*Daphne*
I got Ayla and Selene buckled into seats in Oliver’s private plane. They were excited to go on their “adventure.”
“Wheels up in about ten minutes, guys. Everyone get settled in,” Oliver announced.
Rion ca up to and put his hand on the small of my back.
“Ready?”
I nodded. “Part of just wants to get this over with. How are Alma and Terance feeling about being in charge?”
“They’ll be fine.”
Rion guided to the seats right behind Ayla and Selene. We got settled in as the engines roared to life.
Oliver and his son sat across the aisle and Eva and Jasper sat behind them. The plane was at full capacity.
I rested my head on Rion’s shoulder and closed my eyes. It wasn’t a very long flight, but I wanted to get a nap in if I could.
Just to be safe, Rion had a dozen Thorn Forest warriors travel ahead of us on a comrcial flight to ensure everything was safe and squared away before we got there. Not that we didn’t trust Oliver, but if any of the scouts ca back with information from the extremists, we wanted to have eyes and ears out there.
I yawned and snuggled closer to Rion. He slipped his arm around , creating a perfectly warm, secure cradle for to rest in. Ayla and Selene’s little voices soothed to sleep.
The plane bumped against the ground, and I jerked awake.
“We’re here already?” I grumbled, wiping the sleep from my eyes.
Rion chuckled. “Yeah, it’s not a very long flight.”
We got everything unloaded into our guest bedroom and t with Oliver outside the mansion.
“I wanted to give you all a tour of my pack, if you’re up for it.”
“I’d love that,” Rion agreed with a nod.
“What about the twins?” I asked. “I don’t think they want to walk all over the place.”
Oliver nodded. “There’s a daycare center if you want to get them sowhere they’ll be entertained—lots of kids their age to play with.”
“Okay.”
I picked Ayla up and Rion scooped up Selene. Oliver led us to the daycare center off the main pack house. There were dozens of kids running around, playing tag and climbing all over a jungle gym.
My girls both stared in awe. We didn’t have anything that big and exciting in Thorn Forest.
“I wanna go play!” Selene insisted, kicked her feet.
“Let down, Mama.” Ayla struggled in my arms.
As soon as the girls were on the ground, they hurried as fast as they could into the playground and started playing.
I sighed. “Looks like we’ll need to get sothing like that in Thorn Forest.”
Rion slung his arm over my shoulders as we headed back to Oliver, Eva, and Jasper.
“It would be nice to have a big public playground for the kids of our pack.” Rion kissed the side of my head.
“Should we et with the warriors before going off on a tour?” I asked. We had sent them on ahead and they should have arrived before us.
“I gave them instructions to et up with Oliver’s scouts. They are probably on their way to Southern Jungle now, trying to get to the bottom of it all.”
“Have they sent any news since we landed?”
“Not yet.”
“Alright, who’s ready to see Drogomor? I’m sure it is a little different than what you’re used to,” Oliver said, motioning to a large SUV. We all piled in the back. Oliver took the driver’s seat.
“Yeah, there aren’t a lot of private jets in Thorn Forest,” Eva muttered.
“There aren’t yet, you an,” Oliver said. “I see Thorn Forest growing into a well-respected pack that could have all the newest technologies and luxuries.”
Rion glanced sideways at , and we exchanged a quick, secret look.
“I don’t know, Oliver. I’m pretty sure a lot of the mbers of Thorn Forest are there to live simpler, quieter lives,” I pointed out.
Oliver glanced into the backseat. “Who says simple and quiet can’t coincide with private jets?”
I giggled and wrapped my arm around Rion’s, snuggling myself closer to him.
“Alright, if you guys want to look out the windows, this is the main drag of Drogomor—the shopping district, if you will. There are a lot of local businesses that have taken off over the past couple of years.” Oliver pointed to the rows of shops lining the streets.
Pedestrians walked along the sidewalks, eyeing store windows and traveling in small groups, laughing and shopping together.
My heart ached a little. I knew I would love to see Thorn Forest have that kind of energy and resources for our people so that they didn’t have to work so hard just to get food on the table.
“What about housing? I don’t see anything here in the center of town,” Eva comnted.
“There are residential neighborhoods beyond the main shopping district. We keep having to spread out a little more each year,” Oliver explained.
He drove us through the city, pointing out landmarks like the public library and a park where lots of families gathered together.
“We need a library in Thorn Forest,” I whispered to Rion. “I want our people to have access to better education.”
“I’ll move the library up the priority list when we get ho,” Rion assured, patting my knee.
“You know, we have a lot of educational facilities here,” Oliver said. “They are always looking for more students.”
“Are you suggesting we send so of our people here to get a formal education?” Rion asked.
“It’s an idea. It could be like an exchange program or study abroad option.”
