REBIRTH

Lurena

"Mom?! You ready yet?" Teresa yelled from the front door, ready to leave.

She was still mad at me for moving us to Arizona. I had made the choice to still move here after Juan's funeral. I thought, why not. With both of his parents gone and me not having any family to know of, I did not think it would turn out like this with my daughter hating me. I thought it was a good idea, and a new start was called for since we had nothing left holding us here. It is what we were going to do in the first place. Either way, I had run out of time, and we had to move. I had to believe it in my heart because there was no other choice, the people who bought my house took pity on us and let us stay a bit longer. For that I was grateful, I was able to bury my husband and prepare my kids for the move. The funeral if you could call it that, was small with just me the kids and the few friends we had for a social life. So yes, I went with my gut, and it said to go and make a new life for you and the kids.

"Be right there, baby, get the kids in the car, please?"

A year ago, today, we moved to Arizona in a small town called Whiteriver, not many people lived here. Basically, everybody knew each other in town, they grew up together their entire lives, and we were the newcomers. They had one bank, one bar, and a small building that played as the police/fire department. There was also a diner. The kid's schools were at the other end of town, a clinic, and to my left two hospitals to treat the people. Finally, was the flea market. Not many people lived in town because most owned land, they would bring their stuff to sell in either a store they owned or at the flea market. But everyone was friendly and helpful to me. I had made a real friend out of White Feather. She was the owner of the land we had purchased the year before we had moved here. She was an extremely sweet, caring woman who had a granddaughter the same age as Suzana and has become good friends with my children. There was also Red, he was in his late twenties and ridiculously hot to look at, but he was a little off-putting at first and a bit too young for my taste. Yet one day, things changed, and we became good friends. Red was immensely helpful to me. He would help me with loading and unloading my truck and set up my area since this was all new to me.

The kids tried to make the best of it, but with their father gone, they did not really know how to get past the sadness. Except for Teresa, she went straight from sadness to anger in less than a few hours of me telling them that we were still moving. Now she will not talk to me unless she really has too. It is hard getting through to her, the pain she is going through. I just want to help her, but I know I must wait till she asks me. The twins were always sad and baby Suzana, I hurt for the most because she will not remember her father, not really. She was still so small and did not have long with her to build up those memories as her siblings were able to.

Juan could always brighten up a room just by walking in. He would always say "mi familia brilla mas' que los estrellas. It will always be hard for us to hide behind the shadows of the world."

I loved that about him, he brought you into his light, made you feel wanted, loved, and just as important.

Locking up, I walk to the car and took a deep breath. This is technically our first family outing into town. I have not really left the house after losing Juan. It was difficult to face the world without him. But then I saw how I was acting, and it was not helping the kids or me. How unfair I was, to make them face the world while I stayed home crying and mourning my loss. That awakening came almost too late with Teresa, and I saw a change in her that made me see where I went wrong. I snapped myself out of it and got us help, and now we are working on getting better. I just wish I could get Teresa to stop being so mad at me. To see that I did this for all of us, it is what her father would have wanted.

"Okay… Everybody ready?" I smile enthusiastically at them, hoping my nerves did not show.

"Yeah."

"Sure."

"Whatever."

"Okay, mama."

They all spoke at once; I could not help but smile even when Teresa was sending death glares to the side of my head. "Teresa, please can we just have a good day today?" Pleading with her. "It's been a year you can't honestly still be mad at me. Dad wanted us to make this move when he was alive. Besides, we already had bought the land and built the house. We just had to move in… So, we cannot go back out now, and besides, we have nowhere else to go."

She deflated after that, knowing that what I said was true. I hated using her father like that, but it was the only way I could get through to her and for her to give me some slack. She turns the radio on louder than necessary, thinking it would bother me. Instead, I sang along with the music, and that made her sulk back into her seat. I lowered the volume to a more tolerable level, and we drove off into town.

