Gamma No More - Book 3

Just over Ten years have passed, Toni would like to describe them as all gloriously peaceful years, but the first three had been fighting fires, the packs had fought for status in the new structure before she and Cage had finally got it into their heads that there was no status to be had via fighting.

Cage had shifted two weeks after the trial. Slowly, over that time, his body had changed. He’d become taller and, like Toni, his eyes had taken on a third form, a deep blue.

His final Lycan form came at the first full moon after she had marked him. His deep red coat in wolf form was more bronze in his Lycan form. Together they looked formidable, towering over the tallest of wolves.

They had trained hard, yet didn’t feel they had hit the limits of what they were capable of, but as Lord Leif liked to remind them both, as Lycans they were barely more than pups.

By promoting people to her council, she had effectively elevated the status of the Deadfalls, Lowland and Freedom packs.

Cage had also joined as her Erasthai, and she had also added a further three others to the council, who each served on a three-year term, giving every pack a chance to have at least one serving member during their lifetime.

Gradually, people realised she valued calm leadership over forced strength and things had settled.

It helped that she made it clear the positions were not hereditary but should any harm befall those holding the positions, then Lycans would take it as a public challenge and the fighting for status had waned quickly.

It had taken some harsh justice to end the fighting; they had eventually deposed a few more Alphas in favour of their sons, bringing in younger wolves often shook up the status quo in packs, but the word spread and peace, albeit an uneasy one at first, had reigned.

Delta Alek permanently assumed the Beta role in the Royal pack, shaping and leading the pack through the changes that were forced upon them. Stepping down from being the ruling pack had shocked them all.

Their remaining leaders’ loyalty had helped hold the pack together, and although the King never abandoned his title, they only used it within their pack until his youngest daughter took over a few years ago as Alpha and renamed the pack the Regal pack.

With the Regal pack Betas of Alek and Mattie, Toni had rekindled the initial bond of friendship, aware that Alek had been a wolf guided by duty alone, and that wasn’t something she could hold against him.

With the stepping back of the old Royal pack, the other packs began to accept that they were now ruled by Lycans, their justice was fair, but brutally quick when fights occurred between two packs, giving each side ten minutes to argue their case before making a decision.

In reality, veiled wolves had already collected all the information needed to make the judgements, but the quickness of the decisions meant wolves often learnt to come to their own agreements. Worried that Lycan decisions went against the aggressors, and that hosting Lycans, while not feared, put their respective packs under scrutiny.

Arriving with their wolf escort, they took the time to review every part of the pack and, goddess forbid, they found anything wrong. It’s not that Toni or Cage was that bothered about every minute detail, but it ensured that packs tried harder to resolve issues themselves with an amicable agreement on both sides.

Anything serious went before the Council. That change was one that seemed to be welcomed by all, public and fair trials were new to their world. They still had a way to go, but they were on the right path.

After the first three years, She and Cage had started the process of integrating the wolves back into the wider world and Alpha Dimitri had helped take the lead on that, there’s still reserve and some distrust, but Toni will not allow them to be isolationists and has hope in one or two more generations their preconceived views of the other races will have changed.

The best way to see progress is to get people to understand the benefits of all races. Humans are technology experts and their knowledge can improve the lives of wolves, plus, they are the source of witches and wizards and magic helps supplement any race.

Vampires are a living history book and while it’s true, the victors write the history; they provide an interesting slant, all of which are balanced by the old scrolls that are being translated by her pack.

But more importantly, they have a vested desire for humans to thrive, so provide a balance to stop the wolf population trying to take over.

The wolves live in balance with nature, their management keeps the wild animals in check and the forests healthy, all of which leads to a better environment for not only themselves but for humans as well, as much as the vampires stop the wolves from taking over, the Lycans and wolves provide the limits to stop Vampires from doing the same.

A pleasant status quo, achieved in their world

It’s slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

The pack has grown month by month. When they got to five hundred, they had put in restrictions, but even before that, they filtered out the wolves that were attracted to power. That wasn’t Toni’s way.

A lot of the initial joiners were those who were seeking a new, more peaceful way.

