Page 7 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

Cory talked to me until I calmed down, telling me how brave I’d been that night, how proud he was of everything I was doing for the pack, and how much he loved me. It wasn’t until after I stopped crying that I managed to take a look at my phone and caught the time.

‘I’m sorry to wake you up so late.’

‘I was up,’he answered, rapidly quelling my apologies.

‘It’s five am. You shouldn’t be up. Is everything okay? Did anyone get attacked?’I noticed the hesitation in his voice for a moment, but when he finally spoke, I understood why.

‘No. Lucas and Leo have colic. We’ve been up most of the night.’

‘Poor pups. Give them lots of kisses for me,’I told him.

Cory still worried his happiness and his pups were a sour reminder of everything I’d lost. It wasn’t. My brother deservedthe world. I was happy for him and loved those two little guys so much.

‘Always,’he answered.

‘I’m going to shower and get started on some paperwork. Love you, Cory.’

‘Love you too, Bells.’

I got out of bed, but instead of showering, I went downstairs and worked until it was time to head to the fields.

I woke up little Adam, and we walked with a breakfast wrap toward daycare.

“Luna, can I come with you today?” he asked, looking up at me with his big brown eyes, melting my heart, but I couldn’t cave so easily.

“No, sweetie. None of your friends will be there,” I answered.

“But you’ll be there.” His reasoning was sound, but wouldn’t work.

“But I won’t be able to play with you. I have to work while I’m there.”

“But you’re the Luna,” he said, his lip trembling.

“I know, Adam, but everyone has to work, or the grapes will go bad,” I explained.

“Because all the mommies and daddies died?” he asked, tearing at my heartstrings.

“Yeah, baby,” I answered, combing my fingers through his hair.

“Okay.” He finally conceded quietly, his shoulders slumping in defeat and breaking my heart.

“Hey, how about I come get you for lunch, and we walk to the park for a bit? Just you and me?” I suggested, making his little eyes light up and he gave a giant smile.

“Yeah!” he said, wrapping his little arms around my waist and giving me a fierce hug before he went to join his friends. I set analarm for eleven on my way to the fields and greeted Eric as I arrived.

“Good morning, Mrs. Salonen,” he greeted me back with a smile.

“What do I have to do to get you to call me Bells?” I asked him. This man was the closest thing I had to a friend here, and he still called me Luna or Mrs. Salonen whenever he saw me.

“When you go back in time and are reborn into someone who’s not a Luna or Alpha,” he chuckled. “There’s a new worker out today. Know anything about it?” He motioned over to where Hugh was being escorted by one of the supervisors.

“I guess he found his pack spirit. Where do you need me today?” I answered, inwardly relieved that I wouldn’t have yet another thing to add to my to-do list.

“There’s some crowding on the east quadrant. I marked them with a purple ribbon for ya.”

“I’ll get on it,” I assured him and then quickly shifted into my wolf. I picked up the tearaway clothes I wore anytime I worked in the fields and ran toward the place he directed me to. I shifted back once I saw the purple markers and grabbed one of the many hoses we kept around the area.

I sat on my ass before the plants. My gift wasn’t growing things, but manipulating the earth, and that helped transplant without hurting the roots. I examined the three plants. It was a little late in the season for them to be moving, but sometimes the rain made it happen and we didn’t catch in time to move them before the earth dried and the plants continued to grow that way. These were leaning together but not close enough to rip the roots.

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