It was a beautiful day out, the sun was shining, and there were no clouds in the sky. The weather channel said it would be a hot, dry day today at a high of a hundred and two degrees. It was a good day to see the sites, get something to eat and maybe even some ice cream to stave off the heat, I also wanted to get to really know my neighbors. I bought a small store for my goods to sell. I wanted to get the vibe on how everybody worked. I really could not do it at the beginning. When I first opened up, I was grieving my husband and the children needed me to be there for them. So, meeting my business neighbors was not on my top to-do list, I had to get my home back to what it was first before anything else. Minus the kids having their bad moment here and there everything was going well, at the beginning the locals were not really ecstatic by our moving into their reservation. I was an outsider; Red had once told me but not to worry that they will see me as a friend soon enough. And he was right; everything changed the moment they saw that I was donating money into our town. I mean, why wouldn't I? My family and I will be living here from now on. If there was anything, I could do to help make it better, then I would do it, it was only fair.

"It's just not fair, ma, we won't have any memories of dad here. I miss my friends back home, no one likes me here, they don't talk to me, and everybody whispers behind my back." I could see the unshed tears barely holding onto the rims of Teresa's eyes. It broke my heart to see her and the kids like this, they had their good and bad days, but Teresa was just stuck on the bad ones. She took her father's death the hardest, losing your father and best friend at the same time hurts a lot. I know, he was my best friend too.

"I don't want to lose them, mama, what if I forget him?"

My heart broke even more for my baby girl. She broke down and started sobbing, and it just brought me right back to the day I had to tell them what had happened to their father. Teresa had broken down so inconsolably it took a full week before she had stopped crying, the twins R.J. and JR. were just as upset.

Suzana did not really understand what was happening. I had to keep explaining to her that daddy was not coming back. She would cry, saying that she did not want daddy in heaven that she wanted him to come home and play with her. Saddened and heartbroken, I did not know how to make it all better. All I could do was hold them and tell them that it will be ok. The only thing I ever want for my children is to know that I will always be there for them. Teresa was making it difficult for me to get close enough to help, so her crying out her hurt and pain to me was a miracle in itself.

I grabbed Teresa in my arms and held her, while tears rolled down my face, and her tears soaked my shirt. We sat there holding each other until they dried up, and then Teresa pulled away from me. Our time of mother and daughter was up, and she was back in her seat. It felt good, to see her cry. It meant she is not holding on to the anger as much as before. She is letting it out, and that is what I have been waiting for and I know now that she has not truly closed off her heart. She just needed help and time for it to heal, and I know it will… It has to.

Our therapist told me to let her have her emotions; that way, Teresa can find her way back to herself and to us. Then and only then, she can let go of all the anger and her sadness. Today is counted as a good day, I just hope it continues…

"I know it hasn't been easy for you kids… and I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you at the beginning, it wasn't fair to any of you. But… I made you guys a promise that we will not regret this. How can we? When we are following daddy's plans for us, Right?" I look at each of my kids, hoping they could feel the confidence I was trying to convince myself I had, but they were not buying it. "Okay, look… let us just take it slow... We will see how today goes." I kept smiling, and my palms were sweaty from the nerves I was feeling myself. "We'll go into town meet some locals, and then we can check out the things they have around here, okay?"

They all shook their heads quietly. I will take whatever they give me. It is a start I can work with, a few head shakes. I turned the radio back on and drove to town. After a few minutes, everybody started singing along, even Teresa. She smiled back at her siblings, and it warmed my heart. One thing I know, no matter how bad Teresa was feeling, she would always make sure that the kids were having a good time. It was an unspoken packed we made to each other. We always made sure the younger kids were happy, but I secretly think it is for her too. Either way, it is fine with me. I feel that it helps her, and she gets to be a kid again. Yes, today will be a good day.

***

Maikoh

It has been two months since the bomb went off, killing my best friend, the idiot… He thought it was best for me to live and not him, why would he do such a stupid fucking thing like that. I would have been fine, but I was lying to myself. I would have been just as dead as he was… I may be able to heal faster than most, I just was not a freaking bloodsucker. I was not bullet or bombproof, if Falcon had not shifted and flew himself at the R.P.G. that was heading straight for me, I would not be alive today. The blast had killed four other guys, yet only injuring me badly enough that the doctors said I would never walk again. That I was lucky to even be alive.

