No Escape

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Two Years Later

Lily stood, trembling as she stared down at the counter. Hope blossomed within her, maybe  things would go right this time. She fought the tears as she thought back on the last few years with her pack, her friends, and her mate and Charlie.

It took a whole year to correct all the wrongs that had been hidden in the packs social stratification. Since then they'd been focusing on training the pack better in all areas, not just fighting. Processes and sensitivity trainings were created and put in place for nearly every field; emergency response, education, border patrol, medicine and mental health, trade, even retail and food and beverage. Treaties were created with new packs and amended or amicably broken where necessary with others. They'd done everything they could to strengthen the pack and make life in the Silvercrest Pack the best experience possible. Over the past three years they managed to rise in the ranks as one of the strongest packs on the continent.

Lily's circle of friends was as close as ever. At first, Adrienne and David traveled a lot. They went around to other packs to see their way of life and when they returned they often shared what they learned. They also visited popular human tourist spots, spending time just the two of them. They took pictures of their adventure and were more than happy to show everyone when they returned. Lily knew that all the time away helped Adrienne to process and heal from everything that had happened. The two of them finally settled down in a home of their own near the pack house last year when they surprised everyone with their son that was born while they had been in Alaska to see Northern Lights. After a rough first year or so after finding out they were mates, Dylan and Harper were doing incredible with two kids of their own living in Harper's house Lily had spent so much time renovating. The family spent most of their time at the pack house though, working and hanging out with Jackson, Lily, Charlie, and Ty and his mate. Ty had met his mate two years prior while visiting another pack to amend a treaty. Jake was a highly ranked warrior there who was more than willing to drop everything and move in with Ty at the pack house. It was so heartwarming to see their relationship grow from the beginning to the love they shared for each other now.

Charlie was a smart and perceptive five year old who loved playing with Dylan and Harper's kids and was so gentle with Adrienne's son. She often got into trouble at school since she got bored in class quickly; she was able to make connections in topics that were being taught within a few minutes and spent the rest of that time goofing off. It often landed her in the office or missing out on fun activities her class did. Lily didn't think it was entirely fair, but her and Jackson were working with her and the school on bettering her behavior and how the situation was being handled.

Since things had slowed down, Lily and Jackson had more time they were able to spend with each other. To go out on dates and take Charlie to new places for her to explore and learn about new things. Even though things were going great, there were still difficult times that she and Jackson went through. They shared everything with each other, no longer keeping any walls up between them. It was both a blessing and a curse when things were tough.

Jacks, where are you? Lily asked him through mindlink.

Office in the pack house. I can come home... He offered. Jackson had built a home for them and Charlie on the land with the treehouse in the backyard.

Lily sighed, gathered some things and started making her way to him, no, that's okay. I'm already on my way there.

See you soon, Lil.

It took minutes for Lily to arrive at the office door, she took a deep breath before reaching for the handle. However, Jackson was quicker and opened it with a smile on his face. He immediately wrapped his arms around Lily and nuzzled his face in her neck, taking in her scent. Lily's body relaxed as she returned his embrace. "Everything okay?" Jackson asked.