Troy pushed himself off the wall and took a step toward Penn as she made her way directly to him. His heart fluttered strangely in his chest at the sight of her. The feeling was both uncomfortable and pleasant at the same time. He couldn't understand why he was so attracted to her. It was confusing and thrilling because he wasn't sure whether he should or shouldn't keep it in check.

Without thinking too much, he reached for her arms and gave them a gentle squeeze. That same warm pulse that had invaded his body the first time he touched her was there again running through  his fingers and flooding his chest with a blissful heat. He felt his blood begin to race through his veins like an adolescent and he couldn't help the wide, boyish grin that spread across his face as he gazed down at her pale blue eyes. He could really get addicted to this feeling if he wasn't careful, he thought with amusement.

Penn felt her face flush in response to the intensity of the tender look she saw in his.  She was in new territory and didn't have the first clue what she should do or how she should respond to Troy. All she knew was, in that moment, she had never felt so welcome, so safe and dare she say loved if that were even possible.

Of course, she only had instinct to guide her, but, she had this gut feeling that told her the wolf in front of her cared deeply for her. There was no way to explain it to her rational mind. Her intuition flew in the face of all her previous experiences and the way she understood the world worked.

But, ever cautious and rarely impulsive, the look in his eyes and the strength of her own feelings worried her. What if she was reading too much into Troy's behaviour? What if she was so desperate for love and affection that she was fooling herself into believing he was drawn to her the same way she was to him? What if he was just being kind and courteous and she was overreacting?

Fear made cowards out of the bravest souls and Penn was no different. Her nerves got the better of her and even as her instincts implored her to step into his space and wrap her arms around him, she did the exact opposite. Pulling her arms free of his gentle grip she stepped back from him a few paces and put some distance between them.

Feeling equal parts confused, embarrassed and regretful, Penn found she could not look up at Troy. So, she looked down at her bandaged hands and prayed to the Moon goddess to help her out some how. 

Troy, seeing the swift change in Penn, reined in his emotions immediately. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off. He couldn't believe how close he'd just come to wrapping her in his arms. Clearly she was not ready for such bold shows of affection and he berated himself for not being wiser. 

He cleared his throat, and remembering just how hungry Penn had been before the elders had greeted her fifteen minutes ago, said in a quiet but cheerful voice, "Lets go in and eat."

Penn's stomach roared to life all of a sudden and both she and Troy laughed.

Looking up at him, Penn was relieved to see that the intense look from earlier was gone. "That sounds good to me," she replied with a small smile, which she watched him return freely and easily.

The strange moment that had just passed between them was now gone and things felt normal again. Or, as normal as they ever did when she was standing in the Alpha's presence. But, in any case, Penn felt a little more relaxed and she followed him without anxiety into the dimly lit corridor that led to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was filled with cheerful noise and it seemed the elders had made themselves quite at home with the children. Penn smiled thoughtfully at the busy scene. She and Troy made their way to the service counter and picked up their meals from the cook before picking an empty table to sit at. The children and elders had, by this time, finished their meals and were carrying away their dishes.

Penn was pleased that she did not feel overly self-conscious or nervous sitting alone with Troy. In fact, it felt oddly normal to sit shoulder to shoulder with him and quietly dig in to their evening meal. It was almost as if she and he had been doing this every day for the past two weeks.

"You are grinning," Troy pointed out to her quietly.

Penn looked up at him with some surprise. He was right. She shrugged a shoulder in response, not knowing what to say.

"It suits you," he said softly and sweetly to her.

Penn felt her face flush with colour as she returned her eyes to her plate too nervous to keep looking at his all too honest eyes. However, she didn't feel like putting any distance between them despite the quickened pace of her heart. She let out a skittish breath and kept on eating.

After a few more minutes of silent companionship she felt Troy lean into her shoulder and give her a little nudge. Looking up she watched him lift his chin in the direction of the other tables where the children were scattering towards the door leading out into the beautiful, manicured back yard.

"The elders are coming over," he whispered to her.

Penn nodded as she pushed her plate away from her and watched the elders approach the table. They were all relaxed, smiling at each other, and sat down without any hesitation. Penn realized that they were entirely comfortable with their Alpha and with her. Clearly, this really was a social call and not an interrogation. Penn felt a measure of relief and found herself smiling a little at Elder Ruuni who sat down directly across from her.

