The Secrets of the Panther
Chapter 143

IZZY

I moved around to bed and woke up. Allie was snuggled into me, which gave me a warm feeling inside. I couldn’t help but move closer and wrap her in my arms.

I stared back at Puna. She was flat-out snoring in my head, but her purring was buzzing through me.

I sigh; this is what it is like to be happy and be in the moment. I turned my head and looked at the clock; nine a.m.

The sun was out as it was trying to come through the curtains. I move up the bed and sit back against the headboard. Everything was okay, but the flashbacks of last night with Lena came flooding back. Allie has no memory of what happened, but I knew I made the right call.

I move out of bed and walk over to the bathroom. I quickly have a shower, and once done, I place a towel around me.

I headed back into the bedroom to replace Allie lying in my space, hugging my pillow. I moved to the closet and quickly got ready.

Allie was sitting up in the bed as I walked out of the closet, and she stared at me. “Mummy,” she says, rubbing her eyes.

I smile.

“Let’s get you ready, and we can have some pancakes,” I say to her.

Allie beams at me. “chocolate pancakes,” she says. I couldn’t help but laugh. This child and her damn chocolate pancakes. We quickly got her ready.

There were a few of Allie’s clothes in the closet. Someone must have put them in the closet beforehand.

Once we were ready, we left the bedroom and headed to the kitchen.

Once we got there, Dale and Lena were having breakfast. They both look up and smile. “Good morning,” says Dale. “How did you both sleep?”

I couldn’t help but glance at Lena, who was looking at me, but she ignored me.

“We slept well,” says Allie.

I nodded but said nothing.

“Are there chocolate pancakes?” she asks, making Dale laugh. “There are pancakes for out for you, sweetheart,” he says. He moves from his chair and grabs the pancakes from the side.

Allie moves and sits on his chair as he places them in front of her. Allie eats, and Lena smiles at her. “I knew you wanted them,” she says. “I thought I'd make you some.”

Allie eats quietly as I walk into the kitchen. I grab some food from the side and eat.

Once we were finished, Allie looked at me. “What are we doing today, mummy?” she asks.

I was about to say something when Lena asked her. “How about we spend some time together?” she asks. Allie smiles and jumps down from the chair. “I will get my shoes,” she says. With that, Allie leaves, and Lena looks at me. Dale leaves the kitchen to follow Allie, and once he is out of earshot. Lena speaks, “did you get hold of Blake?” she asks.

I shook my head.

I know I didn’t try this morning; I might try on the office phone or even ask Dale to help me get hold of him.

Lena sighs. “Well, try today,” she says as she moves out of the chair. I was about to talk to her, but she left.

I stood there on my own, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“You ready?” asks Dale as I look over at him.

I nod and follow him out of the kitchen.

We headed to the office, and Dale told me what I needed to do. He began by showing me how to do some of the paperwork and letting me carry on when I got the handle on it. We worked in silence, but I could feel his gaze on me.

“What?” I ask, not looking up at him as I carry on writing.

Dale stays quiet for a moment, but I look up as he opens his mouth. “Lena told me what you asked her to do last night, and I am all for it, but you should have asked Blake. I know he wanted to be there to help in the matter, especially when it regards Allie.”

I stare at him and sigh. I drop the pen down. “I tried, but I couldn’t get through on his phone,” I say to him.

He looks at me, “did you try again?” he asks.

I shook my head. “I forgot,” I said to him. I looked at the phone and grabbed it.

Dale calls out his number as I dial, but it goes straight to answer the phone again. I looked at him and shook my head. Dale says nothing, but his face is blank. “He is trying to mind link mate,” says Puna out of nowhere. I look back at her. “When did you wake up?” I asked her.

Puna looks at me and smiles. “I was awake when you got up; I just didn’t want to disturb you as I knew you were anxious about being Luna today. But the way Lena was with you had me on edge,” she says.

I know the feeling.

“Do you think she will tell anyone else?” I asked her.

Puna stares at me for a moment and sighs. “We might replace out after,” she says. I furrowed my eyebrows at her and was going to ask her what she meant.

“I just mind-linked him,” Dale says, pulling me away from my conversation with Puna. I looked back at him. “And?” I asked him.

Dale stares at me for a moment. But he sighs, “he said his phone is dead, and he forgot his charger. He will be home tomorrow.”

I stare at him, not saying anything.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was Allie’s birthday?” he says, with a sad look forming.

Fuck, I forgot to organize something.

