Chapter 25 - Brad
The sun is high above our heads, and the day is bright—and incredibly, almost unbearably hot.
Putting up the shade sails was a great idea. I have to learn to listen to my mate more.
I chuckle as I cross the huge green field in the center of the botanical gardens, laughing at my own stupid joke. I listen to Alisha as religiously as the faithful listen for the word of God.
It’s the day of Eccles’s first market fair, held in the massive garden that has been under Grace’s care for so many years.
The main party is spread out here, in the vast open plain in the center that leads out into the wilderness, but there are games and stalls set up in almost all the smaller courtyards, too.
I take my time walking around the stalls, talking to all the people who brought their wares, both from Eccles and Rose Hollow. People from Eccles didn’t have much to bring, but Rose Hollow outdid themselves, as usual.
Poor folk from our lower quarter are gathered at the far end of the park, a lot of them looking like they don’t have the right to be there.
I spend some time with them, eating and drinking with the adults as well as playing kickball with the kids, some of whom are flying kites and throwing frisbees.
They need to be convinced of their own value before they can contribute to the pack. The upper class has held them back for far too long.
It’s amazing to me that Scarlett held her own in this town at all, without any support. I’ve heard a condensed version from her, but much more from Gen.
Speak of the devil.
Gen waves to me from the balloon stand, and I hurry over to her. She has Hazel attempting to fill balloons from a compressed air tank, and seeing the usually composed and well-put-together older lady swearing at the tank valve with a red face and tangled hair does good things to my soul.
Lower quarter just needs to get a bit cleaner—and these guys are a whole lot dirtier. Then we’ll have balance.
“Hello, Gen,” I say, approaching the stall. “How are things?”
“Good,” she answers, giggling. “Hazel is doing brilliantly.”
“Is that supposed to be a joke?” Hazel mutters. “How does this thing even work?”
“I told you a million times!” Gen laughs. “The balloon has to be sealed onto the end, then you turn the nozzle—”
Hazel attempts to do just that, but lets go of the balloon, and the deflated ribbon hurls itself into the waiting crowd of children. They shriek with laughter at the fart noise and start jumping around as if their blood sugar level is higher than one hundred pints of ice cream.
Not far from the truth, thanks to the ice cream lady.
Most of the stall holders were giving away their stock today, and that’s just how Rose Hollow does things. Their market fairs very rarely involve money. It’s all about trade and advertising their goods, as well as making people happy.
Something Eccles hasn’t caught on to yet.
“Did any of the others show up, Gen?” I ask tactfully.
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I tried.”
I nod, giving her a firm look. I don’t want to talk about it here and ruin everyone’s day, but I will have words to say to the first families.
This is complete disrespect, not showing up to this event.
Before my mood can be completely ruined, I turn and jog across the oval, again blessing the huge shade sails covering it from one end to the other.
Alisha predicted that the day of the fair was going to be blistering hot, and no one would have fun if we didn’t take precautions.
It took every able-bodied man in town to set up the sails, but the result is more than worth it.
A day we really could have used the resources from Wolf’s Shadow.
A few weeks after our last incursion, the military unit received new orders.
The rock remained dead and cold, and not a single heat signature flickered in the mountains.
There were other missions around the world that needed attending, and all the Shadows pulled out of our territory.
For the retired men, it was a little shocking—the first time we’d ever been without the backup of armed units.
When I retired, the full contingent was here. I never realized how naked I’d feel without them.
Sloan said the higher-ups felt the risk was manageable, mostly because some of their most reliable Shadows had retired here. Even though we’re still technically considered civilians, we are tasked to keep watch on the situation and report back with any changes.
They may have pulled out to see if the snake was waiting for them to leave.
It’s a valid reason for them to remove their presence, but if it was a tactic, it didn’t work. The great snake hasn’t been seen or heard since he gave Grace a long, sly look and slithered right out of town.
Alisha still gets the odd nightmare, but she isn’t as freaked out by them anymore, and she doesn’t feel like the snake is near. Of all things in this world, her nightmares still scare me because I know she’s touching the otherworld—and I can’t protect her there.
As I jog across the oval, I see her sitting in a little circle with the others—Scarlett, Grace, and my Shadow buddies.
“Hey,” Rex says, giving my hand a hard shake. “How’s the turnout?”
“Great,” I answer. “Everyone’s having fun. Only a few that didn’t show.”
“Not surprising,” Grace mutters.
“We’re trying, Grace,” I reply.
She shakes her head. “You haven’t even met them yet, have you?”
