5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Bellarose
I waited anxiously for my family to arrive, so grateful they were coming to help. As predicted, I’d gotten a measly dozen workers for the season and three of them didn’t even bother to show up.
We only had a week to teach the Crescent Moon volunteers how to harvest properly, but I thought we could get it done. Some were coming to help with the patrols and my sister... just thinking about how she was pushing herself out of her comfort zone to help me brought tears to my eyes. I already installed her internal lock and placed her at the end of the Alpha wing, with Cory’s and the twins’ room between her and the stairs. I also installed another internal lock in the Luna office. Since I’d been working from the Alpha office since last year, my old office sat unused and I set up everything she would need there.
I was proud of her for being able to get on that plane. I didn’t think she would do it so quickly after finally being able to leave the house for the first time in a year. I expected to get a call from her apologizing this morning. Instead, Cory mind-linked me to let me know she was on the plane.
I was working from my phone when I got the mind-link that the SUVs and buses were approaching, and went in search of Adam. I pulled him from daycare early today, and got him all dressed up and ready an hour ago.
I wanted my family to meet him. So far, only Mom and Dad had come out this way since I took him in. The other two times I traveled south to see them, Adam stayed behind with Linda, one of the mothers who helped look after the kids in the fields with me. Cory was still in full lockdown at the time, and I was scared of taking Adam into a potentially deadly situation.
“Adam, where did you go, sweetie?” I called down the hallway when I found his room empty. I heard giggling coming from Violet’s guestroom and followed the sound. What I saw was the result of World War Three. At least, that was what it felt like.
Adam was sitting in the middle of the rug, covered from head to toe in the chocolate sauce I kept for ice cream sundaes. He must have struggled to pop the top because there were squirts of chocolate sauce on the walls, the rug and yep, that was chocolate on the ceiling.
“Oh, buddy, what did you do?” I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, and I suspected I would do both right now.
“Chocolate!” he squealed happily when I bent down to pick him up, putting his sticky hands on my face.
“Yes, chocolate. Chocolate all over,” I laughed nervously.
‘Hey, Bells, we’re almost there,’ Cory mind linked.
‘Shit. Okay. Hang on. I’ll be right down,’ I answered, trying to keep the panic from my voice.
‘What’s wrong?’ he replied immediately.
‘You’ll see,’ I said cryptically, and laughed as I looked down at the tiny chocolate handprints now decorating my shirt.
“Alright, well, so much for a good impression, my little chocolate thief. Let’s go meet my family, okay? I’ll give you a shower after and” —I looked around the room helplessly— “figure this shit out.”
I picked him up and started heading down the stairs. At five years old, Adam was a solid little boy, but it was easier to pick him up than to let him run around spreading the chocolate sauce on the walls. The cleaning staff was working in the fields half the week, and they wouldn’t be amused to see dried chocolate all over the walls of the pack house. I’d put some elbow grease in the room after I got everyone settled.
Cory and Evie chuckled when they saw me walking out of the pack house.
“Chocolate explosion?” Cory asked, coming closer, but faltering as he thought of something. “That is chocolate, right? Not the other brown substance generally associated with toddlers?”
“Chocolate fudge to be exact,” I answered, then extended my free arm to my side. “Come give us a hug!”
“I’m sending a virtual hug from here,” Cory chuckled again. “It’s good to see you, Bells. And you must be little Adam. Having a good day, buddy?” Cory asked.
“Chocolate!” Adam squealed again, showing Cory his hands.
“Right on! I love chocolate. Did you leave any for us?” Cory asked. Adam shook his head and Cory laughed. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to go to the store and buy more, yeah?”
Adam put his hand up to give him a high five and thankfully, Cory went in for it.
“Sorry. I’ll get you guys settled, then I need to give him a good scrubbing,” I explained.
“It’s alright, Bells. How about I make us some lunch and you go do your thing? We can worry about bags and placements after lunch?”
“Thanks, Cory. I won’t be long.” I turned to leave but skidded to a stop. “Violet, I can show you to your room, but disclaimer: that’s where Adam hid with the bottle of fudge. You’ll need to give me some time to clean it before you fully settle in.”
