A Warrior's Love

(K’aalógii: Butterfly in Navajo)

(Ayóó anííníshní: I love you in Navajo)

Wyatt took Becky to the steak house for lunch.

Becky was so hungry, causing her to scarf her food down so fast Wyatt probably thought she was starving. The reason for this was because it was almost one o’clock by the time they got around to eating because Wyatt had decided to join her in the shower.

Shower love was quite the experience… Hm… although, thinking about the shower had Becky’s mind going back to that morning. Me, one-legged girl and my Wolfman doing the “love thang” in the shower! It started out a bit awkward and slightly embarrassing for me, but once I got past the awkwardness of it, it was a wild and very enjoyable ride. Shaking away her thoughts of that moment, she realized they’d arrived at her party. It had started at three o’clock and it was now ten minutes after.

Mom opened the door as soon as they pulled into the driveway. The irritated look on Mom’s face that told Becky she had been watching for them. So, as soon as they made it to the top of the steps, she said, “It’s about time you got here young lady! We can’t have a party without the guest of honor.”

“Sorry Mom, time got away from us,” Becky informed Mom as she tried her best not to blush.

Mom raised an eyebrow, humming a bit before murmuring, “Uh huh... I’ll just bet it did.”

Becky felt the heat rise in her cheeks then as her mom snickered. Wyatt, of course, being the smart man, he is, just stood in the background silently. He looked as if he was hoping Mom wouldn’t notice him. That was probably a good thing though, since their relationship, although better, was still a bit rocky.

“Anyway, there are quite a few people here,” Mom informed them. “So, let’s go out back where everything has been set up since the weather is so nice.” Then she led the way down the hall.

The music was loud as the three of them walked out the back door of the community hall. Off to the left of the open space was a big open-sided tent set up with tables of food under it. In front of the tent was a banner that read, ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKY!’ in bright yellow letters. People were crowded around the tent laughing and snacking even though the party hadn’t even started. Wolves sure do like to eat.

“Monkey!”

Turning, Becky looked toward where she’d heard her brother’s voice and saw he was now walking toward her. As he moved closer to the steps where she stood, she took off, jumping off the porch and into his arms.

“Big tree, I’ve missed your smiley face!” Becky informed Jeff as he spun her around in circles.

“Are you two ever going to grow up and be adults?” Papa asks in a laughing voice from behind Jeff when they’d stopped spinning.

Looking at him over Jeff’s shoulder at her grinning Papa, Becky grinned back as she said, “What’s the fun in that Papa? Grown-ups are boring, right Jeff?”

“Right!” Jeff exclaimed in agreement as he placed Becky’s feet back on the ground. He then gave her cheek a kiss before letting her go.

Becky weaved a bit until she reached her papa and he pulled her into a big hug. She hugged him tight as she breathed in the unique scent that was all him. She loved her papa so much.

Papa then laughed before picking Becky up and spinning around with her in his arms.

Becky laughed as she tilted her head back, feeling the breeze blowing through her hair. When Papa finally put her feet back on the ground, she felt like everything was still moving. She wondered if he hadn’t kept a grip on her if she would have hit the ground.

“Not bad for a grown-up,” Papa said in a teasing tone as he chuckled. “I’m still standing solid and you’re swaying.”

“Yeah well, I’ve been spun around twice now!” Becky reminded him as the world finally stopped moving. She then made her way back to Wyatt.

Wyatt pulled Becky into his arms and kissed the top of her head as he asked, “How about some cake?”

“Cake? I want cake!” Becky exclaimed with excitement.

“Come on then, let’s get this party started,” Mom encouraged as she led the way to the food tent.

Becky took hold of Wyatt’s hand and together they made their way across the yard behind Mom.

Mom stopped at the first table they came to. She then turned the music down that was blasting from the large speakers placed all around before picking up a mic. Next, she said, “Welcome everyone to Becky’s eighteenth birthday party!”

There was a lot of clapping before quiet once more descended on the crowd.

“The birthday girl has arrived so let’s cut the cake!” Mom finished.

The cheers were even louder this time as Becky stepped forward, along with Wyatt, and began to cut the first piece of cake. She cut a piece for herself and one for Wyatt before stepping back out of the way. Mom then finished cutting the cake as she handed out pieces to the ones that had formed a line.

Some of the people there Becky knew, and they all wished her a happy birthday. There were a lot of them that she’d never seen before. Wolves tend to be very sociable though, so she decided that most of the pack must have shown up.

“Happy Birthday Becky,” Alpha Bannon said as he went through the line.