Each month, one of her Veiled ones, and there are forty of them now, will visit a pack to find out if they have any issues that need ruling on, anyone from the packs is free to talk to them, they even visit those in the cells and if the issues are serious enough, it will get referred up to the Gamma’s in charge.

Those Gammas were Henry and Susan, who had made the move to her pack. It hadn’t taken Henry long to earn her trust and Susan had always had it from the day they met all those years ago.

Her wolf and she were both in agreement with Henry from the moment he stood up for others in the battle’s aftermath. He had shown himself to be a genuine leader.

Even when he served as just an ordinary pack member, his actions have always shown him to be working towards the best for the packs, never for himself.

If it’s a serious enough dispute that risks escalating or may involve punishments of ranked wolves, then Toni and Cage will visit them to pass judgment, individually, or as a pair

Few packs want that to happen, they're ruthless in their judgement, albeit fair, when two packs were arguing over land, they took the disputed land for themselves, giving part back to both parties six months later, but retaining a strip in the middle deeming it theirs.

I see you are still watching me, but you’ve been with me a long time now, so I hope you don’t mind me telling you this, but I see you as old friends now, but it’s fine if you don’t feel that way back.

You may have seemed a little judgemental at the start, and maybe, just maybe, I was a little brusque, but we each had our reasons, right?

I’ll let you in on a secret, but we need to keep it just between us. I think knowing I wasn’t alone, and that you were taking this journey with me, kept me strong and focused.

You were people I could finally admit my inner thoughts to, without thinking it would get to my enemies, so jump in, we are about to have a celebration and I honestly think you deserve to kick back and relax with us, it’s been a wild ride.

So, grab a beer or wine and join us. By now my pack is used to human, vampire and witch visitors, so I guarantee you will be ok.

But it wouldn’t be a celebration if you didn’t join us.

Today Toni and Cage are hosting a barbecue for their nearest and dearest, their closest friends to celebrate the twins reaching their twelfth birthday.

Theo and Thea were maturing nicely. Both had inherited the dominant traits of Lycans, even if they will probably never shift into three forms, but Toni wasn’t ruling it out. Who knew what the Goddess had planned for them all?

But worst case, they would make two strong Alpha wolves.

They may have a headache in a few years with those two, but Toni was looking forward to guiding them with firm, fair rules and plenty of love.

By the time they were older, if Thea ends up not mated to an Alpha, they had already decided they would split the pack when they were ready to lead. After all, their pack was now nearly a thousand strong, and still growing.

Andy and his mate Chloe would be over later, along with their son Richard, they had created a lasting bond of friendship with the pups as their central point, but with Richard just ten months younger, the siblings acted like they were triplets three times the fun, three times the trouble, but luckily Richard naturally deferred to Theo and Thea, acting as a mediator so keeping fights to a minimum.

Her twins also visit Andy in his pack, taking their uncle and a few guards, not that anyone would risk the wrath of a Lycan trying to harm or take her pups away from them, but she always got the feeling Andy’s brother, Alpha Kieron was more than happy when they came home, even now, they subtly challenged his leadership.

It was only Toni and Cage laying down the law to them that kept them in line. Still, tweens are all the same wherever you go. Learning to push boundaries was just a part of life.

“Oi Asshole,”

A loud voice echoes across the clearing, causing Toni to roll her eyes and her pups to giggle

“Uncle James, Aunty Cat,”

The twins call out running at them at top speed, while in the background she can hear Cat still trying to correct his language, that’s a battle Toni knows she will never win, but even now, she hasn’t given up, Cat is one tenacious she-wolf Toni thinks, smiling, the perfect mate for her oldest friend.

“James, you are the only one that thinks disrespecting a Lycan is not a life-limiting action!” she calls out

“You can believe that if it helps you to sleep at night, Toni,” James added nonchalantly

“But we both know it’s true… oh and Lance sends his regards and all that bullshit that I’m supposed to pass on from him, along with Gareth and Charlie, you know the drill”

“James!” Cat’s voice is shocked

“Toni, I am sorry for my mate. I have the messages from them. They know James well enough to know he wouldn’t pass them on properly.

