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But as we rebuilt, we made several changes, and some not so little, to erase the bad things that had happened here. For example, the square was now a large green area with a few stone paths and lots of shrubs and thin trees. No more pavement or benches where items could be hidden underneath.
The school had also changed a lot, from the facade to the layout, and the colors and materials used inside. We wanted it to look nothing like before so the wolves and kids who entered the building never remembered what they went through while in the old school.
The alpha’s house was the other one we changed a lot, mostly for Minsi. The layout was almost the same as before, it was still a farmhouse style, but we changed the colors, the decoration, and made sure her bedroom was different from her previous one. We also added a new floor where Raika’s and my suite was—and it included a sitting area, a small office for when I needed to work from home, and a double balcony that opened to the front and the back gardens. Now the house also had a new resident: Rue. She had become our mother-slash-grandmother a long time before, and there was no reason to keep her away from us. Of course, we had asked her if she wanted to move in, and she had become so emotional, she couldn’t answer for an entire minute.
Next on the list were the infirmary and the town hall. The rest of town waited while we made the main parts functional, but we wouldn’t rebuild everything, not yet. There was no reason to rebuild houses that wouldn’t be occupied, so for now, we cleared the area of the old, burned structures and debris, making room for more green.
This time, though, there would be no crystals and no barrier protecting the town. We would be open from all sides to friends and enemies, and for that, we would soon resume training and a rotation of patrols and other security measures—I had bought several cameras, sensors, and silent alarms to be placed along the land borders so we could keep an eye on anything suspicious.
Because we would also be at the weather’s mercy, we were preparing for winter. I had bought several snow plows to clear Main Street fast and efficiently, and also installed central heat in all of the houses and buildings. I urged people to go clothes shopping and buy thick coats, beanies, gloves, scarfs, and snow boots. We would need them from now on … and sooner rather than later. It was the end of November, and we already had heavy snow earlier this week. There was more snow coming in a few days. This was a challenge, but we were ready for it.
Raika rested her head on my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Being a great alpha.” She turned to me, her chin on my shoulder. “Being a great, hot alpha who loves me.”
A growl came from my throat. “Don’t start. We don’t have time for that.”
She bit on her lower lip. “Are you sure?”
Dear moon … I turned to her, my arm going around her waist, and brought my lips to hers.
She parted her mouth for me, let me kiss her for only a brief moment, then pulled back with a teasing smile. “We’re going to be late.”
“Then let’s be late.” I leaned into her again.
With a laugh, Raika stepped back. “Shane, this is your first official gathering back here. We can’t be late.”
She was right, as usual, but damn, now all I could think of was tearing her clothes off, pressing her against the wall, and taking her right there and right then.
I shifted my weight, my pants suddenly tight.
I groaned. “Fine.”
We walked through the house. I washed my hands in the kitchen’s sink, made sure I hadn’t gotten my clothes dirty while planting the rose, grabbed a heavy casserole, then hand-in-hand, Raika and I walked down Main Street toward the green.
I looked around, admiring the houses and how it was turning out. It had been only four months since we defeated Paimon and decided to come back, but we had already done so much, and it was all because of the great people we had working on this.
Even Eike, the Whitecrest alpha, had come a few times to visit and sent some of his wolves to help out.
“After all the previous alpha did to you, it’s the least we can do,” he said.
I wasn’t in a position to deny any help, even from another pack. In fact, the first time he had come over and offered help, I had an idea. I called all the alphas for a meeting. This time, the alphas of the Wildtail and Warhide packs were finally in a truce—their packs had almost torn up each other, and they stopped before their entire war became nothing more than a river of blood.
So, I proposed a council of alphas and betas. We didn’t need to like each other; we didn’t need to agree on everything. However, we would respect each other and our packs, we would avoid conflict at any cost, and if threatened by an outside force, the packs would come together and fight as one.
To my surprise, all the alphas and betas agreed, and we had our first official meeting a week ago. It was tense, but besides the peace holding up and the news of how far my pack was in rebuilding our town, there was nothing to report.
I hoped it continued that way. Though, knowing the short temper of alphas and betas, it was a matter of time before some disagreement ensued. And then I would remind them of our deal. No fighting, just respect and talking until we found common ground and were able to come to a decision.
“I dare to say the town will be better than before,” Raika said, sounding pleased.
I nodded. “I think so too.”
We arrived at the green, where most of the pack had already gathered, waiting for the party to start.
Several picnic blankets were spread out on the right, where Rue and Vianna played with the kids. Minsi was there with them, seated beside Rue and quiet as usual. She missed Aurora, but we had promised we would visit them soon, and Drake and Thea promised they too would visit and bring Aurora often.
