Puppy Love

Lucky took a much needed nap after a phone call with Traven. He was having a good time at Desert Moon. He was given a small house to stay in, and they had introduced him to the pack as Draven, just in case there was a traitor in the bunch with a big mouth. Lucky told him it suited him, and asked about Flappy.

"He's on cloud nine. At lunch everyone was petting him. Especially the pups. Many of them have never seen a real dog before. Everyone kept giving him food."

"So the pack roll is on?" Lucky asked, and they both laughed. Hearing his voice helped calm the storm in her mind, she felt silly but she missed him terribly. It hadn't even been a whole day. "I miss you," she told him.

"Aw, shucks, I miss you too, Lucky. We are doing a pack run tonight, and everyone has been informed that he is a friend, not food." He sounded a just a little nervous, saying this. "I am hoping he sticks close to me and Daniel. Daniel will never be able to keep up. We were racing earlier in wolf form with some of the other guys and I won every single time! He says I can run faster than any wolf he has ever seen. Oh, I found out some interesting things about my past, too, but I will tell you in person, it's kind of a long story."

Lucky was curious. "What do you mean? You can't say that and then not tell me anything," she rolled her eyes when this was met with silence. "At least tell me it's good news."

"It's not bad. It's just a long story and I don't want to talk about it over the phone. Let's just say my family history is more interesting than I thought."

 "You too? I can't believe what happened today. I am going to take a quick nap before dinner. I talked to that crazy Moon Goddess again."

"Really? What happened? What did she say?"

"I will tell you later it's kind of a long story." She smirked, and Traven chuckled, supposing he deserved that. Lucky wished they could mind link, it would be easier to show him that way. They were too far away for that to work. "I found out some interesting things about my past too." She told him about meeting her father.

"Damn, those curveballs have it out for you," Traven's voice was full of concern, but he was not very surprised. "Are you okay?" Eli and Alpha Jacob had filled him in about Alpha Jacob's suspicion that Lucky might be Liam's daughter. After looking at a picture of the Alpha he wondered how he hadn't seen the resemblance. He couldn't believe Lucky was Neveah's half sister, younger by 6 years. How sad that they would never get to know each other. They were a lot alike, although Neveah looked like her mother, blonde, tall, and pretty. Lucky looked like her father, other than her height. Dark haired, petite, and drop dead gorgeous.

"I'm okay. Just tired. I'm going to take a nap and then I guess we are having dinner in the Pack House, and I am going to try and talk to a couple of people you know who will no doubt be glad to hear good news."Too exhausted to explain any more, she flopped on to the ridiculously comfortable bed. "I love you," she told him, but she didn't know whether or not he said it back because she was asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

She woke to the sound of knocking on her door, still half asleep she called out "who is it?" She picked up her phone, and saw that she had a text message from Traven. It said, I love you too.

 "It's Amelia."

 "Come on in." She yawned and made herself sit up, as Amelia opened the door and gave her a huge grin. Lucky sent a bunch of heart emojis to Traven, replying to his text. "He loves me too!" She told her friend, who hugged her.

"Who could not love you?" Amelia asked, feeling happiness radiate from Lucky. Her joy was infectious, intoxicating almost.

"I don't think Luna Gina is a fan," she said thoughtfully. Then she remembered her mission for the evening. She had to find a way to talk to Traven's parents, without arousing suspicion. She didn't even know what they looked like, so she hoped the Moon Goddess knew what she was doing and she wound up seated beside them as promised. She wasn't sure if passing a note was a good idea. Paper trails were too often discovered. "Do you think Eli could point out Traven's parents without being obvious? I really want to talk to them."

"You have so much on your plate," Amelia said, sounding sympathetic. "I will ask him or maybe you can. Dinner is in an hour. Eli was wondering if you would like to go meet the new puppies."

 "Puppies?" Lucky was confused. "Like pups as in werewolf pups or actual puppies?"