“Everything slipped my mind,” I said. “I mean, it slipped my mind with the war and the aftermath of everything.”

Dale nods. He closes the file he had in front of him and stands. “Well, let’s organize something,” he says. “What does Allie want?”

I smile, “BBQ and bouncy castle,” I say to him. He nods. “Well, I know a few pack members that can help us out,” he says. “I will mind linking them all to come here, and they can help us organize it all by tomorrow.”

I nodded.

Dale mind links everyone, and they all turn up at the office. We all put our heads together. We came up with everything. And everyone was glad to help.

They were all super lovely and even mentioned inviting the entire pack as they would like to get to know Allie and me.

I couldn’t help but agree and after five hours. We had everything in place, and everyone knew what they were doing. We even ordered a costumed character to come, which I think Allie will have a freak, especially when she replaces out she’s going to meet Olaf.

After all the pack members have left, I lean back in my chair, and Dale sighs. “You can tell Blake when he comes; I will make sure he sees you first,” he says.

I nod. I look up at the clock on the office wall and sigh.

“Shall we call it a day?” I say to him, and he nods.

“Let’s go. I want to see Allie and Lena,” he says, making me laugh. He looks at me and smirks. “What?” he asks.

I stood up and smiled at him. “I think having family around her is all she has ever wanted,” I say, but I stop. The first memory of how I treated Dale comes through me, and the guilt overrides me.

I forgot what guilt felt like.

“You okay, Izzy?” Dale asks as he walks over to me.

I look at him and nod. “I want to apologize to you for how I acted toward you and Kacey when I first met you both,” I say to him. He looks at me, and his eyes soften. “There’s no need for an apology. I would have acted exactly like you did if I were in your shoes,” he says.

I stare at him, but he sighs. “Izzy, my mother, controlled everything, and the family spelled our father we thought loved us. I hold nothing against you. You were going through hell, and it was understandable,” he says.

Dale walks up to me and pulls me into a hug. I could feel my emotions get the best of me, but I held back tears. This is the first time I have ever felt something that hasn’t triggered my power, and knowing that they were not there to feed on it was something else. I pull back and smile up at him. “Let’s go; I want to replace Allie,” I say to him.

He nods.

We both leave the office and head out of the pack house. We searched around until we came to replace them near the play area. Allie was playing with Archer and the other kids.

I look to replace Lena sitting on the side with Kat and Alice. We walked over to them but judging by the looks on their faces, I knew what they were talking about; Lena had obviously told them about taking Allie’s memories away.

As we got closer, Kat stood up. “You took away her memories,” she says. I stared at her, but my eyes went to Lena, who went into Dale’s arms. Dale looks at me but shrugs. “I thought it was best,” I say to her. Alice glares at me. “Izzy, she needs to deal with everything that she saw. She’s not you.”

I stared at her.

Puna was close, but she looked out.

Puna was pissed. “Why did Lena tell them?” she asked.

“No clue,” I say to her, keeping my emotions in check.

“Well, Lena will give them back to her now, and she can deal with them,” says Alice, who stands up and stares at me. I can’t help but feel my anger fill my veins.

“You have no right to tell me what I can or can’t do with my child,” I say to her.

I turn around and call Allie. “Allie!” I yell.

Allie looks at me and runs over to me. I scope her up and hold her in my arms. Her scent wafts over me, which settles Puna and me instantly.

“She needs to…” says Alice, but I spin around with Allie in my arms. My face must have said something because they all look at me. I grit my teeth. “I’m taking my daughter inside,” I tell them.

I turned and walked off.

I could feel everyone stare at me as I walked with Allie in my arms.

Allie pulls back slightly and looks at me. “Mummy, you okay?” she asks.

I nod and smile at her.

“I’m fine, my sweetheart,” I say to her. She stares at me, and I know she doesn’t believe me.

We walked into the pack house and headed straight to the bedroom.

I walk in and do not say another word. Allie climbs out of my arms and runs to the TV. I put frozen back on for her as she goes to bed to sit.

Once the film was on, I sat next to her.

My mind was everywhere, but my emotions were worse. I never had to deal with these feelings before, but now I have to deal with them before I break. But the problem I had was, was I going to fight someone, or was I going to cry like a baby?

I leaned my head back, and Olaf came on the screen. My eyes were glued to the dancing snowman.

I needed to stop being in my head, but an image of Blake flooded my brain, and I’m instantly missing him once more. I know I have to tell him what I did, but I hope no one mentions what I did before I get to speak to him.