1. Chapter 1

All these dinners with my brothers and their mates were getting lonely and a touch boring, but they were necessary. At least according to them they were. And I suppose to me too, but I was feeling particularly grumpy about them today and didn't want to admit that, even to myself.

And really, I didn't mind going months and months, or even years, without seeing or speaking to my brothers, but it seemed that I was alone in that feeling. When you'd lived as long as we had, a month was a blip in time, but I found that my brothers, and now their mates, weren't on the same page as I was when it came to that. They wanted to see me, be around me, see how I was doing frequently. If I stayed away for weeks at a time, they began to get worried. When they were worried, they searched the forest. Sooner or later, they would stumble upon my hidden dwelling. And well, I wasn't prepared to share it with them.

I wasn't a complete hermit. I was absolutely prepared to share it, but only with my mate, which was why these dinners were lonely. I was the only one that fate hadn't seen worthy of a lifelong companion yet. I tried to brush it off at first. I'd been alone for longer than any human or shifter on this planet had been alive, and it hadn't bothered me once. Not really.

Until recently.

And it wasn't that I wished my brothers didn't have their happiness. I wanted them to have all they had and more. It was difficult to see them all blissed out and then going home to be utterly alone, that was all.

My brothers sat with their mates next to them, sometimes in their laps, their children—the oldest crawling around now and the littlest one sitting in a little highchair that Terran had built. They had something I didn't, and if it had been a car or a house or anything materialistic, I wouldn't come close to caring. But this was different—they had become truly alive in a way we had never been all this time.

For hundreds of years, I had lived like this, and there had never been a problem. But now that the forest was open and visitors came here, I hoped that my mate was out there and that he would soon visit so that we could finally be together. It was a lonely existence. Just waiting.

"So, what have you been working on recently, Apollo?" Maddox asked.

I knew that Maddox was trying to make small talk. I had learned about small talk thanks to the little instrument that had the internet on it. I simply typed in something and answers came at me, rapid fire. Only sometimes, those answers weren't correct or there were conflicting answers. Phrases could mean two different things, which was incredibly confusing. I both loved and hated the blasted thing.

"Nothing really," I said.

He narrowed his eyes. There was a question on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't blurt it out. Though my brothers accepted me just as I was, their mates had a harder time with it, which was understandable.

"Ariondas is looking well," I said. I found that the new fathers were easily distracted by talk of their children.

"He is, and well, now is as good a time as any…" Terran smiled down at his mate, and they touched hands.

I knew what was coming even before he said the words.

"We're going to have another one," Terran announced. "Maddox is expecting."

"Congratulations, Brother," I said.

Marcus squealed and wrapped his arms around Maddox. "That's so exciting. Did you have a heat like the first time?"

He nodded. "Yes. A lot shorter this time, though, which I suppose is a good thing, considering that it was a miracle that Ariondas slept through all ten hours."

"Ten hours, that's it?" Marcus snorted. "I could go for ten hours of sleep."

It was at moments like this that I felt the most alone, on the outside looking in as they shared their good news with one another, compared stories, talked about the best way to raise their children within this forest. I had no idea that ten hours was a lot, and had Marcus not rolled his eyes, I'd have assumed that it was the way of things. None of this conversation flowed easy for me, making "small talk" anything but in my world.

Marcus must have sensed my awkwardness because he switched the topic.

"So, we have a visitor coming," he said.

I perked up at that. I knew they all assumed I didn't enjoy when visitors came, but visitors were my only chance at potentially meeting my mate. Each time one came it was a shot at happiness. And no, one shouldn't pin their joy on having a partner, but I'd seen firsthand with my brothers that a mate completed you, and I wanted that.

And it wasn't as if I could exactly go out into the world and track my mate down— even if they were currently on this earth. I'd be thrown in some sort of lab to be researched on by scientists or worse. And it wasn't as if I could suggest that we invite a bunch of unmated omegas here. That would be weird, though the thought had crossed my mind.

"This is a bit different than our other visitors," Marcus continued.

I raised a brow.

"Walker got into some trouble... well, really, he did the right thing. He reported a crime to Steelwick." He sucked in a deep breath. "I don't know the details, but his family... his pack is now looking for him, and they don't intend to be kind when they find him."

"He's in hiding?" Terran asked.

"Yes, and this is a good place for that."

At one time it was the best place, no humans ever stumbling in. But that had all changed in the past handful of years. I'd still considered it a good option for hiding, though. I'd managed to keep my home hidden all this time, even from my brothers.

I had seen a show about this once on my phone. They called it witness something or other. Although, that was probably not the same since he wasn't human if he was working with Steelwick. Had it been anyone else asking us to hide someone, I'd have put my foot down, but I trusted Steelwick as much as I trusted my own herd.

"So now we are witness protection?" I asked when the name finally came to me.

Marcus and Maddox exchanged a look. "Where did you learn about that?"

I shrugged. "Television, that website has all those videos on it."

"YouTube," Maddox said.

"Yes, that one." It might've been filled with all kinds of garbage, but it also had some treasures. Truth be told, I often preferred the garbage.

"Well, this is just temporary until they find the alpha responsible and have him put on trial." Marcus continued his explanation, "Then Walker can go back to... well, wherever he wants to go. I suppose he doesn't really have a pack to return to."

Now that I had a herd, I couldn't imagine how horrible it would be to lose them. It sounded like they deserved to be lost, but still… it would suck.

"This is all fine," I said. I was used to these visitors. "Walker is welcome." The name Walker… I liked the way that rolled off my tongue. I knew better than to get my hopes up; that would only lead to heartache.

I assumed that once my brothers found their mates, mine would follow soon after. Maybe assumption was less accurate than hoped. But in any case, I was prepared for him. So prepared. I had built a new dwelling fit for a king. Any mate of mine deserved that and more.

My brothers had opted for one-story houses with just enough bedrooms for what they needed. Did I? No, I built a monstrosity. Two stories, because I wanted a window to look out and see the morning sun come above the horizon. I hoped my mate liked it, too. If he didn't, I'd start again.

Once our food was eaten, I helped to clean up the meal and put everything away. The two children were on the ground playing, their fathers sitting around them. Once again it was me on the outside looking in. I didn't bother to interrupt their fun with a lengthy goodbye.

If I told Maddox and Marcus that I was leaving, they would no doubt stop what they were doing and insist on hugs for everyone. I didn't mind hugging my nephews as long as they wanted it. But for this moment, I thought it best to just simply walk away, and so I disappeared into the forest, heading in the direction of my home.