Gabriel shifted on his feet, and then came forward to join the discussion. “The hunters have a place where they will not be able to escape from. I think, since the one you have captured knows our system, we will need a witch to help us secure the prison further.” He turned to Layla then, “would you be willing to come with me to help?”
“Do I have much of a choice? You did, after all, save me from all those big, bad dark ones.” Layla was mocking him a little bit, but she was also sincere. She would go and help. A plan was formed, and the two of them left to go secure the prisoners that we had been incapable of keeping under lock and key ourselves.
“Were there any others? Escapees, I mean.”
“There were only two others who made it topside. They’ve both been dealt with.” Mikael told me. “One was killed, the other was put down the hole with Clarissa and her new buddy.”
“Okay, well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am exhausted.” My mom wandered out into the living room then, and looked over at me then.
“You guys should all go home now. It’s been a long few days, and everyone can use the rest. We’ll discuss…” her voice trailed off for a moment. “… everything else tomorrow.”
“Mom, why don’t you come to the house with us? I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“I’ll be fine, Jessica. I just need some alone time to process everything.” She jangled a glass in front of her. “Actually, I was just going to get some water when I realized you all were still here. I’m getting a drink, and heading back to bed.” She turned towards the kitchen then, and we all slowly filed out of her house, giving her the space she needed.
“I don’t like leaving her on her own.” I told Mikael.
“I know, baby, but she needs time. I get that.”
“You two were there for one another before. I saw you through the window before we came in earlier tonight.”
“Yeah, well, I was holding onto her, because she was ready to charge off into the mountains to look for you. She said she needed to know for sure, and she was worried.” He pulled me close to him then, while trying to avoid smashing Willow, who was in my arms as we walked. “She didn’t believe you were dead. She grieved for your father, but she still said she knew you were okay.”
The rest of the short walk to our house was done in silence. Jack, Sierra, and their baby fell in step behind us along the way while Ashley and Asi veered off to go to their own place.
When we got to our house, Mikael, Willow, and I started inside. Sierra, holding her own baby, continued walking toward the cottage that she and baby Jack had been living in for the past few months. Jack, on the other hand, started to follow us up the stairs.
“Whoa there, Jack.” Mikael called out. “This is just getting weird. Sierra is going that way, to her new house.”
“I can’t. I mean, I don’t think…” The pained look on Jack’s face made my heart sink a little. Apparently, this Guardian Wraith business was going to have a mess of its own to be sorted out too.
“Sierra,” I called out, “why don’t you guys stay here in the guest room for the night?” The smile on her face was one of thanks in that moment. I think it would have torn her heart out to have the love of her life, her mate, choose to stay with another woman over her. “You can use the spare bassinet from the den.”
“Thanks, Jess, I really wasn’t up for being alone tonight with the baby. I think I’m still worried he’s not coming home, even though he’s in my arms right now.”
“I know.” I hugged her, and then we all piled into my house together, only going separate ways when Mikael and I continued past the guest bedroom, heading for our own. “Willow stays in here with us tonight.”
“Of course she does.”
“I don’t think everything has sunk all the way in yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, when I wake up tomorrow, everything is going to be different. My dad won’t be here anymore. My mom… I don’t know what to do about my mom. Then there’s Jack. I wonder if Willow will continue to glow when she’s in danger. Everything is different.”
“I know, Jess. We’ll get through it though. Wait, what did you say about Willow?”
I explained to Mikael what happened with Willow when baby Jack was abducted, and he appeared as concerned as I felt when I first found out about it. “That is strange.” He said to me. “We’ll definitely keep a look out to see if it happens again. I think it would be kind of nice to have a safety beacon for our daughter. If anyone ever tries to hurt her, we’ll know when she starts glowing like a light bulb. It’s awesome. I won’t even have to threaten the boys, just remind them that she shines brightly when she’s feeling threatened.”
“You’re unbelievable. We should definitely talk to Serena about that happening though. Maybe she can put us in touch with Gwyn, and she can explain what’s going on with that.” I was thinking out loud as I took my shower. “That’s tomorrow’s worry though. Tonight, I just hope my mom makes it through to see tomorrow. I really dislike leaving her all alone.”
“We’ll get your mom through it baby. She has Willow to think about now too. So, if you’re worried that she will fade…”
“No, I don’t think she would fade. Everything will just be changed, and it’s kind of hard to grasp that. You know?”
“Not everything has to change, Jess.” Mikael whispered into my ear as I came to bed, after I got out of the shower, and snuggled deeper under the covers for more warmth. It seemed like I couldn’t get warm enough since I left the world of the dead. I supposed that was one of the side effects Aislynn talked about. Maybe my body temperature had changed. I was going to wait and see how things played out before I worried anyone with that little bit of news though. “I’m still here. We still have Willow.” He pointed to where she was sound asleep in her bassinet. “We have each other, babe.” He nuzzled into my neck then, kissing gently here and there, until those kisses dropped to my shoulder. Warmth I didn’t think I’d ever feel again spread through my body, lighting me on fire from the inside out. Just his touch, his lips trailing down my body were enough to send me over the edge the first time. I was hyper aware of every little kiss, caress, and then…
The bedroom door burst open, and a very naked Jack was standing there, looking around for something to attack. “What’s wrong?” He yelled out.
