Once I got in the pack house, I headed straight for the kitchen. I was hoping Nat would be here cooking breakfast, so I could talk to her. I looked around and spotted her silver hair standing in front of the counter.
When she heard me walk in, she turned around and smiled, "Hey sweetie, I heard you had a date with Travis today!"
"Nat..." I sobbed as I felt myself break down.
I fell to my knees and held my face in my hands as the tears stained my face again. Nat immediately came over to me and started rubbing my back.
She spoke quietly where no one else could hear, "What happened? Did he hurt you?"
"No." I quickly reassured her. "Travis isn't that kind of man. He was very gentle and respectful of my feelings. He noticed Lady's fur was a gold color and I think he knows I lied to him, but instead of being angry. He just told me he would wait till I was ready to tell him the truth."
Nat stared at me in confusion, "Okay... now I'm really not understanding why you're upset if he was so kind to you."
"Nat, I have feelings for the Alpha." I tell her.
She sort of smiled to herself, "Well I could've told you that."
I rolled my eyes and spoke grimly, "Then I saw Luther. Luther said I betrayed him. I betrayed my family. I can't. Travis said he enjoyed spending time with me and I panicked."
Nat suddenly realized what I meant and pulled me into a hug. She rubbed my back and kept telling me it'd be okay. I cried into her shoulder and let myself break apart. I felt so disgusting for how I betrayed Luther by falling for another male. How could I have ever done that to the gift chosen for me by the moon Goddess?
"Anora, I wanna tell you something." Nat whispered to me.
I sat up and looked her in the eyes. Her face was more stressed this time. Her brows were knitted together and the corners of her mouth were tightened.
"I had a mate a long time ago. He was my best friend. We did everything together. He got killed when we were just thrity four. I tool it pretty hard and wouldn't let myself fall in love again." She said solemnly.
"I didn't know... I'm sorry." I rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm telling you this because I needed someone to tell me it back then, but nobody ever did." She took a deep breath and spoke sternly, "Your mate is dead and he is not coming back. If he truly loved you, he would have wanted you to be happy. Don't run from Travis because you think it will hurt Luther. Luther died to protect you and his family. He loved you. Don't suffer alone for the rest of your life because you think it will hurt him for you to move on."
I blinked at her in surprise. Nat had never gotten so passionate and serious about anything before. I could hear the pain and regret in her voice as if she was telling this to herself as well. I couldn't have imagined how lonely Nat had been after losing her mate and swearing celibacy because of it.
"Thank you, Nat." I smiled sadly at her, "But I don't think I'm ready yet. Plus, he may not feel the same if he knew the truth. If he knew I was pregnant with the Alpha of Forester's pup."
"You do what feel best, but don't deny yourself happiness just because of the dead." She stroked my cheek and smiled at me.
.....
It had been a month since that day Travis and I ran through the woods. He quit visiting me after that. The only times I'd see him is during breakfast, lunch, and dinner when everyone gathered, but he didn't speak to me. He kept his distance. He hadn't even come to visit Andrew in the time he spent avoiding me.
I ran a bath full of warm water and called to Andrew, "Bath time!"
The little pup came in the bathroom behind me and looked over in the bathtub. I had fixed it just the way he liked it. Warm water and lots of bubbles. The little guy was almost four, but his eyes still lit up with excitement when he seen the bubbles. My heart was warmed by his innocent little reactions.
"Do I have to take a bath?" He peered at me.
"Yes! You were out playing in the dirt. I'm not about to let you go get in your pretty nice white bed with all that filth on you." I teased him.
Andrew puffed out his cheeks and pouted, "Moon Goddess made dirt, so dirt don't hurt."
"While that may be true. You're still taking a bath. So, get those dirty clothes off and get ready to go for a swim." I instructed with a smile.
Andrew did as I said and I picked him up then carefully set him in the water. He jumped at first when the warm water hit him, but after a few minutes he settled down. Then he started playing with the bubbles, giving himself a bubble beard.
"Look! I look like grandpa!" He cheered.
I laughed and started washing his hair, "You look lik good ole Saint Nick."
He looked at me in disgust, "Ew no. I'd rather be a pack elder than a people lie."
"If you insist he only visits humans, he won't bring you a gift this year." I whispered.
Andrew gasped and splashed the water, "He might bring me a gift?"
I nodded, "But only if you're a good boy and take your baths, so you don't get your room all dirty."
"Okay!" Andrew smiled happily and started to rub the soap on his arms and chest.