But essentially all is well with them. They have dealings with the Human Zone, so cannot make it today, but he’ll be over next week for the council meeting.

They would love it if you could visit sometime soon.”

“That’s essentially what I said, just with less gum flapping,” James looks affronted

“I’m going to the kitchens. I’m sure your guys won’t be preparing things correctly”

James walks off in a fake huff, nothing keeps him out of the kitchens, no matter how good the food is, he can’t resist getting involved, leaving Cat to deal with the twins, who eventually even wear her patience down before they go play with the other pups.

She had offered James and Cat places in her pack, but they preferred to be in the pack they’d grown up in and Toni understood, the Deadfalls pack under Lance’s direction as a founding council member had grown in importance, but it had never lost the feeling of a good family pack and far quieter than being in the ruling pack, which suited Cat well.

Louise and her mate Oliver, had flourished as the Alpha Couple of the Shadow Stalkers pack, managing with the addition of a few experienced wolves from the Lowlands pack, to turn the pack fortune around, he was currently serving on her council and would do so for two more years.

Louise was expecting her third pup any day so hadn’t been able to travel, but the bond they had formed had become sisterly over time, with Toni and therefore Tyra keeping a protective eye on her regularly.

Oliver’s brother Roy still caused problems for a few years, but Toni’s threat all those years had at least contained his foolishness to within his own pack until Alpha Ryan could stand no more and assigned him to very menial jobs that kept him occupied and out of trouble.

Even the impulsive Kade had grown on Toni, he had become the Beta to his brother Elijah’s Alpha role and it had been the making of them both, forcing them to become more thoughtful after she had forced his father should stand down and the Blue River pack was flourishing under their rule, with Louise a regular visitor.

Louise’s real father, now known as Elder Joseph had stayed in the Council that Toni had set up and played a greater part in werewolf life overall, but his proudest job was that of the doting father to his daughter, trying to make up for sixteen years of not being able to be in her life.

Cage saunters over towards her, a grin on his face, holding his hand is Jazzy, known officially as Jasmine, their first-born full Lycan pup, who is now 6 and already knows how to get most of the wolves in the pack to do her bidding.

She’s got a shock of golden curls and deep brown eyes that claim innocence, but only if you ignore the twinkle of mischief that permanently graces them.

In his other arm, he’s carrying Dominic, named after his father and hitting his terrible twos, he’s inherited Toni’s dark hair and Cage’s green eyes that take in everything and he idolises Theo and Thea, following them around whenever he can.

“Now, everyone here knows, no sweets until after the barbeque. ”

Cage warns them as he puts Dominic down, watching Jazzy put on the best ‘sad face’ she can, trying to wheedle her father around to relenting on his statement.

“Not even one little bag of sweets?”

Her voice sounds like it’s full of hurt and she can see Cage soften. For all his size, he’s the worst sucker for bending to Jazzy’s demands.

“If you keep that up, young lady, it will be no sweets at all!”

Toni crouches down to her youngest daughter’s level

“And you know my word is the law!”

Inwardly Toni is smiling, Jazzy had been learning about the werewolf laws and had been told that the reigning Lycan had the power to set down the laws, interpreting it in her childlike mind as her mum’s word was the law, and for the moment, Toni had no intention of correcting that view.

“I’ll be good, mummy,”

Jazzy smiles at her parents and they share a group hug before she runs to her older siblings to play. Cat takes Dominic Junior for cuddles, making Toni wonder if she should warn James that Cat is getting broody again.

She laughs to herself but decides he deserves a new pup. It’s the only way to tone down his language for a few years!

Cage leans down, kissing her neck gently. He leans towards her ear, wrapping his arms around her.

“We need to think about our next pup. You know it takes longer for Lycans to mate successfully. Tonight sounds good.”

He moves his head away from her neck, giving her a nip on her ear, making her laugh and look at their children, Theo and Thea accept that they have two dads, both Cage and Andy, each having a different influence on their lives.

Dominic and Jazzy see Andy as an uncle, a member of their extended and very blended family, and it brings warmth to Toni that they are proving Lycans and wolves are better together.

“We don’t seem to be doing badly so far, and I’m not sure about more pups. We’ve run out of house space already, but don’t worry, we have a good few years before you get too old!”

