Josy "Tell my Mate I am here to take her home," he says as he looks at me. "Have a seat, Alpha. Can I get you anything?" I reply, and after he orders a coffee I walk over to the counter. "Josy, I am on my way," Alpha Lakota says in my head, and I smile to myself as I make the Alpha his coffee. Warriors that are finished with their lunch slowly get up to drop their plates and glasses on the counter, and then they make their way outside. I know they aren't going anywhere; some of them will check the area for his Pack-members and the rest will surround the diner. They will make sure that no one else gets into the diner. "Kanoa, can you bring the Alpha his coffee?" I ask; I am not going anywhere near him. I don't trust him, and I don't want to get caught in the middle of anything. Conan helps me to clear the counter, while those that are still eating their lunch have slowed down and they keep glancing at the Alpha. The bell chimes again and this time Jazzy and Tychon walk in; they are talking about their cottage. They don't pay the Alpha any attention and sit down at the table next to him, still arguing about how many rooms they will need. They started this argument the moment they had asked Peter to build their cottage, and it had been fun listening to them argue, but they settled this argument weeks ago. The Alpha glances at them from time to time and the argument seems to annoy the hell out of him. "Tychon, just agree with your Mate," Conan says as he places their coffee in front of them. "She is going to get her way, no matter what. You better stay on her good side or you might end up on the couch one of these days." Jazzy laughs as Tychon looks shocked between Conan and Jazzy; he knows she would force him to sleep in another room or she would come to my Quarters if he refused. We have seen it happen in the past year; sometimes Jazzy finally gave in, but most of the time Tychon was the one to give in to his Mate. Another chime of the bell lets me know that Alpha Lakota just walked in, and I smile brightly when Argos walks in behind her. He chose me as his baby Sister because his own baby Sister doesn't need him to protect her, and at first it had annoyed the hell out of me, especially after I started running the diner. He would be here when my shift ended to walk me home, something he still does after all these years, and I doubt he will ever stop doing it until the day I find my fated Mate. Argos made it clear he will put my fated Mate through a third degree interrogation, making sure that my Mate understands he has to deal with Argos if he ever hurts me. "Alpha, what are you doing here?" Lakota asks, and I see a surprised look on his face. "I am here to get my Mate, not that it is any of your business, little girl," he replies, and Argos takes a step towards the counter, placing himself between me and the Alpha. "It is my business when you claim that one of my Pack-members is your Mate. I know that none of my members is mated to an Alpha, and I believe it is custom for an Alpha to announce a visit to another Alpha's territory," Lakota rebuttals. "As far as I know, I didn't receive any message stating that an Alpha would be visiting my Pack." Her aura is pouring out of her, and I know that Lotus is close to the surface, ready to put this Idiot back in his place. "I suggest you go back to your Pack and stay there. If you ever show up here again without notifying me, my Warriors have orders to take you down. I will also notify the Council of this visit and your claim to one of my Pack-members," she growls. The Alpha gets up with a growl, but he takes a step back when every Warrior in the diner gets up as one. "I demand to speak with your Alpha, little girl," he responds, and I hear gasps around me. Doesn't the Idiot understand he is talking to our Alpha? He can't be that stupid after she released her Alpha aura. "Dad, can you and Kobal show this Idiot the exit? Make sure he leaves our territory, one way or the other," she growls. We can all see fear flash through his eyes when Keir and Kobal take a step forward, and I have to stifle a smile as Kobal grabs him by the neck. "Let's go. Our Alpha wants you out of here, and I would heed her warning; stay away from our territory if you like breathing," Kobal grumbles as he shoves the Alpha out of the diner. Only minutes after Kobal and Keir have removed the Alpha from the diner, Ivan and Malik show up, both of them chatting about their first day at school. "Hello, Alpha," they say in unison before they walk over to the counter; I get a hug from both of them, and I tell them to take a seat at the end of the counter. Conan hands both of them a menu, and Ivan looks up at him with a smile on his face. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asks, and Conan tells him that he should read it to order something to eat. Ivan opens the menu as he keeps looking at Conan; I turn towards Kanoa and Argos and roll my eyes. "Is it in English?" Ivan asks, and I hear Malik chuckle. Conan doesn't seem to understand that Ivan is pulling his chain, and I have no intention of spoiling Ivan's little game. "Of course it is in English," Conan replies, and Ivan starts to look at the menu, his finger following the lines of words. It's that I know he can't read yet, otherwise I would think he was really going through the menu to make up his mind on what to order. Malik has recognized a few words on the menu, and he orders a burger with fries. Both of them had asked me a lot of questions about the diner and what is on the menu when I told them I would be taking a week off to stay with them. I think Malik knows the menu by heart, and he made me promise he could order a burger and fries when we would go to the diner the first time. "Conan, can I get escargots?" Ivan asks, and I can't stop my laughter when I look at Conan's face. Everyone in the diner is laughing at his expense; Ivan is still looking at him with a smile on his face, and it seems that Conan is finally catching up. "You can't read, can you?" he asks, and Ivan starts laughing. Ivan eventually orders the same as his Brother, and as they wait on their order, Conan goes over the menu with Ivan, trying to get him to recognize words. By the time they have finished their food, Ivan is able to recognize a few words, and it takes some convincing to get him to do his homework, but after Conan has promised him they will continue practicing once his homework is done, Ivan agrees. Dinner time is a noisy mess with both boys here, but Malik helps out by bringing the Warriors their drinks and Ivan brings whatever he can to the tables. They will be exhausted by the time we go home, and I bet they will be fast asleep in seconds, but it is worth seeing them this happy. Just before the second wave of Warriors come in for their dinner, my replacement walks in; I tell her what was ordered and she tells me not to worry. "Go home and put those two to bed before they fall asleep here," she says as we both look at the boys, and Argos tells me he will carry Malik while I will carry Ivan. We place them on their bed and I carefully remove their clothing, taking care of their wounds before putting on their PJs. Malik's wounds are almost completely cured, but Ivan's are still very visible, and I am glad Romano killed the Wolf responsible for inflicting the injuries to two young boys. I walk into Romano's room and sit down next to him. "Sorry, but tonight it will just be me. The boys are fast asleep, exhausted from their first day at school and helping out at the diner. They both finished their homework, and neither one of them can wait for another day in school; they are both eager when it comes to learning something new. You should have seen Ivan when he was able to recognize his first word on the menu; he was so damn proud of himself. Malik looks forward to their lesson on Pack hierarchy tomorrow; I know it is something they know nothing about. Malik is very curious about how a Pack works, and he has not stopped talking about it. He knows what an Alpha is and that in most Packs they are male, that most Packs look down on a female Alpha. Something neither one of us understands; after all, we have a female Alpha and she is an amazing Alpha. Lakota cares for every Pack-member, whether they are Wolf, Lycan or Leopard. I hope you wake up soon, Romano. It will do Ivan and Malik so much good; they miss you and their last connection to their family. I'll see you in the morning," I say before I kiss him on his forehead and turn in for the night.