Lakota I am glad Romano and Jazzy are a part of my Pack; I would hate to have them as my enemy. Everyone can tell they are toying with the males—well, Torben and Dusk are toying with them—and the moment they let Romano and Jazzy have control back, I know it is over for them. Romano sticks to our plan as we had discussed, and I can see that most Pack-members are not happy with the outcome of today, not that any of us care about that. We have done what we came here to do, and our Pack is expanding rapidly with the twenty-three names on Jazzy's list, plus, of course, one of Mauro's Warriors and his family. Oh, Fuck. Alpha Mauro is Jahi's Mate; she is going to enjoy putting a lot of Pack-members in their place, and she won't go easy on them. "Jazzy, I think your parents just moved to hell." I say through the mind-link, and every member of our Pack turns towards the bus, a smile creeping onto Jazzy's face. We are loading up the bus with our newest members and their belongings when another SUV comes to a stop in front of the Pack-house, and something I thought I would never see happens when the doors open. Kobal and Argos both growl "Mate," and before I can blink my eyes, two females jump out of the SUV and into their arms. I make my way over to their Father. "Sir, I am Alpha Lakota." I say as I hold out my hand, and he keeps smiling as he takes my hand. "It is nice to meet you, Alpha. Don't tell my Pups, but if I die tomorrow, I will die a happy Wolf." He replies, and I can tell that he is being honest with me. Romano and Lance step next to me, and I wonder what that is about, but I don't have to wait too long for an answer. "Joshua, I am glad you came. I hope we can talk about our past and maybe see if the bond can be reconnected." A female says as she walks towards us, and I am glad that Romano and Lance decided to join us. "Why the fuck would I?" Joshua asks. "Liza, you rejected me for this Pack's Beta, and now that you will have to answer to my Alpha, you want me back. No way in hell." He rants, and his family steps closer to him. Jahi steps next to Joshua and places her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Joshua. She won't follow where you are going; I will make sure she doesn't mess with my family." Jahi says. Liza wants to open her mouth, but Jahi steps in front of her to introduce her Brothers to Joshua and Mauro. Mauro chuckles when he realizes his Brothers-in-law are mated to his best Warrior's Daughters, and Joshua smiles when Jahi tells him that my Gamma's Mate is her Nephew. "Joshua, will you keep an eye on my family for me?" Jahi asks. "Luna Jahi, it will be my pleasure to keep an eye on them. I will treat each of them as if they are my own; I will train their Pups as I did with my own Pups and teach them the right way to treat their fated Mate." Joshua responds, and to his surprise, Jahi pulls him in for a hug. "Thank you, Joshua. I feel better leaving them, knowing that someone will keep an eye on them." She whispers. Romano Liza doesn't like the fact that Jahi stepped in front of her, but I doubt Jahi gives a shit. She is very protective of her family, and Joshua is family through his Daughters, whether he likes it or not. Cian asks if he can join Joshua for the ride back to our territory; he wants to give his Uncles time with their Mates, and he wants to get to know their Father-in-law. I offer to drive the SUV for Argos and Kobal; neither one of them objects to it at all, and Colton decides to join us. It takes us half an hour to get everything and everyone into the bus and SUVs, but the moment we start driving, I concentrate on the road ahead. Focusing on the road keeps my mind from wandering in the direction of my Mate; I know I should have talked to her after the meeting, and I regret ignoring her when I finally found her and the boys. By the time we return to our territory, I will have been gone for a week, and I am not sure if I still have a Mate to return to. I listen to the conversation in the backseats, and I smile when Argos growls at Yara's question. "I would never reject my fated Mate, no matter her rank or kind." He growls, and I see Yara and her Sister stare at him in confusion. "What Argos is trying to tell you is that he isn't like some males; like your Father, he believes that the Goddess pairs us with our Mate for a reason, and not a male or female in our Pack will reject their Goddess-gifted Mate without a damn good reason." I explain. She asks Argos what he meant when he said no matter what kind his Mate would be. "I am a Bear shifter." I answer her question, and Yara