Chapter 10
Amie
he week and a half both passed by quickly and seemed to stretch out forT an eternity. Laura turned out to be a natural at waiting tables and she soaked in what I had to teach her in no time. It eased my guilty conscience a little, as I knew I wouldn’t be ditching Mrs Jones and CeCe with a heavier workload. My last shift in the diner was an evening shift and as soon as the last paying customer had eaten their dinner, Mrs Jones announced the diner was closed. To my surprise, most of the town then flooded in as CeCe announced it was my goodbye party. It was a wonderful evening and I even got a little teary-eyed a couple of times. CeCe and Jessie insisted they would come over to help me pack my car the following morning, even though I told them I would get help. In the end, I ran out of excuses and agreed they could come over. I don’t think I could have kept them away even if I had said no. It was their way of trying to assess if they felt I was safe with Finlay or not. It was sweet. I had a hard time sleeping, my stomach was filled with nervous butterflies and my wolf was giddy with excitement.
My alarm went off at seven a.m and I got up. I packed the bedding in a box I had saved for it and then headed down to the bakery. Mrs Andersen had promised to make me breakfast so I wouldn’t have to dirty any of my kitchen things my last morning. I carried in the two sacks of flour I always helped her with and she offered me several freshly made muffins and some delicious coffee. As I was enjoying it and chit chatting with Mrs Andersen, I heard a car arrive, but it didn’t sound like Finlay’s truck. I headed out back
to investigate. To my surprise, it wasn’t just Finlay that had arrived. He was leaning against an unknown truck with Sam and Meadow. Meadow squealed when she saw me and ran to give me a tight hug. I laughed and
hugged her back.
“I have missed you,” Meadow said.
“I have missed you too. But I didn’t expect you to come here,” I replied.
“I know, but when Finlay said he would get you, we thought…” Meadow began but got interrupted by Sam clearing his throat. “Okay, okay, I thought, it would be a nice thing if we came as well,” she finished.
“I’m not objecting. But four people to move me seems a little much.” At that moment, CeCe and Jessie came walking. I introduced everyone to each other and watched as Finlay and Jessie gave each other a measured look. I rolled my eyes and both CeCe and Medow giggled.
“Okay, let’s get me packed,” I told everyone before it all turned into a dick measuring contest. With six people and my very limited amount of boxes, it took less than half an hour to stow everything away in the Volvo and the truck.
“I’ll be driving,” Finlay told me and held out his hand for the key to my car. I hesitated.
“I usually don’t let anyone else drive her,” I told him.
“Her?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, Amie has an unhealthy attachment to that car,” CeCe giggled.
“Hey, me and Beula have been through a lot,” I objected.
“Beula?” Meadow asked.
“It suits her,” I said and patted the sand-coloured roof. Everyone laughed.
“Are you going to tell me I can’t drive your car?” Finlay asked. The tone he used made it clear to me he was asking as my Alpha. Technically, he wasn’t my Alpha yet. But it wouldn’t be a good way to start life in his pack by pointing out technicalities like that.
“Of course not,” I said, tossing the keys to him.
“I have packed doughnuts for everyone, and coffee,” Mrs Andersen said.
She was walking to us holding two large bags and balancing four large to- go cups. Sam and Finlay hurried to help her. “Thank you, that’s sweet of you,” she said.
“I have packed some burgers for you to eat on the way. No fries, as they will just get soggy. But plenty of stuffed potatoes,” Mrs Jones announced as she came walking with two bags full of food.
“Thank you,” I said to both of the sisters. And they knew I wasn’t just thanking them for the food.
“It has been a pleasure, Amie,” Mrs Jones said. As she handed the food over to Finlay, she gave me a hug and her sister did the same.
“Don’t forget about us. You keep in touch,” Jessie said, giving me a hug.
“I will. And get your shit together and ask her out before I have to send someone to mess you up,” I told him. He grinned at me. Then it was CeCe’s turn. We hugged for a long while and promised to keep in touch and she promised to look out for Jessie. I handed my apartment key back to Mrs Andersen and got into the passenger seat of the Volvo. Finlay was already
sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I will be,” I told him.
“Ready to go home?”
“More than ready,” I agreed. It was the truth. Even though it was bittersweet to say goodbye to my old life, I was excited to start my new one.
