Chapter Twenty-Five
Joe cradled Conor in his arms, amazed at how much had changed in such a short time. At only three months, the babies were growing fast. Their cub forms were very active, and it took all three of them to keep up.
Conor let out a cry and he rocked him, walking back and forth across the living room.
“Is he okay?” Kai asked, appearing at their bedroom door with Amber.
“Teething, I think. Poor little guy.”
“Where’s Axel?”
Joe glanced toward the front door. “He got a call from the Weir again.”
“More bad news?” Kai wondered, an unhappy frown on his face.
It was a good guess. Over the previous few weeks, all that had come out of the Weir was bad news. Shane had refused to step aside, exactly as Axel had predicted, and tensions within the pack had skyrocketed. There’d been at least three fights, one that led directly to a death. And over two dozen people from six different families had left for other packs.
“At this rate, even if Shane does come to his senses eventually, there won’t be a pack to go back to,” Joe said.
“Would you really want to go back?” Kai asked.
They’d talked about it a few times, but both of them were wary of stirring up bad memories.
“I miss being with other wolves. The den is great in lots of ways but it’s not the same. The Weir wasn’t always like it is now. And when you look at the Cove and all the changes that have happened there, it easy to see the possibilities. The Weir could be an amazing pack, a great place to raise our family. But right now, it’s anything but.”
They sat down side by side on the couch, Joe pulling the throw from over the back to wrap around them as they waited. The longer Axel was gone, the more anxious Joe felt. He hoped it wasn’t bad news. He wasn’t sure how much more Axel could take. It was easy to see how much it hurt the alpha to watch his pack fall apart and be unable to do anything to stop it.
Axel returned almost an hour later. He paused in the doorway as he caught sight of them.
“You’re up.”
“Waiting for you,” Joe said. “And some of the little ones are restless. Is everything okay?”
Axel was pale, a frown etched onto his forehead.
“No, it’s not. Dad has agreed to step aside. He’ll be gone in a matter of days.”
Joe felt a pit of uncertainty grow in his stomach. What did that mean for them?
“They’ve asked me again to step back in as alpha.”
“What… what did you say?” Joe managed to ask.
“That I needed to speak with my mates and decide what’s best for my family.”
“And what did they say?” Kai interjected.
“They asked us to come visit once Dad and Mom are gone. Just stay a few days and see how we feel.”
“That’s all?”
Joe had expected they were looking for assurances. A pack without an alpha was vulnerable.
“That’s all. I said I’d talk to you guys.”
Joe glanced at Kai and back to Axel.
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to put my family first,” Axel said, then hesitated. “But I don’t want to see the Weir lost if I can help it.”
“It’s just a visit,” Kai said. “I think it would be nice for us to have a change of scene.”
Joe marveled at how brave their omega mate was, but he knew they were waiting for him. They wouldn’t do this without him, and they wouldn’t put pressure on him if he didn’t want to go.
“You’re right. A visit will help us see how things really are there. Do you think it’s safe to bring the kids with us?” It wouldn’t be practical to leave them, not six babies very much dependent on them.
“They’ve assured me it will be. And Seth’s going to send some people from the Cove, too.”
“You’ve talked to Seth?”
He knew they’d been keeping in close contact about the Weir.
“Right after I spoke to John and Lila on the phone. It’s good to get an outside perspective.”
Joe trusted Seth. The Cove’s alpha was levelheaded and he wouldn’t send them into a dangerous situation.
“Then I guess we’re going on a journey.”
Just a week. That’s what Joe kept telling himself as they drove to the Weir. They’d borrowed one of the larger people carriers from the den to fit all the baby seats in. He really hoped they weren’t stopped by anyone, struggling to imagine the humans’ reaction to three guys with six babies that looked about the size of human newborns.
Kai was singing along to the radio, keeping the fussiest of the babies amused. Axel had his eyes on the road, but Joe felt the alpha’s gaze on him now and then. He knew Axel was worried, given Joe’s last experience in the Weir that had let to their sudden departure hadn’t been the most pleasant. But Axel’s mom was gone, along with Shane. That took a weight off his mind. According to the pack, they’d moved up into the hills, away from the rest of the pack but still within the Weir’s territory. They wouldn’t see them at all during this trip.