starts smiling. "Dad is going to talk your ears off; he always hoped there would be other kinds of shifters. Have you ever met any other kinds of shifters?" She asks, and through our mind-link, I ask Tychon if I can tell them about him. "We have two Leopard shifters in our Pack; one of them is in the SUV with our Alpha, and our Alpha's second-chance Mate was a Mountain Lion. She will tell you about him herself; just know that there are other shifters out there, and we haven't seen all of them yet." I tell Yara. She asks if the Council knows about us, and Argos tells her that the Council is aware of our Leopard shifters, but that only one Council-member knows about me. "What kind of Bear are you, Romano?" Cyra asks, and Kobal tells her that I am a Grizzly Bear. Yara and Cyra look from their Mates to me, and I can tell they think we are kidding. "At our first stop, I will show you, but don't say anything to your Father just yet. I would like to see the look on his face when he sees me shift." I tell them, and after that, I link Tychon to see if he is willing to show them his Leopard, which he is more than willing to do. Alpha Lakota has asked him before to shift for new Pack-members, just to show them that she wasn't pulling their chains. From now on, she will have to explain that the Pack also has three Bear shifters, and once Malik and Ivan are old enough to shift, I will make sure that they show new Pack-members that our Alpha isn't kidding. Cyra asks why a Wolf Pack would take in other shifters, and her eyes nearly pop out when she hears that her Mate is a Lycan, just like our Alpha. "Romano, do you have a Mate?" Yara asks, and I see the males giving me a worried look. I think about how I am going to answer her question, because I didn't leave on the best of terms with Josy. "Yes, Yara. I have a Mate, but I am not sure if she will be very happy to see me when we get back. Josy understands why I wanted to go with Alpha Lakota on this mission, but it doesn't mean she was happy with me going. She needed time to process everything, and I gave it to her, but when I went looking for her and my Nephews, I ignored her. She made it clear she was mad at me, and she disappeared before we left; I know they found her, but that is all I know. I am just hoping that she is willing to listen to my apology when we get back." I answer. "Argos, I never meant to hurt her. I just didn't know how I would react if she asked me to stay behind. What if I had stayed behind? Would I have resented her in the end? Would I have snapped at her for even asking? I don't have answers to those questions, so I took the easy way out and just ignored her. I just hope it doesn't cost me my Mate." I state, and I know that Argos understands I chose the lesser of two evils, not that it might have been the best decision. We are almost near our first stop on our way home when Argos places his hand on my shoulder. "If Josy is willing to listen, you better tell her what you told us. My baby Sister is very understanding, if she gets all the information she needs to make a decision." He says, and I hope that he is right. The bus and SUVs pull up to Silver River Pack, and the gate gets opened within seconds of Alpha Lakota rolling down her window. Crystal Blood Pack still has an alliance with Silver Moon Pack, and Alpha Lakota decided to pay them a visit on our way home; she had asked if we could use the guest cottages away from the Pack-house. It will give us some privacy, and it will make it easier for me to show Cyra and Yara that I am a Bear shifter. Alpha Paul is waiting for us inside his territory to show us to the guest cottages, and Keir decides to accompany him to the Pack-house to catch up with his old friend. Alpha Lakota explains a few things to our soon-to-be new Pack-members, but she leaves out the part about me and Tychon. "Besides the hidden territory, there is something else about our Pack that no outsider is aware of, and I am asking each of you to keep this to yourselves as well." She says before she turns to me and Tychon. "Holy Fuck." Joshua exclaims when he sees Torben and Makucha. Yara slowly walks over to Torben and Makucha; she smiles as she walks around us, and when she stops in front of us, she places her hands on our snouts. "Thank you for showing us what you look like. Thank you for the trust you have shown us." She whispers.After we have shifted back, we answer all the questions they have, and soon Keir links us that dinner is almost ready. The day after tomorrow, we will be home, and I hope I get a chance to explain myself to Josy.