Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Bronx's POV

I spend the remainder of the weekend at Lune D'or. I catch up with Henri and his son Martin who is

now Alpha Regent and join in on a pack run. I even lead a couple of training sessions with their elite

warriors. At dinner on Saturday evening, I meet Martin's in-laws. They own a bakery in town. The

kitchen staff had told them about Kas wanting to learn how to make croissants which they found

endearing. They give me their family recipe for baguettes to give to Kas when she gets home. It's in

French, so I need to see if Cason will translate it for me. I know she's going to love it.

Surprisingly, I don't feel empty like I had the last time I left Kas. It's almost like our time together

energized and motivated me. I doa lot of research and get a ton of work done on the flight home and

feel refreshed when I land. I'm completely ready to dive into work for MasonCo and bide my time until I

see Kas again.

When I get to the packhouse, I start to feel the sadness creep in but I refuse to wallow in sorrow. I drop

my things in my apartment, then head to my office. Carly takes the recipe to give to Cason for

translation. Then I mind link Milo and Reggie to meet me in my office so we could discuss James's

mate situation. | "How's Kas? Is the training helping? Does she miss us?" Reggie asks as soon as he

and Milo walk in.

"It's good to see you too, Reggie," I snark at the rapidfire questions.

Milo, the more perceptive of the two, squints his eyes and steps forward, "You okay, man? Something

seems...different.”

"T don't know what you're talking about, Milo, "| dismiss his concern, ''Kas is doing good, Reggie. She's

learning a lot and she has so much more confidence. She isn't sickly thin anymore and she's been

getting sun, so she has these cute freckles. She even grew half an inch."

Thinking about her makes me smile. Flashes 0f our weekend come to my mind. I close my eyes and

take a deep breath.

"You dirty, dirty dog. You mated! Did you mark her? Is she our official Luna?" Milo sits down at the edge

of his chair. :

"Milo, you're crossing a line. Besides, I don't kiss and tell," I snarl at him.

"Bronx, you don't kiss," Reggie chimes in, looking smug, "I've known you for twenty- four years. You

never even held a girl's hand before you met Kas. The look on your face right now? We can practically

hear Saint purring! You two definitely mated."

"Bronxy's in looove," Milo sings and flutters his eyes dramatically. 2

“Busted. Not ashamed. She's the best mate ever. We're in love," Saint laughs in my head. "Drop it,

guys! You're being disrespectful to my mate and your future Luna."

"They definitely mated. Future Luna means he didn't mark her," Reggie says to Milo as if I'm not even

in the room.

"Guys! We have other things to worry about," I command.

"Fine, pull the rank card. Now, what's going on with James? Did he find a mate at Lune D'or?

" Milo puts the teasing aside to focus on one of his top warriors.

"No. At the coven," I look at them solemnly.

"He's mated to a witch?" Reggie's eyes grow huge.

Milo groans as he leans on the desk and rubs his temples with his fingers, "Come on, Bronx. You sure

she didn't just enchant him or something?”

“No, they're clearly enamored with each other. It's not a spell, they're definitely mates, "T confirm for

them. They both look at me incredulously but they don't have anything more to add.

"So what's our next move? How do we handle this? We don't want to lose James," Reggie asks.

“Glad you asked. I did some research on the flight home. There are ten packs in North America who

allow witches, vampires, and other breeds of shifters who are mated to werewolves to live on their pack

territory, which means they also have hybrids. Hybrids can be just as dangerous, if not more than a full-

bred shifter."

I hand each of them five phone numbers, “ Give these Alphas a call, find out as much information as

you can on how they handle those relationships in their pack. Any special rules or laws they have

established to keep the peace or anything they have tried to implement that didn't work, I want to know

what they are. I'm going to research in my library.

“Lady Camille doesn't seem to be opposed to their union, but their coven consists of women only.

Having James and Marco there is a courtesy they are allowing for our benefit. There is no way she is

going to allow James to stay and like Reggie said, I wouldn't want to lose him either. I think the only

way she will allow Delilah to leave the coven is if we take her abilities and customs into consideration

and not force her to suppress who she is. “When I go back in two weeks, I want a complete charter of

fair laws and expectations that we expect any supernaturals who are living on our territory to abide by,

whether it is a witch, a vampire, another breed of shifter, whatever. If they want to live here, they have

to agree or they can find another place to live. Have it on my desk Thursday.”

