The children had gathered at the center clearing in the middle of the forest, they were full of energy and excitement after the big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage, cereal, orange juice, and as much syrup as they wanted. The smaller children were paired with an older child to ensure no one got lost or wandered too close to the waterfall and lake.
One of the little boys standing with Leo chattered as fast as he could: "I would have liked to have seen the alphas' faces when they discovered they had mud and worms for breakfast." The others giggled in agreement: "I bet they are pukin' their brains out." another child mocked throwing up and falling to the ground.
Selene widened her eyes and mouthed, "Pukin' their brains out?"
Dalia rolled her eyes, answering the goddess, "They're kids; just roll with it."
"Roll with it?" Selene repeated. "What am I rolling with?"
Dalia laughed, "It means just agee with whatever they say. Kids make believe things that make sense to them but not us. If you just play along, you will find it fun, and you begin to understand how their brains work."
Katia laughed with the children. Although she understood things better now, she still enjoyed joining in with the pups and their games. She had to ask, "Why do you think the alphas are pukin' their breakfast? They would not eat mud and worms."
Gammy suddenly looked guilty and Leo shouted, "They would if they saw eggs and bacon on their plates."
Rose stared at Gammy, "Mama you didn't?"
Gammy's face became even redder, and she announced, "Those alphas need to learn how to enjoy games, not always win them. They are grown and expect the children to play as they do. So, the pups even the playing field with any strategy they can."
Rolling her eyes, Talon blurted, "You know they are going to blame us and say we helped the pups cheat."
"Well, if we are going to be blamed, then I say let's help them." Katia chuckled and went on, "But today, let's do something they wouldn't expect."
"Like what?" Evelynn questioned. "I hear all of the men are going to play against the children in this game. They think playing tag with them is a good way to start the pup's training without them realizing."
Gammy agreed with the alphas' plan but thought they took it a little too seriously, "It has begun the younger generations planning concepts to start developing, and they are learning to work as a pack."
"So what can we do to even the playing field but the men not figure it out right away" Dalia wondered out loud.
The ladies brainstormed, throwing suggestions out and discarding them just as fast. Theia, Rhea, and Hera shimmered into the group of kids and women throwing different ideas around about how to trick the other team. They smiled seeing the twins and how much they had recovered from what Uranus had done to them. They walked amongst the group and the pups immediately rushed to them. The gods being the earthly realm with this little group of wolves was a common occurrence now. They visited their realm long enough to recoup their strength and ensure that all was well.
Hera was giggling like a schoolgirl with the group of first graders. Katia and Selene glanced at one another, smiling, as they watched the almighty Hera on her knees hugging, kissing, and playing with the pups. The other two goddesses were doing the same, and Rhea jumped to her feet, shouting, "I got it."
Dalia quizzed, "What is your idea, Aunt Rhea? Rhea grinned at being called Aunt by the she-wolf. They had all become Aunt, Uncle, Grandma, Grandpa. She never thought of having interactions with the species of this realm the way they do now and how much they all learn from each other. It is a shame that humans have moved on to their Christianity and lost their belief in them. They could have someday interacted with real gods and not just read a book about one.
Rhea sits down amongst them and begins, "We want to surprise the other team just when they think you are close enough to tag. So, listen up, little ones and medium ones; when you are close enough to get tagged, just as your opponent is reaching out to you, blink."
A small girl asks, "What's a paponent?" An older teen puts the little girl in his lap and explains, "An opponent is the person you will be running from or trying to tag." The young boy is gentle with a girl, and Katia looks to Selene to see if the little girl is his mate. Selene nods her head, confirming what Katia believes. The girl pup arrived with the Starlight pack, and the boy was a member of Snow Moon. Smiling, Katia thought that if the three packs had not come together, the mates that had come about may never have met. This was another issue to ponder and try to figure out a better solution for mates to meet.
The young man, still holding the little girl, questioned Rhea, "Ma'am, why would you blink if they are going to tag us? It won't stop us from getting tagged."
Rhea clapped her hands excitedly, "Oh yes it will. You see, young man, when you blink, you will magically disappear and reappear elsewhere."
The pups gasped, and a sea of wide-eyed youngsters stared back in amazement. One of them asked, "Will we have magic, witches and warlocks?"
