Alpha Grant: Book 3 of The Alpha Series

32. Thanksgiving

Grant

It was the last day of school until December first because of Thanksgiving break. Which made me happy. I would get to drag Mads around with me every day and have the holiday with her. Normally, we would get to spend part of Thanksgiving together because our families were so close, but now we would get to spend every holiday together.

It was close to the end of the school day, so I walked to the school and stood out front with the parents of the pack. Ash’s dad, Milo, was here with me today and we stood there talking while waiting for the bell to ring. When the bell finally rang, Mads was the first one out of the building. She held the door as all of the pups ran out of the building and she waved bye to all of them. They all smiled and waved bye to her. Goddess, she was going to be an amazing mom in the future.

When everyone was out of school, she bounded down the steps to me and I chuckled at her. She was in a good mood and I have a feeling it’s because of the holiday break. I took her hand and we started to walk to the packhouse.

We stepped into the packhouse and we went to her office. I released her hand and she sat down at her desk while I sat in a chair close to her. She picked up a paper on her desk and handed it to me. I took it and looked at what was on it.

It was a list of businesses that were wanted and needed here at the pack and the person that wanted to run it. A hardware store was requested and a worker named Issak wanted to run it. One of the warriors named Wilder that came from Trinity Forest requested a bar and he wanted to be the tender. I shook my head while smiling about that, thinking it was funny.

Sybil had requested a bookstore and I thought it was a good idea. She wanted to run it and right away I planned on putting it close to Red Stone Lake. It would be a pretty spot to read for all the book lovers in the pack.

I looked up at Madison and smiled before asking, “What’s with the grouping of the coffee shop, ice cream shop and pizza parlor?”

“I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“Ok. What’s up?”

“I was thinking that instead of those three businesses being individual buildings, they could all be housed in one building with sections for those three things,” she suggested.

“That’s actually a really good idea,” I told her while nodding my head.

She smiled at me and I looked at the list even more. I saw an entertainment building with a question mark beside it.

I looked back up at Mads and asked, “An entertainment building?”

“Yeah. That’s another conversation for us to have really quick. I was thinking that we could bring our pack something like what we had back at Hunter’s Moon.”

“The bowling alley building?” I asked.

She nodded her head and said, “it could have a bowling alley, a theater and a large game room.”

“That would give everyone something to do on their days off and possibly some pups after school.”

“Exactly,” she told me happily.

I nodded my head and said, “I’ll get all of this in the works. Good job, Luna.”

She smiled brightly at me and said, “while you are doing that next week, I need to go to the clothing store and have a conversation with the manager.”

“About what?” I asked in concern.

“A gift store and toy store were requested by members but I figured those things would be better suited in the clothing store. I just need to go see about it.”

Damn her and Aksel had been busy and she was doing so good at this Luna thing. I loved her for all her hard work. She was going to make a big difference here.

“I’m proud of you, Mads,” I told her.

She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “I haven't done anything yet.”

“Yeah you have. You came in with a different mindset and a different way of thinking. That helps a lot.”

She smiled at me and turned a little red. I haven’t made her blush in a while but it was good to see that I could affect her like that still.

~

I had my crew get to work on the next buildings that Mads had commissioned for our pack.

On Monday, she got the clothing store on board with what she wanted and they put in an order of gifts to have on hand and toys for each age group of pups. Her plans were coming to life and I watched as it made her happier than ever.

Earlier this week, I thought that each of us would have Thanksgiving at our own homes, but Mads made me remember that there were a lot of pack members without houses that were unmated. When that realization dawned on me, I started freaking out because I didn’t have time to plan a meal for everyone with how busy I was. Mads told me she would handle it because it was part of her duties as Luna. I sighed in relief at that and knowing we were really a team. I would be lost without her.

Mads put together a Thanksgiving lunch with the packhouse kitchen for the entire pack like what we did back at Hunter’s Moon. She was slowly bringing the pack to life in a different way that I couldn’t. This is why every pack needed a strong and smart Luna.

