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"So what do you think?" Alcide asked his mother, she sighed and leaned against the door way they were standing in. They were both watching Carla sitting on the couch surrounded by the large amount of family that had chosen to show up at the cottage. Alcide was not happy they had all taken it upon themselves to show up but they did. They all showed up with massive amounts of gifts for Carla and the baby. Carla was then forced to sit down and unwrap them all while the rest of the family watched.
Alcide had to admit that she was doing quite well and although the smile on her face fooled his family he knew she was just a little bit overwhelmed. He knew by the time food came round that his family would lose interest in her, and she would no longer be the center of attention. They would all gravitate towards their normal groupings and talk about how wonderful Carla was.
"I think she's a sweetheart." His mother said a soft smile on her face. His sister reminded him so much of his mother, since the two were almost identical, his mother just a little more worn then his more youthful sister. But their personalities were completely different.
"MUCH, better then Debbie!" His mother chimed hitting him softly in the side. Alcide could only chuckle, he was tired of people comparing the two. He was done with Debbie, and he would be more than happy to never hear from her again but Debbie was making that hard for him.
There was a cluster of giggles and awing from the living room as Carla pulled out another pair of tiny booties. Carla's laugh was almost covered by the large crowd but Alcide could pick out her voice anywhere.
"You love her don't ya?" His mother laughed, she had caught him off guard and he sputtered over his words. It was too soon to love her, in his opinion. Sure they had that over bearing mate thing, but he didn't think that was anything close to being in love. It was hard for him to explain what mates felt for each other, because you really had to be mated to someone to understand.
"Awww, look at you! She's a good girl Alcide! She'll take good care of you!" His mother continued, disappearing before he could say anything. It was one of the traits he hated about his mother, she always seemed to know him better then he knew himself.
When he was in high school his mother had known he liked Debbie, way before he did. She cornered him one night and told him that he had to ask Debbie out, or she would make him sleep in the backyard. She had been completely serious, he had seen her do it to his sister.
His silently studied Carla who was handed another gift to unwrap and she smiled thanking the woman who had handed it to her. It was only then did the thought occur to him. He wasn't in love with Carla, but he was falling in love with her.
He didn't understand how he couldn't have seen it before. They worked well together, they often bickered, but there was no other place in the world he would rather be. There was also no other woman he could see himself having children with and he hoped they had many children. He wanted little boys and girls that looked like Carla. His mom would be very happy to hear that she would have more than one grandchild. It would mean that they would need a bigger home, but he was okay with that. He would build Carla's dream home. He chuckled at the thought, Carla always complained that her dream home would have a bay window she could sit in and a room she would fill with books.
A sudden flash of red caught his eye, and Alcide's head suddenly snapped towards the large window to his right. He almost brushed the blur off as a trick of the light until he saw a red wolf poke its head out of the crowded woods beside the cottage.
The wolf was instantly recognizable, he only knew one person who shifted into a red wolf. It was also the reason the man had been nicknamed Red. A deep scowl deepened on Alcide's face, he was sure the sight of his old friend meant trouble. There was no other reason for him to show up to a baby shower uninvited.
Quickly checking on Carla he slipped out of the kitchen and walked towards the spot he had seen the red wolf. His father would have smacked him for being so stupid; he could have been walking string into a trap. Alcide had no idea how many wolves were in the woods, but that stupid over protective aspect he had over Carla sometimes kicked into full gear way before he knew what was happening.
Alcide was lucky that Red was the only one in the woods and he stood naked in the woods far enough so that they both couldn't see the small cottage. Alcide suddenly felt the pent up anger in his chest and released a deep breath he didn't even know he was holding in.
Red was very much aware of what he was playing, and knew if it came down to it Alcide could rip him apart. Red after all didn't have an alpha bone in his body. Alcide did, it was in his blood after all. They both stood staring at each other for a few moments waiting for the brief anger in Alcide to dissipate.
