2 comments/ 6375 views/ 9 favorites Dawn's Innocence By: msnomer68 Chapter 1 The drive back was long and tedious. Texas had been filled with excitement, adventure, and some scary ass shit, but the drive back to the frozen north sucked. Absolutely, without a doubt sucked. In Texas the weather had been cool, not fucking freezing. In Texas, spring was beginning to bloom. Up here, winter dug in her heels and refused to give it up. The scenery had gone from flashes of green and color, to muddy brown, to white, as in snow and ice, white. March was supposed to be the big thaw, an end to winter and the start of spring. Easter bunnies and all that dumb shit, right? At least according to the displays at the Super Center, the official kick off to spring had already started. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn't seem to know about it yet. Tristen didn't mind winter. In fact, he actually kind of liked it. Playing in the snow and giving Kacie innocuous Eskimo kisses had been fun. However, on the flip side of things, summer would be fun too. Less clothes. Kacie showing off her legs in shorts, giving him a good view of her curves in a teeny-weeny bikini. Hell with the bikini, the lake, that secluded lagoon off the beaten path, was absolutely perfect for skinny dipping. Oh, yeah, the fantasy version of Kacie he envisioned in his head showed a hell of a lot more skin than the real life version ever had. The ride back was about as eventful as watching paint dry. He was stuck in the middle row of seats trying not to notice his grandpa and Eloise holding hands while they cooed and kissy faced back and forth to one another. He was an adult. He could take it. Didn't want or need to see it though. He definitely knew all about the wonders of newly discovered love. Well, he didn't know all of them, but he could imagine. Really though, those two lovebirds needed to get a room. The guy, not much older than his middle brother Daniel, Tucker, had been stuck to him like glue. At the last minute, he'd hopped in the rear row of seats and hitched a ride. Tristen didn't mind a little hero worship, if that's what it was. But damn, talk about a pain in the ass. Tucker spent the whole drive back, except for when they stopped to eat or to pee, snoring in Tristen's ear. Tristen didn't need another younger brother. Daniel was a big enough pain in the ass. Well, it was a contest between the two of them, as to which one was a bigger pain in the ass, Tucker or Daniel. No, it wasn't really a contest. Tucker was definitely the bigger pain in the ass. He'd been ogling Kacie, trying to put the moves on her since the SUV had pulled out of Texas. Daniel, at least, understood his place in the order of things. Sure, he looked. Kacie was smoking hot and any teenage boy with a raging case of hormones would look. Tristen could respect that. Daniel though, knew she was out of his league and didn't bother trying. Tucker didn't have a clue. Tristen was going to have to make things crystal clear with the guy. Give him the down low PDQ. Kacie was his girlfriend...his girlfriend and as such she was off limits. He tried not to be too hard on Tucker. The guy had been through enough. What happened in Texas was bad. Truth was, Tucker had helped save the pack's collective ass. He'd been instrumental in helping his grandfather save Eloise from the fire. If she'd died...Tristen didn't want to think about what might have happened instead. He owed the guy, big time and if that meant he'd adopted another little brother or maybe, had a new best friend, so be it. There was one good thing about the gazillion mile drive back home, one very good thing, Kacie. She sat, planted on the bench seat next to him. Sure, she snored, but it didn't bother him in the least. Usually, when she fell asleep, her body gravitated to him on its own accord and she'd rest her head on his shoulder. The snoring in his ear and drooling on his collar, well, he thought it was kind of cute in a Kacie kind of way. In fact, he liked it. He really, really, liked it. The trip they were returning from was the last trip he ever, ever wanted to take again. It hadn't exactly been a family vacation to Disneyland. He'd faced the enemy, put his life in jeopardy, rescued the girl, and somehow, managed to win her heart in the process. Not too bad for a day's work. Rewards were sweet. Kacie snuggled up close to him, trusting him to keep her safe while she slept. Even if she did use him for a pillow, drool, and snore on his shoulder, so what. It was all about the girl. the girl, the girl. His grandpa hadn't done so bad either. Not that Tristen necessarily liked watching his idol and Eloise goosh all over each other like a couple of love sick teenagers. Ole' gramps had scored, big time. He'd managed to rescue Eloise from the bad guy, win her heart, and no doubt, a place in her bed. Not mental images he needed, but still. Tristen could tell by the way the happy couple made goo-goo eyes at each other they'd sealed the deal. His grandpa as a mated male, hard to imagine, but it was all good. The old geezer was a good catch and it was about time he got some game. Tristen saw it as a reassurance that when he got to be that age his man parts would still be fully functional and do something more than dangle like an ornament between his legs. He snickered at the thought of his grandpa being anything other than his grandpa. It was hard to imagine, almost laughable really, that beneath his grandfather's stoic, hardened exterior the old coot was still very much a red blooded, American male. Eloise wasn't exactly hard on the eyes either. She was hot, curvy in all the right places and a looker, in a Mrs. Robinson kind of way. Not that he was into her like that. But hey, at the end of the day he was still a guy and he'd have to be blind not to notice. Eloise was in a word, class true class. Tristen could only guess at her age. Eloise could be as young as fifty or as old as his grandpa. With his kind, it was hard to tell. If Kacie, aged as well as her mother had, Tristen was a lucky guy indeed. Even if she didn't age quite as gracefully as Eloise had. He was still damned lucky. Assuming his mojo held out and she chose him instead of some other schmuck. Kacie had spunk and courage, like her mother. But, unlike mom, Kacie didn't have the confidence and self-assuredness that came with experience and a lifetime of living. She was uncertain about everything. She fought hard for her independence from everybody. She wanted to blaze her own path. And hey, her pack had been pretty dysfunctional. So, he couldn't blame her for that. The best he could hope for though was that when she finally figured out her life she had room for him in it. He was going to do everything in his meager abilities to make sure that she considered him worth making room for. He was the perfect gentleman around her. Ok, so he wasn't perfect, but he was pretty damn close. He coaxed her along with soft, gentle kisses and worked his way in little by little with appreciative, supportive words. He never pushed. He gave her plenty of space. He patiently followed her lead and let her decide how much she would give in return. A woman worth having couldn't be rushed. She was definitely worth the wait. He thought he was a great catch, good looking, strong, brave, and sensitive. Everything a guy was supposed to be. Now, the trick was to convince her of his better qualities while trying to downplay his worst ones. He could be temperamental, demanding, and bossy to the n'th degree. Unfortunately, Kacie was exactly the same way. She was so focused and determined, sometimes, pushy in her drive to get what she wanted. She was absolutely terrified to let her softer side peek through. He got it. In their world, being soft could get you killed. The trick was to find some balance between the alpha in them and meet in the middle. She could be pushy, as long as he was willing to bend. He could be bossy, as long as she could see through it to the true motives behind his demands. He didn't always have to be pushed and she didn't always have to let him boss her around. They were good together when they worked as a team. What happened in Texas had proven that. The combination of their lesser and better traits had gotten them and a whole lot of other people out of there alive. He had her heart. The trick was figuring out a way to keep it. Nothing in their world was a certainty. Texas had proven that as well. Tristen wound his arm around Kacie's slender shoulders and pulled her close. Bending his head to nuzzle the curve of her ear, a grin crossed his lips as she melted into him. He liked that too, a lot. The way her body relaxed and let go, trusting him. Despite anything she might do or say. Her body responded to him and the body never lied. The truth was in the physicality of the two of them together. He was absolutely convinced this, holding her, the two of them as one, was where they were meant to be. Now, the trick was convincing her of the same thing. "We're almost home." Chapter 2 Kacie tucked her head into the curve of Tristen's neck and smiled. She never thought she'd look forward to seeing snow and feeling the cold chill of the last blast of winter against her cheek. She breathed out a sigh of relief as the SUV rolled across the county line into Moore County. The landscape was stark, white, and barren with flat planes of absolutely nothing to look at and the contrasting hills thick with snow dotted evergreens and skeletal tangles of leafless branches with fingers reaching far up into a positively ugly gunmetal gray sky. The town was unremarkable, bland, and completely nothing of note. The main highway, predictably enough named Main Street, ran through the center of town. Some might call this place not even notable enough to be a blip on Google Earth...quaint. Little shops and neat sidewalks lined either side of Main Street. Town, as the locals called it, consisted of a coffee house, a clothing store, a jewelry shop, a florist, a diner, a bar, and not much else. There was a Methodist church and a tiny hospital tucked into the half a dozen blocks of tidy neighborhoods where the good people of this nonexistent place time forgot called home. The weekly newspaper was delivered right on schedule, once a week. Not that anything ever happened here worth reporting. The town was one of those sleepy little burgs people stopped at on their way to someplace better. Situated right off the interstate, weary travelers could fuel up, grab a burger, and get a few winks of shuteye. Not that anyone ever did, though. The vacancy sign at the hotel, the only hotel for fifty miles, was always lit up bright as a Christmas tree. Kacie bet her mother and she were the last people to actually spend the night there. Nash rolled the SUV to a stop at the only traffic light in town and gave a neighborly wave to one of the locals. Had to be a local. The brown barn coat and beat up pickup truck were a dead give away. Mack, the county sheriff was probably bored shitless. The God fearing people of this town rolled up the sidewalks at dark. Well, it was probably for the best that they did though. The place was Dullsville till after the lights went out and all the good citizens were tucked into their beds for the night. After dark was when the paranormals came out to play. The SUV was moving again. Nash pegged the speedometer at a slow crawl as he drove though the deserted streets of town. If these people only knew who their neighbors actually were, they wouldn't feel so secure in their beds. The quaintness of the town gave way to barren stretches of snow covered cornfields as soon as they rolled past What's the Scoop, the local summertime hangout for all things ice cream and junk food related. He signaled and hung a right and eased up on the brakes. The gravel road taking them through the heart of corn fed God's country and deeper into the thick woods also was the way home. The SUV shimmied in the deep ruts left behind by the snowplows. Not that the road was actually clear and down to gravel, but at least it was passable. Rumor had it the woods were haunted. Locals avoided the gnarled tangle of tall trees and thick pines like the plague. Oh, there were a few brave souls. Luckily, humans weren't all that graceful and the wolves had plenty of warning that they had company. She'd rather not be mistaken for a deer, shot, and mounted over some redneck's mantle as a trophy kill. The random hunters weren't the biggest or baddest predators