“I met Gen’s grandfather,” I answer. “It wasn’t the funnest occasion of my life.”
“And the others keep dodging you?”
“Yeah. We set up meetings, then all of a sudden, they’re unavailable.”
Grace scoffs, a little noise of disgust. “They are disrespecting you, Alpha. They think you’re beneath them. You have no idea how bad the class wars are here. Your only chance was to disown the poor and grovel to them.”
“Well, that ain’t gonna happen,” I mutter.
Grace shrugs. “They are probably more pissed off about the poor getting taken care of than anything else. They’ll be sitting in their big houses right now, hating you.”
“Gen is working on them,” I answer.
“I hope it works,” Grace says.
I turn to Rex to ask for a cold beer, and he tosses one to me. I immediately tilt my head back and gulp it down, asking for another.
“Careful,” Alisha says. “I don’t want you drunk if I happen to deliver tonight.”
“You said we had weeks!” I answer, going to sit beside her.
She laughs. “Yes. At least three. I’m joking.”
“How is my princess?” I ask, putting my hand on her huge belly.
“Uncomfortable,” she moans. “Oh, wait. You meant the baby? I’m sure she’s feeling a bit squished as well.”
I chuckle, rubbing her tummy lightly. “Won’t be long now,” I say. “Then we can meet her.”
“So, guys,” Shawn says. “Are we counting on things being pretty quiet around here now, especially now that WS has pulled out?”
“Yep,” Rex answers. “The biggest trouble we have right now is the first families looking down on us, and if that’s the most danger we have to face, I’m fine with it.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Grace mutters.
Shawn shrugs. “I’m just looking forward to some downtime. I retired to get out of the action, know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I do,” Rex says, looking at Scarlett. She blushes and kisses him.
“Grace, do you really think the snake is going to stay quiet now?” I ask.
She looks at me, her eyes glittering with hidden depths. “I know, you think it spoke to me,” she answers. “But it really didn’t. From a magical perspective, I don’t feel anything, and I think Alisha is more connected to it than me.”
“No,” Alisha says, shaking her head. “An occasional dream, that’s it. My connection to plants, though, that’s something else.”
She looks around herself, where she sits on the ground, with a little smile on her face. Suddenly, I notice the grass around us is extra green and thick, with little flowers blooming through it.
“Are you doing that?” I ask.
“Not intentionally,” she says. “Nature just responds to me. I’m trying not to use my powers. It still leaves me drained.”
In the days after the battle, Alisha worked on understanding and controlling her powers. She quickly found out she could do incredible things, but the bigger the magical working, the worse it affected her. Everyone decided it was better if she left off using her powers until after she had her baby.
I lean over and kiss her forehead, putting an arm around her shoulders. She snuggles into me, and we watch the kids playing on the field below, and the brightly colored tents where people from both Eccles and Rose Hollow happily share their homemade wares.
The others begin to talk around us, and Alisha and I seem to sink into our own private bubble of silence.
I can hear their words, and I know they’re talking about the snake, things we should research, and ways to close the class divide, but none of it is urgent anymore.
The unity and peace evident between the two packs today reassures me that we are on the right track to leading both packs to prosper.
I truly believe the higher families in Eccles are only holding out from outdated tradition, and they’ll come around with a bit more persuasion.
Alisha gently rests her head on my chest, and when I put my arms around her, she sighs with contentment. Her scent rises around me, even sweeter and stronger now that she is pregnant.
My whole world has turned and become complete. When I first became alpha, I had the best intentions, but I still felt I would never really fit in anywhere, never really have a home.
But these people have embraced me. I’ve brought prosperity to the poor, and in return, they offered me—and my mate—a forever home.
When I look down at Alisha, she’s gazing up at me, and I fall straight into her violet eyes, like a haze of dusky twilight surrounding me. When she smiles, I feel it in my heart.
Her happiness is my happiness.
She tilts her lips up, and I bend down to kiss her, feeling the world completely melt away. I put my arms around her and hear her make a small sound of pleasure as I wrap her against me, bringing her into her favorite place in the whole world.
I know that Alisha feels my arms are her safest place, and I hope she knows that I feel the same. I am only whole and complete when I’m holding her—and our baby, too.
“I love you,” I whisper, and Alisha smiles, cuddling into my chest.
“I love you, too,” she breathes. “My heart and soul, yours for all time.”
I bend down to kiss her again, and a light breeze ripples in from the desert, teasing us with hints of the future.
My attention, though, is all on Alisha. The future can wait because all I want is what I have, right now.
*****
THE END