Amanda stood looking out the front window of the clubhouse. The view was partially obscured by the slats that were now on the outside of the frame, but she still had a wonderful view of the woods and stream that ran around the side of the building and alongside the road that led into the place.
She marveled at how far she had come in her life. This was not the path she would have taken for herself, but now that she was here, she couldn’t wait to enjoy her life to the fullest. She placed her hand on her growing belly, enjoying the way it was beginning to round as her son grew inside of her. She was only four weeks along and already glowing with the tiny beach ball forming there.
Aspen and some of the pack had knocked out a wall in their room to expand it into the next one. They would begin work in there as soon as the renovation was complete to get it set up as a nursery. Aspen wanted to return to his cabin and start building a bigger house for all of them on the same property, but it wasn’t safe and he wouldn’t risk separating her from the pack that would protect her.
This wasn’t the life she had envisioned for herself, but she was happy, happier than she had ever been in her life. She thought of her parents and wondered if they would have been as proud of her becoming a mom as they had been when they thought she would rule the art world. She’d like to think so, at least.
“How’s mommy doing today,” Aspen asked, slipping up behind her to hug her. He leaned down and kissed her neck lightly, his beard tickling her as he nuzzled there.
“I’m doing well. How’s Dad?”
“Great. I’m on top of the world. Are you almost ready for the party?”
“Yes. It’s been a while since we had a big party here, well, we’ve never had a party here since I’ve been around, but I hear it’s been a while even without me.”
“Yeah, we’ve turned into a bunch of old dogs who forgot how to have a good time, but with new blood coming in, we’ve got plenty to celebrate. Plus, fun makes folks frisky and these guys are itching to start a whole new line with their mates. The news that the curse has lifted has given them all a new hope. I don’t know how it happened, but I know we have you to thank for that somehow.”
“Well, I guess you’ll have to drink a toast to fertility on my behalf since I’m on the wagon for now.”
“I will do just that. Come on, I’ve got something to show you.”
Amanda followed him down the hallway toward their room. They had been working in there for several days and she had Aspen had been staying in one of the nearby rooms to keep her out of any dust and debris that might affect her condition. Aspen had forbidden her to enter until they were done.
“What is it?”
“You’ll see. Come on,” he told her, pulling her playfully toward their room.
Amanda walked in and nothing looked any different, other than there was still a sheet hanging between the original room and the one they had been working to create. Aspen walked over and pulled the sheet off to reveal that a large door had been installed with a folding divider that would separate it from their sleeping area when and if needed.
Amanda walked toward it and caught her breath sharply. The room was painted a bright yellow, but one had a white starburst area with fogged edges. Within it, was a lovely mural of herself with two wolfs, one larger than herself by her side and one much smaller one in front of her. The background was a perfect reproduction of the area around the falls where she had first encountered Aspen after their initial meeting at the bar.
The room was entirely set up with a white crib, baby bed, changing table and dresser. It was incredible what they had accomplished right under her nose without her even realizing it. She stood just staring at it for a moment before noticing there was a signature on the mural. Walking over, she looked at it closer. It was signed by Eunice Lowery. She looked back at Aspen, puzzled.
“Who knew you could adopt an adult?” he said.
“You’ve adopted her?”
“Not yet, but we are starting the paperwork on it very soon if you are okay with it.”
“What? Of course I am. It’s just a shame you couldn’t have done it sooner.”
“Yes. It is also a shame I haven’t done this sooner,” he said, pulling a large black diamond from his pocket and reaching for her hand.
Amanda’s heart raced as he slipped it on her finger. She stared at it, unable to find any words, but it was just as well. This moment was his for now.
“The world needs more Lowerys. We can have one. I can adopt one. Now, I just need to marry you to make you one. Will you marry me?”
“Yes! Of course, I will. Ah, Aspen.”
There was applause suddenly all around them and Amanda turned to see a number of the pack and Mouse had snuck into their room, no doubt on cue from Aspen. It was the first time she had been a part of a family for what seemed like a very long time and she couldn’t be happier.
Time would tell what would become of this child, of this pack, of her. It was a journey she was more than willing to take. It was, in fact, the one dream she never had known she really should have been having all along. She wiped away her tears and kissed Aspen, bringing about another round of applause. Pulling away from him, she turned toward the gathered crowd and held up her hand to show off her ring.
“Well, now it’s a party! Let’s get it going!”
The party lasted well into the night. Though a careful watch remained in force by those who were assigned to keep things safe, there was still something in the air. It was a sense of foreboding. Amanda could feel it and she suspected that Aspen could feel it, as well.
“Do you think they are out there, watching us?” she asked Aspen as she wandered near the window.
