Although she struggled to eat through the tension in the room Naomi did enjoy the meal. The food itself was perfect, it was a special kind of beef stew that only her pack made and she hasn’t realised she missed eating it until the first bite almost made her want to cry with all the memoire it invoked.The atmosphere between everyone was still a little tense, there were words that needed to be said but while Alex was awake and everyone was eating the elephant in the room was going to stay ignored for now. Alex was unare of any tension and sat chirping away telling his Grandma all the great things he liked about Mommy and Daddy. That Mommy always knew what his favourite ice cream was and she had magic kisses when he had a booboo, and that Daddy could push him really high on the swing but he wasn’t scared with him there.Alex was completely unaware that even thought his Aunt and Granma were nodding in approval and making noises of delight for the child that inside it was eating them up a
Once Naomi got inside she started laughing. It was decorated in a lot of creams and off whites and expensive looking furnishings“Why are you laughing?” asked Theon“I can just tell that whoever decorated this place didn’t know a toddler was coming to live here did they?” Naomi asked“Ah no, I had a designer do it a few months ago. Before I knew about Alex.” Theon said realising what Naomi meant. All these sparkling clean cushions and stark magnolia walls were doomed.They walked into the kitchen and Naomi let out a happy squeal. It was her dream kitchen, big, rustic, a large wooden island and an aga. She was itching to start making cookies already. Sat on the island was a gift of exquisitely wrapped cholates and a note. Naomi read it her mouth forming an O of surprise“What does it say” asked Theon.“It’s from your mother” Naomi replied n a tone of surprise “Seems she wants to welcome me back and has invited us to dinner tonight at the pack house.”Theon looked at her questioningly.
Once Naomi got inside she started laughing. It was decorated in a lot of creams and off whites and expensive looking furnishings“Why are you laughing?” asked Theon“I can just tell that whoever decorated this place didn’t know a toddler was coming to live here did they?” Naomi asked“Ah no, I had a designer do it a few months ago. Before I knew about Alex.” Theon said realising what Naomi meant. All these sparkling clean cushions and stark magnolia walls were doomed.They walked into the kitchen and Naomi let out a happy squeal. It was her dream kitchen, big, rustic, a large wooden island and an aga. She was itching to start making cookies already. Sat on the island was a gift of exquisitely wrapped cholates and a note. Naomi read it her mouth forming an O of surprise“What does it say” asked Theon.“It’s from your mother” Naomi replied n a tone of surprise “Seems she wants to welcome me back and has invited us to dinner tonight at the pack house.”Theon looked at her questioningly.
The next day Naomi found herself doing something she swore she would never do again. She was buckling herself into her plane seat for the flight from LA to New York. She was going home.Alex, next to her was a bundle of nerves and excitement. He had never flown before and he was getting to go see more family. Naomi thought he was in real danger of exploding if one more exciting thing happened.“Nervous” Theon asked from the other side of Alex.“Yes.” Naomi replied “Nervous is quite the understatement to be honest. He reached across and squeezed her hand.“We are going to be fine. You’re not alone.” He smiled reassuringly. “I am with you every step of the way” Naomi allowed herself to enjoy the warm sensation that washed over her with his words. She had really underestimated what it felt like to have this kind of support in her life.Despite the length of the flight it seemed to pass by too fast for Naomi and she felt like she was on the road to the pack territory much faster than she
Even as they spent the next few days making plans ready to return to the pack the sense of unease withing Naomi continued to grow. She couldn’t put her finger on it. She asked herself was it seeing anyone specific or knowing that people would be staring and talking about her? The answer was no. The unease felt deeper than that like her subconscious was trying to send her a warming.The night before they left it came to the front of her consciousness. One minute she was in Alex’s bedroom helping him decide which toys would come in his backpack for the plane ride and laughing at how tough the decision was for him then the scene in front of her had completely shifted and she was stood outside her old house, the one she had grown up in.She was at Half Moon pack but it wasn’t its normal calm everyday self, people were running and screaming. Amoke was rising from the direction of the pack house and Naomi realised that’s where people were running from. She ran towards the smoke to see what
Theon was taken by surprise. “You’ve had visions telling you to return to the pack?” he asked. Naomi just nodded.“Why have you been ignoring them?” he asked. Theon was clearly concerned. What he hadn’t told Naomi was that the pack had been suffering from a mystery illness for the last few months and no one knew the cause of the cure. Theon didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he wondered if her call to return and the illness were connected in any way. Was it a punishment on the pack because they had failed to win her back?“Do you know about the illness in the pack?” Theon asked.“Yes, and if you’re thinking it’s anything to do with me you are wrong” Naomi responded in a flat tone.“How did you know that’s what I was thinking?” asked Theon“Because I thought the same thing.” She shrugged showing signs of irritation “So I consulted an Oracle. Look I was pretty pissed at you all but if the two things were related, I wasn’t going to leave you all to suffer. I’m not a monster. I may