What felt like hours after the blast I woke up to find that my legs did not work, everything was very wrong. With my ears ringing, I could not hear what Fox was saying to me. I moved to look for Falcon, and he was lying behind me, trying to hold himself together, literally… Somehow, I found the strength I did not know I had and crawled to him. I could still hear gunfire in the background, and I smelled the burnt gunpowder and the blood. God, the smell of the blood spilling out all over, overwhelmed my senses. I wanted to punch him in the face for being so stupid, why would he do that for.

I call out to him. "Falcon! Falcon, you stupid mother fucker!... Why?!" I screamed at him as hot tears rolled down my face unchecked.

I finally reach him, and I tried to help him put his guts back into his body, but It was useless. The bastard was going to die on me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. The only thing keeping him alive is just pure shock, adrenaline, and the fact that he was a shifter. He should have died instantly, but he was not human, he was a shifter, and our blood healed our kind faster than a human's blood could. But Falcon was hurt bad and could not shift. His body was too severely damaged, and he lost too much blood. There was not enough shifter's blood in his body to heal him. I placed his head in my lap, and I started rocking back and forth. There was nothing we could do; he was going to die right here in my arms.

I started to make false promises to him and screamed for the medic to come to him; it was no use. They knew just like we did it was too late. He was not going to make it, but he knew this was it, and there was no coming back from this kind of injury. "Wolf, I'm… I'm not going to make it. Don't, you know it, and I know it. Just please take care of my family… And tell them I love them… Ahhhh fuck! This shit fucking hurts!" He growls, cutting me off, knowing what I was going to say.

I still said it anyway. "You're going to be okay, don't give up… Okay, Falcon, don't give up man, you're stronger than this!" I start screaming for help again, even though I knew there was no point, but I felt that I had to do something. To at least try everything I knew, so I know that I did my best to help him, and I could face his family. But no one came to help.

He grips the cuff of my camo and forced me to look and listen to him. "Don't, just keep them safe and cared for. I am trusting my family to you, my Alfa." He took on the voice of his falcon spirit, and there was the ancient power of our people flowing through this decision. It was a packed, a promise for a life debt since he will not be alive for me to repay him. This was how he saw fit to make my payment, and as Alfa, I could not refuse him.

My muzzle formed, and my k-nines cut through my gums, revealing very sharp bone-crushing teeth. I bit down on my wrist, and Falcon followed suit, and we grabbed hands. "I love you, brother."

He took one last breath, and he died. Packed made and my best friend gone, I had to let my rage out. But to risk our people coming out to the humans could start another war, the world was not ready for. I cried out to the heavens, my grief and pain, and it echoed into the darkening sky above.

I woke up in the hospital days later, not knowing where I was. I had tubes everywhere, and with the way I was feeling, they must have had to pump me full of drugs. Flashes of the bombing and the trip to the hospital came back like a wrecking ball, and it seems that I was fighting them the whole time I was here. I did not want them to touch me, I just needed to shift so my body could start the healing process. I would have healed already, but the drugs they were pumping into me kept me from doing just that. Now that I was up, I had a chance to fix my legs, I just had to play this right, so they do not end up drugging me again. I rang for the nurse to come to my room. "Why am I still here, what's going on?"

I did not even give her a chance to say hi. She gave me a look of pity and confusion. Knowing what I have been through, I knew she was just trying to be as sympathetic as possible. But I did not have the time or the patience for this woman right now, and a soldier walked in just then. I guess he was there to make sure I did not give them any more trouble. I get it, but to send a skinny little kid like that was beyond me. I was taller, faster, bigger, and stronger than he was. Of course, being a wolf had its perks. I tried to move, but my legs still did not work, thanks to the damn pain killers they were giving me. "FUCK!"

"You need to keep calm, sir, or we'll have to drug you again." I swallowed my growl. I did not want the poor kid to pee himself.

