Gamma's Energy Attracts

Prologue: Oh Baby!

Caly’s POV 

Right away Stavros and I knew our pups were going to be special. After a body-jarring labour and delivery, they weighed in at 9 pounds, plus 10 and 11 ounces respectively. This was despite the fact they had been sharing space in my belly and were born three weeks early. No one calls a nine-pound baby premature, not even werewolves. 

The morning after their birth I was singing softly and rubbing their backs as they had tummy-time. My daughter Carrissa raised her head to look at me with a serene expression. I didn’t think anything of it until Doc Murray mentioned that her neck control was advanced. My pups were of Alpha stock on both sides, it wasn’t all that surprising they would have good genes.

My son Atlas was frustrated with the whole tummy thing and was screaming bl*ody blue murder. I hadn't pinned my hair up, not thinking he would be able to reach it yet. As soon as I switched him to his back to change his cute little tushy, he reached for one of my curls and gave it a painful tug. I had to pry his fingers apart. Once again, Doc M said he was proving to be strong and dexterous for a newborn. He also had a very willful Alpha attitude right from the start.

Two months old is when I noticed the first signs of energy coming from our Daughter. Atlas was screeching about a toy that had rolled just off the blanket and out of his reach so she rolled over twice to put her slobbery fist on his shoulder. He stopped screaming immediately. You cannot see energy physically pass into someone else, but I was hyper-aware of the signs. Despite my husband’s insistence that it wasn’t very likely and not to worry about it, I know what I saw. My wolf Athena agreed with me, saying my Mate was being a ‘stooopid human’ again.

Atlas always had to be within eyesight of his Big Sister or he would squawk about it. After two months, we decided to try separate cribs. He didn't like that very much, the cribs were pushed against the same wall end to end. I was exhausted all the time, and Athena was relentless in her theories regarding the pups. I was so fed up that in the middle of the night I woke up my Mate to rearrange the baby furniture. We put the cribs side-by-side and removed the bumper pads, so only the bars were between the pups and Atlas could keep a watchful eye on her. It was the first night they slept all the way through until morning. We discovered quite by accident he liked being closest to the door, so he could watch people enter his room (and she was safely tucked in behind him). If that isn't a protective Alpha instinct, I don't know what is.

My pups were nearly a year and a half old before they heard Stavros using his Alpha voice on another Pack member. This is an incredible feat, folks. My One and Only Mate used to be called Alpha Stab because even during a civil conversation you weren’t likely to walk away unscathed. He was more forgiving and even-tempered these days, and thankfully our pups didn’t get to meet the old Stavros. 

Back to the incident, I was walking my pups over to visit Nonna Mary, that’s my friend Terri’s real Grandmother and she just adopted the Grandmotherly role for most of Blood Pact. A warrior made a big oopsie by chasing a Rogue towards the village, rather than calling for backup to subdue them or steering them away from the populated area. I watched as the intruder got within a hundred yards of me and my pups in their little red wagon, and Stavros saw red. He lambasted the warrior for his mistakes for not following protocol, he was oozing some of his Alpha aura from out of his pores as he commanded him.

Small pups are easily frightened by commands and imposing pheromones. They are too young to know what’s going on and without their wolves yet, they don’t know how to react to the oppression they can feel in the air around them.

My daughter started to cry, not that that surprised me, Stavros can be terrifying when he’s angry. I picked Carrissa up to rock her in my arms and try to soothe her. I was ready to shift her onto one hip so I could unbuckle my other little wolf when I realized he wasn’t affected by his Daddy, he was even watching the interaction with avid curiosity. I’ll let you in on a family secret, I cannot truly be commanded. It’s something passed down on my Father’s side of the family, and the only thing that wolf ever gave me. The night I duelled my Father for his Alpha title, it took five Alphas to make me even pause a moment, as that bast*rd shifted to his wolf and tried to kill me! Now I know for certain which pup inherited that trait from me. 

