Chapter 23
Rune instantly gravitated to the expansive glass windows in the living room, which showed off an expansive deck overlooking the lake.
It would be great for indoor-outdoor living and a perfect setting for morning breakfasts, sunset dinners, and memorable gatherings with extended family and pack members—now that they had them.
She opened the door, stepped outside, and took a deep breath of the fresh air, pine trees, and lake water. She swore she was going to sit out there all the time.
An outdoor grill rested on the deck so they could cook outside, and part of the deck had a cover so they could sit outside even if it was raining. As long as the wind wasn’t blowing the rain sideways.
Stone came up behind Rune and put his arms around her and hugged her, his chin resting on top of her head. They enjoyed the moment while their families stayed inside, giving them some privacy, though they were all in the living area, watching them covertly through the windows.
"I wasn't sure about running the pack, but having this home for our own and to enjoy living here with you? That makes all the difference in the world," Stone said.
"Yeah, I know. I'm sure everyone else knew that if they won, they would receive the home, but we were clueless. I'm so glad we have a home of our own. Though it wouldn't be a real home without you."
"Same for me. Do you want to see the rest of the house?" he asked. "So that we can enjoy the celebration before we retreat to our property?"
"Absolutely." Rune and Stone walked back inside, and then she and Stone climbed the stairs to check out the five furnished bedrooms, three baths, and a loft.
Everything was decorated in a woodsy theme, making them feel as though the outdoors had been brought inside. Large windows showed off the lake and mountains. Just beautiful.
They looked at the biggest bedroom, which had a sitting area and a huge bathroom with a walk-in shower, a large tub with jets, and big windows overlooking the lake.
Once they finished checking out the rest of the house, they headed to the area where the packs would meet for the celebration.
It was a verdant glade, dappled with sunlight and perfumed with the scent of ripe berries, where the fae gathered to feast on succulent roast pig and sweet berry pies. Fireflies flitted about in the darker woods, their lights blinking on and off.
Fruit bats began to take off high above, eating bugs way up in the darkening sky.
Fat dripped into the fire in slow, steady drops, sending up an aroma of seasoned pork that filled the air and made Rune's stomach grumble.
They had been cooking it for some time, so it was nearly done, and corn on the cob and potatoes were roasting over the fire. The berry pies breathed out a dark, fermented sweetness that made Rune's mouth water.
Long tables crowded the clearing, draped in cloth that was the color of green moss, and every surface was weighted down with food—roast haunches glistening dark at the bone, pies stacked three high with crusts the deep purple-red of cooked berries.
They loaded the vegetables onto trays and set them out on the tables. The pork pulled apart in long, salt-dark fibers, fat-rich and tender.
Rune thought the plates and mugs must have been created by master potters. They lined the table in subtle mossy greens, stormy blues, and the faintest pinks, like the sky just before dawn.
Some of the plates were loaded with fruit—deep red watermelon, wedges of golden cantaloupe, and pale honeydew.
Strawberries gathered from the kitchen gardens gleamed with dew, and blueberries sat impossibly plump in a stoneware bowl shaped like a sleeping wolf pup. Peaches, apples, and oranges added to the sweet melody of colors, all arranged as a peacock with his tail feathers spread.
Rune and Stone grabbed seats at one of the long tables, and everyone respectfully let the family and the goddesses sit at the same table. And then everyone sat at tables near them, wanting to get as close to them as possible.
The goddesses, the Game Master, and their sponsors arrived, and everyone started to eat their feast.
“When we met you in the glen, and you were but a wolf, we didn’t realize you were a fae,” Ena said to Stone, the dragon shifter fae who had sponsored him.
“I was sure Ena was going to take you home with us,” Brett said, Ena’s mate and also a dragon shifter fae, phantom fae, and wizard.
“Thanks for sponsoring us,” Rune said. “And I’m glad you didn’t take Stone to your kingdom.”
“We didn’t know that you existed in the other glen,” Ena said, “but we were glad to hear that you’re together now.”
“Thanks. I would have been impossible to live with if you’d taken me away from my glen and Rune,” Stone said.
Ena and Brett squeezed each other’s hands. “I bet,” Brett said.
Then Stone thought to ask Lolita, “How come you ended up in the game? Some of the rest of your siblings are bigger. Not that it deterred you from winning some of the challenges. But I just wondered.”
“I did too,” Rune said.
Iris laughed. “Our brothers wanted to go instead, but they needed another girl. Lolita was the only one who was the right age.”
“I was fine going,” Lolita said. “I needed to prove myself anyway.”
“And you did,” Rune said. “We were so proud of you.”
