Alpha's Solace (Black Moon Saga Book 1)

Bo

For three nights, there have been no further ‘wolf dreams’ as Adam likes to call them. Kylie misses them, but Kieran is particularly restless because he believes it is a sign that Mirabella overextended herself with the last one and is not able to communicate with them anymore. He blames himself for not telling her to stop the dream sooner even though he suspected that it was too much for her to handle.

Fortunately, Kylie’s mind never stops, and it has been keeping Kieran occupied observing the conversations between her and Adam. She is full of questions. Whenever his human counterpart is telling their mate about werewolves and the supernatural, he finds that he can’t help but listen intently and soak in her expressions and mannerisms. He enjoys the way she seems to find it all endlessly fascinating, but also in the back of his mind he is searching for any hint of disapproval and finding none.

Adam gives her brief overviews of many supernatural beings he is aware of, admitting that he is by no means an expert. He tells her of vampires, witches and warlocks, fairies and fae, and some of the other shifters he has encountered personally. He also fills her in about The Elders and tells her that now that she is confirmed to be a supernatural being herself, she can always go to them with her questions that he can’t answer.

She finally musters up the courage to ask him about her real parents and whether they were werewolves as well. He tells her that ‘Papa’ was a valued member of his pack and ‘Mama’ was believed to be human. With what Anya discovered about Kylie’s birthmark, however, now he is not so sure. He leaves out the part about the uncertainty of their biological relationship to her, though, wishing to reserve that conversation until he knows for certain.

Another conversation nagging at the back of his mind is the one about her potential pregnancy. Every time he decides it is time to bring it up, he second guesses himself, reasoning that even though he trusts that Anya is good at what she does, he still hasn’t seen medical proof. Until he does, he doesn’t think it is worth upsetting Kylie over something that could still be proven false. She hasn't even shown symptoms, yet.

Kieran thinks he’s being an i***t and isn’t shy about telling him that, multiple times daily, but Adam argues that it’s in a werewolf’s nature to distrust a witch and manages to convince himself it’s the best choice. He resolves to convince Kylie to see the doctor as soon as possible, and since she is already eager to find out if her broken arm has healed that shouldn’t be a problem.

Late in the morning after the third dreamless night, Kylie wakes to the sound of the phone ringing on the nightstand on Adam’s side of the bed. She groans when she realizes that he is no longer in the bed with her and she will have to roll over and answer it herself. She finally picks it up on the sixth ring, just as Adam is coming into the bedroom intending to answer it himself. Once he realizes she is on top of it, he pauses in the doorway and leans against the doorframe.

“Hello?” Kylie manages to croak out sleepily.

“Hi, Baby,” Betsy greets her cheerfully. “It sounds like I might have woken you. Sorry about that.”

“You did, but it’s fine. I’m glad to hear your voice. How are things in town?”

“Things have been pretty normal around here. Jonah went back to stay in his apartment at the hotel, so it’s been quiet again. I miss you both.”

“I miss you too, Mom.”

Kylie spends the next ten minutes or so chatting with her mother. She tells her about how things are going at the cabin while her mother gives her updates about everything happening in town. Eventually, Betsy gets to the point of her call, to tell her that she has found a new home for Bo. That news hits Kylie pretty hard, but she knows it is for the better. She makes plans with her mother to come back to town the next morning to see Bo one last time before she heads off to her new home.

Once she hangs up the phone, Adam moves from his spot in the doorway to come and sit with her on the bed. He can sense that she is troubled after the call with her mother. “What’s the matter, Sweetheart?”

Kylie sighs, struggling with her decision to give Bo away now that it has become a reality. “It’s Bo. Mom said she has found a new home for her, a woman who lives a couple towns over and takes in elderly cats. She says she seems like the nicest person, but it still sucks that I have to give her up. She’s been my best friend for a couple years now, but I don’t like how she suffers now that we have moved here. I love it here, she doesn’t, so she needs to be somewhere else. I’m going to miss her, though.”

Adam puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his side and places his signature kiss on the top of her head. “I’m sorry you have to give your kitty away. I have to admit, though, as much as you always loved wolves, I was surprised you have a cat now. I’d love to hear the story of how that happened.”

Kylie smiles as she remembers the day she met Bo, then begins to tell him the tale. “Well, I do love wolves, but I couldn’t exactly take one to the city with me and keep it in my apartment. It got lonely sometimes, and I really missed having Kieran to talk to and hang out with in those moments. So, one day I decided I was going to visit the local animal shelter and look for a small dog. It’s not a wolf, but I thought it might help.

So there I am walking through this glaringly white room with florescent lighting that smells of a mix of bleach and maybe urine, browsing past cages full of a few different kinds of dogs, when in the next room over I hear quite a ruckus. So, I peek in there, and there’s two attendants in scrubs trying to catch a cat who has escaped her cage. They act like this is not the first time, and they’re also talking about how they’re sure this cat is going to be put to sleep. She’s old, she has some difficulty walking, and her personality makes her a hard sell for people looking to adopt a cat.

I take one look at this cat, her scruffy fur and how she’s hobbling and jumping around, and the first thing I think of is that old song, 'Mr. Bojangles'. She doesn’t look like she’s limping, she looks like she’s dancing. Then I look at her face and see how terrified and miserable she looks, and I ask the attendants if I can try to soothe her and get her to come to where they need her. They don’t want to let me do that, but eventually they agree to let me try. They tell me they’ll wait right outside the door.

