USELESS?

35

"About Dad?" Tonia stutters, "w-What is it?"

"I'll try to keep this brief for everyone's sake." Anthony says.

"As some of you know, when my father found out I had a male mate, he was irate." Anthony begins. "He left the house, intent on doing something about it. A short time later, he was killed. When my mother removed her rings, we realized they'd been enchanted by a warlock. By sheer accident, we learned that that enchantment blocks the mating pull from unbonded mates.

"When my father's body was found, he had with him an envelope full of photos of a young man." He continues "A note included with those pictures alluded to the fact that the boy in the photos was my father's mate. We requested special investigators to help us find the identity of the boy. They learned he wasn't a pack member, but couldn't find much else."

"A couple of weeks after Talia arrived, she mentioned to me that her younger brother, Justice Helm, had disappeared at 18." I pick up the story, "Upon seeing a picture of Justice, I immediately recognized him as the boy from the photographs, and we had a new lead.

"Following that lead, the investigators questioned the Warlock who sold Ty James the enchanted rings when he was 18, and discovered that he lived a couple of doors down from Justice at the time of his disappearance," I explain. "Justice disappeared a week after Ty picked up the rings he'd purchased."

"So," says Kassie, "what happened to my son?"

"I'm sorry," my father tells her, "Your son was killed. Please don't ask for the details, because no parent should ever have to imagine what was done to your child. Suffice it to say, when I return home, a proclamation is being issued posthumously stripping Ty James of his Alpha title, and striking his name from Golden Moon's Pack history.

"Angela," he continues, "Once that is complete, your pack records will show you as Luna Regent for the length of your time as his spouse and this pack's Luna."

Angela nods, too stunned to speak. The room is silent except for the sounds of Kassie and Talia sobbing into Timothy's shoulders. We give them a few minutes to compose themselves, then finish.

"The only thing we haven't been able to verify," I tell them, "is whether Justice was truly Ty's mate. From what we understand, sorcerers don't find their mates until 21, but wolves find theirs at 18. It makes no difference in the outcome, obviously. Nor does it excuse what was done to him. I know Sorcerers have spells to scry such information, but we are not going to ask that of you. If you choose to, however, please inform my father so it can be added to the investigative file.

"We will," says Timothy. "As sad as we are to know he's gone, we are relieved to have closure. So, thank you."

"We won't say 'our pleasure,'" my mother joins in, "because nothing about this is pleasant. But you are more than welcome."

The meeting concludes, and Anthony hangs up the phone. Everyone leaves our sitting room, until it's just me and Anthony. He takes my hand, and leads me through our room and into the bathroom.

Gently removing my clothes and then his own, he leads me into the shower. He washes my body, paying special attention to the bump that has begun showing on my lower abdomen. Once I'm clean, he kneels and kisses the bump before leading me to bed for a short nap before dinner.

When we wake up, we get dressed and head downstairs, joining our family, friends, and pack for an evening of comfort and relaxation. Finally, all questions have been answered, all challenges faced. Time to build and strengthen our bonds, and wait impatiently for Archer's and my children to make their appearance into the world. Only four months to go.

The next day, we drive Joseph's family, the Helm family, and my parents back to the private airstrip. Two members of the former Red Claw pack go with them, Talia and Benjamin's second chance mates. We see everyone onto the plane, and watch as it takes off. When we can no longer see the plane in the sky, we return to one of the vehicles, and head back home.

Things slowly reach a new, peaceful normal. Joseph and Victor return from their week at the pack lodge happier than ever, and glowing. Two months later, Joseph announces that they're expecting. My father reaches out to let me know they've located a few more rogue 'packs' and are monitoring them in case I am needed to take care of them.

Angela and Xavier had a beautiful, private mating ceremony a month after Joseph's, then Xavier promptly retired as pack doctor, leaving Victor in charge, and went on a honeymoon, promising to be back before the pups were born.

As the fifth month of my pregnancy approaches, I feel like I'm as big as a house, and every time I go on a rant, Archer speaks up to remind me that he is bigger, since he's carrying one more than I am. Sleeping comfortably becomes nearly impossible, and I'm so ready for the pups to be born.

Anthony and I finish the nursery in yellows and greens, opting to leave the genders as the surprise the Goddess meant for them to be. We have two gender-neutral names chosen; Phoenix Emery and Dakota Hayden. We've also decided that we will let them decide which one of them will get the Alpha title.

The pack has begun betting on who will go into labor first, as well as on the genders and weights of the pups. Archer and I decide that we will come up with a reward for the pack member who gets the closest, other than those who have been known to receive visions from the Goddess. Although, if they know anything, we haven't been told.

I wake up early in the morning, about a week away from the end of my sixth month of pregnancy, with intense, cramping pains in my back. I shake Anthony awake and tell him, "it's time." He jolts up out of bed, and rushes to get dressed, mind linking someone, probably Jeremiah, as he does so. He turns to me with a smirk.

"Archer's in labor, too," he tells me.