in the woods though. The pack was pretty adept at handling themselves. They preferred rabbits and deer to people. Nope, it wasn't the wolves the hunters needed to worry about. The vampires, for all their noble intentions, were far more dangerous. Tristen's breath was hot against her ear stirring tiny wisps of her hair with his heavy exhale. Kacie forced her thoughts away from the worries plaguing her since before the trip to Texas and focused on him instead. Tristen. What was he to her? A source of endless angst, that was for sure. He had a power over her that she was at a lack of words to describe. His touch heated her. His kisses, even his stupid Eskimo kisses, melted her. She got weak in the knees whenever he was near her. The sensations were as frightening as they were intriguing. For lack of a better term, she supposed he was her boyfriend. She worried that she might not be good enough for him. That she'd disappoint him and that he wanted more than she'd be able to or willing to give. Sex wasn't an issue. Oh yeah, it was a huge issue in its attempt to be a non-issue. Whenever she was around him her body ached for more of his touch. She would happily let him explore her and was eager to explore him in return, but she worried that as badly as she wanted to do the deed, he'd take the offer to mean more than what it did. She leaned into Tristen. The dark stubble of his jaw rubbed against the bridge of her nose. His scent filled her nostrils with the earthy smell of pine, earth, and wild. His lips curled in that cocky, crooked smile she'd come to associate solely with him as he tipped his head down to steal a soft kiss. He delivered a gentle peck on the tip of her nose and that frustrated her. What? Did he accidentally miss her lips? Did he need a map and a compass to find her mouth? Tristen could kiss like Casanova. What was with these timid pecks on the cheek, the tip of her nose, her forehead? Kacie wanted a proper kiss from her boyfriend. Damn it, she'd put up with this petting her on the head stuff and playful non-kisses for over a thousand miles. She didn't care who saw them kissing. She closed her eyes as the closeness of him overwhelmed her senses. Traveling up to lock onto the back of his neck, she tugged him closer to her mouth. Tristen's chocolate brown eyes darkened as they stared down at her, melting her with the heat of desire in his stare. The muscles of his jaw tensed and eased. She could practically see the wheels in his mind turning. He wanted her the same way, with the same burning intensity, that she wanted him. But, Tristen was an all or nothing kind of guy and he played for keeps or he didn't play at all. Kacie wasn't sure if she wanted to keep him or not. Sure, he was a great guy and he'd really come through for her in Texas. Tristen had a big heart. He was trying his damnedest to work his way into hers. She knew that. She'd given in, a little. Let him inside, as much as she was going to, for now. She didn't want to hurt him and if that meant this whole thing between them never went any further than Eskimo kisses and a few chaste pecks. Then that's the way it was going to be. In the meantime though, who could blame her for trying to steal a few guilty pleasures and a few real kisses? Forever was just too big to even think about. She wasn't ready to commit...to anything. The world she'd always known was gone and this new world, a world without fences, which she found herself flung into was wide open and filled with possibilities that she'd never known existed. She wanted... no, she needed time to explore each and every option. Her future might take her on a different path than his. As much as she hoped those paths would merge together at some point, she had to concede to the fact that they might not. Marriage didn't frighten her. Commitment wasn't scary. In fact, someday she looked forward to marriage and kids and whatever else came with the package. But, how could she say for sure this was the world...his world... was the one she belonged in when there was so much else out there? Someday, in the future, she wanted to fall in love, get married, and have a family, but not right now. Tristen was so convinced this was where he fit in. For him all of the pieces were already in place. He had his whole life planned out. He went to college online. He worked on his clunker car in the garage. He was a good brother to his brother and sister and a good son to his father and stepmother. He was the perfect boyfriend. He was...he was just so...everything and she wasn't ...anything. Kacie had no idea of how to handle a real, loving relationship. She loved her mom and her sister, her pack, and maybe even Tristen. She was careful with her heart. Giving away pieces to the people she loved was the best she could manage. She was terrified of Tristen because he'd never be content with just a piece of her. He wanted the whole thing and what would that leave her with? One thing this whole mess in Texas had taught her, growing up with her mother, or who her mother had been, had her believing with all her heart was that nothing was permanent. You had to grab what you could while you could and embrace it for all it was worth because it could be gone in an instant. Her mom was happier than she'd ever seen her. All traces of the old Eloise Collins were totally gone. The old Eloise was cold, removed, and always in control of everyone and everything around her, including her daughters. Only recently, had Kacie even realized the depth of her mother's love and the truth of the sacrifices she'd made. This new mom embraced her daughters, proclaimed her love, fought for and protected them. The new mom wore her hair down in a wild, unruly tangle of waves. New mom preferred form fitting, faded denim jeans and comfortable t-shirts, sweatshirts, and borrowing Nash's flannel button downs to the expensive, custom fit, designer outfits that flashy Eloise Collins, Pack Mistress of the South Texas Pack, would not have been caught dead without. The carefully veneered, polished, and immaculately made up old mom was gone and in her place was a real mom, one Kacie actually loved. As far as Kacie was concerned, she was glad that old mom had been left behind in Texas along with her designer wardrobe, massive shoe collection, expensive jewelry, and the bottles, tubes, and jars of makeup. They hadn't talked about what had happened in Texas. Kacie supposed the both of them would rather forget and put it in the past. Whatever had happened to her mother had little to do with the woman she'd become. Kacie chalked the biggest cause for the changes to the man behind the wheel. And for that, she owed Nash a debt of gratitude. Nash was different too. She hadn't spent a great deal of time with Tristen's grandfather and didn't know him too well. But, he seemed happy, carefree, and very much in love with her mom. Somehow, lighter than he had before. He was good for her mom and in some way, completed her. Kacie was happy for them both and had no doubts in her mind that her mother and Nash were in it for the long haul. She blew out a sigh of relief as the SUV rolled up the long gravel drive that led to wolf central and parked. This place was her home, for now, for a while, forever? She'd figure that out later. Kacie was anxious to see her older sister again. Jan never could keep a secret for very long and she'd practically spilled the beans over the phone. Kacie was going to be an aunt. Dawn's Innocence Jan had come here to hide from her destiny and instead she ran headlong into it. Thomas was a good guy. He might not be a wolf, but he had the courage and heart of one. He made her sister very, very happy. In Kacie's opinion, that mattered more than anything else. He and Jan had only been married a short time, but they had love and one another. Their relationship had already undergone its trial by fire and Kacie hoped that there was nothing but smooth sailing and happy days in their future from here on out. Jan had found the place where she belonged. Her mom was on her way to finding her happy place. Kacie had to wonder when she would feel it in her bones and if she'd recognize where her place in this world was supposed to be. She guessed, in a way, she was lucky. At least she knew where her place wasn't and what she didn't want for her life. Not that she was ruling out many possibilities, but there were a few. In her heart, she knew she'd never see Texas again. Chapter 3 Eloise squeezed Nash's hand tightly in hers. The final few miles rolled past way too quickly, bringing her to face her new future. Her past life held no allure for her and she didn't miss it one little bit. She was excited about the future, but she worried about how difficult it would be for her to break old habits. She was no longer a leader. All her expensive clothing and the extreme way she held herself coifed and coolly emotionless were no longer required. She could open up and embrace this new life without being seen as weak and that was enough to make her stomach clinch. She was going to start a new future with Nash, as his wife. He was pack master. She worried about how his pack would receive her and the few who had tagged along, following her here to begin new lives for themselves. She worried about her daughters. Jan already called this place home and had settled in for good. She was a married woman now with a home of her own. So, Eloise had few worries about her. Kacie was the one she worried about the most. Kacie had always been the obedient one, the repressed younger child so desperate for attention and her mother's love. Eloise focused all her energies on Jan. Jan was the firstborn and the key to the pack's security and future. Jan was always rebellious and shirked the responsibilities that were placed on her shoulders. Despite the years of careful planning, indoctrination, and dogma that Eloise had fed her, Jan resisted and ran from her destiny. Eloise looked back at what the decades of planned breeding and eugenics had cost the pack as a whole. Marriages weren't for love. They were to guarantee strong and genetically superior offspring. As a girl of eighteen, her parents had brokered her off to a man. She didn't love him. The marriage was solely out of duty. She'd done exactly what was expected of her and brought two daughters into the world. She tried her best to show her love, but she scarcely knew how. She'd almost condemned Jan to the same fate. She was glad that Jan had the forethought that she did not and ran. If Kacie had been the firstborn, Kacie would have married Torr. It wouldn't have mattered if she loved him or not. Duty would have overruled any personal feelings she might have had. Kacie would have had the obligatory children and done her job. The cycle would have continued on and on, and on, for generations. But, now, it was over. Eloise was glad that Jan hadn't merely accepted her fate and that she'd fought against it so vehemently. Marriages should be because of love and children should be born out of love. Something she'd never realized before. Until Nash, she'd never given love a thought. Since meeting Nash, it was all she could think about. She was finally and wholeheartedly in love and love was a wonderful, wonderful thing. She glanced at Kacie through the rearview mirror. Her daughter was a pretty girl. Both of her daughters were. Looking at them was like looking at an old photograph of her self, taken back in the day. Kacie and she shared the same dark hair and emerald green eyes while Jan had her father's brown color. Their noses perked up at the end in a similar slope and they had the same expressive, feminine dark brows. Kacie and Jan might be as different as night and day on the inside, but on the outside, they could pass for twins. That would change in a few years. Jan had shunned her wolf and denied her inner callings. Whether she did it for Thomas or for herself, Eloise wasn't sure. Jan would pass the genes on to her children, but for her, it was a matter of time before her wolf was gone forever. Jan would begin to age and show the effects of time. Kacie, being the obedient daughter that she was, had embraced her wolf, for her time would move very, very slowly. She'd appear youthful, as she did now, well after Jan was old and gray. A mother should never have to outlive a daughter, but Eloise would. The fact stung her with bitter venom. Jan would die centuries before either Kacie or she did. For them time was at a crawl. For Jan, time rushed full speed ahead. Even