There was a small group gathered to greet them when they arrived. Joe recognized all of them, including John and Lila.
“Welcome home, Axel, Joe, Kai. And congratulations on the birth of your litter.”
Lila beckoned them forward and Axel approached while Joe turned to busy himself getting the babies from the car. Kai seemed torn between greeting the welcomers and helping him.
“Joe?” Axel called before he’d even had time to get Conor out of his car seat. He turned and found the alpha beckoning him forward.
He moved to stand next to Axel, Kai on the other side of the alpha.
“I know you’ve met everyone before,” Lila said, “but we wanted to introduce ourselves properly to our potential alpha and his family. We’re the pack’s council, elected only a few days ago by the pack.”
There were eight of them, ranging in age from young to old. Joe saw some friendly faces, people he knew.
“It’s nice to see you all again,” he offered, hearing a cry from behind him. “It’s been a long journey, we should get the babies settled.”
“The alpha’s house is ready for you. We’ve borrowed cribs and set up a nursery so you’ll be able to settle them right to sleep if you want,” Lila said.
“Sounds good, thanks,” Axel answered.
“We’ll leave you to it unless you need any help,” John added. “We were hoping we might all get together for dinner later in the week, to talk.”
“That would be good,” Axel said. He put a hand on Joe’s shoulder and one on Kai’s. “There’s a lot to talk about.”
The council members filtered away and Joe returned to the car. It took half a dozen trips to get the babies and all their bags into the pack house. By the time that was done, they were all tired and sat down around the kitchen table with mugs of coffee. There was a knock on the back door and Kai went to it, finding two children, a boy and a girl. They were carrying a basket between them.
“Mom sent these, for the babies.”
“Thanks,” Kai said, taking the basket. They skipped away before he could say anything else.
“What is it?” Joe asked
Kai set the basket down on the table and peered inside.
“Clothes and blankets.”
“Those were Molly’s kids. She’s a seamstress, she knits and sews.”
Joe reached for one of the items, pulling out a knitted blue cardigan, soft to the touch.
“They’re beautiful. They must have taken her ages.”
“From the amount of stuff here, I’d guess she’s been working on these since she learned we were expecting.”
They each looked through the things before folding them back up.
“Well, we won’t run out of clothes while we’re here,” Kai joked.
Joe was stuck on the act of kindness that went into something like that. The many hours of painstaking work, stitch after stitch, to give something special to their little ones.
“Maybe this won’t be so bad after all,” he said.
And in the end, it wasn’t.
Axel’s one hope for their week in the Weir was that it would be uneventful. But when it came time to leave, he was glad it hadn’t been. With his parents gone and his return, there was an air of excitement around the place. Everyone wanted to see the babies, but most were respectful enough not to crowd them. There’d been a few close calls, including one incident where Kai had shifted into a tiger, his roar sending Axel and Joe running to him and everyone else running away.
The other new parents in the pack gravitated toward them, Kai especially. Whereas Joe found himself in need. The pack’s midwife had followed her daughter to another pack, with no intention of returning, and they’d been struggling. Axel knew, that for Joe, it was more than just being needed. It was about acceptance; as his and Kai’s mate, as a parent of their litter. And the pack exceeded their expectations in every way. They really wanted this to work.
“Time to go home to the den,” Kai was saying to Dex as he strapped him into his seat.
Joe was putting the last of the bags into the trunk with the help of Axel’s sisters.
It seemed like half the pack had turned out to see them off. John and Lila seemed almost afraid of what to say.
“We’ll be in touch,” Axel promised them. “Once we’ve had some time to think and talk.”
He wasn’t worried about the pack in the short term. With the council, it was in good hands, and Seth was happy to lend a hand if they needed it.
They climbed in, and he put the car into drive, waving as they pulled away. For the first time since things had gone wrong, he finally felt there was hope.
“Do you think we’ll be back?” Kai wondered.
Axel felt it wasn’t his place to answer that and looked to Joe. The beta shrugged. “You know what? I think we will.”