The Shadows in the Hills: Triple Threat

Chapter Twenty Nine

The camp was a hive of activity when we arrived. It seemed like all of the camp had heard of our arrival and came out to greet us. It was a completely different welcome to the one I had received when I first went to the camp. At that moment, one thing became clear to me, the value that the pack put on the next generation. I was welcomed because I had brought that next generation with me. Everyone we came into contact with cooed over the triplets, even though I had no idea who most of them were. Finally, I saw a familiar face in the crowd, Gerald. He pulled me into a stiff hug, but paid the babies little attention. "Glad to have you home where you belong."

"The feeling is mutual. I'm glad to be back at long last." I couldn't put my finger on what it was about Gearld, but he had a way about him that made me feel safe. As though, no matter what, he had my back.

"Can I steal her away please? I'm going to give her a tour around before I need to head out." Brodie had appeared out of nowhere.

"No worries. I need to grab you later on to fill you in on some things that have happened in your absence." That would definitely be a meeting I intended to be in. The way he said it suggested that something major had happened. If there was anything I could do to help, then I wanted to be aware of it.

"Where to first?" I at least wanted to know his plan for me, but I had a feeling he was trying to convince me of the life I could have in the camp. Almost like he was selling the place to me.

"The nursery." I knew it. He led me over to a simple cabin, similar in size to his own. Walking straight in as though he owned the place, but then again I supposed he did. There were two beaming women sitting on a rainbow rug in the middle of the room, surrounded by six small children. Four of them were sitting listening intently to a story, but there were two babies laid on playmats too.

"Hey Brodie, what can we do for you?" The blonde-headed older lady stood and approached us as the red-headed teacher carried on reading to the children in her care.

"We have three new recruits for you guys." I wanted to kill him. He had to at least talk to me before he made decisions about the triplets. "I doubt they will be full time, but would you mind watching them for a little while so we can take care of some business?" He handed Theo straight over to her and she looked him over like she was trying to assess him.

"Who is this handsome chap?"

"This is Theo. Aiden is the cutie with the red hair and Penny is the littlest one."

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet all three of you and you, Esme. I've heard a lot about you from my husband." I took the hand she held out to me and shook it.

"Her husband is Gerald." I mentally thanked Brodie for the information because I had no idea.

"He speaks very highly of you. Let's get the babies set up. I know it will be difficult, but it is great for them. To be able to see other babies like them and we're all familiar with how fast they can grow." I knew what she was getting at but the idea of leaving them was awful. "Just an hour or so to start with and you can pop in whenever you feel the need. It's the way we do things here. I'm assuming you have heard the saying it takes a village to raise a baby. Well, we're that village. Whenever you need a break or a helping hand, we're here." Somehow she made it all sound so normal, so practical. I had been so worried about raising the three of them alone. First because we were at the house, but even after I had agreed to come home.

Brodie had the whole camp to look after and that took time. I couldn't rely on my mother, not after everything she had done. I wasn't even sure I was happy trusting my dad. After all, he had gone along with it all too. According to him, he asked her to do it to me. The truth was that I felt so alone in it all before I walked through those doors, but that had changed. Knowing she was married to Gerald helped, but I wasn't sure why. As though the trust he sparked in me was passed on to his wife.

I went with her and waited while she got a playmat out for each of the triplets. Once Theo was settled, she took Aiden and settled him too, leaving me to lay Penny down. She was the hardest to leave, she just seemed more fragile than the boys. It was the right thing to do. Seeing the camp without carrying three babies around would be much more simple.

"Time to see the school. Come on, they will be fine, I promise. Helena and Erin are well versed at looking after werewolf babies. They've had plenty of practice." I didn't say anything, but I did take his hand in agreement. Looking back over my shoulder continuously as we walked out the door.

The school was right next to the nursery but was three times the size. "The school is arranged a little differently to traditional schools. There are three classrooms. If my memory serves me correctly, class one is four to seven year olds, which is where we are going. Then there is class two, which is eight through twelve, and class three up until they leave or go on to university. The first two classes concentrate on life skills, reading and maths, but they're quite laid back. Class three is separated into two groups, those doing practical things such as building and those doing qualifications."

"You're very well informed."

"For starters, I came here myself and, secondly, I have to know, it's my job." He led me through the door to the lower primary class and closed the door quietly behind us. "This is where I imagined you teaching, but the choice is yours."

"Will you slow down please?" Out of no where, I felt the impact of Millie on my legs as she wrapped her arms around them. "Hey sweetie, how are you doing?"

"I'm good, where Jacky? He with you?"

"No he isn't, but he will be here soon. You best get yourself back to your lessons." She skipped away from us and I turned to Brodie. He hadn't even acknowledged she existed and I knew we were going to have to have a conversation about it.

"Why don't you stay here for a little while and I will go and pick everyone up from the train station." It was clear he wanted to get out of there and as fast as possible. Something told me he hadn't considered Millie being in the class before he brought us inside. All I knew was that I had to get to the bottom of what the problem was.