Cal finally returned to the packhouse section of the club and moved to Taraโs office. This was something she could easily ask the accountant, Jimmy Pagent. It didnโt matter he needed to see her anyway to get several things straight with her and to tell her about the meeting.When Cal got to her office, he stopped himself from barging in and knocked before he entered. โHey, I hear you need to talk to me. It so happens I need to talk to you, too. So, Iโm going to assume whatever you need to ask can be settled quickly before I drop a few bombs of my own.โTara looked up and smiled as Cal entered. Her facial reaction changed as he spoke and when he got to the word bomb, Tara flinched. That she knew meant it wasnโt a good thing and thereโd be work involved. Tara would worry again that she fail at whatever needed doing. โI just wanted to know if you wanted to track the expenses, I incurred for the Lycan preparations, or are we just going to absorb them?โ โNow thereโs a goo
It took Jaxon only half an hour to have everything set up and the necessary people showing up. The room was in an uproar as confusion reigned and they all tried to make sense of the scraps of information theyโd discovered.After fifteen minutes, groups of wolves scattered the Pack Dining Room. Theyโd arranged themselves by department or job. Security with security and so on. Jaxon stood there and announced to the gathered crowd. โPlease take notice of anyone missing for later. They have five minutes to get here before this begins. There will be a recording of the meeting made along with any notes taken. We ask that every group take notes and shares them with us afterward. Weโll ensure they keep everyone in the loop on this. Itโll be a genuine team effort, but Iโll let our Alpha to explain this fully to you and then weโll go from there. So five minutes until we start. Please be ready. If anyone needs something to take notes, the stationary cabinet is at the back.โShe-wolves usually us
Tara came out of the meeting stunned by all that needed to happen to make these changes. Now, with notes in hand, she needed to make changes to several things. Before she held back doing anything and thought what she did was to a grand scale. What Tara learned in there was her effort werenโt enough. She must think larger and do a lot more.Her staff left, following her, and talking among themselves. They were all pleased their efforts were recognized, but unhappy that they criticized them as not going far enough. They were ready to get down to the brass tacks and get the changes made immediately.โThey could be here as early as tomorrow. I say we should focus on the six immediately needed residences for now. Have them readied by morning if itโs possible and then get on with scheduling the rest of the spaces.โ Betty tried to walk while making notes on the pad in her hands until she almost missed the turn and the corner wall in the face.โMind where youโre going, geez the last thing tha
Tara stood by the sight of where the mage portal would appear on the main floor of the club. It turned out that out-of-town supernatural clients could arrange to come and go from this portal area so they could avail themselves of the club. They verified all their credentials before they made the portal appointment with the mages. Today Tara watched the blue glow of the portal form. It was the first time sheโd ever seen a portal in action. Now the Lycan would use the portal to arrive here. It was fascinating to see the blue glow open to swirling blobs of multi-coloured light. Tara now understood why Cal warned her of the feeling nauseous a little from the way the colours moved and shifted. Only moments later, several figures were seen making their way out of the portal. Each one carried a backpack or bag of some sort. Tara realized she could relate to these Lycan. Everything they owned was in those bags. Taraโs bag, she assumed, was still in the mote
Five Days LaterWith the Lycan settled into their homes. The scramble to get everything a wolf shifter needs to live comfortably for each one. Tara soon learned that the small she-lycan was still coming to grips with her ability to shift, her instincts and senses amplified as they were, and just the culture shock of how differently they live to humans. As she started life as a human before Hectric took her for their experiments. The files were correct. Each Lycan had unique experiences and needs. There was no way to create a blanket program to get them back to being a functional being.However, Eddie found that if he took her into the kitchens and gave her a little encouragement, she was an excellent baker, and he was an excellent assistant. The two began to haunt the kitchens to the point that Rachel assigned them both to work there. The little Lycan was educated as a baker in her human life and quite talented at it. Eddie seemed to have a natural talent for preparing foods and follo
โTara, we held off on this to the point of being rude. We canโt back out again. It looks like we arenโt serious about opening the lines of communication with the Maple Grove Pack. We have to go. Now please get ready. It shouldnโt be a terrible drive if we leave soon.โ Cal explained for the second time today. Heโd lost count how many times he explained this to Tara. โYou are strong enough to handle anything they might say or do. Iโll be right there, and I promise you I wonโt accept them acting out against you in any way. If they try to do that, Iโll pull you out of there so fast everyone will have whiplash. Now go get ready.โ Cal put some stress behind his last words, and he wasnโt surprised that he put a little of his presence behind it. He was frustrated and didnโt want to deal with her fears again.Tara had been running the gambit of those fears and now they were stuck on repeat. Cal was fairly certain he could now pick out a pattern on how they surfaced.โFine, Iโll try to hurry.โ
