Neal walked into his bedroom with a sigh. It was empty now. After spending the majority of the last 4 months with the pack, he knew where he needed to be and it wasn't in a castle miles away from the woman he loved. He needed to be with Sura, and their children. He turned to look at himself in the mirror, the only thing left in the room besides some furniture he didn't want. Over the last few months his hair had grown to his shoulders. He'd need a haircut as soon as possible. He hardly wore a shirt because of Sura's love of seeing him without one and his skin was a shade darker, but he was fitter now. Helping build Sura a den was no easy task, even with Regina's help. Still, he couldn't be more proud. It was time to say goodbye to his parents.
Snow, David, Emma and Henry were in the conference room, going over the pointless day to day tasks that came with being the royal family. All eyes turned to Neal as he walked in, bare chested and only wearing black pants and boots with his moon necklace around his neck.
"You're back!" Snow smiled, running to hug her youngest. "How is everyone?"
Neal nodded. "They're fine. I have to go back though."
"What? But we were going to throw you a ball and everything."
"I don't need it. I just came to say goodbye."
"What?" David stood up then, looking at his son like he was crazy.
"Sura is pregnant and I want to be there for my kids." Neal replied firmly. "She can't keep going back and forth and I can't either. It's for the best." He looked down at Snow and touched her cheek. "I love you guys. You know that, don't you?"
"But you love them more." Snow said softly, brushing off his hand to leave the room before she started crying. Neal sighed.
"Guess they're trying to take our whole family." He heard Henry mutter.
Neal scowled and walked forward, picking his nephew up by the neck. "Wrong, Little Prince, they don't want you. Any of you." He dropped him and looked at Emma. Her eyes were wide and her hand was on the hilt of her sword. "Sorry about that. Sura bit me the other night."
"Turning you into one of them." Henry croaked.
"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?"
"My lord!" A guard suddenly rushed into the room and stopped in front of Neal. "You have a very...large... guest waiting for you in the garden, sir."
Neal scowled again and ran out of the room. He found Sura waiting in the garden, her belly now so big it dragged the ground when she walked. "Sura, what the fuck?! Did you walk all the way here?!" His mate made a garbling noise. No doubt some kind of smart remark. She lowered her giant wolf head to lick his forehead with the tip of her tongue, flattened her ears and made a soft purring noise. Her form of apology. "Don't do that again. Here, lay down in the shade." He lead her over to a shady spot and bid her to lay down and rest her paws. She didn't complain. Her belly was so swollen. He grinned. With his pups. "I told them I was coming to live with you. They didn't take it well." He gently stroked her side as he spoke. "Not surprisingly. Once you've rested, we can leave. I'll go get you some water and a snack." He raced off to the kitchens and returned with a basin of water and a slab of lamb. She drank and devoured it in minutes. "I'll go get a carriage so we can get back, okay? Don't go anywhere." She made a whining noise and laid back down, probably exhausted. He rolled his eyes and kissed her furry cheek.
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Regina watched Lycia sleep with a loving smile on her face. Her mate's belly was so swollen it looked like she was about to burst. But Lycia was glowing beautifully. Regina kept her fed and entertained and since announcing her pregnancy they'd done some expansion to the den, the territory and to the pack. They were now at 20 members and more poured in every week. It was quite peaceful and Regina was proud of the family she had created and proud to see her children now fully grown and leading content lives of their own. Many of them had left to form packs of their own, with their own mates and would soon probably have their own children. She had come so far since meeting Lycia that sometimes she just wanted to dance or faint with sheer happiness. Lycia's head shot up when Bron peeked in to announce dinner. Downstairs, their original pack had returned for the birthing, with one noticeable absence.
"Where is Lucia?" Regina asked Cara after her mate had sat down to eat. "Lycia is due this week. She promised to be here."
"I haven't talked to Lucia in months. We've both been busy."
Regina sighed. Cara was often preoccupied with her healing practices and Lucia had all but disappeared since the last festival. "I'm gonna go talk to Tala real quick. Call me if anything happens with Lycia."
"I am right here, you know." Lycia said, stuffing her face with pancakes and sausage.
Regina smiled and kissed her forehead before making her into the study. She summoned Tala in the mirror and waited until her friend could answer.
"Regina, has Lycia given birth?" Tala asked.
"No. She's due any day now. Where is Lucia? She was supposed to be here yesterday."
"I don't know."
"You don't keep tabs on your alphas?"
"No, I mean she's not in the Royal Pack anymore. She left, and took her pack with her."