Stav had come over to take his precious princess away from me, holding Carrissa up to his shoulder so he could whisper and coo at her, apologizing to her the whole walk to Nonna’s, by the way, I still can’t go outside unattended. I may or may not have been kidn*apped a few times in the past. I stuck with my self-defence training though!

“Did Atlas not cry?” Stav had asked me.

“Nope. Maybe the pup got at least one thing from his Mama,” I sighed out loud, both my kids had none of my features, they were mini Stavros’s in the looks department, all the way. Tan-coloured skin, thick black mops of hair, and baby blue eyes. My daughter had a calm and sweet disposition, in that way I think she takes after me.

My son was the brave one, and his Daddy down to a T. I would catch him scaling counters to get to cookies or fearlessly jumping off the back of the couch just because he could. He was protective of his Big Sister, prone to tantrums over her at the Den Mother’s, that’s our wolf version of daycare. I’ll give you a recent example, some little boy pushed Carrissa to the ground and even though it was probably an accident, my Little Alpha stalked over and growled in this kid’s face before shaking his fist at him screaming, “You NO hurt my Rissy!” The other little pup was about a year older than Atlas and a whole head taller, but that wouldn’t have stopped him. Before the Den Helper could step in ‘Rissy’ had calmly stood between the boys, laid her head on Atlas’s shoulder and clearly said, “Attly, I not hurt. Both yous say sorry. Mama says 'NO fightin’.”  She has always spoken well for her age, where Atlas barely speaks in sentences at two and a half. My pups were brain versus brawn, or more accurately beauty and the beast.

Today I'm heading down to the Den Mother’s, it’s across from our training field, since the busiest time for them is in the morning during warrior training and before school. My pups stay with me most of the time, but I bring them down a few afternoons a week now so they can socialize and I can head to the office to help Stav and Colin out. 

As I reach the door I call out loudly over my shoulder, “Good job today, Conner. I didn’t spot you even once.” A few years ago I helped Conner through his first shift. He’s developed into an excellent warrior, so good that he has been retired from Blood Pact’s friendly sparring competitions each weekend. The deal is if you are not ranked and run a winning streak of a full year you no longer need to compete. It took him two tries, the first time he took a loss to Ryan at 31 weeks, but he finally managed it last year. He’s only the second non-ranked Pack member to retire, the first was Theressa, five years before she was promoted to Gamma. I tried to convince him to head off to college this year, but he decided he wanted to train to be my personal guard. He’s been practising following me around incognito, not an easy task for a strapping young wolf who looks like he has a werebear hiding in his family tree. 

“Thank you, All-Mother,” Conner says from a short distance away, he’s hidden somewhere at the edge of our forest. Conner is the only person who calls me that, but that’s how we met, Athena seeking to challenge Stavros for the right to be Mother of this Pack, without being Luna. I know he’ll be waiting at the door to the building when I come out to perform another one of his special duties.

I greet the Den Mother, asking her if there’s anything she needs, and she has a list prepared for fall arts and crafts, as well as ingredients for a snack the pups can ‘cook’ themselves. No-bake cookies sound wonderful. I will get someone on this right away. 

I say hi to the few pups still here, they want to show off their paintings. I see a spotless Carrissa keeping Atlas calm while a frazzled Den Helper is trying to get him cleaned off. It looks like he used his whole body to finger paint, then rolled in the sandbox and glitter. “I’m sorry for the mess, Luna. I didn’t catch him after we finished painting. If he would just stay still I could attack him with the washcloth.” 

“Oh don’t worry,” I tell her kindly, “I think we should just abandon ship and I’ll take him home for a bath.” I offer Atlas my hand to hold, with the one hand she managed to get clean on him. They show me their paintings and I carry both pieces of artwork. 

Carrissa skips along ahead, waiting to see who walked with me today. Conner is her favourite guard, being so tall he’s perfect for rides on his shoulder, and Shane just isn’t tall enough to make it thrilling. I hear my pup squeal, she’s spotted him. “Be thankful it’s her turn today!” I say as he spots Atlas and I. 

