When we arrived back at the pack house I helped Mr.Louis unload the trailer and carry everything up thoes creaking old stairs. Which seems to be getting weaker with every passing day. So I ask Mr. Louis if he had time to rebuild them before school started back.
He shook his head in response, " No,classes are starting up on Monday but rebuilding the stairs is a simple project. One that will fit well with my lesson plan for the senior class to learn outside home improvements this semester. I can leave a supply list for you this evening when we're done here. So that you can have everything ready for us on " He paused a moment then hummed,studying the stairs then added "let's say for Wednesday morning."'
" Souds good, I will have everything on the list by Wednesday morning. I'll just stack everything underneath the stairs.That way you can get started whenever you get here."
" That sounds fine, now if you will excuse me. I need to get back inside before Evelyn skins my alive." He chuckled, glancing up towards Xavier's bedroom window where his wife was hard at work.
" Well, we definitely wouldn't want that to happen." I chuckled also " So, I guess you better get back up there and help her out. Just leave the list on the kitchen island tonight and I'll get it later." I said, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder before he hurried up the stairs and slipped back inside the apartment.
"Come sweetheart, let's go" I said, giving Andie's hand a tug to follow me inside the garage.
Where I raffled through a cabinet beside the work bench and found an assortment of caution signs. Taking six of the Danger Falling Rock signs out of the box along with some zip ties to secure them to the fence.
" We'll take the four wheeler " I murmured,
jotting my chin towards the back of the garage where my four wheeler was parked.
Andie's face instantly litt up. " Can I drive?" She ask excitedly, leaning in a little closer and gripping my forearm with her other hand. Causing those tiny little sparks to unexpectedly shoot up my arm and take my breath away momentarily.
I sucked in a deep breath and agreed. "Sure , sweetheart."I said, a bit too high pitched standing back to let her climb on first.
" Use the same trail we used to get to the cave." I murmured,as we rumbled out of the garage "you'll see the cutoff about 100 yards up ahead on the right. Take that cutoff and just stay on the trail. It'll take us straight to the dungeon." I pointed out mistakenly thinking that she wouldn't take off like a bat out of hell.
Which of course, I was wrong and had to gripe the rack on the back just to stay on when she slid around the tree to take the cutoff.
After the daredevil slide at the cutoff we zoomed down the trail at breakneck speed reaching the dungeon in record time.
Where I climbed off the four wheeler with shakey legs and held my hand out to help my little speed demon get off.
I then contacted the guards on duty to inform them of what's going on. I also reminded them to stick to protocol when approached by anyone other than myself or Skyler.
Which is just a simple reply of how this area is restricted and dangerous with no access without my approval.
Then Andie and I hung the danger signs along the fence right beside the no trespassing signs that was already in place.
Making it back to the Pack house just in time for lunch to be served in the family dining room down stairs. We waltzed right in and took our designated places, just as Penny came out pushing a cart filled with different drink selections.
Reminding me that I haven't updated her on the status of her case yet. " Penny," I called to get her attention.
"Yes , Alpha " she murmured politely as she set Andie's soda on the table.
" I have good news for you, the man who tried to kidnap your little girl has been caught and being punished for his crime against you." I informed her.
Her face light up."Oh goddess, thank you, Alpha." She gushed patting her chest as though a burden had been lifted.
" There's no need to thank me,it's my job to keep everyone safe." I said honestly "I'm just glad that I have an awesome team to help me." I smiled, glancing over at Andie.
Which didn't go unnoticed, " So,you let Andie fight that guy ?"My dad ask, with disapproval clearly in his tone.
I shock my head , " No need,Andie's a brilliant strategist. She identified the guy, called in special forces(AKA Chloe ) and planned an extraction using a chemical agent that minimized the use of physical force." I summarized, Watching as my dad's Alpha face went from stoic to curious to just plan dumbfounded.
But he shook it off quickly and ask his next question. "So, if you didn't find the guy out in woods hiding or trying to kidnap another cub? How did you know he was the one responsible for the kidnapping?"
" The investigation we conducted on the other ones from the cave led us to him. Then Andie devised a plan to extract him without us being detected or any need to use force. That's where Chloe's talents came in. She's the one who got us in and out of the guys house without being seen. Thanks to Andie and Chloe everything was done in less than a hour. All Skyler and I was in this operation is muscle. Our mates are the real masterminds behind getting this case wrapped up so quickly." I said proudly, giving Andie's hand a squeeze.
My dad hummed thoughtfully tapping his chin with his forefinger . " So ,what you're really saying is that you and Skyler have stolen two brilliant members of the Silver Moon Pack by the will of the Moon Goddess. I'm really not sure if the two you are worthy of such talented mates. But it's not my place to question the decisions of the moon goddess." My dad said teasingly, causing everyone around the table to laugh while mumbling their playful good hearted agreements to his statement .
" I know ,it's truly amazing how lucky I am." I agreed, lacing my fingers through Andie's.
My mom smiled at the gesture then suddenly exclaimed." Oh no! You need rings for the ceremony."
" What?" I ask, taken a back by the urgency in my mother's tone.
"Darling, you need rings for Andie's ceremony you will also need to buy her a gift for the next Luna to wear for her ceremony. It's tradition in our pack for the new Luna to wear the heirloom platinum and Diamond chandelier earrings that belonged to Queen Nora and the gift that was given to the previous Luna by the previous Alpha. Andie will be wearing my diamond tennis bracelet that your father gave me." She then glanced at her watch and said " Now hurry up and eat your lunch so that you can go see Mr. Nelson before he closes his shop. You might get lucky and find something in his stock that you like. Or if not ,maybe he'll have time to design something you like. You still have a couple more weeks left so he should be able to come up with something."
