Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

“Tessa said she and Arnie can escort us to give everyone else a break, but only pack members who live in the packhouse, okay? If we leave the packhouse, we have to have extra security. Even if it is just the houses down the street,” Bronx lectures me after making a few phone calls.

“T'll take it. We can get everyone else tomorrow in the dining room,” I smile and throw my arms around his waist before I run on my toes to the shower to get myself ready for the day. I turn on the water in the shower and get undressed, take off all my jewelry, including my lavish, trackable, diamond dog collar, and place it all in the little velvet lined dish on the countertop. Oh sorry, I meant to say, the beautiful diamond necklace my husband had custom made, using the latest nanotechnology, so he could know where I am every second of every day.

I step into the shower and start washing my hair. As I'm massaging the shampoo into my hair, I hear Bronx call me.

“Baby? Did you take your necklace off? I got an alert,” he calls into the bathroom.

“Yeah,” I holler back over the noise of the shower, “I have to wash my hair. I didn’t want it to get full of conditioner. It's on the tray on the bathroom counter.”

“Okay, just checking,” he says before I hear the bathroom door close, "Please don't forget to put it on when you're done."

"No problem, Sweetheart,” I call back sweetly.

“Lex, how long was that?”

“Ninety-seven seconds. I thought it would be faster. Better give us a buffer, just in case” she advises.

“Yeah. That’s a good call. Ten seconds?” Inod and pout my lip as! rinse out the shampoo.

“I haven't been out in for a long time. I'm itching to go. Ten seconds is way more than enough. We just have to shift quickly.”

“Okay. You're not exaggerating, right? If you tell me ten seconds, I'm giving you ten seconds.”

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“I can make it eight if you want,” she snarks back.

“Fine. Ten. You don't have to be a little bitch about it,” I huff at her.

“You don't have to be a little bitch,” she mimics in a mocking tone. I roll my eyes and cut off our connection before she makes me mad.

I rub the conditioner into my hair and pile it on top of my head. I close my eyes and think outside of my body, “ Leticia, are you there?”

“Hi Kas! Is it time?” Leticia asks excitedly.

“I'm in the shower. Be ready to take notes. I will recite the incantation as soon as I’m dressed.”

“Got it! You behave now, Kas. I only have two eyeballs left since you told me not to kill Bronx or Jasen,” she warns, but sounds more like she’s reciting the safety instructions airline stewards give before the flight takes off.

She changes her voice to sound like a moaning ghost with a giggle, “T'll be waatchiling youuuu.”

I smile and shake my head at her, “I'll see you tonight before I go to sleep.

Love you, Leticia.”

“Love you too, Kas!” she chimes happily as I pull myself back to my body and finish my shower.

I put on a thick sweater and black jeans, paired with a pair of trainers. Once I dry my hair, I put all my jewelry back on, including the necklace and a string bracelet with some of Leticia’s hair braided into it. I recite an incantation as I slide my fingers over the bracelet. It glows purple for a moment, and the vision in my left eye goes blurry. I blink hard a few times to adjust to the sensation of seeing double and look in the mirror. The dark circles under my eyes are more pronounced than they have been before, making my skin look pale. I haven’t weighed myself, but I feel like I may have lost weight.

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My left eye looks bloodshot from the spell, which doesn't help my appearance any, but I know it will fade soon. I hide the bracelet under my sleeve and head out to meet Bronx so we can hand out boxes of baked goods around the packhouse.

“Kas, what happened to your eye?” Bronx asks when I meet him by the door. He takes my chin in his hands and gives me a concerned look.

“Oh, I got shampoo in my eye. Lex is already healing it. It will be better in no time,” I brush off his worry.

“Hi Tessa! Hi Arnie!” I smile and take her hand when we get into the hallway.

Arnie gives me a nod and greets Bronx. They get to work moving in and out of the apartment, stacking boxes onto a cart while I speak with Tessa.

“Hi Kas, how, uh, how are you feeling?” she asks, looking unsure of herself.

“I'm feeling much better. Thank you for asking. And how have you been? Bronx said you have been working closely with the team. Oh, would you like a cupcake?” I open the box in my hands and pull out a lemon cupcake with lavender icing for her.

“Oh, not right now. M-maybe when I’m done with escort duty,” she smiles, holding her hands up in front of her.

“Suit yourself,” I shrug.

