Thoreau - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

The next day, I decided to tag along to fighter practice since everyone was going, anyway, except Zia Poppy. She and the other witches were meeting at Zia Sara's to cook up something big, although she wouldn't tell me what when I asked.
"It's a secret, sweetie. You'll find out later."
"Everything's always a secret." I pouted.
"Hey, you can meet Chime Karma at practice," Bubble Konnie said as he put his arm around my shoulders. "Does that make up for not being told a secret?"
"Yes!" I hopped up and down and he laughed as he dropped his arm. "Yes, yes, yes!"
"Come on, Curls." Arch grabbed my elbow and pulled me along with him while giving Bubble a mean look. "You can sit between Wayne and me in the back."
Why don't you like Bubble, ChiChi? I linked him and Wayne as we piled into Papa's gray SUV. Thankfully, it was big enough for all of us, although Spring had to lay on the floor in the middle row between Zio Leo and Bubble.
It's not that we don't like him, Wayne answered. We're just being careful until we get to know him. What if he's dangerous and hurts you?
Bubble won't hurt me!
You don't know that, Curls. Arch sighed and scratched the top of his head. We're just looking out for you. If he's a good guy, we'll like him and accept him as your brother, I promise.
Okay, ChiChi.
"There are fighter practices on and off all day long," Mama was telling Bubble. "There's no formal sign up for a time or anything, unless you arrange something with someone. Angelo and I usually hit up the 8 a.m. or 1 p.m. training. I haven't been to the 10 a.m. training for a long time, so I don't know who's a regular anymore, but I kind of hope Olivia Benson is there today."
"Livvy can kick almost anyone's ass and do it with a smile," Wayne snickered as Arch chuckled.
"A good challenge, then." Leo rubbed his hands together. "I could use one. Unless the alphas are there, or the betas and gammas gang up on me, I hardly get to flex, let alone sweat."
"Chime Karma will be happy to challenge you." Bubble looked over at him and grinned. "You want to try him in my body or his?"
"Everyone's going to want a go at him in his form, if he's up for it," Papa cut in. "Except for me, no one in the pack, not even the alphas, has any experience fighting dragons. It'll be a good learning experience."
"And fun as hell to watch!" Mama chuckled. "You're probably going to have a crowd wanting to sign up for practice sessions with you."
"Sweet. We haven't had a good fight since that pair of wendigos in Canada."
"Wendigos?" Wayne, Arch, and I said at once.
"Native American cannibalistic spirits," Papa said before Bubble could.
"Canni-what?" I asked.
"It means they eat people."
"Yuck!" I stuck out my tongue. "Did Chime Karma eat them, Bubble?"
"Si. On the good side, he had the feast of a lifetime. On the bad side, it put him in food coma, which is the only reason those stronzi malcagati (fucking assholes) were able to capture us."
The way Bubble's voice rumbled like distant thunder told me I probably shouldn't ask Papa or any of my zias to translate whatever he said in 'talian.
"Are you interested in border patrol at all, Kon?" Mama asked, probably to make Bubble think of something else. "If so, they drill as a unit before their shifts rather than attend fighter practices."
"Dude! Those patrol groups are fierce!" Wayne said with a grin.
"Fierce about what?" I asked.
"Being a patrol group. The day watchers call themselves Iron Claws, the mid watch goes by The Wall, and then there are the Nightcrawlers. They keep score and make bets against each other all the time."
"And don't ever accidentally mix up who's on which patrol," Arch said with a grin. "An insult like that'll get you hurt!"
I whimpered quietly and cuddled into Wayne's side. I wasn't good at keeping things straight, and I didn't want to get hurt!
No one will touch you, little one, Spring soothed me, looping Arch and Wayne into the conversation, too. Look at all the guards you have around you, including me!
Plus, Wayne added, everyone knows you're under the protection of the Angelo of Death as well as the beta's kind and innocent baby brother.
Zia Poppy did say I am sweet and precious like a baby, I said as I nodded with wide eyes.
You are, Arch said, and it is our honor and privilege to protect sweet, precious babies.
As Wayne dropped a kiss on top of my head, I smiled. They were right; I was surrounded by protectors. Nothing could hurt me so long as I was with my family and besties, and I had no plans to ever not be.
Before all of us even jumped out of Papa's SUV, my little eye spied a tall blonde lady jogging over.
"Damn, beta! Finally had the balls to show at a morning training when I'm here!" she laughed and held her arm up.
Mama bashed the side of his forearm against hers with a grin.
"I think you mean, you finally had the balls to show at a training when I'm here!' "
"You know I live to prove you wrong, and I've been dying for a challenge!" With a grin, she looked around at us. "And I see you've brought more victims!"
"Not me! I am not a victim!" I hurried to raise my hand. "I'm Thoreau, and I'm just here to watch because no one is at home and Spring wants to see his buddies."