“I wouldn’t doubt it. They need intel and we’ve slowly eliminated the leaks in our pack since finding out we had a rat. I would imagine they are always watching, waiting. That’s why we still have to be careful.”
“I get so scared sometimes. I’m not you. I can’t shift into a wolf to protect myself, you, our baby. I can’t do anything.”
“You don’t have to. You are well protected here with these guys. We don’t have their numbers, but we have experience and we have heart. Honor is on our side. The townspeople of Rio Lobos may not realize it, but there is a reason this place was named Wolf River by the Spaniards who founded it. It has always been full of wolves and our kind was here long before theirs.”
“Still, it’s so dangerous.”
“Yes, but now we have a new hope. Our biggest concern has never been fear of attack by the Dire Wolves, not until recently. We have feared that we would simply go extinct. It is part of the reason we began accepting strays that roamed in from other places. We needed the numbers however we could get them, and they needed new families. Unfortunately, some of them turned out to be loyal only to whoever offers them the most and whatever the Dire Wolves offered them seemed to be more than we could.”
“I hope he won’t be the only child. Do you think there will be others?”
“I don’t know if anyone else in this pack will have a child. I can’t say for sure if the curse is just broken with you for some unknown reason or if it has been lifted from the entire pack. Time will tell. Based on the efforts of some of these couples, I’d say we’ll know pretty damned soon,” he laughed.
“Yes, it’s been a bit like a house of ill repute around here lately the way some of these couples have been going at it,” she laughed.
“Including you and us are already pregnant,” he laughed. “If I can tell you anything, I can tell you that whether anyone else in this pack has a baby, we’ll have a whole litter to make up for it.”
“Litter? I think you might have gone mad.”
“What? You don’t want to have enough babies for a football team?”
“I was thinking more along the lines of a duo, a trio, at best.”
Aspen laughed and pulled her close to him, kissing her on the cheek as he spoke to her softly.
“I hope you know I’m just teasing, mostly.”
“You’d have to be, he retorted.
Mouse appeared beside them and smiled broadly. She was putting on her jacket and Aspen looked at her suspiciously.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I just want to get a breath of fresh air, is that okay?” she asked.
Aspen looked around and motioned for one of the members to come over.
“Can you step outside with Mouse and let her get some air?”
“I can go out there by myself, Aspen,” she laughed.
“Not as long as Dire Wolves are roaming around sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong,” he told her.
Mouse smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the cheek before doing the same to Amanda.
“I always wanted overprotective parents. What the hell was I thinking?”
They laughed as the stepped out the door and stood looking out into the woods that surrounded the clubhouse. Aspen watched from behind at the window, apparently anxious.
“I don’t like her going out there in the night.”
“Aspen, she’s just on the front porch, not roaming around the forest. I think you might need another drink.”
“I think I might,” he laughed, following Amanda toward the bar.
***
Outside in the darkness, there was movement. It was almost indiscernible to the naked eye, but it was there. Something was definitely afoot and the only question was not if the Dire Wolves would come for them, but when. The pack was as prepared as they could be for something like this. The Dire Wolves were a massive pack. Whereas no children had been born in the Silver Wolves club for the twenty-five years since, many had been born to the Dire Wolves and they were young and strong.
This should be their territory, all of it and they intended to take it. Then, there was the matter of their dead VP to deal with. They had let it lie, for now, but the time was coming for revenge to be taken on the one who had murdered him. The new VP shifted back to his human form, standing alone in the darkness as he waved the others to return to their homes. He stood naked in the cover of woods and looked at the Silver Wolves clubhouse.
The front door opened and a girl walked out. She was beautiful, with long dark hair and a huge smile. He squinted into the night to get a better look at her. She was too young to be a shifter and she didn’t look like one of the biker babes that tended to run with the pack and flit from one brother to the other when someone got bored with them. Wolves mated for life once they found the right woman, but until then, they were just as randy as the next guy.
He had no mate and had not been looking for one, but looking at the girl, he felt an ache like never before. He shook it off and shifted back into wolf form running back into the darkness. Perhaps when they took out the pack, he might spare her for his own. Or, perhaps, she might be his way into the pack in the first place. A smile crossed his face as he considered this. Yes, that was the answer.
Heading back for home he began hatching a new plan. Why take his pack ramrodding in and fighting it out with these old dogs when he could simply take them down from the inside without them even suspecting anything until it was too late? Shifting before he reached the edge of the woods, he stepped out into the backyard of his home, hurriedly crossing the yard to hide his naked form and going into the back door. He picked up the phone and called a friend at the police department. It was time for a new chapter in his growing legacy.