Chapter 102

Chapter 102

***Chastity***

The next couple of weeks went by quickly. Lexi, Colby, and I did get to go home to decorate for

Christmas the first weekend of December. That had been a lot of fun as I had never really been

involved in decorating for Christmas before. I also got to go have dinner with just my dad, and me.

That was something we had never done before. He spent a lot of time telling me stories about himself

as a pup. I hadn’t known I had an aunt. Unfortunately I would probably never meet her as she had

mated with someone from another pack. She, and my dad had never been particularly close as their

ages were so far apart. She was older by almost 10 years. He also hadn’t heard from her in several

years.

He also told me more about my mom, and even managed to find my grandmother’s contact

information. He thought that she might be interested in getting to know her granddaughter He told me

that my mother had dreamed of going to Cloverland, but wasn’t able to due to financial reasons. At that

time there really wasn’t much in the way of scholarships.

Norm, and Marcus also had some big news of their own when we returned from Thanksgiving break.

Marcus’s parents did join Norm’s family for Thanksgiving. According to Norm Marcus’s father spent

more time watching what was going on around him than speaking, but he was not rude in any way. Just

quiet. Marcus’s mother instantly hit it off with Norm’s mother. They spent the whole visit talking,

laughing, and joking. Norm told me that he had never seen Marcus so happy. I was happy for them.

As soon as Lexi, Colby, and I returned from our weekend of Christmas decorating, finals began. All

extra circulars were put on hold for those two weeks. The only class we didn’t have a final for was

Anatomy We did have a mid-term though. After our Christmas break we would be starting the wolf

systems.

I felt bad for Colby, and Marcus because for those two weeks they were almost completely ignored.

Lexi, Norm, and I were so tired, and stressed we were also very snappy. At one point I thought Lexi

was going to make Colby cry. He decided to bring us dinner one night while we were studying. He sat

behind Lexi, and started rubbing her back as she studied. She bit his head off, and threatened to never

let him near again if he kept touching her. I’ve never seen my brother leave a room so quickly. I felt bad

for laughing, but I did.

Poor Rowen was amazing through the whole thing. Also more patient with me than I think any Alpha

had ever been. He would still video call every night. I would answer the call, say hello, then proceed to

ignore him until I passed out. He never once complained though. Just called every night, said hi, and

worked. I’m sure he said good night as well before disconnecting, but I was already asleep by that

point.

Two of my finals ended up being presentations. Well one was a presentation. The other was a practical

exam in which I had to demonstrate what I learned on an actual person. I hated, and loved that at the

same time. I was able to actually put to use what I learned. I think I did really well. I would find out how I

did on everything today as finals had ended two days prior. Lexi, Norm, and I ended up sleeping for

close to 12 hours once we were finished then took a day to stay in our pajamas, and do absolutely

nothing. Well at least I did. I have a feeling Lexi, and Norm spent their time making things up to their

mates. I didn’t want to even think about that though.

Today was the last day of the semester. We didn’t have classes, thankfully. While I was waiting for my

grades I decided to clean up my room, and do laundry. I had never had such a messy room, and I

hated it. As I was trying to clean Lilac had also been really clingy. I guess I had been ignoring her a lot.

I felt bad, but there wasn’t much I could do. I had to focus if I wanted to do well. It was during my

seventh or eighth check for my grades that I received an email from Dean Leonard to come to his

office. That really worried me.

I took a quick shower, put my hair in a ponytail, threw on clothes, and left my room. I almost laughed

when I ran into Lexi in the elevator. I hadn’t seen her since our last final.

“Where are you headed?” I asked Lexi.

“I got an email from Dean Leonard, asking me to meet with him.” Lexi answered.

“I got a request from him too.”

“I wonder what’s going on.”

“I hope nothing bad.”

“I’m sure it’s not anything bad Chastity.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you get your grades yet?”

“Not yet, but I think they said they’ll be posted by 5:00 this evening.”

