The Story of the Exile (The Belesone Pack #2)

Chapter 13

Katarina found Milo in the kitchen, mixing up a batch of the strengthening shake. She gave the back of his neck a quick kiss and moved in to help.

"So, how did it go?" Milo asked, curious to find out how his father was dealing with the news.

"Fine. They seemed to take it well," Katarina replied, with a faint smile. "We're all agreed on the plan, so now we just have to see it through," she admitted, with a shrug.

Milo could see how worried she was, so he kissed her temple, already conjuring up ideas about how to take her mind off things later. "I spoke to Algar and Callum. They're going to remove the prisoners to a safer location, before we do the spell. It's safer for us," he explained, since they had completely slipped his mind until Algar brought it up.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," she agreed, with a much happier glint in her eye.

They stayed in that busy mode until twelve shakes were made and they had prepared the ingredients for the protection spell.

Milo had already made breakfast for everyone, in the form of a fruit and yoghurt mix that would keep them all happy for a while. He had prepared a cheese tray and popped some popcorn into the microwave. It was easy to multitask when there was a clear purpose and soon enough everything was taken care of and organized for the rest of the day.

Milo headed to the front door, opening it but remaining inside as he got a report from Algar.

"The prisoners have been moved, Alpha. Grene is on his way with a solution now. He wishes to speak to his daughter," Algar explained briefly, getting right to the point.

"Then he'll have to call her," he insisted, since he didn't want anyone to get hurt by being careless. "We're putting up a protection spell on the house, so from now on it's too dangerous to try to get inside. For everyone. The only way they can get in, is if I invite them," He wanted both brothers to know that they would only get hurt if they tried to get inside the house after he and Katarina performed the protection spell. They wanted to wait until the prisoners had been removed from the house, first.

"You may let me know when a guest arrives by ringing the bell. I will appear at the window and give you a nod to say I'll come to the door, or a wave of refusal." Milo gestured to the bell that usually announced to the Alpha that a member of the pack requested his guidance. It was the best way to let them know of any visitors and it kept Algar and Callum away from the actual doorbell on the door frame, which would be under the protection spell.

"Very well, Alpha," Algar agreed, nodding.

"Oh, and if the Elders get in your face or if there is pack business," he said, since that was a distinct possibility. They could be bossy buggers, when they wanted to be. "tell everyone I'm contagious or something. That it's too dangerous to get close to me. That should sort them out," Milo winked at Algar as he closed the door, leaving them with enough fire power to get rid of anyone who tried to make trouble. No one wanted a contagious wolf-shifter on their hands.

He turned to Katarina with a smile. "We're ready," he decided.

Leo and Oswine were upstairs getting showered and dressed. Once everything was sorted, they could get their own shower. He was looking forward to it.

Calm down, darling. You have to wait a little longer, she warned him with a warm smile.

Milo shrugged it off and put his raging hormones down to the fact that they were mated now, but not united. He always thought the union was just a formality before the mating, so that neither party could change their minds. But he was beginning to realize that maybe it was more of a binding force than he realised.

His instincts were telling him to keep Katarina happy and satisfied until she was his wife, both in the human and shifter sense. He guessed his wolf considered the mating binding, but the other sides of his personality needed something a little more formal.

Katarina sat in the middle of the floor, in the downstairs hallway, and folded her legs into the lotus position. She closed her eyes and Milo could feel her focusing all her energies on the house.

He crossed over, sat down to mirror her position and sense of calm. Once he had envisioned the house in his mind, Katarina spoke quietly.

"Imagine a force field around the house, protecting everything within it," she said, softly. Her voice was like a warm blanket, enveloping him inside his head and outside, in the real world. "Imagine a bubble of energy around everything above and below ground that constitutes this house," she began, reciting the words her father had shared with him. It was best that Katarina did the main part of the spell, since she was more focused and skilled than he was.

"I am clear," he promised, as Carlton had told him to.

Milo opened his eyes and watched Katarina mixing the herbs together in a bowl, with a paste she had prepared that morning. They didn't need to say anything more. The images in their heads, of the same protective force, were enough to bind the mixture together and do the work.

"It is done," Katarina smiled at him and he managed to smile back.

Now was time for their shower. His little wolf laughed as he helped her to her feet. They shared a brief kiss and she disappeared into the kitchen, to dispose of the mixture down the kitchen sink. It would travel through the drains and protect the insides of the house that way.

Milo was the first one up the stairs, only to find Leo leaving his suite with his father. He steadied his dad on one side, his arm around his shoulders, while Leo took the other side. They reached the bottom of the stairs at the exact time Katarina returned from cleaning up the mess they had made in the kitchen.

"Here; one each. Milo and I are going to grab a shower and get dressed, then we'll be back down. There's some breakfast in the fridge for you both," she explained politely, before heading for the stairs.

Milo smiled at how happy she looked. But he had to ignore that for a moment, as he helped his dad and Leo into the main living room and sat his dad on the sofa.

"We'll be down in a little while," he explained, before leaving them to it.