50. Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty
Bellarose
“ R emember to keep your aura dimmed, Bells. We don’t want to spook the horse,” Cade reminded me as we walked to the stables.
The twins were two months old now, and I’d been training to suppress my aura since before they were born. I wanted to know everything about what the pack did. I didn’t want to be the outsider who couldn’t help when it was calving season, or when the cattle ran off and needed to be guided back.
Last week, Cade said that I could suppress my aura long enough for me to start learning to ride on a horse. I was excited and a little scared, but Coyo was at peak health, and we felt confident we could do this.
“I don’t usually say this, but I will follow your instructions to the letter. I won’t try to go off-script. You’re the expert, love,” I assured him.
“Don’t try to butter me up, My Queen. I’m already regretting agreeing to this. We should wait a little longer to make sure you can keep your aura suppressed even when you’re anxious.”
“I trust you,” I replied, making him sigh and squeeze my hand.
When we got close, I pulled in my aura completely. So far, I could do it for about an hour, so that’s how long today’s lesson was going to be.
He started by introducing me to the horse he thought was best for a beginner. An old colt named Bastion. I spent a good fifteen minutes giving him treats, talking to him and getting him used to my scent.
A small part of me wanted to accuse him of trying to use up the hour, but he warned me from the start that I needed to spend time bonding with the animal. I needed to trust him and get him to trust me. So I did. I talked to Bastion, gave him lots of pets and a brush down before Cade taught me how to put the saddle on him. Once he determined it was placed securely around the horse, we walked him out to the small pasture adjacent to the stable.
“Do you want to take a small break and let out your aura before we start?” he asked.
“No. I want to be able to do this,” I answered stubbornly. I knew I wouldn’t be perfect from the get-go, but I wanted this. I wanted to learn, and I wanted to be able to ride out with him during a sunset, once the twins are a little older.
“Alright, let’s get you on him, first. I’ll lead him to start, to get you used to the movement.”
“Okay. I trust you,” I told him.
It took me a few tries to get on top of Bastian without sliding down the other side, and I had just managed to settle onto the horse, when Cade’s phone began to ring. He grabbed onto the reins firmly, before pulling his phone and bringing it to his ear.
“Hey, Cory. Everything alright?”
He was silent as he listened, his eyes flickering to me briefly before he answered.
“She must have forgotten to bring her phone. I’ll remind her, and we’ll be over in a bit.”
He hung up and sighed before he began walking Bastian toward the stable with me on him.
“What’s going on? Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah. Everyone’s okay, but we forgot what today is.”
“It’s Saturday,” I replied. I knew I was a little tired from staying up all night looking after the twins, but I wasn’t that far gone.
“I know, My Queen. But we forgot about what’s supposed to happen today.”
“Can you just tell me instead of making me worry?” I asked as he helped me down from the horse before removing the saddle and putting him in the stall.
“Today’s the day, Bells.”
“What day?”
“Violet’s day.”
I gasped, and felt my aura slip out, making the horses neigh as they sensed a predator. I pulled it back in before they could freak out completely, and we hurried back into the pack house.
“John, do you and Sally mind looking after the twins for a few hours longer? Violet’s shifting today,” I asked when we entered the nursery.
Sally was John’s mate. She used to be a member of Blue Moon, and John had met her on the first full moon pack run we did with the other three packs. She was a lovely woman. Her family was originally from China, and she still spoke in a heavy accent when she was tired or annoyed. They moved to Arizona when she was twelve, after her father was wrongfully accused of embezzling funds from the pack house by the alpha, who had mismanaged the pack finances to fuel his gambling habit.
Thankfully, her mother knew a few people here after spending five years here as an international student, and after pleading their case, David and Areli gave them a chance. As far as I knew, my sister was over the moon to have them there. The man had whipped their books into shape, and she was a psychologist, which was helping them because of all the trauma people were still getting over following the massacre last year.
Sally’s family was still in Blue Moon, which was about an hour and a half away from here. She fit into our group seamlessly, and they were already expecting their first pup.
“Of course. They are being angels,” John answered.
