It was the scent of other shifters that had Braydon regretting his decision to give into his curiosity and staying by Carolina’s car, he was reluctant to follow her further. The house, if it could be called that, looked out of place in the city Braydon knew so far. It wouldn’t blend in with the suburbs that Miranda’s parents lived in either and his eyes scanned over the mansion cautiously. It was all concrete, modern design void of any welcoming traits except for a few hedges that had been cut to precision in box shapes.

They had only been in the car for under half an hour and this region was clearly more upmarket than Braydon felt comfortable in. The gates closed from the lower section of the drive making him feel trapped. Before he could work himself into a panic, Carolina went to his side and gently took his hand.

“Come on, you’ll be fine!” She tried to assure him, only Braydon wasn’t having any of it.

“I should go.” Braydon stuttered.

Before Carolina could say anything else, the arrival of two smaller wolves had Braydon stepping forward to meet them, rather than climbing into the car. He wasn’t going to let himself be ambushed and knew his own wolf was double their size. It wasn’t much of a competition.

“Calm down, they’re just kids!” Carolina quickly went in front of Braydon, trying to block his gaze from where he was giving the duo a death glare. “Hey, look at me!”

Forcing his head down to look at her, Braydon didn’t relax and his greeting had the other two on edge. They kept low, cautious and pressed against each other as they were already willing to submit.

“They’re sixteen and only shifted a barely three months ago!”  She told him, trying to keep calm rather than go on the defence and make things worse.

Braydon looked back over to find one of them had a shifted and sure enough, the teen looked much younger than a shifting age. He was skinny, with a large mess of auburn hair that stuck out in every which direction – much like his wolf that looked just as unkempt. The red and white wolf beside him whined before the blurry mirage appeared to reveal a boy of identical appearance; twins.

“Boys, this is Braydon. Braydon, this is Jude and Jake.” Carolina introduced and neither boy dared to look at Braydon as they mumbled hello. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone else!”

Carolina practically dragged Braydon past the twins who didn’t dare to move as they went by. It wasn’t long before they had shifted again, and curiously followed at a safe distance. The anxiety of the newcomer set the house on edge and walking into the grand entrance, Braydon needed a moment to appreciate the size and glamour of it all.

“Care, is that you?” A young female voice sounded from the passage beside the stair case and seconds later a girl who Braydon could tell hadn’t shifted yet, came running into view. She slid in her socks on the tiles as she saw Braydon, her young face showing nothing but fear and from the top of the stairs three other wolves stared down at them cautiously.

“Hey Amber, slow down there sweet heart!” Carolina left Braydon to steady the girl. Turning back to him, she smiled. “This is Braydon.”

Braydon still said nothing, staring back at Amber as bewildered as she was at him. Movement from the trio had him turning his attention their way and one by one they spread out forming a triangle as they approached. The grey wolf at the point didn’t show the same fear as the others, he was a little bigger too and when he lowered his head it wasn’t in submission, rather in place ready to strike. His ears went flat as his tail began to curl, the bulk of his body growing as he puffed out his chest.

Instantly Braydon growled.

“Oliver, back down!” Carolina demanded, the wolf glancing her way before its lips wobbled with the promise of a snarl. “Now.”

The room fell silent as everyone waited to see what Oliver would do, and eventually he sat his rump down on the floor, giving in. The other two joined his side and Carolina released the breath she had been holding.

“Shift. All of you.” Her next command was more willingly obeyed. “Now you’re all here, meet Braydon Winters; my mate.”

Amber gasped, while the others all looked at each other in silent communication as they thought over the news. Braydon only felt his stomach sink, not willing to accept that of the dark haired beauty who had bought him here. Was this her pack? Where were the others? They were all kids, so surely the adults were around somewhere.

“Mate?” Oliver spoke first, the dark haired boy glaring at Braydon as he looked him up and down critically. “I don’t believe it.”

“Oliver!” Amber dared to attempt scolding him, but one look had her slinking down behind Carolina.

“I found him on Tuesday.” Carolina informed them all, and the other girl that had been part of the trio on the stairs dared to step out of formation and move towards Amber.

“I’m Alicia,” She greeted cautiously, extending a hand that Braydon didn’t take. Her green eyes only popped against her pale, creamy skin and her long red hair was suddenly being pulled to one side as she fiddled with the ends nervously.

Braydon’s wolf was restless under his skin, not liking the sudden arrival of the others and the fact he was stuck hidden away. Oliver had yet to back down and the urge to meet him one on one was growing the longer he stared. The pup had to learn his place despite Braydon being the outsider.

