Page 58 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)
Chapter fifty-eight
T he two weeks since Richard’s death have been stressful as hell. Navigating the remaining members of the pack would have been near impossible without Luca at our side. He’s been more than happy to help us filter through the members that were in support of the former Alpha Supremes extreme policies.
We’ve sent additional members of the pack to Darkmoon Prison. And helped more women than I really want to think about escape men that felt they had the right to claim whoever they wanted, regardless of the women's thoughts on the matter.
Piper and Jasper have been working night and day with Luca to learn the needs of the pack and determine the best way for them to co-lead it.
Today, we’re all meeting in the conference room of the shelter to touch base on everything that's happened and any next steps that need to be taken.
Sage walks in, going straight to Rhoda, she kisses her cheek. “We’ve come full circle haven’t we, Amma?”
Rhoda smiles, giving her a hard hug. “I never knew just how important you girls would truly be to this family. I’m so thankful we have you.”
With one last squeeze, Sage comes over to sit in my lap. With Piper next to me in Mav’s lap, I couldn’t be happier. Even though the danger is gone, I still feel most at ease when my mates are close.
Looking around the room I have to grin at the strange sight that would greet anyone that walked in. All the butterfly dragons are shifted and perched on their mates to save space. The ladies are all sitting on a mate's lap and the best part is that Jessie is in her Pallas cat form, watching Walker like he will be her next meal.
Pressing a kiss to Sage’s hair I try to hide my smile. I may have let it slip to her how much her shifted form unnerves him. Now she takes every chance she gets to fuck with my brother.
Archer, Ash, and Felix come in following several floating trays of drinks. I can just make out Rory’s glowing eyes from beneath the curtain of Ashley’s hair.
When the trays safely land on the table, the drinks start flying around the room. Archer grabs a cup and walks over to hand it to Piper. “Felix’s famous hot chocolate, hold the cum,” he says with an evil grin.
Piper and Sage burst into giggles, but my brothers and I look at each other in shock. Hold the what now?
Atlas’s chuckles roll through the bond. “I’ll fill you guys in later. It’s nothing bad, just a joke from the first day we got here.”
Once everyone is settled with a drink we get down to business. Or should I say up? The way Sage keeps wiggling in my lap has my dick rising in a damn hurry. She smirks over her shoulder at me, sending me a wink before standing up with Piper.
“Before we get to the serious stuff, Pip and I have something for Zander, Ridge, and Jessie. I also think Milo has something to pass on as well.”
Sage walks around to the other side of the table and starts digging through a bag I didn’t even notice she was carrying. The first thing she pulls out is a T-shirt. She shakes it out and turns so we can all read the design. “Beautiful and Sexy Keeper of the People Opener”. There is a blown-up picture of Ridge's favorite knife right below the words, complete with a few drops of blood.
Piper holds up the next shirt. This one has the same knife picture, but reads “Big Strong Manly Keeper of the People Opener’.
She hands the shirts to Zander and Jessie who shifted back so she could put it on.
I can guess the final shirt is for Ridge. He’s standing behind Sage and Piper, bouncing on his toes like a little kid hopped up on sugar.
Ridge’s shirt has an adorable cartoon drawing of a dino on it, complete with a bloody people opener in its claws. The text on this one says, ‘I Have my People Opener, Please Make me Use it.’
As soon as Sage hands him the shirt, he wraps her in a bear hug, squeezing her tightly and lifting her off the floor. She shrieks when he spins her around and Milo has to tap him on the shoulder.
“Ridge, buddy, she can’t breathe. Put her down. I’ve got something for you too.”
Reluctantly, he sets Sage down, kissing the top of her head. “Thank you so much. I love it!”
Milo holds out his hand to Ridge, showing him a rainbow braided bracelet, then turns his hand to show the matching one already around his own wrist.
