At 16 months, Christopher seemed to be everywhere all at once. Between working all week, baby Annabelle barely sleeping at night, and trying to keep their tiny house organized, Rain was losing it. It certainly didn't help that her mate was also stressed and continually having to play Alpha. Exhausted, she was massaging her temples frantically when Ryan walked in the door, glanced around at the disheveled state of their living room, and sighed. "Babe, it's okay!"
He wrapped her up into his strong arms and tried not to laugh at the look of utter frustration in her beautiful eyes as their toddler son danced across the carpet in only a diaper. Rubbing her back slowly, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It's alright, baby girl. Calm down. I love you and, though it's been a long ass day, I'm here now. What's wrong?"
"I want to move," Rain sniffled in defeat. "I want a bigger place. We're tripping over each other here with two pups and Anna isn't even crawling yet. I can't keep this space organized, there's nowhere to fold laundry, I have nowhere to set up Christopher's toys, and I keep tripping over everything. I just can't, Ry, I can't!"
Ryan shook his head before she was even done speaking. "We can't move, babe."
"Why not?" his mate demanded, voice harsh with her annoyance. "We can have a bigger house built or add onto this one. Rick and Layla are doing it, why can't we? You're the Beta of this pack, are you not? Can't your brother do something nice for you for once?"
Running a nervous hand up into his beard and glancing around their home, Ryan sighed. "Let me show you something." At this, he stood up, stretched, then offered her a hand. He was quick to scoop Christopher up into his strong arms, and then guided his mate into their bedroom.
"You want to show me our bedroom?" she frowned.
"No," he laughed as he handed their elder pup to her. "I want you to understand why we can't move right now." He paused before adding, "Where's my princess?"
"Taking a nap in her crib," his mate smiled nervously. "Why?"
Ryan shook this off and Rain watched curiously as he dragged their large bed away from the back wall, then stood with his hands resting atop the headboard. "There's something I probably should have shown you ages ago, but it entirely slipped my mind. I was just so content in being ecstatically happy with you, Rain. You were pregnant and we were still in that honeymoon phase, and then you got pregnant again." His voice trailed off and he sighed. "Anyhow, this is something you need to know."
He bent down and lifted up the massive area rug that covered the floor beneath their bed. As he tugged the furnishing aside, Rain suddenly realized that there was a small trapdoor in the laminate flooring. Shocked, she clutched her son tightly and watched as her mate opened the door with a practiced ease and revealed a small, poorly lit staircase.
"If anything ever goes wrong," Ryan explained as he placed his foot onto the top step, "if the shit ever hits the fan, promise me that you will take the pups and lock yourselves down here immediately. Do NOT," he emphasized this word, "open that door for anyone but me or Christopher. Do you understand? No one but me or Chris."
As if to prove the safety of the secret space, he helped Rain down a short staircase and into a large bunker. The walls were gray concrete and the furnishings were sparse, but there were several cots and an old sofa along the walls, and what appeared to be a sink and possibly a shower built-into the far back wall. She gasped, spinning in a circle to take it all in. "Why would we ever need this?"
"If anything ever happens to Chris," he explained, face stern as he sat beside her on the small cot, "I will become Alpha. And presumably, if something has happened to Chris that means that someone is gunning for our pack. As you know, we don't work like other packs; we inherit our positions rather than gaining them through force. So, once the Alpha is out of the way, they will come for the next wolf in line, the Beta." He bowed his head in solemnity. "My father built three of these shelters: two in the main compound, one in this bungalow. He taught Chris and I of their existence and urged us to use them if it ever became necessary. As far as I am aware, we are the only two wolves in this pack that know about these safe havens."
YOU ARE READING
White Lightning
Werewolf[Ongoing Serial Novel][Werewolf] [MIW] In our world, for every female pup born there were five very eager and wanton males waiting for her to turn of age. Some packs considered their females to be ripe at sixteen, but my great-grandfather had establ...
