Chapter Twelve
1439 Words
Chapter Twelve
They spent half an hour holding each other afterward, before Sarina got up to check on the twins, who slept peacefully. When Brody joined her, they climbed into bed and slept with their sons.
The next morning, Sarina and Brody showered and dressed before dressing the twins and placing them in their car seats for the trip to her parent’s home. Today they’d say goodbye to Jason and bury him in the family plot next to Sarina’s great Aunt Mabel who’d been buried there more than twenty-five years prior.
Sarina found her sister, Shawna, and together the women held each other as the grief for their lost brother overwhelmed them. Sarina waited for Brody to join them with the twins and together the five of them headed into the house where Sarina found her parents. Her mother still looked shell shocked, her dark eyes holding none of the happiness she’d been so well known for. “Mama,” Sarina said, placing her arms around her mother’s waist. Her mother grabbed her tight, holding her for a long time.
“We need to get started,” Joshua said, seeming so much older to Sarina now. Her grandfather was the rock that held their family together and Sarina didn’t want to think about what they’d all do when he left this world.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Romeo said, standing near the place where Jason’s body had been placed. “Today is a day no parent should have to live through, the burying of a child. Jason Jeremiah Traverse was a prankster and fiercely competitive, especially with his twin sister, Sarina. No one loved his family with more openness than Jason though and I stand here today knowing that somewhere out there, he’s enjoying himself. That was Jason’s legacy, because no matter how bad things got, no matter how much trouble he got into, he always, always found the positive in it. He always found a way to entertain people and lived to make people smile.”
Sarina spoke of Jason’s love for his pack, his dreams and fears of taking the alpha position when Romeo stepped down. She told stories from their childhood and promised not only that she’d never forget him, but that she’d end those responsible for his death. Then she stepped away and joined Brody and her sons, who looked like serious little toddlers in their tiny suits.
>>
Fenris watched the funeral from a short distance away. He’d needed confirmation that Lilith wasn’t just jerking his chain and sending a recruit wasn’t good enough. Still, seeing the Delta pack mourning the loss of a wolf, even an important one, was so much fun. His pack knew they’d better damn well do their grieving in private and get it over with. No one was important in his pack and any grieving that had to be done was set aside until the main objective was taken care of. He needed soldiers and warriors, not sniveling little bitches and bastards.
It was even more obvious to him now that the Delta pack needed a leader who’d turn them into the werewolves they were meant to be. They were hybrids after all. The last thing they needed was to walk around acting like their weak and needy, human counterparts. Humans were prey and it was time someone reminded the Delta pack of that fact, among many others.
He returned to his base, noticing the changes that had occurred since his leaving that morning. “What the hell is all this?”
“It’s management,” Lilith said, her body decked out in tight jeans and a tank top. Growling, he took her arm and all but yanked her into his conference room.
“You of all people don’t come into my domain and try to take over. I’m the alpha now Lilith, as I remember you died a quarter of a century ago by caring too much for a particular weak link in my rather impressive line.”
“And what’s more impressive? The fact that I came back from the dead or that you’re still alive? I’m the one who started this line, or do I need to remind you?”
“I don’t need a reminder, you little b***h. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have had some fun with you and gone about my merry way. Do you have any idea what that first change was like for me? I felt as if I was dying, except I never got that release. I never died... I just suffered, trying to grasp what was happening to me.”
“Poor baby,” Lilith said, mocking him.
Fenris pinned her against the wall, devouring her body with his eyes.
“What aggravates you more? The fact that I started actually doing something here, or that I won’t let you have me?” she asked.
“You never could take orders well,” Fenris said. Reaching up, he tore her shirt away, exposing the sloping curve of her breasts. Dipping his head, he ran his tongue over her flesh, his keen ears picking up the way she gasped. “The hell you don’t want me.”
One sharp look into her eyes and Fenris fused his mouth to hers, inhaling her scent as his hands worked her clothes off. Their mating was fast and rough, each taking exactly what they wanted from the other. When all was said and done, Fenris sat back and grinned. “It’s been too long, Lilith.”
“Hmm,” she mumbled. Looking at the white board across the room, she went over to it and began to draw in large sweeping lines. “You need more soldiers. The Delta pack easily outnumbers your forces. Even with the blow to their lines last week and the devastation I caused by taking out their alpha’s son, we’re going to need more wolves.”
“And where exactly do you expect to find them? That little whelp went and submitted his pack to Romeo months ago, they’re certainly not going to be a big help. Other packs, who knows what they have going, not to mention the cost of traveling to them and then trying to convince them that this is best. What the hell can we offer them for their time and sacrifice?”
“How about becoming a member of the strongest and most notorious pack this side of the River? No pack is going to best ours once we join with the Delta wolves. Our forces will be unstoppable and instead of living in damp, dark caves, we’ll ride high in that mansion Romeo and his b***h have.”
“Lilith, I love your grandiose schemes, but I’m not sure that asking other packs to join us in hopes of taking down the Delta pack and joining us all together is going to be enough to convince them to fight.”
“Well, then,” Lilith smiled. “We’ll have to make a reason for them to want to participate. Something along the lines of sabotage caused by none other than the Delta pack. All we have to do is figure out how they kill and leave a few werewolf bodies around for pack members to find. They’ll trace those kills back here and before you know it, we’ll have ourselves an army to take down Romeo, his b***h, their mongrel pups and anyone else who thinks they can stand in our way.”
Smiling, Fenris agreed that her plan was a solid one. He wasn’t sure it’d go off all that smoothly, but if they could nail the execution, he believed they’d definitely have themselves an army that not even Romeo’s best wolves could beat. His body finally sated by taking Lilith, Fenris called several of his best to a conference and explained Lilith’s initial phase to them.
“Report back to me when it’s done,” he said, releasing them to go. He knew waiting would be the hardest part, but within the week, they’d hear something from the other packs for certain, especially when they came sweeping over the mountains to find the pack responsible for killing off their members. Boy, wasn’t Romeo’s pack going to be in for a surprise.
Looking over at Lilith, Fenris was surprised to see her staring at him, her face curiously blank for a minute. Then those eyes he’d always loved smiled at him. “Come to my quarters later. It’s been a hell of a trip back and you’ve whetted my appetite for carnal pleasures.”
Fenris gave her a simple shake of his head to voice his agreement and when she left he spent some time thinking of the maneuvers they’d put into place. It was good, solid strategy, but they’d need to be two steps ahead to make it all work. Come morning, he’d talk with his pack about it. Right now though, he had a woman to please and pleasure of his own to take.
-To be continued in Book 3-
- Writer
