Chapter 159: Grace
The next couple of weeks passed without any new incidents. About 10 of the kids have been placed into foster homes as per part 1 of our plan. We were now working on the next phase of placements, adding in few more of the kids' cards. The Alpha apartment felt emptier already though, and I didn’t actually know if I liked it or not.
School had started too. I found myself more often than not, volunteering my time there. One, because I wanted to make sure my little ones were all being treated alright. And two, because I had never been to school before. It was a universal experience that nearly everyone got to experience, and now I was getting to in such a unique way. I was also learning so much. Not to mention that the completely empty apartment freaked me out.
After school, training would ensue. Rhys had found several elite warriors who were willing to help with the training. The youngest groups would work on strength and conditioning as well as self-defense during the 3-5p hours. The adults had the opportunity to train either 10a to 12p, or 6p to 8p two to three days a week.
I had been to the training sessions everyday with Maizie and Alana. Maizie would go to the ‘kids’ one and then again with us to the adult one. It was clear that Maizie had been raised to be a weapon, but in some ways that was good. She pushed me and Alana to do better, which was a good tt least, I kept telling my very sore body it was.
After the trainings, we would spend the next two hours in Rhys’ office going over various plans, ranging from how we travel to how we utilize our warriors and set up border protection. Sometimes it was more business related – I wasn’t a big fan of those meetings. They bored me.
No matter where I was, Sammy tended to be near by. She was traumatized after losing both her mom and dad in such a short time. Somedays, she wouldn’t leave my side at all, other times, she just needed to know where I was. Other than Sammy, all of the other kids seemed to be adjusting well to the new changes, and we hadn’t had any problems with people accepting them, which I was grateful for. I didn’t know how I would have reacted if it had gone any different. I fear I would have lost it.
Today, I was in the school volunteering in Sammy’s classroom. I had rotated classrooms on several occasions, but Sammy was being extra clingy today, so I was trying to be cognizant of it. I was currently cutting out shapes for the classroom board that the kids would decorate for Thanksgiving soon. I think that was the weirdest part of being here in the Alpha King’s Pack was that they celebrated holidays. I couldn’t remember anyone celebrating any sort of holiday. I would have assumed that Kinsley would have love forcing me to work on those big days, but I had no recollection of such a time.
Thanksgiving, I had learned was a time to be grateful. It involved a big meal, and according to Rhys, his pack had what they called the Pack games which occurred just after the large afternoon meal. As the Luna Queen, I was expected to organize it, but really this was something that Alana had taken over for me. I helped where I could, but she had an eye for design and planning things. She was also helping me plan my Luna ceremony and my wedding.
I rubbed my head tiredly and stared out the window. I sat up immediately as I caught a glimpse of blonde hair sneaking into the woods.
I stood up immediately.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Ms. Ellen, the 1st grade teacher.
She nodded at me, not bothering to pause her story time to ask any questions. Not that I would have stayed to answer them. Not when he should be in school. I walked briskly to the class I knew he’d have right now.
I threw open the classroom door, and scanned the room, startling everyone inside.
“Mr. Tate, I’m sorry to interrupt, but is Michael in here?” I asked when I didn’t see him.
“No.” Mr. Tate frowned at me, “No, he just went to the bathroom, should be back any minute now, is everything alright Luna Queen?”
“Yes, thank you.” I rushed the words, backing out of the classroom before anyone could ask any more questions.
I didn’t think. I didn’t even consider going to find Rhys, I just took off toward the woods where I had seen Michael disappear in. I knew following him was stupid, and that Rhys would be mad if he found out, but there was something different this time. My Lycan was on the edge of my consciousness. She was pushing me forward as well. I caught Michael’s scent easily. I had never really tried to track anyone before, but I followed him easily. I could see each of his last steps and I just knew I was going the right way.
Suddenly, he was in my sight, but I stopped when I saw a shadow jump from a tree down in front of him.
I dropped myself into the brush and tried to hide my scent with mud. I was close enough where they could have seen me, but I was hoping and praying that they hadn’t. Both turned and looked in my direction, but they turned back to each other.
The person Michael was meeting had grey hair that was spiked up. The man’s eyes were a striking blue that narrowed at Michael and sent chills down my spine. I had met this man before. He had been one of my many guards when I had been imprisoned by my sister. He was as cruel as they came.
“We’re you followed?” The old man demanded, and I held my breath, begging to Moon Goddess that I hadn’t made a mistake in following the young kid.