“And this is Chad!” Carolina briefly waved towards the other boy who stood staring at his feet behind Oliver. His blonde hair was cut short and as Braydon looked him over, the pale pink scar that ran across his abdomen made him stop. How did someone so young have a scar like that?

“Alright you lot, I’m home – bed time!” Now the house was full of unhappy murmurs and the pack grouped together as they headed up the stairs. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“No.” Braydon answered, watching as the others disappeared – including Oliver.

“Well I am, come on.” Carolina turned left and went through the doors into a dining room and from there the kitchen was attached. Each scent in the house he could identify to the group he had just met except for one and it became obvious to Braydon there was no other pack members to worry about.

He kept just out of the doorway as Carolina moved around her kitchen with a familiar precision and instantly he found himself comparing her to the more casual ease that Miranda had in her movements. Both women were confident of themselves, comfortable in their home surroundings, yet it became obvious to Braydon the main difference; Carolina was an Alpha.

She moved with purpose, had a clear focus and her confidence came from within her ability to lead and fuelled by the respect of others. The air of authority around her wasn’t due to an inflated ego, her abrupt manner wasn’t out of rudeness. She expected others to do as she wanted and for the most part, they would do them. Even humans on a certain level would be able to sense it, a sixth sense that told them to be careful, to listen and obey; flight or fight.

“What is this place?” Braydon finally asked as Carolina took out her plate of leftovers for dinner.

“My home?” She answered, not looking at him.

“Who are they? You’re not related.”

“Good spotting, was the differences between our skin tones, hair or eyes that told you that?”

“Your scent.” He answered gruffly, not appreciating her sarcasm.

“Oh so you do have a wolf in there? I was thinking you’d turn human.” Carolina answered coyly, daring to flash him a grin.

Braydon only growled, and as she headed out the back door he followed.

“This isn’t my home, it’s my Fathers,” she started, moving out to the picnic bench on the veranda. Braydon couldn’t tell where the fences were, it was too dark, but the space in front of them was expansive. Perfect for running around in wolf form.

“He’s out of town this week, work stuff.” Carolina shrugged, digging into the casserole greedily. “He travels all the time now, got himself a nice little job with a pack not far from here. They fly him up and down the coast, working on business deals or you know, pack negotiations. Every now and then he brings in another one.”

“Another what?” Brayon didn’t understand what one was.

“Strays, rogues, orphans, whatever you want to call them. Better we get hold of them than the human authorities. Imagine trying to explain to a foster family or adoptive parents their kid is a shifter!” She laughed, and it took Braydon a minute to work out what she was talking about.

“They’re pack less?”

“Yeah. Oliver was the first. He was only six and we’d just moved out here. Dad found him in an alley beaten up and starving. From what we could get out of him, his parents were on the run and they got split up. We tried looking for them, but they just disappeared so you know what that means.”

“Dead.” Braydon muttered, an ache he wasn’t familiar with forming in his chest.

“Poor kid. They all have similar stories. The twins were chased out of their pack with their older brother, Brett. Their Dad was a beaten Alpha, their mother refused to leave and so he took them and ran. He comes by every now and then, but his new pack don’t give him much of a leash. He has a short temper, stupid – clearly not an Alpha like his father, but they don’t want to risk it and they don’t want the burden of the twins either.” Carolina sipped her cola, not as bothered by the harsh reality their kind faced like Braydon.

“The other one, Chad?” The scar was haunting Braydon and Carolina kept quiet. “What about him?”

“He, well, he is the opposite of all of them. The girls are from similar situations, dominant parents who let their wolf get the better of them and ended up in exile. Alicias Mum managed to have an affair on her mate, who as second in command had the Alpha’s support in exile. He claimed he didn’t know if his daughter was even his and send them both away. Stupid bastard!” She spat, clearly unimpressed. Betraying your mate was rare, but not unheard of.

“Alicia, the red head, her Dad never found his mate and wanted a son to carry on his line, blah egotistical male garbage blah. Her mother was grieving the loss of her own mate and the pair managed to find love. He wanted a son, got a daughter and left her. Her mother ended up killing herself for failing him, Amber was left with her packs Alpha and when she was killed in a challenge, Amber ran away and Dad found her. She is only twelve, poor kid.”

While Braydon now knew their stories, and more of it hit closer to home than he would have liked – it still didn’t answer his original question. “Why is Chad different to the others?”

“Sure you’re not hungry?” She deflected instead.

“Carolina, tell me!” Braydon demanded, for some reason it was bothering him more than he know it should.