"What?" Regina said in disbelief.
"She formed her own pack, not without making a formal alliance with ours, and then she was gone. I think she went west. There's been a lot of talk of a roving pack there racking up territory. Who else could it be but your spawn?"
"Why wouldn't she tell us?"
Tala shrugged. "I'm sure she's doing fine. She knows that no matter what she has a home here and with you. If anything happens she knows where to go."
Regina sighed and nodded. "Thank you, Tala."
"Anytime."
Regina ended the connection before trying to pinpoint Lucia's location. She cast a scrying spell to see her and found that she was in wolf form on the edge of the territory, on her way to the den. At least she was safe.
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To say that Lucia Mills was tired, was an understatement. She was exhausted after running the last few miles to the border. She had left the Royal Pack and was steadily building a prominent one of her own. Already she had claimed a large stretch of prime territory to the northwest. But claiming was one thing. Keeping it was another. On top of that she had to deal with dissension within her ranks. She had no mate or partner and for some reason the males saw that as an opportunity to try and decide which one would get the position. She had no intention of choosing either of them and if she couldn't find a mate right now then she wasn't worried about it.
She arrived at the den an hour later and was welcomed home by her mothers and siblings. Almost as soon as she stepped through Bron managed to convince everyone to go out that night to a nearby tavern. Even Lycia seemed excited about it, despite Regina's protests. Lucia followed to the tavern that was newly built but it was close to bursting. The music was making her head hurt, as well as all of the singing and dancing. She moved to the bar and took a seat, ordering a mug of mead. That's when she noticed the beautiful figure take a seat next to her. Beautiful was not quite the word to describe her. Maybe goddess-like was more accurate. She was stunning, exquisite to behold. Her skin was pale and flawless and she had the most beautiful gray eyes Lucia had ever seen. Wavy ebony locks cascaded about her shoulders, adding to her mystery.
"Can I buy you a drink?" Lucia asked. When those gray eyes fell upon her, her heart nearly stopped.
"Sure. I'm Lauren."
"Lauren." Lucia repeated, rolling the name on her tongue. It fit her perfectly. As did that voice of hers. Deep and strong, with a bit of a rasp, reminding her of smoke and silk. The sound of it just made her excited for some reason. "I'm Lucia."
"Ah, you're the rising celebrity of the Alpha world."
"Not by choice."
"Oh no? Challenging wolves more twice your age to the arena?"
"They insulted my mother. They had to die." Lucia shrugged. Lauren giggled. It was the cutest thing Lucia had ever heard. Without a doubt. "So, we are you from?"
"The Upper River Pack. Just east of here."
"That's pretty far east if I remember correctly."
"Yeah, but one gets tired of being an omega."
This girl was an omega?! What the hell? She was shocked that someone hadn't snatched up a woman like this. "I'm sorry but is your pack dumb as fuck?" She asked, raising both eyebrows.
Lauren smirked. "Little bit."
Lucia glanced at the barkeep as he placed their drinks in front of them. She turned her attention back to Lauren quickly. "I actually just started a pack of my own. I'm in need of another beta."
"Beta, are you serious?"
Lucia grinned. "Yeah. When I look at you, I definitely don't see an omega and I could always use a wolf that's not some asshole jock who think they run things just because they have a dick. Pardon my language. Forgive me but I've been dealing with the likes of them for months now."
"Girl, who you apologizing to? I have 9 brothers and a very confused sister. Curse away."
They shared a laugh and toasted their drinks. Maybe tonight wasn't so bad after all.
Unbeknownst to them, across the bar, Regina was trying to get Lycia to eat something but her mate was just staring off into space. "Cia, you haven't eaten in-" Lycia grabbed her face and turned it to the bar where Lucia was talking to some girl. "Lucia Is talking to someone. So what?"
"Not talking. Flirting." Lycia corrected.
"You can't hear that from here."
"She keeps moving her hair behind her ear. Only you do that when you're nervous and playing coy." Her mate replied. "Look at them, Regina. Who do they remind you of?"
Regina moved her hand. "Lycia, I think you're delirious with hunger."
"They look like us." Lycia smiled. "You think Lucia finally found her mate?"
"Baby, they just met."
"I know, but I want her to be as happy as we are." Lycia whimpered. Regina kissed her lips and gave her a reassuring back rub. She stood up to go get something to drink when she slipped in something wet and nearly knocked herself out. "Gina, baby, we have a problem."
Regina sat up and rubbed her head. "What?"
"My water just broke."
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