His Redemption (Complete His Series)

Azalea

“So, does that sound okay?” Missy asked me. I could tell she was a bit nervous about her request, but I couldn’t imagine why.

“Of course! I would love to throw a party for both of you!” I told her with a giant smile. She came up to my office after lunch to talk to me about her birthday. She nervously asked me if Maddox could celebrate with her.

“And we can have strawberry cake?” she asked.

“Why don’t I make a cake for each of you? You hate strawberries, and there is no reason I can’t make you each one,” I suggested.

“No, no. That’s too much. Just a strawberry one,” she said adamantly. I smiled at my brilliant daughter. I knew she was using Maddox to lessen the attention that would be on her, but I was still proud of her for considering someone else.

“Alright,” I agreed, knowing I was still going to make her a special cake.

“Thanks, Lea,” she said brightly, her shoulder relaxed now. “This will be a lot of fun, I’m sure.”

“Alright. You go on. I have a party for two teens to plan now,” I said excitedly.

Missy left my office, and I knew I needed to tell Liam right away. She left my door open, and I could see Azeron standing in the hallway. So far, I was happy with his presence. I still felt way too embarrassed by Liam coming to carry me everywhere to let Azeron even try, but he annoyed me far less than Robert and Declan. He was a little more talkative than Felix too. I already learned that he does have a mate who will also be joining our pack. He showed me a picture of the man; I think they complimented each other nicely, and I was looking forward to meeting him.

“Liam,” I linked him.

“Yes, Little Luna?” he replied. He sounded a bit distracted.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No, baby. Never.”

“Missy wants her party to be for Maddox as well,” I told him.

“Really?”

“She even insisted I make a strawberry cake because it’s his favorite.”

“She doesn’t like strawberries at all,” he commented.

“I know.” I couldn’t help but smile. The thought of Maddox and Missy possibly being mates had popped into my mind a few times. I would happily accept whoever her mate was as long as they were good to my daughter. I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t hoping just a bit for it to be Maddox. I hope she was excited to find her mate; I wanted her mate bond experience to be better than mine.

“So, we are throwing a party then?”

“Yes, for both of them.”

“Whatever my girls want,” Liam agreed readily.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you, too.”

Liam

Azalea has been cheery all day, starting to put things in place for Missy and Maddox’s birthday. She had a little over a week, but she only needed a few days. The only thing I was responsible for was the present. I made a mental note to give Missy my credit card and send her with Felix so she could get Maddox a gift as well; I was sure she would want to.

Azalea being happy and relaxed was good for me. My mind wasn’t bogged down by her emotions feeding through our link. I trained with Maddox and Junior for a bit longer before I headed back into the packhouse. Azalea wanted to sit in the kitchen with Marci and begin planning, so I helped her before heading to my office. Langston was heading back to his own pack but didn’t hesitate to express how impressed he was with Maddox before he left.

“Damien, any word yet?” I linked him.

“They just crossed the border. Patrol informed me. He should be here any minute,” Damien replied.

“I’ll be up in my office,” I said. I sat down at my desk, knowing it wouldn’t be long. This was important for the situation moving forward. I opened my phone and cleared out superfluous notifications. I didn’t have to wait long before Damien came into my office, followed by one of our warriors. I set my phone aside and gave them my undivided attention.

Damien stood at the side of my desk while the warrior stood in front of me, bowing in respect. “Please, sit,” I said. He nodded. “So, were we correct about the next area to be attacked?”

“Yes, we were. I found what I believe to be an entire pack reduced to a smoking pile of ash,” he explained.

“Were you able to collect any information on missing persons nearby?”

“There was an increase in reported missing persons for the three days I was there, but there was no other news coverage that indicated there was a trend being discovered.” I nodded my head.

“So, the pattern Lacey identified is true,” I muttered. Damien nodded.

“Did you run into any suspicious persons?” Damien asked.

“No, sir,” he answered. “It took me a while to find the pack in the area. The woods were dense, and it was well away from other populated areas. By the time I got there, everything was ash and burnt out. But I did find something.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. After opening and clicking through some things, he turned it towards me. I leaned forward and took it from him, observing the photo on the screen. It was a picture of a sign crudely erected among the destroyed area around it. The sign read, “Ready or not Blackfur.”

I stared at the photo for a minute more before turning it to Damien. He took the phone from me, also studying the picture. “Can you have a report done by tomorrow morning?” I asked him while Damien studied the picture.

