Part of the Promise (Book 3 in the 'Part of' Series)

Chapter 2 New Normal

Chapter 2 New normal

-Aiden's POV

I headed straight inside the packhouse and up to the room which I now shared with Ralph. Randall was pleased, he had his own room. It was just a little bit unfortunate which room it was. The funeral clothing felt like it was starting to restrict my movements, it felt like it was sticking to me and I was trying to break free with each movement.

"Aiden?"I heard a voice come from the other side of the door. I peeked around the door and looked down, Melina looked up at me. "Can we play soon?" I chuckled lightly and nodded. We had begun to play a lot more often then I would have previously thought. I wasn't always a huge fan of children. Or much rather they were not' a fan of me. Melina was such a little sweetheart, it's hard to deny.

"Of course we can. Just let me get changed." She nodded quickly and ran off. That was another thing the children found odd, they were so used to seeing other members of the pack without clothes on. It took a while to teach them now to knock. I quickly got changed and headed to the living room.

It was still very quiet. The majority of the pack were outside with the exception of Abilene and Eben. Eben was still recovering from what happened in the cellar, the other members of the pack had healed almost fully. They were left with a few more scars but they weren't limping or wincing in pain anymore.

The room was silent, the children seemed to be drawing so I headed over to the settee. I could see out of the back window from where I was. Harlow was stood right in front of the window and was watching the wolves, though I was unsure of how much he was actually watching.

"You've handled this well." Eben told me in a gruff and hoarse voice. I looked at him with my mouth slightly open, unsure of what to say. "As has your brother. You two are rather unique humans."

"I wouldn't say that." I shrugged lightly. "You guys went from saving my life from a bear to inviting me into your homes. It's been a crazy few months but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing." He chuckled at me and shook his head again.

"You saved Abilene and the pups first." He leant forward, getting more in touch with the conversation. "Thank you for that. Not sure if I said it earlier but you were a big help." I furrowed my eyebrows slightly as my back straightened.

"What actually happened then?" The question automatically came from my lips before I could stop them. I had even surprised myself as the words came from my lips. "Sorry if that's too much to ask."

Abilene had looked over a few times, a shy look on her face. She was sitting at the small table with the children, giving help or words of encouragement when needed. "Ah, it wasn't too dissimilar to what happened during the first attack here." He paused for a moment. "Sometimes packs like to attack others just to see what their attack or defence strategies are like. It's frustrating because then it means you have to change it. Safe to say. We had to change some things."

I nodded in understanding. "Yeah that makes a lot of sense actually. Are there a lo-nevermind." I was going to ask if there were many hunters in the forest but I thought that might be pushing a bit too deep with the pups so close. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I looked back to see Melina, Oran and Lowell holding pieces of paper in their hands. "Oh, I'm being shown some masterpieces, ey?" Oran giggled slightly as they each showed me their drawings.

I gave words of encouragement and excitement as the little ones showed me their pieces of art. It turns out that Channon and Channing had drawn pictures for Lathen and were very proud to stick them on their wall. It was both a sad and yet happy feeling when they spoke of their alpha.

"I'll be back in a moment." I told Eben before I headed towards the back door. I gave a wave to Randall, who was sulking by the sink. The air was moist and misty, it gave a rather peculiar atmosphere when watching the wolves train. That was another thing which had changed. The wolves were training harder then ever before. It was obvious that they now knew the risks. They knew what they were fighting for.

"All going well?" I asked Ralph as he walked towards me on four legs. He was still one of the few wolves which I don't get confused with others. His bright eyes are a sure sign, as wella s his height. In a few years time it would be harder to tell from a distance. The feeling of the soulmate bond still made it clear where he was.

He nodded and circled me in a mocking manner. I chuckled lightly as he wouldn't let me get past. "Ralph. Come on." I crossed my arms but I couldn't stop the grim from creeping onto my face. "You and I both know, I can't fight you."

"You should try though." Randall had opened the window above the sink and stuck his head through. "Or at least try some things which could help against wolves." He shrugged lightly as he put down the cup he was washing. "Wouldn't hurt."

"Might hurt him a little to begin with, let's be honest." Moss said, startling me. He had a towel wrapped around his waist. They had been added to the shed since they were easy to just throw on and it really didn't matter too much to them if they were extremely clean. They would just be shifting back anyway. "It's worth a try."

"Training against werewolves?" Harlow raised an eyebrow as he walked over to us. He lifted an arm up and rested it on my shoulder. "I like this idea. Though you should also learn how to fight in your human forms as well. If you cant' shift back after being injured as a wolf." The rest of the pack were watching us silently. I didn't quite understand the looks on their faces but we had their attention.

"I'd be up for that." Moss looked towards Ralph who then looked towards the rest. The wolves nodded, some more hesitantly than others but they agreed anyway. "I guess this means that the peaceful approach was buried today." I bit my lip but nodded.

"Yes, the peaceful approach went out the window a little while ago." I paused for a moment. "We still have the signatures though. So that could still always exist in the background." The others nodded and then went back to training. I sat with Harlow as we watched. "Do you think we have any chance?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"Against them? Not one bit."He leant backwards. "Though I would love to smack a smile off a certain person's face." I nodded in agreement. "When are we going back?" He said a little softer.

"Day after tomorrow. She's got scans and tests tomorrow and the results should be done by the time we get there." My voice was a little more optimistic than it had been previously on the topic.

"That's g-" He was then interrupted as his phone made a noise in his pocket. He frowned down at it before sliding his finger over the screen. His eyes brightened as he nearly dropped the phone. "It's Emi!"