Page 27 of Lightning Strikes

Now at forty-one, what’s changed? Nothing. No progress for the twenty of us left. No new alliances with other Arizona, Utah, Nevada, or Colorado packs. No money coming in. They’ve been living off of what the previous alpha left and the rest of us suffer or get human jobs.

The females are still stuck in the past, catering to the men and children and cleaning cabins to pass the time. No one is gardening, no one is truly protecting us. We are stagnant, stuck, and I’m not going to sit around and wait for the humans to find us back here and slaughter us all.

It’s time to move to a community where the alpha knows what he’s doing. Where they’re self-sufficient, have their own protected areas and true betas for protection.

“What can I do?” Adam whispers and he runs his fingers in his hair and pulls it up from the roots. “We had plans, Angela… Plans that would have led this pack to be great again. I fucked up, I know I did and it’s all my fault. What can I do now? For myself, this pack, and how can I get you to stay? Should I leave? Should you be the alpha and I find my parents and beg for their help and forgiveness?”

I blink at him and hold back my laughter. “You’re almost half a century old and you want to run back to your parents because you can’t keep your dick in your pants and don’t know how to run a pack? I don’t know who’s dumber, you or your father. He should have stayed with you, taught you everything you needed to know. Showed you the ropes. Help make alliances with other packs and let them know we have open spaces and cabins if they have any strong enforcers that want to be new betas. You never appointed any. The others here are just eating, drinking, and fucking humans in town. There’s no gate or protection to keep people from coming back… Just the rumors and myths about the rabid wolves that will tear you apart if you take certain trails. How is this progression? Why do you think over two hundred shifters have left in the last decade? I mean… really.

“Think about it, Adam. Stand up for your people and forget about your neglectful parents and focus on who’s herenow.It’s too late to fix anything between you and me. Mac, Tom, Ella, and I are leaving and there’s nothing that you could do to try to get us to stay. Case closed. Follow the fucking plans that you and I stayed up for three days straight writing down in excitement. I was looking forward to turning this pack around. I was looking forward to being your mate and being out in the open with our relationship with everyone. Making alliances and traveling to other packs.” I pant for breath and shake my head in disgust. “You were the most striking, most gorgeous man I ever laid eyes on. You were my everything. One of my best friends. I thought it was love, but no one who loves their intended mate would do what you did. You would holdmeetingswithout me then fuck the women that came. You didn’t even try for any alliances. Thinking with your dick and the pack leaders would leave the next day in haste. I never understood it… Until Carolina.”

Adam nods and spreads his arms out at his sides and growls. “So I should just sit back and watch everyone leave? Be the only male left here?”

I laugh. “Wow, that’s all you got from that? Send the money to my bank account and I’ll see you around.” I wave him away and I turn my back on him to unload the groceries and just want this day over with. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone here aside from himself. All he cares about is being alone. Not fixing the pack and bringing in more members?

I turn to carry everything up the porch and find him standing right in front of me with tears in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ang. I’m so sorry for hurting you and the pack. I’m sorry for fucking up and losing both you and Mac. I’m sorry I wasn’t safe or careful and got Carolina pregnant. Even if we weren’t together, I should have never slept with her. She was conniving, cruel, and not someone who should ever have a lick of power. Her parents know to contact me when she’s close to labor so that we can run paternity tests just in case… I’m just sorry.” He nods and walks away. I watch him go.

What was once a man that would swoon a room full of women is now someone I’ve never seen before. He’s sad, lonely, and dug his own hole. Made his own bed. And now he has to lay in it.

_______________

“What about Florida?” Ella asks as she stirs the pot on the stove in Mac’s kitchen and I frown at her from the island.

“Too hot. I’m used to having four seasons and a bit of snow in the winters…”

She hums and looks at me over her shoulder and winks at me. “What about New York? Four seasons, plenty of forest area, larger pack, and Broadway shows when we’re bored of the pack life.”

I chuckle. “I’ll write that one down. So, so far, we have Alaska, Seattle, Canada, and New York on the ‘yes’ list. Have you made contact with any of them?”

“Yep! All twelve packs I’ve called from California to Canada have openings, accepting members. Only about half are looking for a new packhealer…apparently they don’t call them doctors. I told them about you and your credentials and they’re excited to meet you. Just have to call them back with the dates we want to check them out… I wrote everything down.” She walks to the living room and rummages through her canvas tote to pull out a pink notebook. “Here, read through this and circle the packs you’re most interested in.” I grab it and start leafing through it until I find the information on the packs.

The pack in Alaska is huge, about a thousand strong, far from human civilization and they import and export goods to keep the pack running. Fish, produce, and wood. They’re in need of another packhealerand are offering more money than I make in five years as a yearly salary. We would have our own homes, no issues about our pets, and the alpha and his mate sounded kind.

Seattle doesn’t look too promising. Only about two hundred strong, no monetary offers for the pack healer, we would have to share a small home, and they only have a handful of acres available in the forest. Why Ella would even add this one is beyond me…

The Canada pack in northern Alberta is more self-sustaining. They do exports for their crops, but not much else. They need a pack healer but have several others and are offering to pay for each shifter seen instead of salary. Accommodations are grand, large houses with electricity and community amenities. Gyms, indoor pools, and community gardens.

Promising.

Lastly, the New York pack that Ella is interested in is too close to the humans in my opinion, but it’s a large pack that’s spread out through the entire state. They dabble in human endeavors – restaurants, shops, car dealerships, and funnel the money through the entire pack. You can choose to live near the humans or deep into the forest in their vast community that is gated and heavily guarded. They’re offering free accommodations, a vehicle, and three meals a day to the new pack healer and their entire family, along with more money than Alaska is offering. Apparently, I would be one of two for a pack of over one thousand shifters. With the second planning on retiring as soon as I’m hired. So. Just one healer for a large pack.

At least there’s the option in New York to be close or far from the humans. It checks all of the other boxes and also has a plethora of amenities in the gated community. Restaurants, small shops, grocery stores, gyms, indoor pools, and they even have their own schools, even through college, for shifters.

That… That I love.

“I think we should check out Alaska and New York… I’m not feeling Seattle at all, and Canada just seems too… out in the wilderness. At least Alaska is surrounded by the ocean and they import and export, so there would besomeoutsider interaction.”

She winks at me and smiles dreamily. “I think we should just go to New York.” I chuckle and nod.

“Alright. Call them up and let them know we’ll be flying in next week for a few days to check them out.” She claps her hands and spins back to cooking our meal as I sit back and chuckle at her antics.

I missed her. She’s always been so lively and her love and happiness is infectious.

Mac’s been back at work every day and should be fine to hand in the resignation as soon as possible. He’s been having some issues at work and has been staying in town overnight due to some unforeseen circumstances, which he told me not to worry about because he doesn’t want me stressed. Gotta love the guy, always putting me first.

I have a feeling it has to do with Laura and her father and the blow back from that… But I’m trying not to stress. Unfortunately for me, my healing powers only work on my own body when I’m hurt. So I cannot use my healing powers to scan my own body to check on my pup – I can only ask my wolf how the pup is doing and she just sleeps, drained by protecting us both and ensuring I can maintain strength and stamina when attacked and unable to shift.

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