"Welcome," Troy said to them as they seated themselves. "I trust you had a good meal and made some new friends with the pups," he said with a congenial laugh.

The elders smiled widely and chuckled as well.

"Yes, indeed," Ruuni said confidently. And then she reached across the table to touch Penn's forearm gently while asking, "How are your hands?"

Penn resisted the urge to pull her arm away and just left it where it was. She stared at Elder Ruuni's old weathered hand for a moment before answering, "Fine. They feel fine."

She looked up at the woman and then let her eyes sweep over the rest. They were all looking at her with genuine kindness and concern. It was comforting but perplexing. Why should they feel any sympathy for her at all? She was a stranger to them and a wolf without any importance. Their interest in her was puzzling.

The moment Ruuni released her arm Penn slipped her hands from the table entirely and rested them on her lap - entirely out of sight. Troy leaned into her a little. Perhaps it was to encourage or comfort her. Penn wasn't sure which but she was grateful for his support and gave him a little smile. Even though the elders were friendly, she still felt she was under some kind of microscope.

Elder Lind, a she-wolf who was sitting beside Penn, cleared her throat and asked, "Penn we would like to hear your story - about the rescue," she clarified. "Would you be willing to tell us how it was that you came in possession of the Orthos pups and how you managed to get them safely through Mourning Cross?"

Penn leaned back a bit and thought about it. She'd been forced to share her personal story of exile with Anex, Alpha Troy, Beta Lucas and Jules, who all pressed her for details at one point or another. However, she had yet to share her recent experiences with the children. The idea was not displeasing. She would much rather talk about their escape than about her exile and subsequent years of isolation.

"Yes," she replied quietly and so she began telling the elders how she had come to be acquainted with the Orthos Luna a few years earlier.

Over the next hour Penn explained how she'd only come to warn Lara that an attack was imminent, but ended up scrambling out of the territory fifteen minutes later with eighteen soon-to-be orphaned pups, whom she wasn't the least bit acquainted with. She then detailed for the elders the sort of struggles the young wolves faced as she pushed them hard through dangerous routes in an effort to get them as far away from Codax and his wolves as possible.

From time to time she smiled fondly at a memory or laughed at one the stories she shared about the pups.  Now that everyone had arrived safely in Orthos territory, some of their recent experiences seemed very comical in the re-telling. And somehow, by the time Penn was wrapping up their tail of escape, she was feeling very much at ease with the weathered and warm faces that listened to her every word with rapt interest. The elders had made her feel quite comfortable with them before she even realized it. Talking to them felt much like talking to old friends. 

Penn smiled softly as she looked around at their silver eyes and grey heads. If by some miracle she lived to be their age, she hoped she would be half as kind, half as compassionate and half as wise as these elders of the Orthos pack. It seemed to her mind that she couldn't leave the Griffin orphans with better wolves than these.

And for the first time since they arrived in Orthos territory Penn didn't feel heartsick at the idea of leaving the pups. It was more and more evident to her that the children were in very good hands.

A sense of peace washed over her as she dropped out of the conversation, sat back a little and just listened to the elders converse with each other and Alpha Troy. It was all so normal, so easy, so friendly, so trusting, so companionable. It wasn't like anything she'd ever had but very much like everything she'd ever wanted - everything she ever hoped for as a young wolf.

She caught sight of some of the children playing through the double glass doors at the other end of the cafeteria and smiled to herself. She knew then, in that moment, that the pups were going to be fine. A picture of Lara's smiling face flashed through her mind and Penn found herself truly relaxing - mind, body and spirit. Lara was right to send the pups here and all Penn's suspicions, worries and anxiety had been for nothing. Troy and his pack weren't the enemy. It was Codax and his wolves. They were the only real danger to the pups.

Penn sighed. Did this mean it was time to go? She felt conflicted. Part of her was staying to protect the pups, but, if they didn't really need her protection, was there a reason to delay leaving?

She felt Troy bump her shoulder gently. She looked up into warm brown eyes that were displayed some mild concern.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"I was, I was just wondering what the status on Codax was?" she asked aloud.

The question silenced the elders. Penn looked around at their troubled faces.

"Do you know if he knows that the pups are here now? Has he made any threats?" she asked while looking around at all their faces. "I just thought," she paused a moment as she looked down at her bandaged hands. "I thought maybe I shouldn't go to far away while he's still a threat."

No one breathed a word.