meet them out front," Roman says, and I can hear the wolf riding his voice, the raspy, graveled sound of it. His anger flows through me in waves, but I stay calm, remembering the anger is not my own, and he needs my calm. That he'll feel my calm, and that might help him too.
"Let’s go then." I take his hand and walk beside him through the house, where we stand and wait for the Night Walker Pack to arrive. They will come here first, before going to their housing, as tradition and honor states they must. To greet their Alpha and his mate.
I hear the engines as they approach, but my eyes go wide as I see just how many there are, there’s even two buses full of people.
"The Night Walker Pack is one of the largest packs in the world," Roman tells me, his entire body taut as they approach. The first car arrives and stops, and from it climbs a man who is obviously Theron's father. They're practically identical, except his father is a bit more worn, though I imagine keeping a pack of this size in line is no small feat. He climbs the steps before us, before dropping to his knee, his fist on his chest.
"Welcome, Thorn, Alpha of the Night Walker Pack."
"Alpha. Thank you for hosting us." Thorn rises from the ground, and wraps Roman in one of those manly part handshake, part hug things I've never understood, and Roman’s relief washes over me.
"It is good to see you, pup," Thorn says with a smile, and Roman laughs.
"It's good to see you too, old man. This is my mate. Remy." Thorn looks to me with wise eyes, and takes in every part of me, as if he can see my very soul. A few seconds pass, and the tension grows, but then he smiles and wraps me in a bear hug,
"It is nice to finally meet you, Remy. I am sorry for how you were introduced to our family, I hope my other son, Theron, has proved to be kinder than his foolish brother." His smile is infectious, and I grin back at him.
"Oh yeah, Theron is an absolute treasure." I laugh, and they both laugh with me.
"He's still being a pain in the ass then? That’s my boy!" He laughs and hugs me again. "You're good for him, I can tell. Be good to him."
"Come on old man, don't you try and steal her," Roman jokes, nothing but love and warmth in his eyes.
"You don't look after her and I might just try," Thorn teases. "But it has been a long journey, let me take the others to get settled, and we'll see you at dinner?"
"You will. Tobias and Theron are around to help, the others will be around too, but Tobias has had them working so hard I've barely seen them."
"We won't need much. Between Cassandra and Leandra, they've whipped this lot right into shape. It'll be a shame to give Leandra back to you."
"She has been missed."
"I have no doubt." Thorn turns and heads back to the car, and slowly the envoy starts to back up then head out to the left of where we stand, the houses on the land claimed by their pack.
"He's lovely," I say to Roman, putting my arms around his waist.
"He's a big softie underneath it all, but don't underestimate him. He is as deadly as they come." I heed the warning and kiss his cheek softly.
"I don't underestimate any of them." We wave as the envoy passes, the children's shouts of excitement at seeing Roman warm my heart. "How many Lycans are there in total?"
"Honestly, I don't know exactly. At last count, among the twelve packs, there were about twenty thousand. But it’s hard to know the number of rogues."
"Wow." Is all I can fathom to say. That number of Lycans, in one place. It’s not a surprise this place is a closely kept secret. I can see why now some might be wary of my presence here. Little do they know, that I would never side against them. Not like that.
Even before, Hunters had rules. Children are a no-no. It's just the way it is, and again, knowing about what happened to Evie, I'm surprised they kept the rule, but I'm glad they at least have some limits.
"Dark Moon Pack and Shadow Pack are at the gates," Tobias’s voice pops out from behind us, walkie talkie in hand. "Nathan and Vicki are letting them