During her week off from school while I was in my online classes, Mads got to work on festivals and holiday celebration plans in the future. I couldn’t wait to see what she all wanted to do. I know there would be a lot of celebrations like what we grew up with, but what else would she decide on?

It was now Thanksgiving day and we were at the front door of the packhouse dining hall greeting everyone as they walked in. I was wearing black dress pants and a dark orange button-up shirt. Mads had on dark blue jeans with tan knee high boots and a tan off the shoulder sweater. Her hair was back in a thick braid as usual, but she was gorgeous. Every time I got a chance I would steal a glance at her or just stare.

Otto and Aksel were standing there with us and they were greeting people as they walked in also. They both had on nice clothes for a change and Aksel had cleaned up his beard and gelled his hair. Otto had his hair back in a braid like Mads but he had a few colorful beads in it.

As we greeted people, Mads asked Otto, “how do you feel about Thanksgiving?”

“It’s a great fantasy to think that the natives and the white men that came here got along. In reality, it just marks the beginning of the g******e of my people,” Otto told her.

Shit. He was about to rain on her parade here but he was right. I couldn’t step in with any argument because the facts were there and we learned about them in history class in high school.

“If he hurts her, punch him in the damn face,” Skoll said.

“No. I want to see what will happen. Calm down,” I told him.

Mads nodded her head and asked, “What do you know of native werewolf history?”

Oh, she was good with her questions. I hadn’t even thought of that. What was that like for them? Were there packs of native werewolves? Was there a native werewolf Alpha out there that we didn’t know about?

“Our people were selected by the Moon Goddess before the white men came and before other packs came to settle the area. After a while, we sought shelter with the packs that settled here because of us being hunted like coyotes. We were taken in and treated no differently than other pack members,” Otto shared with us.

Mads stood there and thought before saying, “Then that’s what our Thanksgiving should be about. Bringing safety in numbers as wolves not basing things off of the race of humans.”

I smiled at her, then looked at Otto. He looked stunned by her but in a good way. I watched his wheels turning and he nodded his head in agreement. Not only was Mads smart, she was an amazing diplomat that I had at my side.

“She didn’t need our help in any way or your violence, Skoll,” Wraith said.

“Agreed. She can handle her own,” I said back.

“But what will you do when she can’t?” Skoll asked.

“I’ll use my words first, not my fists,” I told him.

She turned to Aksel and asked, “Do y’all have a thanksgiving back in Norway?”

“No. This is new to me,” Aksel told her.

“What do y’all celebrate then?”

“Christmas and we have feasts at the equinoxes and a few other days.”

She nodded her head and said, “I’ve already planned for some of those. Maybe next year we will have a Yule feast, then Christmas.”

He smiled at her and we finished greeting the guests. Once everyone was in the packhouse, the four of us took our seats and the meal was served. We ate turkey, fish, stuffing, grilled corn, cornbread, sauteed squash and pumpkin pie. We were stunned by Mads and all four of us turned to her as she sat there smiling brightly. She knew she had done a great job today.

We ate our fill of food and talked until we were done. We told members bye as they started to leave to go enjoy the rest of their day at home. Aksle, Otto, Mads and I all got up from our seats and left the packhouse last. I was so full, I was miserable.

When we reached our house, Mads and I told Otto and Aksel goodbye as we went inside and they went to their own homes further down the path. When we got inside, I walked into the living room and Mads followed me. I turned the TV on and lay down on the couch in misery with my stomach so full. Mads lay with me, cuddling close as she got comfortable.

“It’s so nap time,” I groaned.

She giggled and said, “you’re miserable yet happy. I can feel it.”

I nodded my head with my eyes closed. It wasn’t long and I felt her getting heavy with her head in the crook of my arm as she rested her hand on my chest. I relaxed and fell asleep with her, full of food and miserable as I slipped into a food coma.