Chapter 5 #2
“Hey! We’re right here. Why are you shouting?” Bonnie said.
“Do you see all those people?” Izzie demanded.
“I do. And there are more in here,” Bonnie said. “They’re trying to sleep.”
“Why are they here?” Izzie asked, as she eyed the adults sleeping in the formal living room.
“Because they needed a place to stay. They’re our friends and they came to us for help,” Jack said.
“How are they our friends if we don’t know them?” Bella asked.
“Because they are from the Pride that helped Momma when she was away for a while,” Jack explained.
“Oh,” Bella said. “Well, then we should help them.”
“Are they nice, or am I gonna have to make sure they’re nice?” Izzie asked.
“Future Alphas, do not force anyone to do anything. They welcome people graciously and treat them with respect unless they prove they are not deserving of it,” Jack said.
“He’s talking to you,” Bella said as she climbed up on her mother’s lap.
“Yep,” Izzie said. “I’m pretty sure he meant me.”
“He is right here and he is your father, not he,” Jack said. “They are our guests and will be spending some time with us. We’ve granted them as much time as they need to decide what they want next, including the possibility of joining our Pride if they may happen to have the desire to do so.”
“He means sanctrurary,” Izzie said to Bella.
Jack and Bonnie tried not to laugh as she mispronounced it.
Izzie’s entire demeanor changed and she grinned at him, really laying on the charm. “So, they’re going to be here for a while, right?”
“Yes,” Jack said.
“So, like a really long sleepover,” Izzie said.
“More or less. But we’re going to find other places for some to stay if they’d like to have some privacy,” Bonnie said.
“Like the new houses,” Izzie said.
Jack looked at Bonnie. “She misses nothing.”
“I’m smart,” Izzie said.
“You’re a smart…”
“Girl!” Bonnie said. “You’re a smart girl.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was going to say,” Jack said with a smirk.
“Well, since they’re going to be here, we could have pool parties. And we could have barbecues, and we could have lots and lots of sleepovers,” Izzie said.
“I can swim!” one of the boys lying on the sofa in the family room said, lifting his head and looking over toward the kitchen table.
“See?” Izzie said.
“As long as your mom says it’s okay, you’re more than welcome to swim. As long as there is an adult to watch over you guys. More than one if there are even a couple of kids who don’t know how to swim,” Jack said.
“This is going to be fun,” Izzie said.
“Is that a splash pad out there, too?” the boy asked.
“It is,” Bonnie said. “What’s your name, baby?”
“I’m Griffin. Everybody calls me Griff.”
“Hi, Griff. After your mom wakes up, if it’s okay with her, you can play out there as long as you want.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Can I get up?”
“You don’t feel like sleeping?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Of course, you can get up. Are you hungry? Want some more to eat?” Bonnie asked.
“I’m really thirsty.”
“Drinks coming up,” Jack said, getting up to get some more drinks.
Griffin followed him to the kitchen to look in the fridge. “Can I have that?” he asked, pointing at a bottle of grape juice while he looked up at Jack.
“You can,” Jack said, taking the individual sized bottle of juice out of the fridge and opening it before handing it to him. “That can stain, now. Be careful.”
“Yes, sir.” He walked over to the table and managed to get himself into one of the chairs without spilling his juice. He sat there, sipping his juice and smiling at everybody around the table.
“My momma said you’re the Reigna,” he said, looking at Bonnie.
“I am,” Bonnie said, grinning as she fell a little in love with this precocious little boy.
He looked at Izzie and Bella. “Are they like, junior Reignas?” he asked.
“Ohhh! I’m a junior Reigna!” Izzie announced.
“You can’t be Reigna if you’re Alpha. Reigna means you help run things because you’re married to the Alpha,” Jack said.
Izzie looked at her mother, then at Jack, then her mother again. “But you’re as strong as the Alpha,” Izzie said.
“I am.”
“So, if you needed to, you could run everything,” Izzie said.
“I could,” Bonnie said.
“But you don’t, because you have to share with the Alpha,” Izzie surmised.
“Exactly,” Bonnie said.
