Dead Luna
Chapter 18

Amelia's

POV

Craig informs me the next morning at breakfast that he would be busy for the next couple hours, but that he'd take me on a "date" later in the day, and to dress for hiking. Then he assembles some breakfast sandwiches of sorts "to go" out of biscuits, ham and a sausage patty that he wraps up in a napkin, gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, and heads off for his busy morning.

I fill my plate with scrambled eggs, biscuits with butter and jelly, ham, and fresh local berries, then go sit down. Calvin the cook kindly brings me a latte. Apparently he considers himself a bit of a barista, and he informs me that Janice is an accomplished baker which explains why all the baked goods we eat are so fresh and wonderful.

Before I finish breakfast, I see Leo enter. He looks in my direction and I can tell that he had a very rough night, but he quickly looks away and heads for the breakfast buffet. I'm almost relieved when he sits at the other end of the huge table again. I still haven't come completely to terms with that diatribe he threw at me last night, and I'm feeling more than just a little guilty that I might not have been as fair with him as I thought I had been.

Colleen then comes in with her children. She asks me to hold little baby Clark while she gets a plate for her and Chloe, who is much too young to get her own plate. I happily oblige, and coo at the sweet natured infant, while I imagine myself holding one of my own

soon.

"Thanks so much! Tim usually helps, but we slept in a little this morning and Tim was needed by my brother." She explains as she takes Clark back from me and arranges her clothes in such a manner that she can get him attached to a n****e to feed. "I was up at least twice last night with him. But at least Tim stayed long enough this morning to get Chloe dressed for me so I could get a few more precious minutes of sleep."

"It was no trouble at all, he's such a sweet little thing!"

"Says the woman who's n*****s aren't currently being ravaged by a hungry wolf pup!" Colleen complains, but it's clear that she loves being a mother and doesn't really mean it. Lack of sleep will do that to a person.

After breakfast I offer to take the kids to the garden for some fresh air, if she'd like a couple hours of sleep. Colleen is quick to accept, almost running to grab a stroller while I deal with the breakfast dishes. And then almost as quickly disappearing upstairs to the Delta family suite.

It's a lovely late Spring day. The Chloe and I walk a little ways until we come across a bench made from a split tree trunk that had been sanded smooth, overlooking a particularly picturesque area of the gardens. I sit and take the baby out of the stroller, while Chloe squats down and starts playing with some rocks, which she stacks in a neat little pile, adding a little stick "flag" on top she had found nearby.

Leo had followed behind at a distance. He sat down on the other end of the bench.

"Are you here to save me from little Clark, here? He looks about ready to savage me!" I tease. The baby was obviously sound asleep in my arms. "You look so natural holding a baby in your arms." Leo comments softly. And says nothing else to me all morning long.

After a while Leo falls asleep on the hard bench. I don't wake him for at least an hour, when I decide it's time for me to head in and get ready for my date. By this time little Chloe's stone fort was decorated with a couple flowers and at least 2 worms. A few pieces of bark acted as little "cars" zooming around the stones. She was reluctant to leave her creation, until I reminded her that her mommy probably misses her, and then suddenly she wanted her mommy, too!

Before I give the children back to their mother, though, Chloe's clothes had gotten dirty. I look through the diaper bag I had been handed and found a spare set of clothes for her, got her changed, and helped her to wash her hands thoroughly. By this time the baby was starting to root around for another feeding, so it was definitely time to return the tots to their mother.

I dress appropriately for the hike as instructed, and head down the entrance of the pack house to meet up with Alpha Craig. Leo was already there, with 2 picnic baskets, Delta Tiny standing next to him holding a couple ratty old quilts.

Beta Jimmy pulls up in the car, and we all get in exactly how we drove here the day before. Thankfully we didn't need to go very far, as the date turn out to be a picnic at Silver Falls state park, followed by a hike around the falls. It was less than a 10 minute drive. Craig found a delightful spot for us to lay out our blanket, and the guys set theirs up about 30 yards away to give us some privacy, while being close by in case of emergency.

We dined on egg salad sandwiches, crudités, chocolate dipped strawberries, and snickerdoodles (which were apparently the Alphas favorite cookie and added to several meals every week), while we chatted. Plus we had a bottle of wine, a couple of clear plastic solo cups having been thoughtfully added to the basket by Janice.

Craig told me about his work early this morning and how he had taken delivery of 8 new bee hives, bringing his total up to 14. Tomorrow he needed to work on a tractor that wasn't starting, and it might take several hours, so he hoped I'd be able to keep myself entertained without him. I reminded him that I still needed to meet with most of his unmated pack members, and so tomorrow would be a great time to do that.

"Will that take very long, do you think? I don't want to keep them from their work for very long. It seems like there's always more work to do than hours in the day!"

I assured him that I needed only about 5 minutes with each wolf, and preferably not all at once.

Then we pack up the basket again and he leads me to the falls, which turns out to be nothing at all like I expected.

It's not just one single falls, but several. There are 10 falls cascading into a small canyon of sorts, with an 8.3 mile hike around them. At a few of the falls the trail goes in behind the falls itself. It is an absolutely stunning hike, and I enjoy every minute of it, while Craig and I talk. I tell him about watching his niece and nephew this morning, and how much I liked the latte I drank with breakfast. He tells me more about himself, his family, and growing up in the pack, and I tell him more about myself. The hike itself takes us a little over 3 hours, and I felt by the end of it that we knew each other quite well.

Knowing Craig would be busy for much of tomorrow, he's decided our next date would be the day after. And I should dress bit nicer, but not formal. I will need comfortable walking shoes.