Josy “He had described how to get into the territory in one of his journals; that is where Uncle Romano was taking us," Malik says, and even though Ivan is still asleep, he whimpers. I ask Malik what happened to his family, and when he tells me that a Pack of Wolves murdered them, I can't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. I gently remove Malik's clothing, and I gasp when I see the gashes on his back. "Alpha, can you get Alice up here? I think she needs to take a look at Malik and Ivan," I ask as I turn on the shower and lower the head as far as I can; it will make it easier for both of the boys. Alice walks into the room moments after I put Malik under the shower; Jazzy and Tychon had carefully removed Ivan's clothing, and my heart broke when I saw his injuries. "You needed me, Alpha," she says, and Lakota points her towards the guestroom. "Alice, what is going on with their Uncle?" I ask, and as she is taking care of Ivan's wounds, she tells us there is nothing wrong with him physically, but that she has no explanation as to why he collapsed. "Could traveling for two days with two orphaned boys after your entire family got slaughtered do the trick?" I whisper. She nods her head, and I know that it will be a waiting game for Romano to wake up. I turn towards Lakota, and without asking a question she knows what I was about to ask. "Malik and Ivan can stay with you, Josy. Maybe we can place Romano in the other guestroom, if Alice thinks that is a good idea." "Alpha, I think it will be the best thing for all three of them. I can come here to check Ivan's injuries and keep an eye on Romano," Alice answers. "Alice, Malik got injured as well; he is in the shower right now. I'll go see if he is ready," I say before I walk to the bathroom. Malik is drying himself off, but he is careful when he reaches his back. "Let me do that for you, and once you are dry, Alice can take care of your injuries, just like she did for Ivan," I say, and I tell him how his Uncle is doing and what the plan is: moving his Uncle into the other guestroom. Malik wraps his arms around my neck. "Thank you, Josy. Thank you for caring for us," he says, and I tell him he is very welcome. After Alice has tended to his wounds, I place him on the bed next to Ivan, and soon both boys are fast asleep. I wake up in the middle of the night, and at first I have no idea what woke me, that is until I hear whimpering from the boys' room. Malik is tossing and turning in his sleep, and Ivan is no longer in bed. "Jazzy, who is on night shift? Ivan is gone." "Stay with Malik. Tychon and I will go look for him," she replies, and I crawl into bed to hold Malik in my arms; he snuggles into my side to fall into a deep sleep. It takes a few minutes before Tychon shows up with Ivan in his arms. "Hi, Ivan. Why did you leave the room?" I ask him as Tychon places him on my chest. "Find Uncle Mano," he answers, and I tell him where his Uncle is. "Tomorrow they will move him to the room across the hall; you will be able to see him as often as you want. You and Malik will stay here with me until your Uncle is all better," I say, and he falls asleep with a smile on his face. Conan and Kanoa will take care of the diner for the time being; I didn't feel comfortable leaving the boys with someone else, and for some reason I feel protective of Romano. Mylana is going to tutor Malik and Ivan in my Quarters; they don't want to leave without me or their Uncle, and Mylana offered to tutor them here. I know they are another sort of shifter than what we have in our Pack, but I haven't asked them what kind of shifter they are. Mylana has agreed to keep the subject away from shifters; we both want them to offer it out of their own or for Romano to tell us himself. Malik is five years old, and in a few weeks Ivan will turn four. They both call Romano Uncle Mano because they couldn't pronounce his name properly, and we all call him Mano when we talk about him. Tychon trains them while I have my own training; it was a compromise we made when they refused to leave my side. In the past week we have gotten into a routine, and every meal is eaten in Mano's room, the boys telling him what they did. None of us is willing to give up hope that he will wake up, and Alice told us that according to Human research he could probably hear us, something that we are really hoping for. Malik has found a new book he wants me to read, and he crawls onto the bed next to Mano, while Ivan settles in on his other side. I sit down in the armchair at the foot of his bed and place my feet between his legs as I open the book; Malik chose the first journal Jake left us."Did you ask Alpha Lakota if you could take it, Malik?" I ask him as I place the journal on my lap. "Yes, she actually told me to take it and ask you to read it to us," he answers, and I know exactly why Lakota told him to take it; she wants to give them an opening to tell us what kind of shifter they are. I smile at Ivan and Malik before I start reading.