Chapter 37
Chapter 37
They spent the morning finalizing the arrangements for the gathering for the evening. The wolves came in and out of the office all morning confirming what the vision for the gathering was going to be. Sometime in the afternoon, the office door opened and Katherine stepped in without knocking. Both Toby and Jarold looked up, shocked, because up to that point no one had entered without their express permission to do so.
"Is everything OK?" Toby asked Katherine as she came in and took a seat on the couch.
"Yeah, it's just after 3 in the afternoon and I know the gathering is supposed to start at 5. Is everything OK with you guys?" Katherine responded.
"It's already three in the afternoon?" Jarold was clearly shocked by how fast the day had got away from him.
"Yeah, it's almost time to go down. Do you guys want to go to the house and change? I brought your clothes with me, just in case." Katherine said.
"No, thank you for that. We will change here instead of going all the way back home just to turn around and come back. Sorry we left you alone all day long. We meant to just handle a few things here and then come back to the house and spend some time with you." Toby said as he gave her a kiss and plopped down on the couch next to her.
"Well, contrary to popular belief, I do have the ability to hang out by myself every once in a while." Kathrine said with sarcasm in her tone and giving her mates an eyeroll.
"I don't know about that." Jarold said with a laugh. "The last time we left you alone for any real amount of time you very nearly bit both of our mothers' heads off."
"They deserved it." Kathrine growled as she felt remembered anger at their mothers.
"Be that as it may, you almost always get into some kind of trouble if left to your own devices for too long." Toby teased her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah, well if people stopped doing things to piss me off, maybe I wouldn't find myself in trouble so frequently." Kathrine huffed and made to stand up.
"You feeling okay? Your belly is looking tighter today and the pups don't seem to be moving as much." Jarold asked and he couldn't hide the worry in his tone.
"Well, I'm sure you don't remember being stuffed in your mom's stomach but they've grown enough that there isn't exactly a lot of room for them. And one sharp poke in my stomach will pop me like a balloon I swear on it." Kathrine huffed as she rubbed her stomach and was rewarded with two lumps making her shirt rise in the air.
"Did they just punch you?" Toby asked, trying to hide his amusement.
"Yes. Both of them. They're fine in there just a little cramped. But I think we need to start preparing for them to come. Even though the doctor says they won't be here for another month, I think I'll be lucky to last two more weeks." Kathrine said with a groan as her shirt lifted again higher up than the last. "Thanks, now you got them all stirred up. They'll never settle."
"You came in here, remember?" Toby said defensively as he watched in amazement the evidence of their children.
"I think you might be right, they do seem to be developing at a faster rate than a normal wolf pregnancy. But I think, even in humans, it is normal for twins to arrive a few weeks early." Jarold said.
"What, have you been reading human pregnancy statistics?" Kathrine all but sneered the word 'human' at her mate. She didn't have anything particular against humans, but she didn't appreciate being compared to one and even less with her babies.
"No, no. Just what I have gathered from the wolves with human mates. That is all." Jarold held his hands up, in no mood to poke the hormonal wolf so to speak.
Kathrine headed to the door after giving him a withering glare while holding her belly in what almost looked to be a protective way. They wanted to ask her why she always reacted so strongly when anyone compared her to humans, even in a passing comment, but knew that it would be better left when she was more in control of her temper. For the last couple months, her hormones had been running the show, and she was up and down all over the place.
They followed her out of the office and to the bedroom to change into clothes that would be more fitting for them to have their first gathering as Alphas. Kathrine had come in a long midnight blue dress that hung off her shoulders and hugged her body showing off her nearly full-term pregnant belly. She had paired the dress with silver moon earrings and the charm bracelet they had gifted her when they found out she was pregnant that had moons, stars, and wolf pups dangling from it.
Once they were changed they each held one of Kathrine's hands as they made their way down the stairs to find that most of the pack had arrived early. They were gathered in tight groups talking amongst themselves making a buzz of conversation that could be heard on the upper level. As they made their way down the stairs, silence fell as if a switch had been flipped and Kathrine saw the wolves turn to them as one. She paused, pulling Jarold and Toby to a halt on either side of her, halfway up the stairs.
They could see all of their parents and siblings forefront of all of the wolves and they all but held their breath as they waited for what would be said. That moment would decide their reception by the pack; they knew that on an instinctive level. Would it be peace or strife to get the pack in line behind them?
Without a word their parents and siblings knelt which sent a wave through the crowd and by the time the wave settled, all of the wolves in the house were on their knees before them. They tried to hide their surprise as Jackson knelt before them with his head bowed in subservience. Having the two most recent Alphas bow to the new Alphas without being commanded sent a message stronger than anything Toby and Jarold could have said to the pack.
"You may rise." Jarold and Toby called out together and gave the pack grateful smiles.
Kathrine smiled joyously at the pack before her and freed a hand to wipe her eyes. The emotion of the moment making her cry tears of happiness and relief. Stupid hormones.