Page 25 of Dreams of Magic

He gently tapped her nose, then took her hand and led her down the stairs and out the front door. “So, I figured I would show you around the grounds today, let you get a feel for the place and where everything is located. I see you brought your camera. There are a few places I’m going to show you that you might like to take pictures of.”

She got excited, “Like what?”

He smiled at her over his shoulder as he pulled her along, “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Aiden kept hold of her hand, but she didn’t mind. She was starting to realize werewolves were very touchy creatures. She’d only ever been that way with her mom and Jake, so it was mostly a new experience for her. It might be something she could get used to.

She also noticed he kept calling her names like “beautiful” and “sweetheart”, she was pretty sure she could get used to that too.

He led her through the house, taking her to what she assumed was the back of the house. Pushing through a swinging door, they came out into the largest kitchen she had ever seen. It could easily fit several dozen people. She figured people probably come and go through here all the time and that’s why it’s so large, or maybe for parties.

There were three refrigerators, two microwaves, four ovens, and a huge stovetop. Everything was industrial size, like you would see in a restaurant.

She noticed there was a couple over by the stove. Hearing them come in, the man and woman turned around.

She recognized them instantly and blurted out, “Hey, you were at the movie store the other day!”

The woman gave her a huge smile and walked over to them. Reaching out, the woman pulled her into a quick hug, letting her go almost as quickly. She seemed excited for some reason. As if hearing the unspoken question, she said, “My name is Marilyn, and this is my mate, Antonio.”

Antonio nodded politely. Marilyn kept talking, “I’m sorry if I surprised you, you just looked so much like Rhiannon it was almost like seeing a ghost. You see, Rhiannon was a very good friend of mine. I’m just so glad you are home finally. Honestly, most of us weren’t sure what happened to you, but-“

Antonio cut her off, “Sweetheart, I think we are holding them up. It looks as if they were heading somewhere. Let’s not keep them.”

Marilyn blushed, “I’m sorry, I tend to let my mouth run wild. You two kids go have some fun and we’ll see you later. Mackenzie, the kitchen is always stocked if you ever need anything, and if we aren’t in here just help yourself.”

Kenzie gave her a big smile, “Thank you so much. And please, call me Kenzie.”

Aiden winked at Marilyn, “Save me some of those tarts you made earlier.”

The older woman grinned, “You know I always do. Ya’ll go have fun now.” She shooed them away by flapping a dish towel at them, Antonio just looked amused by her antics.

Aiden pulled Kenzie along to the other end of the kitchen and another door and opened it to let her walk through first. She stepped out into the sunshine; it was so bright she had to shield her eyes for a moment until they adjusted.

Then Aiden was pulling her along a pathway. She thought it was kind of cute, but also considered herself a strong independent woman and couldn’t help saying something. “Aiden, you do realize I can follow you without you pulling me around everywhere, right?”

He paused to look at her, “Do you not want me to hold your hand? I didn’t really think about it when I first did it, but now I just like it. If it makes you uncomfortable though, I can stop.”

Well shoot. He had this almost uncertain look on his face. He always seemed so confident, but maybe she made him a little nervous. She liked that she could ruffle his feathers a bit and gave him a little smirk, “No I like it. Just wanted to point out that it wasn’t necessary, that’s all.”

He smirked right back, “I think it is very necessary.” Then he started walking again, keeping her hand firmly in his.

Still smiling, she walked beside him and enjoyed the sunshine. Looking around there wasn’t a whole lot to see so far. Right behind the house there was a porch and a picnic area lined with several grills and tables. In the distance she could see what looked like a barn or stable and a couple of fenced in areas that she was curious about.

Ahead of them, a few houses had started coming into view. Just as she noticed them, Aiden said, “This is the way to the pack members houses. It’s basically a large neighborhood.”

“That sounds cool. How many pack members are there?” She was actually very curious about pack life since she didn’t really know anything about it. What her mom had told her growing up was limited since she was not a pack member or a wolf. Even with Rhiannon as her best friend, she always said pack secrets stayed with the pack.

Aiden had a thoughtful look on his face, “I think at last count it was about 130, give or take a few. There are a total of 150 houses though so there are a few unoccupied. The closer houses are reserved for guards. The pack house and the guards are meant to serve as a first line of defense.”

That sounded smart and she told him so.

“Yea, well unfortunately it is not always a hundred percent. Like the night Andre attacked. Because of that, we have a full-time patrol that monitors all sides of the boundaries. We’ve also installed cameras and motion sensors along the boundary lines. There are also a few hidden safeguards.” Given the number of families she figured lived here, it made perfect sense to have all of that security.

When they stopped at the top of the hill, she could see several houses. She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason she was expecting cabins or something rustic, but these were regular suburban homes you would see in any modern neighborhood.

Thinking about it, Kenzie realized that maybe she read too many books. It was giving her very wrong expectations of what a werewolf pack was like. This looked like a normal community.

“I’m not going to take you through all the houses, I just wanted to show you where they were. Also, that second house right there,” Aiden pointed out a forest green house with white shudders and the prettiest array of wildflowers, “that is the doctor’s place. It’s basically a small clinic, but there is a sterile room as well, for rare occasions surgery must be performed. We also have two nurses; one is an ob-gyn and midwife.”

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