“Aww. He looks like he had a great day with the Den Mother.” Conner says cheerfully, even bumps knuckles with Atlas’s painted fist. 

“Bia and me painted wolf pups!” Carissa leans over Conner’s head to tell him. 

Bia. Carrissa’s imaginary friend, she talks about her all the time. I’m beginning to worry about how big a role Bia plays in Carrissa’s life. She rarely wants to play with other pups, content to be with Atlas and ‘Bia’. Maybe it’s time to speak to Doctor Murray about my concerns. It’s not as though she’s hard to find, she’s my next-door neighbour and Mated to my best friend, Beta Colin.

“What did you paint, Little Warrior?” Conner asks Atlas.

“Wolfs!” My boy raises a hand to pretend he has claws and growls loudly, an impressive growl at that, causing Conner to chuckle.

We arrive home and I steer Atlas right into my bathroom before he can get his grubby paws on my couch or bedroom furniture.

*****

Stavros's POV 

I came home to find my wife already changed out of her sexy office clothes and into a t-shirt and leggings she had rolled up to her knees. She was perched on the edge of the bathtub, her feet dangling in the water. The tub was filled only a quarter of the way, my two pups playing with a small army of rubber duckies. It wasn’t even dinner time yet, so Atlas must have come back from the Den Mother’s with half the sandbox on him again.

I watched like a stalker for a few minutes, as Caly was absorbed in playing with the pups. Being a mother suited my Little Mate very well, I must say. Her energy, her gift, had always given her insight and empathy like no other wolf I had met before. Most wolves are hot-headed and self-absorbed, lives spent being harsh with others and jockeying for position. That was never Caly. She was Blood Pact's All-Mother. Bearing my pups changed everything, she became the Mother my whole life revolved around.

I got luckier every day.

'Speaking of lucky, how many more pups could we fit in the tub with room to play?' My wolf Zeus, asks me.

‘Three or four. But soon the oldest two will be too big to bathe together.’ 

'Time to pump another pup into her then. Wait, as they grow, we will have space for more pups!' He wags his tail excitedly at the thought. 

'I would like maybe one or two more. Then we wait for grand pups.' I didn't want to be still having pups at the same time as Atlas and Carrissa. Look at Ryan’s family. He was having his first child with Tabi the same time as his Mom was about to pop out his sixth Sister. We had all thought for sure she was finished with Amber, there was an eight-year gap.

Right now I only want to think about the next pup. "Feet sore from wearing high heels all day?" My Mate was the busiest female in two Packs, ours and the one she shares with her Brother Lincoln, as well as a web-based business. I roll up my sleeves and run my hands down her calves, kneading the muscles and enjoying the sparks. Lifting her foot out of the water I massage the instep and rub my thumbs deeply on the top of her foot.

She sighs contentedly, "I would never say No to a foot rub."

"More bubbles Mama!" Squeals Carissa. "Daddy, Mama needs her foots!" She lifts Caly’s foot out of my hand and carefully puts it back in the water, "Ready!"

"Stand back Daddy, or you'll get all wet," Caly warns me with a smirk. Both my pups stare anxiously at their Mom's feet. "Ready!" She sings out before kicking her feet in the water, making more bubbles appear. Atlas is sitting in the tub making tidal waves with his arms pushing the water in Caly’s direction while my little girl walks around him rescuing all the duckies from the 'storm'. My Mate throws her head back in laughter and the sound is melodious to my ears. She’s a true vision and in her element.

“Well, if we are having bath time early maybe we could invite Julia over for dinner,” I try to keep my voice casual, hiding my excitement. Caly helps Julia each night with her high school classes she takes online. Julia is also gifted, she’s a Seeker, she can find just about anything. She wasn’t as lucky as Caly, her Alpha, that i***t Alwic from Silvermoon, didn’t give a crap about her wellbeing. When she got here she was reading at a third-grade level, and child-like in many ways. Caly insisted in treating her like the young woman she was and raised her skills from that of an eight-year-old to a senior in high school.