“I can clean it. It’s no problem. Just show me where the cleaning supplies are on the way up,” Violet answered, handing Cory the car seat with Lucas or Leo in it. She held onto to her cross-shoulder messenger bag nervously as people started getting off the bus.
“Okay, come on. I’ll bring you to the room and then help you clean up.”
“Christopher, can you grab Violet’s suitcase and take it up to her room?” Evie called out when the last SUV emptied.
I watched my old friend nod and head towards the back of the SUV. I say old friend loosely, because the boy and the man were always so serious about keeping us safe that I wasn’t sure that he ever enjoyed himself around us.
“Oh, that one’s ours. You can just leave it there, we’ll take it up later.” Evie tried to get Chris to put another suitcase back, but he just shook his head.
“It’s on the same floor. I can drop it off.”
We headed upstairs, and I pointed out to Violet and Chris where things were along the way. Most of the pack house was empty most of the day, except at mealtimes. Once people felt a little safer after the attack, they returned to their homes, and the ones living within the pack house were offered to stay or take a few of the empty houses. It was easier to ensure they were maintained during the winter if people were living in them.
“Only us, the Crescent Moon volunteers, my mother-in-law and Beta Hugh live in the pack house Vi, so you should be safe. People only come in and out for quick lunches and dinner.” I explained when we made it to the alpha floor landing. We stopped at Cory’s guest room briefly, and Chris dropped the suitcase inside before I led them to Violet’s room.
“This is your room. I already installed the internal lock and I put one in the Luna office too for you, just to be on the safe side. Though it didn’t do much good against the chocolate tornado that took place in here.”
I blushed as we walked into ground zero. Violet chuckled and picked up the bottle of chocolate sauce. A small dribble spilled as she righted it and popped it closed.
“It’s alright. It’s just a little mess. Right, Adam? Maybe he can help me clean before his shower so you can go have a chat with Cory.”
“Really?” I said, almost wanting to cry at her response.
“Of course. I love little kids and Adam didn’t mean anything by it, right? These bottles are just so hard to open. So, we’ll clean up together and that way we can get to know each other.”
“Is that okay, Adam? You’ll help Violet clean up?”
Adam nodded and squirmed out of my hold, so I turned back to Chris, who was standing there silently with the suitcase in his hands. “The closet is over there, big guy. Then if you don’t mind, I’ll give you all the cleaning supplies I have and you can bring them up to my sister?”
Chris nodded in response and deposited the suitcase in the closet before following close behind. I hated using him as a courier, considering how he trained all his life to be an elite warrior and guard, but Chris was the only man not related to us that Violet was comfortable around, and I didn’t want to ruin whatever small progress she was slowly making.
“Sorry,” I mumbled when I dug in the supply closet near my room. “I know you didn’t sign up for any of this.”
“It’s alright, Luna. Violet deserves to feel safe,” he answered, and I felt the sincerity of his words.
“Can I get you to call me Bells, again?” I asked, smiling because I already knew the answer, but it was worth a shot.
“I—” I was surprised he was considering it at all, until he blushed and shook his head. “No. You are a Luna and deserving of my respect.”
“I was also your friend, Chris. A title doesn’t change that, or suddenly mean you’re below my friendship because you’re not an Alpha. I’m still just Bells. The one who always tried to tease a laugh out of you.”
Something dark crossed his features at my words, but finally, a small smile made its way across his face, and I beamed up at him.
“I will keep that in mind, Luna.”
I pretended to groan. “So close. Just one word off from my request.”
A chuckle finally left the serious man, and I watched him walk away from me. I went into my room and changed, before heading down to find Cory pulling things from the pantry that I made sure to stock before they arrived. Evie was sitting on the chair next to the counter, trying to feed the twins some mushy bananas and strawberries in the high chairs I made sure to grab for them.
“Did you have any assigned rooms for the volunteers, Bells?” Evie asked when she noticed me watching.
“No. All of the rooms on the first and second floor are for them. They can pick and choose however they see fit.”
“Do you mind watching the twins? I’ll go make sure they settle in.”
