I must have fallen asleep during the drive, because when I woke up next the truck was parked, and Shaede was shaking me gently by the shoulder to wake me up. I could hear a lot of voices, excited and apprehensive, lifting a hand to rub at my eyes and open them to peer out the windshield blearily, my breath hitching in my throat when my gaze fell on the familiar area.

There were gorgeous cabin-like houses built all around the area in a wide circle with a kind of community area right in the middle, the homes built all around snug between trees and taking up open area. I may have been bias because I grew up here, but I was always convinced that the Kerry Clan was far more beautiful than the Paige Clan.

“Home,” I whispered, unbuckling, and pushing the door open with Rebel rubbing his eyes behind me.

I left Shaede to look after him as I shut the car door and took a few steps forward, staring at the huge two storied main house where Malcolm lived, where I had lived until nine years ago, when I left for the Paige Clan. I saw the members of my new pack warily mingling with the members of the Kerry Clan, who seemed all too happy to greet them.

That was another difference between the packs. Kerry Clan had always been optimistic, open minded and open hearted, happy to help anyone with anything and willing to sacrifice so much, while the Paige Clan was rather withdrawn and overly cautious. It was my hope, and probably Amos’ as well, that uniting the packs would make all of the wolves happier.

“Daddy, are we there yet?” I heard Rebel ask, and turned to see Shaede walking towards me with my half-conscious son in his arms, his little head cushioned against Shaede’s shoulder.

I chuckled and reached up to stroke his dark hair, “Yea, baby, we’re here. Go back to sleep, alright? It’s way past your bedtime.”

“I wanna meet papa,” he mumbled, but he was already sleeping again, arms hanging limply at his sides and lips parted with his gentle puffs of breath.

“Alpha Wade should be showing up soon,” I informed Shaede, “Hopefully he’s set up some houses for the pack, and one for us,” I paused, “That might be awkward to bring up. I grew up in the main house, so asking for one of my own seems so… selfish. Especially since I spent so long not talking to them.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Shaede argued, “You were dealing with a lot.”

I sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead, “Yea, and now there’s no way I can just avoid talking to them because I’m embarrassed and scared of them yelling at me,” I chuckled, “I wonder how much trouble I’m in.”

“Prescott Harvey Dannell!”

A shiver ran straight up my spine and made me stand like an arrow at attention, cringing a little as Shaede raised an amused eyebrow, “I didn’t know your full name was Prescott.”

“Shove it,” I bit, shuffling my feet as I turned around to face Cecilia Kerry, who was storming towards me with teeth clenched, hands in fists, and brown hair pulled out of her face and tied at the base of her skull in a low ponytail.

For a long moment, I thought she was going to slap me or something, but when she finally reached me she threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me in a hug only a mother could pull off. I smiled softly and wound my arms around her in return, slightly stunned at how short she was compared to me.

When I left nine years ago, she’d been at least my height, but now I was at least three inches taller, “It’s been a long time,” I laughed, and she pulled back, a huge pout on her face and tears swimming in her eyes as she squeezed my cheeks together, turning my head one way and then the other as she got a good look at me.

“Good lord you’re skinny!” she exclaimed, and I huffed a little in indignation, rolling my eyes as she released my face and slapped my chest, “We’ll have to fix that. You’ve changed so much! Look at you, my little baby is so tall!” she covered her mouth with her hands, “Oh I want my short Scott back!”

I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck, “Yea, a lot has happened in nine years,” I looked behind her, feeling excited and apprehensive at the same time, “Where are alpha Wade and Malcolm?”

“Wade is helping Cliff open up the new houses for the Paige Clan. Alpha Malcolm, has been forbidden from leaving the house until he finishes his work.”

She said it with a teasing tone, and I had to laugh a little harder at that, “He hasn’t changed, then,” I hummed, and she shook her head, clicking her tongue.

