The Mahani Wolves (Completed)

Chapter 33 - Sam

I've spent most of my day going through the thoughts of these disheartened souls. Their pain overwhelmed me, and I had to stop for the day. Leah has done a few also, and I can feel her anxiety. We were able to identify all those who were with the ones who had already rejected their mates, but we don't know how many are still affected. We asked the Council to send a representative to Blood Alpha Sands, but I don't see anything coming from it. The Council is too easy on him, and it will come down to someone killing him. So far, none of the mates rejected has died, and we have a way to repair the damage. What a mess.

Since it's time to eat the evening meal, I head over to the house with my head hung lower than usual. It's been a rough day. My beautiful wife is arriving at the same time as me, so we hold each other on the front step for a long moment. Her anxiety is high, too.

"This is the best I've felt all day, love. I'm so grateful to have you, but it brings back the feelings of these poor young wolves. How are the rejected ones doing?" I asked her as I opened the door to our home.

The smell of food cooking interrupted our conversation as we breathed in the delightful scent of beef stew and fresh bread.

"Don't worry about them," my beautiful wife said. "Once they were told the situation could be reversed, they are doing better. None are suicidal any longer."

"Anybody hungry?!" my youngest daughter yells as her head pops out of the kitchen. Grace likes to cook but refuses to eat the food most of the time. We got her to a point where she will eat a full breakfast, but lunch and dinner are still a chore. Most of the time, she will drink a smoothie or flavored protein drink for those meals when no one else is around to make her eat.

When she walks out to greet us, I notice a small stuffed animal sticking out of the collar of her shirt. When I reach out to touch it, her wolf growls at me. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"I wrapped him up in Lachlan's blanket yesterday after Holly and I went for ice cream, and I almost lost my cool. When I got up today, he smelled like the blanket, so I can carry him around." As she talked, her wolf forced her head down to sniff the tiny bear.

"Smart thinking, Grace," I said as I messed up her hair.

"Stooooppppp!" She says as she pulls away from me. "How is Lachlan doing?" She asked us as she hugged her mother.

"Why don't you get washed up, and we will talk at dinner?" My wife states as she pulls out of the hug.

"I didn't check on him today. Did you?" I asked through the mindlink so Grace wouldn't hear.

"I didn't. We have both been swamped, so don't feel guilty. Just link Nicolas and ask while she is washing up. I'll set up the plates." My wife's behind caught my attention momentarily as she walked away. She turned her head and winked at me as she saw my thoughts and where they were headed.

I walked out of the dining room and into a side passageway that leads to the bedrooms. Once inside my room, I linked Nicolas.

"Blood Alpha Cooper to Gamma One."

"Good day to you, Blood Alpha. How can I be of assistance?" Nicolas has always been very polite and formal, the after-effect of being the child of a Blood Alpha.

"How is Lachlan doing?"

"We had to cut a small piece of the blanket off for him to carry around, to get him out of his room. His temper is slightly off, but it's not much worse than normal, or so I'm told." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Grace wrapped a small teddy bear in the blanket yesterday to have something to carry around today. Have him do the same when we switch the blankets tomorrow, and we can include the small pocket-sized item, too."

"Understood. Any progress with coming up with a way to get them together?" He asked.

"Your father has taken that over for the moment as we have an issue consuming our time. Leah and Brian will work it all out within the week." I predicted. "Are you and Kayla ready for your ceremony? It's in five days..." I let the thought drift off as he knew what I was asking.

Kayla and Nicolas must both be marked for the ceremony. They do not need to be mated, but since the two go together, it's unusual to have one and the other not be completed.

"I don't know, Blood Alpha. We may need to put it off until the next full moon." His voice was strained, and I could tell he did not want to have this conversation.

"Does Kayla know about the marking?"

"We have not discussed it yet." His words had a tinge of guilt. I could also feel embarrassment about having to discuss this with someone else. Since wolves are loving creatures when it comes to a destined mate, I knew this was from the attack and not his upbringing.

"Talk to her, Nicolas. I want to hear from both of you within the next few days." It wasn't an Alpha command, but I rarely needed to use those with my own people unless it was a medical emergency.

"Yes, Blood Alpha, I'll talk to her tonight," I know he doesn't want to face it, but they need to talk about it. He knows this as a shrink, but his emotions limit him.

I let the link drop as I walked back into the dining room, Grace hot on my heels.

"Well, I'm washed up. You don't have to send me back to do it again, either. See..." She held out her hands for me to inspect. "So, how is my mate?"

I take her clean hand and lead her over as her mother puts the food on the table.

"He cut a small piece off your blanket to carry around, but I'm told he is just a little off his normal. You will both get used to it soon enough. We will switch the blankets tomorrow, along with something small to carry." I said to Grace but made sure my mate could hear.

"That's good. The scent is already starting to fade." My poor girl sounds worried.

"We won't let anything happen to you, sweetheart," I assured her and got a big smile in return.

Lily and I fed Grace from our plates as we ate dinner. We've learned from experience not to make her one of her own, as she will focus on it until she gets sick.

"Did you get a chance to talk to Evan today?" I asked my lovely she-wolf.

"I did. He has an idea..."

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Okay, people. What do you think so far?

--April