“Thank you, sir,” Becky said quietly because the Alpha still made her nervous.

“Yes, Happy Birthday Becky, and welcome to our family.” This comment came from Alpha Stone who had two women standing next to him.

Becky smiled as she reached over to give Alpha Stone a hug. She then said, “Thank you, Uncle Alpha!”

“Is Wyatt treating you right? If he isn’t, I can have a word with him,” Alpha Stone teased as he gave Wyatt a hug.

“Yes, Wyatt is treating me like a queen, and I enjoy every bit of it, thank you,” Becky informed Alpha Stone.

“Since my mate is going to be rude and not introduce us to you, Becky, I’ll introduce myself. So, I’m Wyatt’s Aunt Maggie and this is his Aunt Jade,” one of the women next to Alpha Stone spoke up to say.

Becky looked at the two women and immediately saw Jade’s resemblance to Wyatt. Jade had the same dark hair and eyes as Wyatt and his Uncle. As for his Aunt Maggie, Becky decided that Wyatt’s cousin Ben looked like the male version of her. So, there was no mistaking that Maggie was Ben’s mother if you were to see them together.

“It is so nice to meet the two of you also,” Becky murmured politely as she gave each woman a hug. “Wyatt doesn’t talk much, so I’m afraid most of what I know about the two of you is what Uncle Alpha has told me.”

“Don’t worry about it honey, we know how Wyatt is,” Jade told Becky. “When Wyatt was little, he was a chatterbox, but as he grew, he became more solemn and quiet, so we expected no less from him. However, when you get to the Stone Pack, we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other then.”

“I’m just curious as to why you call my mate Uncle Alpha and not just Uncle?” Maggie asked.

“Oh, it’s simple really,” Becky said. “Wyatt calls him Uncle, or Shidá’í most of the time and since he is an Alpha, out of respect for him, I call him by his title. So, when you combine the two, you have Uncle Alpha.”

“Ah, but since you are family no one would think anything about you calling him Uncle James,” Maggie said.

“And I didn’t even know his name was James!” Becky exclaimed with a soft giggle. “It’s okay though, I like calling him Uncle Alpha, and he doesn’t seem to mind.”

Maggie smiled at Becky before looking over at Wyatt. She said, “I like her Wyatt, she will be good for you I believe. Your wolf picked well.”

Becky glanced up at Wyatt. She saw the glow of pride in his eye as he gave his Aunt Maggie a slight bow.

“Hey monkey, you finished with that piece of cake yet?” Jeff asked as he walked up and stood next to Wyatt. “They’re gonna play our song for us, so we can show everyone how dancing is done!”

Becky laughed at Jeff because he was being such a kid. His cheeks were red with excitement and he was almost bouncing on his toes at the thought of getting out on the dance floor.

“Do you mind if I go dance with my brother Wyatt?” Becky asked as she looked up at him.

“No, K’aalógii, I don’t mind. It’s your birthday, you go and enjoy yourself,” Wyatt answered as he let go of Becky’s hand. “I don’t really dance, but for you, I will dance a slow one with you later if you like,”

“I will hold you to that my love,” Becky told him. She then turned to Jeff, and holding out her hand, she waited for him to take it. When he had, she demanded, “Lead the way oh great one!”

With a chuckle, Jeff dragged Becky onto the dance floor just as the music began. Becky had to laugh at her brother’s choice in music because he’d picked ‘House Party’ by Sam Hunt.

“Make room and let us show all you left footed wolves how dancing is done Borman style!” Jeff yelled to the crowd.

Everyone moved back then to create a circle for them to dance in. By the time Jeff let Becky leave the dance floor they had danced three fast songs.

Becky was out of breath but was laughing because it had been a whole lot of fun. So, she told him, “I’m done for now Jeff. I’m going to find Wyatt and get something to drink.” She then walked off to find Wyatt, finding him still standing with Alpha Bannon and his Uncle. Running up behind him, she jumped up onto his back.

“Oof!” Wyatt exclaimed as he rocked on his heels.

“You knew I was coming, didn’t you?” Becky asked as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I always know where you’re at, K’aalógii. What kind of mate would I be if I didn’t?” Wyatt asked Becky solemnly.

“You’re a good mate Wyatt,” Becky declared and gave him another kiss on the cheek. She then reached for his cup as she asked, “Can I have some of your drink? What is it anyway?”

“It’s some kind of fruit punch I believe,” Wyatt told her as he let her take hold of the cup.