"We'll have the doctor come in to speak with you." He nodded at the nurse and went to get the person who could tell me what the fuck was going on.

While I waited, I thought of a way to clean my system so I could heal enough to get myself out of this bed and outside. I needed to find a place to shift and then get the fuck out of here and back home to my daughter. With plenty of time to think, I had a plan to get myself out of this. I just had to wait for the right time.

An hour later, the doctor walks in, looking a bit green and shaky too. Guess I did not give him a good first impression.

"Lt. Kla Shash, I'm glad to see you awake and more sensible. How are you feeling today?" He used his index and middle finger to adjust his glasses and made sure not to make eye contact with me. The guy was scared shitless.

I could not blame the man, I am sure I did something I could not stop him from seeing, yet he was choosing to ignore what he thought he saw. But with the way he looked, he probably chalked it up to hallucinations from the chaos on the night of the bombing. He was doing his best to keep himself together, barely. "I want you to know that we did everything we could, but to no avail. I'm so sorry to say, but you won't be able to walk again." He took a breath to let that sink in. But his words did not really mean anything to me, I was not human. "The blast had thrown you into the side of a wall and ended up crushing the lower half of your spine. Do you understand what I have told you today, lieutenant?" That is when he decides to look at me, I nodded for his benefit so he can hurry up and leave. What he did not understand was what I was or what I can do, I really could not get mad at the guy.

My parents once told me that our line was stronger than most, we were always meant to be Alfa of our pack. The pack my father came from was a line of Alfa wolves, mom came from an Alfa bear shifter pack. It was never done before, and the shifter community feared my parents mating, they feared not knowing what we would become. They moved us so that my sister nor I were treated differently. Fear makes people do stupid things sometimes. When we moved, we found a place that had many different families of different species, all living together just fine. They told me it had to do with being fated mates, that nothing can ever come between them. The thing was that both my parents were in line to be Alfa of their pack and leaders of their people where they lived… The elders of their tribes were incredibly old fashioned in the fact that we should always keep to our kind to keep our bloodline pure. "Yeah doc, I understand what you've told me, but I'll be fine." I gave him no room to argue even though logically he did. God, I just needed space and privacy, then I can get home.

A month later it never came, they sent me home in a wheelchair. It was a bitter moment, coming home, half a man. All because these stupid doctors thought it best to keep me drugged. When I finally got home, I was able to shift. It took a few days before I was able to turn back, the docs had fucked with my healing process, and I paid for it. But now I am finally home and having a daddy-daughter day. "Daddy, daddy look, can we get some ice cream, please." Lilly Poof's out her bottom lip trying to look all innocent and ridiculously cute. I could not resist; my mom keeps telling me to stop or I will regret it. But I have way too much to make up for and I planned on doing it too, every chance I get. My mother would just shake her head at me, indicating just how doomed I was. I was hopelessly trapped by my daughter and that was just fine by me.

"Yes, baby, of course, whatever you want, it's yours." I smiled happily at her.

She squealed her excitement and hugged my neck with a vice grip. I learned in the first few weeks when Lilly was born, she was to be an Alfa someday, she will take my place if she chooses to. Unlike my parent's old pack, I will not force her to do anything she does not want to. Just like my father did for me, that is why I was able to join the military. He told me that, 'So long as you remember it is still your responsibility, to ensure the safety of our people when you're needed, then I won't make you choose. And if you can find someone trustworthy to at least lead our people if you still do not want to claim your Alfa right, you won't have to.' But I came home for my daughter and I claimed my right as Alfa now that my father was gone. I could not trust anyone but me and a few friends to protect my mother and daughter. So, I am grateful for what my father did for me, he gave me a chance to live my life and to be me. To trust in me that one day, I would have chosen to lead our people.

"I wanna vanilla with pinkles… please, daddy?" I put her down and she skipped to the counter to make her order. After paying the cashier, we walked outside to enjoy the hot sunny day. The moment I was out the door I felt a jolt of energy, it was the strangest thing I have ever felt. The hairs on the back of my neck were prickly with the knowledge that something is coming… or someone. I just did not know if it was a good thing or bad, I just knew it was important to me. I scan the area to see what it was, reflex I guess, checking my six making sure I am not taken by surprise.

