An Unexpected Mate

Chapter 21 - Greener Grass

Lily sighed as she walked through her door at home. The kids were exhausted from another weekend up at the pack, so she carried each of the twins into their beds and had to half carry Cameron as well.  They loved being in the mountains. There was always something to do or somewhere to explore. Plus, most of the pack members enjoyed having her kids around, they were made welcome and were included in any group activities that were planned. Rose even asked if they could go to the local school up in the valley. 

Heaving another big sigh and realizing that she was doing a lot of sighing lately, Lily realized she was worried. Her relationship with Braxton had moved pretty quickly. It wasn't really uncommon, considering they were both adults and it had been a consensual build up, but Lily was now concerned with how it was impacted her kids. They had really become attached to Braxton without Lily realizing it, attached to the whole pack. What would happen if things didn't work out? They were already dealing with her and Steve's divorce and attempts to develop a new normal.

After overhearing the conversation between Braxton and some of his disgruntled pack, Lily had been anxious the rest of the weekend. She worried that she was actually causing strife in the close knit community and larger issues with Braxton. Her safe little bubble where their relationship and future were perfect had burst and now she had to think about reality. She knew it was coming, she knew that life was not so perfect, Lily had just wanted to pretend that there was a happily ever after for her, just for a bit.

Next weekend Steve was taking the kids since he was not traveling for work, so maybe Lily would stay home and get caught up on chores, keep away from pack land for a bit. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Thursday and Lily was feeling stressed, again! This was starting to become an issue. This time it was for work at least. They were moving into the final stretch of the semester and her students were starting to realize that they actually needed to submit assignments to pass the class. It wasn't as if she did a lot of busy work for them. Really the labs were simple and entertaining in her intro courses, then became more complex and intriguing as they moved up in levels. The issue was when students started skipping class. It's hard to make up in-class labs and activities when you don't show up. Now, she was dealing with the fallout of being considerate and empathetic and wanting to help them get caught up. 

Her phone pinged and she saw it was a text from Braxton. He had actually cancelled on her twice this week for lunch dates. This was new, and combined with what she had overheard this weekend, might have deeper ramifications than just being busy. This text was asking about the weekend plans. Lily had mentioned Steve was taking the kids. She had been deliberately vague on her own plans, hoping to not stress the relationship and also give herself time to decide the next step. Although Braxton had not mentioned the issues that were bubbling within his pack, Lily felt that she was aware that something was brewing. Of course, she had barely started to learn about pack life and had no clue what the questions tied to her being Braxton's mate might imply.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday rolled around and Lily had finally let Braxton know that she was going to be staying in town this weekend. She couched it as that she needed to run errands and use the time without kids to get some work done around her house. She was not ready to ask him about the conversation she overheard last weekend. Lily had wanted to ask Lucas or his wife about either Sam or Elias, just to get an idea of who they were, but was worried it would lead to more questions. As an adult, she should feel comfortable just asking Braxton about what was going on, but did not have the nerves yet. 

While she hoped that Brax would come down to town to visit her over the weekend, she was already missing him. It had been 5 days since she had seen him and while they texted a bit, it was not the same as actually having a conversation. They had been spending so much time together that it actually seemed strange that she might go over a week without seeing him.