Tara hesitated for only a few breaths until her mind could catchup to what the old, she-wolf demanded and who she identified herself as. Her grandmother. This was someone that insisted Tara had roots and a family. Not just a male claiming her as one of his. She knew this she-wolf existed. Kole told her to expect to meet her. What she didnโt expect was the depth of surprise at there actually being a real person actually waiting to meet her. Really wanting to meet her, not just reluctantly there. โGo on Tara, she wants a hug. She really wants to know youโre real.โ Cal whispered from behind her in encouragement. He probably was right. Touch and scent were so important to wolves. A scent could tell them so many things about the wolf. From their health, to pack, and even in some cases some wolves could recognize family by scent even if they were new to them. Which could cause all sorts of issues for others. Nothing like finding out that youโre a father by catchin
Calโs hand settled back on Taraโs shoulder, shocking her out of the daze sheโd been in for several moments. โIโm sorry, this is something that took Tara completely by surprise. Sheโs going to need time to understand what it all means. What weโve learned as we dealt this the scum who had her is that they taught her nothing about our world and what to expect. Sheโs been almost alone for most of her life. She raised a pup believing he was her younger brother. Before you ask, sadly heโs no blood relative, but we were able to save him as well. Heโs finally able to settle within our pack. The wolf who claimed to be her father was murdered and the female, who is the male pupโs mother, is still missing. We gave Kole the information Tara could remember about her, and heโs given that to your investigator. But she has little understanding of what a pack or family.โ Cal thought it best to get this out of the way so that Elaine and Elliott could understand why Tara isnโt jumping for joy a
One Year Later โTara sat out on the poach behind the packhouse with a laptop open to a spreadsheet. She and Emily were working out the next yearโs budget and the projects theyโd tackle.With Emily looking after the club while they were up here. It was interesting, to say the least.Tara gave birth on schedule. It was about the only thing that was on schedule these days, and Cal was sitting on a blanket on the grass with one-year-old Natalie Nichols. The apple of her daddyโs eye. She had him wrapped around her little finger and heโd have it no other way.Eddie and his Lycan girlfriend were now running the kitchens here for Rachel. Theyโd mated and, wellโฆ Tara expected to hear that theyโd have pups soon enough.Jaxon, well, he was back in the city. Tara wasnโt sure what was happening with him. Cal wouldnโt speak of it. But Jaxon took a leave of absence from his position for a bit. Tara wasnโt receiving the full story. But as far as she could tell. Jaxon may have two mates. One wasnโt d
Five Months Later โTara felt like the size of a house. She propped her ankles up on her desk and she had to eat her fries with no salt. It wasnโt the same, nothing tasted the same. The poking from inside was regular now and she couldnโt wait for the last six weeks to go by. Sheโd been six weeks pregnant when her symptoms started and since then, if it wasnโt one symptom, it was another. Tara would be more than happy for these little monsters to enter the world.Cal was everywhere and nowhere, it seemed. He told her to clear her calendar today because he wanted to show her their new territory. The thought of trudging out there was exhausting to her. But sheโd do it because he was just so insistent. He promised theyโd stay the night out there and come back the next day at a leisurely pace.โYou ready to go?โโYes, I just donโt understand why we have to do this now. When all I want to do is take a nap.โโYou can nap in the vehicle on the way. Donโt worry, Iโve packed everything we need a
Tara could feel the ball of conflicting emotions rolling about in her head and her belly. She had a new life inside her. No matter what, sheโd never be alone again. But how did she explain all of this to them when the time came?How should she explain this to Cal? He had to be expecting this. Look at the second floor. She didnโt like it necessarily. Their pups living completely separately from us with someone else looking after them. Why hadnโt they spoken about this before?Taraโs eyes closed as the elevator dinged and opened. Sheโd not thought that it was important before this because she wasnโt pregnant, and they didnโt have any pups. Now she thought of it.This morning, Cal was gone before she got out of bed. This was a day she didnโt train, because there were other things she needed to get done. Which, of course, didnโt get done? A few steps brought her to Calโs office over the club.She knocked and entered when she received the okay to enter. Tara lucked out because Cal was alon
