GREETINGS TO THE BLUE ALPHA

Parked outside our packhouse were a row of horse-led carriages, each one lacquered black with silver gilding like it were a jewelry box on wheels, complete with a set of horsemen escorts. There were already three in a row with a forth one just passing through a Tyger's black void doorway - well, it appeared more like a wide gateway this time which explained the copious amount of magic in the air.

If there had been any one time when it felt like my blessed every day normalcy was being threatened to extinction, it would be now. It made Bell's temper tantrum this morning on the packhouse lawn feel like only a minor glitch in the system.

Wow, it's been an eventful morning.

As my Morning Entourage and I stepped out onto the front porch to check out the parade that had literally appeared in front of our packhouse. Dad and his betas had come out too. If he hadn't smelled the magic, he would have sensed the intrusion of foreign wolves. Our black alpha wolves were very ahem, SENSITIVE to territorial infringement, not be confused with "aggressively territorial" as some of the lycan texts would have you believe. (You shouldn't believe everything you read.)

"Sam, what's all this?" Dad asked me when we met on the porch, because as usual, my parents would naturally think this was something I did.

This, being the four shiny black carriages, a dozen mounted warriors in full regalia, and more horses than I could count at a glance.

"It wasn't me." I answered at first, quite by habit, but then I recognized one of the riders. He was on a jet black stallion and unlike the other horses, had his back to me. I still recognized the tall rider with the shock of bright red short cropped curls. That was my wolf - specifically, it was my OP omega wolf.

I cast Dad a nervous glance, "But IF it were me, it would be very indirectly my doing."

Dad gave me a look which I tried to brush off, "I guess we better go see what's up."

By now, we had a local audience. It's not everyday you see a Lycan movie set complete with costumed cast appear in front of your packhouse. Mum, Savy, and Sabre had come along too, but Dad had mindlinked her, {Darling, please keep our girls safe in the packhouse.}

So I guess that's why I didn't see them outside.

{What about Sam?} Mum worried.

{Don't worry, darling.} Dad promised, {She's with me.}

I don't think that reassured Mum very much.

{Please be careful.} Mum worried more.

But Dad didn't have a second chance to reassure Mum, we were now on the pavement - mostly because I hadn't stopped walking out and Dad was determined not to let me out of his arm's reach. Hahaha.

Since I was a pup, I always knew the best time to walk towards the exciting thing was when Dad was busy on mindlink. Dad had a weakness only someone very, very close to him would know about - he was unable to talk and mindlink at the same time. Actually, I couldn't either, but I've long learned that if Dad was on the mindlink, he wouldn't be able to talk and say "Stop" or "No" easily.

I told Savy about it, and she made it a point to let him know she's going over to Lizzy's whenever he looked like he was on mindlink. If she guessed it right, he would nod without asking questions. And as long as Savy got back for dinner, she would get away with telling Mum that Dad said it was okay.

I had tried to ask for ice cream before dinner when Mum wasn't home one afternoon, like just casually a la Savy, "Dad, I'm gonna get some ice cream."

I had to push a chair to the fridge, but Dad had slammed the freezer door back shut over my puppy head and dreams… he still couldn't talk, but I guess his arms worked fine.

So while Savy grew up and learned to ask for extra allowance "for school" (he usually gave it without asking questions if it was less than a twenty), I grew up with training Dad to slam freezer doors of opportunity in my face, grab me by the scruff off fence/motorbike/garbage truck…

Looking at him now, I had to admit it had become like second nature to him by now. Oh well, it's not like I was going to try to climb one of the horses.

From the pavement, it was like front row seat of the parade. The horses were really tall, and had really big, I mean majestic heads and butts. Hahaha. That was my honest first impression.

The fourth carriage popped out, it was an opened top carriage piled high with crates. A tall rider on a black stallion moved closer, lifted his hand, and made a fist, as if drawing back the magic. To my surprise, the entire void gateway collapsed into a cloud of black curse which swirled and then got sucked into his fist.

Cool. A Tyger… and I knew exactly which Tyger it was.

{Mine}

Please ignore my dumb wolf's indiscrete use of the word "mine." Boo was a black wolf under the blue fur, so like Dad, she was SENSITIVE about territorial ownership like that.

The Tyger in question was dressed completely in black and came with a black cape. Except for his shock or red hair, and the red silk lining on the inside of the cape, he was completely in black. Black furs, black, leathers, black brocade… it was a very luxurious black. Gareth was very dressed up in his best Tyger formals today. I wonder what the occasion was.

"Halt and dismount." Gareth ordered quietly.

The horses wearing the carriage neighed and shook their heads and stomped a bit. The carriages had no riders, but none of the horses looked particularly distressed or confused.

{You heard him! Get moving, Wolves.} One of the horses in the front carriage said - and I realized he was a magic horse, like Silver Lighting (Alpha Gunter's horse… and probably the horses used by Snow Moon Wolves too. I mean, it would explain a lot - from how these horses were not skittish among wolves, to the fact that they were bossing wolves about over the mindlink. I guess Silver Lighting wasn't the only grouchy proud bossy horse on the Mountains.

{Yes, Captain!} The horsemen answered in unison. (So the horse was a Captain?) I recognized the uniform on the horsemen, they were soldiers - specifically, they were Heller's men. Was Heller here? I couldn't be sure. I could sense a familiar alpha wolf in the second carriage though.

Anyway, I didn't have to wonder for much longer, or attempt to climb into the carriage without Dad grabbing me to pull me out. The soldiers quickly took their positions smartly in front of each carriage.

"Gareth!" I called out and waved to him when I saw his horse approaching Dad and me. Swinging himself off the horse in a swift motion, he was quickly in front of me and down on one knee, "Alpha! Your servant, Gareth greets you."

The moment, Gareth dropped down on his knee, all the other warriors immediately dropped down to their knees too, fist to their heart, "Greetings to the Blue Alpha."

Was there any possibility of stuffing all this back through the void portal and into the Colored Mountains where they belong?

I shuffled a little bit to put myself slightly behind Dad's arm. I know, I know, it was a very un-alpha thing to do, but WTH! I had no idea what to do.

It felt like a long time ago, but was it only this year when some of my wolves came to Winderhill High to perform? Back then, I hadn't known how to handle what felt like my worlds colliding.

I should be able to handle this better, even though I had NO IDEA. I tried to squelch my internal panic. It was going to be okay, I've got this. I had been reading lycan legends since I was a pup. I mean, I've read so many, I actually believed that if there was a real job where someone could just read and teach about lycan legends, I would qualify. Of course, now that I had met Professor Hotstuff, I realized that I was just being a dumb pup as usual.

Anyway, its okay. No need to go into lycan dramatics, I'll just act normal.

"Hi, Gareth."

Which I guess wasn't the correct response because Gareth remained on his knee, head bowed, eyes on the concrete. And for some reason, Heller's warriors remained unmoving in their crouched positions too.

I looked up at Dad and then back at my betas. Wth was I suppose to do?

"You may rise." Ki kindly supplied, "Our Alphas welcome you."

The first carriage door burst opened, "What's the hold up?"

Ben was home.