If we get her lessons out of the way, Julia can babysit so Caly and I can go for a run in our wolf forms. If I can get the pups into bed on time, Mommy and Daddy can have some adult playtime. My Little Mate regards me shrewdly, she knows exactly what I am suggesting, and Athena’s black eyes flicker to the surface before a smile graces her face. That’s right s*xy Mama, this big bad wolf is coming for you and you will be all mine tonight.

Pregnancy changed Caly's body in the most delicious ways. Her hips were a bit wider now, and her biggest complaint had always been that her butt was too big. It was plump and I always liked it, now it was redistributed to be proportional with her hips. All her pre-pup straight skirts still fit nice and snug and still looked lovely when she bent over to reach for something.  The top half also grew out nicely. Her bre@sts had been a pleasant mouthful. She had to go bra shopping three times during pregnancy, adding a letter each time she went until she was DD. Maternity bras are boring, even if they have peek-a-boo fronts for nursing. Doc Murray said she could throw out all the old bras, they may be less swollen afterwards, but she was never going to get back down to a B cup. I sent Terrier with her to go bra shopping. Did I know she would want to see Caly modelling all those bras? Yes, of course, I did. But I also know my female best friend had a lingerie f*tish and wouldn't allow Caly to bring back any nondescript beige crap. All her flowy blouses now stretched taut over her bo*bs and had lacy bras for me to unwrap. The curvature of her body now was closer to an hourglass and not so pear-shaped.

“You link Julia and Rose, and I'll start to wash their hair.” Better her than me. My Princess is easy to get clean, but Atlas thrashes around and sounds like a cat forced to take a bath when it’s his turn to get shampooed. 

I walk out towards the kitchen and find Colin making himself a cup of coffee like he owns the damn place. He has his own place, literally right next door. Wait, I have an idea.

“Hey, Uncle Colin! Long time, no see. Staying for dinner?” I say sarcastically, it hasn’t even been an hour since we knocked off work.

“Yes, Caro is working the night shift,” Colin says flatly, I think he’s onto me. Doctor Caroline Murray has been his life partner for over seven years, but they only discovered they were second chance mates a few years ago. Doc Spitfire, I call her. She insists on working shifts like the other nurses, just to be fair. Right now, her stubbornness is working in my favour.

I start mind-linking. Rosemarie is in charge of housekeeping and cooking for this floor, and she needs to bring dinner for six.

“Julia is on her way up. I was hoping you could help her with her lessons since you’re her favourite wolf and all.” I lay it on thick, I need Colin to be my wingman tonight.

Just then my Daughter screams, “Uncle Colin!” as she pops out of my bedroom dressed only in her pink kitty cat hooded towel she got from her Gramma and Grampy. Why would a wolf have a cat towel you might ask? Because her Gramma is Luna Kat from Caly’s birth Pack, Artemis, and she finds this hilarious. Carrissa always gets kitten stuff, and Atlas always gets the puppies.

“Hello, Rissa. Did you have a bath because you had too much fun at the Den Mother’s today?” He gives her a kiss on the top of her head and a conspiratorial wink.

“Not me, Atly mades a mess with the fingers paints," she tells him seriously. "Daddy, find my purple kitty jammies?”

“Uncle Colin will stay and watch a movie with you tonight.” He can do double duty tonight, he’s always bragging about how good he is at multitasking. I love it when a plan comes all together.  I aim to be that lovey-dovey couple that grosses out their teenagers. Colin understands this, he's like a lovesick fool with his Mate. He gives me a nod in agreement.

I scoop up my baby girl and head off to her room to find her favourite jammies while Atlas barrels out of my room wet and stark naked, Caly chasing him with his towel.  

Yep, I’ve got just what My Little Mate needs to de-stress tonight.