Chapter 31
TARIA
Waking up first for a change, I take great pleasure in waking Bronze and dragging him into the shower. I think dragging may not be the correct term as once I got him out of the bed and suggested it, it became more of a race! An hour later and we’re dressed, ready to go for breakfast.
“Have we got anything scheduled for today, duty wise, or have we got the day to ourselves, my love?”
“I have one or two things scheduled for us today, my darling, but nothing duty wise unless something comes up.” Bronze told me he had become accustomed to our little terms of endearment when we’re alone and wondered if it’s the same among all mated couples? I thought perhaps the older generation would be more prone to such things.
“Oh, and what one or two things may they be, if I’m so bold to enquire?”
“Well, m’lady. I ain’t telling, see. It’s what we commoners call a secret, so’s you’ll just have to wait and see.” Knuckling his forehead like some old sailor from days of old, has me laughing.
“I don’t know where you come up with some of this stuff, I’m sure, but I like it when you surprise me and make me laugh.” Gripping his arm, we walk into the dining hall, still wearing huge smiles. It does not go unnoticed by those already eating, and we see many of them smile at us as we walk by.
Once we have our trays loaded with food, we look for a table to sit at. I say loaded because we have used a lot of energy with traveling and not a small amount showering, so have a fearsome hunger. As we look around, we both see Xander looking at us, and it’s fairly obvious that he wants us to join him, Eve, and Coal at their table.
He is not so presumptuous as to openly invite us in front of the pack, but Bronze is sensitive enough to save Xander such embarrassment, so approaches and asks if we may join them.
Both Xander and Eve stand as we take our seats and Coal barely glances up from his food. When Xander coughs gently, Coal realizes his mistake and is on his feet in seconds.
“Sorry Luna Taria. Sorry Alpha Bronze,” he mutters, but he does make eye contact, which shows he is genuine in his apology.
Once we’re all seated, Xander points out to Coal that he should recognize the Alpha first, before anyone else in his apology.
Coal makes a face that suggests he’s sucking on a lemon. “But Poppa, the Luna is a lady, so I thought ladies came first with my manners?”
“You’re quite right in normal circumstances, son, but the Alpha being present makes things not normal.” Listening to how Xander explains this to Coal, I see him being an outstanding role model for the pup. Seeing the glow of pride on Eve’s face also tells a story, but I’m not sure who she is more proud of, her son or her new mate.
“Alpha Bronze, we’d like to thank you for what you have done for Eve and Coal. Having her reject her mate was difficult for her, but it opened the way for us to become chosen mates. I’m quite sure that had we waited, the Goddess would have got around to making us second chance mates, although I’ve never had a first! I’d like to thank you personally for giving me the opportunity to be a mate and a father to such a wonderful female and her pup.” Coal stops eating as he hears this and positively beams at his poppa.
“Well, Xander, to be honest with you, it wasn’t all me. Luna Taria recognized it first and pushed me into making Eve reject that useless…I mean, her mate. I was looking into the thing that you had asked me about, but Luna Taria was way ahead of me when it came to matters of the heart. You’re not her first success, and I doubt you’ll be her last.” Eve gave Xander a quizzical look when Bronze said he was looking into something, so I hope he hasn’t overstepped a mark there.
“You make a wonderful family, the three of you. I’m sure if you were to become four, that would be even more perfect. I think Coal would be a great older brother for a baby boy or girl,” I say, and see Eve blush.
“Ewww. A girl brother! It would have to be a boy brother! I wouldn’t know what to do with a girl.” Coal’s reaction has us all in hysterics. When we can get our breath, it’s Xander that once again, is the voice of reason.
“Let me tell you something about a little sister, Coal. They look at their big brother as if he is a hero. A brother that takes care of his sister is like a God in the world of family, second only to her Poppa. Little brothers can be good fun but also can be terrors. You never know which from one day to the next. If you’re blessed with a sibling, it won’t matter whether it’s a boy or a girl. At some point, they will worm their way into your heart and grow on you.”
“A sibling? Oh my. A boy or girl was bad enough, but a sibling as well? I think we should just stay as a family of three and be done with it.” Coal plops his head onto the table in a show of despair.
Taking their leave, Xander gathers his new family, and thanking us again, walks away.
Bronze turns to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders, and whispers in my ear, “If I’m half the father that Xander is proving to be to Coal, I’ll be more than happy.”
“If I wasn’t confident that you’ll be the best father ever to our pups, we wouldn’t be spending so much time in the shower,” I whisper back.
Feeling him puff his chest out with pride at my words, I suggest we get on with his scheduled duties before he drags me back to our shower in the alpha suite, which I’m sure is already crossing his mind.
