All it Takes is Love

Lynn woke up suddenly and sat up straight. Her heart began to pound as she took in her surroundings.

Where am I?

She seemed to be in a strange bedroom, and Byron was nowhere in sight. She distinctly remembered being in Byron’s lap when she fell asleep.

Quickly jumping out of bed, she made her way to the door and opened it. Glancing down a long hallway, she listened for a sound of any kind.

“I’m telling you; we should put those houses to good use, not burn them down,” a man said from somewhere ahead of her.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but the people who had unspeakable things done to them in those houses need this. Besides, just the little bit I’ve looked at the books, this Pack is in good shape. Raymond may have been many things, but he wasn’t wasteful when it came to money. In fact, he seemed almost to be hoarding it,” Byron said.

Lynn moved swiftly down the stairs and walked into the room the voices were coming from. It appeared to be a living room of sorts, and there were four other men in it besides Byron.

When the men turned to look at her, she stated, “I have a solution to your dilemma.”

Byron held out his hand, and Lynn walked forward to sit on his lap, giving him a soft kiss.

“Did you have a good nap, sugar?” Byron asked.

“You left me, in a strange bed, in a strange room, all by myself,” Lynn grumbled, poking her lip out in a pout. “That wasn’t very nice, and I expect you to make it up to me later.”

Byron chuckled as he pinched her cheek. Then, as he turned to the men, he said, “Everyone, this is my mate, Lynn.”

Lynn glanced around and smiled. Her smile quickly faded when she noticed the last guy. Aaron.

“Well, well, if it isn’t little beta. Went and caught yourself an Alpha did you,” Aaron said with a smirk.

After hearing him speak, Lynn knew he was the one who had been arguing with Byron. Narrowing her eyes, she snarled, “Don’t start trouble that you can’t finish, Aaron. I may have feared you when we were in high school, but times have changed. If my wolf doesn’t beat the snot out of you, my mate will.”

“Lynn, you know him?” Byron asked.

“Unfortunately, I do, yes,” Lynn replied, tightening her grip around his neck. “Aaron liked to torment me in school after everyone in the Pack found out I couldn’t shift.”

“Really,” Bryon murmured as he focused his narrowed eyes on Aaron. “Would you like to see my mate’s wolf, Aaron? She is beautiful, and I’m sure she’d like a good fight if you’re itching for one.”

Aaron’s eyes widened. “She shifted? I thought she couldn’t.”

“All it took was finding my mate for me to shift,” Lynn informed him.

Aaron looked at Byron and asked, “You would let her fight me? Why? I mean, I’m a male and naturally stronger.”

Byron laughed. “Sure. I’d let the two of you fight because she may be female, but she’s also pure beta. She’s strong enough she could probably beat you bloody without ever breaking a sweat.”

Aaron shook his head.

Lynn thought she saw a bit of fear in his eyes as he glanced at her. “Nope, I’m good. So, what was that idea you had about the houses?”

Byron chuckled at Aaron’s change of tune.

“Well, I was thinking the clinic needs some interior walls, to make separate rooms, and maybe even an office for the doctor. Also, the room Byron has picked out for an office needs a bathroom. So, how about we dismantle the houses and re-use the salvageable lumber?” Lynn questioned. “I’m sure there are other buildings that could use some upgrades or renovations too.”

“She’s right. Our packhouse kitchen isn’t really big enough. We could add on to it,” one of the men mentioned.

Byron and the others nodded.

“Oh, and I heard my mate say the other day that the daycare needs some work. The last storm that came through took off the closed-in back porch they had for the pups to play when the weather wasn’t where they could go out,” another said.

“These are some good ideas. Aaron, why don’t you get together with some of the men who are good with their hands to tear the buildings down once the women are finished clearing them out.” Byron said. He paused, looking thoughtful. “Actually, some of it could be done on the inside even as they work.”

The four men nodded and agreed that it was a good idea.

Lynn noticed, though, that one of the men, a blond who looked a bit younger than the other three, kept glancing over at Byron as if he had something on his mind.

She bumped Byron. When she had his attention, she used her head to point at the young man slightly.

When the man realized Byron was looking at him, he nervously cleared his throat. “Alpha Rhodes, sir. I’ve been here all my life, so I really don’t know how a well-run pack works, but I have a question.”

“Ask,” Byron said.

“Well, sometimes my wolf feels restless,” the blond man began. “I suppose that would be a good word for it. I mean, I work a job, so I don’t just lay around, but, well, sometimes I wonder if there is something my wolf should be doing?”

“Yes, he should be training,” Byron answered. “Wolves need healthy exercise as much, if not more than the human body does. We also need the training to be strong in case of an attack from rogues or hunters happens. We’ll start training as soon as the beta returns. Did Raymond have you doing any training at all?”

“We used to do a little bit,” the blond answered. “Well, those who had a rank anyway. But since we haven’t had a rogue problem recently, even the warriors have been slacking off.”

“So, when there was training, it was only for those of rank? What would happen if rogues suddenly attacked and most of the warriors were injured? Who protects the females and the pups?” Lynn asked.

“Alpha Raymond didn’t care about the women or the pups. They were pretty much left to fend for themselves,” Aaron answered.

“Well, that is going to change. The Moonscape Pack has been at war with rogues recently. When they find out your previous Alpha is dead, they’ll come here thinking to create chaos, and I want us to be prepared,” Byron told them. Then he sighed. “I’m going to have to find someone to do the training, though.”

“Why, isn’t that your job as Alpha?” Another man asked.

Byron leaned his head back on the chair. “Normally it would be, yes, but I wasn’t an Alpha until today. I’ve had very little training because nobody thought it was needed. Sure, I worked out, the more human stuff though, like lifting weights and running.”

“Okay, I’m confused now,” Aaron said with a puzzled look on his face. “I thought you were the Alpha’s heir; don’t all heirs go through some kind of training camp? I remember when Chester was sent off to some alpha camp for like six months. When he came back, he was always picking someone to beat on, saying he had to hone the skills he’d been taught.”

Byron looked at Aaron. “They do go to a camp, but...”

Lynn put a hand on Byron’s arm to stop his speech, gently saying, “Perhaps you should call a pack meeting, Byron, tell this only once instead of a dozen times.”

“I agree, that’s a good idea,” Byron said as he turned back to the others. “Let everyone know that after supper, we will be having a meeting. I’ll try my best to explain everything then. For now, I need some quiet.”

So, standing, the men all filed out, leaving Byron and Lynn alone.