“Besides the fact that you just interrupted my mate and I in an intimate moment?” Mikael growled out. “Not to mention you’re still standing there completely naked!”
“Oh shit.” Jack looked down at us on the bed, and then at himself, as he turned away quickly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why…” He was mumbling to himself now. “Her heart rate was erratic, and I thought she was in trouble.” He must have been trying to explain to Mikael, which was cute. “Shit!” Jack moved back out of our room, and shut the door. I could still hear him cussing all the way back to the guest room.
“Yeah, we are definitely going to have to get that under control sooner, rather than later.”
“I kind of like it,” I whispered in his ear.
“Oh? You like Jack running in here naked while I’m trying to make love to you?”
“No, it just means you’re going to have to up your game, and practice a lot so Jack knows what to expect, and not to barge in. I like the practice aspect on our parts.”
Mikael burst out laughing then. “I suddenly feel sorry for the guy. Poor Jack is going to be in for a stroke trying not to come to your rescue every time I get that heart of yours fluttering.”
“Mmm, less talk, more flutter.” I pulled the blanket back a little and pushed Mikael to head back to what he was doing before we were so rudely interrupted.
“Death has come to visit again. Only this time, on the heels of a warrior’s passing, another has been reborn to us. Death is not kind, or just, it simply is. Death has given us both causes to mourn and rejoice today. We have lost our own, Jameson St. Marks. We have also gained one of our
own back, Jack Reynolds. Today, we honor them both for their sacrifices.” I hated that it wasn’t me addressing the pack, or my mother, but neither of us was in a place to do it yet. My mother had asked Mikael to start off the ceremony tonight instead.
Eileen St. Marks walked up to the edge of the lake then, to stand next to Mikael as I kept my position in the semi-circle my pack had formed. “As the Alpha’s mate, it is my right to choose another to take his place with his passing.” My mom choked up a little on the last word, but otherwise she was doing far better on the outside than I felt on the inside. “Normally, I would say that our daughter, Jessica, should take his place. She has a far greater calling though, as the White Wolf Ruler. In her stead, I would choose Mikael De’Lune to take his place as master of this pack. She leaned in, and kissed him on his left cheek, then his right before stepping back. “All hail your new pack master. Mikael of the De’Lune Pack.”
Those who were still in their human form took a knee where they once stood in the semi-circle. Those in wolf form, bowed down on their front two paws.
“St. Marks Pack.” Mikael corrected. “The name will stay, as is, in honor of the leader who gave his life to save his people.”
My mate couldn’t have possibly honored my father in a better way than that. The pack seemed to agree as a round of howls went up and joined into one singular voice. When it was time to honor my father’s death, Ashley took Willow from me so that I could shift with the others. No sooner had I shifted than Jack, who was standing beside me, also took his wolf form. There was no question that he was something else altogether when seen in that form. He was a wolf, and yet, he wasn’t. The ethereal quality of his being was mesmerizing. I stood there, just taking it all in for a moment. His wolf was now white, and oddly translucent with shocks of blue lightning flowing through him. The eyes that had been peering out of his human shape earlier were now something altogether different too. They were solid white with one, tiny, round circle of brilliant blue. It was a blue that matched the lightning that shot through his wispy being. I don’t even know if I would have had words for what I was seeing, had I been human and able to communicate them. Instead I just took it all in, knowing that he had no clue what I was seeing.
Something must have caught his eye, because his focus shifted from me to something just off over by the lake’s edge. He nudged into me, and after a quickening jolt of electrified energy, I was able to see what he was staring at. Jack was absolutely straddling the world of the living and the dead, and not just walking in both worlds, but connecting them. Standing there, by the edge of the lake, I saw my father. He acknowledged my look with a tip of his head before blowing a kiss in my direction. “The white wolves send their blessing. They had enough juice to allow me to come say goodbye. Tell Mikael…” my father, even as a spirit, was clearly humbled by the showing. “Tell him thank you for me” I tipped my head down to let him know I understood. Then I nudged Jack towards my mother. He seemed to understand immediately, and went to make contact with her then. I’m not sure what my father was able to say to my mom, but when Jack finally pulled away from them, she let out the loudest, most pitiful mourning yelp I’d ever heard from a wolf. The sound of my mother’s raised wolf voice carried over the mountains beyond our pack’s borders, and was quickly joined by a chorus of howls that were sent up into the night sky to honor my father, and my mother’s loss. My voice carried with them, our extended family, voicing our anguish and hope all once. It filled my heart to bursting, knowing that my father had built a pack so strong.
We had faced so much as a pack in just a short time. As a family, we had been dealt more than any one should ever have to endure in a lifetime. Yet, there we were, enduring, and moving forward. I took it all in, as we ran together that night. The scent of damp earth and pine needles pervaded my nostrils. The waves of energy that rolled off my pack mates, smashed into me, and broke off again in waves that reached out to the next in line. Each crashing wave of energy drove me forward that night. We ran deeper into the forest than we usually did, all of us needing an outlet for our anger, our loss, and our search for a hopeful future.