I smiled and looked over at my sleeping pups. They were angels when they were asleep, alright, but they were already showing my personality while awake. Mom kept gleefully telling me I was going to find out what it was like to raise me. I wasn’t that bad. I just knew what I wanted, and refused to compromise. What was so wrong with that?
Cade bent over and kissed their little foreheads before we went into the bedroom and changed into tearaway clothes. After discussing with Dr. Campbell that Nenetl finally felt strong enough to shift, Violet had asked us to be there with her and help her shift. Dr. Campbell had suggested to her that it would help to have family near, just like it did during a wolf’s first shift.
“I can’t believe I forgot,” I lamented as we drove to Crescent Moon.
“You didn’t forget. You’ve been excited and supporting her for months. You even mentioned it two days ago. We just haven’t slept much this week and it slipped your mind. It happens.”
“Bu—”
“We’re not leaving her alone, Bells. We’re here, and we’re going to support her. Blame it on new parents’ brain if you must. Everyone knows what it’s like to have a newborn at home, and we have two.”
“You’re right,” I sighed. “I just hate that she’s there for me for everything, and I would have missed this if Cory hadn’t called. Why did he call you, anyway? He could have just mind-linked me.”
“He said you had your mind-linked blocked. He called your phone after that failed, but you left it in the bedroom.”
“I blocked it?”
“Probably by accident. Most of us have done that while learning to keep our aura suppressed. You’re concentrating so much, you shut down everything else. It will get easier with practice.” He reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze before saying, “You’re a good sister, Bells. Violet won’t hold it against us that we needed a phone call to be reminded today was the day.”
Instead of parking near the pack house, Cade drove us to the training grounds. They were empty today, as Cory had asked the pack members to utilize Guardian Moon’s training grounds if they needed. Only family would be allowed inside.
“You made it!” Violet said when we entered. She looked excited, but very nervous. As usual, Chris was standing right beside her, one arm wrapped around her waist.
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that. I just figured you might need a gentle reminder that today was Saturday. I know you haven’t slept more than a few hours in the last three days,” she reassured me right away before pulling me into a hug. “To be honest, I was hoping everyone had forgotten and I could just put it off to next week,” she mentioned in a small voice when she pulled back.
“You’ve worked hard to get to this point, Violet. You’re so close. It’s okay to be scared about it. That’s what we’re here for. You can lean on us to help you make it that last bit,” Cade tried to reassure her.
“I’m scared we’re not going to be able to do it, and we’re going to disappoint everyone.”
“No one will be disappointed, Little Warrior. The healing and progress you and Nenetl have made to get here is already something everyone in this room is proud of. If you need an extra month or year to jump that last bit, then we’ll still be here for it when it does happen,” Chris stated, making me nod my head.
“Your path, your timeline,” I added to make sure the point stuck.
Violet took a deep calming breath and nodded at us.
“We’re here! Sorry! We had to change Oliver,” Dad said, he and Mom running inside.
“Okay, it’s time, Violet.” Dr. Campbell stated from the center of the training arena. Cade and I hugged her quickly, then our entire family stood around the edge of the arena. We were all wearing tear away clothes, ready to shift with my sister, and run if she succeeded.
Violet and Chris walked to the middle, while Mom and Dad stayed off to the side a little, Oliver in Dad’s arms.
“I really hope she can do this,” Areli whispered, as she came to stand next to me.
“If not today, she will eventually,” I assured my baby sister. “Violet is a Salonen. We don’t give up.”
Areli took my hand and squeezed it. I looked around the arena, remembering everything everyone here had been through, and knowing my statement was more than earned. We were survivors. Warriors. Family.
Dr. Campbell began to guide Nenetl forward, giving her encouragement and talking her down whenever they panicked. I felt my feet twitch several times when Violet looked to be in pain, but I held back. Chris was beside her, giving her the support she needed as her body tried to remember how to shift.
But, something went wrong somewhere in the middle, and Violet began freaking out. People’s words of encouragement from the outside weren’t helping her, and I could see her losing the battle with her anxiety. She was stuck in the middle of a shift, whimpering and telling Dr. Campbell that she couldn’t do it, over and over, unable to process directions through her panic.
Suddenly, Chris was kneeling in front of her and yelling at everyone to be quiet.
