Page 49

49

Kaylee

Standing in front of the treeline as warriors and hunters from Ivory Fangs mingle with Titus’ men, I watch as the tense atmosphere caused by Marco this morning slowly dissipates. Training had been canceled so Amelia could deal with Marco—presumably, rip him a new one—and Royce was still with Ash. He’d linked me twenty minutes ago to inform me that Hannah had broken the news of Devon possibly being in a coma. I’d given Royce permission to take three days off to help Ash and to report to me if Ash tries to leave Devon’s side to take down Marco.

“How is Ash handling things?”

Jumping, I turn to find Lucas standing behind me, sporting a bruise under his eye. Last I saw my mate, he was still in wolf form, keeping Marco in check. So, how did he get injured?

“Marco and I got into a fight when Maya came to yell at him, and he stepped towards his mate. I pushed him back, telling him not to disrespect her, and he swung. Then, Maya pushed me aside and beat the ever-loving shit out of him and told Marco to smarten up or she would break the mate bond,” Lucas explains with a shrug in response to my staring at his bruise.

“Maya scares me some days,” I admit with a chuckle, getting a scoff in reply.

“She is Kurt’s niece—of course she’s scary,” he agrees, causing me to laugh some more.

“Ash is doing the best he can considering everything that’s happened. I gave Royce and him the good news that they can follow us,” I say with a sigh, stepping closer to Lucas so that I can lean against my mate. His arms wrap around me, helping me to feel safe and secure, and for a moment, the world seems okay.

“Royce is staying with him since Devon is in a coma, for now,” I add, closing my eyes and taking in his scent of vanilla and mint.

“I see. So what’s with this little get-together? I thought the training was canceled?” Lucas asks, making me smile. I’m happy he didn’t push me for more information about Devon being in a coma. This morning has been tough as it is, and right now, I need to focus on something else.

“Kaylee promised to help teach me and my wolves how to forage in the woods,” Titus calls out, answering Lucas’ question instead.

“And since training was canceled for today, she suggested we do a forage session now to get our wolves working as a team,” Daisy chimes in, smiling. Lucas looks down at me, impressed, and gives me a light peck on the cheek.

“Since you’re leading this little training session, do you want me to help?” he asks, making me roll my eyes.

“You couldn’t even do laundry two weeks ago. What makes me trust that you can lead this training with me?” I ask, getting a few chuckles from the wolves around. Lucas grimaces, looking to Titus for help, but Titus just raises his hands and backs away.

“You and I both know you can’t forage for shit, brother. Maybe you and I should partner up so our mates can talk,” Titus suggests, getting a low grumble of annoyance from Lucas and a chuckle from me.

“Hey, are we late?” Running up to our group of four, Evette and Simon join us. Seeing my two friends, I smile and leave Lucas’ arms to rub cheeks with Evette. Her scent wraps around me, confusing me for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Evette asks, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Nothing. But I think you know what’s right,” I say playfully, watching the she-wolf blush before holding up her finger.

“Shhh. It’s a secret,” Evette whispers, a grin spreading across her face. I grin back, feeling happy to be let in on the secret that she, too, is with pup. It seems my little Aspen will have a cousin close to her age to play with.

“Deal. But we need to talk later,” I agree before turning to face all the wolves. I call everyone to gather, watching the excitement in their eyes as Simon and Evette stand behind me with Daisy to my left. Titus and Lucas reluctantly join the crowd of wolves, the two males partnering up without a fuss.

“Welcome, everyone,” I call out once I have the wolves’ attention. “As you know, today’s training has been canceled due to obvious circumstances. Because of that, I’m keeping my promise to Alpha Titus about training him and his men to forage from the forest to help your pack with herbs, medicinal plants, and wild vegetation,” I continue. Some look at me in shock, while others are in utter disbelief. It seems this wasn’t the training session they thought they would be getting.

“Do we have the option of backing out?” someone asks, raising their hands in the air.

“Nope.”

“Absolutely not.”

In unison, Titus and I deny the request to a symphony of groans and curses. Daisy frowns, sending a sharp growl of warning as Simon does the same, ending the crowd’s protest then and there.

“This is a rare opportunity. Be grateful that Beta Kaylee is willing to teach us, Growling Heart, as I plan to have you all help train the wolves back home,” Daisy states, looking like a disappointed mother. I suppress the chuckle threatening to escape as I watch the Growling Heart wolves look down in shame while mine watch on in amusement.

“Luna Daisy is right,” I add. “This is an opportunity to learn a new skill to help your pack and learn to work in a team with allied packs.”

This catches everyone’s attention as another hand rises in the crowd, and I notice Ryder in the mix, looking at me in confusion. Nodding at him to go ahead, Ryder looks around for a moment.

“What do you mean by working in a team?” he asks.

“We have an equal number of Ivory Fangs and Growling Heart wolves. I want you all to form teams of two made of one Ivory Fang wolf and one Growling Heart wolf,” I begin to explain, watching realization wash over the crowd.

“After I give you all a brief lesson on what to look for, all twenty-five teams will go into the forest in the marked-off section and hunt down the herbs and vegetation I will show you today. Please call Simon, Evette, or me if you’re unsure about any plant. We don’t want you to touch something poisonous accidentally,” I continue.

Evette and Simon wave, my two friends excited to share their knowledge of the forests’ offerings.

“Now, pair up so we can get started,” I order with a smile.

With these words, the wolves before me rush to find a partner. Each team comes to Simon to receive a number and a mesh bag while Evette helps me set up the table that the omegas had just finished bringing over.

I’d decided that, for this exercise, we would work with one edible mushroom that is bountiful in our forest and three herbs, one being medicinal. With the teams ready, Evette and I begin explaining what to look for when foraging for the plants, each wolf watching us intently. Some had taken out their phones, taking pictures of each plant after asking permission, and I made a mental note of their resourcefulness.

Once our little lesson was completed, I released everyone into the section of the forest marked off with a bright yellow ribbon, stating that no one was to leave the boundary and that they were to be careful where they stepped so they wouldn’t trample any useful vegetation.

Lucas and Titus took the lead, the two men animatedly discussing the best spot to find the plants. Other teams decided to take the opportunity to get to know each other first, and the air was filled with laughter and happy chatter.

“You know, Kay,” Simon says as we follow behind everyone. Evette and Daisy walked ahead of us—Evette had decided to teach Daisy some other herbs that can be easily cultivated in a greenhouse. “You really would make a strong alpha,” he continues, ruffling my hair.

Annoyed, I swat his hand away, but the smile on my lips is hard to hide. My best friend and sworn brother thinks I would make a strong alpha, and I can’t help but swell with pride.

“I think you would make a great beta,” I admit, catching Simon off guard for a moment. He opens his mouth to say something, but a wolf calling out my name has me smiling apologetically at Simon and promising to resume this discussion later. Right now, I have a foraging training lesson to run.