a good girl and learn a lot. I want to be a big and strong wolf like my Mom. I will protect my friend. My fangs are sharp, my claws dig deep, my eyes see the unseen, and my strength will lift those I love up. I sing my first song loud and clear.”
Snow felt tears sliding down her face as Gwen interpreted the howls of her family. She wiped at them but couldn’t hold back the proud smile that spread across her lips. Her heart had never felt so full of love than at this moment and she couldn’t be more thankful that she was still here to hear her daughter's first song. It was for moments like this that she knew she had to continue with the tasks her mother had given her. If she truly wanted to create the world of peace that her grandmother had always envisioned, if she wanted her daughter to experience a different America than the secretly divided one Snow grew up in, then she needed to claim that seat on the United Monster’s Council. Only then would she have the power needed to make a difference. Snow stood, as Cait and Elena walked over to where she and Gwen were sitting, and she scooped her giggling daughter up into her arms.
“Mama!”
“You did amazing, baby!”
“I know.”
Snow laughed and set the little girl back down. She smiled as Cait pulled her into a hug and soft music began playing in the background as the other wolves pulled out stuff to start the midnight barbecue. Cait kissed the top of her head as Elena and Gwen skipped off to annoy Remus. “Told you she would do great.”
“I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
Cait nipped her in the ear. “I’m glad you realize that.”
Snow nuzzled into her shoulder. “Cait?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to finish what I began.”
Cait was silent for a moment before she responded. “I know.”
“Will you help me?”
“Do you even need to ask?”
“Cait?”
The werewolf looked down meeting her wife’s chocolate gaze. “Yeah?”
“As long as you’re beside me I feel like I can do anything, even the impossible.”
The werewolf smirked. “Then I’ll make sure I always keep close.”
“I love you.”
“And I, you. Forever and ever now until the end of eternity.”
The two shared a chaste kiss even as the sounds of cheers and laughter blurred in the background.
Pack Mentality Teaser
She was beautiful, Gwen thought as she drank in the sight of the woman's shimmering silver hair flowing down her shoulders like fine silk. The woman looked up meeting the werewolf’s gaze with dark brown orbs that were alight with laughter. She had one purple pointed stripe down each side of her face. They completed the ethereal look. A hand waving in and out of Gwen’s vision broke the moment and she blinked several times coming back to her senses. She turned to the owner of the appendage in annoyance.
“Yes, Sam?”
“Where did you go?” He chuckled.
Gwen sighed and pushed past him. That woman was way out of her league. She practically oozed high class, privileged and strength. She wouldn’t even think twice about a weak omega like her. She probably had men chasing her tail everywhere she went. The werewolf’s thoughts were interrupted by a heavy hand landing on her shoulder. Gwen looked back at Sam.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes Sam, I’m fine. Can we just get this shopping trip over with? I have to be back in time to meet Cait. She’s bringing Elena over today. I also have some other things to do today before the canoeing trip tomorrow.”
“You mean, ca-brewing trip!” He laughed like a frat boy and Gwen sighed again.
“Whatever, it’s really not my thing but Remus insisted that I come.”
“Live a little, omega. You’re always working. Remus just wants to make sure that you have some fun.”
“Getting drunk while paddling in a canoe down rapids isn’t my idea of fun.”
“Just think of it as an extreme sport.” He smirked.
Gwen nodded absently as her gaze drifted down the aisle to where the woman had been. A sinking feeling filled her gut when she realized that the woman was gone. Sam pushed the shopping cart down the chip aisle.
“Oh, I forgot something!” he suddenly called out.
Gwen turned to him. “What?”
“I’ll be right back. Let me go grab it real quick.”
“Okay. What snacks did you want? I’ll get them for you.”
Sam called over his shoulder, “Cheetos!”
Gwen smiled and took control over the shopping cart. She made her way to the cheese snack and parked the cart to look over the selection. She knew Sam as well as a few other members of the clan liked the flaming hot, she looked to the high shelf. Of course it would be on the top shelf. Sighing, Gwen moved closer only to realize that once again her height was her enemy. Sometimes, she really hated being the omega and therefore born smaller and weaker than the rest of her clansmen.
She attempted to move backwards, only for the heady scent of jasmine to surround her as heat pressed flush into her from behind, and a soft hand gently ghosted over the sensitive skin of her waist where her shirt had ridden up. Electric shocks tingled along the skin where the woman’s hand touched shooting straight up into the omegas chest. She felt the weight of twin mounds pushing against her as a pale arm reached out over her head and grabbed the flaming hot snack before completely retreating. Gwen unfroze and spun around. Standing before her was the woman from earlier. She was smirking.
“Did you need this?” her smooth voice snapped Gwen out of her shock.
She nodded dumbly as her heart pounded in her chest. The woman held out her hand. “I’m Silvia,” she said.
The werewolf suddenly blushed and gained her wits back. Quickly taking the offered hand, she gasped out her answer as her skin tingled, “Gwen.”
Silvia smirked. “A pleasure.”
All Gwen could do was nod dumbly. She had the fleeting thought that she hopped that the woman hadn’t seen her staring earlier.
“I couldn’t help but notice that I caught your gaze.”
Gwen blushed and sputtered, “Sorry, I didn’t, I didn’t mean to stare.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You’re kind of beautiful,” the werewolf blurted out before she could stop herself. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth.
Silvia’s smirk turned into a genuine smile. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”
Gwen couldn’t look away. For some reason this woman seemed to be glowing as if the sun was beneath her skin. Silvia’s smirk returned.
“Are you busy tonight?”
The omega blinked.
“Gwen?”
“Huh?
”
The woman smiled. “I asked if you were busy this afternoon?”
“Why?”
“Well, if you’re free I’d like to take you out for drinks.”
Gwen blinked again. Why was this woman still glowing?
“Gwen?”
The omega shook her head to try and get her mind straight. “Drinks?”
“Are you not free?”
“No!”
Silvia’s face fell. “No?”
“No, I mean yes. Yes, I would like to go out for drinks. Are you free?”
The woman chuckled. “I wouldn’t be inviting you if I was busy.”
Gwen blushed. “Right. I knew that. Just checking.”
Silvia looked around, and her nose twitched as if she suddenly smelled something, before meeting Gwen’s gaze. “Can I have your number? I’ll call you later with the place we can meet at, unless you have any suggestions?”
The omega thought for a moment. She had to babysit Elena for a few hours but she would be at Remus’s house. If they were to meet afterwards it would be easier if it was someplace close to there. “How about Kirks?”
Silvia nodded. “I know the place. How about I meet you there at, say, about twelve-thirty?”
The werewolf shook her head. “Can we do two-thirty instead?”
The woman smiled and nodded.“That’s fine. Can I still have your number. You know, in case anything happens?”
Gwen flushed. “Yes, of course. Umm, okay, are you ready?”
Gwen said the digits and the white haired woman added her as a contact before looking back up and smiling wide, showing off impressive canines. “I’ll see you later then, Gwen.”
With that, she began walking backwards, smirking the whole way until she finally spun around and rounded the corner. Gwen sighed wistfully. She couldn’t believe that just happened. She was startled from her thoughts by a gruff voice.
“Found them! I had to get some Bud Lite but Remus said that they had to be cans because we couldn’t bring—”
He stopped mid sentence and growled. “Were you speaking with someone?”
