Chapter 190: Gratitude

Kayden's POV


"CACIQUE ARRUFF!"

Ugh! She's flexing hard on purpose! 'Deacon I seriously need some backup here! Can't you persuade Aryn?'

'No, I agree with Mate. Kayden I'm here to help you channel your godly nature as well as your wolf. We are WOLF! Why are you letting your HUMAN be ashamed? Apollo doesn't care, and he NEEDS to get stronger to protect Mate from HIM, needs to get stronger to help train our pups!' Great, getting scolded by your wolf with your nutsack out!

'Yo Kayden, does she still have her link with you cut off?' Tony really doesn't care about being naked at all anymore and the first time we spared he kicked my ass! I guess growing up in the South of France would help you deal with nudity better than Virginia, I'm still channeling too much of Kayden's upbringing, UGH! Even Everett got over it really fast!

"Kayden my boy, I saw my sons ripped to shreds! If THIS is what it takes to defeat anyone threatening my mate and my pack I'll be making sure to adapt!" The old wolf is determined to learn every new trick and doesn't look like that beaten up Alpha who had almost lost his desire to keep on going. Both him and Abigail look younger and stronger.

'Sorry Tony, she's got me in the dog house with you.' She does have a point though.

'Shit! I just wanted to know if you had any idea if she intends to pair us up... I could really use a break from Xavier! He's literally killing me man and I have a feeling he's really getting off on it!' I look over at where Xavier is just laying back in the shade looking like he's napping.

'Dude we just saw Izz get PULVERIZED by her GRANDPA and SHE was getting off on it! That's how they're so efficient! Learning to ENDURE the worst pain and not let it distract you. I KNOW she went easy on me and I have a feeling that this little speech of hers is a warning not just on nudity, but that we're going to have to learn to take the pain and not let it affect us in real combat, look at how they're training the PUPS!' They're not going easy on them AT ALL! Those kids are getting beat to a pulp and are getting back up fast and counter attacking even faster! It's ADORABLE to watch them growling, bearing their canines showing the ferociousness of their wolves and showing no fear of the next broken bone and they still can't even shift!

Those kids could EASILY hunt, kill and destroy their counterparts of other packs with EASE! It's kinda comforting knowing that the pups can hold their own, if Goddess forbid something were to happen, knowing that the pups can gang up and EASILY take down a full grown Warrior puts a smile on my face, Deacon will definitely be trained this way! Alpha pups of newcomers are being trained by the Reyes family, however once they master that training they're coming here. Yengiga is exited and working his ass off, his oldest son and niece will start their training here next week and was joking that he doesn't want to look like a total chump in front of them, he is very proud with his son passing the first step in his training, the boy is only 13 but he's quite fierce and his cousin is bolder in my opinion... That little girl is fearless! Izzy, Ura and Tali had already warned us how their parents wouldn't hold back on them last night in The Circle.

Even in chess, Ayato never let any of them win and he would play with every tool in his arsenal, it was expected of the children to catch up as fast as possible. Last night I was looking through Izz's memories and the physical pain she endured was WAY worse than ANYTHING Keaton put me through in training, and Lydia had no part in our training or education at all for that matter... To be fair, Luna's are not usually expected to do any of that in most packs. Isla on the other hand has always had her own office and official pack duties like every single Luna before her. She and Abigail have become very close friends sharing their joint grief, and Everett is happy his mate is laughing again and going out with new friends!

For The Osupa the WHOLE pack is responsible for ALL the pups and to ensure that they are as strong, fast, agile, knowledgeable and powerful as possible and the whole family is the first to step up in their development.

The Mirabal family had basically THREE parents training and educating ALL the pups to their maximum potential and I'm sure that had Ayiti found a mate, he or she would've absolutely been involved. It's what Umbros is doing with his and Adam's nephews, Nía, Nasser, Nina and Tony are very doting, Morgana has enchanted every nursery in The Fort and the one in the house with a major complicated spell that had both her and Endora comatose for almost 24 hours to ensure they're heavily protected. As Patriarch and Matriarch, Maco and Amelia have been taking their duties very seriously. And Ayiti has been drawing up the first training the Beta pups will receive as Orocobix has a schedule for Jade and Deacon, and her and Isla spend as much time in the nursery as Mónica herself or just take the pups to Isla's rooms and put them all on the floor while they encourage them to crawl and stand or simply take them to the lagoon for their swimming lessons, where now there are always a few Mermaids waiting excitedly to help with this chore for EVERY pup in The Fort. They're doing this all over the island and even the vampires are allowing them near their children to encourage them to swim.

