Page 2 of Her Big Bad Wolf
When I drove through downtown there were already a few search groups gathered. People were walking around yelling out the boys’ names and searching all the most obvious places.
There was another group by the school. And yet another all the way out by the Lodge. When I drove down to the lake where most of Westin Force now lived, even they were out looking.
It did warm my soul a bit to know so many people seemed to be helping to find them. It gave me hope that just maybe they would be back in their beds before morning.
Leaving others to search in the more obvious places, I tried to think of where the boys may find interesting enough to run away to.
If it had been a person they were comfortable with, we would have heard something by now.
I knew they must have taken to the woods. But where?
First, I drove down to the old caves. That area was supposed to be shut off entirely. But Linc had also built a pretty cool obstacle course near there for his mate Christine who was a fanatic of the TV show Survivor. Lots of the Pack kids enjoyed hanging out there. It had become a local park of sorts, though I knew he planned to change it up once a year and reset things while hosting an annual big challenge amongst the Westin Force families just to make his mate happy. There was already a team searching there, though.
I drove some more, keeping a close eye around houses and along the tree lines for any sign the boys may have been there. But there was nothing. It was as if they had just disappeared.
Still, I didn’t give up.
Maybe the most obvious of places was exactly where they would go. They needed some sort of familiarity, didn’t they?
An idea sparked in my mind and excitement grew.
Had anyone thought to check my school? All the boys had seemed happy there at some point. They would know there were cots to sleep on, food in the kitchen, and a safe, warm place to hide.
Fueled by hope, I drove over to the school.
As I pulled up to my little home away from home that I was so proud of, I sat there checking for any signs that I could be right.
There were no lights on, no movement. It looked like another dead end.
I sighed, starting to feel defeated and nervous for the boys.
Once upon a time, I had genuinely thought I was going to be Pack Mother of Westin Pack. Kyle Westin was going to choose me as his mate. But that didn’t happen. I had no regrets. When push came to shove, I had learned the hard way just how strong his true mate, Kelsey, really was. I’d tried to graciously bow out and refused to challenge her for him. Though I had very much wanted to, I also did not want to die.
There was zero doubt in my mind that Kelsey would have killed me. Maybe I’d have gotten lucky and she would have let me off the hook easily the way she had Christine.
Despite our rather barbaric customs at the time, Kelsey hadn’t been able to kill Christine in the mating challenges. Once she knew there was no question of her victory, she’d shifted and demanded help, not for herself, but for Christine. Kelsey had saved her.
Of course, I liked to think she’d have done the same for me, but I also wasn’t going to test that theory. I liked my throat fully intact, right where it was. And in some weird change of circumstance, Kelsey and I had become friends.
With the realization that I would never be Pack Mother came the harsh reality of finding a path for myself. It took some time to decide what exactly I wanted to do with my life. I had been prepared to serve Westin Pack in the highest position any she-wolf could achieve. All I knew was that I wanted to do something impactful still.
I had always had a heart for children. One day I had been sitting at Pino’s eating a slice of pizza by myself when I overheard a few moms of young kids complaining. They wanted the opportunity to do more with their lives than raise their pups, not that it wasn’t a noble choice, just not the best choice for them.
Personally, I’d have done anything to be a stay-at-home mom with a supportive mate and a whole houseful of pups. That just didn’t seem to be in the cards for me.
Not everyone had the same goals as me.
One of the ladies had been a teacher and missed teaching at the high school.
Another had her own business, a little store in town, and was struggling with juggling the kids and mom duties with her growing business. She feared she was going to have to choose one over the other.
And the third lady with them had confessed in hushed whispers that her mate had squandered much of their money. Despite the generous stipend Kyle gave every Pack member, they were struggling to make ends meet. She feared she was going to have to get a job and wondered if one of the other ladies would be willing to help with her kids.
Sitting right there in the middle of Pino’s eavesdropping on other people’s lives, the idea struck me like a lightning bolt.
What our Pack needed more than anything was a daycare center and maybe a preschool for all the pups not ready for school yet.
I had heard the need and I was so excited to get started that I had left my pizza on the table and ran out to my car. I’d driven straight to Kyle and Kelsey’s cabin as the former Alpha and Pack Mother (Jason and Mary, Kyle’s parents) still lived at the Alpha House. Kyle only held office hours there.
