The Heir of Crescent Moon

Chapter 10 - Itamlianunicorn548

Evie POV

I did manage to have a nap after I mind linked Dad and he let me know they were safe. I hadn't slept for almost two days, and once the adrenaline of trying to get here dissipated, I slept like a log.

'Evie, we're lighting the pyres in ten minutes.' Cory's voice came through the mind link. His voice was soft and warm. Tozi purred in my head, and I just hoped that Cory couldn't hear it. I doubted he noticed though. Even through the warmth and gentleness of his voice, I could hear the exhaustion in his tone. Cory had asked me to rest, but he hadn't heeded his own advice yet. I got up and changed. I passed by Zi's room and saw that she and Molly were still asleep.

I let them sleep. Molly was too young to see the pyres and understand what happened. I'm sure Cory would not think less of them if I didn't wake them up. I left the house and joined the rest of the pack making their way to the back of the pack house. There were twelve pyres set, and my heart sank. Cory had said only about five members had passed. It broke my heart when I saw a small figure on one pyre, with their parents crying next to it.

I looked around until my eyes landed on Cory. He was to the side talking with Beta Gonzalo and Gamma Theo. As if feeling my eyes on him, he looked up and met mine. He gave me a soft, tired smile. His face fell before he turned back to Gamma Theo. I was confused about the sudden change and wondered if something else happened. I was going to approach when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“They decided to combine the ceremony for both packs.” Paolo said when I turned my head up to look up at him.

“Oh.” I answered, only slightly relieved. It still made me sad for all the people we've lost but relieved that there hadn't been more people since I'd gone to sleep. I looked back at where Cory was, but he wasn't there anymore. I tried looking around, but before I could get very far, Paolo guided me to the front of the crowd, and we listened to Cory and Beta Gonzalo giving their speeches. Howls rented the air in support of the families as they took their torches and sent their loved ones back to the moon goddess.

“Do you want me to walk you back? I know your parents and brother are helping with everything. You shouldn't be alone tonight.” Paolo asked.

“That's sweet, but I won't be alone.” I smiled up at him.

He was going to say something when his eyes glazed over. He sighed when they cleared.

“I have to go. I'm on patrol next, and they're changing the routes and other stuff because of the attack. I'll catch you later?”

“Sure. Be safe.” I called after him.

“Worried?” He smirked.

“For everyone. Yes.” I walked back to the house and crawled back into my bed. Molly and Zi were still sleeping.

'Cory?' I reached out tentatively.

'Hi.' He answered softly. 'Are you OK?'

'I am. Have you gotten any rest?' I asked.

'Are you going to yell at me if I say no?'

'Of course not. I know you're the Alpha and have more responsibilities than the rest.' His sigh in my head felt more like a caress, and I couldn't help the way my heart fluttered.

'Then no, but I'm almost done for the night, and then I will get some rest.' He answered.

'Promise?'

'I promise.' He chuckled. 'This is the second time you've told me to get some rest. Do I really look that shitty?'

'No, but someone has to look after the man that looks after everyone.' I answered. He was quiet for a long moment, and I thought maybe he had gotten distracted by someone needing him.

'Thank you. Get some rest. I'll see you in the office tomorrow bright and early. I'll bring you breakfast.'

'I'll bring the coffee.' I answered. 'Good night Cory. Don't stay up much longer. You did a good job today. You're an amazing Alpha.' There was another long pause.

'Goodnight Evie.' He answered, and I felt some unease in him before he ended the mind link.

I didn't need to ask him what it was. I knew Cory. He always felt like he should be better or should have done more. Since we were children, he always felt like it was his job to protect everyone. If someone got hurt while we were playing, he always felt it was his fault. I knew this had to feel like a failure for him.

We just have to keep telling him he's great until he believes us. - Tozi answered and with that thought, I allowed myself to go to sleep.

“Good morning Molly.” I said the next morning after a good shower. Molly was already dressed and ready for her first day of daycare. I had signed her up last week before I flew out to meet them. She held her hands out for a hug, and I chuckled. Those cute little hands were covered in pancake syrup.

“How about a kiss instead?” I compromised, giving her a slobbery kiss like I knew she liked.

“Hey, do you want pancakes?” Zi asked.

“No, I'm good. Cory said he'd bring breakfast to the office. Are you ready to go?” I asked while I filled up two thermos full of coffee. Three sugars, one cream for Cory. At least, I hoped he still liked it that way. Cory always had a sweet tooth.

“Yeah. We're ready. Let me just grab her bag.” She said, running out of the kitchen and up the stairs. I grabbed a towel and damped it. Molly giggled as she fought me cleaning her hands and face of all the syrup she'd gotten on herself.

Thankfully, Zi had a giant bib apron that saved her from doing extra loads of laundry. I grabbed a few snacks I'd nabbed from Mom's pantry from the counter and dumped them into my bag before we left.

True to his word, the house Cory set us up in was only a few blocks from the daycare, and it was en route to the new office building. We dropped her off and walked over to the building. The guards were expecting us and told us that everyone was waiting on the top floor of the four-floor building.

