A smaller and thinner Andrew sat on the stairs of a porch attached to a house belonging to the alpha of the small town. The Higher Optics Workstation Council, also known as H.O.W.L. by the supernatural community, had requested him to come out and aid the pack in a small town out in the middle of nowhere. Andrew still couldn’t help the snort of laughter at that name. The High Alphas were some amusing people. He was glad he agreed to work with them. He started to hum a song enjoying the cool evening air of early spring, when he heard the sound of the door behind him open up.

Tipping his body and head back, he looked at the person upside down. His shaggy dark brown hair was almost touching the wooden boards of the porch. “Hello!”

The teen male stopped and stared at Andrew in shock. “How…?” He stopped and scratched at short russet hair. Gray eyes looked around before landing on Andrew again. “Wasn’t there two of you?”

“Yes. He went to book a hotel room.”

“Ah.” The teen placed his hands on his hips and asked. “How old are you exactly?”

“Sixteen.”

“Six- You’re only a year younger than me!?”

Andrew gave a grin and held up a peace sign. “Yep. And Tate is eighteen.”

“How?”

“How?” He echoed with his head tilted to the side as he watched the other teen with closed off slate blue eyes.

“You should be in school?” The other teen’s voice wavered as he spoke the sentence out loud.

Andrew looked back at the road and shrugged his shoulders. “It was boring. The teachers were… eh.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Is it time to talk to Alpha Lowell?”

“Kevin. He prefers to go by Kevin.” He walked closer and sat down next to Andrew. Once Andrew was looking at him, he held his hand out. “Bryce Lowell.”

Andrew grinned and took Bryce’s hand in his to shake it. “Andrew.”

“You’re a mediator?”

“I am. I’m part of the Bonds group. My abilities are granted through magical-like promises.” He leaned back on his hands. “I was told you guys were having problems with a neighboring witch.”

“Yeah. Her charges keep starting fights with the younger pack members in the school.”

Andrew tipped his head from side to side as he thought. “Sounds like a simple problem. But I can see why I was sent. Tate is almost here.”

Bryce gave the younger teen a confused look before a car pulled up along the curbside. Another teen stepped out of the car and jogged up the sidewalk towards Andrew and Bryce. Andrew waved his hand. “Hi, Tate.”

“Hi, why are you out here?” Tate glanced between the two teens on the porch. He gave a slight nod in Bryce’s direction.

“Alpha hasn’t requested our presence in the house.”

Tate shrugged his shoulders. Ash brown hair was shaggy and hung into blue eyes that were watching Bryce. “Okay, I still don’t get all the formality but whatever.” He jolted when he remembered something. A card was pulled out of his pocket, and he passed it to Andrew. “Hotel key. Leave the food in the fridge alone. We need to save money.”

Andrew gave a “Boo, no fair.”

Tate held his hand out to Bryce. “Tate Richardson. Aren’t you the son of the alpha?”

“Yes. Bryce.” He took Tate’s hand and shook it. “That’s not your real last name, is it?”

Tate and Andrew’s whole demeanor changed. The both of them seemed to become even more closed off, if that was even possible. Andrew leaned closer and grinned, and Bryce got the impression he was looking at a wild animal. “You already know who we really are?”

Bryce stood up and tucked his hands into his pocket. “I did. But I am honestly caught off guard by your age. Your heart skipped like you're not used to saying the name.” He turned and opened the door. “You can come in. But I suggest you not lie if you want to gain favor with an Alpha.”

Andrew cast a raised eyebrow at Tate, who was standing with his arms crossed. He stood up to follow when Tate caught his arm. “Is this the right thing to do?”

Andrew gave his hand a pat. “I’m getting tired of playing bodyguard to high school students.”

Tate crossed his arms and gave him a sassy eyebrow raise. “You’re supposed to be in high school.”

Andrew blew a raspberry, “If I was old enough, I could get my GED already. High school is boring. People are idiots.”

Tate reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “At least you got to experience high school.”

The younger teen looked away with a grumble. His face set in a sullen pout. “Let’s go. We need to get this done so we can get back.” Tate watched as Andrew hopped up the steps before disappearing into the house. He paused when he heard a beep. Pulling out the pager in his pocket, he looked at the string of numbers and smiled. He’d see if he could make a quick phone call after the meeting