Chapter Two:
Alley POV:
"I'll get our guys together since our pack is closest." Collin responded quickly before his eyes glazed over.
"I'll also gather a couple guardians to run along the trees, just in case." Baine replied, looking around.
"Thank you Baine." I said before he and the rest of the guardians all walked out.
"The trackers are on their way here. When will the others be back?" Collin asked.
"They should be back later today. I will go and talk with them because I don't want to wait to send out the trackers, have them meet with Baine and set it all up." I replied. Collin nodded and walked out with Stephen and the other men, leaving me with the girls.
"That one female guardian, she seems kind of mean." Emma whispered.
"She isn't so bad. They are still adjusting to everything after all." I replied, trying to reassure her.
"She would be the one that takes a bullet or something for you." Charlotte chimed in.
"That is true. I bet she's rough around the edges but has a big heart!" Stefanie added with a smile.
"You think so? I feel like I offended her." Emma added, shaking her head while looking dismayed.
"I don't think you did. She can't really be all that mad when you guys aren't around all that much." I said, trying to reassure her.
"That makes me feel a little better. How are the twins doing?" Emma asked, changing the subject.
"They are doing really well! All the kids are with Beth right now, they've turned a section of the pack house into a little daycare for the smaller children." I replied, pulling out my phone and showing the girls photos while adding, "We thought it would be a wonderful idea to keep the kids in the pack house since it is something they are used to and the safest option."
"They are getting so big! We will have to get all of our children together one day soon. Now let's go have some lunch." Diane excitedly smiled.
"I was thinking, how about a picnic in the yard like we used to do?" Jasmine winked, before she disappeared. We all laughed, remembering when we first learned to use our powers and were popping all over the yard before scaring the men. I have missed them, our lives have been so crazy lately that we haven't had the time to get together. I heard a whistle and looked outside to see Jasmine waving her arms around with a big blanket and basket next to her.
"Let's go ladies." I said before teleporting myself down to the yard.
"Come on and sit! I have everything we will need. Anyone want a mimosa?" Jasmine asked.
"I would love one!" Ambrosia said, making me turn around.
"Back already?" I asked.
"Yes! They had everything ready for us which was really nice. What did we miss from your meeting?" Ambrosia asked, sitting down on my left side. Pythia sat down on my right while I went over everything Baine had told us and what we are currently planning.
"That is a good idea. If they can't find the rest of them then chances are they are lost in the woods somewhere, or perhaps just hiding." Pythia stated.
"I'll call the covens and have them keep an eye out. They can hide them away until we get there if they find them." Ambrosia added. I nodded my head. It is a good idea to let them all know because goddess only knows where they are. Ambrosia stood to her feet and walked away from the group to call her covens and fill them in on the situation.
"How are your covens adjusting to everything?" I asked, turning my attention to Pythia.
"Actually they are doing incredibly well! I have supplied each coven with a lot of money for them to add on, renovate, or rebuild their coven houses especially those thay have merged with a pack which has made them all extremely happy. My witches have also enchanted the ground we all live on, to keep the infected ones away. It serves as kind of like a repellant, those infected don't know why they can't step on the grounds only that they shouldn't." Pythia explained. Relief washed over me. Protecting everyone was one of the things we worried about most, especially with some being so far away. "By the way, where are Jack and Sammie?" Pythia asked, looking around.
"They are off training somewhere." I laughed, as we continued to chat about this and that while eating everything Jasmine brought.
"You know Pythia, one day you'll have to teach us a thing or two about magic." Emma said with a smile.
"Oh, I would love to! I'll make sure I extend the invitation the next time we have to make something. Perhaps maybe we could even set up classes or little tutorials on basic spells and enchantments." Pythia excitedly replied while Emma smiled from ear to ear.
"Alright, I have sent word to everyone else, they will be on the lookout for them as well." Ambrosia interjected, sitting back down in between Pythia and I.
"Okay good, I think we are going to need to brush up on our elements as well. Should we set training days?" Stefanie asked, looking around.
"We can, we can do every other day while the kids are in school." I replied.
I needed to practice combining with Rose again. It is not often that we have to do something like that but I have a feeling we will have to merge a time or two before all of this is through and I want to be able to do it quickly.
"We can do that, maybe set up another scare tactic for the men." Charlotte winked.
"What about the element carriers? Has anyone heard from them?" Pythia added.
"Last I heard Atsila and Stella are about to have their second baby. Buran is running around being his free self of course; but, I haven't heard where the others are. I think they prefer to stay to themselves." Diane replied.
"It isnt uncommon to not hear from them though, but we know if they needed us or we needed them then we all would find a way." I added. It is not a really big issue and let's face it, they aren't the type you can keep tabs on.
"How are you guys with your supply of pills?" Pythia chimed in, changing the subject.
"We are still good on them for another month, maybe a month and a half." Emma replied.
"Yeah, we have about another month as well." Jasmine added.
I listened to them talk about how everything had been going and Pythia offered to have them over so they could see how they were made to see if it was something they could do on their own. The process wasn't really that long, we thought it would be best if Ambrosia and Xander donated blood so they weren't being cut every time a batch was needed. We had to wait for approval from Julie though before Ambrosia was allowed to donate her blood, with her pregnancy and all, but Julie finally did. The last thing we wanted to do was piss that woman off by not listening to her advice. While the others were talking I was busy thunking about the interaction between Emma and Qetsiyah that had happened earlier. I turned my head, "Ambrosia, can I have a word with you please?" I asked. She smiled and nodded her head before I rested my hand on her arm and teleported us across the field so that no one could hear us. "Is everything alright with Qetsiyah?" I started.
"I haven't seen much of her lately why?"
"She just seems a little more intense today and I wanted to make sure she was adjusting well to all the changes recently."
"What did she do?"
"Well, Emma had asked what her name was and the tone in her voice just seemed a little more edgy than normal and then Baine gave her a look."
"I'll see what is going on with her. You and I both know that normally she is very straightforward but I don't want Emma to think she did something wrong."
"She knows, I told her. I just wanted to make sure Qetsiyah is okay and something didn't happen. I worry about them staying out in this weather." I sighed.
"I know you do, I'll make sure they have everything they need." Ambrosia smiled. Deep down I hope I didn't just get Qetsiyah in trouble. All I wanted to do was make sure she's okay and adjusting to everything but I guess time will tell…