"Spring?" Her eyes landed on my wolf as he hopped out of the SUV. "Well, I'll be damned! It's good to see you again!"
You, too, Livvy. Still hold the record for most takedowns by an unranked warrior?
"You know it, baby! But I get the sense that this guy here could give me a run for my money." She eyed Bubble up and down. "Whatever sleeps in you ain't a wolf."
"You'll find out soon enough, Miss Curious," Mama laughed.
She ignored him and turned to Zio Leo with a grin.
"And you've got alpha blood. Excellent! This morning's torture session is going to be fun as fuck!"
"Little ears, Livvy!" Arch growled and put his hands over my ears.
Are my ears little? I asked Spring.
They are smaller than some people's, he said, but Arch means he doesn't like you to hear swear words.
Oh.
As soon as Arch dropped his hands, I heard a voice I recognized coming from behind us.
"Liv, stop scaring people."
Spinning around, I shouted, "Gamma Lan! Big Sissy Grace!" and threw open my arms, and they both hugged me as Papa told us all to do introductions.
So we went around and everyone told their names. Olivia, or Livvy, was Gamma Landry's big sister and the best unranked warrior of the pack, she was proud to tell us. When I asked him, Spring 'splained that unranked meant she didn't have any blood of power - alpha, beta, gamma, or delta. That didn't surprise me because she-wolves rarely did.
I studied her curiously. She had black stuff around her light brown eyes and on her eyelashes, and her blonde hair was chopped off just above her shoulders and pushed back from her face like she didn't care too much what it looked like. Her workout gear was not at all like our loose t-shirts and shorts, and I linked Zio Leo to tell me the name of the tight thing that covered her bumps.
It's a sports bra. Don't say anything about it or her bumps!
I won't, zio, I pouted. I know not to talk about private parts in public.
Good job, buddy.
But look at her tushy in those tight little pants! I squealed. It's so sexy! Her mate probably wants to squeeze it all the time!
Why are you looking at her, um, tushy? he groaned. And she doesn't have a mate yet. At least, she doesn't have a mate mark.
But she's old!
She's twenty, maybe twenty-one, Reau. He rolled his eyes. That's not old.
Okay, zio, but I want a pair of those pants! I bet my tushy would look super sexy in them, 'specially now that Papa's plumping me up like a meatball!
Oh, my Goddess! Link someone else for a bit, buddy. I'm trying to make a good first impression here, not fall on the ground laughing!
Frowning at him, I went over to Grace and held the hand Gamma Landry wasn't.
"Are you ready for school to start, big sissy?" I asked her excitedly.
"Almost. I still have a couple of things I need to buy, so I'm going to swing by the store after fighter practice. What about you?"
"You're going shopping? Today?" A little idea formed in my brain, and I squeezed her hand three times. "I come with you, please?"
"Sure, if beta says it's okay, but don't you want to go with him or your besties?"
"We already went school shopping, and I don't want Wayne and Arch to come." I flapped the fingers of my free hand against my palm. "I need to get something, and you can help me find it!"
"Oh? What are you looking for?"
Leaning closer, I whispered in her ear, then watched as her eyes grew wide.
"Okay," she giggled. "We can do that. They're called leggings, by the way, and yes, I think you would look really cute in them!"
"Pink, too, just like hers," I whispered, nodding toward Livvy. "Pink's my favorite color!"
"We'll have to see what we can find. I'll ask Landry if he knows where there's a sporting goods shop. I bet we can find them with the running gear, but I don't know if they'll have pink."
"Aw." My bottom lip rolled out, but then I brightened up when another thought formed in my brain. "Big sissy, we will find a pair for you, too! I will show off my tushy to Arch and Wayne, and you will show yours off to Gamma Lan!"
"Eep!" Now Grace's cheeks turned bright pink.
"Show what off?" Gamma Landry rumbled.
I must have said the last part a bit too loud because he stopped talking to Papa and turned to us, his eyebrows raised as he looked down at Grace.
"It's a surprise, Gamma Nosy!" I put my palm on his face and pushed him away. "Big sissy and I are going shopping this afternoon, and you are not invited because it is a surprise."
"Am I invited?" Arch came closer and took my hand off of Gamma Landry's face so he could hold it.
"No! Just me and big sissy!" I scowled.
"Not me, either?" Wayne asked.
"Or me?" Bubble tilted his head and stared at me.
"No! It's a surprise!" I stomped my feet. "It can't be a surprise if the people it's a surprise for know what it is!"
"Okay, okay, calm down," Wayne murmured and rubbed the top of my head. "We're just teasing."
"Reau, if you go with her, you need to behave yourself," Mama said.
