Here is a line for those who like to note if they are First Time Readers (FTR) or Re-Readers (RR).

I quietly crawled underneath the large couch, hoping the people sitting on it were too engrossed in the tv show to sense my aura. They were all in human form, so they probably wouldn't hear me under here. It was a tight fit, only one of the pack's current pups would have been able to get under here with me. I eyed up the three sets of ankles as I edged closer to them.

The fur on my stomach brushed against the floor, although that wasn't exactly difficult since I was roughly the size of a large cat, being only a bit bigger than a full-grown runt, or so I was told. Unless someone sensed my aura, there was no way to tell me apart from a puppy unless I mindspoke or shifted. Other adult wolves could almost look a human in the eyes, whereas I would be nibbling on their ankles.

Unfortunately, I didn't inherit an adult's grace, either; I was just as clumsy as the twelve-week-old pup I resembled. In fact, I had a lot in common with a pup: the same oversized feet, the same big ears, and the same irresistible cute look that most young creatures had.

I crept closer to the ankle in front of me and bared my teeth in a puppy grin. The same sharp little baby teeth...

Chomp.

"Gah!" The ankle was yanked out of my hold as all three people jumped to their feet in surprise, their show forgotten for the moment.

I turned and scrambled away as fast as I could with my tail wagging gleefully from catching them unaware. They started to pull the couch away from the wall as I darted across the open floor toward the doorway. My furry paws skidded on the slippery hardwood flooring, and I tripped over my own oversized feet before I even got to the hallway, which wasn't overly uncommon if I tried to run fast.

I scrambled back up on my brown paws and scampered under a second couch since the hallway was no longer a viable getaway plan. The ankle I had bitten approached.

"You're not going to escape this time, Julie." The young man peered under the couch before reaching towards me. "Come here, fuzzball... Got ya!"

As I had halfway expected, the couch didn't provide enough shelter from Zack's long arms, and I was gently pulled across the smooth floor. He dragged me out from under the couch where he could get a better grip on me. I wiggled in his grasp, to no avail, as he stood up with me in his arms.

Zack grinned widely while walking back to his original seat. "For that, we are going to watch the scariest movie we can find – and you have to sit through it with us!"

"That isn't fair! I didn't even break the skin," I pleaded, only including this group in my mindlink, as I squirmed in an attempt to get free, although he had no trouble holding onto me despite my wriggling.

He sat down between the other two, who just grinned at me while one quickly scrolled through the movies. They were just as ready to return my prank, in their own fashion, as I had been to instigate it.

I gave up and sat on Zack's lap as I watched the screen. "What about The Creature From The Black Lagoon?"

The guy on the right snorted. "You simply laughed at that last time."

I wolf-grinned at him. "Well, you didn't get scared, did you?"

The twenty-year-old ignored my comment and kept looking for something scarier. As a Comforter, my aura helped to calm and comfort people. Those in nearby rooms could probably sense it faintly if they tried to feel it, although those closer were more influenced by it. Since I was in contact with Zack, he would feel my influence much more strongly than his two friends.

I could increase or dim its effects if I concentrated, but it simply wasn't possible for me to turn my ability completely off. These three found it hilarious to be able to watch a scary movie while my aura kept them calm and relaxed.

When I had been sneaking up on his ankles, I had reduced my aura as much as I could so they wouldn't notice me, but it took a conscious effort to maintain it at a low level. I hadn't bothered keeping it restricted once they knew I was there, so my normal aura would be strong enough to handle most movies. The terrifying ones – watched in the dark on a stormy night – would have required me to put more effort into strengthening its effects.

My aura could affect any werewolf, whether they were in wolf form or human form. It couldn't affect me though, which was sometimes a detriment in situations like these.

The selection highlighter paused on a movie, and I commented, "If you put that one on, I'm mindlinking the Luna. You never know when a child may wander in, and this is one of the family rooms."

"You really know how to put a damper on things, don't you? Consider this as practice for your calming abilities."

I rolled my eyes. "With how those trade talks have been going, I've been getting plenty of practice when the Alpha gets home."

All three of them winced, and Zack replied, "Yeah... I'm not sure what that new Alpha is saying or doing, but Alpha Nix's temper is always near the breaking point by the time he returns home."