knowing that fact and grappling to come to terms with it, Eloise still worried about Kacie more than she did Jan. Jan was happy and at peace with who she and where she was in her life. Kacie was adrift. She didn't know where she'd land next or if she would at all. Eloise would try as best she could to steer her daughter into a safe port, but ultimately, Kacie was the one at the helm and the decisions were hers to make. Her gaze slid to Tristen. His eyes were closed in a blissful expression as he ran his fingers through Kacie's chin length hair. He was so much like his grandfather, although neither one of them would be the first to admit it. He had Nash's hard jaw and stern focused expression. His eyes, like Nash's, were deep, rich mahogany brown, and had an inner glow hot enough to melt the paint off the wall. His nose curved down at a sharp angle and was made even more pronounced by his brush cut, dark hair. He was the spitting image of the man seated beside her in other ways too. When he looked at Kacie, he looked at her with the blinding fury of love. Eloise hoped for both Kacie's and Tristen's sake that her daughter realized how lucky she was to have such adoration and didn't do something foolish like breaking his young, tender heart only to end up regretting it years later. Nash gripped Eloise's fingers and squeezed. He assumed her thoughts were occupied by meeting his pack. Given the way she stared in the rearview mirror, her eyes fixed on Kacie and Tristen, he might be wrong about that though. He wasn't getting into an in depth discussion about his grandson and her daughter. Not with so many other things needing his attention worse. The kids would be fine. These things had a way of working themselves out. His pack and the remnants of her pack...their pack had bigger issues than a case of puppy love. "They're going to adore you. Don't worry." He was nervous as a cat in a room full of rockers. He glanced over at the caravan trailing behind him and parking haphazardly in the drive. Clearing his throat, he said, "They're going to welcome all of you in like family." So much rested on his shoulders and on Eloise's. The pack he already had, and the new additions from Texas and parking in his driveway, primarily. The house was big, but not big enough for all of them. He'd called the Great White Wolf and Drew had already taken care of a few of the preliminaries. The damn weather was putting a hold on the construction. Temporarily, some of the pack, he refused to think of them as two separate packs, were going to have to live in rental homes. This spring, once the ground thawed, a new wing was going to be built on and then they'd be one big, very big, happy pack. Having the new pack reside in separate quarters might be for the best until everyone got used to one another. He was asking a lot of his pack to welcome in the strangers that were nothing more than distant, very distant relation. Not all of the Lost Children had come as he'd hoped, but at least he'd been able bring some of them home. He was asking even more than the welcoming in of a couple dozen or so families. He was asking them to accept Eloise, as a member of the pack, and as his new wife. Curious faces peeked out of the windows and pulled back the blinds. Mouse bounded out of the front door and bounced down the steps. Her brother and father followed behind. The little girl, who had been the light of his life and had all of his heart and attention for the last twelve years, suddenly had competition for the role. His little granddaughter, Marianne, still had the key to his heart and soul. The only difference was that now she'd have to learn to share it with Eloise. "Grandpa!" Marianne squealed excitedly. Her bare feet pounded down the sidewalk to the garage. Her dad yelled warnings at her to get back in the house and put her shoes on, but she ignored him. She barely felt the cold and the wet snow squishing between her toes as she ran. Her grandpa barely had time to put the SUV into park and unbuckle his seatbelt before she pounced on him. Nash swung Mouse in his arms and chuckled with a deep, throaty, rumble of laughter. "I wasn't missed was I?" "Horribly." Marianne frowned. She cupped his jaw in between her fingers and pressed her forehead to his. "You're grounded, Buster. Don't ever leave me again." Nash playfully tugged on Mouse's braids. She'd met Eloise once before, briefly. Back then though he and Eloise had been little more than strangers. Things had changed since then. "Mouse, I have someone I'd like for you to meet. Officially. Eloise, this is my granddaughter, Marianne. But, you can call her Mouse." Marianne clung to her grandpa's neck, suddenly reluctant to let her feet touch the snowy ground. It didn't take her long to get squash the protective little girl in her and buck up, release her grandfather, and be the young woman she was growing up to be. "Hello," she said politely and hesitantly as she extended her hand out to Eloise. The woman had a kind face and her eyes were very pretty. Marianne had learned that new additions to the family were not a bad thing. Gina had not been a bad thing. Claire had not been bad either, and neither would this woman. "Are you marrying my grandpa?" Eloise looked hesitantly at Nash. If raising two daughters taught her nothing, it taught her that a child should never be lied to. She had no idea if the little girl far too wise for her years was a friend or a foe. Mouse definitely held the key to her grandfather's heart. Eloise got the sense that it had been just the two of them for a long time. Probably since the day Mouse had been born. The girl was breathtakingly beautiful and someday, she was going to be the very essence of everything a young woman should be. For her age, the wolf in her was surprisingly aware and well on the way to becoming a very powerful force. It seemed her pack wasn't the only pack that played a hand in destiny. The little girl had the makings of a future pack mistress and that was exactly what Nash was raising her to be. She had no idea how to answer Mouse's question. Sometimes, she still found it difficult to grasp her self. She was his wife, according to his traditions. Her beliefs were different, almost the complete opposite of his. Maybe, it was because until him, she'd had plenty of good sex, but she'd never truly been made love to. For him sex was something more than the joining of two bodies. Sex transcended the physical and was something spiritual and binding. A breath eased between her lips as Nash took over the conversation and supplied the answer she'd been fumbling to find. "Yes. Now, I have two favorite girls." Nash blushed at Mouse's knowing grin. He probably shouldn't have been so truthful in his answers to her numerous questions over the years. She knew far too much about the birds and the bees and the reality of how things worked in their world. He couldn't recall discussing this particular subject with his granddaughter. But, of course, maybe he didn't. After all, there was always the Internet and her two older brothers to fill in the blanks. Marianne beamed up at the happy couple. She wanted to be catty and snub Eloise. The jealous female part of her, an ugly part, she was hardly aware of until now wanted to be mean to Eloise. Marianne was made of better stuff than that. She had been raised better, but her willingness to give and take did not come from fear of punishment. She'd been punished for plenty of things over the years and was quite the expert and setting the table and doing dishes. Her grandpa still loved her and she'd always have a special place in his heart that was reserved only for her. As long as she was guaranteed of that, she could share him. One day, she'd grow up and have a husband of her own and then he'd have to share her with someone else too. Daniel chuckled and elbowed his dad in the ribs. "Pay up." The pack believed in communal property. Technically, Daniel wanted for nothing. But he had quite a nice little racket making bets he thought were a sure thing to fund the few random items the pack's treasurer, his grandfather, thought were not wants or necessities and that he'd rather not ask for. He had bet a twenty with his dad that grandpa wouldn't come back single and the old man hadn't disappointed. Hunter grumbled and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Pulling out a twenty he slapped the crisp bill into Daniel's greedy fist. "Damn kid," he grumbled. His middle son was quite the swindler. Hunter had entered into the bet thinking he would be right on the money. After all, his dad hadn't shown interest in a female in practically thirty years. Hunter thought he couldn't lose. Surprise. He had. Hunter walked over and clapped his father on the back. "Congratulations, Dad, Eloise." "My oldest, Hunter and his son Daniel. This little one also belongs to him," he said steering Mouse over to her father. "Tristen is his oldest," Nash explained. Eloise looked a little overwhelmed by the welcoming committee. She was a true woman of grace and took it all in stride. He was right about her. She was going to fit into his world. "Good to meet you," Eloise said. Swallowing the lump in her throat as Hunter's big hand engulfed hers in a shake. Everyone around her was hugging and talking, laughing and simply enjoying each other. Even members of her...no, not her pack, the pack were every bit as overwhelmed as she with the greetings. Random people hugged members of the pack and welcomed them home. Everyone here, related or not, was treated as family. "Dad!" A young woman leapt into Nash's arms and planted a row of kisses along his chin. She was slight with long flowing hair. There was something about her that Eloise couldn't quite place. The woman wasn't fully a wolf, but she wasn't fully human either. Eloise remembered her from the bluffs. "You remember my daughter, Tala," Nash said proudly. "How do you do." Tala extended her hand to Eloise. Not surprised when Eloise gingerly accepted and quickly withdrew. Her scent and her appearance threw a lot of people off. She was mated to a vampire, and was a half-breed vampire/wolf mix thanks to the gift of his blood. She'd leave the technicalities of the explanation of what she was to her father. Eloise looked as if she'd had enough shocks for one day. Eloise held true to form and handled the greetings with as much grace as she could muster. She didn't realize how large Nash's immediate family was. He'd fathered quite a brood, one son and six daughters, plus there was Grant, his adopted son. He had a handful of rowdy, dark haired grandchildren and would someday be the proud great grandfather of the next generation. She smiled at his gentleness with GT as Claire carefully placed the bundled up grandchild into his arms. He roughhoused with Daniel and absolutely revered Mouse. As tempting as it was to fade into the background and let him enjoy his family, she held her ground. It wasn't like she was standing in another woman's shadow, living the life she'd been robbed of by death. Maybe, if Nash's children had been younger, it might have felt that way, but with them grown and the grandchildren so open and accepting to the newcomers to the family, strangely she felt as if she were coming home. Chapter 4 Jan slid on her coat and hustled into her boots. She'd been waiting at the front door forever for her mom and sister to make their way up the walk. It was freezing outside, but the pack didn't seem to be motivated to meander indoors. Gripping Thomas's hand she dragged him across the porch and down the stairs. Kacie stretched and yawned sleepily. She shivered in her coat and was almost thrown off balance as Jan gripped around her waist in an excited hug. "I missed you so much!" Jan was practically in tears, hugging her sister as tightly as she could. "Once you've gotten settled in, maybe you'd like to share all the details you left out over the phone. I know you didn't want me to worry, blah, blah, blah, but..." Jan stopped mid sentence, her jaw dropping and eyes round as saucers. "Oh my God! Your hair! I love it!" Fluffing the wayward strands with her fingers she admired the cut. The shorter hair looked good with her sister's rounder cheeks and softer jaw. Kacie loved her hair. Cherished the stuff. Something bad must have happened to cause her to cut it so short. Kacie must have left out a lot about what happened in Texas. Jan didn't know whether to shake her like a maraca for endangering herself or just hug her even tighter, so