Chapter 78
Amie
was sound asleep, comfortably tucked in halfway underneath Finlay asI usual when my phone woke me up. Nothing good ever came from being woken up in the middle of the night by a phone call. I reached for it and knew Finlay was just as awake and worried as I was.
“Hello?” I answered without even looking at who was calling.
“Luna Amie, we can’t stay here any longer,” someone whispered on the other end. It took my brain a moment to recognise the voice.
“Bridget, are you in danger?” I asked Martin’s sister. Finlay raised an eyebrow.
“No, we are safe for now. But we can’t stay. My mom and dad agree with me for once,” she continued to whisper. It had to be bad if she was making a call in the middle of the night.
“You are always welcome here if you need somewhere safe to stay. Can you get here?”
“Yeah, I think we can get out unnoticed. Thank you, Luna.”
“Of course. Keep safe and let me know when you are safe and when we can expect you,” I told her. She promised to be in touch and we ended the call.
“Something is seriously wrong in my old pack,” Finlay said. I nodded.
“We will have to ask what happened when they get here. You should call the council and tell them we have four wolves seeking shelter from your old pack. I don’t want your brother proclaiming them rogue when he discovers they are gone,” I told him. Finlay nodded. If the wolves were made rogue
by the council, we needed either the council’s or their former pack’s approval to make them part of our pack. A wolf that was turned rogue also became a different creature. It was like they started to decay from within the moment they turned rogue. I didn’t want that to happen to Martin’s family.
Even if the status was revoked and they joined the werewolf society again, the damage could not be reversed.
“I will call them at once,” Finlay promised and reached for his phone.
“I’ll make sure Martin’s house is ready for them.” No one had moved into Martin’s old house. There hadn’t been a need for it. We had maintained it and planned to use it for a guest house. Now it seemed only right to have his family stay there. I mindlinked some pack members and asked them to make sure it was up for the task and fill the fridge with some basic food items. While I listened to Finlay explain the situation to whomever he was talking to, I looked at my phone. Willing it to call so I would know they were safe. Finlay ended his call and pulled me into his lap as he sat with his back against the headboard.
“They won’t make them rogue without listening to their story if my brother asks,” he told me.
“Thank you,” I said and kissed him on his jaw.
“It’s only fair.”
“Should we wake up Matilda?” I asked.
“No, let her sleep. We can let her know when we know what is happening. It’s no use making her worry when we don’t know what we are dealing with.” I nodded and snuggled up to him, still holding my phone.
“Get some sleep, Red. You won’t miss the call,” he told me.
“It’s fine. I’m awake and enjoying a snuggle,” I told him as I felt my eyelids getting heavier with each heartbeat. He hummed gently and massaged my neck with one hand. I drifted off to sleep before I could stop it.
Again I woke up from my phone ringing. I answered straight away.
“Bridget?”
“Yes, Luna. We made it out and it doesn’t look like we were followed.
We will be in your area early tomorrow morning,” she told me. I gave her the name of the human town I had lived in and asked her to call when they were three hours away from it.
“They are safe,” I told Finlay. I said it more for myself because I needed to hear it, than for letting him know. He would have overheard the
conversation.
“Good. Time for bed. I think we need to reconsider my previous statement and tell the pack tomorrow about our guests.” We got comfortable in bed and I got as close to Finlay as I could. This whole thing was worrying me. Something was seriously wrong and it made me uncomfortable that I didn’t know what was happening or how it would affect us.
The next morning we called a pack meeting and explained to the pack what we knew, which wasn’t much.
“We ask that those who still have family and friends in Ocean Shore, don’t reach out all at once. From what we know they won’t be able to talk about what is happening and we don’t want to alert their top tier that we know something is amiss. I know we all are worried and want more information, but we also need to protect those who might be in danger. Both those who have left and those who are still in the pack,” Finlay told everyone. It was a lot to ask, but it was important.
“We have to be patient and wait until Martin’s family arrives. If they are comfortable with telling us what happened, we will get more information then. If they don’t tell us, we will figure out a way to get information that keeps both this pack and those we care about in Ocean Shore safe,” I added.
Everyone agreed and we promised to keep them updated before ending the meeting.
“Did they give any hint about what had happened?” Matilda asked us
after.
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
“I don’t like this.” I gave her a hug.