I waved to my friends as we drove off. The car smelled of fried food and coffee. There were worse scents to be surrounded by. We drove in silence for a while. I think Finlay let me take in the moment and I appreciated it.
“Want a doughnut?” I finally asked.
“I never turn down deep fried baked goods,” he said. I smiled and fished one out of the bag and handed it to him. “Medow and Aunt Matilda have been busy planning your bloodening ceremony. They will talk you through it this afternoon. If you feel it’s too much or you don’t like something, just tell them. They won’t be offended,” he told me. I smiled as I munched on my own doughnut.
“I’m sure I will like it. When is it planned for?”
“Tomorrow.” He watched me from the corner of his eye as if he was afraid I was going to object.
“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it.” He relaxed and smiled.
“So is the pack, you should hear how hyped up Cadence is,” Finlay told me with a laugh. It felt nice to know the pack was looking forward to taking me in.
“No objections from anyone or suspicions?” I asked.
“No. You made a superb impression on everyone,” he said. He took a sip out of his coffee and sighed happily. We had talked over the phone every day, but I had missed his calming aura and clean, pine scent. I knew I
needed to be careful. I couldn’t let myself or my wolf get too attached.
Finlay would find his mate, and when that happened, I needed to be able to accept her as my Luna. I would just make sure we kept things on a friendly level. Around the halfway mark, Finlay announced he had mind linked with Sam and it was time to eat. We parked at some picnic tables by the side of the road and took out the burgers and stuffed potatoes.
“I understand why you spent four days eating at that diner if this is the food they are serving,” Sam told Finlay. We all laughed. I felt my wolf settling down. She recognised her new pack members, and she enjoyed the opportunity to reestablish the social connection we both had built during our three days at the pack. I noticed Finlay looking very pleased about something.
“I can drive,” I offered as we got back in the cars.
“Not happening,” Finlay told me.
“What are you so pleased about?” I asked after we had been driving for a while.
“I like it when a plan comes together. I’m getting a new pack member, a strong one. You will help us build a stronger pack and I enjoy your company. I think I have every right to feel pleased,” he told me. I laughed at his honesty.
“If you put it like that, I would say you are right,” I agreed and relaxed back.
“You look pleased as well,” he remarked.
“I have got a wolf. I’m about to have a pack and a new exciting job. And I think I’m becoming friends with my Alpha. I say I have just as much to be pleased about,” I told him. He chuckled.
“True. It’s a good day,” he agreed. We arrived at the pack house a couple of hours later. Finlay and I had spent the time talking and joking. So when I got out of the car, my legs felt a little stiff, but I was relaxed. I took a moment to scent my surroundings and was so occupied with taking in the moment that I missed the projectile that came flying at me. Cadence came flying out of nowhere and jumped up on me to give me a hug. The sheer force of the pup had me stumbling back before I found my balance.
“Cadence!” Finlay barked. “You can’t just tackle people.”
“I’m sorry, Alpha. I was just happy to see her,” Cadence said. He looked at me with his big, sad puppy eyes.
“It’s okay. I missed you too,” I told him and gave him a hug before placing him on the ground. “What have you been doing while I was away?”
I asked and then I listened to him telling me about everything he had been doing. Finlay also listened patiently. “Wow, that was a lot of things,” I said when Cadence had listed everything.
“Are you going to stay this time?” the pup asked.
“I am. I just need to get all my things into my room,” I told him.
“I can help,” he offered. Finlay smiled and reached into the car and pulled out a small bag.
“Here you go. Be careful with it,” he told Cadence. He grabbed a stack of boxes of his own and I took one. Medow and Sam took a couple more and Martin came walking and joined in as well. Before I knew it all pack members in the area had grabbed a box and with the limited amount of boxes, everyone had to make one trip and then I was moved in.
“Thank you, everyone,” I said as they left the boxes in neat stacks in the corner of my room.
“I’ll see you later, Amie,” Cadence called out and waved as he left.
“He likes you,” Finlay pointed out.
“He’s a sweetheart,” I said.
“My aunt and Medow will stop by in a while. I asked them to give you at least an hour to settle in. But they are excited, so don’t expect much more time than that,” Finlay told me.
“I’m looking forward to it. And thank you for all the help.”
