Page 32 of Match (Damselverse #1)

Chapter thirty-two

Aiden

T he time has finally come.

The ducks are all grown, and it’s time they left the nest.

The whole pack gathers at the edge of the pond as we set them free. Halle, Dane, Penn, and Aiden junior paddle away to their futures, and as it turns out…

…we had three boys and one girl after all.

Penn Junior was the girl, and now she quacks along with her brothers as the four ducks swim away into the center of the pond to join the rest of the fowl.

We also have swans and geese, and the Canadian geese can get quite aggressive with their bills. Several of them hiss at Dane when he gets too close to their goslings, and he holds up his palms.

“Sorry, never meant to offend, Ms. Goose.”

Miffed, the mother goose jumps into the water, and her babies follow her.

But my focus is on our ducklings.

Well, ducks now.

They really do grow up so quickly.

The four of them stop, turning back to face us.

Halle waves them along. “Go on. Off you go. Remember, I will always be your mother.”

They answer her with a series of quacks. They certainly don’t cheep anymore. Now they truly are ready to take on the world as the four of them paddle away again, leaving our lives forever.

We will still be able to visit them, as they will always have a place on our duck pond. Penn Junior herself may even lay her own batch of eggs here someday, and then we will all have grand duck babies.

Something I never thought I would say.

Halle sighs, wiping her eyes, and I watch Dane curiously as he sheds a tear of his own.

It’s strange to see such a big Alpha crying over a bunch of ducks he raised from eggs, but that’s just Dane.

He always was very sentimental. He once ran into a burning building to save a nest of seagull chicks, and he got sentimental back then, too, when we finally re-released them into the wild.

“I’m going to miss them,” Halle whispers, and Dane smiles, taking her hand.

“Me too. I just know that Dane Junior will be going places. Look at him now, leading the others.”

And he is, too.

In the setting sun, as each of our four ducks disturbs the water, leaving behind a beautiful ripple effect, Dane Junior takes the lead.

Ready to head forth into any danger.

“Goodbye, for now,” Penn says, reaching his hand up as he waves to the ducks.

Lo and behold, they reply back to him, answering him with another series of quacks. Itseems they know his voice; he did read to them every night as they were growing up.

Soon, they merge with the wild flock of ducks in the center, and then they’re lost to us forever.

But we will see them again. I know it.

We will always be waiting for them here at the water’s edge if they ever want to catch up. I’m sure they will have a lot to tell us.

Halle’s phone rings then, and we all look at her in confusion.

She looks at us with the same question in her eyes.

Who could be ringing her?

Dane got her the phone a few weeks ago, so no one should have that number.

Unless someone tracked it down.

My heart rate spikes.

Her old pack are behind bars, so who else could be calling her?

“It’s an unknown number,” Halle whispers ominously, meeting my gaze.

Dane shifts his feet. “It could be the same number that called a few weeks back. It slipped my mind as I just wanted to get back to you, Petal. You were still in heat.”

Halle bites her lower lip. “Should I answer?”

I look to each of my pack brothers. Penn wears a serious expression, while Dane looks curious.

He still hovers close by her shoulder as if to protect her from the unknown person on the other end of the phone.

In the end, she concedes, swiping her thumb across the screen to answer.

And then she sucks in a deep breath and asks, “Hello? Who is it?”