tightly she never let her go. "Don't think I've forgotten what I just said. You and me, sister time... soon." Kacie smiled and smoothed her hair before faking a scowl at Thomas. "You haven't learned to control her yet?" Thomas shrugged and grinned. "Does a man ever have a woman under his control?" He ran his hand through his thinning locks of sandy blond hair and reached to awkwardly give Kacie a light hug before ambling over to Jan. "Good to have you home, Kacie." Tucker slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and squinted against the evening glare glinting off the white landscape. He shivered and pulled his jacket closer against his neck. So, this was home? All the hugs and claps on the back, the words of welcome from strangers were a bit much to take in. The shadow of the big house draped over the entire yard. Things were very different here. He'd expected to find exactly what he'd left, although he was willing to take the chance. He was glad he had. This...these people were what a pack was supposed to be. There was a sense of oneness and community, a singularity to their purpose. There were humans...mates and half-breed children tucked into blankets. Vampires decked out in black leather shyly filtered from the woods and were welcomed into the fold. All his life he'd wondered what a real family, a real home was like. This was it, the big house, and the hugs of welcome homes. Hell, someone was wandering around passing out cookies fresh from the oven. He snatched one from the tray and munched happily as he took stock in his surroundings. Whistling low, his eyes settled on the half finished 1968 Camaro parked in the garage. "Sweet." Tristen glared as Tucker ran his hands along the sleek curves of his woman, his Camaro. He'd rather have Tucker run his hands over the curves of that woman than the living breathing woman standing beside him. Tristen blushed when his dad gave him a tight warm hug. He'd done his father proud in Texas. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but for Kacie's sake he was trying to be macho and hugging anyone but her or a senior citizen was so not allowed. "Hi dad, you remember Kacie don't you?" "Yeah, good to see you again, Kacie." Hunter extended his hand and smiled as she shyly took it. "You been keeping Tristen in line?" Curiously lifting a brow, he sensed the vibes that radiated between her and his son. Wasn't that curious? Eloise's daughter and his son, who would have thought? Dawn's Innocence "I try," Kacie mumbled. Hunter was like something out of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Hunter was a huge wall of a guy, nothing but muscle and bulk. The flannel shirt and faded blue jeans did nothing to take away from his 'don't fuck with me or mine' aura. Tristen definitely got his looks from his father. With the short, stubbly brush cut the two of them could have passed for brothers. Hunter was one of those men who missed nothing. He'd definitely caught on to the fact that Tristen and she were more than friends. "Well, that's the best anyone can do." Hunter grinned and left the two to their privacy. He was going to have to keep a careful eye on Tristen. His son was barely a year into his first shift. A dangerous time when the hormones often overrode common sense, sort of like a second puberty. Kacie was a very pretty girl and Tristen definitely had more than a casual interest in her. Suddenly, he felt very old, damn old watching the two of them together. He wasn't ready to be a grandfather yet. But, if he wasn't careful with his son, he was going to become one. Maybe, it was time to have 'the talk' with Tristen. Oh, Tristen knew the biology, but it was time to make sure he understood the magic behind the science. Hanning inhaled the frosty air deep into his lungs. He snacked on a chocolate cookie someone thrust into his hand and sipped on a cup of coffee. Lightened by the sense of wild and freedom he felt, he was glad he'd taken the risk of coming. The woods here were a living entity, teeming with life. Good for hunting. He wrapped an arm around Ruby, his wife, hoping to reassure her. She was more hesitant. She hadn't wanted to leave their home and everything they'd ever known. He knew in the depths of his heart this decision was the right one, for him, his son, and her. They were finally home. Evan stared up at the towering barren limbs that fingered in a skeletal pattern over his head. He had never seen so many trees and had no idea how big they really were. These were real trees, not the ones he'd seen on TV or even like the ones in South Texas. These trees were huge. His six year-old mind imagined how the world looked from up there where the crows nested. "Mom, the trees are so big," he mouthed in wonder. Ruby tousled Evan's hair with her fingers. "I know, baby. I know." She'd give him a stern talking to later about not going out in the woods alone. Nervousness and hesitance caused her to pick him up and cradle him protectively against her hip. Hanning was excited and eager to be here and so was her son. She was reserving judgment for a later time. Maybe, once she got used to the woods and the snow on the ground, and the cold, wet, air, she would share their enthusiasm. Chapter 5 Carter unwound his long body as he climbed out from behind the wheel of the car. He was impressed that the wheezing piece of machinery had made the journey from Texas to here. Ignoring Shayla's triumphant grin, he dropped the keys in her outstretched palm. The cool breath of winter's exhale fluttered the ends of his hair and sent a chill up his spine. He was glad to be away from Texas and to finally be able to escape Shayla. The bind between them was stronger than ever. Her emotions were a bittersweet mix of hope and sadness. Whatever she'd left behind had been burned on the pyre with the body of her late husband. Her life was a blank slate and she was so eager to live it. He wished he could share her enthusiasm for the new. The old was too close to his home and he feared his inescapable past had followed him back. The woods were thick with the scents of the brothers and the musky undertone of wolf. Those not afraid to approach him welcomed him with smiles and claps on the back. Not exactly a hero's welcome, but then again, he was no hero. He'd simply played his part and did what he'd promised he'd do. He'd gotten everyone home in one piece. The events in Texas were bloody and wrought with fire and ash. He should have some consolation in the fact that vampires aren't the only beasts out there. The wolves were just as violent, perhaps more. Thinking back, he still couldn't believe how fortunate he'd been to fulfill his promise to the Great Father. There was plenty of death to be found in Texas, but his hands were clean. His hands had not shed one single drop of wolf blood. He'd taken what had been voluntarily given and now it was time to rid himself of the bond that had been formed. The master vampire in him bristled in irritation at the unwelcome sensation of Drew's power. The diplomat in him bowed low as the Great Father approached. The Great Father and his Sons were not men to piss off. "Drew." "Carter, welcome back. I thank you for your invaluable aid," Drew said. He was casual with his congratulations and his thanks. Carter was not a man to relish in praise or demand recognition. Carter did not appreciate calling attention to himself in any way. He preferred to remain hidden in the backdrop of shadows and obscurity. Unfortunately, Carter was not an obscure man. He stood as tall as any brother, lank and lean without the gift of thick muscle and bulk, but he was far from weak and not one to be underestimated. Drew had peeked inside the man's mind and what he saw there was the stuff of nightmares. He'd always believed, especially since he did not think himself necessarily handsome, thank the goddess Tala's opinion differed, that being gifted with a fair face would be a blessing. Carter saw his male beauty as a curse. There were a lot of things about Carter perhaps, Drew would never understand, such as why he preferred to dwell in the shadows instead of embracing the light or why he believed he was cursed. The man was not cursed, not any more than what he believed himself to be. Drew sensed Carter's uneasiness with the daylight and his anxiety to return to his Guardians. "I am in your debt, yet again." "My city is still intact I take it?" Carter asked. Narrowing his glacier blue eyes behind their dark protective shielding, he walked to the edge of the drive and motioned for Drew to follow. To get completely out of earshot of the wolves and the brothers he'd have to be a lot farther than just at the end of the gravel drive. He knew his Guardians would keep it together in his absence. The threat of Keene was enough to keep them in line. It wasn't his guardians necessarily that he was worried about. "Ah, straight to the point. I like that about you, Carter. No unnecessary pretence or pleasance. Keene reports that all has been quiet since your absence," Drew said. The Guardians were invaluable in the war against the rogues. For far too long the Sons had been in charge of everything, including the city. It wasn't that they ever relaxed, especially not him. He didn't, and his brothers agreed, turn his back on the Guardians. They were allies until the day they weren't. The rogue vampires turned civil servants were only as strong as the leader commanding them and Carter was a capable but very, very reluctant leader. Carter had an uncanny sense about him. He understood the minds of rogues perhaps better than the rogues themselves did. He knew how to keep a rogue in line and he held his Guardians on a very short leash. There seemed to be little Carter couldn't handle, perhaps except for his inner self. Drew had to wonder how much time the man had before the tight leash he kept himself on snapped and they had a more dangerous rogue than any they'd ever faced on their hands. Carter feared nothing, not even death. Drew got the impression that Carter believed when death finally came for him he deserved it. He'd welcome an end to things. Not many vampires had the stamina for the long life Carter had lived. Carter was old, on the outer rim of becoming an ancient at somewhere around five hundred years old. Few made it to Carter's age and even fewer past. Most chose death or were delivered into death's hands as a mercy. The old ones Drew had had the misfortune of meeting were vampires gone insane. Perhaps, that was why he fought so hard to protect Carter from himself. Drew didn't want to kill Carter and he feared one day he'd have to. He hoped as long as Carter had a purpose larger than himself, maybe it wouldn't come down to that. A vampire without a purpose to his long life was indeed a very dangerous thing. And as long as there were rogues, Carter had his reason for being. Drew knew little about Carter's maker. Eric O'Sullivan was a very dangerous rogue master. One of the few ancients left that was completely sane. Carter never spoke of the man who had birthed him into this world other than to warn Drew to guard the territory well. Eric was not a man to be taken lightly. So far, O'Sullivan adhered to the very letter of the law. The brotherhood had no reason to hunt him down, but someday, that might change. "How was the trip?" "Action packed and full of fun," Carter answered sarcastically. Drew could as his wolves to recant the events that happened in Texas. What happened down there was no longer his concern. What might happen here, in his city was a potentially much bigger problem. Drew had the tendency to not worry about things until he had to. Carter wished he had the man's faith in the ultimate purpose and in his invisible goddess. He did not. He had faith in nothing. Drew would have to believe hard enough for the both of them. He'd do the worrying for the two of them. "I ran into an old friend along the way." O'Sullivan was hardly a friend, but he was a deep concern. He and his vampires had control of the whole western United States and a good part of the Southwest. Their migration east, and his spotting them outside of Saint Louis was a cause for worry. They were too close for comfort. Maybe, it was a random sighting, but Eric O'Sullivan never did anything randomly. If he was this close to the brotherhood's territory, he had a reason for being there. Carter watched as Drew contemplated in that stoic, silent way of his. Drew had changed considerably since their first encounter over a year