"I will be on my best behavior, I promise! I need some money, though, Mama." Looking back at Grace, I asked, "How much do you think it will cost, big sissy?"
"Um, I don't know. I've never bought anything like that before." She bit her lip, and the two of us turned to Livvy at the same time, wondering if we should ask her.
"I will give you my card to use," Papa said, "but you will take Spring along in his service gear. You will not leave his side for a second."
A few days ago, Papa brought home a vest that said, 'Service Dog. Ignore while I'm working.' Papa had told me that Spring had to wear it when I took him to school or wherever there were a bunch of humans.
Papa had also bought him a thick blue collar, and Zia Poppy showed me something special she and Zia Sara had made for it.
"This looks like a rabies tag, but it's a magic amulet to make Spring look like a dog." With a grin, Zia Poppy had held up a little metal tag.
"Try it out, Spring!" I'd jumped up and down as my wolf gave Papa and Zia Poppy a sour look.
With a sigh, Spring had been a good boy and stood still as Papa put on his gear. As soon as Papa had buckled the collar, my wolf disappeared! In his place had stood a huge, shaggy, gray-haired dog!
"An Irish wolfhound?" Papa had growled. "Really, Poppy? Of all dogs, that's the breed you chose?"
"We needed one as close to his regular size as we could get." Zia Poppy had shrugged. "And you can blame Sara for that. She couldn't resist the irony of it."
Then Papa had thrown up his hands and muttered in 'talian as he walked away, and Zia Poppy and I had high-fived while Spring rolled his eyes.
"Of course he'll come along, Papa!" I chirped now, then narrowed my eyes at Arch and Wayne. "Unlike some people's wolves, Spring can keep a secret!"
Thank you, little one, Spring purred like a cat.
Hey! Firth and Ocean yelped at the same time, but they had no right to be insulted. They were the gossipy-est wolves in the pack!
"So, beta, I'm glad you're here for another reason," Livvy said as everyone chuckled at the two wolves. "Quartz is in need of an opponent this morning. Since Beta Ty's here, maybe the two of you can double-team."
"Ha! Q can try Leo or Kon," Mama smirked. "Either one of them should be a good fight for him."
"I hope I am," Zio Leo grunted. "Ruby has more moon magic, but Quartz is a different breed of wolf when it comes to combat."
"The streghe (witches) said it best," Papa smirked. "He has an endless supply of unbothered brutality."
"Yeah, if he wasn't our brother Jay's wolf, he'd be some barbarian king in the arctic wilds or something," Arch snickered.
" 'I am an alpha wolf! Hear me roar!' " Wayne made his voice go really deep as he said that, and Grace and I giggled.
"Uh, guys? Be careful." Livvy looked over her shoulder, then back at my besties. "He's grumpier than normal this morning."
"Why?" Mama's eyes went wide. "Did something happen?"
"You know Q." Livvy shrugged. "He doesn't talk to anyone, and Alpha Jay just said to find him a good opponent before shit gets real."
Pulling me away from Grace, Archer pushed the side of my head against his chest and covered my outer ear with his hand. Everything was muffled, but I could still hear.
"Livvy, your mouth is a sewer," Arch grumbled. "You shouldn't swear so much."
"Get fucked, Arch."
Wayne burst out laughing.
"Yeah, Arch. Get f—"
"Stop corrupting the youth of the pack, Olivia!" Arch cut Wayne off. "Come on, Reau. We're out."
Then he put his hands in my armpits and picked me up like I was a little pup, wrapping my legs around his torso and holding me tight to his chest. With a big grin, I put my arms around his neck and pressed my cheek against his. Both he and Wayne had carried me like this a couple of times now, and I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
As Arch started walking away with Spring trailing behind us, I waved to my family and friends and wondered why Grace was giggling into her hand and Bubble and Livvy were watching us with wide eyes.
"Don't go shopping without me, please, big sissy!" I called.
"I won't!"
"Don't yell in my ear, Curls," Arch grumbled.
"Sorry, ChiChi. Where are we going, anyway?"
"I saw Atticus Bel Aire over by the Hall twins. Thought we'd practice with him."
I didn't know who the Hall twins were, but Atty was one of my favorite people. Because of him, I had Henry in my life.
"Wait! What about WayWay? We left him behind!"
"He'll join us in a minute," Arch chuckled. "Like you said, we're always together."
"Like peabutter and jelly!" I giggled, bouncing with excitement.
"Stop that," he groaned and tightened his arms under my tushy.
"Why, ChiChi?" I raised my head and looked at his scowling face. "Am I too heavy to carry and it hurts you?"
"It hurts, all right, but not because you're heavy. You're light as a pup."
"Then what hurts?"
"It makes me hard, okay?" he snarled. "There! Happy?"
I stayed quiet because angry Arch was scary, and he was still carrying me. He could throw me to the ground and stomp on me if I made him any angrier!
