Shifted

13

OLIVIA POV

The voice was quiet but I stretched then sat up slightly while trying to figure out where I am.

"Daddy? Livvy?"

I smiled at Willow as she stood by Alex's side of our bed, lavender blanket still in hand while she rubbed her eyes. Her black hair was messy from sleep while she was wearing a pink nightgown. She reminds me of Boo from "Monsters Inc," except the lack of pigtails at the moment. This child has had my heart since I met her before dinner my first day here.

"Want to snuggle, Willow?" I asked.

She giggled and scurried around the bed, allowing me to pull her up so she could slide in between us.

Alex grunted when she leaned against him and released a soft chuckle. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"Snuggling. Come on, Livvy!" Willow coaxed.

I headed to the bathroom a second then joined them, curling up on the other side of the toddler as she yawned while Alex was already sleeping again.

Everything inside me was finally at peace. I am where I'm meant to be.

The fact that Alex built a house and kept it empty all this time hit me hard.  Seeing how much he has ready for our future is more than I had ever imagined.

Now we can shift into the new life we are building- together.

"Livvy! Picnic time!" Willow yelled at us from the porch in front of the pack house as we arrived back from training, her hair in pigtails while she held onto a purple water bottle.

Today was tough.

I chose to be more hands on with training and took a run with some of the younger guys as well as Alex. We pushed ourselves hard, racing through the forest then a mountain path up to one of the smaller peaks before heading back so we could get ready for lunch. It is important to train in human form as well as allowing our wolves the chance to run, especially with younger warriors who are still learning what they were doing.

Alex and John had a chat with the 3 guys that allowed Stephanie in our territory last night. They decided to only allow these warriors the chance to handle patrol if working with a more experienced pack member. It was a blow to their egos but necessary to keep control. One of them, a 20 year old named Drake, has a bad attitude so I made sure to run him harder during training. Hopefully something gets through his thick skull. Being in this pack is a blessing he should never take for granted.

I have always loved hiking and exploring the forest, but trying to keep a group of 20 young unmated males on track was easier said than done. Alex had to use his aura a couple times but they finally decided to cooperate after a bit. He was pushing himself more physically than he ever had to keep up.  A few of the guys were less than happy with being led by a woman but I didn't take it personally.

All that did was allow my mate to keep them in line. It was sexy to see him defend me, even in subtle ways. The intense workout made it tougher to chat but I appreciate seeing Alex try so hard to keep up.

"We need to get cleaned up first, Willow. Why don't we find an episode of Thomas so you can watch that while we get showers?" I suggested.

She cheered and I groaned while climbing the steps, my legs shaky as I held onto the railing. Alex laughed and shook his head. "You wore me out today, Liv. Good to see you did the same to yourself."

"I would love to sit in a tub for an hour and just... sit. Like, not move a muscle," I whined. "I really do love running but the hills here kicked my ass."