The guy on our left said, "We've been making sure that either you or one of the Omegas are nearby around the time he returns from those talks. You keep his temper from exploding, and the Omegas scatter, which gives us the warning we need to be on our best behavior. It would be just our luck for him to come back and see us disturbing the peace."

I snickered as I recalled some of the mischief they had gotten into lately. The cooks still didn't know who had replaced the light bulbs with disco lights. The faintest flickers of worry from Zack made me subtly increase my aura a bit to ease any budding tension that the Alpha may be unintentionally causing.

The trade talks hadn't been going well with the new Alpha of the neighboring pack. Such meetings usually only took three hours every month or so, but the recent talks weren't making any progress. Their pack didn't have a Comforter to keep such meetings civil, so our Alpha had to leave the area since a fight between two Alphas would have disastrous consequences. Their Alpha wouldn't come here since his mate was pregnant, and my pack wouldn't let me leave our pack lands to go over there.

"He's going up there almost every day to try and get the agreements in place before the crops are harvested, but the constant frustration is taking a toll on his patience. The rest of his work is getting postponed and piling up, which is also irritating him. There isn't much I can do besides help calm him down while he's in the packhouse."

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Zack said. "The other Alpha needs to take a chill pill and quit being so touchy. I know his mate is near the end of her pregnancy, and it's throwing his matebond into a protective overdrive, but still."

I hid a smirk, knowing that Zack would become more sympathetic whenever he met his own mate. The matebond refused to acknowledge logic, and it affected the higher-ranking wolves much more.

After the fifth time of flicking through the entire twelve channels, the guy with the remote groaned, "There's nothing scary on right now."

With how often ferals and unlawful rogues destroyed the relay towers in no man's land, they should have been grateful that we even had television. Many packs didn't even bother with it.

"That's fine by me," I said. "Why don't we go help weed the garden?"

"We? The last time we went, you ended up chasing a butterfly while the rest of us picked weeds."

"Can you blame me? Some of those weeds taste terrible." It was extremely difficult for me – or any Comforter – to shift into our human form. We had to concentrate on remaining human the entire time, and the smallest distraction would have our bodies immediately shifting back.

Without being able to use my hands, many tasks were much harder, if not impossible. Besides, my Comforter abilities only worked when I was in wolf form.

"Good point, although the garden was weeded yesterday."

"Isn't Mary's grandson visiting today and tomorrow?" Zack asked. "I think she said something about her daughter bringing her son over for the first time. We can always pick some apples on our way over to say hi. You might even have someone your own size to play with."

"I forgot they were visiting today! Let's go find them!" I jumped down to the floor and scampered toward the door with my tail wagging in excitement. They had likely brought a few friends with them, and it wasn't often I got to meet new people.

The three men caught up to me before I made it halfway down the wide hallway, laughing at my excitement. One of them scooped me up and continued jogging toward the front door.

I sat up in his arms, happy that I didn't have to try and get down the stairs on the front porch. As we passed several apple trees, the others grabbed several apples from the branches.

I focused on my Comforter senses, sifting through the moods of dozens of people in and around the packhouse. The majority were clear and vibrant, reflecting mostly positive emotions of contentment and happiness. Some were clouded, so focused on their tasks that their feelings didn't leak through at this distance.

My senses also identified each individual, which wasn't hard since there were only forty-three people in our pack.

"There are four people I've never met before. One is a child."

"Can you tell where they are?"

"Not this time. I think they are in the direction we are going, though." My ability to sense someone's location was rather weak. If they were in emotional distress, then my Comforter role would strengthen and lead me to them.

"They are probably at the playground to let the kid burn off some energy after being carried for so long."

I was too eager to rely on his guesses and mindlinked Mary. "Hi Mary, is your grandson here yet?"

The old woman's mindvoice replied, "Yes, our group stopped at the playground. Come on over."

"Thanks!" Turning my attention to the three guys, I told them, "Yes, they are at the playground."

"You could have waited. We're almost there."

"Impatience doesn't work like that, besides- Oh! Look! There they are!"

Mary bounced a young boy on her knees while a small group stood around her. He looked like he was about a year old, so he would probably be a great playmate. The boy yawned and shifted into a brown puppy before curling up for a nap, much to my disappointment.

I recognized Mary's daughter and her mate. The two other adults were fighters, who had likely accompanied the couple and their child through no man's land. A girl who looked to be in her late teens immediately noticed us, although she watched us approach in silence.

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