Their Polar Bear Dilemma

5 - Making it Official

Shiloh

    We stayed in the water until Jax’s mum mind linked him, insisting we return so they could make me an official member of the Evergreen Pack.  Neither of us were ready to leave, but we knew better than to disobey a direct order from the Queen of Werebears/Luna of the Evergreen Pack.  Not to mention, his mum.

    Right away, we left the water and shifted into our cat form, then we ran back to the tree line in front of the castle, where we left our clothes.  Once we were dressed, we ran through the castle, dodging wearbears on the way until we reached the royal chambers.

    After standing outside the door and catching our breath, Jax grabbed my hand and excitedly mumbled, “It’s time to make you a pack member!”

    “It’s gonna be so weird to lose my link with the Jungle Pack, but I’ll still have the spell links with my family,” I sheepishly responded, suddenly feeling more nervous about everything.  I was born into the Jungle Pack and didn’t have to go through that process, making it a new experience for me.

    “Don’t worry, kitten.  You will always be able to return to the Jungle Pack, if you want to go back later,” Jax thoughtfully remarked before opening the front door.

    We barely got inside before King Silas enthusiastically questioned, “Are you ready to join the Evergreen Pack?”

    “Yes, sir,” I respectfully answered.

    “There is no need to sir me, Shiloh.  You are part of the family,” he insisted with a smile that reached his eyes.

    “Okay, sir.  I’ll work on that,” I responded, as I always did when King Silas insisted, I not call him, sir.  Unfortunately, it was a hard habit to break, since I was used to calling King Lance, sir.

    After agreeing to the terms of joining the pack, King Silas said the words needed to break my bond and mind link with the Jungle Pack.  There was no stopping the few tears that sprang into my eyes when I felt the snap.

    However, they changed from tears of sadness to tears of joy when I felt the new bond and link form with the Evergreen Pack.  It was something I had wanted for a long time, despite the momentary sadness I previously felt.

    Once the process was done, Jax’s mum insisted we celebrate with a steak dinner.  Of course, nobody had any objections to that, and I was happy when the kitchen staff showed up a few minutes later with everything already prepared for us to eat.

     The food was delicious.  I filled my stomach with a delicious, rare steak, a baked potato loaded with cheese, steamed broccoli and two yeast rolls, then I was ready for a shower and a nap.

    I was still on the typical werecat sleeping schedule, so I was feeling especially tired at that point, leading to me taking a shorter shower than normal.  After dressing in Jax’s large, dark green t-shirt with a tree printed on the front, I climbed under the blanket on his bed and waited for Jax to join me.

    While I was showering, Jax stayed at the dining table, so they could talk.  I had no clue what their conversation was about, but I assumed it had something to do with me.  Not that I was worried or anything.  Jax’s parents adored me.

    I had reached the point where I could barely hold my eyelids open when Jax finally appeared in the doorway.  While gazing at my blonde-haired, green-eyed cutie, I drowsily mumbled, “Get over here, Jax!  I want to snuggle.”

    With an ear-to-ear grin stretching across his ridiculously cute face, Jax crossed the room and joined me under the blanket.  Right away, I snuggled against his side with my head on his chest and whispered, “Mine.”

    “Yours,” he whispered in return, as he wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in a blanket of his warmth.  It couldn’t have been more than a minute before I fell asleep in Jax’s protective arms, purring with happiness.  

Candace

    I literally had to run just to catch up with Noah when school let out.  It wasn’t like him to leave me behind like that, but I tried not to think too much of it, since he was having a conversation with one of his buddies.

    When I caught up to him in the parking lot, I breathlessly grumbled, “Noah, did you not hear me shout your name?”

    “Sorry, babe.  I honestly didn’t hear you,” he nonchalantly mumbled, then he turned back to his friend and started talking again, not showing any sign of actually being sorry.

    “Look, I don’t have time for this.  My mum needs me to go straight home, but I can hang out later,” I informed Noah, interrupting his other conversation a second time.

    “That’s too bad.  I already have plans with the guys.  We can hang out tomorrow, if you want,” he responded without even glancing in my direction.

    “If this is how you’re gonna act, then I think I’ll pass,” I growled, not hiding my irritation with him.

    Noah finally looked at me again.  For just a second, I saw a hint of love and sadness combined, then his sky-blue eyes went void of emotion before he grumbled, “Suit yourself.”

    Pissed about the way he was acting toward me, I gave him a little shove and choked out, “I thought you were better than these other jerks.  I guess I was wrong about you.”

    Before he had a chance to respond, I spun on my heel and briskly walked home.  Usually, Noah gave me a ride home, but I didn’t care to be around him at the moment.  Plus, the fresh air and time to think could be beneficial.

    On the way home, I replayed the last few conversations I had with Noah in my mind.  He had been acting weird for almost a week, and it was seriously starting to get to me.

    I had been trying to figure out what caused the sudden change, but there was no good reason for it.  As far as I knew, we were great, until we suddenly weren’t.

    All I could do at that point was hope he was just going through a phase and would snap out of it soon.  The sooner the better, because I really needed him to be there for me with everything that was going on.

    The last thing I needed was to lose the one werebear in this wretched pack who actually cared about me besides my mum.  He was the glue that had been keeping me together.  Without Noah, there was no telling how much worse my life could get at the Grizzly Pack.