A few weeks after the morning meeting around the table, the plans they made were quickly coming to fruition. Nathan had helped Mark start the process of getting the charter for the new pack, and he showed them the land he signed over to the new Alpha. Everyone was helping to get the main packhouse built along with the hospital. Smaller buildings for some of the families to live in and a barn to house the few animals that had been donated to the Moon Touch pack by some of his pack members, were already built.
Katia was learning to live a life without fear of torture or punishment. In the last few weeks she has been out of her coma and, healing, she has become stronger and put on a little weight. She and her wolf were still much weaker than the average wolf, and she was still a tiny little bit of a thing. Her voice seemed to be a bit stronger too. If she spoke without the link, her voice still sounded like a hoarse whisper, but it was a bit louder and stronger. Doc and doctor Opie believe it is from the healing properties of Nathan’s saliva. When he marked her, he transferred some of his saliva to her, and it seemed to be helping her. They spoke with Nathan about giving her some of his blood to help her heal more. Nathan had agreed but wanted to wait a little longer to let her body rest before stressing it again.
Meanwhile, Nathan had learned over the last few weeks that the belief he had to keep his sweet little mate by his side and protect her from the world was wrong. His sweet little mate was hellion, and he needed to protect his pack from her. She had no idea she was doing anything to cause Nathan problems or worries, because no one wanted to hurt her feelings or stop her from enjoying her new life.
The first week of clearing the field on the Moon Touched packs new land was the first time that Nathan received a complaint from other pack members about his mate. They were digging fence post holes to put the fence up that would keep the livestock from wandering off. Katia thought they were digging the holes for landscaping purposes. She saw them digging the holes and went to get some of the men to bring the rose bushes that she had ordered for what she called the property line. As the holes were dug, she and her group dropped a bush in and filled the hole. She even made sure water was brought to water them until it rained. The crew assigned to put the fence up didn’t know what to do because she kept thanking them for being so helpful and digging the holes for her.
Nathan was in his office working on the deed for Mark when Rollo, the lead worker of the fence group, knocked on his door. “Come in.” Nathan called out and Rollo walked in.
“What can I do for you Rollo?” Nathan asked, noticing the other man fidgeting.
Clearing his throat, Rollo said, “Alpha, I am sorry to have to come to you about this, but I do not know what to do. You see, ummm the luna, well she is planting rose bushes in the holes we made for the fence post.”
“I see. Did you tell her why you were digging the holes?” Nathan questioned.
“Well, no sir. She is so thankful and polite for our help, as she calls it. We didn’t have the heart to tell her that was not why we were digging the holes.” The poor man sputtered.
“Alright, Rollo, I understand. I know it will be extra work, but have the men dig new holes right behind the rose bushes she planted. That way, when the fence is up and bushes grow, it will be pleasant to the eye and your luna will still be happy.” Nathan directed the other man.
Rollo smiled and thanked his Alpha before taking his leave. Nathan smiled at the fact that his pack was so worried about hurting their luna and ruining the bit of happiness she had finally found.
The next afternoon, one of the day care teachers came running into the pack house into the pack house yelling for the Alpha. Nathan exited his office and ran into the teacher. “Lucy, what is wrong and why are you yelling?”
“Alpha come quickly. One of the children wandered off during recess and was caught in the middle of the big field by a mama bear. The little boy saw the bear’s cub and wanted to play with it. The Luna heard him screaming and went to rescue him. Now the bear has them both trapped and is posturing to attack.” She rushed out while pulling Nathan’s hand to get him to follow her.
Nathan took off after the teacher linked Chip, Kane, Mark, Kelp, Doc, and some of the warriors to meet him in the clearing. When he arrived, Katia was holding the little boy on her hip. The child was screaming and crying while his mate tried to calm him. She was holding the child and staring at the mama bear like she was having a conversation with it. The bear would take a step back and the child would wail, making the bear move towards them again. Her cub was peeking between her legs and the boy.
The bear was getting more agitated with the number of people gathering around. She swiped at her cub to get him back and get down on all fours. She was magnificent with her shiny brown coat and bright black eyes. She was huge, so she was able to eat well through the spring, summer, and fall. Mama bear was pawing the ground and Nathan noticed Katia setting the child on the ground next to her.
“No Katia, don’t do it.” Nathan whispered to himself. Knowing what was about to come and there would be nothing he could do but try to get to them in time. Katia whispered something in the boy’s ear and the bear was running towards them. Katia leaped forwards, shifting into her wolf midair, which was not something everyone could do. This was the first time Nathan had ever seen her wolf, and he was now terrified the bear would kill them. The little black ball of fur, that was Katia’s wolf, was ferocious in her protection of the boy. She was not trying to maim the mama bear but to make her understand no one meant any harm to her and her cub. Katia’s little wolf kept herding the bear backwards to the tree line. Once they were almost there, the bear swiped at the wolf with one of her huge paws. It swiped down the side of Aza’s face, which was already scarred from the fight with Alpha Thomas. The bear had reopened the wound, but it did not slow the wolf down and eventually Katia and her wolf accomplished what they wanted to do. The bear noticed how close to the forest they were, so she picked her cub up by the neck and ran into the woods.
Nathan ran to Katia swearing he was assigning a guard to her from this moment forward. Katia shifted back, took Nathan’s shirt he had removed and handed it to her. As she covered her naked body, she smiled at him, thanking him for the shirt. She picked the little boy up and carried him to the teacher. Nathan heard her say to the teacher, “Please be more watchful of the little ones. They can get themselves into trouble quickly.” Kissing the child, she handed him over to the other adult. Turning to the rest of the children, she said, “ I will be back in a little while, and we will play.”
Nathan followed his mate back to the packhouse and up to their room. Once inside, she grabbed her and just held her for a few moments. Finally, he told her, “Do not ever do that again. You wait until help arrives, not put yourself in danger. That bear could have killed you and the child.”
Shrugging, she said, “Wolfie would never have let that happen. It was under control the whole time. The mama bear did not like all of you watching. It made her uncomfortable.”
Nathan asked, “And how would you know that?”
Katia spun out of his arms and headed to the closet saying, “She told me.” Coming out of the closet, dressed in clean leggings and another one of his hoodies, she left him standing in their room.