“Yes Alpha," they respond in unison. I

thought they'd leave immediately to get started, but they don't even stand up. They just look at me. Milo

is smirking like he has a joke to tell.

"What?" I question as I look up at them.

“T have some good news," Milo says with his signature goofy grin.

“Good news? Spill it man, what's up?" I lean back in my chair, lacing my fingers on top of my head,

switching to friend mode from business mode.

“Lenora's pregnant! We're having a pup!" His voice grows louder with excitement as he tells me the

news. Reggie laughs and claps him in the back.

It takes my brain a second to process what he just told me. When it hits me, I jump up and laugh,

hugging him and clapping his back, " Congratulations, man! That's so awesome! Holy shit, I'm gonna

be an uncle?! Oh my Goddess. I can't wait to tell Kas. We need to celebrate! I'll get the kitchen omegas

to bring up some beer.”

“T have a better idea, the Elder Council sent whiskey while you were gone," Milo points to the box on

my desk.

I furrow my brow and pull the blue box closer to me. Johnnie Walker Blue label. It's an expensive

whiskey. I look at the card, it has the Elder Council official crest at the top and a simple typed note that

says 'In appreciation for your hospitality.' Why would the Council send me liquor? They know I am

missing part of my liver and that I'm not a big drinker. “No whiskey. Anything else, just not whiskey, " T

say, putting the bottle back down.

“Aww, Bronx, why not?" Reggie asks with a pout.

“T made a promise to Kas. We can save this bottle for another time. Choose another poison for this

celebration.”

“Vodka it is!" Milo cheers, undeterred.

Reggie and I groan but agree. It's his day after all. 1 wasn't planning on drinking, but here we are. One

or two shots won't kill me.

By the time Lenora and Ashley get home from work at MasonCo, the three of us are wasted by the

pool, still in our pants but we have taken our shirts and shoes off. We are laughing and slurring out

goofy jokes. I can't remember the last time I was drunk, but it feels good to relax with my best friends

for once.

“You guys, what the Hell?" Lenora walks up to us and puts her hands on her hips.

I press my cigarette between my lips, stumble to my feet, and wrap her in a hug, "My baby sister is

having a pup! I'm gonna be Uncle Bronx!" I cheer, as lose my balance and we both fall into the pool. |

“Bronx! What the fuck? These shoes are Balenciaga!" Lenora growls, pulling herself out of the pool as I

laugh like a maniac from the water. Milo and Reggie are rolling on the ground in fits of laughter. Ashley

has her hand over her mouth trying to not laugh at her best friend.

Lenora storms off with Ashley trailing behind her. After Milo, Reggie, and I calm down we all go back

upstairs. Milo and Reggie go to find their mates and ask for Lenora's forgiveness. I head up to my

apartment to shower. I will find Lenora later to grovel and properly congratulate her...maybe offer to buy

her new shoes to replace the ones I ruined in the pool. I get my shower and lay on my bed wrapped in

a towel, thinking about Kas and what it would be like to be a dad someday. I don't realize my eye

closed until I wake up to birds chirping in the morning. My head is pounding and the sun feels like it's a

spotlight on my face. I sit up and realize I'm under the covers in sweatpants. Hold up, this is not how I

fell asleep.

“Go back to sleep, dummy. You gave mea hangover," Saint snarls.

“Saint, someone put our clothes on and put us in bed.”

“Pretty sure it was Lenora. She's mad at you, but she's still going to make sure you're taken care of

when Kas isn't here. You know you have some sucking up to do, buddy.”

“Ugh. You're right. But you know what?”

"You're going to let me go back to sleep?”

“Yeah, but before you do, I'm going to be an uncle, Saint. I can't wait. One day, Kas and I will get to

share that news. What do you think about being a dad one day?”

There's a long pause, "I want that," he finally says. It was a begrudging tone. He was not the type of

wolf to be warm and fuzzy and excited about emotional things. Our connection with Kas and Lex is

starting to show another facet of his personality, just like it is mine.

“Saint, this whole mate thing. I think it's making us a better wolf.”

“Go back to sleep, dummy. I think you're still drunk.”