Rhea whispered back mysteriously, "Definitely, all of you will be witches and warlocks or gods and goddesses for today."
Hera stood instructing, "Now everyone stays with their buddy they are assigned to. When you are about to be tagged, blink quickly, and you will disappear. You will reappear instantly in the field where the game is taking place but away from your opponent."
"There is one catch to the magic: When you blink to disappear, your buddy disappears with you. We do not want anyone getting lost. We want to have some good old-fashioned fun with the alphas and their team members," Rhea explained to the group of children. The three goddesses and gammy closed their eyes and chanted something quietly as they waved their hands over the group of children. Once they were finished, they opened their eyes assuring all of the children they now had their own magic for today.
Talon whispered to the other ladies, "Best of all, we are not interfering, so our mates cannot blame us."
Dalia clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, "Okay get with your buddies. It is time to head to the field and kick some alpha butt!" The kids all started yelling and screaming, "kick some alpha butt!" One of the teenage boys started marching and yelling, "What are we gonna do?" The rest fell in line behind him answering, "Kick some alpha butt."
Meanwhile, in the field awaiting the children's arrival, the men were talking about the prophecy and what they thought the last part could mean. Nathan listened to the different ideas but he wanted to hear the Alpha Luna's ideas. He had a feeling whatever the prophecy was about had to do with her and what she wanted for the packs. He felt this deep inside of him and could not articulate to the others why he felt that way. It was strong, and he knew whatever the future was would depend on their decisions that night and Katia's vision for the future of the packs.
They heard the children singing what sounded like a military song of sorts. As they came closer Lorn began laughing at what the pups were saying. Finally, the children and the woman arrived in the middle of the field. Leo walked over to his father as the older boy sang, "What are we gonna do?" Leo answered looking at his father, "Kick some alpha butt."
Cronos patted his son on the head saying, "We will see." The little boy smiled up at his father with the same confidence as the other children. Nathan thought they might think they had a foolproof plan. The women were told they could not interfere or help the pups cheat to win. If they did and the alphas found out, the women would have fire duty for a week." Fire duty was when a person stayed up all night watching to make sure the fire in the pit did not go out or it did not spit and cause a forest fire.
Lorn's father, Cade, had opted not to take part in the game and was going to officiate it instead. He called for everyone playing to gather in the middle of the field, with the young pups on one side and the men on the other. Crael was at one end of the field, and Lorna at the other. They were Cade's eyes on that part of the field. After going over the rules, Cade blew his whistle signaling that the game of tag had begun.
The women were gathered around the field sitting as closely to one another as they could. They wanted to see their men's faces when the children started using their magic. Dalia called out, "Did anyone bring their cell? We need pictures." A bunch of cells were held in the air for all to see. The men looked to see why the women were holding their cell phones in the air but did not see areason for it and just figured the women were doing something only they understood.
Nathan noticed two young boys trying to sneak up on him. He was sure the two boys were brothers from Mark's pack, so he acted as if he did not see them. When they were close enough, she reached to smack the oldest boy in the arm. Before he could accomplish the act, the two boys disappeared into thin air. He looked around and saw them reappear instantly about five feet away. He stood staring for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. Nathan looked to the sideline, and all the women were sitting innocently chatting with one another. When Katia noticed him looking she waved to him. He waved back, smiling like an idiot before he realized what he was doing. The woman smiling and waving at him made him completely forget about what had just happened. It happened over and over as the game went on. Whenever the men would check the sidelines to see if the lunas or other women were interfering, somehow the ladies were cheering for the little ones or talking and laughing amongst themselves. During a bathroom break for the young ones, Lorn and Mark were grumbling to one another about how their mate should be cheering them on. Kane stood staring with narrow eyes beyond the tree line and then shrugged his shoulders, saying, "I thought I saw Aunty out there, but it was just a deer."
Cronos walked up and grumbled, "Our women may not have anything to do with what is going on during the game, but I can guarantee that females we know are involved somehow."
Smacking Cronos on the back of the head, Zeus muttered, "You think so? How else would these sweet little demons suddenly have gained magical powers? Sometimes I worry about you, Cronos."