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Natalie
Brian and I teleported to his house—Elinor’s house—and I was immediately struck by a sense of nostalgia. Obviously, this home represented the kind of life Elinor and Will had lived so long ago.
The house’s brown, earthy theme reminded me of the packhouse on earth, and along the walls, pictures and potted plants decorated the space. I took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of home-cooking filling the air, and suddenly felt a little homesick. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine I was back on Earth.
My house in the Wanderer's Forest was comfortable and modern, but it didn’t feel like home.
“Hey,” Brian called, pulling me from my daydream. I opened my eyes and looked his way. He was eyeing me with concern, his head tilted, and I gave him a weak smile.
"I'm good."
“Natalie?” Elinor appeared with an apron tied around her waist and her hair pulled back. “You’re here!” She pulled me into a hug before I could say anything, but I found myself sagging against her. She looked as young as me, but I knew she was centuries older, having remained the same age she’d been when she’d died on Earth. And I was very glad to see her. Maybe I’d be able to pick her brain about my situation with Lucian and Rumir.
Elinor had a husband, a son, and had created a life here for herself. And she’d even started her own clan, the Bloodmoon Clan. There was nobody more qualified to give me the advice I desperately needed. If I stayed with both Rumir and Lucian, I'd have two husbands. We'd all live together if they managed to resolve their issues. But somehow, I didn’t think it would be that easy.
“You will be staying for dinner, won’t you?” Elinor asked after we released each other.
I looked around the room once more, soaking up the feeling of being home. “That would be great. I’m sorry about just dropping by like this. I hadn’t planned to, but I ran into Brian.”
He was halfway up the stairs when he looked down at us. “We’re going out in a few, okay, Mom? Where’s Dad?”
“Backyard,” Elinor called after him as he continued to climb. Once he was gone from sight, she turned to face me.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “You gave us quite a scare the other night.”
I gave her a tightlipped smile. “I’m doing okay.” She made a face—and so did I—because my words hadn’t sounded convincing to me, either. “I’m trying,” I admitted, and she nodded and took my hand.
“Come with me.”
She led me through the house, and we walked by several wolves who greeted us both, but I could see them regarding me with recognition and curiosity.
"They all know, don’t they?” I asked her once we got to the kitchen, where three robots that were brown, white, and cream and wearing golden aprons stood at an island covered with the food they were either cleaning or seasoning.
“They do, but don’t mind that,” Elinor replied, and the robots stopped what they were doing, their hologram eyes blinking slowly as their heads turned to her. “Natalie will be staying for dinner; please add one more serving, okay?”
“Yes, Alpha,” they answered in unison with lifelike voices, their hologram mouths moving as they spoke.
Elinor nodded, and the robots went back to work. Still stunned because I hadn’t been aware there were robots like this in the realm, I followed her through a door that led to a small patio.
“I’m going to need one of those,” I said as I sat down. “I’ve been cooking myself all this time.”
“You don’t have to lift a finger when you have one. They cook, clean, and even chat with you.”
“That’s incredible.” I peeked at the door as I heard laughter that definitely belonged to the robots. “Are they laughing right now?”
Elinor chuckled. “Like I said, they can chat with you, so of course they talk to each other.”
“Oh, so it’s like artificial intelligence. There are so many movies on Earth that say that’s a bad idea. But on another note, did they actually call you Alpha?"
Elinor sat down on the couch with a smug look, and I joined her. “You did. Will isn’t a wolf, so he can't be the Alpha of the Bloodmoon Clan. We’d debated that for a time, calling ourselves a clan or a pack, but we already knew we were not going to be anything like a normal pack, so . . .” She crossed her legs. “We're a clan, and I’m the Alpha.”
“That’s amazing,” I gushed. This was exactly what I’d been looking for to feel like I belonged in this realm—family. And finding out that my ancestor viewed life the same way I did? It was priceless. I didn’t need any more proof that I should be more involved with the Bloodmoon Clan.
I’d been so concerned for Xavier on Earth and Ruby and Axel here, and busy trying to figure out what I was going to do with two mates that I’d forgotten Elinor was my family as well. I needed to act like it.
“How did the other packs react?” I asked. “Did they have a problem with a female Alpha?”
“Some made their disapproval known, but their negativity is their problem, not mine.”