"What are you doing here?" Alcide commanded watching the man carefully. In any other situation he would have welcomed Red as a friend, but Red didn't show up at the door. He instead chose to creep around in the woods.
"We need to talk, and nobody can know it was me." Red's words confused Alcide. He had no idea what Red could have wanted to talk to him about that he didn't want to get caught. It was stupid, and wolves of his rank usually followed. They would never compromise their position by being labeled a traitor.
Alcide jerked his head a little letting Red know that he was listening. Red swallowed harshly knowing it was now or never.
"Jd has been giving Vamp Blood to some of the little ones, and a lot of us want out." Red's voice was low, and his head jerked to the side hearing a rabbit dash away from them. It was evident he was paranoid someone would hear them.
"Then leave, it's got nothing to do with me." Alcide snapped, he didn't like where this was going. He was sure in the next few moments he was going to hear something he didn't like so when Red turned his gaze back to him and spoke he wasn't surprised.
"You and I both know we can't do that." Red said, challenging Alcide. Alcide growled warning Red to back down, and Red cringed. The ice he was treading on was becoming thinner.
"There has been talk. We want you and Carla to be the new pack leaders." Red said, a flash of anger spread across Alcide's face.
"NO!" Alcide snapped, he wasn't stupid, he knew what would happen if he formed a new pack right under Jd's nose. He wasn't going to put Carla or his pup in that position. It was that moment Alcide decided the conversation was over and turned to walk back towards the cottage.
"What do you think will happen when you have that baby? You will no longer be two wolves, you will be a pack. Think about it, before you say no." Alcide pretended that he hadn't heard Red, as he slipped out of the woods. He wanted to fume and be angry, but he couldn't.
He had never thought of the baby that way, not how it would affect their status as wolves. The very idea of being in a small pack made him happy, but Jd was not the kind of pack master to leave them alone. He had already attempted to make Carla part of his pack, and when she refused he was sure the man wasn't happy. There was no possible way that he could protect his mate and child if a group showed up. But at the same time he didn't want to start a pack and stir up more trouble. Starting another pack in Jd's area would mean war.
Alcide had to strap all the new baby stuff in the back of the truck. A lot of the items were too small to be left on their own so he had to stuff them in boxes his mother had in the recycling. Then after he was finished his mother, and sister spent even more time saying goodbye to Carla.
Carla continued to smile and pretend she loved being with his family but Alcide knew she was beyond tired. She just wanted to go home, and she was overwhelmed with the amount of attention she was getting. Then with a few more hugs they were off.
They sat in silence until Alcide had pulled off onto the main road when she simply stated, "Never again." He found it hard to contain the laugh in his chest; she shot him a tired look before resting her arm on the window ledge, then rested her head in her hand.
Their drive was almost entirely silent, and when they pulled into the subdivision they could feel the stress in their shoulders start to build. The excitement to be home and to finally be alone was strongly tugging at them.
Alcide's truck pulled in the drive way when Carla suddenly sat straight up in the passenger seat. Her quick and sudden movement startled Alcide not expecting such movements from his sleepy girlfriend. Her fingers quickly unbuckled her seat belt and she swung the door open.
He had never seen his girlfriend move so fast so the confusion continued to grow until she saw her quickly unlock her car door and pull out a small gun from the locked gloved compartment. She then quickly ran up the driveway and towards the front door. It was then he realized their front door had been kicked in.
The sudden fear of his girlfriend being hurt put him in overdrive and he jumped out of his truck not even bothering to turn it off or close the door. He followed after her slipping through the front door silently as to make sure that he wasn't seen or heard.
It wouldn't have mattered how he had ran through the house because their perpetrators had left their house long ago. Their sent was no longer strong in their house, but had started to fade and the overwhelming smell of blood and rot hit his nose.
He had known what had happened even before he turned the corner and saw Carla sitting on the floor in a pool of blood over two dogs that had been ripped apart.
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