ago. There was a peace about him now that had not been there then. Whatever the insanity was that was his life, it seemed to agree with him. Looking out over the crowd, he could see bits and pieces of Drew scattered here and there in the faces, the shape of someone's eyes, the dark hair and bronzed skin common to both the pack and the brotherhood, a tilt of a jaw line or arc of a nose, sometimes in a gesture, or in someone's body stance. Carter could not imagine seeing himself in someone so distantly related they weren't really related at all as was the case with most of these people. History knew Drew by another name, a name of legend and great courage. That man died, according to the history books, almost two centuries ago when the Great Father had been born. Drew was still very much that man though. The leader he'd been born to be and this family, the living, breathing, and quite a few of the undead, fanged, and furry were his descendents. Not everyone here was of Drew's mortal line. Others were like him, outcasts brought into the fold to serve the common purpose they all shared. "Any reason for the Sons to be put on alert?" Drew asked. His Sons protected the innocent from the constant threat of the rogues. If left unchecked, rogues would drain a town dry and set it to ruins in less than one day. They'd harvest humanity and pluck them like produce in the field, if they were allowed to run amok. They'd drink until there wasn't a human left. Rogues either didn't care or had no concept that without humans, they'd all starve to death. They had no idea or refused to believe the power humans held over them. Vampires were outnumbered perhaps, ten thousand to one, maybe more. If humanity found out about them, it'd be the end of them all, Son, Guardian, and Stray included. Either that or the world would people itself with vampires and there'd be no safe haven for anyone. It was the combined duty of the Sons and the Guardians to make sure the worst cases scenarios didn't happen. Carter frowned. He didn't have an answer to Drew's question. "I'll have to keep you posted." "Please do, and Carter, don't be such a stranger. Join us in celebration before you leave for the city tonight." He gripped Carter's bicep and squeezed tightly. The gesture was a show of brotherhood and of thanks. "I know that wild game isn't exactly to your tastes, but hunting with the wolves can be quite exhilarating." "Always trying to make new converts aren't you?" Carter teased and returned the Great Father's friendly gesture. There was one major difference between the Sons and the Guardians. Diet. The Sons only took of human blood out of necessity. Animals were hunted for means of sustenance. The Guardians drank regularly and exclusively from humans. The reasons why were twofold. The city was crowded and it was too easy for a rogue to slip under the radar. Out here a rogue would be scented and hunted down quickly. In the city, a Rogue would smell a Son coming a mile away. The blood of animals gave the brothers a sweeter scent. The second reason was that old habits were too difficult to break. Humans satisfied the hunger better. The Guardians were difficult enough to keep in check without the constant craving for human blood to contend with. There was one thing they agreed on adamantly though. No human died at the hands of a Guardian or a Son. Ever. "Can't blame me for trying," Drew chuckled. He didn't judge. Well, he tried not to. Carter knew how to serve his people best and if feeding from donors ensured their allegiance to the cause, Drew was willing to make a few concessions. For his Sons the world they shared simply was different. Hunting wild game took the edge off their instincts and the blood sated the constant craving for more. Human blood was a necessity he wished he could find a way for the brothers to avoid all together. So far, it hadn't happened. Blood substitutes, the artificial stuff Thomas had suggested was acrid and bitter. Bagged donor blood was dead blood devoid of the magic of life. There was no other way but straight from the tap, or the vein, as it were. Drew speculated what Thomas in his world of science and fact refused to believe. It wasn't the blood but the magical spark of life it contained that kept the brotherhood alive. "Can't blame me for denying," Carter retorted jovially. The two groups were at a stand off on this particular issue. The Guardians didn't kill and the brotherhood had no cause to end the allegiance unless they did. Oh, the Sons could have rounded them up and ended each and every one of them. Not one of the Guardians' hands were free from the stain of the cardinal sin of taking a life. Perhaps, the brotherhood bore its share of guilt as well. At the end of the day they were what they were and the beasts inside of them was a lethal predator. The only thing that bound the Sons and the Guardians together was pure necessity. No one wanted a war between the two factions, not when there were worse, more deadly enemies to battle. Their conversation was interrupted by a light tug on the hem of Carter's jacket. Evan stared up at him with those big round eyes of his, his face hopeful and imploring. The kid had developed a fondness for him, not even Carter could explain. Even should be terrified, cowering behind his mother's skirts. Most children were. Somehow, children had the uncanny ability to recognize a vampire for what it was and knew to be afraid. Evan however, possessed no such survival instinct. Carter reached down and ruffled Evan's hair. Maybe, it was a symptom of insanity or a complete lack of common sense, but Carter had developed a soft spot for the brave little boy. "Uncle Carter, can I have a piggyback ride before you leave?" "Uncle?" Drew blinked in disbelief. Carter was cold and emotionally removed from everyone simply because he chose to be. Everyone, that was except for the little dark haired boy tugging on the hem of his jacket. It was laughable watching Carter with the little boy, most likely one of Drew's distant nephews. Drew could see hints of his brother in Evan's cherubic face. It broke his heart to see his brother in Evan and in this family finally brought home. Sometimes, when he least expected it, the loss of his brother hit home and the pain of it was as fresh as it had been when it first happened. Who would have thought this stoic vampire could be brought to his knees and tamed by a little boy? There was something...other about Evan. A gift, Drew suspected Evan knew he possessed even if he didn't quite know what it was yet. Evan's little fingers curled around Carter's much thicker wrist. He didn't balk as Carter hoisted him up and deposited him on his shoulders. Drew mourned the father Carter might have been if fate hadn't stolen the choice and his life away from him. He didn't dwell on his human children often, the life he'd lived before circumstance and destiny had intervened and taken him down a very different path. Carter shrugged and settled Evan onto his shoulders. The little guy latched onto his neck and braced himself for a wild race through the woods. The trust this child placed on him shattered the icy casing around his heart. That was a dangerous thing. Carter needed his distance from the living. They were so fragile and they died so easily. He didn't want to care for Evan. But, the kid had gotten to him. No matter what became of his life, he'd die to protect this little boy. Casting the Great Father a grin, he said, "What can I say? I'm good with kids." Evan bristled with excitement at the thought of a piggyback ride. This place was great! The trees were so tall. The ground was wet and slippery from the ice and snow. He'd already learned how to make a snowball. There was so much to see and do, so many things to explore. Evan wanted to see everything right now. His mother would say he was being a pain. Hyperactive... yeah, that was the word she used when he couldn't contain himself. He was just so excited! The people here were nice, nicer than they had been back home. Even the pack that had come here with Mistress Eloise somehow seemed happier than they ever had been. This was a good place. Evan knew it instinctively, just as he knew Carter was good too. "Uncle Carter, can we go really, really fast?" Drew shook his head as Carter nodded and bolted, streaking into the woods with the little boy tightly secured on his shoulders. Good with kids? Carter? Who would have guessed a child would accomplish what he had not? Evan reached the deepest blackest spot in Carter's heart and gave it both purpose and light. Drew knew with the certainty he knew the sun would rise and set long after he finally left this world, Carter would die to protect that little boy. But, he had the uncanny suspicion Evan might protect Carter as well. Chapter 6 Torr slid out of the truck and stood at a distance from the gathering and chattering of the pack. He doubted that anyone would speak to him anyway. Many still saw him as a bitter reminder of his father's brutality and as the enemy. He could not forgive what his father had done to these people. The Great Seff and his almighty quest for power, he'd ripped these people's lives to shreds and for what? Acquisition, dominance, and he'd paid for his ambitions with his life. Torr could not bring himself to feel not one pang of regret for sending his father to whatever afterlife was reserved for the damned. Torr's days of regret were over and he had too much lost time to make up for. Erica Grey was out there somewhere and he was going to find her. There was no way to make up for the time he'd lost. She might have moved on and that was understandable. The loss would sting, but he'd get over it. At this point he half expected that she had moved on. They'd only shared one night together. Sure, it was a night he'd never forget, but what they shared went far beyond a night of great sex. They'd created a child, a daughter, and it was for her that he was willing to put himself out on a limb. He wanted with her what he'd never had with his father, a relationship and a second chance. Dawn's Innocence "Torr, you're welcome to stay with us," Nash said softly. Torr was an alpha male and would not take kindly to demands. Nash was not in the position to demand anything of Torr. Torr had more than paid any debts he owed to the pack through his show of bravery. What happened in Texas left no one unscathed, but Torr bore more than his fair share of scars. The man was battered soul deep. Torr had done what he'd had to do to save the lives of many and sacrificed much in the process. Nash could see the turmoil swirling in the man's eyes and the weight of burden on Torr's shoulders. Torr felt he was somehow responsible for his father and all the misery the son of a bitch had caused. Torr too had caused more than a bit of trouble himself in the past. Nash didn't miss the careful distance Torr maintained from Thomas and Jan. Nash didn't miss the way Thomas protectively steered Jan away from Torr either. Thomas was so deeply embroiled in their world that sometimes it was hard to forget he wasn't truly a part of it. Nash caught the hardness of the angry scowl Thomas cast in Torr's general direction. Torr flinched and pretended not to notice. But, Torr was too much of a wolf not to miss the anger Thomas cast on him. It was simple really, what hurt Jan Thomas wanted to eradicate off the face of the planet. He was behaving as a bonded male would, aggressive and bristling to protect his wife from harm. Jan's worry over her mother and sister was a consequence of the bigger problem. A problem Seff, not Torr, had caused. Not that it mattered to Thomas. Jan's pain had to be avenged and since Seff wasn't there to hate, Torr made a nice stand in. Torr might have deserved some of Thomas's rage. He had been willing to kill Thomas for the rights to Jan. That his father was behind it didn't matter. Torr could have walked away, but he hadn't. Thomas had almost died taking the blade in the heart aimed for Torr. The two men had come to a fragile truce, but the peace was riddled with bitter and hard feelings. The battle was over, but long from being forgotten. "Torr please, stay with us," Eloise coaxed as she approached and wound her arm through the bend in Nash's elbow. Torr would never be considered a member of the pack. He was an orphan cast out into the world alone. He'd never concede to belonging and taking his place in any pack. As far as she was concerned, he was welcome and she knew Nash shared her opinion. Torr