Twenty-seven

The next day went by smoothly enough and the pack made sure I got extra play in since I was leaving the next day. The pups wanted to cuddle more, the men wanted more petting, and they were making sure I never forget them, even though I promised Cinder I'd come back for the pups' changing into human. We had a hunt that night, everyone except Graham and Cinder and the pups. But we brought enough back for them. We sang and danced and by the time the moon was at its peak, I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I went to bed exhausted and had to lean on Loki to get to my bed. He chuckled and I remember him saying something about stamina.

The next morning, I went outside the den and saw the pack gathered up. They all turned to me and I halted in my tracks, a bit anxious. Graham and Cinder stepped forward and smiled at me. "As I have said again and again," Graham said, "we appreciate your help. You are like the daughter I will never have, so I am going to make you part of this pack."

"As rambunctious as my sons get, they are kind to you and understand when you have had enough. I think they will enjoy having a sister as I will enjoy having a daughter," Cinder said softly and came up and hugged me.

I hugged back, a bit surprised by their words. When she stepped back, I furrowed my brows. "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?"

Sawyer was leaning against a tree and shrugged. "Can't we be grateful for something you've done for us?"

"You can, but all this? Making me part of the pack?"

"It's not up for question," Jimmy said with a grin. "You're our sister now, by choice and by friendship. We aren't going to take no for an answer."

"And if you do say no," Kenyon added, "we'll lick and drool all over you until you agree."

The men all nodded in agreement and I shook my head. "But, you've only known me for a few days."

"It's long enough," Richard replied.

Felix and Luca looked at each other then the latter said, "You saved our mother, our baby brothers, our family. How can we not repay what you have given us?"

"We're wolves. We help each other out. You're a she-wolf by heart and spirit. Our wolves can see it and thy accept it. They have their scent all over you so as no other pack can claim you," the other twin explains.

Finally, Loki walks up to me and puts his hands on my shoulders. He gives me a gentle smile and says, "You howl like a wolf, you fight like a wolf, you protect the pack like a wolf. You are a she-wolf with amazing power and amazing courage. Just let us do this. Not just because it's payment for the lives you saved, but also as a token of our loyalty if you should ever need it in a time of need. You're pack, but you are obviously not going to be with pack, so this will make our claim on you as a pack member and always know who you are."

My vision became blurry as I looked from him to the others. "Thank you," I say with a raspy voice. I wipe away my tears and take a deep breath. "Thank you so much."

"Before we do this though," Cinder says, raising her voice a bit over the howling males. "There is one more thing."

I tilt my head and she gestures behind me with a smile. I turn and see four crawling babies making their way towards me. I gasp and kneel, taking the first one that reaches me. "Hi!" I whisper. "Which one are you?"

Loki chuckles and says, "That one should be easy considering how happy he is to see you."

"Ralphie?" He nods. I hug little Ralphie to me and check out the other two. Rollo, was just as he was in wolf form and was the slowest, but his eyes were bright as he continues towards me. Bruno was easy because he pushed Ace out of the way. I laughed and set Ralphie down to grab another, and another. Soon, they all were surrounding me with human drool instead of wolf's.

The older packmates laughed and Graham sat beside me. "Can I see your arm?"

I handed him my right arm and watched as his claws came out. I tensed. "What are you doing?"

"Relax," he says gently. "As alpha, I choose my pack members, so I have a power none of the others do." His claw tickles my skin and before my eyes, a black wolf appear, its head tipped back as it howls. "Unless I renounce my claim on you, this mark will forever stay here, although hidden to any human eye."

I touch the marking and smile. "It's beautiful!"

Graham chuckles and cups my cheek. I look up at him. "As alpha, I now claim you, Zahra, she-wolf of heart and spirit, member of this pack and daughter."

The males and pups howled in joy. Cinder laughed and picked up a pup, then spun around. I hugged Graham and whisper my thanks in his ear. When he pulls away, I am swarmed by Loki and his brothers. I shove them all away, but am too happy to be forceful.

Mid morning comes by and the pack still hasn't calmed down enough. I am in the middle of playing the hiding game and am invisible when I see my brother step into view. Smiling, I watch as he walks up to Loki. My pack-brother laughs and talks to Roan right as Felix sniffs me out and howls. I laugh and make myself visible to him, then scratch behind his ears.