I laughed to myself. Pups were always so pure and easily amazed. Much easier to please than adults who would demand you to give them all of your being. I loved my role as a Luna, but there were days I wasn't feeling my best. My pack mates rarely ever acknowledged when I was tired, they just gave me more stuff to do. At least with a pup, you give them some attention and encouragement and they'll love you forever.
"Maybe he can make my dad like me." Andrew suddenly said.
"What?" I was alarmed by the grim remark.
He turned around and looked at me with his big green eyes, "My dad doesn't like me. It's been a long time since he's come to visit me."
"Your dad loves you... he's just... busy with his pack duties. Sometimes being the Alpha is hard." I rubbed his head.
"I don't think I want to be an Alpha if I can't see my family anymore." Andrew told me honestly.
"Don't say that... once you're done with your bath. I'll go talk to your dad." I sighed.
I finished bathing Andrew and helped him out of the bath. Then, I wrapped a warm towel around his little body so he could dry off. We walked back to his room and I started going through his dresser. I picked out a shirt and shorts for the little boy and handed them to him.
"Can you dress yourself this time?" I asked him.
He eagerly nodded his head, "Yep! I'm a big boy after all."
"That's right." I laughed. "Stay in here. I'm going to go talk to your dad."
The little boy nodded and I left the room. I walked down the hallway and stopped outside of Travis's office. I mustered up my courage and opened the door.
He was sitting at his desk and didn't even look at me, "What are you doing in here?"
"I need to talk to you." I spoke up.
He sighed, "I'm busy. Maybe later."
I walked up to his desk and leaned over it to look at him, "You need to go spend time with your son."
"What do you know about having a pup? I'm playing both Alpha and Luna, I can't give him every second of the day!" Travis looked up at me. His brows were furrowed.
"I know a lot more about it then you do." I clicked my tongue.
"Oh really? How can you know more about it when you don't have any?" He scoffed.
"You're wrong." I sighed. "I had three. I lost them before I came here."
Travis's eyes grew wide as he stared at me in shock, "What?"
"I had three pups! I held one of in my arms as he died. So don't tell me I know nothing! I would've given everything to my pups. All yours is asking for is your attention." I felt my anger and grief boiling up inside.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He peered at me, his expression softened.
"I lost them very shortly before I came to your pack. I didn't know if I could trust you yet. I was scared." I admitted with a heavy sigh. Part of the truth was now revealed.
"Ann... I'm so sorry. I didn't know..." He said softly.
"Don't apologize to me! Your son is the one who needs you right now. He thinks you don't like him anymore because you haven't hardly visited him in a month." I snapped.
Travis seemed taken aback, but he nodded and sighed, "You're right. I haven't spent enough time with him, but I have to get this work done by today. I have a party to plan for his birthday coming up."
"Let me do it." I tell him.
"You're not a Luna, you don't know how to set parties up and manage budgets." He leaned back in his chair.
"I used to help my Luna do this sort of work. I might surprise you. Just let me handle this and you can go spend some time with your son." I smiled at him confidently.
Travis looked back and forth between the paper work and me. He clicked his tongue, "Are you sure you can do this?"
I nodded, "I'm positive."
"Alright," he said calmly, "I trust you. I will let you plan his birthday party, so I can spend time with Andrew."
He got up from his seat and walked around the desk to stand in front of me. I could see there was still a hint of hurt in his eyes when he looked at me. I felt a pang in my heart knowing I hurt him.
"Thank you. Feel free to use my office while I'm out." Travis smiled at me.
And with that, he left me alone in his office. I moved around his desk and took a seat. I looked down at the paperwork in front of me and was a little surprised at how unorganized he was. He had his pack documents such as business dealing that the Alpha would handle mixed together with the domestic events that a Luna would typically handle all mixed together. I separated them into their own piles according to what they were.
Then I spotted the folder with "Andrew's Birthday" written in big letters on the front. This felt oddly familiar. I planned all my pups birthdays and budgeted them before. I carefully opened the folder to discover it was a mess too.
I sighed, males could be so disorganized and messy. I took the papers and separated them out neatly. Then I reviewed each one carefully.
The first one I picked up was a list with what sort of food would be needed. The moment I seen vanilla cake, I instantly just ignored the list Travis created. Andrew liked chocolate and strawberry, but he hated vanilla. I started creating my own list. I added chocolate cake mix and ingredients to make a nice butter cream and chocolate frosting to go top of the cake. Then I put chocolate chip cookies ingredient on the list. Later I added ice cream and stuff to make finger foods like pigs in a blanket and little sandwiches.
Next was the list for decorations, I knew Andrew's favorite color was green. So I wanted to get some streamers to hand from the doorway and green balloons.
