Chapter 20
The village air was completely different from the city air, fresher. Joy sucked it in as they stepped down the rocky staircase from the village gate, their fingers intertwined. She had informed Lana that she was going to take a break from work, and not to look for her, not that she would be able to find her anyway.
"Now that I'm here, I realise how much I missed this place," Joy muttered.
"Joy!" A voice shrieked and her heart skipped, her eyes landing on Khaya who was running toward them. She ran for him too, scooping him into her arms and spinning around with him.
"Khaya," she breathed, hugging him tight. "I missed you my darling." She set him down.
"I missed you too," he grinned.
"See pup," Jude crouched to his level. "I told you I'd bring her back."
"Took you long enough," Khaya scoffed, and turned back to Joy, taking her hand.
Jude was left in slight disbelief, staring after them. Joy turned back to him and shrugged, grimacing with humour in her eyes.
"Joy!" Krii chirped, meeting her halfway, as she and Khaya stepped towards the Enclosure.
A lot of the pack members were surrounding it, watching her as she moved closer, an awkward smile on her face.
"It's good to see you Adonis Krii," she extended her hand towards him, but he slapped it away and hugged her instead.
A growl-like cough sounded behind them and Krii moved away, his hands in the air.
"It's good to see you guys," he mumbled. "Where's Jem?" He looked around the crowd.
"We finally get to speak to Joy," a sweet voice squealed. The owner, a pretty brown-eyed girl with bright orange hair emerged from the crowd. She stood in front of Joy with the widest grin she could produce. "I love you," she said.
"I love you more," a blonde-haired boy shoved Orange Hair to the side. "I'm a humongous fan of yours. I have every issue of your magazine. All. Of. Them."
"But my favourite is issue number four," Orange Hair pushed Blonde Hair, holding out four fingers, "the archers were genius."
"Thank you," Joy smiled. She had heard such comments multiple times before, but it was as if she was hearing them for the first time.
"Please sign my magazines," Orange Hair pressed her hands together.
"Please sign MY FACE!" Blonde Hair screeched and Joy giggled.
"We wouldn't want to do that to your handsome face," she responded. "We'll just sign the magazines."
"You'll sign them later," Jude led her into the Enclosure. "Reid wants to see us."
They made their way to the throne room, Krii and Khaya following closely behind.
"I can't believe you kept me away from this place," Joy muttered looking around at the artefacts and paintings that lined the passage.
A little girl in a pink floral dress was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room with her arms folded. She looked younger than Khaya. She was staring at a door, frowning, and her cheeks looked like they were about to explode.
"What happened to our little princess?" Jude chuckled and she lifted her head, gasping.
As she was about to stand up Reid walked in from the door the girl was staring at, and she had to go back to her frowning position.
Joy snorted a laugh. "What on earth did you do to her?"
"She doesn't want to take a bath, so I told her that no bath, no chocolate cake but she doesn't want to understand so I am not talking to her," Reid replied with a forced smile.
"And I told him that no chocolate cake, no bath, but he doesn't want to understand," the little girl protested, even standing up and placing a hand on her hip. "So, I'm not talking to him." She huffed and walked away, Khaya following after her.
"She is as stubborn as her mother," Reid sighed, shaking his head. "So, I'll wait for her, she'll know what to do."
"Or you could ask me," another girl entered through the door. She looked older than Khaya. "For a price," she smirked at the Alpha.
"How about doing it because I'm your father and you love me?"
She giggled, throwing her head back, then almost immediately her face turned serious. "Please."
"What do you want?"
"A horse." Her eyes lit up.
"Forget it. I said you're getting a horse when you turn twelve."
"Daddy please," she whined. "I'm almost ten, which is basically eleven, so technically I'm twelve now."
"Maya, we've had this discussion before, no horse."
She folded her arms and huffed away like her little sister.
Joys open mouth curved into a smile. "Wow." She wriggled her eyebrows. "It's cool how you actually won that."
"No, he didn't." Jude smiled. "Tomorrow morning, Maya will be showing off her new pony and Kayla will be snitching on Reid to their mom."
"Anyway, it's good to have you back Joy." Reid changed the subject, giving her a warm smile.
"It's good to be back," she responded. "I think."
***
Jemima was working in her field near her hut when Joy approached. She glanced up at her.
"Welcome back," she nodded, then went back to her work.
"Thank you," Joy mumbled.
"Why did you come back?" She asked, as she picked at the weeds. "You seemed like you really wanted to leave."
"I-I realised that it wasn't so bad after all. It was better compared to my other life."
"So, you trust my brother again?"
"I don't know," she shrugged.
"If you don't trust him yet, just trust his love for you."
Joy huffed a laugh. "That's what your mom said."
Jemima stopped picking the weeds and threw the bunch in her hand to the pile next to where Joy was standing. "How is she?"
"She misses you."
"As she should," she mumbled. "She's the one who left me to take care of my dumb brothers."
"You act like you don't have any support," a blonde-haired woman spoke as she approached them.
She was in a white maternity dress, her hand resting on her small baby bump.
"Hi Joy," she stuck her other hand out, a soft smile on her face. "I'm Thelma."
"She's Reid's mate," Jemima uttered.
"Nice to meet you." Joy took the offered hand.
"When Jemima told me that we couldn't speak to you I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it so I hid in the Enclosure." She squeezed her hand. "I'm so sorry we put you through that, we're a pack and we weren't supposed to treat you like that."
"Well, that's why I'm back. So, we can all try again," she shrugged. "And who knows, maybe I'll decide to stay even longer. And maybe Jude and I will really shift together and protect the village."
'And you'll stay forever," Thelma chirped.
***
"How did she react when you told her that Lyssa was originally from the Blood Moon pack?" Reid grunted as he clashed swords with Jude in the training room.
Jude cleared his throat. "You know, she was upset," he lied.
"You haven't told her?" Reid dropped his sword.
"I was going to-"
"When?" He hissed. "You were supposed to tell her everything when you went to her, that was the point of you going to her wasn't it? Why do you think we didn't come after you?"
"Does she know about Khaya's mom?"
"No."
"Then what does she know about you?"
"That I love her," he mumbled.
"That's great Jude, but what about the trust you were supposed to earn?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Jude you idiot, she's your mate, don't do this to her again. She needs to know. You have to tell her about Lyssa and you have to tell her about Una."
"I want to." He threw his sword across the room. "I want to get rid of all this guilt I feel, I want her to know everything but I just can't bring myself to tell her. This will break her heart."
"Hearing it from someone who isn't you, Reid poked Jude's chest, will break her heart."