“I hope so.”

“Have you started packing yet?”

“No. You?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t forget we need to be at Norm, and Marcus’s at 6:00 for dinner.”

“I know. Do you think one of them cooked?”

“Goddess I hope not.”

“Me too.”

We giggled as we entered Dean Leonard’s office. His secretary asked us to have a seat, and she let

him know we were there. I had tried really hard not to think about this meeting or what it was about.

Now that

I was here it was all I could think about, and I was really nervous. I worked really hard this semester. I

felt I did well. I would be heart broken if I had to leave because I failed. Finally Dean Leonard’s

secretary told me I could go into his office.

With sweaty palms, and shaky legs, I walked in. He was sitting at his desk, writing something. As soon

as he heard the door close he looked up, and smiled at me then asked me to sit. I sat down in one of

the

brown leather chairs in front of his desk, and waited. It only took him a minute to close the file he had

been looking at then grab another one, and open it. I really hoped he would tell me what this was all

about as I was really starting to freak out inside. Finally he looked up at me, and smiled again.

“Hi Chastity. How are you?” Dean Leonard asked.

“I’m ok. A little nervous, if I’m being honest sir.” I answered quietly.

“There is nothing to be nervous about. Trust me.”

“Uh. OK?”

“As you may know the professors here report outstanding students to me, frequently. I also receive

phone calls from those who really believe in the skills of certain students.”

“I….I did not know that, sir.”

“Ah. Well I do. I must say Chastity, I am very impressed.”

“You are?”

“Your professors have said wonderful things about you. They say that you are very attentive, you retain

a lot of knowledge, take notes well, are a quick study, and you consistently have work completed early.

You also read quite a bit ahead, and seem more prepared for every class than the majority of your

classmates.”

“Oh. I…..I’ve always believed in being fully prepared.”

“You are that by quite a bit. That is something to be very proud of.”

“Thank you sir.’

“You’re welcome. On top of that I have received several phone calls from a a previous graduate, and

short term professor of Cloverland about your skills, abilities, and knowledge. This person sees great

potential in you, and another student here. This person also sees you as her predecessor in a few

years.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Do you happen to know who I might be speaking of?”

“….I’m sorry sir, but I don’t.”

“I am speaking of Wanda, or as you may know her, midwife Wanda “

“Midwife Wanda?”

“Yes. She says she has known you for years, and has always been quite impressed with you. She also

informed me that while on break during Thanksgiving you, and Lexi spent a full day with her,

shadowing her, asking questions, learning, and even participating with a patient or two she saw that

day. This was something you, and Lexi decided to do on your own, without her contacting you to see if

you would be interested in spending a day with her. This is something that has impressed her very

much.”

“I’ve always enjoyed learning from midwife Wanda. She knows that when she retires, my hope is to

replace her as our head midwife.”

“I am aware, as is she. She has confidence in both you, and Lexi.”

“She does?”

“Very much. Now let me get to the point.”

“Ok?”

“Chastity, how truly interested in being a nurse are you?”

“I’m not sure I understand the question, sir.”

“You are doing a double major, but are you doing nursing because you truly want to be a nurse or are

you doing nursing simply so you can assist midwife Wanda in every capacity?”

“Oh. I….um…..I am doing nursing because I thought you needed to do nursing in order to become a

midwife.”

“Ah. Well you really don’t.”

“I don’t?”

“No. You don’t. Nursing is a broad area while being a midwife is a specialty. You do not need a degree

in nursing to get a degree in midwifery.”

“Oh. I did not know that.”

“Well now you do.”

“Yes I do.”

“If you do not need a nursing degree, would you choose to continue for it, or would you chose to just

doing midwifery?”

“I…..uh….Nursing is interesting, but my heart is more in midwifery. If I’m being honest.”

“That’s what I thought. Chastity, while you are doing well in your nursing courses so far, you are

excelling in your classes for midwifery.”

“I am?”

