Page 21 of Big Bad Wolf: B.B.W

Some Time Later . . .

Pops, Ma Mary, and Elodie’s ceremony to join the tribe and pack meant more to Orion than his.

It cemented that not only was Elodie meant for him but her parents were also.

They all met with Thaddeus and Farad the day after they arrived from Sedona.

They were welcomed, and the ceremony shortly followed.

Out of concern for his health, Farad made the decision that Pops didn’t need to shift, but Pops chose to.

A week before the ceremony, Parie, Thaddeus’s mom, and the tribe’s doctor as well as Rummie, his sister who was also an RN, met with Elodie’s parents to talk about his health plan.

Parie connected them with the proper medical professionals to ensure that their health would be monitored and taken care of.

There was appreciation all around for the attention to detail that everyone took when it came to Ma Mary and Pops joining their ranks.

“Baby, are you ready to go?” Orion asked his wife when he walked into their bedroom. She took forever to get ready sometimes. He was ready to get out to the monthly campfire gathering.

She spun around on her vanity seat to gawk at her husband. When her beautiful head slanted, he knew exactly what she was about to say. It was crazy that even her head shape was beautiful.

“Don’t piss me off, Orion.” The smile on her face told him that as much as she meant it, she didn’t. “I’m ready now.”

“I don’t know why you put on makeup like it’s not going to be hot as fuck outside. When your face melts off, I’m not getting you any tissues. You’re gonna sit there with a droopy face.”

Elodie’s head snapped in her husband’s direction with tight eyes. “Orion, I will jump on you. Don’t play with me, husband.”

The most amazing blessing was bestowed upon Orion after his mating ceremony with Elodie.

He woke up a week after their mating ceremony with a migraine and voices in his head.

Orion thought he had lost his mind. Auntie Parie, as he began to refer to her because of her connection with his Lourie cousins, came over to check on him.

It took no time to realize that he had been blessed with the telepathic gift and was now connected with the pack.

This instance was a first for all of them, but the stories had been told about Sasha, who had no beast, but after her union with Mason Junior (MJ), the gods blessed her with a centauride beast. The gods had the power to do whatever they saw fit to do.

Orion laughed before he pulled his wife into his arms for a kiss.

He loved their relationship. It wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it.

Their union was on a fast track, so that introduced a different set of challenges.

He was thankful that he had Thaddeus and Sebastian, who had the same experience when they first mated because of the speed of their unions.

Orion and Elodie’s first real argument was over something that was petty enough not to remember.

The emotions behind that petty but hard argument lingered for almost a week until Ma Mary told them to get their shit together.

“Let’s go, pretty ass wife.” Orion grabbed her hand to pull her out of their bedroom before they found a reason to stay in the room a second longer. He knew his mate.

Like it was planned, Elodie and Orion bought MJ’s home, and Alexi decided to sell the big house to Ma Mary and Pops.

Ma Mary had no issues with the transition of her landscaping business to North Carolina.

The Leventis were her first clients. Once the others on the reservation saw her work, she gained so many clients that she had to hire more staff than she originally anticipated.

Pops thought he wanted to retire, but Parie convinced him to take on a few patients.

Ma Mary and Pops were already at the campfire gathering.

When they arrived and became a part of the tribe, they were taken in by the elders.

Now, they were elders. The choice to move to North Carolina was the best decision that could be made by Elodie’s parents.

In Sedona, they were each other’s friends.

In North Carolina, they had a circle of others their age to bond with.

There was a camaraderie that they didn’t have in Arizona.

The second Orion and Elodie made it to their destination, they sat among their friends.

Elodie now had a group of women that she confided in and had to look up to when it came to marriage advice.

When the women weren’t at their respective careers, with their mates, or parental figures, they were together in some way.

It could be physically, in person, or in mind.

Elodie and her parents’ communication with the pack started less than an hour after their ceremony.

When the couple sat down, they noticed a new couple. Elodie had a cheesy, goofy smile because she was already in the know. All of the women were, but the men? Not so much.

Now that Orion had the ability to mind speak, the group chat they had went from the phone to their minds.

“Who the fuck is this dude?” Orion asked in the closed communication with the guys. It took him no time to learn how to open and close his communication.

“This is Rummie’s little boyfriend. It must be serious because she never brings them to tribe events,” Thaddeus quipped. “What I find interesting is that he has a beast. Can you sense that, Orion?”

This was a part of his gift that he still had to get used to. It was a prickly feeling on his skin that was uncomfortable when he sensed a wolf that was not a part of his pack. He wasn’t sure if the prickles were a defense mechanism, but that was how he treated it.

“Yeah, I feel it. Do we know anything about him?”

Farad shook his head. “Not right now, but I already got people on it. I agree with you, Thad. Rummie’s ass has never brought a man here. Her ass loves to be sneaky.”

