Chapter 68 - The Alpha’s Goddess

~CALLIE'S P.O.V~

Renovations were coming along nicely, our entire pack worked a day in and out alongside the contractors we hired. It had only been a few weeks since we started, and so far, we had the hospital and the packhouse completed. The layout of the packhouse we came up with had more to offer than our packhouse back home. The first floor had a ballroom, an arcade, a movie theater, a humongous kitchen, and some other things such as a bowling alley, a basketball room, and a room for an indoor pool and hot tub. Everyone's dream has come to reality. The next two floors were created for pack members, each room the same. The rooms were furnished with a king-sized bed, a flat-screen TV, a lounge area with a sofa, and a desk for studies and each room contained an attached bathroom. The fourth floor was empty for guests that were visiting. These rooms had the same layout as the second and third floors. The fifth floor is where the layout changed. The fifth floor and up were built more like luxury apartment homes. They contain a kitchen that is fully stocked with appliances along with an island that has bar stools to sit on, and a dining room with a table that seats 10. Then there is the living room, which has an 80-inch TV and two couches with an area rug covering the floors. Each upper floor has six bedrooms, all stocked like the lower-level rooms, each having a bathroom attached. There is an extra bathroom for guests who may be visiting the floors as well, which is at the end of the hallway. Every room is fully loaded with necessities. We only supplied the basics. If the occupants wanted to decorate, I left that option open for them to do so.

The fifth floor will be the living space for the Gamma family, we haven't had the chance to nominate a Gamma as of yet, but that is on the list before we have the guests arrive for the ball and the meeting. The sixth floor was created for the Beta family, and then finally the seventh floor for the Alpha family.

We wanted enough space in the lower levels to welcome any unmated teens or young adults that chose to live in the packhouse. I wanted to accommodate any who may choose to live there.

For obvious reasons, we had an elevator put in, but stairs were also put in for safety purposes as well. However, the elevator will not allow anyone to go past floor four without a key card. The stairs door is also locked after the fourth floor as well. Nobody could go past the fourth floor without the keycard either way.

We had offices built into the first floor as well as our floor. We would mostly be working downstairs, so if we needed to be accessed quickly, we could be. The offices on our floor are mainly there for late-night work. Each room in the building is built with soundproof walls. The last thing we needed was for others to hear about private matters. That goes for conversations that only need to be spoken with one another, or even for other private things nobody else needs to hear.

The homes we counted off of the ballets were being worked on as well. Each home is similar but also different to accommodate the occupant. Some homes were built for the elderly, with everything being lower than normal. We were in the process of building 250 homes, along with our training center. The training center will have all the workout equipment needed for a full-body workout indoors. It will have a room specifically for a sauna and another for a tanning bed, for those who want to have a mini spa day. It will also have a few rooms for stuff like yoga, Zumba, or kickboxing classes. Then, outdoors, we have an area made for one-on-one combat. Then another area for specific training sessions. I will also have schools built for all ages and a daycare center.

To say we were working rigorously was an understatement. We hired hundreds of contractors to get the tasks done as soon as possible. It was coming along very nicely, especially with the help of many of our pack members on top of the multiple paid contractors.

As the day came to an end, we wrapped up what we were working on. We all waited for the human contractors to leave the property before I magically teleported everyone back to our land in Maine.

Once back home, I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. Working on the property has been so exhausting. We have all been drained from putting in manual labor every day. But it will very soon be worth all the hard work. I didn't use any magic because magic only holds as long as the source is alive. So, for my pack and family, this had to be done the correct way.

The next morning hit faster than a blink of an eye. Today was Saturday, so I decided to take the day for myself. Gunner and Leonidas both kissed me before they parted ways. They were all heading back to Kansas to put in more work. I told them they needed their time off to rest too, but they insisted that even if the contractors are off, it doesn't mean things cannot be done. Once I realized there was no changing their minds, I let it go.

