“Shouldn’t we bring something for the hotpot?” Matt asked as we walked to the pack house with Scott and Yuri by our side.

“No, Katashi is very particular about what he puts in and the pack has a whole basement full of food,” I assured him.

“You better praise his food too, he’s really proud of it,” Scott said, looping his arm through Matt’s. “And do not, under any circumstances, say that the hotpot is of Chinese origin!”

“But…”

“Just don’t.” Scott shook his head very seriously. That made me and Yuri laugh as we remembered the face Katashi would make when anyone mentioned that. Only Bran was allowed to tease Katashi with it. The pack house soon came into view. It was a huge two-story house hidden from the city by the forest. It was made of dark gray stone and covered in vines which made it look more like a little castle than a house.

The front door was open, the pack already mingling inside. “Reid!” a happy voice yelled and then I was being hugged by Lowell, my little brother.

“Hey buddy it smells good in here,” I squeezed him, ruffling his black hair.

“Oh yeah, Katashi’s already serving.” He turned to Matt, hugging him too. “Matt it’s good to see you! I read the book you suggested. It’s really amazing!”

Gods Lowell was like a little whirlwind. Soon my boy was taken away from me, dragged into the kitchen. “Lowell really likes him, huh?” Yuri asked, chuckling. It seemed like it and it made me more than happy. We moved into the kitchen.

A huge steaming pot rested on the dining room table, surrounded by plates of food. Next to it stood Katashi, stirring it with a critical eye. Katashi was an amazing warrior, he was tall, well-built and his face with clear Japanese features never betrayed his emotions. I used to be quite scared of him as a kid and to be honest he still scared me a bit. Next to him stood no other than Hiro, his son. Hiro looked more like his mother with his dark brown hair and blue eyes and even though he inherited his dad’s Japanese features there was none of the hardness in his gaze. More than a decade ago I fell in love with him, in the end, he broke it off and when I moved on he got me chased away from the pack. He looked up, caught my gaze, and quickly turned away. I’ve made it my goal to torture the hell out of him for as long as I stayed in Silver Springs so naturally I made my way to him.

“Hello, Katashi, Hiro, thanks for the invite. I hope it’s as delicious as I remember.” I smiled and made sure to trap Hiro between me and his father.

“Of course, it is,” Katashi said very seriously in a tone that sounded like: How dare you even doubt my hotpot?

“Ah, sorry, excuse me,” I said very innocently and reached past Hiro to grab some bowls, getting very close. I felt him tense and very clearly heard his heart speed up. Oh, the cruelty satisfied something dark, deep inside me. He wanted me so bad I could practically taste the lust coming off him.

I thanked Katashi when he filled up the two bowls of the hotpot and left without a glance at Hiro. As I walked away though, Yuri stopped me, frowning. I raised my eyebrow questioningly.

“Just what are you doing?” he asked, glancing from me to Hiro and back. Oops, was I too obvious?

“I’m taking a hotpot to my lover.” I decided to play dumb and left for the kitchen. My poor Matt was surrounded… Lowell from one side, Ivan from the other holding some kind of book. Behind them stood Jack, he came to greet me with a big smile. He still looked a bit battered… From the cadrac attack, cadracs were horrible creatures controlled by the mercenaries. He was bruised and moved a bit stiff but other than that he was recovering quickly.

“You’re an absolute idiot,” I told him right after he said hi. “Why didn’t you invite Nadia to the ice festival?”

“I wanted to, but that asshole Marc beat me to it,” he growled angrily.

“Invite her sledding then,” I suggested.

“Sledding?” He raised his eyebrows like I was feeding him bullshit.

“It’s silly and goofy and it will make her feel like a kid again. Trust me, Nadia is the type of girl that likes random silly stuff.”

“Oh great, now I’m getting dating advice from someone who doesn’t even date girls.” He grinned.

“You’re looking at it from the wrong angle. I’m the gay best friend that gets invited to sleepovers and gets to hear all the secrets!” Not really, but to be honest dating a guy wasn’t that different from dating a girl. I bet Matt would love going sledding… Though he would probably complain about freezing his ass off.

Jack laughed and shook his head. “Thanks, I’ll try that. If it doesn't work I’m blaming you.” He laughed and then left. I went to save my lover from the hands of our two submissive wolves.

“Come on, guys, don’t hoard all his attention.” I pushed between Matt and Lowell which earned me a little huff and a pout from my brother. “There you go, a steaming hot… hotpot.”

Matt rolled his eyes at me but leaned against me as he started eating. Oh yeah, the hotpot was as good as I remembered, even better. Soon Yuri and Scott appeared with their own bowls. The atmosphere was nice and easy. It almost made me feel… home.

People were chatting and laughing and now that there was minimal chance of an attack even children were allowed into the pack house. They ran around, laughing, some even in their wolf form. For a second, deep sadness hit me… Who would teach them about our history, about control, about what was important? Bran was gone… Who could possibly take his place as the beta, the teacher?