“Is your eye okay?” She leans down and points to my left eye.

“Oh, yeah,” I wave her off, “Shampoo in my eye.”

“Okay, Luna,” Arnie says, “We're ready. We will start on the second floor, then go down to the main level to catch anyone who is around.”

“And the hospital wing?” I ask hopefully.

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Bronx looks at the boxes, “Well, we should have enough. Worst-case scenarlo, we can come back and get more. Goddess knows there's plenty in there.”

“Great! Let's go,” I sing with a broad grin. Bronx lets me walk beside Tessa so she and I can chat. She tells me how much she enjoys being here at Blood River and is grateful that we are going to let her live out the rest of her lifetime here. She doesn't speak out against

Katherine, but she definitely seems more relaxed now that she has distance from her.

We make our way to the second floor and start handing packages out to the packhouse residents. Some people are not home, so we leave the boxes in front of their doors to make sure they don’t miss out on the snacks. It is nice to see so many people, even if they are looking at me a little awkwardly.

I’m a little disappointed that neither Diane nor Carly are in their suites. I was hoping to apologize to Diane for freezing her. It needed to be done, but she didn’t know that.

We make our way to the main floor, handing boxes to pack members who are working and then to the kitchens, where Mrs. Miller engulfs me into a powerful hug and hug. Tessa stiffens when she hears me squeak in Mrs. Miller’s arms, but Bronx pulls her back and reassures her its normal behavior for us.

There isn't anyone just milling around because of the security protocols in place, so we can make quick work of handing out goodies. Arnie opens the door to the hospital wing, and 1 am surprised to see Diane and Carly sitting in the patient waiting area.

“Diane! Carly! What's wrong? Why are you here?” I kneel in front of them, taking their hands in mine.

“We'll be okay, Kas. We have just been feeling a little off since we got back from Greece and our wolves haven't been able to help, so we came in to get checked out. That’s all,” Carly explains. Diane gives her a sweet smile and smoothes Carly’s strawberry blonde hair back.

“We already saw the doctor. He rana couple of tests. We are just waiting for the results,” Diane pulls her attention away from Carly and looks at us witha sad smile.

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“Diane, why didn’t you say something? I could have healed you. I can do it now if you want,” my eyebrows knit with wo!ry for my friend and her mate. Inside, I fight against the storm cloud that wants me to be angry that they didn't say something sooner.

“No Kas, you've been sick yourself. We couldn't ask that of you. The doctor is more than capable of handling whatever is going on,” Diane pats my hand, “Here he comes now.”

I turn to see the head doctor walking towards us holding up two folders, “ Ladies, um, would you like to come to my office?”

“No sir, you can tell us here. The Alpha and Luna are practically family,” Carly reassures him.

“Well,” he looks at Bronx and I nervously, then hands the folders to Diane and Carly, “we still need to do an exam for each of you to confirm for sure, but I, uh, want to be the first to congratulate you?”

Diane looks at him, confused, and opens the folder. I watch her scan the paper, then look up at him angrily. She takes the folder from Carly’s hand and looks at the paper inside.

“Doctor, is this some kind of sick joke?” she jumps up and growls at him. Her face is turning red with anger and tears are forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Diane, what is it?” Carly stands up and takes her hand, holding her back from the doctor.

“The tests show that we're both pregnant, Carly. I’ve never been witha man. Not like that, anyways,” Diane’s lip trembles when she looks at her mate, “I swear to you. Never.”

“I-I don’t understand, Doctor. I mean, I dated a guy in high school, but that was years ago and I would never cheat on my mate. How is this possible?” I hear Carly’s voice crack as she asks the question.

“Divine intervention,” Tessa interrupts. “What? What are you talking about, Tessa?” Carly asks impatiently.

“IT would never question the strength of your mate bond,” Tessa explains apologetically, “but it’s happened before. You were in Greece when Amari and Jasen died. You both saw what Bronx did, so, presumably, it emotionally charged you to witness that. It may have been strong

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enough that Mother guided their spirits to you.”

“Tessa, you think Diane and Carly could be pregnant with our sister and her mate?” I ask in awe, looking back and forth between her and Diane and Carly. She looks at the pair with compassion, “ Unless either of you ladies have another explanation?”

Diane and Carly look at each other and start chuckling, which turns into laughter and tears, complete with hugs and kisses at the excitement of the news that they will both be having pups.

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