After they left to head out to Kansas, I decided to do something big today too. Something that needed to be done, but I had been neglecting to do it. When I got into the elevator, I looked at the buttons. The doors closed in front of me, but since I hadn't selected a floor yet, the elevator remained still. I finally got enough courage and hit the button I always dreaded looking at in that elevator. Once the button was pushed, it started to move, going downward, stopping just two flights down. The second floor.

The doors opened, revealing what once was my safe place, my home. I take a deep breath and decide it's time that I went through everything. Since we are moving, there are things on this floor that I wouldn't want to leave behind.

I start walking down the hallway but slowly come to a stop when I hear sniffles and springs to a bed give way. Who is here? I thought to myself. I inched closer to where the sounds came from. Whoever it was, was in my parents' room. The door was slightly ajar. I peeked in to see Skila sitting on the bed, holding onto Mom's favorite blanket, tears flowing down her face. My heart clenched in my chest at the sight.

Life wasn't fair to her. She may have lived like a royal, but she always knew it was not her life. She hadn't noticed me yet, so I just sat there for a moment trying to form the right things to say.

"Hey." I breathed out, startling her in the process. She quickly wiped her face of the tears.

"Sorry, I was just here to say goodbye to their stuff. It sounds stupid now that I say it out loud though." She said as she laid the blanket back down and stood up.

"It doesn't sound stupid. I was kind of here to do the same thing. I was actually going to go through their stuff and figure out what is important enough to take. Would you like to help?"

"Oh, I wouldn't know what was important and what wasn't." She said as she looked at the bed again.

"Well, how about we look through it all together and I can tell you any memories I have of them regarding the items we find?"

Her eyes went from the bed back to me.

"Those are your memories. You don't have to share your memories."

"You're right, I don't. But I want to. I want you to have the memories. I want you to hear them so that you know what kind of people your birth parents were. Right now, you just have images, you don't have anything other than a picture. I want you to know them."

"That’s very kind of you, but that's kind of the thing. I will never know them. I can listen to your memories and imagine what they were like. But in reality, I will never hear their voices or know their laugh or feel them embrace me." Tears freely falling from her face. My heart had this tug that made me feel as if the walls were closing in on me.

"It's not your fault, I'm just sad. I'm mourning what I never had." She said after looking up at my frozen stature. I decided then that I had a way of helping. I walked over and pulled her into my embrace. We may not know each other that well, but I plan to be the best big sister she never asked for.

"I will help ease your pain," I whispered into her ear.

"No, don't take my pain as your own. You have already been through enough. I could never imagine the pain you felt at losing your parents, hell watching them be murdered. Then the pain you felt to find out all that you did years later. Your pain outweighs mine and I should be the one taking some of your pain as my own, to ease the burden you never asked for."

I pulled her away slightly to take her image in.

"You never asked for my burden either, but you took it and you held onto it. You're still holding onto it. You owe me nothing, but I, however, owe you everything. Without you and our parents' help, I could have had a completely different life."

She was shaking her head in understanding.

"I have a gift for you," I said, closing my eyes as I pulled with all my strength to pull forward the one thing I was searching for.

"Callie baby, is that you? Are you okay? What's going on, please tell me Jasmine kept you away from that evil man!?"

I opened my eyes at the sound of the voice I never thought I'd hear again. Skila's eyes bulged as she stared behind me at the door. I let go of Skila and turned around to see our mother in the doorway, right behind her our father.

"Mom. Dad. I am okay, I brought you back so that you could meet someone special. Mom, Dad, this is your daughter." I placed my hand on Skila's back, urging her to go forward.

"Oh goddess, Skila, is that you? You're so grown up, so beautiful." Our mother spoke.

"She looks just like you Sil." Our dad's husky voice spoke up. "How, when, why, what happened?" He stumbled out a jumbled mess of words.

"A lot, how about let's sit and talk, yeah?" I said as I moved toward the bed.

"How long do we have?" My mom asked, not breaking her eyes away from Skila. My heart hurt a little that she wasn't looking at me, the daughter she raised, the daughter that knew nobody else, the daughter that was in a black hole for so long after they died. But I quickly reminded myself, this isn't closure for me, this is for them. I mourned them. I still have grief, but Skila needed this more than me. Just hearing their voices again has eased my pain more than I could have imagined.

