Jess Pov

The night before the mission to infiltrate the Kingdom of Howls, Ren and I decided to spend the night at his home. Against my will, Ren decided to tag along my father and I because he wanted to make sure I would be alright. Not to sound mean but I probably can handle myself better than him.

Ren and I were sitting in the living room watching TV when Ren’s five year old nephew barged in with a wide grin. He was a little blond boy with bright brown eyes and looked a lot more like Ren than he did his parents. His name was Kenny and he was a little devil but every one absolutely loved him to bits.

“Uncle Wen” Kenny screamed and tackled Ren’s leg.

“Hey twerp” Ren grin and lifted the boy on his lap. He ruffled his hair which received a whine from the little boy. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

“I’m not tiwed” Kenny pouted “Hey Aunty Jess”

“Hey Ken” I smiled at him. I loved children and I had fallen in love with Kenny the moment he smiled at me. Ren and I made jokes that I would leave him for his nephew and it was a good idea if Ren’s sister didn’t scare the wits out of me when she’s mad. Lynda, Ren’s older sister, was by far the ruler of the family with her wits and her ability to manipulate the people around her. She was one of the sweetest people I have known except I have learned from past experience not get on her bad side.

“Uncle Wen, I’m hungwy” Ken said. He stood on Ren’s legs to seem taller than he actually was and pouted.

“You are? What do you want then?” Ren asked.

“Cookies!” Kenny exclaimed.

“Honey, I don’t think your momma would approve” I said to the boy. He looked sadly at me and I melted.

“It’s alright, Momma doesn’t have to know. It will be our own little secret” Ren grinned and I rolled my eyes. Ren was surely a boy at heart. He loved to play, tease and sneak around trying to be unnoticed. He’d usually get into trouble but never got big consequences because the pack enjoyed his good heart and playfulness.

“Yay” Kenny cheered but hushed when Ren put a finger on his lips. He copied his uncle and put a finger on his lips as well.

Ren picked the boy up and twirled him in the air before putting him down. Kenny giggled and latched his hands securely to his uncle’s. Together they tipped toed to the kitchen and peeked around the corner. I laughed internally at their ridiculous figures.

Ren made some invented sign language for Kenny to tell him the non-existent plan to steal cookies. When the coast was clear the boys tip-toed into the kitchen and hid behind furniture every time someone would pass by.

I followed them into the kitchen and sat on one of the dining chairs. Amused, I followed their journey to the other end of the room with my chin in my hands.

When the boys arrived at their destination, Ren lifted Kenny on the counter and grabbed the cookie jar from the shelf. He opened the lid and the boys dug in to get as many cookies as possible before someone saw them.

Unfortunately for them, I saw the back door open silently and a short figure came in. I couldn’t help but smile in anticipation for the horror of the next scene. Lynda saw the boys stuffing their pockets with cookies and made a low growl. Kenny was too busy with his task to notice his mother walking towards them but Ren froze and paled. He looked just in time to see his sister grabbing his ear and twisting it in an unreal position. Ren screeched worse than a girl and tried to get away from her iron hold. Kenny jumped in fear of his mother but she also grabbed his ear.

“And what are my two favorite and yet most troublesome boys doing in the kitchen with hands in the cookie jar?” Lynda said with a sweet voice. She didn’t give them a chance to answer as she picked up Kenny and literally dragged her brother out by his ear.

“Sowwy momma” Kenny grinned at his mother. He tried to sweet talk her but he knew he was in trouble.

“You do not get to give me those puppy eyes, twerp. You know not to follow your uncle because he is trouble”

“Hey, I resent that” Ren said but whimpered when Lynda twisted his ear. I was laughing my head off at the scene and followed them out of the room. Lynda let Ren go and he ran behind me to hide. He rubbed his ear and grumble how cruel his sister was. Lynda simply scoffed and stormed up the stairs with Kenny who was trying to get out of his grounding.

Ren snaked his strong arms around my waist and placed his chin on mine. For an average girl of 5’5, Ren towered over me with his 6’4 frame.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was coming? You’re supposed to have my back” he said with fake sadness.

“I always have your back babe but against your sister? Forget it” I teased and Ren growled playfully. He turned me around and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and placed my arms around his neck.

“Are you feeling better?” Ren asked me with worry. I had been feeling sick for a while now and my sisters’ situation was no helping me.

I smiled and bit his lower lip. “I am thank you”

Ren laughed. He held me tight to his body and walked into the kitchen. He sat me on the counter and roamed through the cupboards. He swore a couple of times before finding what he was looking for. In his hands was a bag of popcorn. I grinned.

“We picked up a new family of six last weekend. We found them dehydrated and in bad condition in the forest a couple of miles east. Their youngest of ten months almost didn’t make it and since mom and dad weren’t here I was in charge of them. They’re living in one of the ranches on our territory but before that they were healing here so I decided to buy chips, popcorn and drinks for the kids. You should have seen their faces when they saw the amount of junk food waiting for them and these, are left overs”

I smiled at Ren. He was such a good hearted guy who couldn’t let people suffer even strangers.

