Page 37 of Fractured Fang: Omega

“Apparently, cake is in five minutes. Our Alpha needs to smooch his mate.” Macs rolled his eyes, and Wilder kissed Franklin breathless, paying no mind to the audience.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating food my father and Jasmine made, finishing it off with cake, laughing, dancing, and going for a pack run, the witches and children all joining us—the running more of a walk. It was the perfect first in what I could only hope to be many official mating ceremonies for our pack. And I couldn’t be happier.

Chapter 19

Macs

Levihadadjustedsowell to his life in our pack. He was devouring his education while giving us one of our own by helping us learn sign language. So far, most of our instruction was video-based, with Levi helping to correct us if we made a mistake while communicating with him. It wasn’t ideal, but it was working. Wilder offered to bring in a tutor to help us long term and had put out a call for one, but in the meantime, we were doing okay.

Phillip was by far the most natural learner. They say that languages come quicker when you are young, and that might be true for most, but Phillip and Levi often had entire conversations that had them both laughing and without a bunch of “What?” kinds of questions. It was a joy to see the change in the man.

Retrospectively, he’d been fueled by fear, the same way Gabe had. It didn’t make the way he treated my mate acceptable, but at least I understood where it had come from. He’d worked so hard to make it right, and I appreciated that more than he could know.

“Armand just messaged me that he was on his way.” Wilder was now standing beside me. I’d been so lost in my thoughts as I watched Levi and Pop-pop Phillip that I had been completely unaware.

“Is something wrong?” Armand might be our friend, but his pack had missions that weren’t always the happiest, and while the council had given their preliminary approval to make Levi a permanent part of our family, he’d always be a part of Fractured Fang no matter what. That had nothing to do with paperwork.

But as much as the council’s word mattered, that had the potential to be not quite enough. It wasn’t just our world that had to agree to the arrangement. Levi was half-human, and until the official paperwork was filed away, I would always be a bit on edge.

“Quite the opposite. They managed to get all of the paperwork finished. There is a witch on the bench who managed to make ‘magic’ happen behind the scenes. Today, you three will have to sign one more paper and you’re done.” Wilder gripped my shoulder. “I’m so happy for you three.”

The notion of “official” adoptions wasn’t one that packs embraced as a rule. We were family, and that was enough. But after a long talk with our covenstead pack members and then with Levi, we’d decided adoption was the safest option for Levi. It would never make his mother less of his mother, of course. But it would give him the legal protections if he ever needed them, which was looking increasingly less probable thanks to all of the help offered to our pack to assist with this transition.

It was difficult to believe that not that many years ago, our pack was three wolves who unknowingly formed a bond. And now, we were growing and thriving, forming strong bonds with other packs and finding our place in this world. What a difference from when we first came back to my childhood home. My grandmother would be so proud of us.

“Thanks, Alpha. Did he say when he would be here?”

“Just in time for dinner, of course.” Wilder laughed at his own joke, and I joined him.

I went over to tell Phillip about our guests, and he asked Levi if he wanted to help him finish preparing dinner. What a difference from when the man wouldn’t even let us in the same room as him while he cooked. Levi’s face lit up, and he asked me if it was okay before walking hand in hand with his grandfather to the kitchen.

After touching base with my mate and giving him the amazing news, I headed to the barn to take care of the last of my chores before our company arrived. Gabe was in that part of pregnancy where he was exhausted pretty much all the time. Thankfully, he listened to Franklin’s advice, and slated a time each afternoon to take a nap, and he was just settling into one as I left him to take care of my chores.

Kate was talking to one of our sheep, Baa-Baa when I arrived.

“And then we will make the most beautiful blankets and stuffies out of it. You should be very proud.” She scratched behind the sheep’s ear.

Baa-Baa was the sweetest of all of our sheep and a pack favorite. It wasn’t ideal to get so attached to a critter that would someday be our meal. But then again, Baa-Baa had probably already secured her place as a pack pet. Smart little thing.

“You telling her about our proposal?” I asked Kate, who looked up at me, a bit startled.

“I was. I’ve been practicing with the yarn you picked up, and I think we can do this.”

When I came back from Asilo with Levi and Gabe, the notion of helping them use our sheep started forming a more solid idea, one we could act upon. I’d been so nervous when I presented it at our pack meeting. I was asking them to take our investment, one for the financial benefit of the pack, and turn it into something else completely, one that would cost us money.

It shouldn’t have come as such a surprise when everyone agreed that using the wool to create comfort items for the omegas that needed them was a great use of our resources. The best part of it all was when Phillip offered to show the group how to crotchet a blanket, not once bringing up the “productivity” of it all. He only knew basically one step, but it had been a start.

“I know we can.” I bent down and petted Baa-Baa. “You really are too sweet.”

“Need help in here?” Kate offered, and I took her up on it. We finished in record time, which gave us both a chance to clean up before dinner.

Armand and Matty came in the SUV instead of on their bikes. At first, I wondered why, but then it all made sense when their little ones came tumbling out the back. They ran to join Jasmine and Jacob’s children, their laughter contagious.

“It’s not often we are on a mission that allows us to have family time,” Armand explained. “And besides, we have a few things for your new project.”

He popped the back, and Matty pulled out a few containers of what I guessed were baked goods. My mouth was already watering. Armand, on the other hand, took out a huge plastic tote, set it on the ground, and grabbed a second.

“We thought you might be able to use these.” He closed the back of the car and popped the lid of the first tote. Inside were skeins and skeins of yarn. “We found it in the hotel when we moved in, and it was too good to throw away, so it just sort of lived there. After you told me about your plan, I figured it was time to whip it out and put it to good use. There are even the sticks and things in there.”

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