The Red Diamond Dragon

You Met Her Already

Johnathan

I woke up to my internal alarm, knowing there was training today, the warmth in my arms bringing me back to reality. Madeline was wrapped around me, peacefully sleeping. If it had been any other day, I would have told Xander to train without me, but I could not miss today. It was the one thing they asked me to handle. I carefully detangled myself from her, placing a pillow next to her and quietly dressing, doing everything possible not to wake her. Downstairs, Mrs. Lamont was already starting on the morning tasks. She was a sweet elderly woman who acted motherly toward everyone. She would be perfect for Madeline. When I told her about my mate, she launched into a hug that was surprisingly fierce. I chuckled, letting her know to make sure Madeline ate a full breakfast.

I arrived at the training field at the same time as our leadership team. Though training is not required today, we offer it to any packs who would like to join for some sparring or technique advice. It is a good way to see which packs were serious about their training and protecting their packs. Those are the ones we want to align with. I was standing with Xander and the rest of the leadership team when Liam, Meg, and Jax showed up. They had volunteered to help with training, a dedicated group of warriors with a bright future. I watched as Meg stopped in her tracks, smacking both Liam and Jax on the chest to get their attention.

“What are you so happy about this morning, General?” she asked, looking closely at me.

“It’s just a good morning to be training.” I brushed it off, but still had a smile.

“I call bull sh.it.” Jax shot at me. “Wait, did you get laid last night?”

“No, and is that appropriate to say to your general?” I huffed back but was not angry, I was in too good a mood to get angry.

“No, this looks like something more than that…” Liam mused.

Meg had an excited look. “You found your mate!” She exclaimed.

I could not have stopped smiling if I had tried, and the guys around me chuckled.

Meg started jumping up and down while the other two groaned. “He did! I knew it! I win, I win, I win!” She was doing a victory dance.

“Betting on your trainers may not be wise,” Xander said. “This means you bet against me.”

“Worth it!” She said, still smiling. “Is she awesome? Is she a warrior? Is she nice? Please tell me she is nice and not one of those slutty girls?”

I chuckled at her excitement. “Not a warrior and very sweet."

“When do we get to meet her?” Liam finally chimed in over Meg celebrating.

“I believe you already met her yesterday.” I looked at him pointedly.

Meg stopped dead in her tracks. “Madeline?” I nodded, watching them all smile, looking at each other.

“We were hoping she would find a mate and stay here,” Liam said. “Lots of guys are about to be disappointed when they find out.” He laughed, looking at Jax.

“Alas, my heart must go on to find another,” Jax said dramatically, making us laugh.

Several packs joined us for morning training. I was not surprised to see that the Desert Moon pack leadership was not there. One of their low-ranking warriors showed up, a man named Garrett who was one of the few brave enough to ask me for one-on-one sparring. I worked with him for a while; he had potential, was willing to learn, and would rank up fast. I paired him with Liam, who seemed enthusiastic about training Garrett, and they worked well together. I offered the invitation for him to come back anytime, and we would be willing to work with him. He shook my hand enthusiastically, thanking me.

“Can we please come say good morning to Madeline?” Meg asked as everything wrapped up.

“Of course, I am sure she would be happy to see you all,” I replied, watching them all get excited. “Actually, I am taking her shopping today. Do you three have patrols?”

“We do this afternoon,” Liam replied.

“Actually, Beta Joseph from Forrest Moon offered to have some of his warriors cover if we needed them. I can call and see if they are willing?” Nikolai offered.

“I would appreciate it.” I gave Nikolai a grateful look. “I would like you three to go as Madeline’s security detail, but don’t make it seem like security. I know I can not be with her the entire day.” They all nodded excitedly before taking off to get ready for the day.

“Meet me at my house when you are ready,” I called after them before heading home.

I walked in to hear soft laughter coming from the kitchen. Madeline was talking to Ms. Lamont, who, I am sure, was telling her stories about the pack and me. I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head. “Did you sleep well, Angel?”

“I slept amazingly! That bed is the stuff dreams are made of. How did your training go?” She asked while Ms. Lamont slid a large plate in front of me.

“It went well; we even had a young man from your old pack there who was enthusiastic about learning. His name is Garrett. Do you know him?” I asked.

“I do, Garrett works at the library and wants to be an elite warrior. He is a good soul. Always reading about combat and willing to learn. He would be an amazing asset to any team if only given the chance.” She replied, and I was glad to hear it.

