We reached the Pack House, the commotion of a large group of wolves gathered in one place hard to miss as we walked around to the large open area in the back. The sounds of laughter, conversation, and general good fun drifted on the breeze entangled with the smells of the meats on the grills. It was almost tangible, if summer had a sound, a scent, this would be it.

As we emerged from the shelter of the Pack House we were greeted by several pack members and even some of the pups.

“Ceddy! Ceddy!” A young pup, by the name of Grant, and about the age of four came running up, wrapping his arms around my legs.

“Well hello to you too, Grant.” I scooped him up into my arms, “Have you been behaving while I was gone?”

“Yes! I protected Mama from da monsters!”

“Monsters? What kind of monsters?”

“Dust Bwundies.”

“Oh my. Did you have to venture into the dark shadow lands of Underus Bedius?”

“Not dis time. We opened da windows and let da winds blow dem out, and den I captured dem and put dem in da bag of no wetuwn!”

“So brave. I’m sure your mama was very proud of your defense.”

“She was! Now I can join wawwior training right?”

Mat laughed and I grinned over at him, Grant’s attention also turning to him. “Who is dis, Ceddy?”

“This is Mat, he’s my mate.” I shifted a little so Grant could see Mat a bit better, “And Mat this is Grant. Slayer of Dust Bunnies and Dryer Goblins.”

Mat grinned and held his hand out to Grant, “Such an honor to meet you.”

Grant eyed him up and down, taking a moment to assess him before shaking his hand. This kid really would make an amazing warrior one day. He shook Mat’s hand but not without issuing a warning, “Yous better be nice ta Ceddy, or I’ll come beats you up like da Dust Bwundies!”

Mat tried very hard to keep a straight face, and I was biting my cheek in order not to laugh. Mat schooled his face and gave a firm nod, “I promise I will be. I love him very much, and if I’m ever mean to him I will take my punishment without argument.”

“Otay!” Grant grinned, apparently having decided that Mat was ok with him.

“Grant! How many times have I told you not to pester poor Cedric?” A young woman, looking to be in her mid twenties came up to the group, scolding Grant as she was within reach of him. While Grant had dark hair, this woman had golden blonde hair. However the pair both had the same eyes, a brown so light it was almost an amber. She must be his mother.

“But Mama, I wasn’t pwestering him. Wight Ceddy?” Grant looked at me to help him out here.

“Truly he wasn’t being a pest Cindy. He was filling me in on his Dust Bunny adventures with you while I was gone.” I handed Grant over to her and put my arm around Mat.

Cindy smiled at us and turned to Mat, “You must be his mate, Mat is it? News travels fast in packs. I’m Cindy, my mate is Charlie, the Beta. And you’ve met Grant of course.”

Mat smiled and shook her hand as well, “It’s very nice to meet you Cindy. You have a wonderful pup.”

“Thank you. He’s a handful, very opinionated and headstrong. Like his father.” She laughed a bit and Mat I joined in.

“You’re right about that, the first thing he did was threaten to beat Mat up if he wasn’t nice to me.”

Cindy paled slightly and turned a stern gaze on Grant, starting to scold him again, “Grant Elijah, that is not how we greet new people-”

Mat swooped in, cutting her off gently, “Don’t be too hard on him. He’s just following his instincts. Those are things he will need later in life. Mold them, don’t squash them.”

“Mat’s right. Grant will be an amazing Beta and/or warrior someday with proper guidance.”

Cindy smiled at us and turned back to Grant, “You shouldn’t threaten someone before you know for sure that it’s warranted.”

“Yes Mama.” Grant peeked around at Mat and I, “Sowwy Mattie. Sowwy Ceddy.”

Mat reached over and ruffled his hair, “It’s all good little man. I appreciate you looking out for Cedric.”

Grant beamed and wiggled out of his mother’s arms. Once she set him down he ran over to Mat and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards where some of the other pups were playing, “Come on, I wants you to meet my fwiends!”

Mat laughed and let Grant drag him away. Cindy was shaking her head with a smile as she and I headed towards the main group.

“I’m sorry to see you go, Cedric. Many of the pups look up to you. You will be missed.”

“I will miss everyone here as well, but I think Alpha Killian is going to appoint Arya in my place and she will be every bit as good as I am in training the pack. Moonlight isn’t far from here. I will come to visit as often as I can.”

“What will you be doing over in Moonlight? Anything?”

“I will be sharing Beta duties with Mat and Head Warrior duties with Victor, at least until he steps down and at that point I’ll take over full time most likely.”

Several pack members came up to greet me, asking questions about Mat and where he was at. I was happy to point him out as Grant drug him around while they played with the pups, “He’s the big kid over with the pups.”

Mat was currently acting as a jungle gym, a pup hanging off each arm and one wrapped around each leg as he chased some of the others. I had no idea exactly what game they were doing, but they were all laughing and having a good time and that was what mattered at the moment. I couldn’t help but grin in adoration of him. He was great with the pups.

Alpha Killian and Luna Morgan soon joined the crowd, “I see Grant has roped him into playing.”

“Drug off without any options is more like it.” I laughed.

“That sounds about right.” Cindy laughed as well, her mate Jerome joining us.

“I almost feel sorry for him, almost.” Jerome grinned watching his son.

“Oh, I don’t. Best sight in the world.” I murmured with a grin.

The pups finally brought Mat down to the ground, successfully winning whatever game they were playing. Mat put on a good charade of dying, lying perfectly motionless. Eventually the kids started to gather around him, curious about his extended lack of movement. When most of them had gathered around him he popped up suddenly, letting out a loud ‘rawr’ and scaring the kids.

He was laughing as he got to his feet, the kids were soon laughing with him, as were many of the adults who had witnessed it. Mat looked around briefly, spotting me amongst the crowd before excusing himself from the kids and jogging over to my side.

I wrapped an arm around his waist as he got to me and smiled, “Taken down by a group of pups, what kind of Beta are you?” I teased.

“One who knows when to pick my battles?”

“Touche.” I kissed his cheek and turned to introduce him to some of the pack members, “You’ve met Alpha Killian, Luna Morgan and Cindy already. Behind Cindy is her mate, Beta Jerome. Then there’s Arya, she’s our Gamma, Felix, Darius, Samantha, Zane and Rowan. All warriors for the pack. Everyone, this is my mate, Mat. He’s Moonlight’s Beta.”

Mat flashed everyone a smile and a wave, “It’s nice to meet you all.”

Pleasantries were exchanged briefly before Alpha Killian spoke up, “Let’s get this barbeque started shall we?” He grinned as he and Luna Morgan headed for the small stage in the middle of the field.