Almost a full week passed by in a blur. So many things happened within the week. Olivia was getting regular check-ups from the doctor. She was healing great, with most of her bruises finally fading in the first three days of the new week.
Her and Raiden continued their awkward dance around each other, but within that time he had shown her around the public and private parts of the pack house-no, mansion.
It was a fucking mansion.
The layout was incredibly confusing to her, with people running in and out, all-around the public sectors of the mansion. When her and Raiden walked past them, no one stared directly at her. They all kept their gazes towards the floor, not feeling any gazes until her back was to them. Then it felt like a million tiny lasers were staring into the back of her head.
She guessed it had something to do with the fact that she was going to be their new Luna. And somehow, they knew it all, too.
Within that time of him showing her around the different sections of the pack mansions, Raiden was able to introduce Olivia to his sisters and cousins.
It was a very intimidating thing for her. There were five girls all seated at a large table, all of their ages ranging from five to nearly mid-twenties.
And they all looked at her at once, all of them in silence.
Until she spoke a single word.
Then all hell broke loose.
Some of the younger ones squealed, getting up from the table, running toward her at full speed. Immediately Olivia's body locked up, her eyes wide, a fear shooting through her chest.
But it didn't last long.
"You're so pretty!"
"I heard you're his mate!"
"Can you be my new mommy?"
A myraid of questions all burst out from three of the girls, all of them hanging onto her limbs, petting her, tugging on her arms... she didn't know how to feel about the sudden onslaught of it all.
Thankfully Raiden and the two older girls intervened, dragging them back from Olivia.
She could hear Raiden scolding them a little, but she was still mostly dazed from the interaction.
Then she smiled.
They were all given a chance to talk and get to know one another. The two older girls were just as friendly as their younger siblings, greeting Olivia with respectful smiles and talking about different areas of the pack, the different roles, the new Taco-John's down the street-a myriad of topics, really.
With Raiden's permission they were able to take her out to the town, showing her different parts of it, explaining who hated whom, gossiping about the lives of the people who lived there.
One of the things that caught Olivia's attention the most was the daycare. She saved the information for later, wanting to bring up the possibility of her working there to Raiden.
Time had quickly passed that day with the girls. Olivia started to become friends with all of them, and most especially the girl closest to her age: Jasmine.
Jasmine shared the same brown hair and brown eyed features that Raiden had, but she was closest in height to Olivia. She was a fairly talktative girl, but was quieter in comparison to her sisters and cousins.
What peaked Olivia's interest the most about Jasmine was the fact that she worked at the daycare. It gave them a topic to connect on. They talked about babies, about the progression of infants to toddlers, about which mothers were expecting in the upcoming season-all while shopping for the proper female items Olivia needed.
It was comfortable to Olivia. She was able to relax in the attention and care of the girls.
They were so rambunctious that nobody pressed her about her old life. They all kept the conversation to their current pack, to the future. A lot of their attentions were diverted to each other, but it didn't make her feel left out in anyway.
It gave her a good cover to skirt under. She was able to help Jasmine and Alexis with the younger three, helping hold hands throughout the store so they wouldn't run off.
They were so busy that Olivia wasn't even given time to mourn her own childhood. She wasn't given any moment's rest, not allowing her mind to be jealous at how happy and carefree the girls looked.
She was too busy being happy with them.
The entire day was amazing. By the time the sun was setting, and the sky was a mixture of oranges and purples and reds, the girls were finally leaving the Target. Shopping bags were hanging from all of their wrists, swinging in rhythym with their walking.
"I hope we got enough bras for you." Alexis said, looking down at one of the bags. "We only grabbed like-what? Five?" Her lips were pressed together in concern.
Olivia waved it off. "It's still more than I've ever owned. Thank you for helping me pick them all out."
"Of course! What are friends for?" Alexis beamed at her. Olivia couldn't help but feel a giddiness within her chest at the fact that she said they were friends.
Friends. She had friends again.
Life really did move quickly.
"Oh-there's the car!" Little Anna pointed at the Subaru positioned awkwardly in the parking lot. Together, they all clamored towards the car, lugging the packages.
They rode home in a comfortable silence. Most of the girls sat in the back while Alexis and Olivia rode in the front. Alexis was behind the wheel wearing her sunglasses to block out the brightness of the sunset.
Olivia kept her hand shielded in front of her, squinting her eyes against the bright rays.
"When do you think the wedding will be?" Alexis quietly asked, trying her best not to wake up the girls.
It caught Olivia off-guard. She didn't know how to answer that question. It wasn't something her and Raiden had gotten around to talking about yet.
"I'm not really sure. We haven't really talked about it." Olivia said.
"Oh. That's weird. I thought you guys would be talking about it considering pack Pleasant's notice."
Olivia's stomach dropped. "What notice?"
That grabbed Alexis' attention, her gaze bouncing between Olivia and the road ahead of her. Her expression was akin to something of Oh-shit-I-don't-think-I-was-supposed-to-say-that.
"Alexis, what notice?" Olivia pressed. She held firm eye contact with the twenty three old woman sitting next to her.
"Um...the one where alpha Bessell challenged Raiden to a fight...over you." She mumbled the last part.
Olivia's mouth dropped open in horror. "Nobody told me this!" She whisper-yelled. Alexis' shoulders went up, silently being like, I-don't-know-either.
"They didn't really tell me either. I just kinda...overheard it."
"When?"
"A week ago."
"A week ago?" Olivia reiterated, a mixture of horror and annoyance in her voice. Alexis was still glancing between her and the road all sheepishly.
The car turned off the highway ramp and onto the pack's street, the sky fully dark. Olivia clutched the fabric of her seat, staring rigidly at the road that passed by.
Her and Raiden were going to have words.
What else was he hiding from her?
YOU ARE READING
Lightning & Thunder
WerewolfLife had not been kind to Olivia. Between her messed up family and her abusive marriage, she had been through it all. Throughout most of her life she had been quiet, silently resiliant. But underneath the surface she was cracking and she knew she n...