“I agree with that. He was one of the few brave enough to ask me to spar with him. He is a quick learner and blends well with my specialty warriors. I invited him back to train anytime, so I will keep an eye on him. The rest of the crew should be here soon to head out shopping, so pick something comfy to wear that’s easy to change in and out of. We will be stopping at the dress shop first; a friend of mine, Natalia, owns it. She’s loud and crazy, just so you have a heads up,” I laughed. "Now go get changed,” I said as I heard a knock on the door that opened to a very enthusiastic Meg who ran past me, engulfing Madeline in a warm hug. The girls went upstairs to get Madeline ready. I was glad Meg was the first one here.

The door opened again as Nikolai and Zyanna walked in. I directed Zyanna upstairs to the girls and turned to Nikolai, “Do you happen to know if Mavis is around right now?” I asked him, Mavis is Zyanna’s Grandma, although she and the kids call her Grams. She is a witch/ vampire that lives on the outskirts of the Pack, or with her soul connection at his coven, they mostly split time equally.

“She is at home watching the boys for us and keeping away from all the chaos of the packs being here. Did you need to see her?” he asked.

“I need to see if she will come take a look at Madeline. I can feel the bond, but it comes sometimes in waves. It really seems like something is blocking her, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. She claims to be wolf-less, but I don’t think she is fully a wolf or maybe even a wolf at all. I definitely know she is not human. I didn’t want to ask Zyanna due to the pregnancy; the additional strain would not be good, I’m sure,” I told him.

“I would suggest having Grams and Zyanna take a look at this situation together. Zy is stronger than you think, and I think this baby is going to be a girl as well as the next generation Seer. It may boost what they can do by technically having three generations, four if you add Zy’s mom, Kristine.” He said.

“Makes sense, would you mind asking Zy if she could come down with Mavis or Kristine in the morning. I feel like today is going to be a lot for Madeline.” I said just as the girls came down the stairs. Madeline was dressed in black leggings and the long, soft cream top that was laid out last night.

“You look lovely, Madeline,” I said, kissing her temple. Just as Liam and Jax came in, also tackled her into a hug. I felt possessive, but at the same time, happy she had such good friends already.

We arrived at the Mall outside the Forrest Moon Pack, our neighboring pack. It has a lot of shifter-owned stores as well as human-owned ones. We headed straight to Natalia’s shop, which was sleek-looking on the outside with a large, ornate N on the front. Natalia greeted us on arrival with her usual loud gusto. “My favorite family, I see has finally come to see me she said hugging all of us before her eyes settled on Madeline. “Finally, you have brought me a queen worthy of dressing for you.” She said looking over Madeline.

“This is my Mate. Madeline, this is the infamous Natalia,” I said with a flourish. Natalia rolled her eyes at me, holding onto Madeline’s hands and looking her over. I could see Madeline’s nervousness.

“Absolutely Beautiful! I cannot wait to dress these curves, and with your incredible skin, I think I have just the thing!” She said excitedly. I wanted to see Madeline really shine today and tomorrow. We walked back into the private design area, where a mannequin was with a stunning dress. It was an off-the-shoulder red dress with heavy gold thread woven through it in a swirled design that blended to more gold along the bottom, which had a slit up the side showing a rich red underneath. The dress had a corset top and was gathered at the waist, the heavy fabric pooling on the floor. The entire dress sparkled with each turn of the light. It also suspiciously looked to be Madeline’s size. I looked between Natalia and Zyanna. “You cheeky little devils! When did you tell Natalia?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Two months ago, I was able to give Natalia a projected image of Madeline.” Zy smiled.

“What good is having a Seer as my daughter if you don’t share these things?” I said, eyeing her.

“Not all visions are meant to be shared, Papa Bear, and I couldn’t tell the exact time of the meeting. On that note, I think you need to leave it to us girls so you can be surprised by this beauty at the Ball,” Zy said.

Natalia smiled warmly at me and quietly handed me a sample square of the dress material with red and gold colors on it. I trust Zyanna and Meg completely to watch over everything. After a quick kiss for Madeline, I left, nodding at Liam and Jax on my way out, who were posted outside of the store already in protection mode.

Time to start spoiling my Angel, I thought as I went into a jewelry store, one of my dear friends, Frederick, owned.