“Yes you are.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“And I’m glad to say it. Now to the point of this conversation. I spoke to Wanda this morning. She

knows that you, and Lexi are both wanting to become midwives at Moonlight once you graduate. You

would be doing your hands on training with Wanda to prepare for when she retires which she plans to

do in a little under 5 years now.”

“I knew of her plan.”

“I’m sure you are. What I’m getting to is that the midwife program is shorter than the nursing program. If

you dropped the nursing program, and focus solely on midwifery, you would graduate a year from now

instead of 3 years. That would give you 3 and a half years of hands on training, and taking over for

Wanda, instead of only 2 years of training with her.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“It’s true. What I would like to know is if you would be interested in dropping nursing to focus only on

midwifery? Now understand that while working at the hospital with Wanda, you can also spend time

learning more about nursing so you can back up the nurses when you are needed. With that training

you can get a certificate in nursing due to experience. Wanda has total faith in you, as do I, that you will

exce!, and be fully ready to take over when she retires.”

“I…..wow. Um…..

“You can sit in my waiting room, and think about it while I speak to Lexi, if you would like. I will need an

answer today though as I will need to make changes to your schedule for next semester, immediately.”

“Uh… yeah. I’d like to think about it a bit.”

“Ok. Go ahead out to the waiting room, and send Lexi in.”

“Ok. Thank…..thank you sir

I got up, and left his office, sending Lexi in. As I sat on the couch in the waiting room, I thought about

everything. While I enjoyed my early nursing classes, my degree in midwifery was my ultimate goal. I

had done nursing because I thought I had to do both. There was a small part of me that wanted to do it

to help the nurses at the pack hospital, but that hadn’t been what drove me. Something about being in

the delivery room, helping moms bring pups into the world spoke to me. It was what I truly wanted to

do. No matter how young I was when I was in delivery rooms, I loved every moment of it. It was

magical, and

I something I wanted to experience for years to come.

Knowing that the program was only a year and a half long wasn’t something to take lightly either. If I

finished in a year and a half instead of 3 years it would mean I would get to home sooner. I would be

with my family, and friends earlier than I thought. It would also mean a lot less time away from Rowen.

This time next year I could be receiving my diploma, and be moving home to start my life with my mate

The only negative in this option was not receiving a diploma for Nursing. Dean Leonard said I could still

get my certificate due to hands on training at home though. That may take a little longer, I wasn’t really

sure, but eventually I would also be a nurse. That wasn’t a big enough negative to not drop nursing

though.

I made up my mind. I knew what I was going to do, and I was excited about it for lots of reasons. I also

had a little Christmas surprise to give everyone I love too. I couldn’t wait to see their faces when I told

them. I would need to contact midwife Wanda to set up days to spend shadowing her for the next two

weeks, but I was sure she would have no problem with it. It would also give me something to do while

everyone else was working or in school during my visit home.

When Dean Leonard’s door opened again, Lexi walked out looking shocked, but also happy. I tilted my

head in question at her. She smiled, and nodded at me. We were both going to do the same thing. I

was so excited.

“I’ll be 6 months behind you.” Lexi said quietly

“Why? If we’re in the same program we’ll finish at the same time.” I responded, confused.

“We’ll graduate together, but I’m going to stay here until Colby finishes school. His program is 2 years.

He’ll have 6 months left when we graduate. I can’t leave my mate here without me.

“Oh. I didn’t think about that. That does make sense.”

“Yeah. So are you going to do it?”

“Yes. I’m going to tell everyone at Christmas. While we’re home I was also going to contact midwife

Wanda to shadow her some days.”

“Good idea. I want to be part of that too.”

“I hope so. I need to give Dean Leonard my answer, and I have a question for him.”

“Ok. I’ll wait here then we’ll head to Norm, and Marcus’s.”

“NORM! Oh no. He’s going to be so upset.”

“Don’t worry about sugar pop. I’m sure he’s going to be more excited for us than anything.”

