Grabbing the end of a roll of decorating tissue, I trotted towards the end of the hallway, passing it to the teenager to tack up while the person on the other end secured their piece. A balloon bounced into sight, with a pup in hot pursuit. Her attempt to bite it sent it rolling away again.

Sorrin had mindlinked his father last night to say he should be arriving today some time. The announcement had the pack eagerly preparing a welcome party. The smell of flowers drifted throughout the house, courtesy of the numerous vases scattered throughout the family areas, mostly on end tables. Even now, the faint aroma of a fancy meal could be detected.

I ambled down the hall to see what else I could help with. Mary walked the other way, her arms full of boxes. Seeing her reminded me of Anabel, and I was looking forward to their next visit in six months. They had made it safely back to their pack several days ago.

"Julie!"

I paused, looking behind me and spotted a woman in a kitchen apron waving at me.

"Yes?"

"Can you please come chase a mouse out from under the counter? We really don't want it in the kitchen, and it's behind the divider, so a broom won't work."

"Sure!"

My hunting instincts were about as honed as my ability to run, so the mouse was bound to escape my attempts and get shooed out the kitchen's back door.

The activity around us didn't cease as I followed her back to the kitchen. She pointed to a corner. "It's under there."

Of course, it had to be one of the smaller spaces. I was crawling more than I was walking as I tried to locate the little critter hidden behind one of the wooden support beams. My back foot purposefully kicked half of an eggshell out onto the open floor.

"Sorry, Julie, but that's not the mouse I was looking for."

"The next time the guys get into an argument over who's the strongest, they have to prove it by lifting up these counters so we can clean under here. I have a sneaking suspicion that these raisins weren't like this when they originally rolled under here."

My ears swivelled forward as I heard a faint scratching noise. Quickly shuffling closer, I peeked around a support bar and spotted the tiny creature. The mouse saw me at the same time and bolted.

"It's coming!" I warned them.

"Hold the cardboard steady. We don't want it to sneak under it and get away. Ah, there we go. It's outside where it belongs."

That was my cue to come out. The dust behind me was stirred up, so I went forward and emerged from under the counter. I courteously went outside the open door and promptly shook my fur as hard as I could. The faint cloud that appeared convinced me to keep an ear peeled for the next bragging competition, although moving the counter could be a group effort.

A voice called out across the main packlink, "Sorrin is at the border."

Excitement increased from so many minds that I actually raised my mindshield slightly.

The woman behind me stated, "Well, we got that mouse out just in time. They won't take long to get here from the border, let's go wait outside for them."

My toenails clicked against the tile flooring as I made a beeline across the kitchen, somehow beating the others to the hallway door. I slowed down as I approached the front door, which was packed with people. One of the Omegas appeared from behind me and picked me up, lest I be inadvertently stepped on.

The shuffle through the doorway and out onto the porch seemed to take forever. Then began the waiting.

"Can you tell how far out he is?" I asked the Omega holding me.

After a few seconds, she replied via a private mindlink, "They'll reach the treeline within a minute or so."

My eyes drifted to the main trail, which was barely wide enough to let two horse-drawn carts pass side-by-side with our trade goods.

"They're almost here," the Omega whispered within my mind.

I sat up, trying to see any hints of movement. Finally – at long last – a dozen wolves appeared around the corner of the trail. One was part of our border patrol, but the other eleven were strangers. I had zero clue which wolf was Sorrin. From the rambling confusion I heard from others nearby, I wasn't alone in that conundrum.

Alpha Nix descended the three porch stairs to the brick path and walked forward with open arms. A reddish wolf gave up the pretense of a dignified arrival and raced forward, shifting mere steps from the Alpha, and embracing him in a hug.

The border patrol guide moved to the side, leaving the ten other strangers to patiently wait for things to settle down for a proper introduction. They shifted to their human forms, and I tried to tie their wolf form to their human face. Their swords and bows marked them as fighters, most likely an escort across the vast distance between the school and our pack. It had been so far away that Sorrin hadn't come home since he first left.

A slowly building cheer grew around us, becoming more confident until it echoed. Most were human cheers, with a handful in wolf form howling their greeting for additional volume. My high-pitched howls were barely heard among the clamor from the thirty-some present werewolves.

