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  “Here you all are! I’ve been searching the grounds for you.” Billy said as he came up and sat beside me, taking Jazzy from my arms. “They relieved me of patrol early, so I figured I would come and hang out with you.”

  “It’s not me and you know it.” I chuckled. “I’m flattered, but I also know better. It was this princess you were looking for, not me.”

  “Partially true. I was looking for both of you actually.” He said. “You will be having three guards with you at all times now. Gary and Brent are in wolf form circling the perimeter. Alpha’s orders.”

  “Why? Do you know?”

  “I don’t. I do know that it was ordered for both you and your father though.” He said as he started tickling Jazzy in the tummy. He then gave her back to me and stood up. “Becca will probably come at some point to visit and spend time with Jazz before the party. Did you ever get any other volunteers to help with the kids?”

  “Yes, this delightful group of ladies and gentlemen,” I said, knowing they could hear me. I heard them snicker because they knew I didn’t normally talk like that. They probably thought I was still kissing up for the help. “Are going to help me in the beginning so the elders can make an appearance, then the elders will come to replace them so they can enjoy the party.”

  “Are you making an appearance at any point?”

  “Yes, when the children go to sleep, I will go long enough to congratulate the couple.” I couldn’t just not go. It would’ve been seen as disrespectful to the Alpha family.

  “Good. I’ll be in charge of your pm detail. Jerry will be in charge of the am detail. I’m sure either the Alpha or your father will explain the need for guards, but I wasn’t privy to that info.” He said. “I’ll be patrolling the area with Gary and Brent, so if you need me, or are ready to go, just let me know by sending a whistle.”

  I nodded as he handed Jazzy back to me and he jogged off the tree-line to change. I put Jazzy down on the blanket on her tummy so she could work on pushing up and she had been rocking lately like she was going to crawl soon, so I wanted to see if I could help her do that.

  After a while Jazzy had tired and fallen asleep on the blanket. I started thinking about the party that night. I really didn’t want to go, but it couldn’t be avoided. Whenever I saw Trent, I never looked him in the eye. An Alpha can tell who their mate is by looking into their eyes, or by scent. I took an herbal supplement for my health that fortunately changed my scent, and he took my lowered eyes as a sign of respect for the Alpha. I made sure to do the same for Nikki too, but since I actually talked to her sometimes, I was able to look in her eyes without recrimination. Nikki was as sweet as ever and I did enjoy her company. She obviously felt the same way because she would seek me out some days just to sit and talk. She said it was so nice to be able to talk to someone who wasn’t just trying to get in good with the future Alpha female. No one ever sucked up to with malicious intent, but they just weren’t genuine.

  I was so into my own sad thoughts I had forgotten to block them until I heard some of the children cry, and some of the widows came to me to make sure I was alright. I assured them I was fine, and asked Denise to sit with Jazzy as I went to calm the children.

  “Who would like a story?” I asked in a cheerful voice, projecting happy feelings to the kids to help change the somber atmosphere.

  They started jumping up and down, all wanting a different story.

  “How about a story that has a princess, and a prince, and a witch…”

  “But that’s girlie story.” A little boy named Eddie said.

  “Oh no, you didn’t let me finish. See it also has an ogre and a dragon in it.” I told him, getting down on my knees so the kids would all sit.

  “That sounds like Shrek.” One of them said.

  I laughed. “No it’s not Shrek, but have all of you seen Sleeping Beauty? It’s about Princess Aurora.”

  “See! I told you it was girlie!” Eddie said.

  “Not the way I’m going to tell it.” I pretended to think. “How about this. If you don’t like it, I’ll bring you all chocolate tomorrow. If you do like it, you all owe me a piece of fruit.”

  “Can we bring you candy?” They asked.

  “If that’s what you want.” I couldn’t eat candy; it would make me physically ill, but I would just ‘share’ it all with them.