was hurting, deeply wounded by the past he'd had no control over. He needed time. Torr had no misgivings about what kind man his father was, but, when his father had betrayed him, it left a deep festering wound in his soul. "Torr," she said, hooking a finger under his chin and pulling his face level with hers to force him to meet her eyes. "None of this was your fault. Quit denying yourself of the one thing that could ease your pain. Family." "Family." Torr rested his chin against Eloise's fingers. Her touch was gentle as she feathered his hair off his brow. Their days of confinement had bonded them in a way that only fear and the threat of death can. Many assumed that his interest in her was romantic. He had taken her as his firstborn mate to save her life and for no other reason. He saw her as a surrogate mother. In her gentleness he imagined what his mother might have been like if his father hadn't stolen her from him. "Kacie has an apartment nearby. I'm sure she'd let you use it. She can stay here with us while you take time to think things over." She brought Torr's forehead down to her shoulder and cradled his big head on the curve of her neck as she wrapped an arm around his waist to bring him into a hug. His unshed tears tinged the air with the stinging, bitter scent of sadness and regret. He was so lost. "Please Torr, I'm not ready to let you go off into the world all alone just yet. What difference will a few days make?" Torr sniffed against the softness of Eloise's collar. He felt like a little boy wrapped in his mother's protective arms. All his imaginings of comfort and love from a mother's touch had been made real in those few brief seconds she held him. He had no direction in his life beyond finding Erica Gray and his daughter. At this point he wasn't even sure where to start looking. "Ok, I'll stay for a few days." Eloise smiled and released Torr. Gently caressing his cheek with her fingers, she smiled. He truly was a soft touch, so unlike his father. Beyond their uncanny resemblance to one another it was impossible to see any mark of Seff in Torr at all. It took more than DNA to make a man who he was. "Good." She took Torr's hand in hers and wound an arm around Nash's waist. She hoped the show of solidarity and forgiveness would be good for the pack to see. Many of them thought ill of Torr. They heard the stories of the battle. They knew he had killed his father in the fight. But none of them knew the broken remnants of the little boy he'd once been and how he suffered deep inside, in silence. Only she knew that. She led them to the front porch where the others were gathering before herding inside. She held head held high, proud to call him friend. Chapter 7 "How tall are the trees, Uncle Carter?" Evan asked breathlessly as Carter slowed to a trot. The air had turned his cheeks red and the cold nipped at his fingers. He couldn't feel the tip of his nose anymore. He didn't care though. This place was a wonderland of new and exciting adventures and he was going to tackle every one of them. Carter chuckled and clutched the boy's hands in his, rubbing his tiny fingers between his big palms to warm them. Evan was innocuously curious and asked questions about the world with a little boy's enthusiastic zeal. The child sitting on his shoulders babbled like a brook. So many questions and so many observations, in a way it made Carter feel as if he were seeing the world for the first time too. Maybe, that was the wonder of children. Everything for them was so brand new and stripped of the jaded taint of bad memories. "I don't know, Evan. Tall." "Taller than the buildings in the city?" "Maybe." Carter approached the wide clearing and slowed to a trot before stopping to remove Evan from his shoulders. He crouched low to look the boy in the eye. "Evan, this is not Texas. This world is bigger than it seems. Dangerous in ways you can't possibly comprehend as of yet. Promise me that you'll stay close to your mom and dad, close to the pack." Evan nodded. His thumb wandered to his mouth before he realized and dropped his hand. He was not a baby and he did not suck his thumb. Only babies did that. It was a bad habit he had when he got nervous. Uncle Carter made him nervous. Well, not Uncle Carter but the gleam of worry and fear in his blue eyes. Evan placed his palm on Uncle Carter's cheek and worked a strand of the vampire's curly blond hair with his fingers. "Don't worry, I'll be good. I promise." Evan nibbled his chapped bottom lip. Another bad habit his mother was constantly grouching at him about. "Uncle Carter, are you afraid?" The little boy's question knocked the wind out of Carter's sails. How to answer? He didn't want to terrify the child, but he didn't want to lie either. There were things, dangers out there Evan couldn't begin to understand and Carter wished he'd never have to explain. Carter sank to his knees, not minding the cold and wet that soaked his jeans. Down low like this, he and Evan were eye to eye. There was no deceiving this little boy who saw so much. Gently, he lifted Evan's hands, cupping them as he lifted his eyes to meet Evan's. "For you, definitely. For myself, perhaps." Evan wrapped his arms around Uncle Carter's neck and rested his forehead against Carter's. "I'm scared for you too," he said. Evan's response left him speechless. He wanted to reassure the little boy that 'Uncle Carter' would be around for a very, very long time. Perhaps, long after Evan had turned to dust in his grave. There was no such reassurance to offer. His kind died and usually it was not due to old age. After receiving a sloppy, slobbery kiss on the cheek, he gave the boy a soft shove on the rump and sent him scampering to his mother. Once he was certain the boy wasn't looking, he wiped the kiss from his cheek. Carter rose to his height and watched Evan wrestle with the other children. Carter's first instinct was to deliver one hell of a smack down to the bigger boys. Nobody was going to hurt Evan, ever. He could not understand why the wolf child was so drawn to him or what he'd done to earn Evan's trust. The fact that the child had worked his way into his heart confounded him and was a complication Carter didn't need. There was something inexplicable about the boy that touched him. He bristled as one of the larger, older boys, Daniel he thought, tackled Evan to the ground. The teenager needed a lesson in manners and Carter was going to be the teacher. He turned to stomp over to the boys when he noticed Shayla snickering at him and shaking her head in both warning and amusement. His seemed to be sharing his head with a lot of people these days. During the escape attempt, he'd given his blood to Shayla and taken hers, twice, in exchange. As a result, they shared a strong psychic connection. He'd seen inside her soul and had given her a peek inside of his. She knew him at his deepest elemental level. She saw him where he lived and breathed. Yet, she looked at him now with an amused glint in her eye. She should be trembling in fear. Terrified of him. Instead, she laughed in his face. Shayla snickered as the big, bad, blond vampire tried to block her out of his mind in an attempt to hide the softer spots of his deepest heart. He cared for Evan. He cared for these people. He cared for her. He was just too busy trying to be a bad ass to realize the truth of how he really felt. She inched closer and nudged him playfully in the ribs with her elbow. "Can I have a piggyback ride next?" Carter scowled down at Shayla. Her dark hair was artfully pulled back into a bun. Exposing more of the creamy flesh of her neck and the bounding pulse point than he wanted or needed to see. Her brown eyes twinkled in amusement as she looked up at him. He felt the stirrings of more than the blood bond between them. Her lush, full lips curved in a smile, begging to be thoroughly laved by his tongue and scraped by his fangs. "Aren't you a little old for piggyback rides?" Shayla batted her eyes at Carter playfully. "You're never too old to have fun." Fun was something his life was definitely in need of. He was stodgy and stoic on the outside, but his mind, the hidden parts, shimmered with the enthusiastic glee of a child on Christmas morning. She supposed that was how he survived the endless centuries he had. For him, deep in his innermost parts, life had never lost its wonder. Carter snorted. "Fun is a relative term." She'd lost her husband to Seff's brutality and she was here to start a new life, running from a past that she'd never really out run. The sooner she realized that, the better. Who was he to judge? It'd taken him over two centuries to realize the very same thing. He could spare her the agony of that particular discovery, but why? She'd suffered too much as it was. Maybe, the deception of starting over was better than the reality that there truly was no way to ever leave the past behind. Shayla was a beautiful woman. She was dark and mystical. Her eyes held a grace in their dark orbs, a wisdom and knowledge of the things beyond. Perhaps, the losses she'd suffered had given her a glimpse into the eternal. He didn't know. He'd always preferred the shadows to the light and Shayla with her bronzed skin and black hair and eyes was night. Unfortunately, there was nothing dark about her soul. Her heart was the blazing light of day he'd avoided for almost five hundred years. Carter had tried to capture the sunlight once and he'd failed. He'd left that glimmering golden promise to the death he'd delivered her into and fled from all things light and shimmering. He did not want to be the cause of Shayla's descent into darkness. He did not want that spark of light to fade, ever. She needed warmth and sunshine. He was nothing but cold and dark shadow. And in the end, he'd destroy her too, just as he had the sunlight that had had the mercy to shine down on him long, long ago. He had to leave this place...leave her, before he caused her light to burn out forever. Chapter 8 Kacie snuggled in the crook of Tristen's arm, her new favorite place to be. She had one arm and half of her torso tucked inside his jacket, all warm and snuggly sharing his body heat. His scent draped over her and mingled with hers. She loved the smell of him and the smell of them mingling together. Her scent covering him filled her with a flicker of possessive pride. She put up a good fight about losing her matchbox sized, one bedroom, and living room/kitchen combo apartment above Ginger's garage to Torr. Truth was, she had nothing there of immense personal value and the place was no great shakes. She had to make it look good enough to convince her mom and Nash that she was really pissed off about losing her private space. As compensation, they'd allowed her to bypass sharing a bedroom with someone else or being forced to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag and given her private accommodations. A lot of the pack was bunking up together and sharing sleeping quarters. Nobody really seemed to mind the inconvenience of all the extra houseguests. The combined pack mates were quite gracious to one another. Kids pounded down the basement stairs carting sleeping bags and chattering excitedly about the extended slumber party. Males big as houses were going to perform a miracle of sorts and squish their huge bulk onto twin sized beds. Unmated pack surrendered their private rooms to mated couples and anyone who was left claimed whatever space was available on the floor, on couches, or wherever they could find. Everyone was so damned polite. Kacie expected at least one fight to break out over the last pillow or blanket. Didn't happen. Tristen's pack was so different. Going back to Texas, it had been easy to forget that. Back here, the culture was one of community and common good. Nobody owned anything with the exception of a few odds and ends and trinkets. Everybody shared everything. In the spirit of cooperation her pack seemed to be adapting to the foreign concept of unity. And everyone worked damn hard to get along with everyone else. After all, if things didn't work out they didn't exactly have a home to go back to. They had Texas, of course, but nobody, anybody here anyway, wanted to call that place home, ever. Even the females waited patiently for their turn in the bathroom. Everything was a bustle of activity as the sleeping arrangements were finalized. Nobody was going to bed anytime soon. The sky was fading to that shade of dark purple gray of twilight, but it was late