“Why can’t you be like that with my sister?” I asked him once more. Jamie was a very sticky subject for us to discuss. Ren sighed and put the popcorn in the microwave. He then came around the counter and stood between my legs. He leaned in a little to place his hands on my thighs and smiled.

“I told you before babe; it gets a reaction out of her. At first, yes I didn’t like her because I thought she treated you like shit but after a little background things changed. But, getting a reaction out of Jamie is better than none. Besides, is it not my job to be the evil brother –in-law who pisses every one off?” Ren pecked my lips before walking back to the microwave. “Don’t worry cupcake, your sister appreciates our banter although not always….”

I rolled my eyes again and chuckled. Together, we stayed cuddled on the sofa watching movies until it was time to get ready. I was nervous and exciting at the same time because we were finally going to do something totally fun and dangerous. But I was also scared. I was scared of something else completely different and hopped I could cope with the upcoming events.

-

Ren and I had driven back to my home to get ready. I had hastily sprinted to Jasmine’s room and found both my sisters sitting face to face on her bed. They both looked passive but I could tell they still weren’t on the same page.

Both my sisters turn their attention to me as I closed the door behind me and made a sound barrier around the room.

“Jess, what’s going on?” Jazzy asked me.

“Okay, don’t freak out but-“ I took a deep breath “I’m pregnant”

“WHAT?” Jasmine screamed. Good thing I took the initiative to sound proof the room.

“I’m pregnant”

“How? When? What happen?”

“I don’t know. The condom must have broken”

“How long?”

“Eight weeks”

Jasmine got up and started pacing the room. Jimhaya was staring at me with an unreadable expression and I was shaking in fear. I came to my sisters for help before going to mom and dad. Heck, I didn’t even tell Ren yet because he the one I was most scared of telling.

“That’s a little young sister” Jimhaya said in a passive tone.

“I know alright. Look, I don’t know what to do. Everything has been a shock since I found out and I’m lost.” I begged them.

“Did you think of aborting? Did you tell Ren yet?” Jazzy asked. She passed her fingers through her red hair. It was a nervous tick of hers when she was thinking or stressed.

“I did think of it and I’m still not sure” I replied “I didn’t tell Ren yet. Should I tell him?”

“No” Jimhaya said almost instantly. I frowned at her. I knew she hated Ren and doesn’t want him around but he was my mate and I had the right to tell him

“There is a war coming sister. If you tell Ren now, he will spend the whole time worrying about you and looking after you that he will not protect his own back. You are also a better fighter than he is and don’t need him to be in your way. Do you really want him to die for something you could have told after or would you prefer to sit this war out?”

“There is no way in hell I’m sitting this war out” I growled at her but she had a point. Ren would be stuck to my hip if I told him and that would slow me down. At least she didn’t say no out of hatred to Ren. “But you are right, I won’t tell him until after the war”

With that, I undid the shield and opened the door. I walked downstairs where everyone was waiting for us. The equipment for our journey was in a pile in our living room. I made my way to Ren and kissed him on the cheek. This secret will be very hard to keep, I thought.

-

“Are you ready? Do you have everything?” my mother asked me for the umpteenth time. She had been fretting over me and dad for an hour now and I was getting annoyed. I knew she was scared and I loved her for that but this was my decision to help dad. I knew I could help because of my blood I could probably blend in more easily.

We were all standing in the living room. Aunty Aaliyah was preparing a portal for us to go and comeback from the Kingdom of Howls. Dad, Ren and I had our black cloaks, backpacks and weapons.

“If you die, don’t come haunting me because I had told you so” Jamie grumbled beside me. I gave her a toothy grin because I knew this was her of worrying about me. I gently cupped her cheeks with my hands and kissed her on the forehead.

“I’ll haunt you because I can” I said “Be good mom and Jazzy okay?” Jamie nodded and puffed her cheeks. I dropped my hands and gave a huge hug to Jazzy.

“Good luck” she whispered. I squeezed her tighter.

“Thanks. Fix whatever you have with Jamie before I get back okay, because I would very much like not to be the middle child anymore. Its’ way to much work for poor little me”

“Well, you did learn patience and got a better relationship with Jamie so I wouldn’t say you had a horrible experience”

I hugged her again then hugged mom as tight as I could.

“Don’t worry mom, before you know it we will be coming back in one piece.” I kissed her temple and walked to Ren. Dad said his good byes and extra time in mom’s arms comforting her.

Once we were ready, Aunty Aaliyah opened the portal.

“You have until sun up to be back or the portal will close. Good luck” she told us. Sunrise was not for another thirteen hours thanks to winter. That gave us enough time to find the Hound’s Kryptonite and be back.