“I know, but…..”

“Don’t worry small fry. We’ll make sure we don’t abandon him.”

“Yes we will.”

We smiled at each other, and I went back into Dean Leonard’s office.

“So what did you decide Chastity?” Dean Leonard asked.

“I’m going to do it. I’m going to drop Nursing.” I responded with a smile.

“Alright. I will make the appropriate schedule changes today.”

“I did have one question.”

“Sure.”

“Will ! continue with Anatomy class?”

“Technically you could stop taking it now, and keep the grade you have currently as your final grade as

females do not birth their pups in their wolf form.”

“I….I would rather continue the class. Even though we deliver our pups as humans, I still want to learn

the system of wolves, just as I did for humans.”

“Lexi said the same thing.”

“I’ve also come too far in that class to give up now.”

“An intelligent way to look at it. You will continue in that class then. Please understand that the next

year of classes will be very intense, and require a lot of hard work, as well as focus.”

“I understand.”

“Very good. Well have a good rest of your day. Oh, and Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you as well sir.”

Lexi, and I left the admin building chatting about what to expect moving forward. We were both very

excited. I was also very honored to know midwife Wanda had enough faith in my abilities to call the

school about me specifically. I would make sure not to let her down. I was glad Lexi would be going

along with me on this journey as well.

Lexi, and I did decide to not tell Norm about this until he and Marcus came to Moonlight for a visit. They

planned to come for New Years. Norm’s mom was also coming as the sister of Norm’s that lived at

Moonlight was due to deliver a pup close to then. Norm’s mom wanted to be there to help care for their

older pup while mom, and dad could prepare, be at the hospital without worry then bond with the new

pup a bit.

After grabbing the gifts I had for Norm, and Marcus I went to their apartment. Norm opened the door

with a squeal, and happy dance, making me laugh. He hugged me than drug me into the apartment.

They had set up a small table top Christmas tree just for the occasion. They would be spending

Christmas with Norm’s family.

“Hi Norm. Hi Marcus.” I greeted them both with a smile then sat the gifts on the floor with the tree. “Hey

there Chas. Did you get your grades?” Marcus asked as he handed me a bottle of water

“I did.” I responded.

“Oh. How did you do?” Norm bounced.

“I got 4 As and 1 B. What about you?” I answered as I sat down on the floor.

“Same. I am really proud of myself” Norm gushed.

“As well you should be babe.” Marcus smiled, and kissed Norm’s cheek.

At that point there was a knock at the door. Norm rushed off then came back with Lexi, and Colby who

were also carrying gifts. Norm bounced into the kitchen to grab them drinks. Lexi, and Colby greeted

Marcus than found places to sit.

“So Lexus, how did you do?” Marcus asked.

“All As and Bs.” Lexi said proudly.

“We’re all so smart.” Norm giggled.

“What about you Colby? How did you do?” I asked.

“We don’t get graded like you all do. Our classes, as you call them are more like warrior training with

more specialty. Once we have mastered something we move onto the next. I will say that the trainers

are really impressed with how quickly I’m progressing.” Colby explained.

“That’s awesome.” I said with a smile, and a pat on the back.

“Wait. Does that mean you’re going to get more muscles?” Norm asked, trying to maintain a straight

face

“Norm!” Lexi gasped.

“It’s alright sweets. Probably not Norm. My specialty doesn’t require more muscle. It’s more agility,

scent, observation, and things like that.” Colby responded.

“Huh. OK. I guess that makes sense.” Norm nodded.

“By the way Marcus, they will have an opening for an observation instructor in the spring. I put in a

good word for you with the department head.” Colby stated.

“You did? What made you think I would be good at that?” Marcus questioned.

“I noticed you watch everything around you, always. Your eyes never stop moving. You’re always

paying close attention to every detail. It would mean more regular hours, and a nice pay increase from

being a pack warrior”

“You always were one to catch things none of us really saw, Marcus.” Lexi added.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m qualified. I never got any formal training.” Marcus said as he scratched

the back of his head.

