Page 198 of Game of Destiny
“No. I don’t trust them. I almost lost you both a couple of days ago and I’m not planning on going through that again,” he said.
“Do we know when they will be released?” I asked.
“Probably later today,” Matilda said.
“That doesn't give us much time to arrange for something else. Especially with the alphas still in the alpha meeting,” I said.
“Fine. They can stay but only for a week. It will take them a day to get here and then they can stay a week while we arrange for a permanent placement,” Finlay said.
“Are you sure? We can always book a hotel room in the closest city for them,” I suggested. He sighed, put his arms around me, and relaxed against me.
“I’m sure. I don’t trust them, but for a week I can deal with it.” I hoped the week would give him a chance to resolve some of the lingering issues with his mother. Maybe now that his brother was gone, they could create some bond or relationship. Or maybe just talk it through to give them both closure.
“Okay, let’s do that then,” I agreed and kissed the top of his head. It was a rare treat for me to be taller than him.
“I will arrange it,” Matilda told us and got up.
“Get Jake to help with booking the travel and arrange for someone to pick them up from the airport,” Finlay said. Matilda hummed, gave Finlay a kiss on his head and me an awkward hug as Finlay was already embracing me, and left. “What’s next?” Finlay asked. He was still leaning on me and I didn’t mind. I ran my fingers through his hair.
“We can take a break and do nothing,” I said. He chuckled.
“Your mom is a liar,” he told my belly. “She has never been able to do nothing.” I laughed. It was mostly true. The only time I was content with just doing nothing and enjoying the moment was when Finlay and I took time for ourselves.
“Well, if you insist we do something, it might be a good time to ask the ones we have taken in to have a talk. They have some decisions they need to make,” I told him. He kissed my bump and stood up.
“Good idea,” he said.
We met with the families in the pack house living room, everyone else had been asked to give us some privacy.
“You have heard what has happened. The Ocean Shore pack no longer exists and my brother is dead. You don’t have the option to go back. I’m sorry, I know this is hard, and the old pack land and how it used to be will always be a part of us,” Finlay told them. It was sober faces who nodded at his words.
“You need a new pack,” I said. “We would be more than happy to have you in our pack. Most of you have ties to us and we have enjoyed having you these months. If you feel like this isn’t the right pack for you, we will help you find another. All our allies are open to taking you into their packs,” I told them.
“We are not asking you to decide today. But it would be best for everyone if you did make a decision in the coming weeks. Mine and Amie’s door is always open if you have questions or need to talk to us,” Finlay said. We talked with them and answered questions they had. Then we let them go on their way to discuss what to do. Martin's family lingered and I smiled at Bridget.
“Alpha, Luna, we have been talking for weeks about this and we would like to become permanent members of this pack,” Kyle said.
“We have felt so welcome here and it reminds all of us how it used to be in the old pack. We feel safe here,” Bridget said.
“It’s almost as if Martin is watching over us here, it’s comforting,” Martin’s mother said and his sister nodded.
“We are happy to take the money we will get from the selling of the pack land and buy the house we live in,” Kyle told us.
“We would be happy to have you. You fit into our pack and we would love to make it permanent,” I said.
“And the house is yours. As Martin’s closest family it should fall to you. No money is needed to exchange hands. The money can be used for other things,” Finlay said.
“I have always wanted to open a flower shop,” Bridget told us.
“Oh, we don’t have one of those in the village!” I was excited about the idea, maybe I could talk to her and see if she was interested in expanding her idea into something like a garden centre. Then I didn’t need to go all the way into the closest human town to get things for my garden.
“I will become your first and most loyal customer. Amie has a thing for flowers,” Finlay told her. The family thanked us and we told them Medow would be in touch with them to plan the bloodening. We headed for the meeting room where the rest of the top tier waited for us. As we sat down, Finlay fished an energy bar out of his pocket and handed it to me. I smiled and accepted it. We talked with the group for a long while. It was a mix of sadness and relief in the air. Medow and I were the only two who had never been a part of the Ocean Shore pack. All the others had been born and raised in the pack and needed to grieve its destruction. At the same time, we were all happy not to have what had happened in the pack in the last year hanging over us. Grieving was the first step in moving on.
It was nice to get into our bed, in our house, at the end of the day. I let Finlay pull me into him.
“Do you feel better?” I asked. He chuckled and kissed me.
“I should be asking you, but yes. I feel a lot better. I’m starting to come to terms with killing him. I don’t feel any remorse about it and I’m getting to terms with my lack of guilt as well,” he told me. I let my fingers trace his face.