“Are you kidding? I’d love to!” I swallowed the squeal I wanted to let out. I loved these pups to death. I took her seat and continued to feed them while Evie left the kitchen. “Damn, even after almost eight months, you can’t really tell them apart, can you?”
“Leo’s got a freckle on the top of his left ear, and Lucas has one next to his belly button. Otherwise, no. Sometimes, I’m tempted to ask Valeria to double-check that they’re fraternal, but it’s not like it matters in the end.”
“No, I guess not. They are still fucking adorable. When are you going to have more?”
Cory’s knife slipped and hit the cutting board instead of the carrots he was julienning, almost slicing his thumb.
“I’d like to survive these two first, Bells,” he chuckled.
“These innocent little cherubs? What’s to survive?” I teased.
“For one, not sleeping at the same time. It’s like they synchronize at night. The moment one falls asleep, the other one wakes up, and on it goes. By the time we get one to sleep, the other decides it’s time for a snack.”
The haunted look on his face made me chuckle. I knew how much he loved being a dad, and I doubted he’d hold off much longer despite his words.
I chatted with my brother for a while longer, chopping up veggies for him as warriors and my pack members began coming in and out of the kitchen, picking up the salads and wraps as fast as Cory dished them out. I wanted to feel bad about it, but Cory loved to cook, and like Mom, his love language was acts of service. Seeing the happy faces on people as they ate his food was something he cherished.
Once the lunch rush died down, I made up two plates and brought them up for Violet and Adam. I could hear giggles from the stairs and smiled in surprise when I saw what was making Adam laugh. Violet was scrubbing the chocolate syrup on the wall as she chatted with Adam, who was currently scrubbing the ceiling while Chris held him up in the air.
“I brought lunch,” I said, sad to interrupt their happy bubble. “Sorry, Chris. I didn’t know you’d still be up here. I can go get you a plate, too.” I considered giving him Adam’s plate, but his lunch was not going to fill up a wolf like Chris.
“That’s okay, Luna. I was helping Adam. I can go get my own lunch. We’re almost done.”
I sat on the bed for five minutes before Chris put down my little ball of chocolate fudge and excused himself. I fed my wild monkey while I chatted with Violet a bit, and then took my little chocolate thief with sticky hands to get his second bath of the day. The warm water took a while to melt the now-dry chocolate, but eventually, we got clean and presentable and I even had enough time to give the volunteers a tour of the grounds before dinner.
For the first time in a long time, I fell asleep and didn’t have any nightmares.
I was well-rested and in a good mood in the morning, which was a rare event over the last year. After getting ready for the day, I woke up Adam and took him downstairs to figure out breakfast, but Cory was already there working like a maniac.
“Jesus, how long have you been awake?” I asked, sitting down and beating the eggs in the bowl he pushed in front of me.
“About an hour. Lucas was hungry so I brought Leo down while Evie topped Lucas off and got started on breakfast.”
After breakfast, Cory and I escorted Violet down to the Luna office. I showed her how things worked while Cory continued on to my office. It wasn’t much of a system, so I told her to go nuts and left her to her own devices. I shut the door behind me, and I heard the internal lock click in place, making my heart ache for my sister. I made my way to the Alpha office, where Cory was on the phone. A worried frown was on his face.
“She’s just entered, Dad. Hang on, let me put her on speakerphone.” Cory placed the phone on the coffee table.
“Morning, Bells,” Dad’s voice came out of the little speaker.
“Hi, Dad. Everything okay?”
“For us? Yeah, baby. We’re good. Mom’s still bummed about not going.”
“She’s a busy lady. I understand. You guys can come when things aren’t so hectic. That’s better, anyway.”
“She’s already demanding it,” Dad chuckled. “Listen, I got a call from Troy that I wanted to speak with you both about.”
“Troy? Alpha Troy?” I asked. I hadn’t seen him or his family since I moved up here.
“Yeah, except he hasn’t been alpha for a while.” Right, his son Cade took over as alpha almost five years ago.
“What’s going on with him?”
“Their pack grounds burned down in the wildfires outside of Redding a few days ago. He was hoping we knew a pack with enough grazing lands so they could relocate some of the cattle they were able to save while they looked at new properties to relocate the whole pack,” Dad explained.