I knew we wouldn’t find the end of our hardships this night, but I vowed to the stars and moon above, and to whatever greater beings there were beyond us, that my people would find peace. We would know a calm for a time, because we had earned it. We earned it through hardship, and flexibility, through tolerance of others, and the ability to come together under the worst of circumstances and see ourselves through to the other side.
My vow to my people, spoken under the stars, would stick. I knew it would, and I stopped mid-run and sealed it with a determined howl that was echoed back by the wolves of my pack. They would rally under Mikael, just as the rest of our kind would rally under me. I swore that I heard my father’s voice calling back in that cacophony of sound, and maybe I did. I was sure he was enjoying this one last run with us, even if we couldn’t see him there.
~*~ 17 years later ~*~
“Willow, I need you to come somewhere with me tonight.”
“But, mom, it’s the full moon, and I told Drea I would run with her.” When she saw that I wasn’t going to budge she threw in, “but it’s her first full moon run since she shifted.” As if I didn’t already know that.
“I have it on good authority that Asi and Ashley plan on running with Drea this time. She’ll be fine.”
“Seriously, mom?” Willow rolled her eyes at me in typical teen fashion. She turned her back to me as she looked through her things for the tiny little piece of electronics she called a cell phone. “You would think it’s cool to make your first run with your parents, but it’s totally not! Remember when I first shifted? I had you on one side, dad on the other, and freaking glow-in-the-dark Uncle Jack bringing up the rear. I’m lucky I have any friends at all.” Her velvety brown hair was currently hanging down to the middle of her back, with slight waves to it today. I could tell she had been a little wind-whipped out on the lake earlier with her friends. Luckily, the winds were dying down, and were supposed to be non-existent by the time the full moon reached its apex tonight.
I couldn’t help myself as I started laughing. Willow was the only child I had. The coldness I felt in my bones never did leave me permanently. My body temperature was down well below what a normal werewolf was. I actually ran a little on the low side for a human now too. Needless to say, that low of a body temperature wasn’t enough to ever sustain a werewolf pregnancy again. Mikael and I had resigned ourselves to only having Willow to dote on, but that wasn’t entirely true either. We also had Jack Jr., and Ashley and Asi’s kids to spoil. We were living very fulfilled lives, but we were all probably a little too over-protective of Willow because she was our one and only. Thanks to the obligation Jack had as our Wraith Guardian, he was just as overbearing as having a third parent who couldn’t let go.
“Drea will be fine. I’m sure Luke will see to it that she gets some space from them, and Jack Jr. will too.”
“Being rescued by her brother and cousin from her parents…” Willow huffed out her indignation. “Drea’s going to hate me.” She started whining which only made me want to laugh again. “I promised!” Now, I totally understood the drama I always put off on my own mom.
“Willow, I promise you that she won’t hate you. Ashley is going to explain things to her, but you and I have somewhere to go, and it’s important.”
“Ugh, fine!” Willow stomped off out of her room, and I went to my own to get everything prepared for the night. Since the future white wolves would be cut off from our ancestors, I took it upon myself to write down their histories. Serena aided me in writing their stories all the way back to the very first white wolf, Aislynn. To my surprise, they weren’t all rosy stories full of optimism and wonderment. Not all the white wolves had been good people. Of the ones that more closely resembled myself, most met with a quick end. Serena and I had finished up with the last white wolf that came before me weeks ago. Since then, I continued to add my o
wn story, including how I found out that I was a white wolf.
During the writing of the book, I had shoed Willow away more times than I could count, telling her she wasn’t ready to read it yet. I knew a time would come when she’d want to know the complete history. Sadly, there would come a time when she would have to know it. I suppose that’s why it took me so long to write it. I knew when that time came, it would be because my baby girl was about to transition into a woman, a white wolf in her own right.
I had been feeling the change coming on for months now. She was going to go through her final transition soon, and when she did, she would need all the knowledge she could grasp at her fingertips. I didn’t want her to be as blind to her powers coming into play as I had been.
“Tonight is the night, then?” Serena had come for a visit a few days ago, and I let her read the last part of the book, my part. She chastised me for seeing the hero in most of the other wolves, and not so much in myself.
“Yes, I’ve been feeling her final transition coming for a while now. It’s time.” I smiled at Serena. “It must be odd for you to be able to be a part of all this after so many generations of having to watch your lineage from the shadows.”
“It is both strange, and wonderful, my dear.” Serena smiled, as she touched the book we wrote together.
“I find it odd that my mother sought redemption the way she did too.” When I finally found a moment alone with Serena all those years ago, I was able to tell her the message that Kezia had sent back with me. ‘I was wrong, and this girl, finally one to be worthy of our line, proved it to me. Do what you must.’ I still wasn’t entirely sure what it meant, but Serena seemed to know, and ever since that day a burden had lifted from her shoulders. The change was evident to everyone who knew her. It was good to see Serena happy. After all, she had saved my life in more ways than one.
“I found Kezia to be odd all around. Who’s to say she was even trying to redeem herself?” I asked.
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