“Don’t mention it. Let me know if you need something. I’ll see you at dinner.” When Finlay left, I was alone and took a moment to look out the windows. I loved the view of the brook. I took a deep breath. I’m home. I found the boxes labelled ‘clothes’ and started unpacking. Finlay was right.
Almost an hour on the dot after he left, Medow and Matilda knocked on my door.
“Do you have a moment to sit down and go over tomorrow's ceremony?”
Matilda asked.
“It sounds like fun. Why don’t you come in? It’s a little bit of a mess at the moment. But we can sit at the table by the windows,” I suggested.
“We were hoping you would offer, so we brought snacks,” Medow said and showed me a basket. As I let them inside, she unpacked it on the table.
There were cookies, fudge, cupcakes, fresh fruit and sodas.
“Tomorrow is the big day!” Medow exclaimed. Matilda smiled at the younger wolf.
“You will have to forgive her, she is young and full of excitement,”
Matilda said.
“How could I not be? Do you know how long it’s been since we had a bloodening?” I laughed.
“I take it that not many seek out the pack to become members?” I asked.
Both women shrugged.
“We haven’t ranked, which puts us at the bottom. Not many know about us and those who do, know the risk of joining a low ranking pack,” Matilda told me. I nodded. As a low ranking pack there was a real threat from other packs and rogues. Finlay and the pack had bought their land when they needed new pack land. Because that was who Finlay, and therefore the pack, was. But there were other ways to get pack land. If you were a new pack or a pack in need of more land, you could get it by attacking another one. You could, theoretically, attack any pack. But you would be insane to try and do so with one of the top ranked packs. Not only had they proven to be stronger than all other packs, they also had more allies than anyone else.
So, your best bet was to go after the lower ranked packs.
“I get that,” I said.
“Last to join was Gordon, but he didn’t need a bloodening as he mated Alica. He chose to join us rather then her joining his old pack,” Medow said.
“But it’s always a joyful thing to have a bloodening. It will do the pack good to celebrate,” Matilda added.
“You haven’t planned anything big, have you?” I asked, feeling a bit worried.
“No, no,” Medow said, waving her hand. I looked at Matilda.
“It’s a big occasion,” Matilda told me. Then they walked me through the plans. If I had planned it, I may have scaled it down a bit. But they did have a point that it was something worth celebrating. “How open do you want to be about your past?” Matilda asked. I understood the underlying question.
Did I want people to know about my rejection?
“I want to be open,” I told her. I may not be latent, but I wanted my new pack to know me, know how I came to be one of them. Medow looked between me and Matilda.
“I feel like I’m missing something,” she said.
“The reason I left my old pack was because my mate rejected me because my wolf hadn’t come to me,” I told her. The dull ache was hardly noticeable as I spoke the words.
“No!” Medow gasped and she put her hand over her heart as if to protect it. Tears welled in her eyes. “How could they do something like that?” she whispered. I smiled at her genuine reaction. She had such a kind heart.
“It’s okay, Medow. I think it was for the best, that’s how I ended up here,”
I told her. Before she could say something, there was a hard knock on my door.
“Medow?!” Sam called. I smiled. He must have felt her distress and came running.
“It’s okay, let him in,” I told her, and Matilda gave me a knowing look.
Medow went to the door and she and Sam had a quiet conversation. They shared a kiss and when Medow came back, she looked happier and wiped her eyes to get rid of the tears.
“He must have been an idiot. It’s lucky you got rid of him. I don’t want you to end up with an idiot. We will find someone that deserves you,”
Medow told me with a fierce look in her eyes. I smiled at her.
“Thank you,” I said and gave her a long hug. She just nodded.
We ended up talking all the way to dinner. We walked down to the dining room together. Finlay, Sam and Martin were already there. Sam hurried over to Medow, I could see he was still worried. It felt nice seeing their bond. I sat down at the table next to Finlay.
“Are you okay? Sam said you wanted to be open about what happened to you?” he whispered to me. I smiled at him and nodded.
“It feels better that way,” I answered in the same low voice. He nodded.
“And did you have a chance to go through tomorrow?” He then asked in his normal voice.
“We did. They have done an amazing job. I feel honoured,” I said
truthfully.
“Not too much?”
“No. I think it will be perfect,” I said.
“Of course it will be,” Matilda huffed.
“And then we can sit down and talk. I have something I want to ask you,”
Martin said.