I am very aware that Maco and Bayoán are taking the reins for the education and training for all the pups and Ishaan and Marcus are making dozens of calculations for their financial future. As Cacique, Izzy has to take a back seat on this to focus on her own training and ruling of the pack, but since she granted I keep my Alpha title and am father to the future Alpha, it's expected of me to start training our kids immediately and help train any other Alpha born to our family, this is expected of Tony as well, I already approved Orocobix's schedule and when the time comes Tony and I will be paying attention to Orocobix's instruction, neither of us want to fuck this up!

Because she can't have as much time as she wants with the pups she's making sure that they're top notch swimmers ASAP! Karaya's best defense is also potentially dangerous for the pups, the ocean is our strongest shield but it's expected from everyone to teach the pups to swim almost as soon as they're out of their mother's womb. They're using the fact that the pups still have a feeling of security in water, and by teaching them to swim they're helping the pups start strengthening their muscles and bones as early as possible.

This weekend we went to Karayita to check out the plots that Nina and Tony picked and it's beaches are very placid so we let Deacon, Jade and Nyma play on the sand and they started crawling towards Bayoán who stripped and got in the water with Yaca encouraging the pup to float and kick. Ben, Jeremy and Inaaya were in the water with Aaron, Adam, Umbros and Nasser, Haylee doesn't know how to swim very well yet and didn't have to deal with her boys having so much access to water back at Blood Moon, however Aaron, Adam and Leo had taught the boys to swim at the lake and Umbros is teaching them how to recognize underwater currents, how to avoid them, how to get out of them if caught, how to know if the conditions at the rivers, streams, ponds and lakes are safe and what to do in emergencies, what animals to avoid, which ones they can eat, he and Adam have even been teaching them and Aaron how to surf. Haylee and tons of newcomers are learning how to swim but she's still insecure... So when the pups started crawling towards the water she started to panic and was getting up to get them when Nía held her hand before she could interrupt the pup's curiosity.

"It's fine Haylee! There're no underwater currents in these waters and it stays shallow for at least 13 yards, that's why Nina picked this area of the island! It's the most kid friendly and it allows the pups to explore and learn to be bold but cautious!" She stripped down and invited Haylee to sit with her in the shallow water to watch the pups. Aaron started calling for his mate... She couldn't resist when the boys called for their mother and joined Nía, but to be fair they were all wearing swim wear, when they don't have intention of releasing their wolf they usually have pretty bitching bathing suits, I loved that purple Izz had on, I can't wait for our Heat! Either way the kids started splashing them but Nía started to hunt them out underwater like a shark and the they started squealing and laughing while Bayoán, Umbros and Nina went closer to shore to wait for the three babies headed their way.

I sat on the sand and watched with Marcus, Ishaan and Adhira, Ishaan's older sister and mother of Inaaya. She was smiling while seeing her daughter playing freely, her mate was one of many of Chandrama's casualties and Ishaan and Lola were taking care of Inaaya while she is going through heavy mate grieving counseling... The fact that she's pregnant serves as some comfort to her, they have a very strong family unit and their mother Kashvi is staying with them at the house. Since she's a Kappa who's main talent is cooking and weaving, the family is getting a lot of Indian comfort food! Nina has been paying close attention and taking notes and already asked Jorel and Otoao, to make her a weaver to her specifications. Kashvi's also getting extra income by going to The Fort and teaching her secrets to Berto and Domingo and she's also been hanging out with Samira since she wants to open her own restaurant Downtown that two of her nephews will eventually manage while she, her two sisters, Adhira and some nieces and nephews will focus more on weaving different textiles for another business venture once they too move to the mountains in Villa Florencia, the woman is a machine!

"Thank you for bringing our family here Ishaan, I know what it cost you but Baba would be so proud of you! Mummy definitely is!" Ishaan put his arm over his sister's shoulder and kissed her head.

"The price was worth it, don't think about any of it Adi, just focus on your health and our nephew on the way. Ina is safe, going to school, training and having adventures with her new friends as it should be! So just let Mummy and us pamper you, ok?" He put his hand on her belly and she cupped his cheek with her soft smile.

Maco and Amelia decided to indeed sell them Villa Florencia and Ishaan and Viyaan bought the next two plots adjacent to the ones that Maco and Tony bought and one on the many hills overlooking the Caribbean on the bigger island Ura and his team found, you can even see South America in the distance! I already told Izz that Marcus and I are getting two plots next to them and so is Tony, the view is insanely beautiful! Next week the projects to build on both Islands will be announced and it feels like it's going to be a gold rush!