You bouncing like that arouses him, Spring linked me suddenly. And he would never do anything like that.
Arouses?
He desires you in a mate way. When I only tilted my head in confusion, Spring sighed and added, You're making his dicky hard.
Oh. My eyelids flew wide open, then a secret little smile curled up the corners of my lips. Oh!
Snuggling my face into his neck, I squeezed him tight and felt his tense body relax a little.
"Sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to, ChiChi."
"I know you didn't. Sorry for snapping."
"I understand. It hurts, and you probably don't want everyone here seeing your hard dicky."
"You can call it a boner, you know."
"You gave your dicky a name?"
"No!" he howled. "When your dick gets hard and stands up, it's called a boner!"
"Oh. Wow. I am learning so much from you and WayWay!"
Spring choked on a laugh.
I'm sure beta is going to love your new vocabulary, he said, which made Arch grunt at him to shut up.
"Arch! Reau! Whew, am I glad you're here!" I heard Atty say from somewhere in front of us. "Didn't see anyone else I could practice with!"
"What are we? Chopped liver?" someone else said with a laugh.
"Sorry, man, but I am not feeling that intense at ten in the morning," Atty laughed.
"Down, please, ChiChi," I whispered in his ear.
He sighed, but put me on my feet, and I whirled around to see two giants standing next to Atty. They were so tall and broad, they blocked out the sun!
"Reau, this is Beckham and Bowie Hall," Arch said as he pointed at them. "Don't even try to tell them apart. It's impossible."
"We are standing right here, little man," one of the giants rumbled, and I gulped. "Who's this even littler man?"
"I'm Thoreau Ezra Jones, but everyone calls me Reau!" With a smile, I held out my hand like Mama had taught me.
"Well, Thoreau Ezra Jones, I'm Beckham, but everyone calls me Becks."
One of the giants slid his thumb against mine, then wrapped the rest of his fingers around my hand.
What kind of handshake is this? I wondered, but let it go to introduce myself.
"I'm happy to meet you, Becks! How old are you? Are you still in school? I'm going to school with Arch and Wayne this fall! Do you know my wolf? This is Spring! He's coming to school with us—"
"You just have to interrupt him or you'll never get a word in," Wayne said as he appeared next to me.
"Does that mean I talk too much, WayWay?" I tilted my head to the side and blinked at him as the Hall twins greeted Spring.
"Sometimes." He shrugged. "But I like your positive energy. You're a ball of sunshine."
"That is impossible. The sun is enormous and hot and full of gasses." I paused as I thought about that for a second. "Although I am full of gas sometimes."
Everyone laughed for some reason, and I frowned until Arch put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me in a side hug.
"They're not laughing at you, Curls," he murmured.
"Aw, no, littlest man, we're not laughing at you," said the giant I hadn't met yet. "We're all full of gas sometimes, some of us more than others. I'm Bowie, by the way. Nice to meet you."
He held his fist out, and this time I knew what to do! I smacked my knuckles against his, but not as hard as I did the first time with Wayne and Arch.
I didn't want to hurt the giant.
"Hi, Bowie. I'm Thoreau Ezra Jones, but everyone calls me Reau!"
"So you're Beta Beast's baby brother, huh?" He grinned and nudged Becks with his elbow. "Twenty bucks says this kid can blink those big eyes at him and beta folds like a house of cards."
"Bucks? Boy deer? How can they say anything? I think the only noises they make are grunts." I blinked up at the two giants. "And why would you want twenty of them?"
"I'll explain later," Arch told me at the same time Wayne said, "He does actually. It's freaky to see."
Then a whistle blew, and the Hall twins looked over their shoulders.
"Sorry, but we got to go." Becks waved one hand. "Catch you little men later, and you, too, littlest man!"
"Bye!" I yelled as they sprinted off. "Aw! Did they have to go? They were nice!"
"You'll get to see them again," Atty told me. "They're on our football team. In fact, their big brother is our coach, Jared Hall."
"He's also a teacher at school," Wayne added. "We'll have him for auto mechanics."
"School! Yay! I'm so excited!" I put my hands in the air and hopped up and down. "School! School! School!"
"You poor deluded creature." Wayne shook his head.
"You're probably the only one in the pack who's happy to go back," Atty snorted.
"No." I stopped jumping around to stare at him with wide eyes. "Luna does, too. Neither of us were allowed to go to school for years and years, but now we can learn again. It is exciting for us!"
"Oh, hey, Reau, I'm sorry." Atty held his hands up with his palms facing me. "I didn't mean anything by it."
"I know. I was just 'splaining why luna and I are excited." I shrugged and smiled. "Now what do we do? What happens at fighter practice?"
Before they could answer, a very familiar roar shook the ground and made all of us freeze.