afternoon and everyone was too excited, bristling with too much pent up energy from the long drive to sleep. Tomorrow, she planned to call the Super Center and beg for her job back. The economy in this little town was horrible and she bet her spot had already been filled. If the Super Center didn't want her, there had to be someplace else around here that would. What else was she supposed to do with her life? Finding a job was priority one. She couldn't put her life on a track if she couldn't even pay her rent or put supper on the table. She wasn't a sponge and she refused to take handouts or pity from anyone. She had to do this for herself, by herself. For now, she was camping out at pack central till she figured out what her next move was. Part of her wanted to stay and part of her was terrified of doing so. These people for all their shortcomings and finer qualities were her family. What happened in Texas would be a long time leaving the forefront of her mind. She'd almost died and might have, if not for Carter's blood flowing through her veins. That thought of belonging, being interdependent on a pack, of what could happen and what had happened, scared her the most. The idea of being out in the world alone with no one but distant family scared her almost as badly. Ok, so she preferred casual commitments. Real ones scared her to death. Her best bet was to get her own place. Probably kick Torr out of hers and reclaim the space. Ginger didn't charge much for the rent and she included utilities in the price. Maybe, with some new curtains and flare she could make the apartment more like home. Living on her own, but close enough that her family was a ten-minute drive away sounded like a good compromise to her. First though was to find a job so she could actually pay the rent. Until then, Torr could stay there and foot the bill. It'd keep someone else from swiping the apartment out from under her. Torr wouldn't stick around forever. In that regards he was a little like her, uncertain of exactly where it was he belonged and terrified to belong anywhere too permanent. Tristen was so convinced of his place in the world. But, of course, he'd grown up in a different world than she had. One not quite so screwed up and shoved down his throat the way hers had been. She'd thought she knew exactly where her life was going. And it would have gone down the way it had been planned...if what happened in Texas hadn't happened. Tristen was so strong in his convictions. Even though he was a year or two younger than she, he was more mature than her on so many levels. He didn't fear commitment. He knew exactly where he belonged. What he wanted and didn't want. He was just simply content to wait for all the pieces to fall into place. Kacie wished she could be more like him and instead of struggling to try to force the pieces where they didn't quite fit she could just let them fall. She'd conveniently chosen the vacant room next door to Tristen's. Seemed like a good plan, easy access and all that. For all her confusion and uncertainty of her future, there was one thing she knew for certain that she did want. She wanted him. What would come of it or where he fit into the grand scheme of her life, she had no clue. The joke was on Torr. He'd be the one climbing into a cold bed at night alone. She had no plans of her bed being cold or sleeping alone. She had every intention of getting Tristen into her bed to keep her warm. Now, all she had to do was get him to go along with the program. For lack of better terms they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Wasn't sex the natural progression of things? When two people wanted each other the way Tristen and she did. Why shouldn't they get what they wanted? Tristen caught the glances his dad cast at him out of the corner of his eye. He knew the talk was coming. There really wasn't much that his dad could tell him that he didn't already know. Maybe, he could teach the old man a few things. He knew all about safe and responsible sex. Although the human meaning of safe sex was very different from the wolf meaning, he got the gist of it. Birth control wasn't taboo in the pack. It just wasn't necessarily approved of either. Children were too precious and the future too valued to waste. Pregnancies were encouraged, especially since so many of them resulted in miscarriage and stillbirths. Women risked their lives to bring the next generation into being. There were just so few, too few, babies born and the welfare of the pack as a whole depended on those babies. He'd have to use precautions. With this new infusion of blood, the pack wasn't in danger of extinction anytime soon. He wasn't a total idiot and he wasn't ready for fatherhood, yet. But, there was more to wolf sexuality than just babies. When he went all the way with Kacie, he had to make sure first, without any shadow of a doubt, that she was the one. Wolves mated for life, and being stuck with the wrong one, as he'd seen couples accidentally do and live to regret it, could be hell on earth. He was already well on his way to the legendary 'in love' with Kacie. But, he didn't know if she fully felt the same way about him. Dawn's Innocence He made her hot. He drove her nuts. He got under her skin. She cared for him deeply. She loved him. He knew it. But, was she head over heels as flip dizzy for him as he was for her? He couldn't honestly answer that question. Sometimes, he thought she was. When she got that look in her eye, he was almost certain she was in love with him. Then other times, she'd push him away and freeze him out. The whole hot-cold thing she had going on made him insane. It'd be so much easier if she'd just give in and let herself fall. He'd never let her feet touch the ground. He'd catch her. Maybe, that was Kacie's whole problem. She'd never trusted, really trusted anyone in her life. Kacie loved, but she did it on her terms. She loved her mom, her sister, him, but she only let anyone get so close. He wanted her...all of her, not just the pieces she felt safe with letting him have. He wanted...oh damn did he want. After all, he was a guy and what guy didn't think about his big debut between the sheets. Unfortunately, he wasn't programmed that way. In his world there was no such thing as causal. He had to work his way into her heart before he worked his way into her pants. It sucked. But, he could wait. He had to wait until he was sure and she was sure. There was no going back and he did not have room for regrets in his life. Cold showers weren't all that bad. Not really. Chapter 9 The travelers were weary from their long journey and overwhelmed with the sights and smells of their new home. They parted as the man and his wife picked their way through the crowd and mounted the steps of the wide front porch. The man commanded such a powerful presence. Quiet power of authority hummed from him as he stood before them. It wasn't just his stature, but the way he carried himself. He stood tall and proud, shoulders back and chin lifted so confident and assured in what the uncertain future held, as if he'd seen it and knew it was good. He was more than just a leader, and alpha, or a wolf. He was more than what birthright gave him entitlement to. He was in command of everything he surveyed and he wore the cloak of leadership with lightness and comfort and also with the weight of it on his shoulders. He was in command and people followed him, not because they had to, because they wanted to. He inspired everyone whose life he touched to greatness. He was the Supreme Pack Master, Psaiwiwuhkernekah Ptweowa, Great White Wolf, and the Great Father, brother of their founding father, and father of the Sons. He bridged the gulf between worlds and species. He was born into this world of simple means, a simple man with a mind for greatness. The men he led into battle trusted him with their lives. He united a broken people and gave them hope when there was none to be had. He died, a normal human death, but was reborn a vampire. Gifted by his goddess and charged with a great commission. He fathered a race of vampire warriors and defended the whole of humanity against their destruction. He was a great protector and guardian of all peoples, bridging the gap between color, sex, and creed. He lived to serve and when his brother's spirit drifted across the Great River, he answered the call and offered the hand of leadership and brotherhood to the wolves. He offered his hand now, to the children of his brother's children. He offered the Lost Children a home that they could call their own. For all his great undertakings and all that he had done in his very long life. He was neither human, nor vampire, nor wolf. He was an entity to himself. Simple, like always, merely a man. For all his many titles, he preferred the name Drew. He welcomed home his lost brothers and sisters and opened his arms to embrace them, as a brother to some and as a friend to others, and as a father to them all. He demanded no pledge of loyalty or tithe of respect. He required nothing from them, yet offered everything he was and everything he had to them. Tala, his wife, their queen mother, stood regally at his side. Looking up at him with eyes filled with love. She wielded her authority with quiet grace and dignity. She smiled in welcome to the family. The ones she'd always known and the others newly discovered, welcoming them home. Drew stopped Nash as he climbed the stairs with Eloise at his side. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder, meeting his eyes. "Well done," he said in that quiet, wise way of his. Nash had answered the calling of his heart, faced incredible odds against him, rescued Eloise, and brought home all the Lost Children that would follow him. Others were out there lost and alone. In time, Drew would find them and offer them sanctuary as well. Nash bowed his head. "Thank you," he said in the quiet voice of a leader. Praise was not freely given from his leader and he basked in the words of a job well done. He'd gone to Texas with the hopes of rescuing only one woman and he'd returned with more than he'd ever dreamed possible. He'd found the love of his life and a lost people were reunited with their distant kin. In a matter of weeks, his family had grown exponentially and his heart was filled to the point of bursting. Anna ran the kitchen with the harsh efficiency of a drill sergeant. The new houseguests were about to meet their first vampires and she wanted to make a good impression. As she'd discovered long ago, one way to a wolf's heart was through his stomach. And damn, could a wolf eat. She had made enough food to feed everyone. Still she worried that it might not be enough. She was immune to the effects of garlic, but many of her helpers were not. Anna put a fresh clove in the press and yelled out a warning before she crushed it into the sauce simmering on the stove. Chuckling, she looked up and couldn't help but notice that she was alone in the kitchen. Nothing cleared out a roomful of vampires like garlic. Each vampire had a specific duty to perform. And Alex was in charge of the coffee...again. God, after all this time, and despite Janine's not so well intentioned interventions, she still drooled when she smelled the heavenly aroma of percolating coffee. She could imagine a hot, steamy mug of freshly brewed coffee clutched in her fist. If she tried hard enough she could still conjure up the memory of the taste of a fine dark, bitter brew thick with sugar and French vanilla cream rolling across her taste buds. Janine flittered about like a humming bird in a flowerbed, stopping to decorate tables and arrange seating with her fierce eye for detail. She was the official vampire ambassador to the pack. Ok, so the title had been self-appointed, but somebody with a little class had to do it. Who better than her when it counted and things had to be perfect? The pack was not the linen napkin, starched tablecloth, and candlelight kind of crowd. So, she'd had to make a few concessions. The good china stayed packed away. There was no use for the fine crystal glassware with this bunch. She hadn't bothered with a real silver service or flowery centerpieces. She used the everyday dishes and cutlery the pack had always used, paper napkins, and a the most serviceable vinyl tablecloth the Super Center had to offer. The official headcount was higher than what the seating at the table allowed and she'd had to annex the dining arrangements into the living room. The