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Land of Wolves: Chapter 94
🕑 Added 2023-07-08 14:00:04 +0000 UTCI wake up to Caleb gently brushing my hair out of my face. My skin tingles where his fingers make contact, and I instinctively turn in his direction looking for more. Heās usually already awake and out of bed by the time I get up in the mornings, and I love the occasions when heās still here.
āEv?ā Caleb whispers.
I groan, fighting sleep, before prying open my eyes. Caleb usually goes out of his way not to wake me up when he gets out of bed in the morning, and he tiptoes around the bedroom collecting his clothes before disappearing into the hallway bathroom to get dressed.
That means heās waking me for a reason.
āBabyā¦ā Caleb continues.
I lick my lips and mindlessly pick off the crusty bits that have accumulated in the corners of my eyes while sleeping. Caleb always wakes up looking like a model, and I hate when he sees me in grumpy morning gremlin mode.
āYes?ā I ask.
Caleb hovers over me, already dressed. What time is it?
I set my alarm for 8:30 AM, so itās got to be sometime before then.
āThe human government has requested an urgent phone call with me,ā he says. I sit up, already intrigued. āI think theyāre going to provide an update on HPAW, and I was wondering if youād like to listen in.ā
Iām shoving Caleb to the side and climbing out of bed before heās even finished his sentence. Of course I want to listen in.
My movements are less than graceful as I make my way to our closet and begin ripping off my pajamas.
Caleb sits on the edge of the bed and watches me dress, his gaze borderline predatory. He knows Greg gave me a pack of birth control pills after our house tours the other day, and I have a feeling heās counting down the days until we can have sex.
Greg said to wait a week, and Iām taking that to heart.
The thought of getting pregnant is horrifying, especially when weāve decided to take in Chunks. One baby is exciting, but two is more than Iām willing to sign up for.
āWhat time is the meeting?ā I ask, peering at Caleb as I slide a pair of pants up my legs.
He glances at his watch before answering. āIn about forty-five minutes.ā
I hurry to finish dressing before stepping out of the closet, and Caleb hurries to open the bedroom door for me. Thereās faint chatter from the main room, but thatās nothing new. Caleb likes to start work early, and the wolves he regularly meets with do the same.
Theyāre always here by the time I wake up.
āMorning,ā I say, stepping into the main room.
Itās already full of wolves, and King and Maverick enter as I look around. Everettās made himself scarce since returning from the HPAW facility, not that Iām complaining. He was never particularly friendly, and I donāt like how he spoke to Caleb.
Sash and Cole stand against the far wall near the TV, and Adam sits at the center table rifling through a bag of chips.
Adam looks up, probably sensing my gaze.
āHey,ā I greet him.
He grunts, a typical moody response for him nowadays, and Sash turns to shoot me a wide smile. Coleās too busy messing with the TV settings to greet me, and I watch him fiddle with the display for a few moments before searching for Chunks.
If both Sash and Cole are here, he must be, too.
Theyāve agreed to continue watching him until Caleb and I have found a house and Iāve gotten a better handle on my role as the female Alpha. Thankfully Sash is eager to keep a lot of the work sheās been doing these past few years, so my job isnāt nearly as daunting as I initially anticipated.
Caleb claims itās untraditional for the role to be split between two, but heās not trying to stop it. I think heās scared Iād be too busy for him if I took on all the work typically expected of the female Alpha.
I probably would be, and Iām beyond relieved that wonāt be the case. Before I tried killing Caleb and threw everything into a mess, I loved keeping up the home. I found a lot of satisfaction in cooking for us and running errands, and Iād be sad to lose that.
Besides, now I get to be one of those fun PTA moms Iāve seen in all the cheesy movies Caleb and I used to watch together.
Iām going to be at every school function, and Iām going to make sure Adam hates every second of itāassuming he eventually returns to teaching.
āWhereās Chunks?ā I ask, slightly frustrated when I donāt spot him.
Sashās lips twitch as she points toward Adam. I turn back to him, and a snort Iām unable to hold back bursts from my throat when I spot the little man behind the bag of chips Adamās loudly munching on.
āWeāre hanging out,ā Adam says.
Chunks smacks his lips and looks around the room, his eyes darting to whoever is speaking the loudest. It happens to be Caleb right now, but it quickly shifts to Maverick a second later.
āIām stealing him from you,ā I say, lifting Chunks out of Adamās lap.
Adam shrugs and shoves another chip into his mouth, and I situate Chunks on my hip before taking a seat at one of the chairs against the far wall.
āYouāll be at the wall, too,ā Caleb tells Adam, turning away from Maverick.
Calebās gaze flickers toward Chunks and me before returning to Adam.
āThe humans still donāt know who you are to us. Iād like to keep it that way,ā he continues. He then turns toward Sash and Cole. āSash, youāll be along the wall too. Cole will join me and the other Alphas on the call.ā
I bounce my leg, my nerves at an all-time high as Cole nods and hooks a camera up to the TV.
āIs this a video call?ā I ask.
Itās King who answers. āUnfortunately,ā he grumbles before disappearing into our kitchen.
Whatās with everybody stealing our food?
I lean back and rest my head against the wall behind me. This is far from what I expected today, and Iām still not fully awake.
Sash and Cole quietly bicker as they set up the TV camera. The quality is better, and it probably looks more professional than them crowding around Calebās laptopānot that Iām an expert on what makes a professional meeting.
Iāve never exactly been to one.
āYouāre plugging in the wrong cord,ā Sash says.