So that's how I found myself back in Juneau down on South Franklin Street where the cruise ships dock. Mr. Nelson has a jewelry store and gift shop set up there to catch the tourist traffic.
Mrs.Nelson works with the customers while Mr.Nelson twiddles away at a table behind the counter making tiny little charms and pendants from various metals to sale to the tourist earning himself a decent living.
However his private collection is in the back of his shop tucked away safely in a vault. That usually requires an advanced appointment and extra security just to take a look at it.
But thankfully Mr. and Mrs.Nelson is a member of my pack and has been doing business with my family for about fifty years now. So there's no need for extra security or closing his shop for me to see what he's got.
" Zack, what a pleasant surprise to see you today." Mrs.Nelson cheerfully greeted as I came closer prompting Mr.Nelson to raise his head.
" Hey Zack, What can I do for you today?" Mr. Nelson ask quickly glancing over at Andie with a knowing grin on his face.
" I need a ring for my girl." I said proudly, slinging my arm around Andie's shoulder.
"Well in that case come on back and let's go take a look." He said, standing up with a wave of his hand for us to follow him into the vault in the back of the store .
After entering the vault Mr. Nelson jotted his chin towards a table with a black velvet table cloth on top of it." Have a seat over there at the table and I'll show you what I've got. I just picked up a few new diamonds last week in New York. Some of them I have already designed settings for and some are still lose." He murmured, as he pulled a few trays from a shelf and stalked over to where we were setting.
He then took a seat in front of us and lifted one of the lids revealing about a hundred Diamond rings. All with different size and shape
diamonds in various types of settings.
He then plucked one from the center of the tray and handed it to Andie. " Now this one here isn't the biggest one I have. The center stone is only a little over five carats. But it's flawless and the best one of the lot and I believe with your petite frame it would be perfect.The cut is excellent, it's also a D on the GIA color grading scale meaning it's as colorless as a Diamond can get. Now keep in mind if you like the stone I can always remount it into any setting of your choice." Mr. Nelson explained as Andie slipped the ring on and off her finger examining it carefully.
" I like this halo setting it really looks good with the cushion shape of the diamond.Can you tell me a little bit about the diamonds you used in the setting?" Andie ask, which wasn't a teenage girls response at all.
And honestly I'm not surprised. It seems that my girl is thanking rationally the same way that I am. This ring isn't just a pretty little bauble to flash around to her friends. It's an investment,
and sure the setting can always be replaced or changed into a different piece of jewelry altogether.
But as it is right now, I will be paying for every diamond used to make the setting also. And it's always a good idea to make sure you're getting a good deal and not some random left over diamonds without much value.
Andie's question didn't seem to bother Mr. Nelson at all , he just smiled "Ah..That's a good question. It seems like our little Luna isn't just beautiful, she has a good head on her shoulders.But rest assured Luna, I have an appraisal from a third party Certified GIA gemologist that you will be taking home with you along with the GIA report on the center diamond. Now to answer your question, I used twenty two smaller diamonds making the setting giving the setting a total of two and half carats. Each one of them are equal in cut, color, and,clarity as the larger five carat center stone. Making the total carat weight for the ring right at seven and half flawless carats. And of course I used platinum to enhance the beauty of such perfect stones." Mr. Nelson patiently explained, what sounded like to me was going to be quite a hefty investment.
" I, like it, What do you think?" Andie ask, sticking her hand out for me to see.
" I think it's a beautiful ring and if you like it, that's the one we'll get." I said, without missing a beat.
Andie nodded, "I do, it's a gorgeous ring, but I don't want it resized just yet. I want to keep it the size it is for now . So that I can wear it on my middle finger until we complete the bond. Who knows my fingers might grow between now and then." Andie reasoned.
Which I thought was a good idea also. It would definitely save us a lot of time not having it sized twice just in case Andie did take a growing spell.
" That's a good idea sweetheart. Mr. Nelson we'll take this one the way it is. I also need something else but I'm not really sure what." I said honestly, just to hear Mr. Nelson chuckle.
" So what's this something else for? Maybe if you tell me what it's for, perhaps I can help you choose something appreciate."Mr. Nelson said sounding quite amused.
" Its a gift for Andie that she's going to give to our daughter in law." I murmured lamely ,even sounding stupid to myself.
But thankfully Mr. Nelson didn't laugh again. His eyebrows rose , " Ah ha! The Luna gift. " He uttered ,jumping from his chair and fetching a different set of trays and placing them on top of the ring trays.
He then flipped the first one open showcasing all different types of necklaces on chains with large diamond and gemstone pendant hanging from them.There was also a few pearl necklaces in the mix with diamond clasps. Then some of the necklaces were heavy looking diamond and gemstones collar and choker type necklaces. The type like my grandmas wear to important functions.
But nothing caught my eye, but I still ask to make sure " Sweetheart, do you see anything you like?"
She shook her head ," No, I think that I rather have something that I can wear everyday instead of just on formal occasions.Something that I will love, and cherish. After all, I will be giving this important gift to the girl that holds my son's heart and the other half of his soul."Andie said sincerely, and that's the reason it's so hard for me to think of my mate as just a teenage girl.
"That you will, sweetheart." I agreed, then ask " Do you want to design something yourself."
" No, I want you to design something for me." She replied, making me choke on my own saliva.