“Doesn’t really matter.” Colby said leaning back on the couch, and pulling Lexi back against him.

“What do you mean?”

“The department head said that the interview itself is pretty basic. Mostly going over your warrior

training, and any commendations you received over the years. The bigger thing is the test.”

“Test?”

“Yeah. They test your abilities in a practical setting. How well you do on that will determine if you’re a

candidate for the job.”

“Oh. Well that makes sense.”

“Yeah. They don’t need you to sit in front of them, and blow smoke. What they need is to see your

skills.” “That makes sense.”

“Yeah. Well if you’re interested the application is in your email. I asked the department head send it to

you right before I came home this evening.”

“Shit. Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Not to be an ass or anything, but will we be eating soon? I’m starving.”

We all laughed at Colby. He was always hungry these days. He said it was because of the work they

put him through at school.

“Yeah. I paid one of the cafeteria workers to bring the food up to us. It should be here any minute.”

Marcus responded

“Awesome.” Colby sighed.

“You guys will NEVER guess who asked me and Marcus to dinner tomorrow right.” Norm stated.

“Who?” Lexi asked before I could.

“My father. He called just before you got here. Asked Norm, and I for dinner. Said he had something for

us.” Marcus answered, sounding a bit tense.

“Have you two talked much since Thanksgiving?” I questioned.

“A bit. Mostly about work stuff. He’s thinking of retiring soon too.” Marcus responded

“What does he do?”

“He’s an accountant. Mom is a secretary for our law firm. They both want to retire soon.”

“They seem pretty young to retire.”

“Actually dad is close to 60. They had me kind of late. Dad wanted to get his career established, and

mom wasn’t ready to have pups yet so they waited.”

“Did they ever want more than one?”

“I never asked. I don’t think so though.”

“Ah.”

“Your dad did offer to do tax returns for my parents, as well as my brothers and sisters, if they wanted.”

Norm stated.

“Of course he did. When did he offer to do that?” Marcus asked.

“At Thanksgiving.”

“Of course. Talking about money, and how to make some.”

“No. He offered to do it for free. He did actually talk to me for a minute or two when he was talking to

dad about ways to get more back in the tax return.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me to tell you that when tax time comes to come see him. He’ll do our taxes in a way that will

get us something back with the house, my being in school, and us being mated now He said all of that

changes the way our taxes are done, and he doesn’t want us to get screwed.”

“Why didn’t he come to me with that?”

“He said he didn’t want you to take it the wrong way. He figured if I told you, that you might listen before

getting upset. He also said something about looking into scholarships for me since we’re mated, you’re

a warrior, and there are scholarships for the mates of warriors.”

“Oh. Uh. Alright.”

“I know he’s an asshole, but he is trying Marcus. Maybe more for your mom than for you, but he is still

trying.”

“Yeah. I guess I’ll talk to him about this tomorrow.”

“Good.”

Norm hoped off the couch when there was another knock at the door. Colby followed him to help with

the food we knew was at the door. As soon as the food was laid out we began to talk, laugh, and joke.

Norm was his normal bouncy, bubbly self. He had me laughing so hard at one point water came out of

my nose. Making everyone laugh even harder.

When we finished eating we decide it was time for presents. Norm took up the job of playing Santa. He

even had a Santa hat, and elf shoes with bells on them. I was glad I brought my camera as I snapped

several pictures of him all dressed up.

“Ho. Ho. Ho. First present is for…..Lexi.” Norm said trying to do a deep Santa voice, failing, and making

us all laugh.

“This is from Marcus.” Lexi read the tag, sifted through the tissue paper, and pulled out a light pink

sweater dress.

“I hope it’s the right size. I asked Colby to check the sizes on your dresses for me.” Marcus said,

scratching the back of his head.

“It is, and I love it. Thank you Marcus. Colby, you have to take me out on a date soon so I can wear it”

Lexi stated.

