Ternen smiled. “I haven’t been able to cook since Vince moved me out of the kitchens. I miss it.”
Alannah smiled. “I can help with chores.” She rubbed her stomach that doubled over night. “I’m starting to get nesty.”
My mom smiled and patted her hand. “You have to rest. But I’ll be doing morning trainings, even for you two.” She looked at Ternen and Alannah. “I will give you a pregnancy friendly workout. But no one in my pack will be helpless.” I raised an eyebrow and my mom smiled. “If you two are okay with it, I’llteach Abby the same training as I have Carly doing. It’s good to start them early.” Rick and Shelly both nodded.
“Now.” I sat back. “Since that is all settled. Let’s talk about what happened last night, and this morning.”
Rick looked at his hands. “Amy…”
I just reached over and patted his hands. “I know the three of you know what happened with your wolves. But I just want to tell everyone.” Everyone nodded their consent. “So the first three, Shelly, Ternen and Alannah, all had the same creature in their minds. A leech, if you will. I’m telling you, just in case you ever run into this.” Toya and Wendy leaned in. “It lives in the recesses of their mind. Where your wolf feels the safest. It hides in the shadows and drops down on your wolf, feeding from it.”
Wendy shivered. “What does it look like?”
“Almost like a black centipede.” She gagged, making me smile. “The only way I could kill it was by force feeding it power. It eats away at you slowly over time. It can’t handle lots of power. Push it into it, and it will explode.”
Wendy bit her lip. “What if I’m not strong enough?”
“You are. It doesn’t take much, honestly. It’s not built to withstand much power. It sips at you and injects you with fear so you feel stuck until you are too weak to fight back.” I tapped at the table. “Now your wolves know what to look out for.” I turned to Rick. “Now your monster was different.”
He nodded. “Bees.”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my eye as phantom pain exploded there. “When they stung, their stinger felt like your bones were melting, but you got a boost of energy. There was a giant hive, feeding your energy but also torturing your wolf. He was almost dead by the time I got there.”
“But you killed them and saved me.” Rick looked a little lost.
“And almost died doing it.” My mom cut in.
I waved her off. “I was fine, hurt, but fine.” I smiled as she growled at me. “I woke up with a burst of energy. So I went for a run.” I sighed as I pushed my chair back. I needed to move. “Everything was fine, but then I sniffed a tracker from Vince’s pack.”
Rick stiffened. “How close?”
“Not close enough. The shield hides your scent here, so don’t leave the area and you guys will be fine.”
My mom nodded. “We train right next to the house and don’t go farther than that.”
“I ran away from here, anyway.” I smiled. “I scented more than I went. By the time I collected them all, I had five trackers on me, and we were running in giant circles.” My mom snorted. “Nix shut off our scent and shifted to Megan. She hid, confusing the trackers and just enjoying herself.” I smiled, but then I thought of Thane, and my smile dropped.
“What?” My mom grabbed my hand.
“One tracker was Thane.” I met my mom’s eyes and I watched her face fall.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Yeah. The trackers searched for a while, but then Thane dropped to the ground. He spoke, saying he didn’t want to find me.”
My mom raised her shoulder. “Of course. He’s in love with you.”
I froze. “What?”
My mom just furrowed her brow. “You had to know, baby. That’s why he asked to train with you.” I felt my heart sink.
“I was just good at tracking.” I just shook my head.
My mom smiled. “Baby, he was hoping you would fall for him. But he would not approach you until you came of age. He was really hoping to be your mate.” She patted my hand. “He’s okaythat he wasn’t though. We talked before I left.” She sat back. “He told me he was asking to transfer out.”
“He’s gone.”
“Honestly Amy, you might want to give him a chance.” She laughed. But then her face fell. “What did you say?”