“Good Morning.” I greeted Cory, Dad and James.

“Morning sweetie.” Dad answered. “Miss Johnson.”

“Morning ladies, I brought breakfast.” Cory pointed to a couple of wrapped breakfast burritos. I handed him the thermos I brought over for him, and I waited as he tasted it. “Wow, this is perfect. How did you know I liked it this way?”

“You've always liked it that way.” I answered and grabbed the burrito he'd brought. I took a bite, and it was delicious, but something was missing.

“Did you not - ahh.” I smiled as he pulled out a small salsa bag from a little grocery bag where he'd transported the food. I opened up my burrito and added some salsa and carefully wrapped it back up.

“Want some Zi?”

“I'm good. I already finished mine.” She blushed.

“Did neither of you have dinner yesterday?” James asked before he broke his burrito in half and offered it to Zi. A gesture that was very James and only made Zi blush more as she shook her head.

“That man eats like a horse. That's already his third. Take it, Zi.” Cory said, using my name for her already. It warmed my heart to see them accept her so easily. Zi looked my way for help, but I just smiled and shrugged.

“He's not wrong. James always ate the most out of everyone. I'd take it if I were you. He doesn't share his food with just anyone.” I said, making James blush this time.

“I'm not that bad.” He grumbled.

“Alright, before I leave you guys, I need to tell you what I've tried on those cell phones. No need to waste attempts on things we already know don't work.” Dad said when we were finished with breakfast. We sat down and listened and took notes and asked questions. It looked like he'd tried just about everything known to man to get the information, but I was sure Zi and I could figure something out between the two of us.

“When do the others start to arrive?” I asked.

“The offices will begin to get furnished sometime next week. We're hoping to bring people in then, but we won't be a hundred percent fully operational until sometime in the next month or two. We do have your offices furnished though, and a lab your dad said you would need right next to it.” Cory showed us.

“I only brought the necessities for now. There's a lot of stuff due to arrive in the next few days, honey. You should have everything you want and more.” Dad said with a sparkle in his eyes that I'm sure was reflected in mine. This was basically a no-budget onetime funding of toys. What more could I possibly want?

A hot Alpha to go with it? - Tozi answered my rhetorical question. I did my best not to blush and instead cleared my throat and walked over to the computers already set up for me.

“Are these with the specs I requested?” I asked.

“Yep. Built it all myself.” Dad answered.

“Great. I should be able to get started with all of this. Is there anything else I can do for you gentlemen, or can I get started with my work?” I asked.

“No ma'am- I mean. Evie. No. We'll leave you to it.” Cory said.

James snickered at him on the way out, and I could hear the slap upside the head before they got into the elevator, as well as James' complaint and my dad's attempt at getting the boys under control. It was a losing battle. I was sure they would be bickering with each other well into their eighties. It was just who they were.

I looked over to Zi to ask if she was ready to start, but the look on her face made me narrow my eyes at her.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She said, turning around thinking I didn't see the smile on her face.

I walked over to my new office.

We have an office. We're officially the boss! - Tozi's tail was wagging.

We've both dreamed of something like this. Through all the hard work and late nights. From all the times we didn't go to a party or missed a gathering. All the holidays we were away from home. This was it. This was our reward.

Now we can focus on finding someone to share it with. - Tozi said, sighing dreamily and flashing me images I didn't need to see.

I focused instead on the pretty bouquet of carnations of all colors on the desk. Carnations were my favorite. They lived a long time naturally and smelled amazing until the last petal fell. Dad must have put them there when he set up my computers.

I put my snacks on my desk and put my purse away. My green apples and NutriGrains went right in front of my keyboard. It was the only way for me to remember that I needed to eat when I went down the rabbit hole on a project. I turned on my computer and began arranging my applications the way I liked them.

It was a process every time I got a new system. I liked things a certain way. It made it easier for me to find what I needed without wasting time. I found often that my own ideas left my head if I took too long to look for tools.

I grabbed the tablet Dad left for us and started watching the videos of his attempts to extract the data. It looked like the usual removal of SIM still triggered a data wipe when it reconnected to a reader. Turning the phone on didn't work. The moment another face showed up on the screen. When trying to get the data via SIM, the USB cord wiped the file when it requests the connection. Dad tried a few other things that also didn't seem to work.

I started doing some research. I had fifteen chances to get this done. If I failed...I couldn't fail. This was more than just a job. These people harmed my pack, my friends, my family. I dumped all of the phones out on the table. Maybe there was something about the phones used that would help.

“Zi...” I called.

“What's up?”

“What do you see?” I asked her.

“Phones.”

“But?” I asked her. She put her hands on her hips and scrunched her face. She reached and began moving things around on my desk.

“Do we know if any of these are theirs or ours?” She asked.

“I don't know. I'll ask Dad.”

'Dad, all the phones that got wiped when you tried to work on them, what were the make and model?'

'Motorola Moto G.'

'What are all these other phones in the bag?'

'They grabbed all the phones they could find. The rest are from pack members. I thought we could figure out who they belong to so we can give them back to the members or... or the families if it belongs to someone that passed away.'