They did, but now all I could hear was my sister’s pain-filled whimpers echoing through the training grounds, and I felt my eyes stinging with unshed tears. Once the arena was completely quiet, Chris cleared his throat, and held her pain-filled face tenderly between his hands.
“Why was the mermaid so good at math?”
I groaned, a sound that was repeated by several family members around the ring. I loved Chris and his Dad jokes, but now was not the time.
But, to everyone’s surprise, Violet stopped whimpering, and asked, “Why?”
“Because she had an algae bra on,” he answered, and amazingly, Violet began giggling.
“He’s gotten through her panic,” Cade whispered in awe.
And he had. Violet was no longer freaking out, and with Chris kneeling in front of her, Dr. Campbell continued to help Violet shift. After another agonizing three minutes, Nenetl was shakily standing on her four feet where my sister had knelt before.
A chorus of cheers went through the room, and Mom and Dad approached with Oliver so Nenetl could meet her pup in her form for the first time.
Cade pulled me to him and held me close as we watched Nenetl meet her pup. Tears fell as she rubbed her head against him and he reached out to grab a hold of her fur. Beside them, Chris removed his shirt and shifted, allowing Titan to meet his mate.
Tears were rolling from many of us as they were finally able to rub their noses together. Titan’s happiness filled my heart when he threw his head back and howled, his pride and happiness evident.
“Nenetl, if you’re up to it, I recommend you have a run with your family. Don’t over-exert. It doesn’t have to be a long run,” Dr. Campbell her. Her eyes glazed over as my sister mind-linked her response, and when they cleared she smiled and added, “I can hold onto your pup while you do. Don’t worry.”
We all shifted and ran to Nenetl, rubbing our bodies against her to show our happiness to see her. She had come a long way, and I would be forever happy that she didn’t give up after everything happened. She fought to stay with my sister, and despite having a long tough road to get her strength back, she never complained.
We ran around the pack grounds as a family. After a few hundred yards, everyone fell back a little, letting Nenetl and Titan lead us. This was their show, and we were just happy and proud to be a part of it. The couple nipped and played as they ran, and even Coyo was getting choked up by their display of love.
‘Nenetl’s getting tired. We’re heading back, ’ Cory mind-linked me.
I acknowledged his words and relayed them to Cade, then we all turned around and trotted back to the training grounds. We all shifted back, and then we stood in line, impatiently, to be able to hug and congratulate Violet.
“We’re having a barbeque at our place to celebrate,” Dad told the group, taking Oliver from Dr. Campbell before leaving with Mom to get things ready.
Finally, it was our turn, and I couldn’t help but sniffle as I hugged my sister.
“I’m so proud of you,” I told her. “You’re the strongest woman I know.”
“Right back at you,” she chuckled, wiping a tear away from my face. “Look at us. We went from a pair of broken sisters, to two strong women enjoying their happy ever after.”
“With two men by their side who are proud as fuck to be their mates,” Cade added as Chris nodded in agreement.
“I wouldn’t change anything about my life. This is a happy ever after we earned with blood, sweat and tears,” Chris finished.
“And then some,” Violet chuckled, wrapping her arms around Chris’ waist and looking up at her mate, her eyes filled with love and happiness. “Now we just have to get Guardian Moon to get their shit together, so their kids can grow up with ours and the third generation will be as strong as ours.”
I nodded. Xochil needed to start looking for her mate, and Miguel needed to stop with his silly idea to avoid full moons before he’d beaten Aunt Kassie. My pups needed cousins. Our family could get through anything, as long as we kept our bond with each other strong.
As we walked to Mom and Dad’s house, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, and Chris’ beeped. The four of us pulled our phones out and I saw a text message from a chat I’d never seen before called “Cousin Chat.”
Confused, I opened it and read.
Miguel
I thought we could use this chat to keep in touch through the week, and there’s no better way to start it than by saying:
Congratulations Violet and Nenetl!! We’re so proud of you! 3
Instantly, the chat went nuts as everyone began typing in their congratulations. I added my own, despite being right beside her, and put my phone back in my pocket.
There was nothing we couldn’t overcome as long as we stayed together.