The Lupine Necklace

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Now that I was completely patched up, thanks the Xena and her craziness, it was time to get down to business and take care of this pack. With Derek gone, I had to make sure that they had a leader before I could leave. I wanted to go talk to my dad in person, but I couldn't leave the pack behind without a leader while I did so.

"Clarissa, can you take me to a phone?" I asked of the friendly woman who'd brought us to the medical supplies. "I'd really like to call my replacement and see if he's up for the job."

"Of course," she responded easily, leading us back downstairs to the kitchen where an older style, corded phone resided on the wall.

I pulled it off the hook and quickly dialed the number of the pack house. Jason picked up the phone with his customary greeting. "Jason here. What can I do for you?"

I smiled, glad to hear his voice again. I had made the choice to leave until I had everything cleared up with Derek and his pack, but that didn't mean I didn't miss them while I was gone. Ian smiled at me and took my hand as I said, "It's me."

"Layla! Oh thank god! Is everything okay? Please tell me you're okay. Jeremy! Alice! It's Layla!" he yelled. I heard a commotion in the background as Jeremy and Alice ran into his office, demanding to know if everything was alright.

I waited patiently, rolling my eyes in amusement, for them to remember that I'm on the phone. They argued about who was going to talk to me for a while before Jason said, "You're okay, right Layla?"

"I'm a little banged up, but Xena got me all taken care of," I assured him. "Derek's dead and his pack is under my control at the moment."

"You killed Derek?' Jason asked in surprise. "How?"

I sighed, not wanting to explain all the details right now. "We fought, he lost, end of story. But I do need to talk to Jeremy."

"Okay," Jason replied, accepting my answer. "I'm glad you're okay, when are you coming home?"

"As soon as I can," I replied easily. "I've gotta take care of some things here, but I'll be home as soon as I'm able to leave. Jeremy?"

"Right, well, I hope we'll see you in a couple days. Here's Jeremy."

There was silence as the phone was passed over and then Jeremy's voice came through the line. "Layla?"

"Hey, Jeremy," I replied easily. "I have a proposition for you."

"What is it?" he asked quickly.

"I'm meant to take over for Alice and Jason when they're ready. That's my pack. I don't want to rule Derek's pack at the same time. It's too far away to manage both and I'm not giving up my pack. I was wondering if you would be willing to take control of Derek's pack?"

He was silent for a while and I prayed that he'd say yes. I didn't want to have to find someone else to do this. I knew he had the ability to lead them and turn this pack around. I didn't have the time or means to do it myself and he needed a pack behind him to help protect the necklace.

"If you're sure that's what you want," he finally agreed. "I'll take over. I was hoping to stay and get to know you better though."

I smiled, sighing in relief that he'd agreed. "I'll come visit you often so that we can continue getting to know each other," I assured him. "Can you head over here? I want to make sure this pack is settled before I go home, and I really want to go home."

I heard him chuckle before saying, "Yeah, I'll pack up my things and head right over," he agreed. "Jason's going to give me a ride so that you can catch a ride back with him."

I closed my eyes, glad that this would all be over in a few hours and I could go back home and put all of this behind me. I wanted to go home and spend time with Ian, my friends and my pack. "Thank you, Jeremy," I told him quietly. "I'll see you guys in a couple hours, okay?"

"You got it, Layla. Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned into Ian's welcoming embrace. I hugged him tightly and smiled when I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head. I pulled back a little bit and planted a soft kiss on his chin and then his lips. "I love you, Ian," I told him softly.

He smiled back down at me. "I love you too, Layla. More than you could ever imagine."

We were smacked from three directions as Nate, Lee and Xena joined our hug. "We love you too!" they exclaimed happily and I couldn't help but laugh.

When our group hug finally broke apart I asked Ian if he could pass a message along to the alpha for me, since shifting right now wasn't a good idea for me. "Tell him that we really appreciate all his help and that he can head on home now. I'll come see him and the pack when I'm all healed up and home again."

Ian dropped another kiss on my forehead and headed off to do what I'd asked of him. I moved into the living room and sat of the couch, Nate, Lee and Xena following after me. I relaxed into the cushions, resting my head on the back of the couch and just taking a moment to breath.

"I'm glad this is all over," Nate said. "We can finally get back to our lives before all this happened."

I nodded in agreement without opening my eyes. Now that I was sitting down, I was really tired.

"I know that I didn't agree with this plan when you proposed it, Layla," Lee began, "but I'm glad that it worked. I didn't like the idea of killing Derek, but I'm beginning to think that it was the only way to get him to leave you alone."

I opened my eyes and gave him a small smile. "I know that you don't like it when death seems like the only option, Lee. Just think about everyone that will be safer and happier without Derek. This pack will be able to turn around and make an honest living with Jeremy running it. The wolf packs that Derek would've tried to control are now free to continue to distrust werewolves, and we don't havet to worry about him kidnapping or killing anyone anymore."

"Those are all very good points," Lee agreed.

I grinned. "And you got to spend an entire week with the wolf pack and learn the language!"

He grinned right back. "I sure as hell did, didn't I?" His eyes glinted happily and I knew he was thinking back on how long he'd waited for just that experience. I shook my head.

Ian walked back into the room and sat beside me. I cuddled up to his side and he threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me even closer. I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled happily. Everything I had said to Lee was the truth. Everything was working out like it was supposed to. Derek was gone, unable to terrorize anyone else for the necklace. Jeremy was going to have his own pack and the necklace would remain in safe hands. My friends were all safe and Ian and I were happy.

Into the silence rang Xena's voice. "I think I'm going to be a doctor," she decided with a devilish smile. We all laughed.

Everything was going to be okay.

~~~*~~~Author's Note~~~*~~~

Well, guys, that's the end of it. I wasn't planning for this to be the last chapter, I thought I still had at least two more to go, but this chapter practically wrote itself. It feels good to end it here.

I hope you all enjoyed Layla and Ian's story. I've enjoyed writing it for you guys. Let me know your thoughts :)

If anyone is interested, I'm thinking about starting a new book now that this one is completed. It's called Fae and I've already posted the blurb and everything for you guys. If you're interested, check it out and let me know what you all think. I don't want to write it if you guys don't think it's a good idea :)

~Haley~