Chapter 25 Change of Plans

*Lucas*

I drove back to the diner in Diana's brand new car. I didn't know what to get her so, I decided I should get her something useful even during winter time too. I got her an SUV. It had a lot of space and it can also be used off road if she wanted to go out into the forest.

I stopped at a red light and waved at someone I knew who was walking along the sidewalk. We had lived here for 18 wonderful years. I felt a small tug in my heart as I gripped the steering wheel, trying to hold back my tears. It would have been even better if I had Amy and my sister Athena by my side, but there were complications in my life that I had to live with, my ruthless and cruel father being one of them.

My thoughts drifted to my brother Chase and I wondered how was he doing. I used to scour through the society pages waiting for an announcement of his mating to someone with the same stature in society. But after Diana turned 10 years old and no announcement was made, I stopped looking, resigned to the fact my brother had not changed his boyish ways. We were only 2 years apart. I now have a beautiful, smart young lady while my brother perhaps, is still alone.

The car behind me honks to inform me the light had turned green. I make my turn at the corner to the road leading to the diner, where the sign "Two Men and a Griddle" can be seen at a distance.

Ethan and Michael should already be back at the diner. Michael usually messages me when he's there, knowing my constant irritation with text messaging. I guess he was having a good time getting to know Ethan which is why he wasn't texting me at all.

Edward Crowne, the father of Ethan, is the bastard who banished Didi from their pack when she became pregnant with her human mate. Harriet had instructed Didi to come looking for me in New Jersey. There, she found Alpha Connor who then told her to come look for me in Maine. When we met, I provided her the things that she needed. Because of her, in our own little way, we made a small pack of our own.

I looked for Didi's mate, a man named Enrique Martinez. I hired a private detective to locate him and dig up any information regarding the last time Enrique was seen. According to the private detective, he had told his fellow cowhands he was going to see the boss and pick up a few items for Didi. That was the last time anyone saw him. No one ever reported Enrique had gone missing, scared immigration would come knocking on their doors. One cowhand did see Edward's right hand man digging what seemed to be a grave on the night Enrique first went missing, but was told if he ever went near the place again, he would come up missing, too. The private detective said it would be difficult for us to file charges against Edward Crowne. The cowhands would not and could not testify on our behalf and there is no evidence of foul play.

"I have always known Enrique would never leave me, Lucas. It was Edward, I tell you. He killed Enrique." Didi had just given birth to a baby boy. Michael and I stood in as the boy's father, but of course, Didi wanted her mate to be with her by her side.

"Didi, I know, but there is nothing more I can do. One day, Edward will pay for what he has done to you and Enrique. Mark my word." Didi nodded, lowering her head as she wiped her nose on her hand.

"The black wolf will get him, Lucas. I know the black wolf will give me the vengeance I crave." Didi looked at me with knowing eyes. She had also sensed the black wolf.

Black wolf. Diana's wolf. My daughter was a stark contrast to this wolf. She was forgiving while her wolf was not. She was trusting, while her wolf was not. I could sense this at night. They are yin and yang, day and night, a complement which binds them as a whole.

And here is Ethan, a man who is Diana's fated mate. "You are not losing a daughter, but gaining a son," my wolf, King had said when I first met Ethan. As a father, it didn't feel that way. I felt I was being casted aside.

"Diana is not casting you aside, Lucas. She is completing our family. We are a small pack now. Having Ethan will make us stronger. Ethan has a good head on his shoulders while his wolf is strong. The wolf may be the only force strong enough to subdue Diana's wolf. Diana's wolf is the strongest among all of us. She has the strength and power like no other wolf I have ever seen." My wolf King manages to reason with me and scare me at the same time.

"I know and Diana doesn't even know it yet. I don't know what's going to happen on the 21st, King. What I do know is we have to be prepared."

I finally reach the diner and notice Ethan's pickup was already parked in its usual spot. I drive into the parking lot and park Diana's brand new car beside his.

I was getting out the big bow I had bought to put on Diana's car to serve as gift wrap when Ethan and Michael come outside to take a look at the SUV I had bought for Diana.

"Lucas, nice car. Diana's going to be thrilled." Michael was already checking the interior and sniffing in that nice new car scent. "By the way, we have a problem."

"What is it again?" I had hoped Diana's birthday would go by smoothly, but it wasn't panning out that way.

"Ethan's father is looking for him. I have a feeling in my gut he's coming this way. Didi is Ethan's aunt and if Ethan could find her, most probably the father knows too. It won't be long until Eric gets wind of this."

"Let's go inside the office. And Ethan, you might want to keep your head low. There might be spies." Ethan nods his head and opens his truck to get out his hat. We all walk inside the diner and I ask Didi to bring me lunch in my office.