  After they had all sat down, I told them a Grimm type version of Sleeping Beauty with a few changes to make it more appropriate for them, and more interesting. By the end they were all ensnared by the story. Even the boys were hanging on to every word.

  “I owe you candy, Ms. Crystie.” Eddie said. There were sounds of agreement from all around. “That was the bestest story I ever heard! I’m gonna tell it to my daddy.”

  “Thank you Eddie.” I gave him a hug. “Now, how about a movie, pizza, and ice-cream night? How does that sound?”

  “Will we have to go to bed?” Marie, a little six year old asked.

  “Nope!” I said, popping the ‘p’. “We are going to have a living room camp out at my house. Everyone just falls asleep where they are when they are ready, and your parents will pick you all up tomorrow.”

  Everyone got up and got their things together to start the trek back, but I paused in what I was doing when I saw my dad walking toward me with a member of the pack on each side of him.

  I whistled for Billy and the others so they could hear whatever we discussed. They needed to know what threat they were protecting me from.

  “Hey Tink.” He said, kissing my cheek. “I have to talk to you before I go to the party.”

  “Is this about why we need guards?” I asked, picking up Jazzy and leading the kids down the path that led to both the pack house and my house.

  “Yes,” He paused like he was deciding what to say. He looked at me and sighed. “I guess I just need to say it. It seems as if the rogues are after Omegas. The other two in this country have disappeared. The King has his Omega protected and called Alpha Parker to warn us to do the same. We need to be on guard and keep an eye out.”

  I gave him a one armed hug. I could feel his worry. “It’ll be alright, Daddy. We know now, and they’ll look after us.” I said looking around to include all of the guards. They seemed to walk a little taller once they heard that and felt the sincerity coming from me. I had all the confidence in the world that they would defend us at all cost.

  “I’m worried for you, Tink. With your…” He looked around and stopped what he was about to say. He didn’t want anyone knowing about me not having my wolf senses. “I can’t lose you.”

  “I know Dad. You won’t. Just believe in our warriors. Billy and the others won’t let anything happen.”

  He seemed to relax a little and grabbed Jazzy from my arms as we headed home.

  Chapter 2

  It was nine forty five and the children had all finally fallen asleep during Finding Nemo. I was in my room deciding what to wear when my mom came in. The older generation had all decided to cut their stay at the party short and let the young ones enjoy themselves, so she a Daddy had already come home.

  “I figured I would come to help you.” Mom said. She had one of her beautiful smiles on her face, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She went over to the sea-green dress that was a perfect match for my eye color. It had a snug fitting bodice with a flowing skirt that reached my knees. My mom had bought it for me for my eighteenth birthday, but I hadn’t had the occasion to wear it.

  “You know sweetheart, you and your father are all I have. I love you both with everything in me. I never had outlandish aggressive tendencies, but I wasn’t a nice person when I was growing up.” She helped me on with the dress and then led me over to my vanity table and started brushing my hair. “I was a snob and a bully to those I felt inferior to me.”

  “I can’t see that, Mom.” I said, astonished at her confession. “You have never been anything but kind and respectful to those around you. It’s why so many look to you for things.

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p; Mom smiled and shook her head sadly. “I used to be a very different person, sweetie. This whole pack used to be different until you’re dad came around.” She finished my hair, just leaving it down, knowing that was the way I liked it best. She went to my bathroom, grabbed my make-up case, and came back to help me apply it. “I never get to do this with you. You have never been one to dress and make yourself up. You are completely opposite of me.” She chuckled at the last part.

  I turned to her feeling bad that she thought that way. “Mom, just because I would rather hide away than stand out, does not mean that we are opposites. I might not know what you were like before, but I do know you now, and I am so proud to be able to call you my mom. I strive to be like you and Dad.”