She grins, feeling his chest vibrate with his deep, warm laugh. Cage may be six years older than she is, but they both have thousands of years ahead of them, if the goddess sees fit to keep the Lycan’s lifespan the same.

“But it’s so much fun to practise,”

His suggestive tone has her body reacting. Goosebumps cover her skin.

She doesn’t need to see his face to hear the broad grin he’s wearing as he continues.

“and I’m pretty sure I’ll still want to see you rounded with my pup in a thousand years.

We do have the responsibility of repopulating the world with Lycan’s and I’m game if you are. ”

His words made her smile. Cage had accepted that they had a long life ahead of them easily, less concerned with the passing of his friends than she’d assumed.

“And don’t worry about the house, I wasn’t planning on telling you for a while, but I’ve started on the foundations for our new home, it’s close to the lake on the far side of the territory, but it’s not too late to make sure there are enough bedrooms for my plans!”

She leans back into his chest, Cage is almost too traditional and had been upset that their first house was the one she had already lived in and not one he had built for them. But he’d spent time learning to work with stone, rather than the traditional wood and helping the pack expand being part of the crew who built new buildings, and now she knows why, so he can build their new home.

Surrounding themselves with family brings them both happiness, and she knows that the new house Cage had designed will put the family, and she means the wider family, in the forefront.

With the size of her pack, she had promoted Tommy and Laura to Beta’s alongside Karl and Leah, cognisant that Karl also had council responsibilities and they worked well together, Karl and Leah were the senior Beta’s, but they never threw their status around.

Ezra, well, she had promoted him to Gamma along with his mate and they were in charge of the Warriors and Veiled ones, along with creating specific Guard groups for the Lycan family.

Wolves from all continents applied yearly to be admitted to their ranks, and it was Ezra and Katie who had the final say over who made the grade, looking for people who had empathy as well as physical abilities.

Her brother Callum had been living with them in their pack since he hit fifteen, never quite getting used to the idea that his parents had abandoned and hidden their sister from him, with Wren and William regular visitors, but electing to stay with their parents.

Callum, is now twenty-four and had taken his position as an Uncle seriously, naturally becoming the protector of all her children, his dedication to becoming a strong warrior to help the pack had shone through and at Gamma Ezra’s suggestion, he had become the guard Captain for her children, a position he relished and allowed him to spend time with them all.

As the rest of the invited people arrive Toni looks around with happiness, Raine, Lord Leif, Prince Einar, Alaric and Iris, who had relished both her new life as a vampire and becoming blood-bonded with Alaric.

The first few years were apparently the worst, never being left alone during that period unless locked up, but she looked happier than Toni had ever seen her before. Mate life sat well on her, and Alaric was always at her side, this time by choice.

Whatever she had felt was missing from her life as a human was now filled by her transformation. Edwards, however, was still serving out his life sentence as a bonded Thrall. However deeply she searched, Toni felt no sympathy for him.

Not because of what he had done to her, nor for working for Beta Dan, aka ‘Tane’, but for trying to kill a sweet soul like Iris.

She raises her head to the moon and sends out a prayer of thanks. There is nothing she would change about her life. Every trial she had to go through made her who she was today.

Accepting the dark side of her was harder until Cage came into her life, and now, able to balance both sides of her, she can accept without her dark side she doesn’t believe that she would have survived.

As she looks around, Toni knows that the people that surround her are ones she loves and respects. It doesn’t matter about the species to her and she hopes that’s something her pack and growing family will embrace in the future.

Tomorrow would be another larger barbecue, for the pack to celebrate the coming of age of the newest twenty wolves, she could name them all, she and Cage knew everyone in the veiled pack on an individual level, even as it grew, it was important for them to remain connected.

As Cage looks at her, he understands the contentment that is radiating through their bond, wrapping his arms around her slightly tighter.

“Life is good huh?” he whispered

“No, it’s not” she corrects him

“Life is perfect,”

She grins, leaning back into his chest, and a wicked thought pops up into her head.

“But never forget, I can still kick your ass if I need to!”

“Yes, my Queen,” he smiled happily