“Neither do I,” I told her. The rest of the day I had a restlessness which grew in me by the hour. No news was good news, I repeated to myself over and over.
“Okay, time to go for a run,” Finlay told me after lunch.
“A run?”
“Red, I can feel how restless you are and I’m no better. Let’s take a run to get rid of the pent up energy. Or we can lock ourselves in the house for a couple of hours,” he told me. I giggled.
“I like both suggestions, but as we have handymen in the house, maybe it’s better to go for a run,” I said. He laughed and took me out to run as wolves in the forest. When we felt exhausted, we returned and tried to work. The call came in the middle of lunch. They were getting close to the meeting place.
“I will take Sam and Jake,” Finlay said.
“And me,” I insisted. He gave me a look, but I wouldn’t back down from this. “It’s Bridget and I who have had the communication. If I let the three of you go, I’m not sure it will work out.”
“I’m not going to pick a fight with them,” Finlay said.
“I know, Finn. I know you are a good alpha. But Kyle will be on edge. He has left his pack to protect his family and he will be suspicious as to why we are accepting them into our pack. If we are unlucky, his energy will trigger you and Sam and you will show him your grumpy side. I think that side is adorable, but others don’t see it like that.”
“Adorable?”
“Sure. It’s like watching a toddler having a tantrum. Irritating, but adorable.”
“I… I don’t know what to say to that. I feel like I should be deeply insulted, but then I find myself happy you aren’t afraid of me even when I’m in a bad mood,” he told me. I smiled at him and kissed him.
“Just accept it and know I will never be afraid of you. Now let’s get ready to leave. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”
“I haven’t agreed to let you go,” he pointed out as I got up.
“It’s cute that you think you have a say in it,” I told him. I could hear Sam and Jake laughing as they stood up and followed us.
“I need to figure out how to win an argument with you,” Finlay muttered as he got the car keys. When he got back I gave him another kiss, as a consolation prize.
Sam parked the car outside my old workplace. It felt strange to be back at the diner after so many years. Last time I was back was for CeCe’s wedding. I still kept in touch with her and Jessie from time to time. Finlay put his hand on my neck and massaged it. ‘Are you okay?’ he mindlinked me.
‘I’m fine. The last time I was here, it was with Martin. It seems right in a way,’ I told him. He placed a kiss on my hair. ‘I was insanely jealous of him because he got to take you to the wedding.
And at the same time grateful because I knew he would keep you safe,’ he confessed. ‘He knew back then about us. I think he found it frustrating to watch us dance around each other. I miss him.’ ‘So do I. We will make sure his family is safe,’ Finlay said. I nodded. We waited for twenty minutes before a black truck parked behind us. We all got out and I found myself in the middle of a protective triangle. It was sweet, but unnecessary in my opinion. I smiled at Bridget and got a tired smile back.
“It’s nice to see you,” I told her and pushed past Finlay who was in a staring contest with Kyle. Sam tried to stop me, but I sidestepped his hand and gave Bridget a hug.
“The same to you, Luna. This is my mother, Betty and my father, Rolf,” she introduced me. I shook both their hands while ignoring the rest of the males. When I saw no way around it any longer, I turned around and looked at the four of them, watching each other.
“I hope the ride didn’t tire you out, Kyle,” I said.
“No, Luna. My father in mating and I took turns. Thank you for your concern,” he said, with a quick look my way. Finlay, Sam and Jake were just as bad. I sighed and walked up to my mate. How he thought the three of them could have handled this alone, was beyond me. “We appreciate your offer for a safe haven, but what will it cost us?” Kyle then asked.
“Honey!” Bridget exclaimed, looking mortified.
“It’s okay, Bridget. We didn’t take offence, right Finn?” I said, nudging Finlay in the side.
“Right,” he said in his grumpiest voice. “We won’t ask for anything in return,” he added.
“Not even information?” Martin’s father asked. I could see where they were coming from.
“We would be grateful if you let us know if Tamara is in danger, but we won’t demand it or any other information. You can share what you are comfortable sharing,” I told them.
“You may need to give more information to the council. I have talked to them and they won’t accept my brother’s possible request to turn you rogue
before you give them your side of things. But we can arrange for you to have such a meeting in private,” Finlay added. Kyle’s eyes grew bigger.
“You have already talked to the council?” he asked.
“My Luna thought it would be for the best. She is brilliant. It’s always a good idea to take these things seriously before they become an issue,”
Finlay said.