“I will do my best to answer any questions,” I promised. Dinner was relaxed. Several members of the pack came by to welcome me and to say
they were looking forward to the bloodening. I found myself enjoying being social, something I hadn’t enjoyed in years.
“Do you want to go for a run?” Finlay asked as dinner was over.
“You mean as a wolf?” I asked, feeling my excitement build. He chuckled.
“Yes, it’s not common for us to go running in human form. I know we will have a pack run tomorrow after the bloodening, but you haven’t shifted
in a couple of weeks,” he told me.
“I would love to,” I told him.
“Can we come as well?” Medow asked.
“Of course,” Finlay said. Martin and Sam wanted to join as well.
“Matilda?” I asked. She shook her head.
“My time for running wild in the forest is behind me. I will stay here and keep an eye on things.” Finlay led the group into the woods. We stopped in an area with trees that had branches closer to the ground that let us place our clothes on them. Everyone started shifting and I took a breath. I had never changed into my wolf on command before. But when I shifted to my human form, Finlay had told me to focus on being human. I did the opposite now, and felt the shift to wolf. It was fast and painless. Finlay was still in his human form and I knew he had been waiting to see if I needed help. I yipped at him. He chuckled.
“Never doubted you, Red,” he told me and shifted into his wolf. It was annoying to not be able to communicate with the others in my wolf form.
But after tomorrow we would be able to mindlink. I took the opportunity to enjoy the still new feeling of running as a wolf. The moon was almost not visible at all, a stark contrast to last time. But the ground was soft and pleasant to run on. The forest was full of interesting scents and the air was warm. Finlay guided us on a long run through forest, along the river and then back into the forest. Several times I scented game and my instinct was to track it, hunt it, kill it. But each time, Finlay guided me away from the track. Apparently, I wasn’t ready to hunt yet. We finally ended up back where we had begun. I shifted back and got dressed.
“You’re a natural,” Martin told me.
“Thank you.”
“And damn are you fast! I can usually keep up with the boys, but when you gave it all over that open glade, you left me in the dust,” Medow said and laughed.
“It was so much fun. But that was just stretching out,” I told her. It made her laugh even more.
“I’m hungry,” Sam declared as we headed back to the pack house.
“I’m sure we have leftovers, and ice cream,” Medow said. We all ended the night with an impromptu feast in the kitchen.
Chapter 18 The next day felt like all I did was wait for the bloodening ceremony to begin. It would take place after dinner, so I had the whole day to pass. I spent most of it unpacking and then walking around the village and the surrounding area. I was walking along the creek when I heard footsteps and scented Medow. I stopped walking and waited for her to catch up.
“You are one hard cookie to find. I had to track you down with my sniffer,” she said as she saw me. I smiled.
“Sorry. Trying to get to know the area,” I explained.
“I get it. It’s a beautiful pack land, we were lucky to get it,” she said.
“Were you with the pack when it split from the Ocean Shore pack?” I asked her.
“No, that was before I met Sam. After they split from their old pack, the group temporarily got shelter with the Coyote Hill pack, my old pack. We assisted with additional tents and supplies. That’s how I met Sam,” she told me.
“And you chose to go to his pack even though they didn’t have a home?”
“Well, yes. In my old pack I was just an ordinary pack member. I liked it there and I had my family there. But Finlay and the pack needed Sam. He was their Gamma and there had already been so many changes for them that I knew they didn’t need to lose their Gamma as well. So, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. And then Finlay found this land and I have never been happier.”
“It is beautiful here,” I agreed. “So why did you look for me?”
“It’s almost time to get ready for the ceremony. It’s best to do it before dinner as we head over to the clearing right after,” she said. “I was hoping we could get ready together.” Her voice sounded more uncertain. “It’s not that I don’t have any friends here. I do. Everyone has been amazing. But I’m part of the top tier of the pack, it creates a distance to the rest of the pack. And since neither Martin nor Finlay has found their mates, it’s a bit lonely being the only female, except for Matilda, on the top.”
“I get it,” I told her. “That’s one of the reasons my brother and I grew so close to the Alpha and Gamma children in my old pack. It’s nice to have friends that know what responsibilities you live with,” I said. “And I would love to get ready with you.” She smiled at me and we hooked arms and walked back to the pack house. Along the way Medow pointed out some of her favourite spots and as we were almost at the pack house, she pointed out her and Sam’s house. It was a nice two-story house a bit away from the pack house. “My place or yours?” I asked her.