“He is a runt.” She sighed, dropping her fork. “His father was a shifter, his mother human. We didn’t even know until two weeks ago if he was even going to shift. He didn’t on his birthday like we’re supposed to and for a while there during it, we thought he wasn’t going to connect to his wolf and die.”

“He had a human mother?” Braydon felt his heart stop, human and shifter young were rare – practically impossible. He only heard rumours of it as a kid, the term runt used to hurt others when bullying.

“Yeah, had. Daddy wolf tried to cover it all up by killing her when she was pregnant to stop the pack finding out, but she got away. Fast forward fifteen years and the pack finds them, he manages to kill her and nearly kills the kid. Dad heard about it and made sure to find him. He didn’t have the smell of our kind, and rather than set him up in a human home, we kept him just in case. ” There was a certain hint of distaste that filled her words that made Braydon feel protective over the boy. “He isn’t going to be a strong wolf. No pack will take him on, especially with his lineage. He knows to keep quiet about that though, we don’t tell anyone about it.”

The thought made Braydon shudder. All of the people here he could relate to. The abandonment, the trauma, the loss. Would he have been lucky enough to have been found by someone like Carolina and her father? Would he have lived in the streets, homeless and alone? He had been living that way in the forest, but for the most part – he had had been happy.

“I would ask you your story, but I guess amnesia makes that hard?” Carolina sighed, eager to know more about her mate.

“I don’t have amnesia.” Braydon blurted out, still distracted thinking about the kids they had taken in.

“What?” Her surprise was obvious.

“I, ah, lied to the humans.” So he then told her the story that Miranda created about the plane crash, finding her and the pair of them being discovered.

“She doesn’t know what you are though, does she?” Was the first thing Carolina could think of asking as it was the most important.

“No, of course not.”

“She seems nice, it would be a shame to see another good human die because of our kind.” The thought had Braydon clenching his hands into fists, as the wolf grew restless under his skin once more. The instinct to protect Miranda was stronger than anything else for human and wolf so hearing Carolina mention her being killed was going too far.

“So what is your real story then? What were you doing out there?”

“I lived out there.” He managed to get out in a civil tone.

“Lived? How? Why?” She struggled to understand.

With the doors open, he let everything out about his own past, unable to contain it, but by the time he finished, Carolina was beyond thrilled.

“It’s so obvious Braydon!” She got up and launched herself at him in a hug. As her arms tightened around his neck, she climbed onto his lap and instantly he found his own arms falling into place around her. It felt so right; natural.

Awkwardly Carolina let go, sitting up slightly she already regrated her choice to move. The touch had sparked something else to life, more than just knowing he was her mate – she could feel it now too. Searching his eyes, her heart ached not seeing him to be as affected as she was.

Truth was, Braydon did feel it too. He was just better at hiding it and when he spoke, his voice was flat and void of emotion. “What is obvious?”

“You’re meant to be here.” She spoke softly, not willing to move away.

There was no way he couldn’t not be feeling their connection; that pull - she wanted to hold him and never let go. Carolina felt weak and out of her depth, she was the strong one and now she felt like grovelling in submission for a flicker of some kind of feeling towards her.

“You’re like them Bray, you can help them and I can help you!”

If Carolina felt out her depth, Braydon was drowning. Could he live here, with them, with her? The attraction was there with Carolina, a feeling of warmth and security he had never known had filled him when she hugged him. Looking out into the darkness of the yard, he expected to find the answers he needed. They would spend nights out on the tree swing, simply enjoying each other’s company. He could almost smell the meals they could cook together in the kitchen, hear the chatter in the dining room as they sat down with the others who were just like him.

And what about Miranda?

Just when Carolina thought she had broken through his walls, Braydon tensed against her. “I don’t need your help.”

“You’re kidding?” She retorted, confused at his sudden change.

“I’m going home.”

Getting up Braydon carefully moved the she-wolf off his lap, feeling like he needed to say more only the words never came to him. Since Carolina was too proud, she simply nodded. “I’ll drive you then.”

Dawn was on the horizon as they car stopped in the same place it had been waiting outside Miranda’s apartment building. Neither had spoken since they left Carolina’s house and as Braydon got out, he still didn’t know what to do or say so he simply left it where it was.

“Braydon wait!” Carolina got out, chasing after him. “Please think about this. I get it, you’re attached to her, but it’s not right. I know you know it isn’t. You belong with me, with them. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be!”

Looking up the side of the building, somewhere up there Miranda was waiting and it was the only place he wanted to belong.

