~~

Devon

~~

I think I was having a mental breakdown. Or that is what I wanted myself to believe at first. But I think I was finally starting to accept it. I was really getting used to the fact that Ella really was a werewolf.

OK, I still didn't consider it a werewolf personally. That was like a lycanthrope that was half man half wolf. It walked on two feet and had the head of a wolf but it's body was more human in shape but it was huge and covered in fur with long claws and ripped clothes.

Ella wasn't like that at all though. She didn't become a lycanthrope, she just shifted into a really big wolf. It was a normal wolf, it was just really, really big.

OK, so the things I needed to get used to include the following; the fact that magic was real, the fact that people could 'shift' into animals as Ella called it, the shifting was not limited to just wolves but also included bears, big cats, deer, elk, birds, and apparently even mermaids and the like were considered shifters.

There were a few things I didn't like but I would get used to. Reece Gray was a prominent part of this world of magic. Apparently he was the recently named King of the shifters, making him not just Ella's Alpha but also her King. I also needed to come to terms with a whole new meaning for the phrase alpha male.

Though, after meeting and talking to Reece Gray twice I started to believe that I was wrong about him. He was not the playboy that was a mafia wannabe like I had suspected him of being. He was actually a pretty good guy that genuinely cared about his people. Which was probably why he had his hand in so many ventures. Not to mention, he had inherited a lot of the stuff that he had from his father.

Dammit, I didn't want to like that guy at all.

Ella was supposed to be staying at Gray's giant castle looking estate while he and his wife were out of town. There were guards that were stationed around the property but I was still nervous and worried about her. I wanted to be there to protect her. I wanted to be the only man she relied on.

I was also trying to come to terms with all of that stuff too. She and the others referred to it as a mate bond. It was supposedly the Goddess telling you who you are supposed to be with for the rest of your life. To me that just meant she was my soulmate. She was the one woman I would ever want for the rest of my life. And I could already feel myself falling in love with her. I would do anything to protect Ella.

Very early in the morning two days later there was a lot of commotion at the estate. I had stayed both nights with Ella at the estate and I had spent the entire previous day with her as well, on surveillance detail since the three men who had gone after Ella had not been captured yet.

There was a massive group of people, about a hundred or so, that all arrived at just about the same time. There was a huge caravan of big black SUVs that everyone was filing out of. I could see Ella looking at the group apprehensively, trying to figure out what had happened. I think she was hopeful about her brother because there were about two dozen children that were walking around the group looking confused.

I think that Ella saw who she was looking for because I saw her eyes light up with excitement. How she could see anything in that mess of people from the distance we were at I would never know. I guess that's just something for me to put under the werewolf list.

"Ella?" A man with dark hair and brown eyes came up to us then.

"Noah! Is Sammy in there? Did I see him with everyone else?"

"Yes, Ella, he's here and he's safe. They've been through a lot and we need to get them some food. Do me a favor and go get your mom plus the other pack parents that are missing their kids. Detective Scott, I am glad you're here as well, can you get the human families from the city? We want everyone here as soon as we can so that all the kids can be reunited."

"Wait, Noah, let me see my brother, please?" Ella was begging him and I was tempted to step in on her behalf, but as a cop I knew why they wanted to wait.

"Ella, babe, I think they want all the families here at the same time. That way the children won't have to wait for their families to arrive and get discouraged."

"Oh." I saw her face fall then as she contemplated that thought. "Alright then, let's go Devon. I want to see my brother but I will have to wait until the others are here."

She didn't protest after that, she just went with me to notify the families as well as my captain about what had happened. It took us about an hour to get everyone where they needed to be but we managed it. When we took everyone into the estate they didn't ask why their kids were in this castle hidden in the trees, all they wanted to know was if their kids were alright.

Right as the group of families were about to walk into the largest dining room, more like a dining hall than anything else, there was a woman walking out. The womans was name Juniper, I had met her during my time here at the estate with Ella. She smiled at everyone and began to speak in a soothing voice.

"Hello everyone." There was a soft smile on her lips. "My name is Juniper and I want to welcome you to Gray Manor. Reece Gray, the master of the house, has worked tirelessly with the police and the FBI to help find your children. When there was word that your children might have been found he wasted not a second and mobilized a large scale envoy to bring them home to you all." She was giving them an explanation of why their children were in this house and they were all buying it. Well, I guess it was true though.

"Are they OK?"

"Were they hurt at all?"

"When can I see my baby?" These and more were shouted by the parents of the children who had been lost for so long.

"They're all fine. They were not hurt but they were not treated the best either. They were slightly malnourished, scared, and confused. Most of them seem to be suffering from trauma induced amnesia so do not be shocked when they can't tell you where they were. I know this will be hard for all of you to understand but the best thing possible is that your family will be together again." It was then that I noticed the sparkling light that was shining off of Juniper. I was looking at her out of the corner of my eye when I saw it for the first time but it seemed to disappear when I looked directly at her. Also, it disappeared when she was done talking.

Was she putting a spell on the parents? Was she helping them to not question what happened today too much? I mean, it's not like the police and FBI could tell them all that their kids had been kidnapped by a crazy warlock bent on ruling the world. Or that the primary rescuers were not even human. I guess if Juniper was capable of doing that it was for the best. But holy shit, I was watching real magic happen right in front of me.

Once Juniper was done weaving her spell for the humans the door to the dining hall was opened. Inside were the eight kids that had gone missing from my city. I was happy to see all these families reunited, but none of them made me happier than watching Ella and her mom when they saw Sammy.

"Sammy!" The two of them shouted at the same time.

"MOMMY! ELLA!" Sammy yelled out. He was ten years old and probably growing out of the stage where he would say mommy, but he was so happy to see his family that he looked like an excited little child.

I watched as Ella ran as fast as she could and scooped her brother up into her arms. She planted a kiss right on his cheek and squeezed him tight. Soon Gina, Ella's mother, made it to where her children were. Gina grabbed Sammy from Ella's arms and held him close to her chest. I could see tears of joy and relief spilling down both of their faces.

This was one of the most heartwarming and beautiful scenes I had ever seen. Not just with Ella, Gina, and Sammy but with all the other families that were happily crying and hugging their children. These children had been missed, they had been loved, they had been cared for and worried about. And every single parent here was mourning the loss they had suffered.

I didn't care that I wasn't part of the team that found the kids. I didn't care if I got the glory or not. What I care about was this moment right here where all the heartache was ending and the healing could begin.