I was used to Luna duties from my previous pack, so I got through the whole planning process in no time. Then I walked out to the omega house. It was the first I had been inside. It wasn't as nice as ours back in Forester, but it was still relatively clean and well built.
An older male spotted me and questioned me, "What do you want?"
"I need you to call down the omegas for a little meeting. I am planning the Alpha's son's birthday in a few days. I need the omegas to help me out." I explained.
He looked at me suspiciously and then went up stairs. When he came back, he had a bunch of she wolves and male omegas following him.
Once they all got down the stairs, I gave them a big smile, "Hello!"
They all looked at me as if I had a third eye. I understood their hesitation. One spoke up finally, "Who are you?"
"She's my daughter!" Nat called out as she shifted through the other omegas.
I smiled at her, "Hi! How are you, mother?"
Nat winked at me and played along, "I'm doing well!" The she turned to the rest of the omegas, "Ann is kind and she understands our position. You can trust her."
Nat's words seemrd to relieve everyone as they all relaxed. I spoke up again, "I need your help. Andrew's birthday is coming up. We can save a lot of money if we buy the ingredients and just make the stuff here at the pack house, but I'll need some extra hands. Is anyone good at cooking?"
A few wolves raised their hands. One glared at me, "Why are you planning the Alpha's party?"
I smiled at him, "Alpha Travis has a lot on his plate. Since I am Andrew's caretaker, I took on the party planning, so he could focus on more important things."
"Why do you want us to cook instead of just buying the food already made?" A skinny she wolf asked.
"I looked at how much it would cost to have this party and I found out it was more cost effective just to make the food ourselves. Besides, it saves us money and I can put in a good word to the Alpha about how helpful the Omegas were. He may be more willing to give you resources in the future if you help with his son's party." I confidently smiled at the crowd.
My words seem to have given the omegas a lot to think about. Of course it did, I wasn't such a beloved Luna before by being oblivious to the needs of my pack. Omegas were always the last to receive house upgrades or get new equipment for being able to make repairs. By telling the omegas that this may give them a chance to get better resources than they have been getting with the money we will save. I pretty much gurateed their loyalty and cooperation.
One she wolf stepped up, "I will cook whatever you need me to. I am better at cooking meals, but I can try baking a cake."
Then a male stepped forward, "I am not good at cooking, but I can be a kitchen assistant for anyone who is cooking."
"I used to bake cookies all the time with my mother. I can help with that." Another male spoke up.
Nat smiled at me, "I can help prepare a lunch meal for the party."
She smiled and mouthed at me, "Looks like you won them over."
A lot of the omegas volunteered to help in various ways. I assigned some to cleaning duty and meal preparation. Others were in charge of helping the guards go purchase the ingredients from the store. A few even offered to use their skills to provide things like hand made garlands made with clovers to add more life to the party room. The older male omega even said he was good at making decorations with pine needles and pine cones.
With the omegas on board for this, I was sure we could make this party a huge success while also saving some money for upgrading the pack's resources.
I returned to the pack house, feeling proud of myself for having arranged the whole meal plan in a single afternoon. Once I got inside the house, I spotted Travis who had been waiting for me.
"Where were you? I came back to my office and you were gone." He asked.
I handed him the shopping lists with all the ingredients and decorations, "I was convincing the omegas to help me set up this party in a way we could save money. They've all agreed to help. I need you to give this to your beta, so he can have the guards and a few lf the omegas to shopping tomorrow."
Travis stared at me with a bewildered expression, "You got the omegas to willingly help you with the party?"
"That's right. You should consider giving them more resources in the future. You'll gain their loyalty and approval more by making them feel like a useful part of your pack. The whole party plan has been set in stone. Now we just need the supplies to be purchased and the omegas will handle the rest." I smile, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You're amazing." He smiled at me.
"Your pack is amazing. The omegas are all so talented and unique. You could really spend more time learning the strengths and disadvantages of your pack." I tell him.
"I would love to, but between all my Alpha and Luna paperwork. I haven't hardly got time." He sighed.
"Then come to me and I'll help you with your office work, that way you can spend more time focusing on your pack." I rubbed his back.
"How are you so perfect?" He purred.
"I'm not at all. You don't know how many mistakes I made before I got here. I just want to give Andrew the best birthday I can." I frowned.
"That pup loves you to death! You could give him a rock and he'd treat it like a precious piece of gold. I'm sure he'll be thrilled with his party." He chuckled.
I was happy with how everything was working out. The planning was complete. I had the help of all the omegas. Now all that was left was for the guards to go buy the supplies, so we could prepare for party.