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Diana is already fishing a book out of her bag and settling into the rocking chair. I know she'll keep a watchful eye on them while I'm outside.
"Have fun," I tease, kissing her cheek before heading out the door.
The omegas are already milling about when I step out of the house. The older children have already started a game of tag around the garden, while the younger children and newborns are being settled with their nannies.
One of the benefits of such a large pack is the abundance of pack members available to look after the children when you're unable to. There's a nice spot in the shade of several big trees that stays cool throughout the day. They spread out several large blankets and playpens for the kids to use while staying well within earshot.
"Right, well...shall we get started?" I spread my hands and gesture to the gathered omegas that have come to learn from me. Though, honestly, most of them have already learned everything I have to teach them. So these little "lessons" are more like social workshops that we do together.
It gets everyone out of the house and lets them flex their creative skills.
Today we're building rocking horses. It seemed like a fitting project given the recent arrival of so many children. Though, horse is probably a misnomer at this point. Most everyone seems to have settled on making some sort of wolf for their little one to ride. Usually modeled after their alpha's wolf form.
It took a little bit of searching to find a wolf reference that I could use as a pattern for this project, but in the end, it all worked out, and I've got something that I think will work perfectly. And everyone can customize it as much as they want when we paint them later.
We're just starting to break out the tools when I notice Kale approaching from the direction of the bridge. He usually doesn't come to these classes. He says they make him uncomfortable since he's still single and no one's shown much interest in him. However, he has taken on an active role in managing the gardens, so it's not entirely surprising to see him here right now.
But he lingers by the bridge and waves to get my attention. He looks worried about something.
"Why don't you guys finish getting everything set up?" I tell my students. "I'll be right back."
They know what to do, so I'm not worried about leaving them alone with the tools for a few minutes.
"Hey, what's up?" I ask as I join Kale. "Is everything okay?"
"No. I mean, yes. But also no." He shakes his head and spins in a circle as he fans himself with his hands. "I just...I needed to talk to you because...I...um..."
I clap my hands on his shoulders to steady him and look him directly in the eye. "Take a deep breath and explain slowly."
He nods emphatically and swallows hard. "I told you how I was going to gather blackberries today with Dustin and Ruby, remember?"
"The twins that live by the lake with their mother, right?"
"Yeah." Kale bobs his head energetically. "So I show up at the meeting spot, but Ruby isn't there. And Dustin said that she wasn't feeling well but that we should still go and pick what we can. And...so we went. And we were picking berries for like an hour and then..."
His voice trails off, and his eyes go wide.
"Then what!?" I gasp in exasperation. "Come on, Kale. Spit it out. Tell me what happened."
"Dustin asked if I would be his omega." Kale's voice is barely audible. His face is pale, as if he can scarcely believe it happened.
"And what did you say?" I know from past conversations that Kale was interested in Dustin, but he's always pretended to be disinterested in finding a mate and settling down.
"I..." Kale's pupils shrink, and his mouth falls open. He looks me in the eye and shakes his head with a look of panic on his face. "I...I didn't say anything. I just turned around and walked away… Holy shit, Caleb. I walked away from him. I just left him standing there in the woods without saying anything. I came right over here to talk to you, and I just...holy shit..."
Kale's starting to hyperventilate.
"Okay, deep, slow breaths. It's fine. Everything's gonna be fine."
"No, it's not,” Kale gasps. "He's gonna think I hate him. Who the hell just walks away when someone confesses to them? Like...who does that?"
I glance toward the trail on the other side of the stream. Dustin seems to have followed Kale, though he's keeping his distance with a look of uncertainty on his face.
"There," I spin Kale around to face him, "see? He's right there. You've got a chance to fix this."
"Wait...what do I say?"
"Do you like him back?"
