[--Nov. 1999--]

Ever since Travis had claimed the alpha role, Dakota had admittedly become intrigued with the white wolf. He wanted to learn more about him, but since Travis wasn't teaching anymore, he had to get a little creative. Through overheard conversations, he gleaned that Travis's mate, Rosemarie, was already wanting to try for pups of their own, and was hoping to get to see more of the pack's youngest member, Kaiden. So, when Rose had expressed interest in having Dakota bring his nephew over for a visit, Dakota jumped on the opportunity.

"Come in, come in. Don't be shy," Rose greeted with a warm smile as she opened the door to their beautiful, two-story house—a newer addition to the ranch.

"Thanks for inviting us," Dakota said, beaming as he carried Kaiden inside. "I don't usually have a whole lot to do in the evenings after Slade leaves for work. Well, I mean, Kaid doesn't have much to do. I take care of him like I said."

"Oh my gosh. He's so precious," Rose said, gently rubbing Kaid's ears.

Dakota's smile widened--something like pride warming his chest. "Did you see he has a little white in his fur, right here?" Dakota asked, tilting Kaiden in his arms and chuckling as Kaid curled his paws up in surrender.

Rose looked near giddy, her eyes alight with excitement. "That's so cute!" she said, rubbing the little diamond of white fur amidst Kaid's otherwise black coat. "Could I hold him?"

"Sure," Dakota replied, carefully handing off his nephew before looking around. "Are you guys all done with the construction already?"

"A few of the bedrooms still need painting, but that's about it," Rose said, as she fawned over the pup in her arms. "The heavy work is all done," she added, but more gently, as she lightly 'booped' Kaiden's little nose.

"It's huge..." Dakota commented as he took in a breath, sniffing. He could smell Travis even though he hadn't seen him yet.

"Well, we are hoping to have some pups of our own," she said. "What do you think, Kaiden? Would you like some other little pups to play with?"

Dakota turned to face her again. "I bet he would...were there not any pups in your old pack?"

Rose looked over at Dakota. "No," she said with a slight frown. "No, Travis and I were the youngest."

"Oh..."

"Some things are best left in the past," Travis reasoned as he came in from the back deck. "Well, I see you're getting acquainted," the alpha pointed out as he came over to rub Kaiden's head. "A lady killer already, that's for sure," he proclaimed before looking at Dakota. "I got the fire pit setup. There should be stuff for s'mores in the kitchen."

"Would Kaid be okay if I set him down?" Rose asked after giving the pup a few more nuzzles.

"Yeah, totally. He's really mellow," Dakota said, only for his face to turn completely red as Kaiden immediately went into a full zoomie sprint the second his paws touched the glossy floor. "Well... for a pup, he's really mellow most of the time."

Rose looked alarmed. "Will he run off? Should I grab him?"

"No," Dakota laughed. "No, he won't go far. He'll wanna be wherever we are."

Rose nodded, giving Dakota an appreciative smile before touching her mate's arm. "I'll grab the refreshments and bring them out."

Dakota watched her disappear towards the kitchen, then turned a little more towards the alpha without facing him directly. "So... how's being Alpha going?" Dakota asked as they headed out onto the back deck.

Travis smiled at Rose before looking back at Dakota. "Not bad. Byron's been filling me in on everything, and your father has too. I suppose it's hard to just 'turn off' that sort of thing." Travis paused as Kaiden went dashing right past him out onto the porch. Travis's deck was like something out of a Better Homes and Gardens catalog, with string lights strung above fresh new deck seating, all centered around a pristine fire pit.

He flipped a switch to turn on the path lights in the yard, which gave them enough light to spot Kaiden's little form darting around after the fireflies.

"I like Byron a lot. He's cool." Dakota said, smirking as he watched Kaid play. He didn't sit down yet, though. He was waiting for a cue from Travis.

"Me too. He's a good beta. He has a mind for numbers that'll blow you away," Travis laughed just as Kaiden came running up to them and did a play bow at Travis and Dakota. Travis raised a brow towards Dakota then shifted and took off after Kaiden, who instantly bolted away from the bigger wolf and back down into the yard.

Travis' legs were longer, and he quickly gained on Kaiden, who tumbled over onto his back as he gave up. However, Travis wasn't about to let him get off easy and began to gently nose him until Kaiden started nipping and then wrestling with him.

By the time Rose came out onto the deck, Dakota hadn't been able to resist shifting and joining in on the fun. He was much more careful around Travis, though. As a fourteen-year-old, he was old enough to understand that he needed to be respectful and submissive to the alpha's position, even when playing.

Travis was pretty forgiving of the pups. Even when he did posture over them or gave them a warning growl, his tail was often wagging and he rarely bared a fang unless Kaiden nipped too hard.

After a few minutes of playing, Travis rounded the two up and brought them back, shifting so that they could enjoy the spread that Rose had laid out for them. It was rare that Kaiden shifted, but the temptation of treats seemed a good enough incentive for the toddler.

Dakota genuinely gasped when Kaiden shifted and rushed to help the toddler get into a seat. "Good job, Kaid!" he praised, ruffling his nephew's super soft, shoulder-length hair. "Good shift, buddy. He's only recently started doing this," Dakota said. "Once he gets comfortable shifting, probably in another few years, then he'll have to start wearing real silver earrings instead of the ones he has now."

"That's right, I was wondering about that," Rose said before looking at Travis. "We'll have to get their ears pierced."

"Mhm. It makes sense, living so close to humans, most of them go to school off the ranch." Travis reasoned.

"Did you two really move here from Canada?"

"Yes," Travis said. "Wolf hunting isn't managed very well there and, unfortunately, humans can't tell us apart from normal wolves, so..." Travis trailed off. It wasn't something he enjoyed talking about.

"Oh..." Dakota's face paled. "Sorry... At least you're both here now. It's pretty safe on the ranch. Every once in a while some hunters come kinda close, but they usually see all the signs and stuff."

"Mhm, your father was explaining some of the measures they take to keep everyone safe. I'll admit, it's not easy for me to embrace the idea of living so close to humans. I know that most of them aren't hunters or a threat, but it'll take some getting used to."

"Kaid's half human," Dakota said, reaching over and rubbing his nephew's back.

Travis's stern expression broke into a half-smile. "I noticed the black fur," he said as his tone softened some.

"Yeah, I think it's pretty cool," Dakota admitted, despite not being very fond of humans. Outside of people tending counters at stores or the occasional waiter or waitress at a restaurant in town, Regina was the only human he'd ever really had much contact with.

The alpha nodded, relaxing back into his patio chair. "I guess it is cool."