“We were.” Stone wanted something else clarified. “Iris, you and Silas told us that we were going to have your help in the final challenges. During the last competition, you sent us on a wild goose chase, so we wouldn't even have had a chance to participate in it."
"Uh, yeah, but did you notice I deliberately wrote the message differently from the way the game coordinator always writes it?" Iris asked.
"We did." Though they hadn’t known who had actually written the message.
"The others weren't watching me, except to read it quickly to make sure I had done it.
I volunteered. I wanted to warn you something was off.
They didn't realize the description wasn’t half as detailed, and my handwriting was remarkably different from the game coordinators'.
I said I had to go to the bathroom before I left with the others, and they would meet me at the lake. "
"I'm surprised they would allow you time to join them and participate."
"I did think that too. But I didn’t go to the bathroom.
The Game Master was still in her office.
I went in to see her and tell her what was going on.
She smiled and thanked me. I was afraid we would get in trouble, me especially, since I wrote on the board.
But I had to warn her, and I guess she provided the jet skis for you to be able to join us and participate. "
"Yeah. She did. Thanks for helping us out. Did anyone figure out that you had told on them?" Stone asked.
"No. Thankfully. I was afraid that they would have it in for me. But I think the Game Master knew we were trying to help you in the challenges, and she had the room coordinator put me in Rune’s room,” Iris said.
“I’m glad for that,” Rune said, smiling. “I still can’t believe you’re my sister. And Lolita too. You and Lolita didn’t seem to be all that close when we were at the games. But here, it’s obvious how close you are.”
Stone had wondered about that too.
“Oh, that was our ploy,” Lolita said. “Then no one would believe I had what it took to win any challenges because I didn’t even have my sister’s backing.
But you and Stone were playing the same game, lone wolves for the most part, until you started to show your true selves and how much you cared for each other. ”
“Like you being so concerned over Lolita falling in the hole in the cave,” Rune said.
“Yeah, I was glad that we were together on the last challenge, but was terrified that she might have been hurt,” Iris said.
“Falling into the hole terrified me!” Lolita said. “I was so glad Iris and Caspian were competing with me in that challenge and stayed to help me.”
Hearing his name mentioned, Caspian came over and said, “Since I’m in the same pack as the sisters, I knew that they were, and being a pack member, I would have stayed to help Lolita no matter what.”
“Because that’s what pack members do for each other,” Stone said.
“Except for some,” Rune said.
“Xena and Vesper,” Lolita, Iris, and Caspian said at the same time.
“We’re glad they’re both gone,” Caspian said.
“I wondered how Vesper got the flame sword,” Stone said. “He never had a sponsor, and when I broke his sword, he had a replacement in record time.”
“A dark wizard provided Vesper with both swords. Zarak was a wizard I had fought in the past. When the rest of us provided you with sponsored gifts and weapons, we had no wish to get anything in return. Not so with Zarak. If Vesper had won, Zarak would have ensured he would have control over the packs,” Brett said.
“One of our dragons had a premonition that Vesper would do anything to win. He knew you and Rune were on top, and he had every plan to destroy you.”
“The golden rope saved me,” Stone said.
“Yeah. I had to get it to Rune to help Lolita, but then she was meant to come to your aid.” Brett smiled. “It’s what prospective mates do for each other.” He kissed Ena.
“Thanks, Brett,” Rune said.
“You are most welcome.”
Then Rune’s brothers, Sam and Rocky, came over and smiled at Rune and Stone. “We’ve been talking to everyone who participated in the games, and we want to do them too—for fun,” Rocky said.
“Yeah, we’re all ready to set them up. We just need your permission and to lead us,” Sam said.
Silas and Elon soon joined them. Elon said, “Have you heard that several of the wolves that are our age want to play in the games like the ones we did?”
“Yes, Rune’s brothers were just telling us about it,” Stone said.
Stone’s other sisters and brother, Sally, Helen, and Rusty, joined them. “Can we do it?” Sally asked.
Stone smiled. He was so glad the games were over. The idea of having to go through that again wasn’t something that interested him.
“Sure,” Rune said.
Stone glanced at her, and she gave him a sweet smile, though he knew she had something in mind—as usual, and he loved her for it.
“Stone and I will be the Game Masters, and we’ll decide who all wants to compete and make sure the groups are the same approximate ages, so that more than just our age group can participate.”
And that was the beginning of the packs truly becoming one, with everyone getting involved in the games for fun, no murderous attempts on anyone’s life, but just camaraderie. They’d also renamed the packs as one: Moonrise-Starlight Glade.
“You know, you are something else,” Stone said, watching a mix of the united pack members playing tug-of-war as wolves a week later.
“Something good, right?” Rune said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
“Something brilliant.”
“I love you too.”