It took the two a few moments to regain their composure and pull away. The Alpha put his hands on his son's shoulders, examining the boy he hadn't seen for twenty years.

"Welcome home, Son."

Sorrin wore a huge smile. "Thanks, Dad."

"Who are your companions?"

"Merric has been a close friend of mine for many years, and he is hoping to stay, if you would permit."

Alpha Nix examined the brown-haired man, just as aware as I was that he was a Beta – his aura wasn't strong enough to be the first-born son, but possibly the second or third child in his family. Our Beta had never found his mate or had children, so there was no one else in our pack with the Beta abilities.

"I don't foresee any difficulties," Nix finally said, "but just like any new additions, we'll have to have a talk."

Sorrin nodded, easily accepting the compromise. "And the other nine are guards to ensure I got home safely. They are hoping you will allow them to rest here for two days before returning."

"Certainly, they may be your guests." The statement was a roundabout way of saying Sorrin would be responsible for their behavior. "I'll have someone guide them to the guestrooms and show them around. I assume you remember where your room is?"

"Yes."

I flicked an ear, noting that the confidence in his voice did not match his emotions. It was probably a good thing the Alpha planned on taking him to his room since we had merged two rooms together to make it much larger.

"Excellent," Alpha Nix replied. "I'll send a couple of people out to get the backpacks and bring them to the proper rooms."

That explained why his human form didn't have a backpack with his essentials – the group had left them with the border patrol to make an impressive entrance. Most of his belongings were coming in a horse-drawn wagon, which would have been travelling much more slowly than the swift wolves. It would be weeks before it arrived.

A few people shifted and took off running into the forest to help. The nine fighters once more shifted and trotted after them, likely to bring their own gear back. The young Beta, Merric, remained where he was, hands clasped behind his back as he watched the proceedings with calm eyes.

Alpha Nix nodded at the waiting crowd. "As you can see, everyone was quite excited to see you again."

Sorrin slowly nodded, gazing at the people packed onto the porch and spread out around them. "Thank you so much. I hope I'll have a chance to speak to each of you soon."

"Do you have any preference for what you want to do or where you want to go first?" the Alpha asked.

"How about a quick tour to see the changes that have occurred since I left?"

I was kind of surprised that he opted for a tour instead of mingling with the pack. Admittedly, there were a lot of people standing here, and he likely didn't remember most of us.

"Sure, let's start with the herb gardens and outer areas before going inside."

The Alpha led his son around the house, and Merric came over to our Beta and bowed his head.

"May I accompany you on this tour?" Merric asked, showing deference to the older Beta.

He inclined his head. "Indeed. Let's follow them." He turned and the two walked side by side, a visible sign that our Beta was willing to accept and train the one who would take over for him if something ever happened to the Alpha or to him.

Sorrin's voice drifted back around the corner. "What is the netting for?"

"To keep hawks and eagles away from the pups and our Comforter."

There was a notable pause. "We have a Comforter?"

How did he not know that I even existed? All of our neighboring packs knew me by name. The Omega holding me stilled, and I immediately realized the source of her tension.

Instead of Sorrin being excited about this discovery and the possibilities it granted, his emotions were confused and mixed. He was less than thrilled to learn this. Considering he had left the pack before I was born, I couldn't even blame it on an old argument or a childhood fall-out.

"Julie does a great job," Alpha Nix said, his voice just the slightest bit rebuking since Sorrin should have known about me from the infrequent letters they exchanged. "She's never once shared a secret, and her ability to keep meetings civil is worth gold."

Sorrin's mind was shadowed with doubt, still not convinced. He changed the topic instead. "When was the addition added onto the main packhouse?"

"About ten years ago. It took several years to build, but we have twice as many rooms as we need. If you look over there..." The Alpha's voice trailed off as they walked farther from where we stood.

"You sensed that as well?" the Omega asked me quietly.

I reluctantly replied, "Yes. That was unexpected, and unusual."

"No kidding. Although, I suspect one afternoon of holding you will cure his aversion."