“Not a bit. Goodness, though, look at you!” she grabbed my hands, holding me at arm’s length and beaming, “What have you been doing this whole time? We have to catch up! I know, let’s have dinner tomorrow night, just like old times, just the four of us!”

She looked close to exploding with delight, but I had to clear my throat, “That would be nice, but… I might not be able to.”

Just like that she frowned, looking more concerned for me than upset, “Why? Are you okay? You’re not sick, are you?”

“No, no, I’m not sick, I just… have a lot of responsibilities, is all,” I looked over at Shaede and Rebel, and Cecilia leaned to the side, gasping a little.

“Oh, what an angel,” she breathed, stepping past me.

Shaede tensed up, his eyes going dark in suspicion as he held Rebel a little more protectively, and Cecilia arched an eyebrow at him, not bothering to touch my sleeping son and instead simply leaning to get a better look at his face.

“Who is he?” she asked excitedly, that intense mothering look I’d always admired glowing in her eyes.

“Rebel,” I introduced, “The man holding him is my friend, Shaede. He’s a former lone, so he’s not very friendly or sociable. It’ll take some time for him to get used to it here.”

“A friend, hm? It’s nice to meet you, I’m Cecilia Kerry, former Luna of Kerry Clan,” she held her hand out for Shaede, who simply stared at her with a blank look and didn’t make a move to initiate contact.

She curled her fingers and pulled her hand back, turning back to me, “Who’s the child, then?”

“Rebel,” I said again, smiling in embarrassment, and scratching my head, “He’s mine.”

Cecilia gasped a little louder than before, slapping her hands over her mouth before pulling them away, grinning, “Oh sweetie, he’s beautiful!”

“Thanks,” I breathed, rubbing my arm and shifting on my feet, looking down as she came back to me and took my hands in hers.

“Who’s his mother?”

I winced a little at the question I’d been dreading all week, but thankfully a new voice interrupted us, and I sighed in relief, turning to meet Wade as he reached me and threw his arms around me in a crushing hug. Not much had changed it seemed, he was a little taller than me still and built with muscle, even at his age. His golden hair had lost some of its sheen, but his intense gold eyes were as lively as ever.

“There’s my alpha!” he boomed, lifting me off the ground into his hug and swinging me, much like he used to do when I was a kid.

“Alpha Wade,” I gasped, patting his arm and closing one eye with a crooked grin, “It’s good to see you again.”

He put me down and I staggered back a little before righting myself and grabbing my head, laughing breathlessly as he clapped his hands onto my cheeks, turning my head in a copy of Cecilia’s movements.

“You’re skinny as a twig!” he exclaimed, and I sighed with another roll of my eyes, “Taller, though.”

“Har, har,” I chuckled, setting one hand on my hip and grinning at him, “You’re looking good for your age, old man,” I said, and he gave a booming laugh before hugging me again.

“Atta boy! Haven’t lost your sense of humor!”

“I’m starting to lose feeling in my legs though,” I grunted, and he let me go so I could smooth the front of my shirt.

“My bad, that’s a habit,” Wade apologized before standing straight, “Welcome home, son.”

“It’s good to be back,” I agreed, and Cecilia stepped forward.

“It’s really late, we shouldn’t hammer you with questions, as much as we want to. Now you know you have a room with us, but we took into consideration how things must have changed for you over the years and prepared a separate cabin just in case you wanted some space.”

“Thank you,” I breathed, “I think that would be best for right now. It’ll take Rebel and Shaede some time to adjust to the pack, so something like a private residence would be best.”

“Of course, sweetie,” Cecilia agreed as Wade rubbed the stubble along his jaw, “I’ll show you to the house we picked out.”

“Thanks,” I turned around to Shaede, holding my arms out, “I’ll take him, can you grab a few overnight bags? Just something to hold us over for the night. We can unpack tomorrow.”

Shaede hummed and transferred Rebel into my arms before turning towards the truck. I shifted my son a little so he was being held against my chest with his arms hanging over my shoulders, then turned back to the couple I’d come to view as my parents, smiling.

