Chapter 139 - Old friends, new family.

**Hopes pov**

“Hope, you know I’d love to stay here, buried in you all day…but trust me, you’ll be glad you listened to me.” Callum kissed my neck and murmured in my ear. We had already made love twice this morning and I still didn’t feel fully satisfied, it was like a light version of the heat all over again. Zara had explained that it was the pregnancy that sent my hormones racing. Besides, it was Saturday and I saw no reason to leave bed earlier than necessary.
“Come on, take a shower with me and then I’ll have something to show you outside the house afterwards.” The thought of a shower with Callum gave me ideas of something other than going outside.
“Okay, only if you promise to wash me…slowly…” I rotated my hips softly under him and smiled as a growl rose from his throat. I felt him grow inside me and soon all thoughts of both shower and fresh air were blown away, replaced with moans and the sound of our bodies’ hunger for satisfaction.

When we finally stepped out onto the steps in front of the pack house a couple of hours later, many of our members were already there. Mom, Maya and Reece stood by our side and I could see tears in both Mom’s and Maya’s eyes. I looked at Callum, looking for signs of bad news, that I should be prepared for new battles. But his eyes sparkled with happiness like a little child’s. He took my hand and we went down the stairs as a truck with a trailer pulled up. Callum let go of my hand and left me standing as he jogged over and exchanged a few words with the driver. He then turned to me and the pack.
“Do you remember me telling you about how I witnessed Hope’s courage the first day I met her? How she jumped into an enclosure of gray wolves to help the female?” I looked around and could see people nodding and smiling as they remembered Callum’s story.
“These wolves were a part of Hope’s life, her heart, her daily routine and she loves them...and so will each of us”.
I did’nt understand what he meant by that..were we taking the pack on a trip to see my wolves?. In a trailer? Why not use the busses?
As Callum can see the confusion in my face, he comes back and steps around me and puts his arms around my waist before nodding to the driver.
The ramp at the back of the trailer slowly began to lower and soon it touched the ground with a low thud.
At first nothing happened and the inside of the trailer was dark so I couldn’t see anything from were I stood. I left Callum’s arms and walked up to the trailer.
Staring into the darkness I could see movements..then I felt him..I felt them all. I fell to my knees and tears started to flow down my cheeks, I could feel Callum behind me but he was keeping his distance, I could also feel everybody’s eyes on me, confused and uncertain on what was happening and if there was anything they should do. But my focus was not on the pack, my focus was right in front of me.
I stretched out my arms.
“Come here.” I whispered
He stepped out, my supportive howling friend, the one who gave me strength when I needed it. The Alpha male...Daddy. He looked at me, Callum and then the rest of the pack before returning his eyes to me. He walked down the ramp standing right in front of me and I threw myself around his neck, crying, laughing and buried my face in his fur.
“I have missed you so much!” I sobbed
Next one to come out of the darkness was Mommy, then Handsome, Yummie, Cupcake, Sweetie, Cutie and Shy. They all surrounded me, licking my tears, whined, and nibbled my clothes and I laughed, I was so happy I could burst like a bag of pixie dust.
Mommy went back into the trailer and soon returned with the the puppies. They were big enough now to be on their guard, not just darting out, hoping to find something fun to play with. Mommy buffed them with her nose to show that it’s okay, I’m safe, I’m family and soon all five came over to sniff and lick me. Luna peeked out curiously but was careful not to scare them.
When I finally stood up I looked around at the stunned faces around me. The whole pack was there, a few was crying, smiling and clasping their hands. The one who wasn’t there was the one I missed the most and I once again felt how the sadness and the loss took hold of my heart. Callum saw it on me, felt what I felt and came over and took me in his arms.
“Actually, it was her idea. A form of last wish, for the cave to be filled with love.” He kissed my temple. Of course she would do something like this as a last gesture. I longed for the evening when I would once again see her, or at least a version of her. I turned back to my beloved friends from my human life. I looked at Handsome who had caught sight of something that caught his interest.
“Hey buddy, what are you looking at?”
I followed his gaze and Anna was standing a bit away, chewing her lip with a curious expression in her eyes.
“Anna, come, come meet my friends.” She carefully approached and Handsome immediately met her with sniffs and gentle licks.
“Hey, take it easy boy, she’s still too young for you.” Luna peeked again, a little more visible, making him back away , but only a little, he still stayed close to Anna.
“Shall we show them their new home?” Anna nodded eagerly so I picked her up and together we started walking towards the cave, with our new pack members behind us.
The opening of the cave was in the sunshine and looked very inviting. Callum had made sure plenty of straw was delivered so the cave floor would be warm and cozy. The Alpha, Daddy was the first to enter a moment later Mommy and the others followed. The little ones ran in and out, now less on guard, more relaxed and playful. They darted around, found branches to pull on and chew on, big rocks to climb on. Their siblings laid down on the ground and watched them with moderate interest. I could feel Luna twitching as she looked at the puppies. However, I didn’t know how the Alpha couple would react to her. They had felt her before, but never met her.
“Handsome! Come here, lie down here” He willingly came forward because he understood that it meant he would get to be close to Anna and laid down when he finally realized that was what I wanted. I placed Anna with him and she immediately began examining his fur, his ears and teeth. After getting Mommy and Daddy’s attention I undressed, I had heard Callum coming so I linked him to do the same. Standing in my underwear, I let Luna take over and soon Beacon was standing next to me. We were much bigger and immediately laid down and kept our auras under control. All the gray wolves were frozen in their positions at first but soon the little ones started to come forward and after a while everyone relaxed.
For several hours we stayed with them, showed them the area around the cave, around the pack house. Others wanted to take turns and let their wolves meet the newcomers, and we all ended up doing a pack run through the forest. Luna was enjoying life to the fullest, she had her children with her and her father’s heirs by her side, she felt complete, almost...early memories of Zandra floated by every now and then and I could feel the memory of her weight on my back when Aayla refused to let her walk on tired legs. *She is not gone girl...just changed...she will still be with us, just not here with us.* I tried to think comforting and encouraging thoughts but I also felt her sadness. Never again would I sit at her kitchen table with something strong in a cup to listen to stories of what had been or prophecies of what was to come. She wouldn’t be the one to teach my daughter magic or the one to name her wolf. The children around the summer campfires would grow up with new, different stories, told by someone else. A new image was to be painted on the wall of the Moon Temple.
After we got back to the cave we changed and got dressed. I cuddled a little more with my friends, I couldn’t get enough, I hadn’t realized how much I missed them.
“How did you manage to get them?” I leaned mine into Callum’s embrace as we walked back towards the pack house.”
“Money..it’s a language most people speak, and since I’ve heard whispers that my mate will be filthy rich soon, I thought it was small change in the context.” He chuckled and winked at me.
“Are you ready for the evening?” I knew it was hard for him too.
“I guess so…are you?”
“I think so…but we still have several hours to spend before they arrive…what could we do?” I tried to add a seductive voice, licking my lips.
“Mmm...I know exactly what we can do...” He responded to my invitation so I started jogging in front of him and after only a few steps I had to pick up the pace so he wouldn’t catch me and take me there on the forest floor. Laughing, I ran past my mother who was in a discussion with one of the pack’s artisans, probably about the premises that were to be restored to a pottery. Callum grabbed me at the same time I opened our door and together we tumbled in and slammed the door behind us.