Walking out of the packhouse, Bronze turns me away from the direction I was going to take to see how the gardens are coming along and I find myself heading for the training area. As we get in sight of the training ring, I see two she-wolves going at each other, with reckless abandon.
As we get closer, I recognize Adaline’s wolf, Star and Ember’s wolf, River. River is certainly coming out second best at the moment, that’s for sure. When we are seen to be watching, Adaline calls a halt to their training, they shift to human form and then walk over to us.
“Good Morning Alpha Bronze, Luna Taria. River is picking things up very quickly with her wolf fighting. I don’t think it will be long before she will be as confident in her abilities as Ember now is. I wish I could get to the bottom of their original lack of confidence, but it’s like looking for rocking horse poop, trying to get either one to open up.” Adaline punches Ember on the shoulder and gets a raspberry blown at her for her trouble.
“If River gets half the confidence Ember has now, she won’t need to worry, Adaline.” Bronze turns to Ember. “If I’d known that giving you that bat would’ve made such a positive impact on your life, I wish I’d thought of it sooner. I am extremely proud of the warrior you have become, Ember, and I know that when you are with my Luna, I need not fear for her safety.”
Ember blushes furiously as she tries to stammer out a thank you to Bronze. I can’t help but smile at her reaction. “Ember, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so flustered before. Well, except when we were at Spirit Walker Pack and Alpha Lyle was around, eh?”
“Oh, Luna Taria! He was such a hunk of man and wolf meat. He made both River and me drool. I will never forgive the Goddess for not giving him to me, but he became just like a brother so quickly. I could have forgiven myself for committing incest with that Alpha!” Realizing how carried away she has become, she looks at us all, squeals, and runs back to the training ring, calling for Star to join them as she returns to River’s form.
All three of us can’t help but bend over with the laughter that bursts out at her embarrassment. Star returns and heads for the training ring and Bronze takes my hand and leads me away, saying, “Taria, never tell her that Alpha Lyle had similar feelings or you’ll lose your bat warrior to the Spirit Walker Pack in a flash.”
Walking back towards the packhouse, but by a different path, I’m astonished to see building work going on. Looking at Bronze with a frown, he laughs at my expression.
“You didn’t seriously believe you could get away with doing something on the sly in my own pack, did you? Herb came to me so excited about your ideas that he couldn’t see past the fact that he was betraying a trust. Herb has only one loyalty, and that’s to his garden. He was mortified when I reminded him it was supposed to be a secret between the two of you.”
“How did you know it was a secret between me and Herb, may I ask?” I hope he hasn’t got spies watching my every move like Arric supposedly has.
“It wasn’t difficult to work out. It is exactly the sort of thing you would do for someone and so selfless, too. I wish I had your natural talent for appreciating people the way you do.” Leaning over, he kisses my forehead and, for some reason, this simple act has me gushing like a little girl.
“You don’t do so bad yourself, Alpha!” Squeezing his hand we intercept Herb who, upon seeing me, looks like he’s about to bolt.
“Herb, you traitor. What happened to secrets between a Luna and her favorite head gardener?” I give him a mock stern look as we approach, but change it to a smile when he looks like he may pee his pants.
“Oh, Luna Taria, I’m so sorry. I was just so excited and I was trying to get it done as a surprise for you before you returned from your trip. It wasn’t until I asked Alpha Bronze for the extra manpower, and explained why that he pointed out my blunder. Please forgive me, it was blurted out with all the best intentions.”
“Your forgiven. It looks like more than we originally planned, though. Have you enhanced the design somewhat?”
“My day is just getting worse. Yes, I did indeed tweak it a little. I included a larger pond and fountain, a lawned area for intimate picnics, an orchard with miniature fruit trees. In my defense, Alpha Bronze signed off on everything!” Herb throws an accusatory look at his alpha, who holds up his hands in surrender.
“I most certainly did sign everything off. I think it was a tremendous idea, from the original idea to the enhanced ultimate plan. I think Madison will be over the moon to have something so spectacular dedicated in her honor.” Bronze smirks, as he knows he has just put another nail in Herb’s virtual coffin.
“HERB! You even gave up the reason for it? I just can’t trust you ever again. I may even demote you to the lowliest weeder in the pack for this grievous insult to our friendship.”
“Wait until you see the plaque I’ve made, Luna Taria. It exceeds all my other efforts at…I’m going to shut up now and go do some weeding.” Herb looks at me and tries a half-hearted smile.
Laughing along with Bronze, we encourage Herb to walk us through his ultimate goal for the area, and I have to say I am impressed with his vision. It really is so much more than the original plan and the tweaks are actually minimal but with dramatic effect.
Herb soon forgets that I’m pretending to be angry with him as his one passion takes over and he floods us with what flowers and shrubs will bloom, where and when. His vision for a year round garden of color is astounding.