"I've become very powerful, using my magic for just you two, we have many hours. I'd say maybe the entire day?"

"You know?" My father asked as he moved forward.

"I do," I said as I looked between the two of them. "As much as I'd love to talk about the whys and the hows, I didn't call you here to talk about me. I called upon y'all for her." I said, pointing to Skila.

His eyes look back over at his daughter, the one that carries his genes, that has his nose and his cheekbones.

"I cannot tell you both how sorry your mother and I are. We never intended for this to happen. We wanted to tell you; we did. But she told us not to."

"Who?" Skila asked.

"The Moon Goddess. She insisted it was better if Callie didn't know her identity when the royals wanted. We followed every rule besides telling Callie." Our father replied.

"But we kept in touch, and I made sure we knew how you were doing. We kept all of the pictures and all of the letters. We never stopped loving you, Skila." Our mother then said.

Tears were streaming down her face.

"We kept everything locked away."

"I found everything from Lilah, but nothing from Skila," I said.

"We kept your stuff separate from Skila's stuff because we had planned on giving you all the queen's letters on your 16th, well, technically your 18th birthday. Here, we will show you."

We both stood there as they both went to the other side of the room. My father grabbed my mom's vanity, sliding it out of the way. Once the vanity was out of the way, it revealed a safe in the wall that was covered by a huge mirror attached to the vanity. They keyed in a date and the lock clicked into place before they easily opened the safe door. Inside held multiple pictures of Skila from all ages. My mom was bawling her eyes out as she took them from the hole in the wall and sat them on the bed. She pointed to each picture, telling us what she remembered about them. She spoke like she never missed a day of her life.

How did I not see the pain in her eyes at having to keep this a secret? So many times, I caught her sitting at this vanity spaced out looking at herself. It all makes sense now. My mom was in pain, not because she didn't love me, it was clear they did. But because she couldn't even speak about Skila, she couldn't even talk about how she felt, all that time she held it in, and now that I know, the pain was always there, I just didn't see it for what it was. How could I? I was not only young, but I was also in the dark about this life.

"Can I hug you?" Skila asked.

"Oh baby, of course. I'd love nothing more." Skila walked into the embrace of our mother.

Skila was almost a spitting image of her, with a little of our father’s features. Mom took her in her arms and stroked her hair.

"I wish I had the chance to get to know you." I could hear her whisper.

Dad walked over, pulling them both into his arms. The three of them are now in an embrace. Our father placed a kiss on Skila's head and told her how much he loved her and was happy that she was there now, and he wished he could be around to watch her grow old and have her pups.

In my heart, I ache for them to talk to me the way they are talking to her, but I keep reminding myself that I had many wonderful years with them, she didn't get that chance.

Over the last few weeks, I have worked alongside my biological parents, getting to know them as they get to know me. I have every chance to get to know them, whereas Skila only has now. I sat back and watched as our mother was now brushing Skila's hair with her hairbrush. They talked about what she liked and what her childhood was like. Dad was standing near watching them with awe. I decided then to step away to give them the privacy they deserve.

I gently closed the bedroom door as I stepped out to not alert them that I was leaving. I walked across the hallway to my old bedroom. The sun was shining brightly through the window like it always used to do when growing up. The room looked the same as before the tragedy happened. I walked over to my desk, my fingers tracing the outline of one of the picture frames. The picture was of Mom and I in the meadow we always went to. I had just thrown the flowers into the air; my hands were still reaching up as they began to fall back down. A smile crept up on my face at the memory.

I have all these wonderful memories of these amazing people, Skila doesn't. She deserved them as much as they deserved her. I grabbed my throw blanket as I walked over to my made-up bed, climbing in. I lay down, looking up to the ceiling, wishing that time could stand still, that I had more time with them, that she had more time with them. Unfortunately, this isn't something I can do often. The dead cannot be brought back regardless of the form. They won't rest in peace if I keep pulling them into this reality. This was a one-time thing, mostly for closure for Skila. More of a fair well, one she needed more than me. I'm not sure how much time had passed before a light knock took me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see my father in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" I nodded in response. He came in sitting on the edge of my bed like he used to do when I was a little girl.