“Shit. That sucks. Was everyone okay?” I asked.
My heart was going out to them. I knew better than most what a tragedy of that size did to a pack.
“They lost some of their cattle and had a few injuries, but thankfully no loss of life,” Dad answered and I was relieved.
“Thank the Goddess for small favors,” I said, though, by the way Cory was frowning at me, I wondered if it sounded more sarcastic than I meant to.
“Well, our pack isn’t equipped to house cattle, unfortunately, but I did have an idea that I wanted to run by you both before I brought it up to Troy.”
“What’s that?” Cory asked.
“The pack is staying in hotels in the next town over right now, but with how long properties take to close, especially with the amount of land they need... well, they can’t live in hotels indefinitely.”
“Do they not have allies nearby?” Cory asked, his brows furrowed.
“The only other pack nearby also got hit by the wildfires. They don’t have enough livable space for them to house people, though they’ve offered to let them bring in campers and make do for a while.” It was clear from his voice that the choice wasn’t sustainable to him, and I had to agree. Having families living in campers, figuring out how to empty the waste tanks would be a logistical nightmare.
“But you had a better idea?” I prompted, my stomach sinking already.
I had an inkling about what he was going to suggest, but Dad wasn’t aware of the financial struggles I was facing right now. I could house a couple hundred people in the empty houses with no issue. The problem was that I wouldn’t be able to afford the added cost of having that many people around. We were barely scraping by with the bills and food for pack members. Hell, we hadn’t even had full moon pack dinners in almost a year.
“Well, his pack is about four hundred people. Crescent Moon can’t house that many, but—”
“But Redmon Moon can?” I finished for him.
“Not four hundred either, no. But Crescent Moon can house close to two hundred as long as some single wolves are willing to share accommodations. Mom, Zi and Meli have been doing the math since yesterday. Do you think you have enough space to house the other two hundred?”
Was this when I came clean about how badly the pack was doing? It hadn’t been a year yet. I needed more time to get things in order.
“I have the empty houses for them and the pack house after Cory and the volunteers leave,” I answered, biting my lips and trying to do mental math in my head.
If I took a good chunk of my personal accounts, I might be able to feed them all for a couple of months. I didn’t want to use up all of my savings for pack purposes, but Cade was a good friend growing up. If there was something I could do to help his pack, I couldn’t, in good conscience, just shake my head and turn my back on my old friend. Especially when I considered the fact I was in a similar boat, and my family was helping me.
“Well, that was another thing. I know Cade. He’s stubborn to a fault. He won’t ask for help outright. I thought maybe you could make him a proposal.”
That was definitely the Cade I remembered. He was a good, kind man and friend, but he suffered some bullying growing up because he was adopted by Alpha Troy. People told him he wouldn’t cut it as an alpha because he had no alpha blood. It didn’t matter that his wolf would get a boost when he took the reins. They tried to convince him that he would lead the pack to disaster. Cade worked so hard growing up, training multiple times a day and learning how to lead effectively to prove himself. I could empathize with that.
“What kind of proposal?” I asked, pulling myself out of my memories when I realized Dad and Cory were waiting for me to speak.
“You need help around the pack and the fields with the grape harvesting. You can offer him room and board if he can provide the workers. Depending on how long they stay, they can help with the processing of the grapes, too. Split the cost of food and utilities?” I perked up at that. That could work and I might not end up bankrupt.
“What about us?” Cory asked.
“Well, you can send the volunteers home. Have them help get the houses and rooms ready before coming back. They have places here, so they don’t need to be taking up space that Cade’s pack needs. Free vacation for the bunch? Since they were volunteering their time and had time off already, anyway,” Dad suggested helpfully.
“You want almost fifty warriors and unmated wolves with nothing to do? Are you trying to destroy the pack, Dad?” Cory asked with a laugh.
“Hey, you can send them to tend the cattle once they find where to put them if they get out of hand,” Dad countered.
“Can you talk to Troy for me and Cade?” I asked when we stopped laughing.
“I can talk to Troy and make sure Cade gets in touch with you. You two should hash out the details yourselves. That sound good?”
“Yeah. That works,” I answered.