“What do you think of Daphne?” Rion asked.
I bit my lip and looked out the window again. Drogomor was flourishing, and I thought our people could benefit from seeing what that was like. They could learn a lot of new, helpful skills to bring back to Thorn Forest.
“I think it’s a great idea.”
***
The day after our big tour, Oliver organized a family picnic for all of us in the park I’d seen the day before. There were plenty of other families there too, but none as big as ours.
Sasha and Lucas were there with their three kids. Maeve was there too, and many of my extended relatives.
Everyone was so happy to see us and welcod us with open arms.
“So, you finally made it to the Light Realm,” Maeve said, giving my hands a squeeze.
“I’ve been here for a while, but I’ve been busy. I’m sorry I haven’t kept in touch as much as I should.”
She grinned and pinched my cheek like I was a little girl again.
“No more excuses. Now that you’re here, I want to keep in touch more often.”
“Okay.”
“Now, I need to et your daughters. Where are they?” Maeve sauntered off to find Ayla and Selene.
The two of them were entertaining a lot of family mbers with their telekinesis. Eva stood close by, monitoring them.
She gave a quick smile and I nodded in thanks. The last thing we needed was so major magical blowout at a family gathering like this.
“Daphne!” my mother called out to and rushed over. She hugged tightly. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Mom, I just talked to you on the phone a few days ago.”
“I know, but it isn’t the sa. I miss having you around.” She ran her fingers through my hair and then put her hands on my belly. “How’s everything going? I heard there was so concern in the beginning.”
“Much better now. I had to be on bedrest for a bit, but it sorted itself out. The baby and I are perfectly healthy.”
“Good. I worry about you, Daphne.”
“You don’t need to, Mom.”
She cupped my cheek. “I know. You’re an amazing woman. But I’m your mother, and will always worry about you.”
I glanced over at the twins and nodded. “I understand.”
My dad and Lucas were at the grills, cooking up burgers and hotdogs for everyone. It had been a long ti since the whole extended family was together and everyone seed so happy.
Ayla and Selene had other kids their age to play with, and they were running around in the open fields of the park playing a ga of tag.
I couldn’t help but feel like all the festivities were out of place with the looming darkness that threatened us.
Rion brought a plate with a burger. “Eat up. Our boy needs his strength.”
I smiled shyly. “How do you know it’s a boy?”
“Just a feeling.” Rion shrugged. “Besides, a guy can dream, can’t he?”
I creased my brow. “You want a boy that badly? What if we have another girl?”
“Then she will be just as perfect and loved as our twins.” He winked at .
I took a few bites of my burger. It was juicy and delicious, but my stomach gurgled uncomfortably.
“Is sothing wrong, Daphne?” Rion asked.
“It’s just... we’re celebrating and having a family reunion when we should be preparing for Varge and the Lycaon extremists.”
Rion sighed. “Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do until the scouts report back. It’s useless to sit around worrying while we wait. At least this way, everyone keeps their spirits up—except you, it looks like.” He frowned and put a hand on my shoulder.
Children’s laughter filled my ears, and I watched them playing for a mont. Rion was right. It was better to let everyone smile and have fun. We could worry about Varge when we knew what to worry about.
When we returned to the pack mansion after the picnic, a ssenger was waiting on the steps. He jumped up when he saw us approaching. “Alpha Oliver.”
I noticed that Oliver’s smile faded instantly. “You have news of Priest Varge?”
My heart hamred in my chest, and I grabbed Rion’s hand. This was what we’d been waiting for.
“We uncovered more than expected in the Southern Jungle.”
“Where are the rest of the scouts and the warriors from Thorn Forest?” Oliver asked.
“They are still following leads. I only returned because I have sothing for you, sothing to help us move the investigation along.” The ssenger pointed to the darkened porch.
We all followed his gesture and I gasped. There was a man on the porch, tied up and lying on his side. I hadn’t even seen him before.
“He’s a Lycaon extremist we were able to capture and detain. Damn zealot tried to swallow a capsule of poison rather than be taken prisoner. We stopped him, and I thought it best to bring him to you.”
Oliver nodded. “Yes, that was the right choice. Return to the n in the Southern Jungle and send word of any new developnts.”
“Yes, Alpha.” The ssenger nodded and headed out again.
The poor guy was constantly running back and forth. I didn’t have ti to dwell on it long. The captured Lycaonian groaned again.
Finally, we were going to get answers.
“Rion, would you care to join in the interrogation?” Oliver asked.
“I would,” he said. “Daphne, why don’t you put the girls to bed and get so rest? I’ll let you know as soon as we learn anything.”
He kissed my forehead and followed Oliver inside.
It was for the best. I didn’t want to see how they were going to get answers out of him.
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