Chapter 31
Everyone was gathered together, and the heat of the summer was dying down to the cool breezes of autumn. The pack was smaller than before, but it was finally the day to greet the wave of new ones coming in. Shane Michael was to be brought into the pack. It was a ceremony that Michael would usually handle, but Densis had taken over.
He’d been the one that fed Cal’s baby the blood, making the baby strengthen up just like his mother had with her first taste of human blood. Cal learned that the little tyke would need vampire blood every full moon to give him strength. He was a whole new breed, and Cal could see what Michael was saying about everything being changed forever. Shane changed the game.
“Where’s your mind at, my love?”
“On Caleb, Abott, Michael. All the ones we’ve lost in the last few months. It’s been a rough year for the River Clan.”
Ali didn’t say much for a time. She knew that a lot had been because of her. Calum had wanted her for one reason or another. He’d sought her out, and from there, everything had changed for him. She had to wonder if he regretted going to save her that night in the club.
“You know that I don’t regret you and Shane.”
She bumped him and told him to stop it. “You promised only if I agreed to it.”
He sighed and agreed. “Fair enough, but I don’t regret it. It’s not your fault, and no one thinks so.”
Cal paused and had a grim grin on his face. “Well, no one that’s alive anymore.”
That just made her feel worse.
“Come on, Ali; this is a happy day. Today Shane becomes one of the pack. He’ll be the first hybrid introduced to the pack and he is going to do great. I can already tell he is going to be so strong.”
Ali had to agree, though she knew that they both had some bias to work out. No one thought that their child wasn’t special, but they had it on good authority to think that theirs was.
“Yes, he is going to be strong like his father.”
“Let’s just hope he’s not as determined as you.”
Ali tried to take offense to it, but it was hard to do because she knew it was true. They’d had a long road together, and some of their problems stemmed from miscommunication and her stubbornness. Cal had some of his own, and together, chances were that Shane was going to be more of the same. At least he would come by it naturally.
She peeked her head into the tent and sighed to herself. “Everyone is here.”
“And they all love you, Ali. No one thinks like Abott and Caleb did. They were mad that they didn’t have more power. That’s all it was and all it will ever be. You were just the excuse they needed to try and get to me. It didn’t work. Let’s go out there and finish this. I will be happy when we’re back in our room and we can celebrate more intimately.”
Ali giggled and kissed him. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Cal. I can say that being with you is never boring.”
“I wouldn’t mind a little boredom. Just for a little while.”
Ali agreed wholeheartedly. She couldn’t stand the constant worry that she had when she was pregnant. Now the danger to the pack was gone and their powers intact for another generation, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to worry about Shane. He was already getting stronger by the day, and she knew that soon he would want to go out with his father. It was the way of things, but that didn’t mean that she had to like it, because Ali didn’t. She wanted to keep them all safe, something she knew wasn’t going to happen. If she only got a little while to live in safety, she was going to take it.
The couple moved into the tent. Shane was already in there. He had to be prepared by the elders, and after some explanation was given, Ali agreed to it. She was very protective of him but was working on trusting the rest of the pack. Sometimes it was hard to do for her because there was so much betrayal. There was in every family, but in this one, it was deadly.
Ali walked towards Shane and Cal stayed back a couple of steps. He was still unable to relax. He felt like something bad was going to happen at any time and he was just waiting for it. It was hard to calm down when the last few months had been so crazy. While taking out one coven, they’d stirred up several more that would want revenge. Cal knew that the peace wasn’t going to last very long. It was bound to end very quickly.
But that was for another day. Now, Cal just wanted to focus on what was going on. Ali was beautiful and glowing, holding his son. There wasn’t a better picture that he could think of.
Right in that moment, everything was right in the world.
* * *
“I want to try something new.”
Cal grinned and pulled his bride to him. The ceremony was over, baby was in bed, and he was ready for the final bit of his day. It had been the best part of his day, always something to look forward to and he liked when she wanted to try new things. Ali was always surprising him.
“What is it?”
“Let’s go down to the river. We haven’t done it there yet, and I hear there is something special about the water. That’s how you got your powers according to legend.”
