Mated to the Alpha and His Beta

Lanie

Gabriela a

and | had spent the morning working with the pups.

She was the one who’d brought up the subject of their schooling.

Obviously, we weren't going to be putting them in school, at least not for a while, but Stella was maturing so fast, she needed some kind of learning.

She was outpacing the simple puzzle games, and although the twins weren’t as advanced as she was, they were still thriving and growing at a remarkable pace

a “They're all so smart,” | said proudly. “Soon enough, we won't be able to keep up with them. Especially her,” Gabriela said in a low voice as she nodded toward Stella.

Stella and Alaina were happily playing with a doll together, while Isaac ran a toy car around a makeshift racetrack Zane had drawn on an old cardboard box.

“There’s a nice preschool in Stillwood. Sable’s the head teacher there,” | said.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Gabriela pressed her lips together. “I’m not sure it’s the best thing to send them to school just yet, for many reasons.” “You're worried about their safety,” | said quietly so the children wouldn't overhear.

I

Xander’s mother looked wary, then nodded. “Of course | am. But more than that, | know you don’t stay in Stillwood forever. At some point soon, you're all going back to Constantine. If you get them start school here, it'll be a bigger adjustment for them when we get back home.”

“Home,” | said, half to myself as | looked around the house I’d come to love so much. “This feels like home. It’s where we've all become a family.”

“Stillwood is a rogue community, Lanie. And you are the Luna of Constantine Pack. | know you have strong emotional ties to this town, but Stillwood is a place to visit. Not for you to stay permanently”

“| know you're right. When Mason gets back from talking to Asher, | think we'll have to have a family meeting and really decide what comes next.”

Not that | knew what that was going to be. “The Moon Goddess will provide,” Gabriela said serenely. As she said the words a pulse of warm energy surrounded me for a few seconds.

“| know you're right about that, too. | just wish she’d be a little more up front about what it is she’s going to provide. What she wants from us. From me,” | added.

Gabriela smiled. “It will hannon Have faith”: 1/2

“Are you okay to stay with them? I'd like to do a little research on homeschooling.” | didn’t mean to lie to her, but the words slipped out.

Gabriela didn’t seem to notice anything weird in my tone. “Sure, hon, you go ahead. I’ve got this covered. We're going to have a snack and a nap soon, anyway. Where are the boys?”

“They w

went out for a run. | told them they needed to get out of the house or their nervous energy was going to drive me nuts.” | laughed, shaking my head. “I think they’re on alert in case things go wrong with

Mason and Asher.”

“Do you think they will?” Gabriela frowned.

E

| bit my lower lip for a second before giving my honest answer. “I don’t know. Their friendship was solid, but....

“Things can change,” she finished for me.

We had a few sillent seconds while we thought about all the things that had changed for us. Then she waved me away. I kissed each of my pups and took my laptop into the bedroom.

| really did look up homeschooling options. Most of the hits were for human resources, which didn’t apply to our fast-maturing pups, and most packs had a strong school system, with a lot of learning done at home or as a joint effort from the pack.

Keeping the pups away from any kind of group learning meant they needed us to teach them, but that wasn’t going to be as easy as setting them up with a set of blocks forever.

| did find some good information about pup growth spurts and milestones, though. Stella was d

definitely

ahead of her twin siblings, even though they were a little older. My fingers flew over the keys, but | hesitated before typing in the next search string.

Before | did, | sent a slight push out to Mason through the link. “All good with you?”

The seconds passed too slow before he answered. His response was clipped and brief. One word.

Yep.

Frowning, | nudged again, but he was shielding. With a little more force, | thought | could probably push through that block, but | didn't.

Instead, | turned back to my laptop and put up one of my own. | couldn't be sure how long it was going to take me to research all the things | was trying to find out, but |

didn’t want any of my mates peeking in on me while | was doing it.