 "Actual puppies. Flappy has some siblings born about 8 weeks ago. Apparently Liam's Grandfather had a Labrador that he loved and he made sure that he fathered a litter of puppies. He kept a male from that litter, and tradition has held that a male descendent of the original Lab is always kept and bred with a female chosen by the Alpha. They only have a litter once every 4-5 years, sometimes longer depending on how many puppies there are. The owner of the female is free to decide where the puppies go, but the Alpha gets to pick out a few. There were only 3 born this time, and they are all here." Amelia was excited to see the puppies, having not had seen one other than on television. Midnight Moon was the only werewolf pack known to keep them. Lucky wondered why, Flappy was amazing.

 "I would love to." Lucky looked down at her wrinkled dress. "What should I wear to dinner?"

 "They keep it casual, except the Alpha and Luna usually dress up if they come to dinner. I have a dress if you need to borrow one." Amelia was wearing a casual white top with a boho style flowing patterned skirt.

 "I'm not Alpha or Luna, I am thinking jeans and a sweater and my new black knee high boots." Lucky found the outfit and quickly put it on. She brushed her hair, noticing how shiny it looked, hanging halfway down her back. She fixed her makeup, threw on a matching scarf, and the two friends headed to a building up the road where the dogs lived. "It's the fanciest dog house ever," Lucky said, and she was right.

The dog house was a human sized log cabin, surrounded by a giant fenced in yard. Eli was in the yard playing with two grown dogs and three adorable puppies. The two grown dogs looked like Flappy, she guessed that one of them must be his father. Two of the puppies were yellow males and one was a black female.

 Lucky and Amelia both squealed "puppies!" at the same time, earning an eye roll from Eli. They entered the chain link fence through the gate and the dogs made their way over, sniffing them thoroughly. The black puppy ran straight to Lucky and demanded to be picked up. Lucky sensed that she was being set up somehow, but she couldn't resist. She scooped up the tiny dog, barely the size of a house cat.

"Well look at you!" She said, scratching the puppy's head. Lucky felt a ball of energy forming again, and she didn't hold it back. She let the love flow out of her. The puppy put her head on Lucky's shoulder and went to sleep. "I think I have been chosen," Lucky laughed. She had always loved dogs. She didn't think Traven would mind, they would have to make sure to spay her, she knew how many stray dogs needed homes and didn't want to become a breeder.

Flappy needed a friend, and who better than his sister? Or half sister?

Eli and Amelia were smiling and holding hands, looking adoringly at each other and at the dogs. The dogs started playing, it was cute how the two grown dogs play fought each other, the two male puppies watching and then trying it themselves. Lucky was beaming as she held her new baby, giving her a kiss on the nose before she set her down to play with her brothers.

Lucky noticed that everyone who passed by was smiling, laughing, and many of them waved. She wondered if her joy was contagious, and realized that it really was.

"It's dinner time," Eli announced, and Lucky reluctantly left her yet to be named puppy playing with her brothers. They were so cute! As they walked towards the Pack House, a bit of nervousness crept back in, and she whispered to Eli, "could you point out his parents without being obvious?"

"Yes, they are actually walking in the door right now." Lucky's eyes found them quickly. An older version of Traven held the door for his mate and they entered the building. Aha! Target acquired!

"Thank you, that will make this a lot easier." Lucky's eyes found was grateful. She was also curious about how the Moon Goddess was going to make sure they sat next to her at dinner. Suddenly, she had to pee. "Oh, seriously. Amelia, where is the nearest restroom? I have to pee all of a sudden."

"Inside, to the right and it's on the left side down the first hallway you come to." Amelia didn't even have a chance to ask if she wanted her to go with, Lucky was sprinting towards the door like she was being chased by the devil himself. Eli looked quizzically at Amelia, who simply said, "when a girl's gotta go, she's gotta go!"

"I'd say Lucky is definitely a girl who's gotta go," Eli mused, "she's fast! I'd like to see her race her mate."

"Her mate?" A voice spoke from behind them, full of curiosity, and Eli wanted to kick himself.

The voice belonged to Alpha Liam.