Saying Goodbye
1742 Words
Skylar awoke with a startle early in the morning. She knew they were leaving the Snowy Range Pack territory in a few short hours. As Victoria had promised, all of their belongings were packed into trunks and suitcases, ready to be loaded on the jets as soon as the sun came up. She looked around the room; Donnie and Mel were sound asleep in their cribs. This was the first time they slept the whole night through. Skylar thought that must be part of Victoria's doing as well.
Skylar rolled over onto her side and stared at James, and whispered, "I love you so very much. I know I have been a handful and not acting very much like a queen, but you have been putting up with me nonetheless".
James reached out and pulled her into his chest, "Loving you is the easy part. Dealing with your parents is a whole other story."
Skylar giggled; she tilted her head up to his and kissed him until he pulled away to catch his breath. "I thought you were sleeping," She sighed.
"I have been sleeping a little here and there, but I have been too worried about you to get much sleep. How are you?" James asked as he pulled back enough to see her face.
"I know we have to leave. Victoria said that we needed to move on. Our family says it is time to go. I just hate leaving with all the unknown happening. How are you, honey?" Skylar sighed, asking.
James pulled her closer and just shook his head, "I wish I could tell you that I agree with Victoria and your parents. I just feel that us leaving during this uncertainty will cause more evilness to happen. I want to keep them safe, but we must do what we were born to do. The Lupinomican has been adding information for the last few days. We do not know the cause, but Sadie and Dylan were pouring over the book when I came to bed last night."
"Really, why didn't you tell me? You could have woke me up. That's important. I am going to go see if they are still studying it," Skylar went to raise from the bed, but James held her tighter.
"Skylar, baby, it is 3:30 in the morning. We will need to get up and leave soon. Please let it wait," James pleaded.
"You know that I won't get any rest until I find out what else the book has written. What does it mean for us? Is there something that we are all missing?" Skylar kept firing off questions.
James sighed, "I do know. I also know that if I try to keep you here, you will sneak out as soon as I doze off."
Skylar laughed, "Well, are we doing this together or, do I have to go by myself?"
James just shook his head as he stood and pulled on the clothes he had laid out for the day, "I won't sleep without you here. I might as well go with you." he complained in a joking manner.
As Skylar and James made their way down to the conference room, the light was on, and the voices of Sadie, Dylan, and Jerrika were coming from the room.
Jerrika sighed, "This is crazy. There is no way to study through all of this. It is already fifteen til four. We are scheduled to live at six. None of us have had any sleep. I know we are supposed to travel by wolf to the council city in Wyoming. That way, we don't miss any possible packs between here and there. I don't know if I will be a good protector if I don't, at least, get a couple of hours of sleep. Mitch is out doing his part and rerunning the perimeter. I told him that we needed sleep, but he says he feels something is off. Good night guys," Jerrika turned to open the door at the same moment that Skylar opened it.
"Sorry to bother you guys. But why wasn't I invited to the pow-wow?" Skylar asked with a laugh.
Sadie looked up at her twin sister, "We wanted to include you, but you got hotheaded and stormed off."
Skylar laughed, "Hotheaded about sums up how I have been acting lately. I want to apologize to all of you."
Spending the next few hours studying the Lupinomican, it was time to start their journey. They had no more information about the journey now than when they first started. As they all lined up to tell each pack member goodbye and offer words of encouragement, Skylar and James placed their crowns on their heads where they would stay for the remainder of all time.
Normally, the Alpha, Luna, Beta, and Delta would start the line of farewells. However, with those being Skylar and Sadie's parents, they opted to go last. Each member offered a gift and asked a single question. Some of the questions were complex and couldn't be answered yet, but they promised to write with the answers.
At long last, the end of the line came at just before seven. Skylar stepped forward to hug Jackson, "I love you, Dad. Thank you for everything that you have done for me over the years."
Jackson smiled, "I wish I would have been able to do more. I am sorry that you have been robbed of so much of my time."
