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Trinity

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Since we had gotten home it had been quite busy. Consequently, I had not had the time to talk to or see my family since. Lila was there to help us with the kids when we first got home, but since then, I hadn't seen her much either.

What did this mean for me? It meant that I hadn't told any of them about the baby yet. They were all still excitedly awaiting the baby but I hadn't had the chance to tell them the truth. I just knew they were going to be upset.

Reece and I had asked everyone to please keep it quiet and let us tell our family. Noah and Carter already knew, but Mom and Dad, Grandfather, Lila, and Nikki did not. I had a feeling that the conversation about the baby was going to be a hard one.

I had sent word to everyone to please come for dinner that night. My parents and the others would come for a nice meal. Lila was already here but we would all eat together and discuss things.

There were other things to talk about as well. We needed to discuss the community construction and the running of the pack while we were gone. This was going to be a busy night.

Dinner started and things went smoothly. We sat together in the dining room surrounded by loved ones and delicious food. There were plenty of smiles and relieved feelings with the kids home and safe.

The cheerful laughing atmosphere was almost hypnotic. I really didn't want it to end, but I had to be the bearer of bad news and darken that happy mood. I cleared my throat so we could begin the discussion that we needed to have.

"Ok, everyone, there are a few things that Reece and I need to discuss with you all." I got them focused on me so we could move things along easier.

"Important business?" Grandfather asked, his old days as a beta still fresh in his mind as he thought of the situation.

"Yes." Reece answered for me.

"Has something else happened?" Mom was worried, fear filling her eyes.

"Nothing yet." I assured her, but letting her know it was still a possibility with Edmond still out there.

"Then what?" Nikki was scared. She had seen some of the troubles first hand and was worried about everyone's safety.

"I need to train, to prepare for the future. And to be ready for when I finally track down Edmond."

"Training is good though, isn't it?" Carter asked, confused as to why this would be something major.

"I won't be training here." I told them all, looking at each of them individually so I can see the looks on their faces. Of course Reece and Noah already knew. Carter was confused. Lila, Nikki and Mom didn't know what to think. Dad was worried. And Grandfather seemed as if he expected this.

"You're going with the Sentinelle, aren't you?" Grandfather's knowing look was definitely proof of his insight and intuition paying off.

"Yes." I nodded as I gave the answer. Gasps came from most of my family. They hadn't expected that I would be leaving again.

"You can't." Mom's voice was full of tears.

"Don't leave us again." Nikki was afraid for me.

"You need to stay close to home. You can't leave." Carter tried to put his foot down. Dad just looked at me while a tear streaked down his cheek, his silent words were heard loud and clear. He didn't want me to go but he knew it was the only way.

"I will be taking my guards, and Reece is coming as well. While I am there I will learn all that the Sentinelle and the magic council have to teach me."

"Magic council?" Carter was confused. "But you're going to the Sentinelle."

"Crawford and Eldrige will be coming with me."

"They will be training her simultaneously. We can't afford to waste time, so she will be learning all she can as quickly as she can." Reece explained.

"Just how powerful will you be?" Dad finally broke his silence as he looked at me, his face filled with a mix of worry and awe.

"I don't know. But while we were gone there was a new development with my status." I was embarrassed but I needed to tell them this part too. They all knew that I was half witch anyway.

"What?" They all asked at nearly the same time.

"It appears that I am not just the Luna Queen, leader of all shifters."

"What else are you then?" Carter was the only one who knew, but he had kept his mouth shut so Mom was at a loss as she asked this question.

"She is also the Queen of the Warlocks and Witches." Carter answered.

"She ascended to that position before we rescued the children." Noah added.

"How is that possible? How did it even happen?" Grandfather was at a loss for word.

"The God Thoth showed himself to her personally." Noah told him. "He blessed her with his Ankh and now she has more marks than she did before."

I sat there, wanting to squirm, as all of them looked at me curiously. Their expressions ranged from scared and awed to excited and awed. I knew they would be curious and would want all the details, so I decided to just tell them, and explain all the marks.

"And these new marks have already been put to use?" Dad was shocked.

"Yes. It seems that I am getting better at calling on my powers."

"Then training shouldn't take you very long." Carter was happy to hear that.

"I'm hoping it won't, but I also need to learn about our histories. I need to know where both the shifters and warlocks have been so that I can keep us moving forward and not repeat the mistakes of the past."