"You've grown to be such a beautiful, caring person. You're more than anything your mother and I could have dreamed you'd be."

"I wished I had known then what I know now. If I had known, I could have saved both of you."

"You were just a child, you had to be protected, not the other way around."

"But maybe I could have saved-"

"You wouldn't have honey. You weren't able to reach your full potential until you turned 18. There was nothing you could have done; he was more powerful." He cut me off, stating what I already knew. Tears were flowing down my cheeks.

"I miss you both so much..."

"Oh honey, come here." I inched closer as he took me in his arms. I missed this the most, his hugs.

"We are always here, always." He said as he placed a kiss on my head. "What you're doing for Skila is the most selfless and amazing thing you could have ever done for any of us."

"She is your biological daughter, she deserved to meet both of you and you both deserved to see her one last time."

"You're our daughter too." I heard from the doorway. I looked up to see my mother standing there with Skila. Tears in her eyes as the words left her mouth. "You were never a burden, nor do we regret taking you in, you are our daughter just as much as Skila. We may not be blood-related, but you're our little girl too."

At this point, tears were freely falling from all of our faces as they came into the room. We all sat around the bed talking for a long time. They told me about how the Moon Goddess asked them to do this for my safety and that is why they obliged. They told me all the information I had already found out, but it felt nice nonetheless to hear them tell me their version. After hours of us talking and Skila getting to know her biological parents, we heard a holler from somewhere in the house. I got up to go investigate, and three figures standing at the end of the hallway. I walked towards the figures as they became clearer.

"There you are. I've been trying to mind-link you for a while now. What are you doing, are you okay?" Gunner spoke first.

"Do you know where Skila is?" Laken asked from beside him next.

"Babe, are you okay?" Leonidas then asked when I didn't reply to either of the other two.

"Yeah yeah, sorry. It's been a heck of a day. Follow me." I said as I turned around, not really answering any questions, entering the room once again. A moment later, they all appeared in the doorway.

"Holy shit..." Gunner said as they entered.

"Mom, Dad, this is Gunner," I said, pointing to Gunner. "And this is Leonidas." I then said, pointing to Leo. "They are both my mates," I said with a smile.

"Mates... As in more than one?" My father asked.

"That is correct," I answered, his eyes bulging out at the thought.

"We knew she was special." My mother said next.

"And this is, Laken. My mate." Skila then said as she approached him. Nobody said anything for a moment, Mom finally spoke up again, breaking the silence.

"Well boys, these are precious gems and so help me, Goddess, if you so much as harm a hair on their heads, I will come back from the dead and kill you myself." The awkwardness faded instantly as we all laughed together.

We talked for a while longer. Soon I could start to feel the magic slipping as their bodies started to look more translucent.

"Well girls, today was amazing, and I couldn't have asked for better men to take care of our girls, but I think it’s time to go," Dad said as he looked at his clear arm. Tears pooled in both my and Skila's eyes once again. We got up and hugged them, saying our goodbyes and I love yous before they both vanished into thin air as if they weren't ever there.

"Thank you," Skila whispered before taking me into her arms and squeezing me tight.

"You're welcome, Ski," I whispered back as I also embraced my new sister.

After a few minutes, both Skila and Laken left to go back to their floor.

"That was amazing of you to do for her," Leo said.

"She needed it," I replied nonchalantly.

"So did you." Gunner then replied.

"Yeah, I guess I really did," I said back.

"Are you ready to go upstairs?" Gunner asked again.

"I have a little bit I still need to do down here, if y'all want to help?"

They both shook their heads, agreeing. We spent the next few hours going through everything until I decided what was necessary to take and what wasn't. Before we knew it, the day was gone, and it was time for bed.

Today was needed. I feel this heavy weight lifted off my chest. I can now rest easy knowing the truth, knowing they are at peace. My heart can now heal from the gaping wound that once was there. I feel better than I have in years. So, this is what true happiness feels like? I could get used to this for sure. Which means tomorrow will be even better.