“Have you, mated, with her?” It was the only thing Carolina could think of as to why even his wolf wasn’t responding the way it should to her and Braydon shifted uncomfortably before he felt his skin burning with embarrassment. He only worked out the joys of kissing a few days ago, but he wasn’t going to tell her that.

“No.” He managed to get out, and relief filled Carolina, giving her confidence there was hope for them yet.

“Why are you denying me then?” Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes as relief turned to desperation. Needing to feel connected to him, she once again had her arms going around him and instinctively Braydon sought to comfort her. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

“I love her.” There. He said it.

Carolina pulled away and slapped him, hard, her tear streaked face filling with rage. “No, you don’t!”

Instantly Braydon saw his mistake. “Goodbye Carolina. I wish I met you first.”

Despite the feeling of loss as he went inside, the second he saw Miranda still asleep it left him. The frown on her face disappeared as he took off his shoes and climbed into bed beside her. In seconds she had rolled over against him and the feeling of knowing he loved her was enough to sedate the anxiety his wolf was pushing through his system.

Home was with Miranda and he was exactly where he was meant to be.

-x-

Since Miranda had Fridays off from work, they left to her parents by mid-morning. The change in Braydon was obvious and the bond between the pair was only able to strengthen as they spent the day exploring Miranda’s home town. As promised, Braydon was able to shift and run out his pent up frustrations; the wolf happy to be given the chance to run.

Sunday night had them surrounded by Miranda’s family once again, her mother’s roast dinner drawing them all in around the dining table. The sense of belonging had Braydon out of his shell, joking with her father and striking up conversation all on his own with the rest of the family.

Miranda couldn’t believe the change, there was not a second of nervousness to be seen as he fitted in like he’d been part of the family his whole life.

“You my darling are positively glowing. It warms my heart to see you so happy!” Miranda’s Grandmother smiled at her before turning to her husband, “Remember when we were that young and in love Phillip?”

“We still are my love!” Taking her hand, he kissed her knuckles before going back to his dinner. It was then Miranda realised what her grandmother had been talking about.

“Oh, no, we aren’t together like that Nanna!” Miranda blushed instantly.

“Can’t fool me! If you’re not now, you will be soon! I may be old, but I am not blind just yet.” She tutted, and looking across the table, Braydon was oblivious to her own conversation, deep in discussion with her Uncle about the logistics of various Spiderman villains.

It took seconds before Braydon looked over at her and winked, before turning back Robert. The slight kick under the table another sign of him showing her that he was still there and aware of her.

“See, can’t take his eyes off you. I was watching when we got here, that boy worships the ground you walk on! Could you please pass the gravy, your Mother seems to have forgotten how to cook potatoes!” Her wrinkly face frowned, stabbing one of the slightly under cooked vegetables unhappily.

  Miranda only laughed and did as she was asked before wondering if the older woman was right. Could she love Braydon? Did she already? The thought terrified her, just like how everything had suddenly fallen into place not just in regards to them, but her life. She actually felt more grounded, more herself than she had in a long time and couldn't deny Braydon was to thank for that. To actually admit it though, that was another story so rather than break down her own feelings, she focused on dinner and cleaning up. Before long, the night was coming to an end.

“Need a lift to the train station Andy?” Miranda’s cousin, Izzy asked as she followed her husband to the front door.

“Oh, yeah, let me just get my stuff!”

“No hurry!” She went and said goodbye her grandparents and thanked Miranda’s mother for dinner while Miranda rushed upstairs with Braydon behind her.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? I can call in sick or beg Jason to let me start late?” Miranda spoke quickly as she chucked a couple of things into her bag.

“I’ll be fine!” Braydon tried to assure her, yet he was beyond nervous at staying on his own with her parents and about his first day at ‘work’ with her father.

“I know, I can’t help worry you know?” She hugged him tightly, and to her delight and surprise Braydon tilted her chin up to face him.

“Don’t worry!” He told her, before kissing Miranda eagerly. It was something they hadn’t done much since their night of making out and Miranda finally understood how someone could feel weak at the knees. Leaving now seemed impossible until the knock on her door had them jumping apart as if they were doing something much more inappropriate.

“I better go, I’ll see you tomorrow!” With a quick peck, Miranda grabbed her bag and found her mother standing there looking rather smug. “Bye Mum, look after him and thanks for dinner!”

They hugged before Miranda carried on rushing out the door to the waiting car.

It would be their first night completely apart since they met and with Miranda gone, Braydon’s thoughts drifted back to the pack of rejects Carolina had in her care. If only there was a way for them all to get along. Carolina had been right – he could help them and they could help him too. Yet he couldn’t go back, not now that he had chosen Miranda over them.