The White Tiger

Chapter 51

 It's been a week. Alec is doing well. He sleeps off and on, but he's recovering well. Especially with Vicky taking such good care of him. My friends were all alright. They weren't seriously hurt, thank goodness. Jeff did break his wrist in the battle, but other than that, he's alright. 

 Jay's shoulder is doing alright as well. He doesn't like once again not being able to train and he most definitely doesn't like wearing a sling. But, he has me, Joseph, Janie, Kian, and Elisa to make sure he doesn't do anything dumb. Like take off the sling that is supposed to be helping his arm heal. Or try training with one arm...Yea. My mate may have learned his lesson about overworking himself. (I hope, anyway.) But he still likes to keep pretty active when it comes to his training. 

 I sat on the couch in Kian's house, cradling Evelyn in my arms. Many thoughts raced through my head. The war was over...Alpha Richard was gone...He'd never hurt anyone again...But...What about Charlie? What about his son? That was one thing that puzzled me about the alpha. He adopted Charlie. Charlie was just twelve years old...Alpha Richard never seemed to care about whether or not he ever came back to his pack and son. We've successfully merged our two packs together into one. Joseph, Jay, Kian, and Janie have a lot more work to do now, considering the pack is now so much bigger than it was before. But, things have been going really well. Some of the pack members have found their mates within our pack, so, that makes it better.

 "Lena? Is everything alright?" Kian's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

 I turned to look at him and smiled. "Yes, Kian. Everything's alright. I'm just...thinking about something..."

 "What are you thinking about..?" my brother asked, frowning a little. He sat down beside me on the couch. 

 I looked down at the baby in my arms before looking up at him. "Everything has gone back to normal...Better than normal, even! But I can't help but think about...Charlie..."

 "Who?" my brother looked at me, confused.

 I gave a small smile. "Alpha Richard adopted him two months before my birthday. Just so he would have an heir. He's been in and out of orphanages for years and he's twelve years old...I just can't help but think about what his life is like now that...Alpha Richard is gone..."

 Kian nodded slowly. "I get it...Have you talked to Joseph or Jay?"

 "No...Not yet...I mean, I'm sixteen years old. Jay is in his early twenties...He said he would adopt Charlie himself if the alpha was killed. But can we really do this...?"

 "Sis, I am very sure you both can handle this. In the past several months, you've grown up more than a normal sixteen year old should. You and Jay are very responsible, caring, and loving. Jay's very stubborn and a big idiot-" I gave my brother a warning look. He smiled innocently, putting his hands up in defense. "Sometimes! Sometimes he's an idiot!"

 I chuckled a little. Trust me, I knew very well how stubborn my mate was and I knew very well he could be a little...stupid sometimes. 

 "Jay can sometimes be a little...cold. I will say he's gotten better since you came along. But, I think you both could give that boy the home he deserves. It's a big responsibility, but I know you can do it. And, you won't be alone. If you and Jay decide to adopt Charlie, you'll have all of us behind you, ready to help." my big brother smiled at me.

 I smiled back at him. "Thanks, brother..."

 "Of course, little sister." Kian put his arm around me as Evelyn cooed a little. He chuckled. "What? Do you agree with daddy? Do you think Aunt Lena is gonna be a good mama? Yea...yea," I chuckled as Kian played with his little girl.

 "Why don't you take her? I'm gonna go find Jay and Joseph." I spoke up, handing Little Evelyn to Kian. I stood up and said goodbye to my brother and niece before leaving the room. When I opened the door, I saw Jay standing there, his fist raised like he was gonna knock on the door. We laughed and I shut the door behind me, taking his hand in mine. "I was about to come find you. I wanted to talk to you about something."

 "What is it?" Jay asked.

 We walked away from Kian's house, my arm linked with his. "I was thinking about Charlie...Do you still want to adopt him, Jay?"

 Jay was silent a moment. He finally stopped walking and looked at me. "Yes. I know what it's like being an orphan...It's hard...He needs a family. Someone to love him. If he is willing, then I want us to be his family. I know it's a big responsibility and I know that we are still young. But I think we can do this. We just...take it one step at a time. Take it day by day."

 I smiled and nodded. "I think so to, Jay. I'm glad you still want to adopt him. Why don't we go talk to Joseph about him now? We can go meet him at the orphanage." I could see in Jay's eyes he didn't like the thought of Charlie being back there. Neither did I to be honest. 

 "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," Jay smiled at me, linking his arm with mine once more. We walked all the way to the pack house, talking and laughing. We thought of a bunch of things we could do with Charlie already. Things he might not have gotten to do in the orphanage. 

 We walked inside and almost immediately, the sound of Joseph yelling reached our ears. "You've been pregnant since before the war?!" Oh shoot. It sounds like Joseph now knows Janie's having a baby....And it doesn't sound like he's taking the fact she didn't tell him very well.