open concept design of the common area of the house allowed for that. She wanted these two packs to eat their first official meal together at the same table. Some of the seating was hodgepodged together and the chairs mismatched. The tables she'd managed to scrounge up didn't exactly butt end to end, but the overall effect she'd been going for seemed to work. Once the food hit the table and the pack dug in, any sense of propriety would be lost on them anyway. Janine tittered in laughter as Patrick, the love of her life, carried a steaming platter of Anna's infamous garlic chicken and set it on the table. Anna and Patrick had quite a history of friendly animosity and they loved to take jabs at each other whenever the opportunity arose. Given Patrick's runny eyes and drooping fangs, Anna had won this round. Chris made her rounds at Dane's side. Her husband wasn't much of a talker and the wolves made him nervous. He was the leader of the vampires after the Great Father much like Nash was the pack master, second in command. Dane had a job to do. It should have been simple, say 'hello' and make the necessary introductions. Unfortunately, he wasn't as adept with words as he was with a blade. She used her influence over him to keep the peace through helping him to maintain his calm and preventing her hubby from sticking his foot in his mouth. She took notes as she made her way through the crowd of newcomers. Getting input on how their new home should look and what they needed in a home. One thing was at the forefront of the long laundry list of necessities. The pack needed more space. The Texas group wasn't used to the communal living situation the Northern pack had always maintained. It was essential that these two very different groups assimilate one another into their very different cultures and come to some sort of a middle ground. Wolves were territorial by nature and until these two packs blended completely into one, something would have to be done about the living situation. The compound had plenty of room for more, but Chris doubted any of the wolves would particularly take to living underground. The wolves needed fresh air and sunshine. Most of the pack had never been down below in the tunnels the Sons called home. The brothers with a little help from their human members had managed to knock the pack's home together in a few weeks. Building an addition really wouldn't be that much trouble. Later tonight, after the hunt, she'd get with Anna and see what their collective minds could come up with. John Mark called the warriors to full attention as the travel wary group of newcomers took their seats at the table. He evaluated the rag tag assembly. All in all, the pack didn't look too bad. It was easy to spot the wolves from Eloise's pack. They wore the weathered, hardened expressions of people that had seen too much in too short a time on their faces. He could see the trauma of their experiences in their dark eyes and the cautious way they carried themselves. In a few days, after they'd settled in. He'd approach the Great Father about beginning some training sessions. The wolves were no strangers to defending themselves, but they needed to learn how to trust others to defend them and how to defend others as well. He didn't know much about Eloise's pack beyond the fact that their world had been isolated from the bigger whole for a very long time. He could not imagine spending his life looking out through a fence. To him the concept was as foreign as a word without a fence must be to them. This was a dangerous time for the pack. Things could turn volatile in an instant. If the wolves had any doubts about the vampire's abilities to keep them safe in their new home, John Mark was determined to alleviate them. The world of the wolf was alien and some of the traditions strange. Wolves responded to a show of force. He lined up the brothers, not only as a reassurance to the pack, but to remind them that they were not the only paranormals out there. He skimmed his eyes down the tight formation of warriors lined up on either side of him. His wife, Robbie, stood to his right, down the line, Marcus, Sam, Will, Chance, and the trackers, Lance, and Bryce. Patrick joined the trackers as Dane took his place next to John Mark. They were decked out in leathers and finery with their blades gleaming in the overhead lights. They were a damned fine group, dedicated and willing to give their lives to defend others. BAD ASS to the core. The wolves, Grant, Hunter, Nash, and Tristen, slid into the line in a show of solidarity. This was their home too and they'd die to protect it. There was no issue vampire versus wolf or human. This was a brotherhood that went beyond species to the heart and soul. The brotherhood and the pack remained standing as Drew entered the room with his wife at his side and took his seat at the head of the table. Drew swallowed back his dislike of all things ceremonious and symbolic and took his seat at the head of the table. He was no different than his Sons or the greatest or least of his pack, or for that matter, his human brothers and sisters. Each and every person gathered around this table and flanking the walls of the dining room had bled for the right to be here. The measure of the sacrifice mattered not. For some, the sacrifice had been their very lives and for others, family and home, or a career. Perhaps in the case of his Sons, the sacrifice had been simply the right to live just one lifetime and die a natural human death. The donors offered their lifeblood for the cause. No one part was more important than any other. Together they were one, united to protect and to serve a world that didn't even know they existed. He sat and stared down the table's incredibly long length. A part of him burst with pride and another part of him was saddened that his brother wasn't here sitting at the head of the table instead. It should have been his brother's place to welcome his lost children home. Drew had to imagine that this was the day his brother had dreamed of. For all the Prophet's visions of the future Drew wondered if his brother had foreseen this day. It was a bittersweet thing to be surrounded by so much family. Every empty seat at the table had been taken, yet there was still a vacant spot. The pack sat crowded shoulder to shoulder around the table. There wasn't room for anyone else. His brother was gone. Sometimes though, Drew could swear he could feel him, looking down from the sprit world or peeking over his shoulder. The mighty Prophet might have known a good many things. He had seen death coming for him. He knew he was going to die before he saw his family reunited. But, there was one thing his brother could have never foreseen and that was the empty place that would never be filled that he'd left behind. Tala gently placed her hand over Drew's trembling fingers. He sat with his head slightly dipped forward and his gaze fixed blankly on the empty plate in front of him. He was thinking of his brother. The Prophet was the founder of the pack, but he'd been much more than that. He'd been loved beyond even his ability to foresee. His loss was something Drew would never entirely get over. The Prophet had told them to travel north to this strange land of green, rolling hills, lush woods, and flat, sloping planes. The pack left their lands, the heat, the barren, sun scorched earth, and orange towers of sandblasted rock of the Nevada desert. He'd guided them here, to their final destination. He'd been bringing them home. He'd known he wouldn't be around for their arrival. He'd given his brother one last gift, the gift of family and of life in exchange for the death Drew had been forced to live for so long. Drew's eyes flicked to his wife's delicate fingers. Tala was his other half-his better half. She made the losses he'd suffered throughout the course of his long life easier to endure. Her gentleness was a soothing balm and her fierceness gave him strength. She'd taught him the gift of his wolf. Showed him what it was like to live, truly live when he'd long since forgotten the meaning of the word. He smiled and gave a subtle nod of thanks to her for drawing him out of the dark space in his mind and bringing him back to the present. He was the Alpha. The pack sat expectantly, unwrapping silverware, clanking plates, and swirling ice in glasses, waiting for him to dig in and pass the first steaming dish down the line. He was still grappling with the idea of food. Once upon a time, he ate. That was almost two hundred years ago. When he became a vampire, he'd had turn to blood to sustain him. With the merging of his wife's wolf blood and his vampire blood, she and he had become something of an enigma to themselves. Blood was a necessity for the both of them. Occasionally, she managed to coax him into trying a bite of food. He much preferred the simplicity of tapping into a vein. She wasn't any better when the time came for her to drink. She was as awkward and clumsy with her fangs as he was with a knife and fork. Nervously, he stared down at the empty plate in front of him. Human food and drink, held no temptation for him. Oh, he enjoyed hunting, always had, and roasting a fat rabbit on a spit over an open fire then feeding the choicest pieces to Tala by hand...well, was there anything sexier than that? The modern stuff, going to the grocery store or popping by a drive through, the stuff humans ate was not food. In his opinion if he didn't hunt it, skin it, and cook it, it wasn't worth eating. The pack was expecting him to eat with them and he understood how important this moment was. Eating a meal went beyond social. He was the Alpha of them all. He ate first, as was their way. And in rejecting the meal, he was symbolically rejecting them. Gulping, he spooned out some of Anna's garlic chicken onto his plate and passed the platter down the row. He sighed as he stared down at his plate. The red garlic sauce oozed into the wild rice and steamed vegetables, dribbling over the sides of the plate onto the tablecloth. Somewhere along the line Tala had added an egg roll and a few items he could not begin to identify. The pack waited for him to take the first bite a few of the children, eager to be fed, had snuck a nibble or two only to get frowned at in disapproval by their mothers. Drew stood and offered a prayer of thanksgiving to the goddess for reuniting her children under one roof once again. Eloise's pack was not spiritual. They had no idea beyond a few myths and stories handed down from one generation to the next of their true origins. Contritely, they bowed their heads and focused their eyes down. The room was quiet except for the restless shuffle of bodies in seats and the occasional clearing of a throat. The concept of praying to a goddess was as foreign to them as the food on his plate was to him. Eloise's pack knew nothing of the ancient ways and didn't understand the language in which he prayed. The two packs combined into one had much to learn from each other. In time, everyone would adapt and come to understand one another better. Drew finished the prayer and took his seat. Spearing the chicken on his plate, he took his first bite of Chinese food. The pack was willing, traveling over a great distance to return to their home. He was willing too and if that meant eating to forge a common ground between them, he could do it. Anything it took to keep the family united under one roof, he would do. The vampires kept their distance. For some, the smell of food was virtually intolerable. Remarkably, they kept it together through dinner. Some were new enough to remember what it was like to eat and drink, to enjoy food, and to eat just for the sheer pleasure of eating. For them, watching the consumption of food was doubly intolerable. They stood with placid faces, watching, perhaps envying, but not participating. They could not, unless the pack was on the menu and everyone knew, tapping into a wolf's vein, unless circumstances were life and death, was forbidden. Once every scrap of food was consumed and each and every wolf stuffed to the point of explosion. After the dessert had been brought out and eaten Jan readied to make her private secret public domain. She had been bursting at the seams to spill her guts all day. She beamed as Thomas stood and called the room's attention by clanking his knife on the side of a glass. She stuck out her hand and grasped his, standing and taking a deep breath. "Mom...Kacie... everyone, I'm pregnant!"