WHAT BEN BROUGHT HOME

"Get up, Garry. You don't need to do stuff like that here."

Oh it was so good to hear Ben's monotone again! I know I was hanging out with Future Ben just now, but what can I say? There's no Ben like Ben.

"There's no place like home." Ben smirked, in his deadpan of course, least he sounded genuinely appreciative. I glomped him from the side.

"Whoa, Sam. What the heck got into you?" Ben was definitely not expecting that I guess. I wasn't planning to either. I was just happy to see him back in one piece and still with two eyes.

I grinned my usual wide smile at him and punched him in the shoulder, "What the heck to you too!"

"Whatever, Sam." Ben shrugged. The only bit of normal amidst all this... I looked around at the soldiers, now back on their feet, and horses and carriages behind them.

"Welcome back, Ben." Dad said.

"Thanks, Alpha." Ben nodded a quick polite bow.

"Oh, so my offspring has decided to come home." Beta Lucas was immediately on Ben's case, but for other reasons, "I hope that last minute trip of yours was worth it because you have a lot of hours to make up for your gallivanting about."

"Dad, I left on a Saturday night, and I got back on a Sunday morning." Ben was immediately back to his usual bad attitude, "Those are hardly work hours."

"See me in my office by the end of the day!" Beta Lucas was going to take a lot more convincing.

Meanwhile, we had left Gareth standing on the side looking a little lost.

That's what happens when two worlds collide - it's like we were running on two different scripts at the same time... Or like Dad trying to mindlink and talk. Hahaha.

An important looking elderly wolf had come out of the carriage and followed Ben up to us. Like Gareth, he had on a really lux brocade jacket, but it was in a tan color and slightly shiny on the patterned bits, making me think it could've been a dull gold and not just tan. He was super old looking, like you know how a lot of the older Colored Mountain wolves hit an age where they start to look ageless? Well, this guy was beyond that.

Even though he was so senior, and you know how us wolves and hierarchy were like, he meekly made a bow from just behind Gareth and waited for us to return to the Colored Mountain script.

By now, Mum seemed to have figured that there was no danger. She had come out to Dad's side (sans Savy and Sabre so it could just be that she had stuck them somewhere "safe" and came out anyway.)

Dad decided that we should give proper attention to our guests at this point, "Thank you for bringing our young beta home to us..."

Dad trailed off and looked at me. When I didn't get the hint he said, "Sam, will you introduce your friend to me?"

Oh. Oops! Hahaha. Okay, I got this, "Okay, Dad, this is my wolf, Gareth. Gareth, this is my dad, Alpha Kingsley."

At the mention that this was my Dad, Gareth dropped down to his knee again. And the moment Gareth dropped down to his knee, all the other men did too - including the old guy, making my wolf Gareth here look like some kind of bigshot.

"Forgive me for not recognizing my Alpha's father." Gareth apologized.

I mean, it wasn't his fault. This was their first time meeting.

"It's okay, Gareth, you can get up." Like seriously, please stop doing that!

"Urm… and the lady with him is my Mum. They're the Alpha and Luna here at Night Leaf." I had resorted to pulling on Gareth's arm, just so that he didn't kneel over or anything crazier.

I was honestly trying to avoid a scene. I didn't even dare to tell Gareth that Mum was his lost young Alpha Blade's granddaughter, lest he fell to his knees and cried or anything overdramatic like that.

When I got Gareth up to his feet again, all the Colored Mountain wolves got up and straightened too.

The very elderly wolf next to Gareth spoke up now, "This old one greets the Blue Alpha and the Blue Alpha's venerable parents."

From his opening sentence alone, I realized that I was not just talking to a very elderly wolf, but one so elderly that he probably learned the lycan language in its ancient form.

"This old one is the Grand Elder Horio born in the service of His Highness Prince Heller of the Black Mountains and his father before that. Currently, I also hold the position of Guest Elder in the service of His Highness Prince Haku of the Black Mountains and oversee diplomatic relations. It is beyond the wildest imagination of this old one to be able to visit the plains."

And then the Grand Elder Horio took pause, his eyes misting, "And a blessing beyond all blessings to see my young prince alive and well. Glory to the goddess."

I turned to look at Fluffy. I guess Fluffy did look very, very obviously like his father, Heller.

{He means you Fluffy.} I prompted when Fluffy made no reaction, {You're his young prince cos you're Heller's son.}

"I'm content as a normal wolf here." Fluffy said in his smiling mask, "You need not pay me any mind, Grand Elder."

Which was just a rude thing to say to an elder (in ancient Lycan culture), and also untrue. There was no way Fluffy was "normal" in any way.

"Fluffy!" I scolded. We've talked about this. He needed to go home... The thought of it hit me quite hard. I mean, I had always known this would happen someday, but it felt too sudden. I wasn't ready to let Fluffy go yet.

This was why picking up lost puppies was bad for the heart.

"Did my father come?" Fluffy asked, his smiling mask stubbornly in place, but I knew him well enough to know that his wolf was NOT happy.

Well, that made two of us.

"Unfortunately, both His Highness Prince Heller and His Highness Prince Haku sends their regrets with apologies. As you know, it is not possible for them to leave the mountains without notice from the Higher Princes. It was decided that they should remain in their keep to avoid arousing certain interests."

"This old one humbly come as representative for both Houses with tribute to the Blue Alpha." Grand Elder Horio bowed again,

So not to take Fluffy home? I almost felt hopeful.

"Please allow this old one to present the first introductions." Grand Uncle Horio offered graciously.

Urm, okay, I guess? I nodded and Gareth looked to the carriages, "Proceed."

The warriors opened the second carriage for two healers in deep forest green robes to alight. Of course I knew them too.

Anna stepped forwards and bowed deeply, "Alpha, your servant Anna greets you and thanks you for this opportunity to run with you. May goddess make your paths straight and grant you good health and prosperity."

Anna spoke calmly and smoothly, and it made me remember how she had been a guest healer at various packs. I think she was someone who was used to greeting and bowing to another alpha in a foreign pack.

Hayao, on the other hand, looked uncertain, but he nodded a polite princely bow from his position further away, "Greetings, Blue Alpha. I have come to honor my pledge to you according to our agreement, princess. Please take care of me."

Dad raised a brow at me.

What? It wasn't me!

Now that everyone was present and accounted for, Grand Elder Horio proceeded to make the official introductions in a stately manner and speed... So it took a while.

But before that, a movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. DID WOLFGANG JUST FLICK HIS HAIR AT ME?