  “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Crystie. It was a compliment.” She said as she bent down to hug me. “You are such a beautiful, kind, big hearted young woman. I couldn’t have wished for a better daughter. I just feel awful for what you are going through. Not everyone is blessed enough to find their mates, and for you to have found him, and give him up…” She looked at me through the mirror and I saw the tears glittering n her eyes. “I just can’t imagine. You deserve to be happy just like everyone else.”

  “Don’t feel bad for me. I have a wonderful life, and I am happy. Being able to do things for people, and make them happy, it’s the best feeling Mom. Yes it hurts, not having Trent, but I find myself content with my decision every time I see him smile with Nikki, or see him laugh at something she said. Seeing him like that makes all of this worth it. And Nikki is such a wonderful person. Can you imagine a better Alpha pair for this pack? I would never be a good Alpha female. As big as this pack is, and I don’t like to be in crowds? How would that even work?” I smiled. “This is truly best for everyone.”

  I was walking to the party on Gary’s arm; Billy on my left side, and Brent behind us. We were going at a slow pace considering I wasn’t very good in dress shoes, even though they were flats. I tripped on another crack in the sidewalk, and Gary caught me yet again. We couldn’t help but laugh at my clumsiness.

  “I mean I could kind of understand if you had heels on, but how do you keep tripping in your flat shoes?” Brent asked from behind me. He wasn’t being mean; he just really thought it was funny.

  “Hey!” I said, trying to look indignant. “I’m used to being barefoot or just in flops. I know you couldn’t ever walk in these.” I had stopped and turned to look at him. “I’ll bet you that you can’t walk in them either.”

  “They won’t fit me!” He said, Billy and Gary snickering in the background. I knew that was right. Brent was around six three and probably had a size fourteen boat for a foot, compared to my size six feet.

  “They are silk and flexible, so that’s not an excuse, just fold down the heel.”

  “Alright, what are we betting?” He asked, taking up the challenge.

  “If you can, you choose something for me to do, but if you trip and fall, or even just lose your balance, you have to dance with Aisling and finally ask her out on a date.” I had seen the way Brent looked at her from afar, and knew he was crushing on her hard, but he was afraid of her turning him down. What he didn’t see was her looking at him the same way every time his back was turned. I knew she was in love with him, so she wouldn’t turn him down for a dance or a date.

  He stood there with his mouth hanging open. “But…how…why…Why are you doing that for a bet? What do you get out of it?”

  “Nothing, but I see a lot of things, Brent, so I think you will get something out of it. Just make an honest attempt at wearing these shoes.”

  After thinking about it for a minute, he shrugged, muttered something like ‘what do I have to lose’ and came closer to me. I slid my flats off and backed up so he’d have better access. It was hilarious to watch him even trying to put them on. All of us were cracking up, and we heard others laughing around us. Looking up and around, I noticed we had made it to the front of the pack house and a lot of people had come outside to see what was going on. I had forgotten to block myself, so they had probably had felt my mirth at the situation.

  I spun back to Brent when I heard a painful grunt and thump. He had fallen just trying to put them on. I was laughing so hard my sides were hurting. Brent took the shoes and threw them at my feet, feigning anger, but I could see his lips twitching letting me know he was just holding his laughter in.

  Billy helped him up while Gary picked up my shoes and handed them to me, but they had been ripped at the soles from Brent shoving his big feet in them. I just shrugged and turned to go in. That just gave me an excuse not to wear them. I would rather be barefoot anyway.

  Nikki came up to me giggling; I guess from seeing what had happened. I smiled over to her and to Trent who was beside her, but wouldn’t meet their eyes. “Alphas,” I bowed my head in respect. “Congratulations on your engagement. The pack is blessed with such a pair.” I projected the sincerity I felt for that statement, trying to hide the pain and sadness I felt in my heart.

  “Aw, thank you, Crystie, but I’ve told you that we aren’t Alpha’s yet, so you don’t have to do the official greeting for us.” Nikki said as she looped her arm with mine, and then she and Trent walked beside me into the house. “Now this is a party, so let’s get some punch and you can tell us why Brent was trying to wear your shoes.”

