The rest of the day ends up being a wash. Carter is tied up in meetings or his duties all day so Amara can’t even catch a glimpse of him. Her parents are either avoiding her to give them all space or legitimately too busy to talk to her, she’s not sure which she is hoping for more.

At some point, she just gives up, sends Maddox a text, and goes to bed early to read and hopefully sleep the funk that has settled over her away. Fingers crossed, tomorrow will be a better day but at that moment she is done and can’t deal with anything else.

Patrols have dwindled so regular meal routines and assignments are back in place. Only two people were cooking the following morning because of it. Eloise, an elderly woman, and Gerald, one of the young Enforcers who Amara has cooked with before and seems to enjoy it. She offered them a hand and then the three of them sat and ate together once they were all finished.

It would have been an enjoyable morning were it not for the feeling of eyes watching her. She felt paranoid and silly until she spotted Lyam and one of his friends keeping tabs on her for whatever reason. They were hiding and trying to go unnoticed which mostly worked but they messed up once or twice.

Not having the energy to deal with whatever they have going on, Amara did her best to block them out. Passing by a few familiar faces she offers greetings and stops to have some quick small talk before she is finally out the back door.

Breathing in the crisp breeze mixed with the fresh smell of grass is unbelievably calming. She is so caught up in it that she doesn't notice the child barreling towards her. That is until they make contact with her left side and she has to dig her right foot into the ground and lower her body to keep from falling over.

Looking down at whoever had launched themselves onto her, she sees the wide eyes of little Emma looking pleased with catching Amara off guard. Behind her is Jonah with an amused grin. "Hi, Ama! We haven't seen you in sooo long" whines Emma. "No it hasn't," Jonah says rolling his eyes. "Well, I've missed Emma so so much that it's felt like forever" Amara replies back hugging the small girl.

Emma on her part hugs back while sticking her tongue out at her brother. "Being with her every day feels like forever" Jonah quips back lightheartedly. Despite herself, Amara laughs and Jonah looks mighty proud of himself while Emma starts protesting and calling him mean.

"Come on now, were you guys going somewhere?" Amara asks before the siblings can begin to squabble. "We had our first training session with Mr. Kaede and were going home when we saw you" explained Jonah.

"Do you have chores to do?" she asks, not wanting them to get sidetracked and in trouble with their parents. "Nope! we have free time until we have to go home for dinner" Emma informs while tugging Amara along. "That's Awesome! So, you guys wanna go to the courts?" she asks the cubs and they immediately nod enthusiastically.

The courts are the area where you can go to play just about any sport you want. They end up at the basketball courts. It isn’t Amara’s sport of choice but they mostly mess around taking shots and challenging each other to silly things like getting the ball in the basket while shooting backward.

Running back and forth on the court is easy but actually getting the ball in the hoop seems to be a skill the three of them lack. Jonah is the best of them but that isn't saying much. Still, it is fun, carefree, and exactly what she had needed. After a while, they leave the courts knowing dinner time is near and the cubs will have to head home.

On their way back they come across Carter who approaches "Getting back from the courts?" he asks trying to look casual but she can see alertness in his eyes. "Yeah, it's starting to get late in the evening so we called it a wrap" she answers.

"That's good, we're doing some training so we told everyone to stay in for the night so they don't get caught up. You should all get back inside before sundown" Carter is obviously trying to hint at something. They have a plan of some sort for tonight and need the pack to be none the wiser. No wonder he and Maddox had been so busy. Their conversation will have to wait until after all of this gets sorted out.

"I'll go take Emma and Jonah home so their parents don't worry."

"Get yourself back in the pack house safely too," Carter says with a nod, ruffling Jonah's hair before walking away. For the millionth time, Amara wishes she had a mind link to the Onyx Moon pack already so she could just mentally ask for details.

Although even if she did, Amara doubts Carter would let her in on exactly what is going on. There's no reason for her to be let in on whatever secret plan they put together. Getting Jonah and Emma back, she gets to see Lauren who thanks Amara for getting them in safely and spending the afternoon looking after the two.

Amara makes sure to be in before sunset noting how, except for a few Enforcers spread out, the coast is clear. Everyone must have gotten the memo probably thinking nothing of it or picking up on anything being wrong.

The feeling of being watched is there again and she groans in annoyance grabbing a small plate of dinner and heading up to lock herself in her room with some tv for the night. At least there she can be in peace. Hopefully, Lyam gets it together before she is forced to confront him and whatever Carter and most likely Min and Maddox are doing is a success so they can return unharmed. Amara knows she can’t handle anything happening to them. They have all become important to her in different ways.