Page 181 of An Omega for the Lycan Prince

*ANNALISE*

Beforelunch,Vincentanda few warriors from Silverlake brought most of our private things over. It will take some time for us to feel at home in Red Claw; mostly due to the packhouse - one of the crappiest places I’ve ever seen, minus the basement I was kept in after I was kidnapped. It needs some serious renovation.

I know the transition is going to be easier for me than for Liam. Moon Blood is my home, and I would have left it for Silverlake. I love Silverlake; it’s a wonderful place, but it would still have meant a lot of readjusting for me and starting over.

For Liam, it’s different. He never expected to suddenly switch packs and make another one his home. I’m so proud of him already. When he talked to the pack during breakfast, all his qualities as an Alpha shone through. He showed them his unwavering strength and gave them hope and encouragement, ensuring they have a goal and something to look forward to. He made them understand they were being listened to and that they all mattered. He’s a natural leader. After his speech, the pack was already eager to follow him.

The first thing Liam and a few of the stronger wolves did was move the orphanage entirely. Liam emptied the whole building and made sure the children and teens were moved to the packhouse and finally allowed to be part of the pack. They are quite malnourished, and some of them are terrified of male wolves. It’s not surprising, considering that they were Marcus’ and his warriors punching bags.

I’ll make sure to visit them later today. It’ll take some time for them to overcome their trauma.

My mom and Steve arrived right after breakfast. They both will be staying for a few days. My mother is helping move all my stuff and setting up mine and Liam’s room. We are staying in one of the bigger guest rooms for now. There is no way we would sleep in the old Alpha suite.

Oh my Goddess, NO!

Steve will help Ari hand out the schedules for the upcoming days while setting up the training grounds.

Meanwhile, I have spent most of the time before lunch talking to Marilou; and with Flora’s help, we set up a menu for the week and worked on a plan for the future. Once things get up and running, we will have breakfast buffets in the morning with special treats on the weekend. Lunch will be a buffet too, mainly because people come and go at different times depending on their schedule. Dinner will be served.

Marilou is the cutest. Once she warmed up to me and lost her initial shyness, she was bubbly and sweet. She told me how she lost her parents early on and was orphaned but got lucky because Renata, the kitchen chef, took her in. She’s still very young, though; I’ll look after her well. And she will definitely go back to school like all the minors.

That’s one of the things Liam and I immediately agreed upon.

Now Flora and Ella help me prepare cans of tea and coffee. “I think I failed my last class,” Ella sighs. “I missed the deadline for that social economics paper. What about you?”

“I handed it in,” I say. “It’s not my best work though, but I think it’s enough to pass. I’ll need to take my next class more seriously.”

Ella stares at me with wide eyes. “When the heck did you have time to finish that paper!?”

“I pulled an all-nighter,” I admit with a grin. “But don’t tell Liam.”

“I can’t believe it,” she sighs dramatically.

“Talking about all-nighters, I want to call Dave tonight,” I tell Ella. “Let’s Facetime him and set a date with him to meet up soon!”

“Yes,” she says. “Pity we can’t invite him to the pack grounds.”

“Hm.” I sigh, once again feeling annoyed at the law we have to abide by. “Maybe the packs will be open to humans and other beings one day. Who knows… it’s a long-time goal.”

“Very long time,” Flora chirps. “I’ve mentioned it to Elden once, but I swear he pretended to be deaf!” She pouts. “Normally, he always gives me whatever I want.”

“Kind of like with a spoiled child,” Ella teases.

“Exactly,” she beams, not even taking it as an insult or teasing.

Ella is speechless for a moment.

“Sometimes he gets mad, though. He hates it when I’m reckless or just leave the pack without an entourage.” Flora crosses her arms in front of her chest, frowning. “He can’t be mad at me, ever! I don’t like that.”

“Yeah,” Ella snorts. “Right. Because it’s that simple.”

“I had to guilt-trip him with the whole you-know-that-time-you-hurt-me?” she pouts.

I grin. “And did it work?”

“It did once, but then he, unfortunately, learned my trick,” she furrows her brows, looking even younger that way. Seriously, is she aging backwards? This woman is a mystery to me. “Next time, I had to go for the bigger weapons.”

“What did you do?” Ella asks curiously.