“Yes sweets.” Colby said with a smile.

“Next gift is for…me!” Norm squealed, “It’s from Chastity

He quickly tore open the paper, making me giggle. He was definitely not a neat gift opener. He picked

up the gift card I had taped to the second layer of wrapping paper, grinned, and squealed.

“SHOPPING!” Norm yelled.

“Oh boy.” Marcus snickered.

Next Norm ripped open the second layer of paper to find the blanket. As soon as he shook it out, he

bounced happily

“I LOVE it Chas! I can’t wait to put it on the bed! What do you think Marcus?” Norm squealed.

“If you love it, than I’m happy.” Marcus smiled at Norm’s excitement

“It’s a king size so if one of you is a blanket hog. Norm, there should still be enough for the both of you.”

I said with a giggle, and a wink at Marcus.

“I’m not the blanket hog. He is.” Norm sniffed.

“Uh. Not quite.” Marcus chuckled, and Norm stuck his tongue out at him, making us all laugh again.

“Ok. Next present is for…Colby.” Norm said, and handed the gift to him.

“Thanks. It’s from Marcus.” Colby opened the package to find bluetooth ear buds, “Thanks man. I

needed these. I just lost one of mine.”

“I remembered. You’re welcome.” Marcus responded.

“CHASTITY’S TURN!” Norm bounced over to me, and handed me a gift bag.

“Thanks Norm. It’s from… Norm.” I said as I moved tissue paper around then pulled out a picture

frame. It had Captain America’s shield in one corner, and the flag painted around the rest of it. “I love it.

Thank you.”

“I thought you could put a picture of Rowen in there since you said he’s a big Captain America Fan.”

Norm said as he grabbed another present.

“I think I know just the one too.” I said with a smile

“This one is for Marcus.” Norm bounced over to Marcus, and handed him a box.

“Thanks. It’s from Chastity.” Marcus stated.

I was a little nervous about this one. I had gotten Marcus a set of plain travel mugs originally then I

printed out the pictures from my photo class of Norm in the woods. They came out so well that I had

some added to the mugs. The rest were in an album for Marcus. There was also a gift card to a home.

improvement store for him to use for their house. Marcus spent a minute inspecting each mug then

quickly flipped through the photo album.

“Wow! I….I don’t know what to say Chastity. Thank you. They are great.” Marcus finally said with a

smile.

“You’re welcome. The other gift bag under there from me is just some empty frames for the two of you

to put some pictures in.” I stated.

“Yay! I get to hang more pictures.” Norm said excitedly.

“Yes you do love.” Marcus said with a smile for Norm.

Norm handed out the rest of the gifts. They were mostly for him, and Marcus any way as Lexi, Colby,

and I would be exchanging gifts at home on Christmas. From Marcus I got a leather bound, purple

dyed journal, and a new pen to go with it. I was excited to use it, as I had used almost half of my

current journal already. Colby got ankle weights from Norm, that he had been saying he needed. From

Norm, Lexi got a red cashmere sweater we had seen her eyeing not too long ago.

Norm got a pair of tie-dye sneakers he had seen from Lexi. Colby got him a signed poster from his

favorite movie. Lexi got Marcus the sports watch he had been wanting. Colby wasn’t sure what to get

him until he took me to get the home improvement store gift card. He ended up getting Marcus a tool

belt since he didn’t have one, and a new tool box as his was falling apart.

After some more chatting, and picture taking as Norm wanted pictures of our evening together, it was

time to head back to our rooms. When I got back to mine I pulled out my laptop to call Rowen, and to

go through the pictures I had of him to choose one to put in my new frame. Of course he was very

excited about the frame which made me giggle. The picture I ended up choosing was one of the ones

of Duke sitting in the gazebo. After that was done, I turned my laptop to face the rest of my room as I

started to pack for my trip home. We ended our call as soon as I was done, and I dropped off to sleep,

excited to spend two weeks at home.