Gypsy Moon

Chapter Sixty-three: Tia

. . . . . . (early June)

Gyam snapped to attention and launched out of his seat, slapping an alarm button near the door as he bolted through. Bryce and Samuel burst out of the Alpha's office and both of them vaulted the railing, dropping effortlessly to the ground floor as Sinah came jogging in, flanked by Rafe and Vass. Bryce automatically checked Sinah and Donovan over while Samuel collected the children of the pack as they streamed in with their guardians.

"I'm fine, Bryce. Aiden ran off suddenly and then the alarm sounded."

"Aiden dispatched a patrol team to investigate some rogues. They must have called for backup." Sinah nodded at baby Donovan in her arms and I eagerly accepted, taking him from her with a grin.

"Gyam hit the alarm as he left." I rubbed my nose on Donovan's and he burbled happily. Bryce and Sinah nodded in understanding.

"Hey, I will take it as a compliment that he left your protection in my care." Bryce bowed with a flourish, and we could feel Samuel's deep laughter across the room.

"Treasure, I'm afraid he is trusting me." The pack children giggled as three of them tried to climb the giant man. A broad grin split his face as the pack of children began jumping and begging to play with his bear.

"All right, little ones, I will let Marcel come out to play, but we have to move the furniture first. He's not really supposed to be in the house." Happy squealing filled the common room, and the furniture found its way to the walls in very short order. "Now stay back behind your guardians while I shift, Marcel is very big." Sinah snickered and shot Bryce a look that earned her a blush and I giggled. The pack children obediently lined up near the kitchen and covered their eyes after a few gentle admonishments from the kitchen wolves.

Samuel stripped quickly and crouched down to begin his shift. Thick fur began sprouting as soon as his first bone cracked and his form seemed to swell, making the large room seem small suddenly. One of the little girls squealed excitedly, having peeked, of course, and the common room was immediately filled with excited chatter and squeals from the rest of the cubs as Samuel completed his shift and let Marcel take over.

Marcel lifted himself with his hind legs and stood to his full height. Kodiak bears are the second largest bears in the world. A Kodiak werebear is about the same size as an Indian elephant. He was easily twelve feet tall, his huge limbs covered in thick, glossy chocolate brown fur. The children began chanting 'roar' and his laughter shook the floor. He dropped to all fours and stretched his neck forward, letting out a deep, rumbling bellow that caused the windows to shiver and the cubs to erupt into cheering.

He let the children bowl him over onto his back as they rushed towards him and jumped onto him. He very carefully kept his dangerously long claws curled close to the pads of his paws, growling playfully as the cubs swarmed him. Bryce relaxed against the kitchen island, and I pushed a plate of brownies towards him so I could put baby Donovan on the island on his tummy. He immediately busied himself in trying to reach the plate I had just pushed aside and Sinah laughed at her son.

Sinah gasped suddenly and the brownie in her hand dropped unnoticed to the floor. The Campus Police all jerked to attention as one, dropped what they were holding and bolted from the packhouse, shifting as soon as they were clear. Sinah had a hand on her breast, panic filling her eyes when a sudden emptiness hit me, as if Gyam had disappeared. It passed after a moment and I blinked rapidly, focusing on my wolf, Maisa.

/:Lock down the packhouse.:/ I nodded and scooped Donovan up, turning to a wall panel next to the refrigerator. I punched a couple of buttons and a high-pitched whistle sounded, making everyone freeze. Marcel rolled to his feet quickly, the pack cubs were quickly running to the kitchen like they were trained. He shifted back to Samuel's form briefly and took position outside the doors, shifting back to his bear as I hit the button to send the door bolts home.

/:Tend Sinah.:/

Bryce had Sinah in his arms, but he was shaking with suppressed emotion, and she was not calming down. Her eyes kept flashing as Selene fought for dominance. The kitchen wolves were following lockdown procedures flawlessly, counting the children, sorting them by families, and keeping them calm. If fighting came anywhere near the packhouse, they would be moved through the escape tunnels built in the back of the walk-in freezer.

My mom ran up to me with a look and took baby Donovan so I could turn my attention to Sinah.

"Luna! You have to calm down! Gyam is with him, and he will die before he lets something happen to Aiden." Her eyes were wide, and tears were running down her cheeks.

"I can't feel him!" She was breathing in quick little hitches, and I pinched her arm hard. "Ow!"

"You need to breathe. Take a deep breath." I shook her to get her attention and she drew in a shuddering breath. "Gyam. Is. With. Him." I punctuated my words with little shakes and her breathing steadied. Bryce frowned.

"I can't feel him either... or Gyam..." I shook my head.

"Gyam is alive. He faded for a moment, but he's back. I can't hear him, but I can feel our bond still." I closed my eyes for a moment. "He's calm. Well, calm for him, he's furious, but not afraid." Sinah accepted her son back from my mom, hugging him close.

I caught sight of Kyle and Lilian pulling up in front of the packhouse on ATVs, both armed with shotguns, most likely loaded with wolfsbane rounds. A loose circle of pack warriors ran up with them and spread out in pairs around the courtyard, every hair of their bodies on full alert.

An eerie silence blanketed the campus as everyone just... waited. Sinah and Bryce sighed in relief simultaneously after a long fifteen minutes, Aiden's presence returned to the pack bond and even the cubs seemed to breathe a little easier, being able to feel their Alpha was still alive.

A nervous buzz filled the house as time ticked by slowly. A flat wall of hatred suddenly struck my link with Gyam before he shut it down fully. I bit my lip nervously, waiting for my mate to return.

. . . . . .