So, they leave, and I start to approach her slowly. She has quieted down without them aggressively chasing after her. Once I get into her space in the corner, she doesn’t growl or hiss or anything. She just sort of flops down like she’s exhausted and doesn’t fight me when I try to pick her up. Once I’ve got her in my arms, she leans into me like we’re old friends. They try to take her from me, but she fights and clings to me.

I decided in that moment that this cat would be the furry little critter coming home with me. Admittedly, she’s not that nice to anyone except me, but I get it. I think she’s been through a lot in her life, and I’m just glad I got a chance to give her some rest and lots of cuddles and love.”

“Wow, Kylie,” Adam responds to her story, beaming with pride. “You have such a big heart. I bet that cat could sense it and knew you would help her. I’m just sorry you can’t keep her.”

“Me too, but I love her enough to not be selfish and keep her in a place where she is always stressed and on edge. That was what I wanted to get her away from. If my Mom has found somewhere where she can relax and be happy again, then she should go there.”

She tells him a bit more about her beloved cat as he listens patiently, appreciating the way her face lights up when she talks about her. He can tell she is quite attached to Bo and it breaks his heart that she will have to give her up now that she has come back here to live. He entertains the idea of moving to the city with her instead for a moment but realizes that will never work. Not to mention, the reason the cat is so on edge is probably because all the people around her smell like wolves. If he moves to the city with them, the cat likely won’t be any less stressed.

You’ll just have to make sure she gets plenty of wolf cuddles, Kieran suggests, and Adam can feel how smug he is about it.

He convinces Kylie to pack up and leave with him today instead of the next day so that she can see a doctor at the clinic. He tells her there is an appointment available this afternoon and they can find out whether her arm is healed. She is hesitant because she has been enjoying this time away with him and doesn’t want it to end yet, but he promises her that they will come back soon.

“Actually, I’ve been considering moving out here,” he informs her. “There is no reason why I need to stay in town, and no point in paying for two places. I love it out here, and I love that you have so much history here. If you wanted to join me, that would be even better,” he hints expectantly.

“You know, that brings up something I’ve been wondering. I know you used to live at the hotel, but now that you’re ‘retired,’ where have you been living? And what do you do? Do you have a different job?” Then the last thing he said finally sinks in, and her eyes go wide with excitement. “Wait, did you just ask me to move in with you? Here?”

He laughs, her response and delayed reaction so typically Kylie. “I did. What do you think about that?”

She giggles nervously, and blushes. “I don’t know why, but that makes me feel kind of giddy. Like with butterflies in my stomach and everything, almost like I’m back in junior high and you just asked me to the spring dance or something.” She rolls her eyes at her own silliness.

He chuckles and takes her hand, bringing it to his lips to place a soft kiss on the back of it. “I guess that means you’re kind of in favor of that plan then.”

“Yeah, I think I am. I mean, it’s pretty fast to be doing this already, but it feels right. Actually, going back to my parents’ house to sleep in my old room is what feels bizarre. Living with you, though, especially after spending all this time here together just feels natural. You know?”

“I do. It helps that we have this mate bond pulling us to each other and making it harder for us to be apart. It might not be complete yet, but it’s still a force. I’m not complaining, though. I love being with you.”

“I love being with you, too.” She grins up at him, excited about the idea of taking the next step with him. “Let’s do it. I kind of want to see your place in town, too, though. Can we stay there sometime?”

He smiles back at her, feeling her excitement through their linked hands and mentally thanking whatever powers of the universe were smiling down on him today. “Ah yes, you did ask about that. I have a house in town not too far from Gertie’s, quite similar to hers actually. I’ll show it to you tonight if you’d like, and you’re more than welcome to stay with me there whenever you want. That is, until I turn it back over to the pack.”

“Interesting.” She mulls over the implications of him returning his house to the pack rather than selling it. “So, the pack owns the houses in town and just lets people live there, or am I not understanding that completely?”

“Sort of. The pack is basically a big community organization. If you’re a member, you’ll be taken care of. The pack helps people find jobs or start businesses, and if a pack member or pack family needs a place to live then one is provided.

It’s not a freeloading opportunity though. Everybody pitches in somehow, and if you have a job then you’re expected to contribute to the pack financially. I don’t mean there’s pack dues or anything like that, but if you’re working then you can pay rent, pay your own bills, and so on. Plus, the pack owns various businesses that are the biggest source of income for the pack as a whole and provide jobs for a lot of members. The hotel is probably the biggest example of that.

Now, to answer your question about what I do now that I’m not the Alpha anymore, I basically go around and help pack members start business and get them up and running. I’m not the one who decides who gets the loans and grants for those businesses, but I’m the guy they call after that to help the new business owners get established and teach them some of the basics. Our pack wants to see its people succeed, and I have a lot of experience with running a large business, so there’s a lot I can offer to people just starting out.”

“That’s pretty cool. It sounds like an important job,” she compliments him, genuinely impressed.

He blushes slightly but attempts to make light of how her attention makes his heart skip beats and encourages those butterflies she was just talking about to dance in his belly, too. “It is, or at least I like to think it is. Now, let’s get you up and dressed and start packing. We have an appointment this afternoon!”