Izzie looked at Griff. “I am not a junior Reigna. I am a future Alpha. I will be doing it alone when it’s my turn.”
“What’s your name, future Alpha?” Griff asked.
“Izzie. And this is my sister, Bella. Don’t hit her or I hit you.”
Bella nodded to confirm what her sister had just said.
Griff nodded and took another sip of his juice. Then he focused on Jack. “So, who are you?”
Jack smiled just coldly enough. “I’m Alpha Jack Laighin, and this is my Reigna, Bonnie, and our daughters. Welcome to our Pride.”
At once Griff dropped his curious eyes from Jack’s, to the table top. “Thank you, Alpha, sir.”
“You’re welcome. And you don’t have to call me Alpha all the time. Mr. Jack is just fine.”
Griff grinned and looked up at Jack quickly as he started swinging his feet, before he looked away again. “Okay, Mr. Jack.”
“Griff, baby, what are you doing?” a very pretty, yet tired looking female asked from her pallet on the floor of the formal living room.
“I’m meeting the Alpha and Reigna, and Izzie and Bella. Izzie is a future Alpha. If you don’t hit Bella, Izzie won’t hit you,” Griffin said.
The woman sighed and pushed the blanket she was covered with off her legs as she got up and walked over to the kitchen table. “I’m sorry,” she said, trying her best to smile at everyone seated there. “Griffin, go back and lie down, baby.”
“I’m finishing my juice, Mom.”
“It’s fine. We’re enjoying him,” Bonnie said.
“Are you sure? He can be a bit much,” she said.
“We have one of those,” Jack said. “We like them that way.”
The woman smiled. “Still, you should go watch television and allow them to have their breakfast in peace. This is their private home, baby.”
“I know! Look! They got a splash pad and a swimming pool!” Griffin said, pointing toward the back of the house.
His mother looked in the direction he was pointing. “That’s wonderful. Let’s let them eat breakfast.”
“Ma’am?” Jack said, standing up and extending his hand.
The woman looked at him, and hesitantly extended her hand to his.
Jack shook her hand. “I’m Jack Laighin. We don’t stand on formality here.
You’re our guests. We are thoroughly enjoying your boy.
He’s not bothering us at all. If it’d be alright with you, I was going to get the girls fed, then let them go swimming for a while.
If you don’t mind, he’s welcome to join us for breakfast and swimming. ”
She opened her mouth to say she didn’t want to be a bother, but Jack cut her off.
“We have plenty of swim suits we keep here because you never know who’s going to drop by, and we have plenty of food. None of this, none of you, is an inconvenience. If you want to you’re welcome to join us, or if you’d prefer, you can go ahead and get some rest. We know you’ve been through a lot.”
“And we are parents, just like you,” Bonnie said. “Griffin is not a problem.”
“I just don’t want to impose on anyone,” she said.
“You’re not. I would tell you if you were,” Jack said.
The woman nodded. “If you’re sure.”
“Go back to sleep, Mom. We’re doing fine,” Griff said, waving her off.
Bonnie and Jack both laughed.
“Look, this one is the future Alpha I was telling you about. This one is her sister that you don’t hit,” Griff said. “And that’s my mom,” he said to both girls.
She smiled and chuckled a bit herself. “Hello, I’m Maeve.”
“Hello, Mrs. Maeve,” both girls said.
“Hi, Maeve. Welcome to our home,” Jack said.
“Thank you.”
“Go back to sleep,” Bonnie said.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Get some sleep.”
“If he starts to…”
“Don’t even go there. Just get some sleep. We’ve got it,” Bonnie said.
“Thank you,” Maeve said. Then she looked at her son. “Griffin…”
“I know. Be polite. Be respectful. Don’t be mouthy, and don’t be in everybody’s business.”
“Can you do that?”
“Yes, I think so!” he said excitedly.
“I love you,” she said. “Please, please be respectful.”
“I will,” he said.
Maeve went back to her pallet, and secure in the knowledge that her son was being watched over by the Alpha and Reigna of the Laighin Pride, promptly fell asleep.