“Who’s that?” Wade asked, and I looked down at my son’s black head of hair.

“This is my son, Rebel.”

“Son?!” Wade held his hands up in shock, “You’re still a kid yourself!”

I arched an eyebrow at him, “I’m almost twenty-six, and I’m older than Malcolm.”

“Well how old is he?” Wade asked, and I rubbed Rebel’s back soothingly when he started to stir.

“It’s kind of a long story, alpha, and I’m really tired. Can I explain it tomorrow?”

Wade considered it a moment before nodding, and Shaede stepped back up with three bags hanging over his shoulder as Cecilia spoke up again, “Where’s your mate?” she asked, looking around like she was expecting Priscilla to pop up, “She should be with you in your new home.”

I tensed up and frowned, shutting my eyes, “We’re having a fight right now, I don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t think it would be wise to be in the same building as her.”

Neither wolves replied, but they didn’t argue either, just looked at each other in confusion before looking at Shaede as if expecting the former lone to blurt out all my secrets. He didn’t, obviously, and Cecilia turned, waving for me to follow.

Wade was walking next to me, smiling down at Rebel with this look of pride, like he was watching his grandson. Which he was, literally, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“He’s a beautiful boy,” he said, and I smiled, feeling warmth in my chest, “Looks a lot like you.”

“Yea,” I laughed softly, “He’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

“Alpha?”

“Yea,” I chuckled, “He’s a bullheaded little punk.”

“Now who does that sound like?” Cecilia teased, and I laughed awkwardly.

“I wasn’t that bad.”

“No, Malcolm had more of a stubborn streak than you did,” Wade voiced, rubbing his jaw and making me cringe, “Though you did have your moments,” he smiled fondly, “Just like your father.”

I didn’t reply, simply frowned, and bowed my head. I knew Wade and my father had been friends, but this was the first time the alpha had ever brought him up. I wanted to ask him more questions, I wanted to know so much more, but decided against it. My father was a tender subject to Wade.

“Here we are,” Cecilia stopped in front of a quaint little wood cabin built with full logs and with a neat little porch that wrapped around the very front of the house, sporting a helpful little overhang to keep rain off the hammock and chairs that were sitting on the porch.

It looked like a smaller version of the main house, and was located rather close to the bigger building, one of the closest buildings it seemed. I wasn’t surprised that they wanted me close, and it appeared as if they’d spent a lot of time getting it ready for me.

“There are three rooms,” Cecilia said as she walked up the three steps and onto the porch, where two lantern shaped motion censored lights on either side of the door flickered on and she pulled open the screen to get to the front door, “We felt that was overcompensating, but I think it’ll be perfect for you three.”

Even the door was gorgeous, with cute designs carved into the front and a stained-glass window framed in the top half of the door. It really was almost an exact replica of the main house, but with a personal and almost intimate charm to it.

“Thank you so much,” I breathed, and Cecilia kissed my cheek before stepping away from the door.

“You know where we are if you need us,” Wade said, winding an arm around his wife’s shoulders and holding her in a side hug, “We’ll put Malcolm on a leash for tonight so you can get some rest.”

I laughed, “Thank you for that. It would be a problem if he just broke in. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Don’t be silly, Malcolm has a key,” Cecilia waved a hand, and I laughed again, turning for the door.

“Goodnight.”

“Sleep well, Alpha Scott,” Wade said with a bow, and my cheeks burned a little as I entered my new house, Shaede stepping in after me and shutting the door.

Tomorrow was going to be a trial. I somehow avoided Malcolm tonight, by a miraculous feat that likely wouldn’t repeat itself, so all I could do is sleep and try to regain the energy I needed to see him. And deal with Priscilla. And explain vaguely that Rebel was mine but not Scilla’s. And get ready for a family dinner Cecilia had scheduled for the next night.

Maybe I should have thought twice about this...