  We went over to the table and I explained, concentrating on Nikki and trying not to look at Trent. “Please don’t say anything, though. I don’t want Aisling thinking that he only asked as part of the bet. He adores her; I just nudged him in her direction.”

  “We won’t say a word.” Trent said in his smooth silky voice, sending shivers down my back. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Yes, sir.” I answered in a small voice. I had barely said five words to him over the years, I had been able to avoid it for the most part, and this was much harder than I thought it would be.

  “Come on Crystie, as Nikki said we aren’t Alphas yet, so please just call me Trent.”

  “Alright Trent, I’m sorry. Go ahead.” I noticed that when I said his name he seemed to stiffen a little, and I was afraid he would say something about it, but he didn’t.

  “My father informed me that you would not be taking over the peacekeeper position.” He said. “Have we done something, or is there a different reason you don’t want the position when we do the changeover?”

  I swallowed, hoping there wasn’t a double meaning to his question, but answered it anyway. “This project with the children, the mateless, and the elders has been my passion since it’s conception. I really want to stick with that.” I tried to project the contentment I felt for that, but I had so many conflicting emotions in my head at the moment that I didn’t know if I succeeded or not. “I will still be there and available to you when the need arises if my dad can’t for some reason, but I love the children, and the mateless and the elders have all been so much happier and more content since they have been helping than they were before. Some of the mateless have paired off finding comfort with each other. I love knowing I had a hand in their happiness.”

  “Okay, as long as we know it’s not us that you are avoiding.” He said.

  “I told you, Trent. She has never tried to avoid me and has always spent as much time with me as she could when I speak with her. She’s not avoiding us.” Nikki defended me.

  I felt a stab of guilt at her statement; knowing that I was, for the most part, avoiding Trent. Luckily someone came up to them then, so I was able to get away. I found Billy and Becca and stood with them.

  “I have a proposal.” I said looking at Becca. I knew she would be the one to convince. “I think the three of you should move into my house until this threat is over. That way you both would have more time together, and of course I would have Jazzy even more. That way when Billy changes shift at midnight, he’d just have to go upstairs to both of you instead of having to drive home that time of night or morning or whatever you want to call it.” />
  They looked at each other for a moment, and I knew that they were having one of those silent conversations mates can have. They both looked like they were okay with it, so maybe they were talking about the details. Billy and I had always been friendly because of Becca, but once they graduated and they had decided to marry, I was Becca’s Maid of Honor, and then I had arranged the baby shower and been there for the birth of Jasmine. It had been Billy’s idea to make me Jazzy’s god-mother. We became as close as Becca and I had always been.

  They looked back at me with smiles, and then smothered me in a hug from both sides. “That would work out perfect.” Becca said. “I’ll even talk to your mom about keeping house, and maybe I can help you with the kids sometimes.”

  “That does sound perfect. I’ll have my whole family together.” I said cheerfully, but inside I was recalling the feeling of foreboding that had been closing in on me since I had been told about the rogues. It just felt like something was going to happen.

  Chapter 3

  “Billy, I’m ready to go home.” I walked over to Billy and Becca as they finished a dance. It was eleven thirty and I wanted to check on the children and then go on a run before bed.

  “Do you think Jerry and the guys would mind going on a run with me?” I asked. “I feel like going wolf tonight.”

  I knew that with the threat I would not be allowed to go alone, but I really needed some stress relief. Even though my wolf was not with me anymore, running as a wolf was still a very freeing experience.

  Billy looked over to Becca, and after a minute, back to me. “I know Becca and I would love to go with you. We can ask Jerry, Mark, and Ryan, but truthfully, they have to go wherever you go, so if you want to run, they’ll be there.”

  I shook my head as Gary walked up with Brent and Aisling, who were walking hand in hand. “I wouldn’t want to make anyone do anything they didn’t want to.”