Ridge’s eyes go wide and then the big psycho starts to cry. “I’ve never had a friendship bracelet before. Thank you, bestie.” He proceeds to tackle poor Milo in a bear hug and cover his face in kisses. It takes Zander and Jessie to pull him off, but it’s heartwarming to see the way he carefully ties the bracelet around his wrist and stares at it like he was offered the most precious jewels.
Sage comes back to sit in my lap and everyone else returns to their chairs. Rhoda then gestures to Sage.
She picks up the piece of paper Liam hands her and then addresses the group. “The donations that have come in since the interview that Piper and I gave exceeded our wildest dreams.”
Rory snorts and we all chuckle, knowing that she chose that phrase on purpose.
“Sam and Liam have been working their magic to double or triple the actual amount we have to work with. I know with the dragon gold on hand, money isn’t really our biggest concern, but every donation is someone that knows about us. The word is getting out and that is what we needed.”
“We have six more interviews scheduled over the next two months, along with two book signings and the promotion for our newest release. Since we helped sponsor the first signing, our table is quite large and in a good location. We could use two big strong mates to volunteer to be our bitches that day.”
Mav just shakes his head while the rest of us laugh. Our mates know all of us will be there to be their bitches or anything else they need.
Liam jumps in next. “A lot of the traction for the shelter came from something called Booktok. I have no clue what that is, but the comments on the donation posts kind of freaked me out. They were asking for something called thirst traps.”
Immediately, every woman in the room starts cackling. When they finally get calmed down enough to speak, Sage leans over to kiss Liam’s cheek. “Oh my sweet, innocent mate. You are the very definition of a thirst trap, but Piper and I only share with each other. They will have to look elsewhere for man candy.”
Liam blushes so badly that the tips of his ears turn red, but Mav jumps in to take the attention off him. “My father’s pack has merged with the New Leaf pack. Hunter and I have no desire to be in charge and they are okay with following the leadership of the new Alpha Supremes. At least half of them have asked to move to Florida. They want sun and sand, not mountains and snow. Jasper and Clarissa also said they want to move down there as well. I think Alaska holds too many memories for her.”
The room grows quiet as we all think of the terrible things that she went through at Richard’s hands. Clarissa still can’t stand to be touched, but she’s started seeing Lacy for counseling and is slowly beginning to heal.
“Rory, would you be willing to put up some houses between our place and the girls? I figure Jasper and Clarissa can have our place and then the members will all be between the Alphas if anything comes up.”
Rory nods at Mav looking thrilled to help. “I’d be honored.”
Walker jumps in next. “The orphanages we have opened so far are doing great. It’s honestly sad how many children we have already taken in, but I’m glad we have a safe place for them to go. I was wondering if we shouldn’t look at expanding further, though.”
That gets everyone’s attention. Rhoda, Teague, and Silas especially seem interested in his plan. “What if we offer a private school for the paranormal? We could call it Dreamwell Academy. These kids need structure, and we can provide not only an education, but give them the tools to succeed in life once they are of age and head out into the world. For those in the community that want to, they can pay tuition that can help offset the costs for the orphans. We can market it as a prestigious private academy to make sure that we only admit supernatural kids.”
Hera is positively beaming. “Walker, that’s a fantastic idea.”
Nodding in agreement, Rhoda has that look in her eye that means she’s either thinking super hard or working on some Goddess mumbo jumbo. “That would also be a good way to open up interactions across realms. If we allow children from any realm to attend, we can start to bridge the gaps that were formed by Ravenna’s evil.”
Milo sits forward next. “The photos Maggie and I took have been selling really well. We posted on social media that all proceeds would be donated to the shelter, and it’s really been hitting people in the feels. Several news outlets have reached out for interviews as well.” He sits back with a grin, and we all take a moment to think about everything that we’ve accomplished.
Teague clears his throat, his eyes a bit brighter than usual. “I never in a million years thought that when Rhoda mentioned opening a DV shelter, it would lead us here. I’m so damn proud of each and every one of you and honored to be a part of this family.”