“So Baltazar is still avoiding any kind of contact, eh?” Yuri asked as we jogged through the snowy forest, our breaths coming out in clouds.

“Doesn’t he realize it just makes him look more suspicious?” Scott frowned, finally out of breath. It took hours and hours of running to get him and Yuri tired. But we had to do it every morning because lately the pack was getting restless. The pack… Well, now that was something that became a confusing term.

Two weeks ago we killed a powerful mercenary named Olivia who killed Bran and enslaved me with the help of her witch friend, who sadly managed to escape. Only Yuri and Scott were able to break the chains the witch threw around my soul and we became a separate pack from Father’s Ghealach pack. Everyone knew what happened, yet no one - not even Father - talked about it. We all just pretended nothing was wrong. Father still let us live on the Ghealach territory and interacted with us like we were pack. The only thing that really changed was that Yuri and I moved from the packhouse to Scott’s house, which was just down the road.

These were some confusing times… So the packs have been very restless lately. Not only was everyone unsure about the hierarchy of the Ghealach pack and how I, Scott, and Yuri fit in it, we were all lusting for blood. We might have killed the mercenary, but we still didn’t know who hired her, since mercenaries only worked for money. The suspicion was on Baltazar, the Master of the only vampire clan here in Silver Springs, Alaska. The mercenary was found on his territory and the pack demanded an explanation.

“Father will run him down eventually.” Alistair Ghealach was a patient hunter. I decided to trust him since the last time I rushed into action I almost killed everyone.

Scott’s little house came into view and we slowed down into a walk. I shivered as the wind cooled down my sweat. It was winter here in south Alaska which meant a lot of snow and below zero temperatures. But since we were werewolves, the three of us were only dressed in t-shirts and sweats. The only proper thing we had were winter boots so we wouldn’t have shoes full of snow. Why were we dressed like this you ask? Well it would be awkward to try and run in five layers of clothing and our bodies burned more energy if they were busy keeping us warm on top of running.

We kicked off our wet shoes in front of the door and went in. We all groaned in sync when the smell of bacon hit our noses.

“Welcome back!” Matt called from the kitchen, a turner in hand. Oh, he looked adorable.

“This smells good,” I said and went to him, hugging him from behind.

“Eggs, sausages and bacon, all the yum stuff.” He leaned into me even as he turned the sausages over.

“Oh yeah, so yummy.” I grinned and leaned forward to lick a line up his neck. He shivered and moaned for me.

Two weeks ago Matt found out I was a werewolf and for some reason decided he didn’t mind. Well, I wasn’t about to argue with him... Even though I probably should have since he was very much human and male in a world of werewolves that hated both interspecies and homosexual relationships. Matt was the excuse I gave to Father when he asked why I wanted to move to Scott’s. I said I didn’t want to provoke the pack. What kind of an excuse Yuri had for moving here, I didn’t know. This house was not built for so many people though… It was a bachelor’s house. With one bathroom and only two separate rooms. Scott gave me and Matt the master bedroom since it was the only place with an actual bed, while he slept on a futon in the other room that used to be a storage room. Poor Yuri slept on the small couch in the living room.

“Come on, let’s eat,” Matt said and pushed against me. I growled quietly, not wanting to let go yet. I buried my nose in his blond hair and breathed in his scent, like pines and ozone, intoxicating.

“Cut it out Reid, I’m hungry!” An apple, thrown by Yuri, hit my back.

“Yeah and don’t forget the house rules. No sex in the kitchen!” Scott added, ruffling my black hair as he passed by.

With a sigh I let giggling Matt go and went to the table, smacking Yuri over the head as I did so. He just laughed and rubbed his salt and pepper hair, still a bit damp from the sweat. Matt gave us all plates. Now, I couldn’t say Matt was a good cook. We used to live together when we went to college and I was usually the one doing the cooking. For some reason though Matt insisted he would learn how to cook. At first, it was quite the disaster, but in those last two weeks he had gotten a lot better with major help from me and Holly, Yuri’s mother and the pack Healer, who kind of played the mother to all of the Ghealach pack.

“Thanks Matt.” I kissed his cheek when he sat down next to me and then dug into the food. Well… It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t burned, which was an improvement.

“Well?” he asked, his baby blue eyes eagerly awaiting my answer.

“It’s good, really. A bit salty, but that’s fine.” I smiled and squeezed his hand on his thigh.

“A bit salty? Did you drain a whole ocean for this? Water! Help me!” Came Yuri’s answer and he overdramatically reached for the glass of water. I kicked his foot under the table. He grinned at me, almost spilling water everywhere. Fucking Yuri, for some reason he decided it was his life mission to tease the hell out of Matt.

“Don’t listen to him, he grew up on Holly’s food, he’s a spoiled bastard,” I said with a smile, easing Matt’s tension.

“Gotta watch out what you feed to the delicate Princess and her delicate palette.” Scott grinned, then yelped when Yuri kicked him under the table.

“I’ll show you a delicate princess!” Yuri growled but only playfully.

“Come on, that’s enough boys! Don’t let the food get cold.” That made them shut up, we still smiled as we ate though. It felt good, better than I could’ve imagined… After getting kicked out of the Ghealach pack when I was sixteen I never thought I would have a pack again. It felt almost unreal to feel the bonds that tied me to those two deep in my soul. It satisfied some long-lost part of me, to feel their lives resting in my hands with absolute trust.

“So what do you want for lunch, hm?” Matt asked as I helped him do the dishes, our hips and shoulders bumping together.

“Well, I thought we might eat out today,” I suggested. “There is the Ice festival here in the city park. We should go and see it together.”

“Oh, that sounds nice!” Matt’s eyes practically twinkled with excitement. I couldn’t help myself, I leaned forward and kissed him, groaning at the taste of his soft lips. Matt ended it quickly though, his cheeks red and eyes darting around the room. My shy boy. Thankfully Scott was in his room and Yuri in the shower.

“And dinner?” he asked before I could kiss him again.

Alright. I chuckled and went back to cleaning the dishes. “Actually, while we were on the run, Lowell called. We’re invited for a hotpot today,” I told him. For some reason Katashi loved to do those every winter, inviting the whole pack even though he wasn’t very social.

“Oh?” Poor boy, he sounded so nervous. Even though Father made it very clear he accepted Matt as part of the family, some wolves still glared at us here and there. I was used to that kind of treatment, but Matt came from a very accepting background. The pack made him uncomfortable. I hoped that with time the pack would get used to us. We did have the Alpha’s blessing…

As I heard Yuri turn off the shower upstairs I kissed Matt’s cheek and said: “I’ll just grab a shower and then we can go, yeah?”

“Yeah okay.”

I stopped in our bedroom to get clothes and by the time I got to the bathroom, Yuri was already leaving. He was only wearing shorts, his muscular chest exposed, drops of water falling on his skin from his hair.

“Did you get even bigger?” I snickered and slapped his shoulder. “Do you bench press fucking pick-ups?”

“Just working out my frustration.” He sighed and something dark flashed in his light blue eyes.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get Baltazar soon enough.” I squeezed his shoulder.

“Yeah, right.” He gave a small smile and went downstairs. I just shrugged and showered. Like I said, the pack… packs were restless and frustrated.