“I have already put my things outside your room,” Medow said. “What are you going to wear?” she asked as we got into my room and she started unpacking her small bag.
“I was hoping I could get away with something simple? I really haven’t had the occasion to dress up in the last few years,” I told her. She frowned at me.
“It’s your bloodening ceremony. It should be special. I would lend you something. But you’re as tall as a freaking tree. All my dresses would look ridiculous on you. Can I have a look in your closet?” she asked.
“Be my guest,” I said and made a hand movement towards where my clothes were. She dived right in and I smiled at her enthusiasm. I heard her make disapproving sounds.
“Oh. I think I have found something,” she told me. She reemerged holding a summer dress in teal with big cream-coloured flowers. It was full length, flowing and CeCe had made me buy it for a party we ended up
never attending.
“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly.
“Well I do. This is it,” she insisted. I folded and we spent an hour getting ready while talking. We found we had a lot in common, but were also different in many ways. “I know the boys are looking forward to picking your brain. They need someone with formal training. But so do I. So please leave some of your energy for me,” she told me.
“I think you all are worrying too much about formal training. Look at this pack. It’s a good pack, a balanced pack and you seem to be doing well.
Whatever you are doing is obviously working,” I told her as I pushed my free flowing hair back.
“That is sweet of you. But I think we all will feel better when we can confirm we are doing things the right way,” she insisted and pulled my hair back so it fell over my shoulder.
“Don’t put too much credit into the old ways. Sometimes it’s healthy to find new ways. Stagnancy is never good,” I said and resisted the urge to push my hair back. I wasn’t used to having it hang loose.
“See. This is the kind of wisdom we need. Ready to head down?” Medow asked.
“Ready as I will be. Thank you for getting ready with me,” I said. She hooked her arm in mine.
“No problem, it was a lot of fun. We even compliment each other,” she giggled. I looked down on our dresses. Her, a powder pink with small white flowers.
“We do,” I agreed. We made our way down to the dining hall and found it almost full to the brim with wolves dressed up. Even the pups looked ready for a party. The dining room had been decorated with green birch branches and red flowers. “Wow,” was all I could say.
“Wow indeed.” I turned around and saw Finlay looking at me with a grin.
Sam walked up to us and drew Medow into a kiss. I walked over to Finlay to let the mated pair have a moment. “You clean up nicely, red,” he told me.
“Thank you, Alpha,” I said. There was a glint in his eyes when I said it.
But it was gone before I could identify it.
“It’s Finlay as long as we’re not doing something formal,” he told me. I gave him a smile. “Don’t tell me you are nervous, red,” he said.
“Me? Not at all. I’m just going to stand up, in a dress, in front of the whole pack and swear an oath and cut my hand open. I can’t even count the number of ways I can screw this up,” I honestly told him.
“Hey, hey. I know you will do fine. Some butterflies are normal. But you got this,” he told me. He reached for my hand and gently squeezed it. I took a deep breath and nodded. I tried not to notice how calming his touch was.
He was my Alpha and my friend, that’s all.
“Amie, you look amazing. I have to have the broom ready to keep all the single wolves in this pack away. That’s unless you don’t want me to keep them away,” Matilda said as she walked up to us. I laughed and gave her a hug.
“Please keep the broom ready and hand me one as well,” I told her. We all sat down and ate, the spirit was high and the dining room was filled with laughter. I took a moment and enjoyed it. Martin smiled at me.
“Are you having fun?” he asked.
“I am. I didn’t think I missed pack life this much,” I told him. He nodded.
“I can’t imagine living as long as you did without a pack. I don’t know if I’m impressed, or if I should worry about your mental health,” he said. I laughed.
“I think it’s about fifty, fifty, to be honest.” He joined in my laughter.
“Are you ready to do this?” Finlay asked a moment later. I looked around the room at the pack and it had been a long time since I had been as sure about anything in my life.
“I’m ready,” I told him. He gave me a smile and stood up.
“Let’s all go to the clearing, it’s time for the bloodening,” he called out.
There was a cheer and everyone got up and moved towards the woods. I found myself walking in the middle of the pack flanked by Finlay and Matilda. The bonfire was lit and as darkness fell around us, I felt the world shrink until everything that existed was the clearing and the pack.