“Thank you, both of you,” Kyle told us and bent his neck.
“We appreciate it,” Rolf agreed.
“We are happy to do it. You have had a long journey and we still have a bit to go. I suggest we go inside and order some coffee and something to eat before we head home,” I suggested. Everyone nodded. We headed inside, Finlay had his arm around me as we found a table big enough for all of us. ‘This takes me back,’ Finlay mindlinked me. I smiled. The waitress who served us was new to me. It wasn’t strange, as it had been years since I was here last. We were halfway done with our plates of pie when the bell over the door rang and as I looked up I saw Mrs Jones and her sister walk in.
They headed straight for our table, letting me know someone had called them to let them know I was in town.
“Amie!” Mrs Jones greeted me. I stood up and gave both her and Mrs
Andersen a hug.
“Hi. It’s nice to see you,” I said.
“It has been so long. CeCe keeps us updated, of course,” Mrs Jones said.
I laughed. I did a short introduction.
“And you remember my m… husband, Finlay,” I ended it with and Finlay stood up and extended his hand.
“Husband?!” Mrs Jones asked and they both hugged him. “CeCe has been holding out on us.” I had to laugh at Finlay’s surprised look.
“Don’t blame her. It is a recent development. We were away on… vacation and it was a spur of the moment kind of thing,” I explained.
“Back in my days, we weren’t so slow. The two of you have been heading for the chapel for years. The poor man even took hot coffee to his private parts to get your attention,” Mrs Jones reminded me.
“It was worth it,” Finlay told her and gave me a demure kiss. The two women giggled like teenagers.
“Are you staying in town?” Mrs Andersen asked.
“No. We just stopped to refill on our way home. We couldn’t just pass by,” I told her.
“That’s right, you always were a smart girl. We will let you eat in peace, but it was lovely seeing you again.” I got another round of hugs before the two women left. We finished our pies and coffee and started our drive back home. Martin’s family was following us.
“It went better than expected,” Sam said.
“Because the three of you weren’t alone,” I pointed out.
“I have to agree with the Luna. I thought I would have a calm mind, but I was drawn into the mistrust,” Jake said.
“I agree as well. As usual our Luna makes us proud. I still think it was an unnecessary risk,” Finlay told us. It made us all laugh. I used the time in the car to catch up on some sleep. Martin’s family were safe and I was in the back seat snuggled up to Finlay. I had no problem taking a nap. He awoke me with a kiss. ‘We are almost home,’ he told me in our link. I yawned and stretched. I looked out of the window at the landscape which was changing into fall colours. The familiar ease came over me as we passed over the border and I smiled as I saw a large part of the pack waiting for us as we parked outside the pack house. Sometimes I forgot how many of our members used to be members of the Ocean Shore pack. They were now greeting the newcomers as the long lost friends they were.
“We have made Martin’s house available to you. No one has lived there since he passed away. There is food and other necessities inside. If you need something, please let us know,” I told them as we walked the short distance to the house.
“Thank you, Luna. This will be great,” Bridget said.
“If you prefer, you are welcome to have your meals at the pack house,” I added. They all nodded.
“You are free to move around, come and go as you please. We place no restrictions on you,” Finlay told them.
“Thank you,”Kyle said, he looked relieved.
“You know how to get in touch with us. We are usually close to the pack house if you want to talk in person. Take some time to get settled and maybe catch up with some old friends,” I told them before handing them the key to the house. “It feels nice. We did the right thing,” I told Finlay as we walked back home.
“I think so too. It’s a nice way of honouring Martin,” he agreed. We stayed out in the garden for a while. I did some weeding, and Finlay took a
seat on the garden bench and read through some reports. Fall was coming fast and only some root vegetables and cabbages remained to be harvested.
“How about we eat at home tomorrow?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said and put down his iPad. “I can help you with that,” he told me as he watched me dig up some potatoes. I let him do it and smiled at his proud smile when he presented a bucket full of potatoes to me.
“Thank you,” I said and gave him a kiss. My phone dinged and I read the message from Bridget. “They have talked amongst themselves and she is wondering if we have time to talk with them tomorrow,” I told Finlay.
“We can meet with them after breakfast, no need to drag it out,” he said. I nodded and texted her back.
“I told her it would be just you and me. We will inform the others if we need to. I just don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable.” He nodded and kissed me.
