“Of course. You know we’ll do anything we can for you guys. What’s up?”
Levi then proceeded in telling him of Raven and Rose’s situation, the kidnapping and battle, and finally the danger they were now in. “I was hoping you would take them in for a while until things are safe for them to come back here?”
“Sure. They can come here, but I have a favor in return.”
“Of course. If I can help, I will.”
“Well, I’m having some trouble with my daughter.”
“You mean Hope? The last time I saw her she was an angel, with long flowing hair and a lovely smile.”
He huffed. “Well, she’s all grown up now, or so she thinks. The long flowing hair is gone, replaced with choppy blue hair—all to piss me off. Anyway, I’ve tried everything. She won’t listen to me; she’s hanging with a dangerous crowd, and the harder I become, the worse she gets. I need to send her away for a while. I think the space will do us all good. Honestly, I want to get her away from these kids she hanging with. I need someone I can trust. So, what do you think? Can you take her?”
Levi strolled over to the window and peered out as he scratched his head. “Honestly, Sergeant, I can’t take her. As you know, Charity is about to give birth to triplets any minute now. The pack is really driving me crazy right now. I really—” He paused as he peered through the window and spotted Wesley kneeling down by Rose and offering her a bottle of water. His face was filled with such compassion. It was something Levi had never seen in Wesley before.
“Levi? Levi, are you still there?”
“Uh, yeah, Sergeant, I’m still here.” A smile slowly crept across his face as he continued to observe Wesley. “Actually, if you truly trust me, I have the perfect pack in mind to take your daughter in.”
Epilogue/Bonus Scene
It was early spring and the evening was still cold as Charity and the rest of the pack gathered in the clearing. They were celebrating all the many blessings they had been given over the last year—as well as their last week before Raven and Rose left them to join the Mason pack in Alaska. No one knew for how long, but the idea was killing Charity. She loved them both very much. Rose had become like a sister to her. She wouldn’t get to see the baby when it was born, and she would miss them very much. But tonight was about dwelling on their blessings.
Everyone was there, huddled near the bonfire, paired off and snuggling on blankets. Charity peered up into her magnificent husband’s purple eyes and marveled at how everything had turned out better than she could’ve asked for.
She glanced around at the happy couples and felt her eyes well with tears. Josh and Ashley were kissing. Raven and Rose were staring lovingly into each other’s eyes while he absentmindedly rubbed her still flat belly and the miracle that lie beneath. Hector and Tosha cuddled with their son Jeremy, and Doc and her mom were wrapped together, giggling softly to some whispered joke. Eli was the only one with a sour look on his face. She thought it irritated him that he was the only one sitting alone with no one cuddled against him. But something told her it wouldn’t be long before things changed for him. Joseph and Irena, like her, were glancing around at their family in contentment, while holding hands. Irena whispered her name. Their eyes caught and they shared a brief smile, basking in the happiness they both felt.
Charity sighed, a happy sigh, and Levi leaned down to her ear and kissed it as he reached his big hands around her. He pulled her tighter against his chest while allowing his hands to rest on her big belly, with their three boys finally lying quietly within.
The guys were all reminiscing when Raven interrupted them and announced a short speech. He shared about how lonely life had been before Charity tugged the sweet girl to her side and introduced her to him. He proclaimed his love for Rose and teared up when thanking the pack for accepting him and rescuing him and Rose. He then turned his attention to Eli and gave a heartfelt thank you to him for being his best friend. Every one of us was in tears, even Eli, though he tried to hide it.
Eli would miss his sister very much, along with his parents. His parents were accompanying Raven and Rose to Alaska, but he would also miss Raven, his now dear and devoted friend. Raven didn’t hold any ill will against Eli for killing Griffin. He said he understood his anger. Griffin had kidnapped his sister and tied her to a tree to watch the torturing death of her husband. Unfortunately, he deserved what he got. Raven understood this. After declaring again his undying love for Rose, or Sophia as he called her, and again spilling his gratitude to all of them for all they had done for him, he murmured something so low they almost didn’t catch it. Fortunately, they all have exceptional hearing. It sounded something like a whine, and it went something like this, “I really miss my beautiful car.”
Then they all burst into laughter, breaking up the seriousness of the current mood.
Suddenly, Charity stopped short; something was wrong. “Hey, Mr. Blurry and Furry,” she said turning to Levi, whose laughter was now rocking both of their bodies in an irritating way. “Will you stop that laughing? You spilt your drink all over the blanket! And all over me as well,” she suddenly noticed.
Levi stopped dead in mid laughter. “Charity, I didn’t spill anything. I don’t even have a drink.”
She huffed but then noticed his hands were empty. “Well then, if you didn’t, then who—” she squealed.
Levi jumped up so fast she almost fell backwards. “Holy hailstorm! Charity’s having the babies! Right now!”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, she laughed. Levi never said things like that. That was her thing. She guessed she was truly rubbing off on him. Although she wasn’t so sure that was a good thing.
And then he was gone—so fast into the forest that she didn’t even see him move.
“Hey!” she yelled out to him. Then he was back again.
“Sorry, kitten. I guess I forgot you.” He smiled sheepishly, pulling her up gently into his arms.
Goof ball, she thought.
She glanced around at the others, their mouths hanging open in shock, and stared into dead silence for a few split seconds. Did they think this was a joke? That was generally Eli’s department. Then everyone burst into action—and chaos.
The next few minutes were total pandemonium as the pack scurried from their seats and jumped around, bumping into each other, unsure of what to do. They finally bolted through the forest after Levi and Charity on their way to the Drake clinic, located inside the facility. She would’ve laughed if she hadn’t felt so sick. Levi was running with such speed that she knew at any minute she might vomit. Not to mention that her contractions were coming closer and closer. The way the pack was acting you’d think that this was the first set of triplets this crazy pack had ever had…..oh wait—it was.
Another Note from the Author
Next up is Eli’s Destiny. As the title suggests, this story focuses around Levi’s twin, Eli. I tried third person narrative but in the end decided to go back to my favorite first person narrative. This seems to suit me better. I switched POV periodically throughout the story. I hope you enjoy it.