"That is very wise of you. That is why you will be a wonderful leader." Grandfather smiled at me. "You are a wonderfully smart woman Trinity."

"If I am, it is only thanks to those who were there for me as I grew up." That brought a smile to the faces of my family.

We spent a few more minutes discussing what Noah would have to do while we were gone. Grandfather offered to help Noah with the work as he was an experienced Beta as well.

I also wanted to get a committee together to work on the community we were planning. Lila, Mom, and Nikki were very excited to hear about that adventure. They wanted to help people as well and this would give them that chance.

The three of them eagerly started planning what types of buildings we should have. They wanted it to be a self-sufficient community with stores and daycares. Eventually we might even start a school system there.

"There is one more thing for us to build." I told them.

"What's that." Lila asked me, curiosity on her face.

"We need a department of child services of sorts. An orphanage if you will."

"What?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why do we need that?" Everyone was shocked, it seemed that, once again, only Reece could follow my train of thought.

"You want to bring other orphaned and homeless supernatural children here, right?" He asked me. "I agree wholeheartedly. There are too many displaced supernaturals in this world, and many of them don't know anything about their heritage because they are raised in the system. There are always problems when these children have their first change in foster care."

"Exactly." I smiled at my mate, he really was smart after all, and he definitely understood me.

"That's a great idea." Lila beamed.

"You have always been so full of compassion." Mom smiled at me.

"Will we be able to help them?" Nikki was a little skeptical but she still wanted to help.

"I'm sure we can manipulate the system. With help from Rawlynne and Jackson we will find them. And Juniper can help to heal them."

"Heal them?" Nikki smiled. "Does she have a special skill set or something? That's enviable."

"She does." I left it at that, I didn't need to go into too much detail.

After that discussion we all moved to the living room to drink some wine and talk some more. The sheer amount of passion and ideas my family had for the community was wonderful and it would take a long time to narrow it all down to what was most important.

Mom looked over at me with shock on her face as I sipped a small glass of the red liquid.

"Trinity, what on earth do you think you're doing?" She snapped at me.

"I know I am not twenty-one, but does that really matter?"

"It's not that, it's the baby. Put that glass down this instant." Lila got just as irate as mom did as she tagged along with her yelling at me.

"About that." I lowered my head, tears filling my eyes. I had needed to tell them about this subject but I was still nervous and scared. At least I didn't have to be the one to bring it up.

"It's ok Mom." Reece tried to calm Lila down.

"It most definitely is not ok."

"She's right. She should not be drinking right now." Nikki added.

"Trinity, do you need to tell us something?" Dad asked me.

I looked at them. All the ones that had not been present during that fight. Mom, Dad, Grandfather, Nikki, Lila, I watched them all for a moment as my eyes filled with tears. I had hoped that I would be able to do this without crying but it looked like I wasn't able to. Eventually I just nodded in agreement to Dad's question.

"What happened?" Mom's hand was in front of her face ready to hold back the emotions that were already welling within her.

"I lost the baby." My words squeaked out of me on a sob, the tears beginning to stream down my face. I looked to Reece for support where he sat beside me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, hugging me close to his side, offering me his warmth and comfort.

"What happened?" Dad's voice was thick.

"Trinity, are you alright?" Grandfather was worried more about me at that moment.

"Oh, Trinity, I am so sorry." Lila was on the verge of tears. Mom and Nikki seemed unable to talk as the tears streamed down their faces.

"There was a fight, a battle, that we were not prepared for." Noah hung his head.

"We didn't do our jobs properly." Carter added.

"I failed her." Reece laid his head on top of mine, his voice thick with emotion.

"It wasn't anyone's fault. We were simply unprepared and the situation got out of hand." I tried to smooth the situation over.

Between the four of us that had been there we were able to explain exactly what happened that afternoon. The sorrow was clear on all their faces. Our baby was lost to us and them.

"What matters most is that you're safe. There will be other chances at a family. But if we had lost you then the world would suffer." Grandfather's words were soothing, and true. Reece and I would have another chance at having a family. But if I were gone then Reece would be alone forever.

"Samuel is right. The most important thing is that we still have the two of you. We can make it through this as long we stick together." Lila was calming down, trying to be strong for us.

That night, as my family left, each and every one of them hugged me tight as they were leaving. And I made sure to rub Nikki's growing belly, feeling that warm light inside of her strongly pulsating with it's lifeforce still intact. I will not let anything happen to this baby, mine would be the only one lost.