'So I don't have fifteen chances to get this right, I have more around ten.' I said, slightly annoyed.

'Sorry, sweetie. It's been a tough few days.' He said, and I instantly felt bad. Dad was there, helping with the cleanup and the aftermath. He probably hasn't slept much either.

'Sorry Dad. I didn't mean to be snappy. I'll figure this out. I love you.'

'Love you too. Come home for dinner? Your mom could use some cheering up.'

'Can I bring my friends?'

'Of course. I'll let her know.' He said before ending the mind link.

“These belong to pack members. Dad wants us to find out who they belong to so we can return them. I'll deal with them. How are you settling?” I asked her.

“These computers are top of the line. I'm having so much fun setting them up.” She said excitedly.

Zi has been freelancing since we graduated from MIT, in between waiting tables to make ends meet. Even with old tech, she'd done some amazing things and helped me bounce ideas when I've gotten stuck. Above my friendship with her, it was her brilliant mind that convinced me to put my job on the line to get her here. Mind you, seeing their reactions to her resume, I knew she could have gotten in here on her own. I'm just happy I was able to negotiate her a higher position and salary. She deserved to have some stability and comforts she's denied herself for so long while taking care of Molly.

I set the phones aside for now. I wanted to do some research into what kind of programs existed out there to wipe the data drives clean. I went into the dark net and down the rabbit hole. A few hours later, I had a few ideas for the software that was on the phones. I could grab a new phone and recreate the software. If I can recreate the software, I can find a way around it.

'Woman, it's six pm. Molly has been asking about you. Are you done yet?' Zi's mind link startled me. I forgot she could do that now.

's**t, we're supposed to be at my parents' for dinner in half an hour.'

'We?'

'Yeah, all three of us.'

'Oh. I guess we can cook the spaghetti tomorrow.'

'If you've already cooked it, we can have it for lunch.'

'Oooh fair point!'

'I'll be home in a few minutes.'

I locked my computer and threw away my apple cores and bar wrappers.

“Hello, Molly!”

“Evie!” She screamed and ran into my arms. She started babbling about all the friends she made and what her daycare teacher taught her. We walked over to my parents. When we walked in, I stopped when I heard a familiar voice.

'Mom, what's Paolo doing here?'

'He was waiting for you when I got home so I invited him to dinner. Is...was that wrong? I thought you guys were friends.' She asked and I sighed.

'No. It's fine. He just...He asked me out again, and I said no.'

'Oh. Well...maybe it won't be too awkward?' She chuckled.

I walked in and greeted everyone.

“Paolo, how's it going? This is Ziomara and Molly.” I motioned behind me.

“Oh hey! I texted you to ask if you wanted to grab dinner, but you didn't answer so I thought I'd check in. Your mom invited me to dinner.” He said.

I was going to answer when I heard Dad laughing and coming up the stairs. Behind him was Adrien, a werewolf vampire hybrid that was the son of Beta Lalo.

“Oh hey, you're here! Adrien, this is one of our newest pack members, Ziomara, and her child, Molly. Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?” He asked Adrien while eyeing Paolo around the fridge.

“Hmm, maybe I will. Whatever you're cooking Mrs. Roswell smells amazing.” Adrien said happily. “But I don't want you to feel like you have to feed me. You're already amazing for helping me.”

“I'm going to head home. Mom just texted me that dinner is ready. Thanks for the invite, Mrs. Roswell.” Paolo said. I walked him out, and at the door, he turned around. “Call you later?”

“Maybe tomorrow? I'm really tired.” I lied.

“Sure.” He said, rubbing my arms and making Tozi growl in my head. She really didn't like him for some reason.

I walked back in, and Adrien was talking animatedly to Ziomara. He was holding Molly while she played with his long dark hair. He was a natural with kids. I should know. He often babysat our group.

“Evie! I heard you're taking your dad's job. I'm so proud of you. You were always so smart. It was a pain in the ass trying to stay a step ahead.” He chuckled.

“You never could figure out how we could hack into the Netflix account and watch horror movies.” I laughed.

“No matter what I did, but now maybe I will. Your dad's been teaching me how to do some of the stuff you guys do.”

“Oh, you're interested in security tech?” I asked, suddenly excited to have more people to talk to about all the new gadgets.

“Some. We figured your dad's been doing the pack's security and troubleshooting for two packs for too long.”

“I told you all, I don't mind. Your pack is as much family as mine.” Dad answered warmly.

“I know, and we are still depending on you both for new gadgets and software, but at least if I learn some, we don't have to call you for the minor stuff.” He said. It made sense, and I was happy that they would have someone available that lived inside the pack.

“And?” I asked. “How are you finding it?”

“Fascinating, honestly. I'll never be at your level, but it's definitely interesting. It was time for Italianunicorn548 to make a comeback.” He said, and for some reason, my dad started laughing hard.

“There's a story there.” Ziomara said, smiling at the contagious laughter of the two.

“There is, and one that's very long. Let's just say Adrien played parent trap for Gonzalo and Kassie.” Dad answered. I chuckled. I could totally see him doing something like that.