“Yes, Alpha,” he said. He stood, bowing his head slightly before he left my office. I looked at Damien, waiting for his thoughts.

“He knows we are on to him now,” Damien said.

“Well, he had my pups kidnapped, and there were vampires in the camp. It is not hard to connect the dots,” I proffered.

“True,” he said, eyes still on the screen.

“The question is, what should we be ready for?”

–

Missy

It’s been a few days since I asked Lea if Maddox and I could have a party together. She has been so happy ever since. Of course, when my grandparents found out, my grandmother wasn’t too happy. She tried to corner me and convince me otherwise, saying it wouldn’t look good for the Alpha’s child to be throwing a party with a new member of the pack and an orphan. Luckily, Liam swooped in and saved me from that, scolding his mother promptly.

This morning, Liam asked Maddox to watch the boys today then pulled me aside to give me his credit card. He told me that Felix would take me to the city to get Maddox a present and to go ahead and get anything I needed for school this year, too, since Lea is too pregnant to go shopping with me. I wanted to ask him if I could wait and go with Lemon but decided against it as I began to worry about what to get Maddox. I had a few ideas, but I wasn’t entirely sure he would like them.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I wiggled it out from my seated position in the passenger side of the car. Felix was driving us to the city. I had my headphones in so he wouldn’t be subjected to my erratic music switching.

V

| dinner?

ME

| tonight?

V

| please? I want to give you your birthday present

Me

| let me see what I can do

I switched over to my conversation with Lea.

ME

| can i go out tonight?

LEA

| As long as someone is with you. You know how your dad feels right now. Where are you going?

ME

| idk. V asked me to dinner

LEA

| Then you don’t want Maddox going?

Me

| …

LEA

| Ask Felix if he will take you. I’ll take care of everything else.

Lea is probably the best parent a kid could ask for. I always felt bad when I saw the sad look in her eye when she watched the boys play sometimes. I don’t know what it’s about, but she doesn’t deserve to be sad about anything. I looked at Felix through the corner of my eye, and he was focused on the road ahead of us. I pulled one of my headphones from my ear and paused the music playing in the background of my phone.

“Uh, Felix?” I asked. He raised his eyebrow in a bored way and gave me a sideways glance. “So, Vlad wants to take me to dinner tonight and give me my birthday present. I know it’s like three days away, but I sort of want to go….” I trailed off. He seemed to be listening but with his eyes still on the road.

“The thing is, Maddox and Vlad don’t get along real well,” I continued. He gave a sarcastic snort. “I was wondering if maybe you could go instead? Lea said to ask you, and she would take care of the boys and tell Liam.”

He quietly drove for a minute as I held my breath, waiting for his response. Finally, he nodded his head, saying nothing more. “Thanks, Felix,” I said quietly before turning back to my phone.

ME

| i can go but Felix is tagging along

V

| i can work with that

| can i pick you up at 6 ?

ME

| sure. dress ?

V

| casual is fine

| i can’t wait to see you

I closed my phone and left the conversation there. I was still a little nervous after not seeing since that night at the cabin. I still didn’t know where we stood. I wish I already knew how my birthday would turn out so that I could avoid all this anxiety.

–

When we got to the mall, I started with my school clothes, thinking that was the easiest to accomplish and it would give me more time to think about Maddox’s present. Felix didn’t seem to mind trailing around with me, although I am sure I was getting some fascinating looks. I tried to ignore them, but it is a bit odd for a giant man like Felix to be casually strolling around with a teenage girl. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if he weren’t so silent and broody all the time. Luckily, I didn’t need that many things. Being almost 17, I was just about done growing. I picked out a few new shirts and a couple of pairs of jeans to replace some of my older, more worn ones. I also picked out a new sweater. Even though werewolves were naturally warmer, I still enjoyed wearing sweaters and cardigans, especially in the fall and winter. Fall fashion was my style; summer is for the birds.

After I was done clothes shopping, Felix and I hit the food court for some lunch. I pushed my lo mein around the styrofoam container in silence, trying to think of the perfect gift for Maddox. I could feel Felix’s eyes on me when he finished inhaling his meal. He usually ate like that: shoveling it in his mouth and not coming up for air until his plate was clean.

I looked up to his questioning gaze. “I can’t decide what to get Maddox for his birthday,” I told him. “Any ideas?”

He didn’t respond at first, continuing to give me a curious stare. I sighed heavily and shoved a bite of Chinese in my mouth. When I looked up again, he had a smirk on his face.