“Um, y’all can stop talking about me,” Rummie blurted. “Carlyle knows that we are wolves and a pack. Feel free to ask any question that you need to.”

If my business is my business was a person, it would be Rumble ‘Rummie’ Lourie.

She’d always been a loner, even with a gang of people around her.

No one knew why, but if Rummie had to tell it, the reason would be because of her gift to sway emotions.

It was a gift that she felt was a gift and a curse.

The only emotions that she was unable to sway were love and hate.

Thaddeus leaned forward to ask his first intrusive question.

He paused when Elsbeth pinched his leg. She wished she had the ability to mind speak because she would tell him to stand down.

He glanced up at his wife. He spoke with his eyes, and she seemed to get the message when she crossed her legs.

She knew the I’m gonna beat the pussy up later look well.

“Carlyle, where are you from?”

Carlyle was not easily intimidated. It wasn’t who he was as a man or as a beast.

“My family is from here, but I wasn’t raised here. I was raised in Texas.”

Farad’s brows furrowed. “Your family is from here as in Lumberton, or the Lumbee Tribe? There is a distinct difference. Make it.”

Carlyle smirked. “You can ease up on the ‘my wolf is bigger than your wolf’ shit. I’m not here for you. I’m here for my girl.” He gave a dramatic pause so that it could sink in with the men. “My family is from here as in the Lumbee Tribe, but I was adopted when I was born in Texas.”

Carlyle was full Lumbee with no African American blood in him. He always knew he was adopted, and he always knew he was different. After a DNA test, he found a connection to his parents and had been searching for them ever since. In that search, he met Rummie over three years ago.

“So, what? You came here to find your parents but found Rummie? That seems convenient,” Orion commented.

Carlyle shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that. If anything, it’s what the gods wanted since we met at work.

I’m a radiologist. That was over three years ago though.

” He peeked next to him at the woman that was finally his after she slowed down enough to be caught.

“She took me through it before she agreed to be mine.”

“You said that your parents were from this tribe,” Farad blurted. “Do you know who?”

For Farad, Carlyle’s beast meant that at least one of his parents had a beast or at least the gene.

From that conclusion, it could be said that his parents were members of their pack.

Their pack was over fifteen strong when it came to active members.

There were many older members that were just not active.

Rummie cleared her throat. “No. He hasn’t figured that out yet. That’s why I suggested he come here. Plus, I wanted you all to meet him since he’s going to be around.”

Yeah, it was time that she slowed her ass down.

She introduced Carlyle to her mother at a dinner over two weeks ago.

She was aware of his lineage and agreed to help him find his roots.

It was crazy to Parie to think that there was potentially someone among the tribe that gave a child up for adoption, and no one was the wiser.

There was a lot going on in the Lumbee tribe.

From the new members to the mysterious stranger boo of Rummie’s.

Orion and the others welcomed it all because these were the types of things that made the pack strong.

Orion already had it in his mind to introduce Carlyle to Pops so he could do his thing.

From the short first impression, it didn’t seem like Carlyle had ill intent toward Rummie, but one could never be too sure.

The men would never say it out loud, but they were impressed by his forwardness. The pack was allergic to bitches.

Thaddeus sat up with his stare focused on Rummie’s boo.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about Carlyle.

This was a new territory for him. Rummie had a man that she wanted everyone to know about.

The overall goal with this situation was to make sure Carlyle was not on fuck shit and that Rummie was happy.

Her happiness was important to Thaddeus.

Since their father met his demise, she hadn’t been the same.

There was a divide between Rummie and her mother that wasn’t intentional, but it happened nonetheless.

It was clear that their father, Patrick, was wrong on every level when he chose to disgrace his family with his actions toward Thaddeus and his mate.

That was not up for debate. However, Rummie still battled with the loss of her father.

It was not a topic that she felt comfortable bringing up to her mother or brother because of their hatred for him.

Carlyle had been the one to encourage her to take the time to at least attempt to get plugged back into the pack.

“Well, Carlyle, since you’re going to be around per my sister, I hope to spend more time with you to get to know you. I want a chance to hear your intentions for my sister.” Thaddeus held his focus on him.

Carlyle provided him with a confident smile.

“I can tell you about my intentions for your sister now with everyone to save you the time of being a news broadcaster. My intentions for Rummie are to love and build with her so that sooner than later she becomes my wife. After that, I plan to put some babies in her like you all did with your wives, then live happily ever after.”

There was something to be said about a man with a mission and his ability to move forward with that mission for successful completion.

This was a commonality between the men that sat in this circle.

They all went on a mission to get their mates and were successful in it.

Orion was a member of a pack that was mission oriented when it came to everything in life, especially their women.

The men set out to get their big bad wolves, and that was exactly what they got.

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