“A couple of centuries, at least. Even longer since we don’t war like we used to.” She shook her head. “Those were some terrible times. But our alpha ended those conflicts. How wonderful that he’s not only found his mate but the new seer of our pack.”
She sounded so cheerful, I didn’t have the heart to tell her she was very likely wrong about all of this. I definitely didn’t fit in with this group.
CHAPTER15
Reese
“Alpha Queen so pretty,” the little girl on my lap said, running her tiny hand over my cheek. In the week and a half I’d been among Chael’s pack, I had become closer with almost all of them. It helped that Ms. Elsie had told everyone that I was their new pack’s seer.
I stared into the bright brown eyes of little Natalia and smiled. My belly warmed at the sight of her chubby cheeks.
“Not as pretty as Natalia,” I replied before tickling her belly, making her double over in laughter. The other two children standing at my side as I sat at the table in Chael’s kitchen started giggling when I included them in the tickle fest.
“Nat, leave our alpha queen be,” her mother chided.
“No.” I held up my hand with a huge grin on my face. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.” I stood with Natalie and one of the other pups, as the young children were called, in my arms. I spun around in a circle, both the girls in my arms squealed in delight.
I stumbled a bit once I stopped but found myself laughing. When I peered up, I saw Ms. Elsie and a few of the other packmates in the kitchen watching me and smiling from ear to ear.
Feeling eyes on my back, I peered over my shoulder and met Chael’s sharp gaze. His unwavering gaze glinted as he slow blinked. A deep shiver ran through my body, nearly causing me to drop the children in my arms. The desire to know what he thought when he looked at me overcame me.
Between Chael going in and out to God only knew where and the amount of time I spent with the others, Ms. Elsie or one of his other packmates, we hadn’t had any time to talk much.
With what looked like deep intention in his eyes, Chael rose from his seat.
“Isn’t that right, Alpha Queen?” Sean’s voice caught my attention.
“What was that?” I asked, ripping my gaze away from Chael.
The kitchen bustled with activity as a few of the pack members helped Ms. Elsie clean up after the dinner of corn fritters, mixed veggies, and grilled meat we’d eaten. Most days were like this, with group meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Chael’s home was often filled with the aroma of food and the sounds of his pack members engaged in conversations of all sorts.
Each morning Ms. Elsie came by and prepared breakfast for all of the shifters who frequented Chael’s home. Then she would either escort me to Dr. Drake’s to hang out with Henry for a few hours, take me to one of her morning yoga classes, or to the shop where she made and sold her homemade clothes and handbags.
“You’re a seer.” Sean beamed. “I was lost without my phone.” He held up his cell, waving it in the air, smiling at me.
I looked back at Chael to see him frowning, his eyes bouncing between the man and me. I wondered what the frown on his face was about.
I bent over to place Natalia and the other little girl down and sighed. Thanks to Ms. Elsie, everyone took it as fact that I had the ability to know the future, or even the past.
Every day since that day out in the field, at least one person in the pack would come up to me and ask me to see their future. Three separate pregnant women asked me to tell them what they were having. I guessed all of them correctly before they went to the doctor for the ultrasound.
Then there was Sean, who’d lost his phone and was stressed about it since he was waiting on an important call for his work as a lawyer. He came to me about it. I asked if he checked under the bed, and yup, it was there. Now they all think I’m the new seer of the pack.
And I hadn’t revealed to anyone the dreams I’d been having.
If Ms. Elsie wasn’t available, it was one of the other women in the pack, typically one with a baby on her hip or young children, who would come by to spend the day with me or invite me to their home or small business. Truthfully, I didn’t mind the company, but I still felt out of place.
“Have you had any dreams or déjà vu, as you call it?” Ms. Elsie asked above the noise surrounding us. Suddenly, there were three more of Chael’s packmates around me, asking if I’d had any dreams about them. One of them, a teenage Sienna, asked if I saw who her mate would be.
“Alpha, how wonderful is it that Mother Moon brought us a seer as your alpha queen,” Sean delighted.
My shoulders slumped. Every time someone hinted at the moon and its connection in bringing Chael and me together, that familiar pang started in my stomach. The one that reminded me that, if given a chance, Chael wouldn’t have chosen me.
The frown on Chael’s face deepened. Was he not happy about it? Did he regret that their Mother Moon or whoever had supposedly brought us together? Was I a disappointment to him?
I swallowed and turned away from him, only to have my arm grabbed by one of the teenage girls, Cherri.
“I haven’t told anyone this,” she whispered in my ear. “But I think I want to go to school to be an engineer. What do you think my future holds?” she asked with urgency.