Those who know have already made their claims including Víctor and his brother, Papo already got two for the Ollers, Elder Juan already paid for one big plot in Karayita and three for the other island, Enid got a big one on that island too, so did Gadiel and his brother, and even Avis got a big one for his family in Karayita. Sammy and him have the same intention of starting their own house like Ishaan with the Spogel's blessing since the same alliance will be formed with them and us, and he's also making offers to Isla for the Real ancestral home. Since Viyaan knew, Cleo told her family so Casimar also got one on the bigger island and Nasser and Tony told Louis and Yahir, so Louis paid for three plots, one for himself and one for Yahir and Fatima, he intends to start his own house and he's almost as loaded as Tony and lost everyone himself, so him and Samira have taken the financial responsibility for their family, and has given Yahir, Nasser and Fatima a portion of his own wealth so that they can start their own legacy. Yahir bought the apartment they live in, yet while Louis is building a new big house in Atabex since Samira is opening a second location of her restaurant there, Yahir is building his own house in Caney City in the mountains with intent of opening another restaurant there, he intends to give Fatima the apartment when he moves out. Shomari, Jana and Hiroto took out a small loan each to get a plot in Karayita. Even Grandmother and Cesar bought one, and yeah, she ORDERED me to pay for it or else! The other two smaller Islands are still being studied by the Geology Department and so far it seems that one of them can't be built on, so it will mainly be a wildlife reserve where members of the pack can camp and have day trips.

After the robes were taken away I went with Tony, Cesar and Hiroto to the shower which is a natural spring waterfall with a yearlong temperature of 72⁰ F, the fresh water falls freely and lands on stones which lead the water to a hidden drain which leads to an underground river. It does feel really good, and after we joined Izzy and the others where they were relaxing before going at it again.

"Happy now?" I asked her as she allowed us to sit on the matt, while she placed a plater of fruit, veggies, cheese and cured meats.

"Very much so! We all stink either way and our noses are acute enough to notice but DAMN! You guys would train like that?! I mean, we are used to A LOT of vomiting during training, but it's because of the intense pain not because of how our sparing partner's smell is making us sick! It's a question of being considerate and having good manners! C'mon guys you can absolutely do this, it's just NATURAL for us, I refuse that any Alpha of this pack be killed by anyone over something so trivial as awkwardness between shifting. Tony wasn't too used to it in the beginning, he didn't mind being naked that much but he still was shy, but look around... Nobody gives a shit!" And she lays down putting her head on my thigh, her scent is intoxicating and I'm using all of my self control to not get hard! She just started giggling!

"Hai! I have already talked to the other Alphas from home and they're getting better at it, we can clearly see the results. We indeed have been taking too many human traits! Funny enough the females are getting used to it faster! Hayami doesn't mind anymore... Not that she minded much before. Her mother trained her and shifters are more of the same mindset as here... Ichikasan would have loved it!" Hiroto leans back with a sad look. He loved his 'stepmother' very much, he always says how loving she was.

"Well good! Hayami has been doing really well with Beta training from what I hear in the pack Link and Enid wants to train her too for white out missions. Both her and Shomari have excellent genes, the pack is very curious and exited to see how their eventual offspring will turn out! Shit, I'M very excited, Shomari already prepared the paperwork for their upcoming Heat and Lady Magdalena and the girls are prepping rituals galore for all the upcoming Heats in The Fort. We woke up at dawn yesterday for a Blessing ritual for her own pup and Amelia goes everyday now to meditate, she's doing very well!" I already have the Blessings I prepped for Ishaan and Lola, but I need an opportunity to grant it to them like with Em.

I've been monitoring her progress and I already notice that there are days that she doesn't even think about what she went through and she doesn't mind stripping to go on runs with Maco anymore. At first Marcus was concerned about her going on runs and shifting in her advanced pregnancy, we were taught that it would harm the pup but it's the contrary. Amelia though the same until she saw many pregnant females shifting looking about to burst, but Estefanía explained that it was total nonsense that The Council had been pandering. A female warewolf's body is designed to shift at ANY stage of her pregnancy and the pup will ALWAYS be protected by her womb, it's actually essential that they ALWAYS be able to shift to be able to protect herself and the pup in that crucial stage from other predators. In fact it helps the mother keep a nimble and relaxed body to make the birth easier and less painful. Marcus has been spending more time at The Fort's library and Tali's head to relearn everything he thought he knew.

Moira already gave the Betas a bullshit story about why Izz is getting her Heat this upcoming Full Moon instead of almost a year from now like she was supposed to. Something about having her mate and causing a trigger to reproduce again... They're not idiots, but they accepted it. I'm so glad that everything is sound proof at The Fort, there's already going to be about five couples having their Heat this coming Full Moon including Hayami, Nía and Sakura, Gadiel's mate! It's basically going to be a mayor fuck fest that nobody wants to hear it!

However Izzy and I are both yearning for our daughter safely with us... I have been thinking about ways to thank Hera for her mercy, she tried to kill my mother when she was at her most vulnerable to wipe Artemis and me off existence and I know she's not doing any of this for me, however I owe her. How do you thank someone you have hated for thousands of years?