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Unfortunately, nothing would have saved Tori. Mom had done a quick autopsy before her soul was sent back to the Goddess to be reborn and Tori had passed before we arrived. Cory thought the reason the Vegas headquarters decided to relocate so quickly was because Nickolas let them know Tori had passed away after he told Nickolas to release the girls, and they knew we would hunt them down. The official cause of death was asphyxiation, though Mom, with Uncle Helios’ blessing, decided to spare Adrien and Elias all of her findings. Uncle admitted he had felt a tether snap around the time of death Mom gave, but he had refusing to believe it was her.
‘You’re right. I’ll see you at lunch, then.’
Cory and I were in the conference room when people started trickling in, letting them know we would tell them everything once everyone arrived. I kept to a corner so my scent wasn’t easily caught, my nose in a tablet until the room was full. Once our entire family arrived, no one would be able to tell that my scent was different.
“Thanks for showing up last minute guys, this won’t take long,” Cory said. That was my cue, so I stood up and walked over to him, discretely turning on the camera on top of the TV, and streaming it to the Facetime I had going with Bells.
“We just wanted to give you a little bit of news on something I’ve been working on. If you look in your emails, you should have a new one from me.” Everyone gave me a skeptical look, but brought out their phones. Zi was the first one to come out of her shock as she stared at the sonogram we’d had one of the doctors provide. We had to be sneaky about it since Mom and Everette worked at the hospital, but it clearly labeled each little peanut on the picture as Baby A and Baby B.
“You fucking bitch! You’re pregnant, and you didn’t tell me?” Zi tackled me to the wall, making people chuckle.
“We didn’t tell anyone,” I huffed out. James came over and removed his mate, then gave me a hug and a heartfelt congratulations, prompting the room to start making their way around to us and whooping loudly at the news. Aunt Kassie and Uncle Lalo came around last, and as she hugged me, I narrowed my eyes when I caught a whiff of her scent.
“Do you mind sharing the stage?” she whispered, and I saw the vulnerability on her face.
“Are you kidding? I’m so happy for you! Go for it!” I whispered back, hugging her again.
Cory was grinning at me when Uncle Lalo stepped away from him, and grabbed Aunt Kassie.
“While we have everyone together, we wanted to let you know that Kassie is also pregnant. We’re expecting a Christmas pup, a boy.” The room went bananas, though I could see Aunt Nat and Uncle Helios were not freaking out. Of course, they must have known first, too.
It was a long lunch, and I did go to work afterward. I approved a few projects for some defensive technology, a couple of different types of shields, and some contact lenses with infrared capabilities. The technology wasn’t quite there yet, but it was close, and I wanted to make sure we were prepared for the next time Tezcatlipoca attacked. Meanwhile, I was creating a proposal to collaborate with Mom and Everette on ideas to get something that helped increase a wolf’s tolerance of wolfsbane and silver and to counteract the effects quicker. After watching Cory writhe in pain at the double dose of wolfsbane, I was determined to find a way to make things better for all werewolves. We were so strong, but these weaknesses were well-known and often used against us. Before I knew it, the day was over, and Cory was walking into my office.
“It’s five thirty, mate. We’ll be late for dinner.”
For once, I shut down my computer happily. We walked back to the pack house, and I jumped when we entered the dining room, the pack members joining us burst into cheers. I looked up at Cory, who looked as stunned as I was.
“News spread fast?” I grinned up at him and we walked through the dining rooms, stopping and talking to those wishing to speak with us.
After dinner, we went to visit Violet. We sat on the edge of her bed, while we told her about the pups and handed her a copy of the sonogram. She was very happy for us, in her own subdued way. She still wasn’t comfortable touching people, but she was making an effort, giving Cory and me a quick, light hug before we left. I hoped she was able to heal eventually.
We went back to Redmon Moon a week later to help Bells with the harvest. Jo was still there, but we would bring him back when everything was done.
Jo practically tackled me when he saw me, lifting me and giving me a bear hug.
“Jo, put my pregnant mate down before Tenoch has something to say about it. He’s already grumbling in my head,” Cory complained.
“This is my luna and one of my best friends. Tenoch can zip it for a moment while I celebrate the news with my friends,” he said haughtily, but eventually put me down and walked over to hug Cory too.
“How’s Bells?” Cory asked. Jo hesitated, then looked around to see if anyone was listening.
“Bells, the person, is handling things better than I would think possible, considering everything that’s happened. Bells, the Luna... the pack... the pack is in bad shape, Cory. “
“Let’s talk in the morning,” Cory said, watching Bells running down toward us.
We harvested grapes for almost two weeks, though I was barely allowed to do much before they would make me sit and take breaks, so I started bringing my tablet out with me to check on the security measures Dad installed and ensure they were working well.
I was the one who saw him first.
‘Cory, someone’s crossed the border lines,’ I mind-linked him. He walked over to me, and I showed him the video. The man looked haggard and half-dead, swaying as he walked.
Bells walked over to us when Cory mind-link her.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Have you felt the borders breached?”
“No, why?”