David Monroe struggle with the enforcer training. His heart wasnโt in it and his skills lay in other places, but everyone lumped him in with the other male Lycans because he was a Lycan. Heโd exhausted almost every avenue trying to explain to them heโd rather be patching people up and treating pups with fevers. While he was moping during a break, his phone rang, and it surprised him to see that Emilyโs name came up on his phone. โHello, Emily. Whatโs wrong? Why are you calling?โ He couldnโt think of a reason she could be calling him for, but any chance he got to speak with her was better than nothing. โIโll tell you, but you have to be very careful with what you say. No one can know why youโre about to be ordered to the Lunaโs office. What we need you to do, is slip out of the packhouse. If anyone asks, youโre running an errand for the Luna. Thatโs it nothing more. What you need to do is go to the closest pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy kit. Come back here
Again, Tara was up late the next morning. Cal was determined he wouldnโt let her feel like he neglected anything about her. From sympathizing with her, to how her emotions were toward absolutely everything, and he didnโt forget to include planning their future together.Well, he talked, and she mostly listened. What he said wasnโt bad. Tara didnโt have a problem with any of his ideas. She didnโt have much to add or at this time have an emotional connection to any of it.Now, though, Tara needed to get her day going, and she felt like something that had been dredged from a swampy pond. It took only minutes for Emily, her newest staff member, to realize there was something wrong with Tara.โIf we had a cat, Iโd say you look like the latest thing it dragged home. When will we see you going to a healer?โ Emily eagerly asked Tara as she returned from her latest flight to the bathroom. Tara looked at her with an expression of exhaustion.โIโm fine and Iโm not planning ongoing to see one.โ S
โStone dear, you know I love you. Iโm your mate and partner in life. I have always advised you about everything honestly and in your best interest.โ Elaine still quietly sat in the sitting room and calmly spoke to Stone. The others had slowly filtered out to go on with their day or to watch their guests leave. โOf course you are, and you have.โ Stone looked out the window and watched the vehicles leave. Elaine could see he was distracted by what was going on and his own thoughts. โThen why are you being an ass and not listening to anything I say now?โ She let her irritation slip into her voice and she dryly responded to him. Her annoyance was obvious. Stoneโs instincts instantly alerted him to the fact that not all was good between himself and his mate. Over the years, that instinct helped him avoid many different disasters from exploding in his face when it came to their relationship. โIโm listening Ellie. Iโve always listened.โ โThen explain to me if you listened to me, then why
No one said much of anything on the way home. The privacy divider between the front of the vehicle and the back raised then never went down. Cal pulled Tara to him and sat her in his lap. He didnโt do anything more but let her soak up his warmth and strength. He buried his head into her neck and hair. The smell of the wool sweater mixed with the natural spice of her scent. He instantly felt his aggressive feelings smooth out and gentle. Itโd been difficult watching her get so wound up from it all. Tara sat there, and all but purred. As their vehicle made slow progress through traffic, itโs darkened windows gave them the privacy that Cal didnโt care, Tara turned and straddled his lap instead. She didnโt do anything more than that. But his body felt her skirt hike up and he groaned, knowing how naughty she was instinctively gravitating to for comfort. That wasnโt what their mating would ever be based on. Heโd never satisfy his needs while she was seek
Kole wanted to get back to the gathering as quickly as possible. He didnโt want any misunderstandings between anyone, let alone the two packs. There was no way heโd explain to the pack that their beloved elder and ex-alpha alienated his first born grand pup with blind stubbornness, hateful questions, and fear. That wouldnโt be happening today or any day. Kole wouldnโt risk fighting with Cal. How would it look when the Council of Alphas met? His father always forgot about that. Though the council of alphas didnโt exist during his time in control of the pack. Heโd been a forward thinker of his time and moved his pack to a territory that was being noticed by the local humans. It meant he could settle their businesses in, and those humans would see those businesses as founding members of the business community. โLetโs go back down now and please be nice to her. Sheโs so much like Heather and you wouldnโt talk to Heather that way. Just apologize and let mother do
โThatโs my third pup there and his mate. Your uncle, Stephen, and his mate, Ariel. Their grown pups, Erin, and Eric. That about covers your living family here, dear. Everyone sit please. Stone has created enough excitement and drama for one day. She has a sweet soul. Stephen, treat her like you would your sister and donโt act like your father if you know whatโs good for you. As for the doghouse, itโs an old guard shack thatโs been turned into a bunkhouse for single wolves who, for one reason or another, donโt want to make the trip all the way back to their homes to sleep. Itโs affectionately called the doghouse because often thereโs trouble between the few mated wolves that stay there.โ โOh, good grief. Thatโs horrible.โ โOh, donโt think your grandfather hasnโt stayed there a time or two. Though these days heโs more likely to use a guest apartment.โ Tara looked over the tissue at Elaine with a shocked expression. โYouโre joking.โ โNo, Iโm n