Taking a long drink, Becky gave a sigh of pleasure at finally having something to quench her thirst. She had just finished it and was about to hand the cup back to him when she heard him let out a light growl. It began slowly in his chest and she could almost feel the anger rolling off him. As his growls grew louder, Becky noticed the other wolves had stopped what they were doing to watch Wyatt. Some watched with curiosity and some watched with what looked more like fear.

So, Becky followed Wyatt’s gaze to see what had caused him to be so angry. There, just stepping off the porch, was Cherry with a man Becky assumed was her mate.

Becky groaned, thinking, I could kick myself right about now for forgetting to talk to Wyatt about Cherry before the party. She huffed, well too late now for that, so I’ll just have to do damage control now. So, quickly jumping off Wyatt’s back and placing the cup on the table, she grabbed hold of his arm before he could begin stalking toward Cherry. She then softly said, “Wyatt, Wyatt look at me.”

Wyatt continued to growl, so Becky reached her hand up, trying to wrap her hand around his neck. She almost gave her own growl then because even on her tiptoes she could just barely reach his neck! How am I going to get his attention if I can’t pull his head down, so he’ll focus on me instead of Cherry? She thought to herself. Finally, grunting in the effort, she gave a little jump. It gave her just enough boost that she was able to get her hands around his neck. Then she just hung off him like a cat hanging from a tree.

Someone had turned the music off, and now everyone was watching and listening. Their eyes bounced back and forth between where Becky and Wyatt stood, and where Cherry and her mate stood.

Becky then saw her mom was heading toward them. Mom had barely taken two steps though before Papa was stopping her with a hand on her arm and a slight shake of the head.

“Why is she here? I told her to stay away from you!” Wyatt growled, his eyes still on Cherry even with Becky hanging from his neck.

Cherry heard Wyatt and stopped moving, like a deer caught in headlights. Her mate put his arms around her.

Becky took a deep breath and whispered, “Wyatt.”

Finally, Wyatt looked down at her

Becky stared deep into his eyes, watching as they flickered red in his anger. She knew his wolf was coming out and it wasn’t a good thing to be happening right now, so she murmured, “Stay calm for me, my love. I want to ask you something, and I know this isn’t the best time, but forget about Cherry for now. I need you to listen to what I’m about to ask you okay.”

Wyatt gave a slight nod, although his eyes continued to change from dark to red as he tried to control his anger.

Becky, now having his complete attention, dropped to the ground as she began, “Okay, a she-wolf meets her mate, and he is from a different pack then her. This thrills them both because neither one of them are happy in the pack they’re in. He isn’t happy because his pack has never accepted him because he’s different. She isn’t happy because she’s done a lot of things she would rather forget and thinks a fresh start would be good. So, even though they have quickly fallen for each other, as mates should, they argue about where they should go live.”

Wyatt’s eyes have now changed color again. They’re still red, but they have a gold ring around them. He seems to be watching and listening intently at this point.

So, feeling encouraged, Becky continues, “So both of them are unhappy, each pushing to go to the other one’s pack. What should they do?”

“I do not understand why you ask me this,” Wyatt growls.

Becky tilted her head and gave him a look, raising her eyebrows.

With a slight huff, he then adds, “They should talk to one of their Alphas, get advice on what their best move would be.”

“Yes, and that is what I told them, but I want to know what YOUR opinion would be. You have alpha blood Wyatt and could someday be Alpha if you wish to be. So, as an alpha, what would you tell them?” Becky asked once more.

The crowd seemed to hold their breath as they waited for him to speak.

“Yes, K’aalógii, I have alpha blood in me, but my warrior blood has ruled me for a long time,” Wyatt reminded her. “I am not the right person to ask this, talk to my Shidá’í or Alpha Bannon, they can help much more than I can.”

Becky continued to hold his gaze and saw he had calmed. She also noted that his eyes were slowly returning to their normal dark brown. She knew what he was saying, but she also knew that his alpha side and his warrior side needed to work together, not against each other. It was like he had a split personality and he needed both sides to work as one so he could begin to heal. With this thought in mind, Becky murmured, “I understand that Wyatt, I do, but I also know that when I started my story your alpha side was curious. Surely he has an opinion.”

Wyatt’s eyes flared, his eye color once more shifting.

Becky feared she might have overstepped her bounds with her comment. Alpha wolves didn’t like to be questioned, not even by their mates.

“Curious? Perhaps. But it really isn’t my concern what goes on in someone else’s pack, now is it, Precious?” Wyatt almost growled as his eyes once more glowed red and gold.