"Not your fault at all. I don't hold it against you, and you shouldn't either," Skylar said.
"Sarah, take care of this old man," Skylar said as she hugged her stepmom.
Sarah laughed, "We will take care of each other. You take care of yourself, your sister, and our beautiful grandchildren."
Skylar sighed, "I will do the best I can. I can't believe it hasn't even been a year since we were reunited."
"Are you talking about me?" Sadie said, laughing.
"Yes, but nothing bad," Skylar said.
Melissa walked over and hugged her girls, "Take care of each other. I am so happy to see you both together, happy and healthy. Motherhood looks great on both of you."
Andre laughed, "They look sad to me. However, I think it is because they will leave their families behind to embark on a new adventure. We will miss you both. We will miss James and Dylan too but don't tell them."
James walked up behind Andre, "That's King James to you."
"Man, I will never get over you being able to sneak up behind me," Andre said, hugging his son-in-law. "I am going to miss our grandkids more than you all, though." He laughed at his own joke.
Skylar picked up her two-month-old daughter, "We will send pictures and call often. Don't worry; everything is going to be just fine."
"Yes, tons of pictures. We will email them. We will take videos when they start moving around more," Sadie stated as she picked up Billy, her three-month-old son.
Dylan picked up Donnie, Skylar, and James's son, "We will miss you all. If we don't leave now, the girls will never want to leave."
"Well, since we are saying goodbye for a while, I want my share of hugs and love," Jerrika said, pushing her way through the crowd.
Mitch laughed, "Woman, you have to stop being so pushy."
Jerrika turned her head to Mitch and stuck out her tongue.
Abby and Dalton walked up, "We are ready when you guys are."
"I am so excited about this adventure. I haven't left the pack territory since college. I am happy that you choose me as the doctor to go with you. Jessica is settling in well. She still misses Damien but is excited about her new role," Jessi chimed in.
Dr. Melton shook his head, "I am going to miss all of you."
"Don't get all sappy on me, Dad. I will text you and call you. Don't worry; I couldn't be in better company," Jessi smiled.
Beth walked up, "I didn't think I would ever leave this pack once I returned. But I will board the ship with the youngest and the guards while the rest of you travel by foot." Beth walked over to Jackson and pulled him to a hug, "I will do my best to take care of them both. All of your children are in excellent hands."
Sarah and Melissa pulled Beth into their arms together. Melissa smiled, "I couldn't ask for a better nanny for our grandchildren. After all, you helped raise our girls. We love you very much."
Skylar and James cuddled their twins and then passed them on to Beth. Becky laughed as she took Billy from Sadie, "I can't believe you were planning to leave me behind. I am traveling with Beth so that I can help her with these little ones."
Everyone shared a laugh. AnnaMarie, Rodney, Taylor, and Baylor all walked out to say their goodbyes to everyone else.
"We are heading back home today. Tiffany and Dustin are going to travel with us for a while," AnnaMarie said as she hugged James and then Skylar. "I love you both very much."
Rodney shook James's hand and smiled. Skylar gave him a quick hug, then bent down to gather her little brother and sister-laws into her arms, "You take care of them. They will need you now more than ever."
Baylor laughed her little laugh, "Becky taught me how to cook apple dumplings. I can't wait to go home and show Cookie."
Taylor shook his head, "James has been training me to fight. I can't wait to get back home and into the training program. Momma said it was ok."
Tiffany wiped tears, "I hate goodbyes. So I will say; until we meet again."
Dustin just nodded his head, "Take care. I know I have apologized a thousand times already, but I am truly sorry for everything I put your family through. I did love Melissa, but in the end, my grandmother had made me crazy. With my mother missing now, I am more lost than ever. I thank the Moon Goddess daily for giving me another chance with Tiffany."
They all stood in a circle before Skylar, James, Sadie, Dylan, Jerrika, Mitch, Abby, and Dalton all turned to walk to the edge of the forest and shift. Leaving before the home they loved and the pack that was their family.
- Writer