Cole looks like heās about to burst a blood vessel, and he angrily steps back while Sash smoothly gets the video up and running. Itās aimed toward the head of the table, and they adjust it until the chairs lining the walls on either side of the room are out of view.
Only Caleb and the few wolves sitting around him will be visible.
I shut my eyes and urge myself to remain calm. We have no idea what the humans want from this call, and thereās no use getting all worked up over it. Caleb told me the last call they had was quick and unproductive, and this very well just might be another of the same.
āAre you hungry, baby?ā Calebās quiet voice reaches me.
I open my eyes. Calebās crouching in front of me, and he places a warm hand on my knee as I straighten my back.
āIām okay,ā I say. Iām too anxious to think about eating right now.
Caleb slides his fingers up my thigh before squeezing Chunksā foot. Chunksā doesnāt seem to appreciate it as he kicks Calebās hand away, and I give a slight chuckle as Caleb frowns and stands back up.
āLet me get you something to snack on, just in case,ā he says.
Heās disappearing into the kitchen before I can argue, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes when he emerges a few minutes later with a plate of scrambled eggs. Caleb should be preparing for the call, not making me food.
Still, I accept the plate with a quiet, āThank you.ā
Caleb seems beyond pleased with himself as he smiles down at me, and he seems even more pleased when I take a bite and give a playful moan of approval.
āItās delicious,ā I say.
Cole and Sash finally step away from the TV, and Caleb hurries to kiss me before returning to Maverick and King. Iām sure theyāve got a lot to discuss before this call.
āFive more minutes,ā Cole warns the room.
Adam finally gets up from the table, and he tosses his now empty bag of chips into the trash before taking the seat on my right. Sash quickly follows and takes the seat on the other side of me. I think itās because theyāre eager to be close to me, but the baby in my lap is probably the cause.
Everybody is obsessed with Chunks.
The remainder of the wolves in the room gradually begin to take their seats. Caleb is at the head of the table, and to his left is Cole. To his right are Maverick and King.
Theyāre the only four appearing on the call, and everybody else sits out of view of the camera.
I think the anticipation is going to kill me, and I mindlessly play with Chunksā fingers while I wait. He doesnāt seem to mind, and after a few seconds, he curls his fist around my pointer and middle finger. Heās got a surprisingly hard grip for such a tiny man, and he uses his baby strength to lift my hand to his mouth and try chewing on my thumb.
He grunts as he does so, as if the work has absolutely exhausted him, and I smoothly stand and carry him into the kitchen. Weāve got a few of his teething toys in the freezer, and his favorite is a mesh bag filled with cooked mashed carrots.
Itās even got a small handle for him to use, and he excitedly releases my fingers the moment he sees the treat.
āYou eat enough of these, and youāre going to turn orange,ā I tease, kissing the side of his head.
Chunks grunts and shoves the frozen vegetable into his mouth. I hope itās enough to keep him occupied through the call. HPAW, and the human government, know we have the infants, but I donāt want them to hear him.
A small part of me is terrified theyāll recognize the cry as Chunks and try to come after him.
I return to the main room and take my seat. Calebās got four wolves talking to him at once, but he hardly looks like heās paying attention as he glances in my direction and watches me settle. His eyes then flicker to the treat Chunks is currently gnawing on like his life depends on it.
āWhat do you think of Jackson?ā he asks.
I furrow my brow. āJackson?ā
Caleb gestures toward Chunks. āHis name. What do you think of Jackson?ā
I crane my neck and peer down at Chunks. Heās got a thick stream of orange drool pouring down his chin, and he silently makes eye contact with me as he chews his carrot. A moment later he pauses, sucks in four giant breaths, and continues.
I canāt wait until he learns how to chew and breathe at the same time.
āIt freaks me out every time he does that,ā Sash admits.
I snort. āIt freaks me out, too,ā I say before turning toward Caleb. āI like Jackson, but I was kind of thinking about Theo.ā
Caleb cocks his head to the side, his lips forming around the name, before smiling and nodding gently to himself.
āI like Theo,ā he decides. āLetās talk about it later.ā
Cole silently shakes his head, and I can tell heās judging us. I suppose this isnāt the conversation he expected to have only minutes before Calebās meeting with the human government, but itās better than sitting in tense silence.
Chunks gives Adam a dirty stink eye when Adam shifts in his chair and his hand gets dangerously close to the carrot treat. Heās possessive of them, and Iāve learned the hard way that once heās got a taste of it, itās better to let him finish it off before taking it away.
Heāll scream bloody murder otherwise.
After the dreaded five minutes are up, Cole fiddles with the computer connected to the TV and navigates his way to the secure line on which the call is being held. I hold my breath.
We have no idea what the humans intend to say, but Iām hoping they agree to dismantle HPAW. Calebās already told them that will be a non-starter for the wolves, but the humans are known to push.
Theyāre never satisfied, and Iām worried they will try and milk the wolves for all they can.
The wolves have the upper hand right now, but I know Calebās not too eager to continue fighting. Just because he can, doesnāt mean he wants to. The wolves want to do their own thing, and for every warrior thatās killed, two wolves pay the price.
The mate bond renders the warriorās other half useless, and itās a devastating loss for both the couple and the pack theyāre a part of.
I wonder if HPAW knows that.
āIām joining now,ā Cole warns.
The quiet chatter in the room dies, leaving us in tense silence as Cole officially enters the call.
____
how do you think the call's going to go?
Comments
I was thinking the same thing! Lol
Lillacy Ward
Grumpy morning gremlin modeš. Theo is perfectš©µš„¹!! Orr, Theo Jackson so his nickname is TJš„¹
Sharon
I hope the humans want to get rid of HPAW.