“Alright, I’ll reach out to Troy and make my suggestion. Cory, you’re good with hosting some of the pack here?”
“Of course. We have the space. Ask Cade to reach out to me too so we can make the arrangements or have his L—Does Cade have a Luna yet?”
“No. I don’t believe he does.”
“Just have him reach out to me, then,” Cory amended.
“Will do. Thanks, kids. I’m sure Cade and Troy will both appreciate it.”
“That’s what friends are for, Dad,” Cory reminded him. “We grew up with Cade, sort of. If he needs help we can provide, why wouldn’t we?”
“I know. You’re good kids. Love you both.”
“Love you, too.” Cory and I replied before Dad hung up the phone.
“Well, I guess there’s no point in teaching the volunteers what to do?” Cory asked.
“Fuck that! Free labor is free labor. I’m still getting what I can out of it,” I exclaimed, only half joking, but it made Cory laugh.
“What are we going to do about Violet?” he asked a little while later, frowning.
“What about her?”
“It was such a big step for her to come here, and it was because she thought you desperately needed her.”
“I do desperately need her,” I pointed out. “Yesterday and today have been the only days I haven’t holed up in here, trying to desperately keep up with the paperwork. You think she’ll leave?” I asked, biting my bottom lip.
“I honestly don’t know. It’s not just that we’re leaving that will make her want to go back to where she knows it’s safe. It’ll be the fact that two hundred strangers will be flooding this place pretty soon.” Shit, right. “I think she took the leap because she knows there’s not a lot of males here, and the ones we brought, while they make her uncomfortable, are under my command and won’t hurt her. That, and I think deep down she recognizes that she’s safe with them, even if her response doesn’t quite agree.”
“She still won’t let anyone touch her?” I asked, remembering how skittish she looked when the warriors were exiting the SUVs yesterday.
“Family only and light contact. Occasionally she lets Dad and I give her bear hugs, but sudden contact still makes her flinch, and contact from anyone other than family makes her freak out. It’s easier with females, but even then, she doesn’t like being touched. Just tolerates their presence a bit more.”
“Except for Chris, even after a year,” I pointed out.
“Except for Chris and kids. Though I tried to assign him as her guard for the visit, and she shut it down,” Cory sighed.
“Why? She didn’t show any apprehension to being in the room with him and Adam yesterday.”
“She isn’t afraid of him. She thinks Chris worked too hard to be an elite warrior to end up babysitting the damaged sister of the alpha. She thinks Chris will see it as a punishment,” Cory said, his face darkening in anger.
“She thinks she’s damaged?” I asked, frowning.
But I could see why she would think that, in a way. What I don’t think she realized yet, is that we’re all a little damaged. Every person. It would be impossible not to be.
When Cory nodded angrily, I continued, “Chris didn’t seem to mind when I talked to him earlier.”
“He’s never complained or even hinted that he doesn’t appreciate the assignment. I even asked him about it, friend to friend, not as his alpha. I hope he was honest, because letting him near my sister is not a punishment at all. It’s a sign of ultimate trust, considering what she’s already been through,” Cory answered.
“Would he stay? Stay and guard her while you guys go back?” I asked. I desperately needed her help, and I might be willing to grovel to the man if Violet agreed.
“He would. I don’t know that Violet would let him, though and I’m not shoving a man’s presence down her throat,” Cory answered with determination.
“Do you really think being here is good for her, or could she backtrack by herself?” I asked. As much as I needed her here, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if asking her to stay hurt her already fragile mental state.
Fuck this sucked.
“She wouldn’t be by herself, Bells. You’re her sister.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t know. But I know that if she doesn’t try, she might not forgive herself for it, and that will be worse than having a few freak-outs as she pushes through her trauma. That’s what Dr. Campbell told us, anyway.”
“You talk to Dr. Campbell? Isn’t that against their code or something?”
“She didn’t give us specific details, and it was all with Violet’s permission. When she asked to come here, we weren’t sure she would be okay doing this, and she let us talk to Dr. Campbell to reassure ourselves.”
“Well, you talk to Chris and I’ll talk to Violet,” I said, making my way out of the alpha office.
“Alright. Put us to work, sis!” he hollered, following me out of the office.