Page 98 of Destined For The Wolf Daddy

“That sounds good,” I said weakly. “Maybe we can do that down in New Middle Bluff when we go get the office ready?”

“Sure.”

We were going down that day to get some of the preparations done for Lana’s fund-raising event. It was something I was looking forward to, if for no other reason than finally being free of Lana’s incessant demands. Then again, I guessed even those wouldn’t be over until the election season had passed.

I was really feeling like I wanted to finally have some simplicity in my life, but it seemed to only get more and more complicated.

Once we were out of the shower, I attempted to blow-dry my hair. It was too loud, though, making my headache worse.

“Why don’t you just do some braids today, sweetheart?” Cole suggested. “Give yourself some time off while you wait for your perception to normalize.”

I didn’t like the idea of that. I’d been pretty good about always looking put together while out and about with him. It felt wrong not to look my best, to make sure I reflected the pack well as the alpha’s mate and his wife.

But maybe it was okay to prioritize my comfort for just a few more days.

I braided my hair into two French braids while Cole trimmed his beard. He was finished before me and put out some comfortable clothes for me to wear. Some joggers and an oversized sweatshirt I loved.

I sighed as I slipped into them, pleased to finally have some much-needed comfort after such a rude awakening to my own stench. Now fully dressed, Cole came out of the closet, kissing my temple.

“You look adorably comfy,” he said.

“I feel adorably comfy,” I said.

“You ready to head out?”

“Yeah, I think so. We just have to get Noah ready, right?”

“Right. It will be a nice family day. We haven’t had one in a while, have we?”

“We really haven’t,” I sighed. “I hope this means we can start doing this stuff more often, now that things are getting a little more stable.”

“You and me both,” he said, kissing my temple.

After getting Noah ready, we had a lovely little day running around town and being sure to air out the office building for the fundraiser. We got rental seating and tables set out, partially in the show room, with most of the seating spilling out to a back patio area.

I worked with Cole and, once she arrived, Lana to set up plenty of nice décor: pretty floral arrangements, campaign posters, little bits of merchandise and information. I could tell Lana was exhausted and stressed. I wondered how she was holding up with all of the responsibilities she had. Wondered if the superintendent was giving her hell for running against her. I started to ask her, but she quickly swatted my questions away.

“Honestly, Marley,” she said. “You have enough on your plate. I know I look haggard, but I’m doing okay.”

“Even if I have a lot on my plate, that doesn’t mean I don’t have room to be a good friend to you,” I said. “I want to be here for you.”

She gently placed her hands on my shoulders and gave me a tender smile. “You have been,” she said. “You’re here, and you’re getting me through this by putting in work and effort. Talking about feelings isn’t really my jam, at least when it comes to my own. It’s people showing up for me that really makes the difference, so just take a breath and trust that I feel supported, alright?”

I frowned and heaved a sigh. “Yeah,” I conceded. “Alright. You’re right. I’m being a busybody.”

“You’re not being a busybody,” she assured me. “But you are trying to take on too much. So, let me assert this boundary on your behalf.”

She patted my shoulder once more, and just like that, we got back to work.

We had plans to have on-site babysitting for everyone, so Noah helped me get the kids room set up deeper in the building. We put out more little tables and chairs and set up some stations for coloring, reading, and playing games. We set out some toys as well. It felt good to be doing something that was optimistic and forward-thinking instead of just constantly working to undo things that had gone wrong.

We worked until the later hours of the day, with Travis, Paulette and Ginger eventually coming to join us when we realized we’d bitten off way more than we could chew. The day wound up being a much-needed bit of connection between all of us. Connection that wasn’t directly tied to our pack; just us being friends instead of leaders.

At the end of the night, we all gathered together at Lana’s place for pizza and drinks, forgetting for a few minutes about the looming election, the threat of war, the injections. We were just a bunch of buddies shooting the shit while Noah dozed off to a movie on a makeshift bed Lana had made for him on the floor.

“God, it’s been way too long since we’ve done something like this,” Paulette said. “I think the last time we hung out as a big group like this was at Night Shift.”

“Damn. There’s a memory for you,” Travis said as he snatched Lana’s phone out of her hand and chucked it across the room.

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