Chapter 34

The nearer we get to Steel territory, the more Mandy fidgets, her pulse erratic, and her mood swinging dramatically from exhausted, to anxious, to downright excited.

I keep her hand in mine as we walk, all four of us, across the border without incident. When she looks up at me, eyes wild, and her lips caught between her teeth for the hundredth time, I take pity on her. Confident now that Blake is true to his word and no welcome party is coming to attack us, I stop and turn Mandy to face me.

Dipping my head, I brush a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She smiles at me, but her relaxed mood only lasts a split second, then she looks like she wants to murder me for slowing us down.

"Boys, do you think you can follow my trail? My little mate here wants to get home in a hurry." Mandy's expression lights up, and she nods enthusiastically. Lucian laughs, sensing how eager she is to see her son.

"Of course. We'll stay out of trouble." Lucian gives me a mock salute which makes me nervous.

"Don't wander off," I warn, still not convinced the rest of the pack will be entirely thrilled to see two vampires among them. Mandy steps away, about to shift, when I tug her back and take a knee in the soft dirt in front of her. "Climb aboard."

Blinking, it takes her a second to figure what I'm asking, but she claps her hands with glee and hops onto my back. Winking at the boys, I blur away, sprinting through the forest at a speed I used to find terrifying when I was testing my vampire abilities.

"Close your eyes if you feel sick," I offer. "I won't crash, but if you want to stop, tell me. I'd prefer that to you puking down my neck."

Mandy pinches my arm playfully and leans forward to kiss the back of my shoulder, her appreciation that I'm helping her get home faster buzzing through the bond. "Thank you."

As we clear the tree line, dawn begins to break, and Max's house comes into view. Max and Matt sit on the porch with Noah sandwiched between them, chatting away happily. Raising an arm in greeting when he sees us, Max stands and taps Noah on the shoulder. Mandy squeaks in my ear but shoves that burst of emotion down when we get to the lawn in front of their house.

Setting her down gently, I hold her for an extra second to give her a chance to regain her balance. She practically swats my hands away, rushing forward.

"Noah," she gasps, wrapping him in a tight hug as soon as she's within arms-reach. She keeps him in her grip while his amused gaze meets mine briefly, and he carefully peels himself from her grasp. Only a teenager would find his mother's concern funny.

"I wasn't gone that long, Mum." He looks her over, confused. "Max just said we had to come home early. What's going on?" When he spots the fading mating marks on her shoulder, he smiles tentatively. "Did you bring me home just for a party? That's a bit dramatic. I mean, I knew you were going to get mated. You could have just sent me a postcard."

Her shoulders shake with tear-filled laughter as she pulls his face down to hers, the boy already towering over her, and he hasn't finished growing yet. Matt and Max must have filled him in a bit more than he's letting on; after a lifetime on the run, he'd be suspicious when his first trip anywhere without his mum was cut short.

Watching as he distracts his overwhelmed mum with teasing and ridiculous stories of what they got up to in Grey Ridge, certainty sweeps over me: he's going to be an excellent alpha someday soon. Sensing me watching him, wanting to give them space to have their reunion, Noah lifts his chin so his gaze meets mine and mouths thank you, a brief flash of emotion crossing his features.

When Raiden appears, not even remotely concerned that there's a feral wolf and a strange vampire now approaching her garden, she ushers everyone inside. As I pass, she rests her hand on my arm and waits for me to look at her. Knowing she can see things makes me uncomfortable. There's a lot about the time after I was turned that I'm not proud of. I was an out-of-control vampire mixed with a wolf who couldn't find his mate.

It was a dangerous combination.

"That was a lifetime ago," she says kindly, knowing what I'm thinking in that creepy way she does, trailing her hand down my arm and catching my fingers briefly in hers. "This is the start of a new life, not just for you but for an entire pack. And not this one." I'm about to ask her what she means, but she shakes her head. She's right, I know exactly what she's talking about.

Turning to the two boys standing awkwardly on the threshold, she extends her hands to them and pulls them inside, her eyes flashing brightly for a moment as she picks up something. I bite back the urge to ask, knowing it's probably better that I don't. We'll find out when we're meant to.

"And as for you two, welcome! Gosh, I don't know what I'm going to feed you all. Keeping enough food in the house for Matt and Max is enough of a challenge."

"Nothing for me," Lucian says shyly, and instead of the disgust he expects, Raiden just nods and smiles at him.

"Of course. We'll have to get in some supplies if you're going to be with the pack for a while."

Lucian looks at her, bewildered, but then smiles at her easy acceptance. He hesitates before blurting out, "Your sister is so cool, that weather stuff. Can you do that?"

Seth moves to his side, eager to hear her answer. It turns out witches are far more interesting than wolf-bears or wolf-vampires, or even seeing a real-life alpha challenge. Max rolls his eyes but says nothing as the two boys trail Raiden inside. They're trusting these kids with their pregnant mate; most people wouldn't let them on their territory, let alone into their homes.

Noah moves to stand at Raiden's shoulder, beaming. "Did she do the lightning thing? No?! Then you haven't seen anything! Oh my gosh, it was so cool…" The three teens disappear into the living room, comparing war stories, and Mandy looks back at me, beaming.

"Now, if only Seth would shift, they could have a proper conversation," I say with a small shake of my head, wishing for nothing but a normal life for both of them. Maybe we can have that now.

Mandy frowns, a cute little line appearing between her brows. "But he does shift. Maybe not often, but…" Slipping into my side, she wraps an arm around my waist and peers up at me.

Now it's my turn to frown. "Eh no, he doesn't shift. Ever. Not on purpose anyway." The last time he shifted in front of me was when he was badly injured and his wolf receded to let him use his hands to stop the bleeding.

"We had a chat in the library… he shifted… is that not normal?"

She hesitates when she sees my mood darken and the shock on my face. It's far from normal. He won't shift for me. I've tried asking, bribing, ordering, but nothing. Years of looking out for him apparently means nothing; the minute a pretty woman arrives at the house, he just magically transforms back to chat her up.

Actually, I can't be mad at him for wanting to talk to her. The only thing I want right now is to get some alone time with her myself.

"Why don't you leave the boys here to get acquainted and go catch up on some sleep. You're going to need it over the next week." Raiden doesn't even smirk as she gives me the out I've been looking for. Three voices reach my ears from the living room, and I smile as I hear Seth joining in the conversation. That little brat.

They're fine. Everybody is going to be fine.

Mandy is still humming and hawing about leaving the boys after such an eventful couple of days when I make an executive decision; picking her up, I carry her out the door despite her protests. She calls a half-hearted goodbye, telling Noah to mind-link her if they need anything as I stomp down the steps, one hand planted firmly on her backside.