Seeming proud of himself, he walks away to find Kenyon and Sawyer, the only two left to find.. I go up to my brothers, but get half way there when a head butts me in the leg. I glare behind me at Richard, but he whines and I give in to his sad pleading eyes. Kneeling, I scratch behind his ears too then finish my way over to the two human males.

Roan looks at me and smiles. "Ready to go yet?"

I shrug and feel fur under my hand. This time, it's Jimmy. Laughing, I rub his head and say to my brother, "I am. I don't think they are."

Loki smiles and shrugs. "What can we say? We love new packmates!"

I nod. "I really do appreciate everything, Loki."

"As do we," he says. I walk over and hug him. He embraces me back and kisses the top of my head. "I will come by in a few days to check up on you. Stay safe."

"I will, as well as I can anyways."

He pulls back and looks down at me. "See you soon, sister-wolf."

At his statement, howls broke the quiet forest air and I laugh and turn to see every pack member surrounding us, their noses in the air, just like my mark Graham gave me. I howl too, letting them know I was coming back soon.

I lead Roan out after a few minutes, laughing as the pups try to catch me, but Cinder and Graham catch them and wave goodbye. I return the gesture and finally am in the trees with my brother. He is still laughing and I smile back at him. "What?" I ask.

"You're just so happy. It's wonderful to see."

"I feel alive now. Thank you for doing this!"

"No problem!" he says then pulls on my hand to stop. I turn to him. "Don't change that, please?"

"I won't. You'll see, Loki's family really helped out."

With a nod from him, we keep walking.

By late afternoon, we are just outside the village when Roan stops me again. I look at him. "Before we get in there, I want you to know that the boy is less reckless than before. And, there's something special waiting for you."

I smile. "You too?"

He laughs. "I thought you might like something of your own."

Following Roan into the village, I can't help but feel happy to be back again.

Cat is the first to embrace me, spinning us in a circle. "You're finally home!" she cries.

Giggling, I hold onto her for dear life. "I am."

She stops and pulls back to take a long look at me. "And you're different. More like your brother."

Roan chuckles beside me and I shrug. "Is that bad?"

"Depends," she whispers into my ear, then spins on her heel and disappears.

The next person I see is June. I smile and hug her tight, not realizing how much I missed her. "How are you?" she asks.

"Better. What about you?"

"I'm doing good. I missed you."

I return the gesture before seeing Aspen. He's watching me a small distance away with a smile on his face, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. June tells me she'll see me later then turns to my brother. I walk over to Aspen shyly.

I don't know why, but the sight of him makes me heat up. I think I'm embarrassed about our past interactions at first, but then I'm not completely sure. "Hi."

"Hello," he says. "You seem like you're closer to your old self."

I nod. "I am."

"Are you glad to be home?"

I look around at the village and inhale deeply. "I am. It's good to see everyone I know."

"Zahra?" I turn to see my brother waiting for me. "Can I show you something?"

"I'll see you later," Aspen says with a small smile.

"See you later."

I follow my brother away and notice the boy sitting with Sorrel nearby, watching me. His gaze wasn't unkind, but I could sense he was still wary of me. I didn't mind as long as he didn't act murderous again.

"What do you think?" I hear my brother say and look over.

There, between Aspen's shelter and someone else's I recognize, were two shelters newly built. My eyes widen. "Who's the second one for?"

Roan chuckles. "You! Who else?"

I turn to him in shock. "Mine?" He nods. "Are you serious?"

"Go take a look. It's yours and no one can get to it without being noticed by one of us."

I smile. "You didn't have to!"

He shrugged. "Don't say that! Just go and I'll meet up with you later."

Before I can get distracted by anyone else or anything else, I run inside. There was everything I could have needed: clothes, a bed, weapons on a wall, a table with two chairs and a window. In the middle of the space was a small fire pit with the stones around it. All in all, it was wonderful.

Behind me, Roan asked, "What do you think?"

I smiled. "I love it!" Turning I jump into his arms and hug him with all my love. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," he whispered.