I finally grinned, knowing that as soon as he let his guard down, his instincts would see me as a puppy. His Alpha abilities were still developing, but they would be more than strong enough for him to want to protect a pup in the pack. "Yep. I'll just have to avoid the temptation of pranking him for a few weeks."

"Rumor has it that Zack was the one who hid your stuffed rabbit toy yesterday. We Omegas also happened to overhear that he accidentally dropped Zara's practice armor on the ground and scuffed one corner. She will likely discover it this afternoon."

Her words caught my attention. "Let me guess, instead of taking ten minutes to polish it, he shoved it back where it belonged so fast that he forgot to try and hide his scent on it?"

A corner of her lip quirked up. "Very possibly."

I wolf-grinned at her, once more grateful for my hidden allies who seemed to find out about anything so quickly it was almost magical. People began moving, unaware of either Sorrin's reaction or my plotting.

With the son having been welcomed and led away by his father, the gathered group dispersed back to whatever they had been doing beforehand. I caught a few disappointed murmurs about none of them being potential mates for Sorrin, Merric, or the other visitors. They would have known the moment they picked up the other's scent or looked into their eyes. The pull of the matebond wasn't exactly subtle most of the time.

The Omega took me inside and put me on the couch before disappearing. I waited a few minutes for things to quiet down before sneaking down the hallway and up the staircase.

The door I wanted to get into was closed. With a quick check up and down the hallway, I shifted and tried the doorknob – it was unlocked.

Zack's room was remarkably tidy for a young man. From the lack of dust, he had even cleaned it recently. It was super easy to find his pair of slippers. What guy was fussy enough to neatly arrange them beside his closet despite wearing them every evening around the packhouse? If nothing else, their absence would be quickly noted.

Grabbing the sides of the two slippers in my jaws and pinning them together so I could carry both at once, I pulled them out the door. I quickly shifted and closed it before dragging the slippers down the hallways, ensuring they rolled lots so he would be able to follow their scent.

I stopped by a second door and scratched it lightly, just in case the occupant was inside. The twenty-one-year-old whom this room belonged to was... feisty. Even I was careful about sneaking into her room.

There was no reply, nor did her emotions shift, so wherever she was, she wasn't in her room. I shifted and opened the door. The faint smell of perfume greeted me as I pushed the door a bit wider and shifted back.

I had to move quickly. Grabbing the slippers again, I dragged them under the bed and tucked them against the wall. With my scent mixed into Zack's, Zara would know that I was the one responsible. She also knew I wouldn't snoop or touch anything important, but she would surely lie in wait for Zack to come for his slippers.

My tail was wagging as I ran for the door, predictably somersaulting through the gap in my haste to escape before I was caught in the act. After shaking my head and checking the hallway, I shifted so I could close the door. In an effort to appear innocent, I scampered down the hallway to see if anyone needed help elsewhere.

I raced down the hallway, slipped, and slid right into one of the family rooms. It was like I had four left feet some days. The handful of people inside glanced over just in time to see Zack catch me.

"What did she do this time?" one of the women asked him.

"She hid my slippers in Zara's room – and Zara is in there. I need a talisman of safety, and considering Julie started this, she can help set things right."

Several people laughed, and I even heard the Alpha chuckle as he walked by the doorway behind us. They knew I couldn't turn my calming ability off, so I was the perfect one to take if a friend was out for revenge.

The same woman inquired, "We kept you busy all morning and afternoon. When did you have time to steal slippers?"

I smiled at her as my tail wagged with my accomplishment. "I'm a creature of opportunity – and it knocked!"

Another round of laughter echoed around the room as Zack turned and walked out, holding me hostage in his arms. My ulterior motive was to give Zack an excuse to apologize before Zara chewed him out for not fixing what he did to her armor. My aura would also keep things from potentially escalating beyond some sharp words.

As we passed another hallway, I caught a glimpse of Sorrin, who frowned when he saw me being packed away. I lost sight of him as Zack kept walking. The school and its classes were probably a far cry from a packhouse and the daily life of all its members, so it would take Sorrin a few days to adjust.

I would have to see if I could catch him alone sometime during the next few days to give him a chance to talk without others listening in. Perhaps he had just never seen a Comforter before.