"Yes, I know of Edward. Didi didn't just come here by chance Michael. I didn't want to tell you because the less people know, the better." I went behind my desk and sat down.

"How did she find us?" Michael and Ethan seated themselves in the two chairs in front of my desk.

"Harriet sent her to find me in New Jersey. She didn't know we were gone. When Didi arrived in New Jersey she met Connor who told her where to find us. Connor offered her to stay with his pack, but she decided to come here when she found out about Diana."

"That Diana is half human like her boy?" Ethan asked.

"No, about her and her wolf." I looked at Ethan. He was young and probably didn't know about the story of the origin of the Lotus Pack. "Do you know the story of the Lotus Symbol? The origin of the Lotus Pack?"

"A little bit. There was an old she-wolf in our pack who told us the story of the wolf who would come to cleanse the world of bad wolves. The person is marked with the Lotus Symbol, a sign of rebirth of the Moon Goddess. It is a premonition or omen of some kind." Ethan answered. He obviously listened to his elders.

"Diana was born with the symbol. It only shows when her arm is immersed in water. Her wolf is a black wolf who hides in the cover of darkness. I have seen it in my dreams, it comes for retribution," I told him.

"My wolf had sensed the need for vengeance yesterday. I thought it made sense. Diana might have perceived the death of her mother when she was born." My gosh, Ethan's wolf felt the black wolf too and knew it was out to get even.

"Connor told Didi about this and that's why she came here. Didi wants vengeance too and she feels Diana will be the instrument to get what she wants. I need to ask you, Ethan...What do you know of Didi's human mate?"

"All I know is he left her."

"You never tried to find him?" It was understandable if he didn't. He was a teenager back then and probably followed his father's words as law.

"No. My father said the immigration was looking for him and when he found out Aunt Daisy was pregnant, he bailed. I believed him." Ethan looked at me like he was understanding everything for the first time. "Do you think my father had a hand in his disappearance? Oh my Goddess. When I was young, I always found it strange he would corner Aunt Daisy all the time and try to touch her. I never thought..." Ethan couldn't finish his sentence. He lowered his head finally realizing the truth as did I.

The puzzle was coming together. Didi never mentioned Edward's advances on her. When I had learned that is was possible Edward had killed Enrique, I wondered why and now I knew. Edward apparently had a thing for Didi. She was young and beautiful and within his reach. He killed the human to make Didi his own.

And Didi wanted revenge. Who better to do it than the black wolf of our nightmares.

"Does your father know my father?" I ask Ethan. He nods his head. Our father's were both the same and I could already see them teaming up.

"Michael, is there a place we can bring Nana for safekeeping?" We have to leave for the time being and where we were going, we couldn't bring Nana.

"I can send her to Florida. She has friends at a retirement home who have invited her to visit. I can book her a flight out now and she can leave in the morning."

"Good. Give our cooks their Christmas bonuses and three months advance. We're closing the diner until next year or whenever or if ever we come back. Tell Didi to go home and start packing, she's coming with us. We leave tomorrow." I start taking out my bank books. There was still time to withdraw and get my affairs in order.

"Where are we going? To the lake?", Michael asks. Our original plan was to go there on Sunday, but since we had company coming, the lake was out of the question.

"We're heading back to New Jersey. It's time I take back what is mine."

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*Ethan*

I needed my men with me. There was only a small group of us going to New Jersey and I wanted to make sure my future Luna will be safe. I called my Beta.

"Colt, I need you, Wyatt, Hank, Nash and some other boys we can trust to come to Boston. Take the private jet and meet me there. Make sure not to tell my parents."

"It's impossible to take the jet, Ethan. Your father is here at the ranch and is planning to make a trip to the east coast to haul your ass home."

"When is he planning on leaving?" Damn. I was hoping to have ten or more of my men fly to Boston.

"I heard tomorrow afternoon. He's going to Chicago first though. He has some business to discuss with Sophia's parents."

"Call Lindsey so you can take the six-seater Cessna. Aside from the four of you, bring two more. Maybe Billy and Sawyer. Leave tonight. Just tell them you guys are going out for a drink. Dress warmly, Colt."

"Ethan, wait, what is this about?" Colt didn't like my dad because my dad acted like he was still Alpha.

"I found my Luna and she needs our help. I can count on you right?" We've been bestfriends since we were little. He wanted to come with me when I left the estate to search for my mate, but I told him I needed eyes at home.

"Of course. For our future Luna. I'll get the boys prepared then." I heard the happiness in his voice.

" Boston, Colt. I'll see you there."

Now that's settled, it's time to go see Diana.

I needed to be with her.