I watched as Alyce’s eyes glazed over as she got a mind link. Rian and I waited patiently until she was done, though he took the opportunity to get right up close to her face, inspecting her eyes. I was quite certain he had never seen eyes as pale and translucent as hers. He was an old soul in a pup’s body.

As she started to come out of it, he plopped back down in her lap and laid his head on her shoulder. I rested my chin on her other shoulder lightly, “Mat?”

“Yes, they’re about an hour away.”

“We should go and get ready then.” I sent a quick mind link out to Kami and Brandon to let them know to meet us in about 45 minutes at the front.

“Yeah.” She nodded and looked at Rian. “Alright little man, I’m gonna need you to let me up. It’s time for me to go.”

Rian’s eyes instantly filled with tears and he clung to her. “No! You can’t go!”

Alyce blinked, clearly surprised by his reaction. She scooped him into her arms and I helped her get to her feet while she held him, “Rian honey, I have to go greet my brother and his mate. They’re returning from a trip today.” She said in a soothing voice, her hand petting his hair gently.

One of the Omega workers, Sally I think her name was, came towards us, as if to take Rian from Alyce, and when Rian saw her, he clung tighter to her neck. I held up a hand to the worker, signaling her to wait. She stopped and dropped back a bit, and Rian calmed down some.

Alyce continued to soothe him and I opened a mind link while she did so. *He’s part Fae, and an orphan. Mother said your Fae blood and his are likely singing to each other. That may be why his reaction is so extreme.*

*That actually makes a lot of sense. Fae are naturally super close and generally consider every other Fae as family even if there’s no legitimate familial connection. What happened to his parents?*

*Disappeared when he was a few months old. No one really knows. The pack link snapped a couple months after they disappeared. His mother was half Fae. So he’s only about a quarter. Is that enough for his blood to recognize yours?*

*Possibly. What I was reading a few days ago said that some Fae family blood will recognize even the most minuscule traces of Fae in others. I don’t know enough about the Fae to know whether he or I might have that trait or if it's something else.*

*Why don’t I reach out to the Omega he stays with, and see if she minds if he comes with us for a little while? I hate to leave a screaming pup with these Omegas. They have their hands full already.*

*You wouldn’t mind? I have to admit, even I feel drawn to him, but I’m an adult and he’s just a child who probably doesn’t fully understand what he’s feeling.*

*No, I don't mind. I’ll reach out to Maggie, if you want to talk to the ladies here.*

*It’s a deal.* She closed the link and smiled softly at me, love and adoration in her eyes.

I opened a pack link to Maggie, explaining the situation and asking if she would be ok with us taking him out of the daycare until she was off her shift, which would be around the beginning of dinner.

While I spoke with Maggie, Alyce went over to the worker, after assuring Rian that she wasn’t going to force him to go with her. She explained that I was getting permission from Miss Maggie for him to hang out with us for a while. Once he was settled she explained the same thing to the Omega, and looked over at me, waiting for me to let her know what was going on.

I headed over to them and nodded as I approached. “Miss Maggie says it’s ok for Rian to come with us.” I looked at the Omega worker, Sally, “She should be contacting one of you any moment to let you know and then we will head out.”

Rian was bouncing up and down in Alyce’s arms, cheering that he got to come with us. Sally’s eyes glazed over briefly and when they cleared she smiled, “That was Miss Maggie, you guys are all set. Thanks for waiting for us to confirm, despite your ranks.”

“Of course. Safety and security policies apply, no matter who you are.” Alyce grinned and we waved to the other kids, before heading out with Rian snuggled into Alyce’s arms.

We entered the pack house through the kitchen, many of the kitchen staff on shift waving or greeting both Alyce and I as well as Rian. He waved back to many of them but stayed cuddled into Alyce, even when Miss Maggie came out from the laundry area. He still preferred Alyce to Miss Maggie, and she was a sweet older woman, very grandmotherly.

The more I watched the two, the more I began to wonder if Rian would even go back with Maggie after feeling the connection with Alyce. I was beginning to think it might be a fight when the time came, but we would deal with it then.

“I hope he’s not troubling you too much Luna Alyce.” Miss Maggie looked a bit worried about inconveniencing us.

“Oh not at all Miss Maggie. He’s a sweetheart.” Alyce assured her, smiling at her as she spoke. “Thank you for letting him hang out with us today.”

“No problem at all, Luna. The pack interaction is good for him. He’s such a quiet, solitary type of child.”

“Ah, well he’s going with us to greet my brother and his mate when they return from Dark Forest and Mattie is far too much fun to worry about being quiet and solitary. We’ll shake this place up a bit. How does that sound Rian? Shall we cause a bit of ruckus?” Alyce shifted him in her arms so she could see his face as she spoke to him.

Rian’s eyes went wide and he grinned, nodding eagerly at her. “Caaaan weeee has a pizza party for lunch, annnnd ice cream for dessert?”

I glanced over at Miss Maggie, who gave me a discrete nod. I laughed softly, “Sure buddy. I can order some pizza.”

“Or! Oooooooor we can make it from scratch!” Alyce grinned. “Want to learn how to make the best pizza ever Rian?”

“Yaaaayyyy! Yes!”

I laughed at the pair and kissed the top of Alyce’s head. “Alright you two, we have a half hour before Mat and Cedric get here. Let’s let these lovely ladies get back to work and go get ourselves ready.”

“I definitely need to change into something with less grass and dirt stains.” Alyce giggled and we left the kitchen heading for the stairs.

I scooped Rian out of Alyce’s arms and held him by the thighs, letting him essentially sit on my arm. “Wanna race up the stairs? We’re going alllllll the way to the top floor. I think I’ll win though.”

“No way! I’ll win. I’m the fastest kid in my class!”

“Really? Faster than me, you think?”

“Yes! Let’s race!”

I laughed and set him down beside me as we reached the stairs, briefly reaching out to Miss Maggie, asking her to send one of the Omegas with a fresh set of clothes for Rian. “Count us down, Half-Pint.”

She laughed and looked at us, “Alright. On your mark. Get set. Aaaannnnd GO!” She watched as we took off up the stairs. She brought up the rear, watching as Rian and I ran up the stairs. He was pretty quick, which made it easier for me to keep my pace neck and neck with him. Of course I planned to let him win.

Ten minutes and a couple of brief slow downs later, we reached the top of the stairs. Rian won by a couple steps as I had fallen behind him, threatening to tickle him if I caught him. Alyce reached the top right behind us, laughing at our antics. “You two are super silly, but you did it Rian! You won!”

We walked down the hallway, Rian jumping and cheering in excitement as we made our way towards our rooms. The Omega that Miss Maggie had sent was waiting there for us, a stack of clothes in his hands. He bowed his head as we approached, “Alpha, Luna. Miss Maggie said you requested these for Rian?”

Alyce looked a little perplexed as the Omega held the clothes out. I nodded and took the stack, “Yes I did. Thank you, Neal.”

“Of course Alpha. I’ll be on my way then.” He bowed again and slipped past us, heading back to his duties.

Alyce looked at me, tilting her head at me in question. I shrugged at her a bit, “What, you’re not the only one covered in dirt and grass stains.”

She looked down at Rian, who was looking at us, dirt on his shirt, grass stains on the knees of his pants. She laughed a bit. “Rian, I think you need a quick bath before we meet Cedric and Mattie.” She opened our door and the three of us headed in to get ready for Mat and Cedric's arrival.