When I look across the street my heart stopped, I could not breathe. "Wow!" I had to make myself take a breath, otherwise I would have passed out right there. She was beautiful… I could not believe what I was looking at, I could not look away. She had hip long dark curly hair, she was about five ft. two, too short for a guy like me. I have never been attracted to short women before; I would feel like I was dating a teenager trying to act like an adult instead of her own age. But she did not look like a teenager pretending at all. Her lips were full and juicy, perfectly soft and kissable. I would just love to feel those lips on mine till they turned red and swollen with passion. God, to feel those lips on my…. Shit, what the hell is wrong with me? I am supposed to be out with Lilly; not standing here dreaming about a woman I do not even know. I jerked at the thought of Lilly watching, wondering why I was acting so weird. But she was happily eating her ice cream, oblivious to my turmoil brewing inside of me. I look back at the woman and she walks to the back door of her car and she's taking out a small child, she looked to be Lilly's age and very cute… Whoa, she's a mother of four children and all just as beautiful as she was.

She walks her sweet little girl over to the sidewalk; I was thankful to the gods I got to watch her walk in front of me. Knowing I had to be drooling by now just staring at her body, I swallowed hard at the thought of being near her. She was blessed with a thickness that was sculpted perfectly in all the right places, tits I could suck on for days and never get tired. Her breasts were full and plump and round and just the right size for my big hands to hold on to. Such a small body like that should not be able to hold such heavy bundles of hot flesh. I would be in heaven to know for myself how the weight of her breasts would feel in my hands. Loving them till I made hard tight peaks of what I am sure were perfectly shaped nipples. I felt sweat rolling down the middle of my back. It was taking everything inside of me not to run over to her and take her home. I can feel my wolf going crazy with need, need that only he knew how to fix. She should not be out here without someone to protect her. I am sure she had to have a husband. Unless she did not, but who could ever want to leave her in the first place? I do not think it would be possible for me to leave her so unprotected, I cannot see how I could.

"What the fuck is wrong with me." I spoke out loud, forgetting that Lilly was with me. Why am I getting so protective over this woman?

"Oooo, daddy you have a potty mouth." She starts giggling at my choose of word. Damn…

"Sorry Lilly Pad, daddy didn't mean it." I was still staring at the woman across the street with her four children. I could not stop thinking how her skin would feel against mine, it looked soft and silky to the touch. My lips tingled as if it could feel the warmth from her mouth and the taste of her lips. I could see her curly hair splayed out across my pillow as she panted hard to catch her breath after having multiple orgasms. I could not stop thinking about all the things I would love to do to her… They were talking and pointing at different places. Probably trying to figure out where to start first. The little girl in her arms seemed to have complained and she bent down to put her daughter on the sidewalk. Geez my dick twitched so fucking hard it hurt, it pressed painfully against the zipper to my jeans. Her ass, full of beauty, just the right amount of juicy meaty flesh to grab hold of and… Stop it! How can you even think like that about her you do not even know her; man get a grip? I chastised myself for thinking such thoughts. I am here for Lilly, I cannot be thinking of anyone else but my little girl, besides this was crazy.

A wave of protective instincts kicked in, my wolf went on high alert… Something was about to happen, I was going to be too late to stop it. My demeanor changed instantly, rage filled me to my core and my nostrils flared. Heat radiated off my copper skin and my wolf itched to come out to stop the danger. But I did not know from where it was coming, everything was happening to fast for me to catch up. My eyes searched for whoever or whatever it was, the woman was still bent over helping her daughter fix her clothes and that is when it happened. This fucking piece of shit walks up behind the creamy tan skinned woman and grabbed her ass. I was on fire and I could feel the pull of wanting to protect her like… Like gravity, like if we were meant to be together… As if we were bonded…No, it cannot be.

"NO!?"