"Hey, boys. Mind if I join you?" Ray walked out onto the porch, joining me and Dean as he pulled up a chair beside the porch swing where we sat watching the pups play with their dads. A few of the older ones were shifted and playing with a small white wolf wearing pink lipstick—I smiled at that one. Only Pax could pull that off. A few of the other guys were having a snowball fight, occasionally lobbing soft balls of the white powder at the pups as they raced past, their little paws scrambling for purchase in the snow.

On the other side of the large yard, the younger pups who hadn’t figured out how to achieve a shift yet were helping David and Preston build a snowman, safely away from the melee of their older siblings. Zeke and Ezra were playing keep-away with a pair of shifted pups, tossing a frisbee high in the air while the little wolves chased back and forth, jumping up to try and catch it in their sharp little teeth. The sun was going down, but after all we'd shared today, nobody seemed to be in a big rush to leave just yet.

"Not at all, Ray. In fact, it occurs to me as I watch these innocent pups at play that there was a reason I came over to see you last night." I leaned around Dean to look at Ray. “I actually had an idea I wanted to run by you.”

"Oh, yeah? What's on your mind?" Ray slouched in his chair, crossing his ankles as he leaned the back of his head against the house. His breath puffed like little clouds in front of him. He grinned as one fat little furball jumped to catch a snowflake on his bright pink tongue, only to fall over his oversized paws and go tumbling. He rolled into a pair of little brown wolf pups, knocking them over like bowling pins. One of the pups leapt to her feet, nipping at the offender’s tail while the other sat there yipping indignantly.

Smiling at their antics, I turned my attention to Ray. "We found that missing cub yesterday morning. It was a snatch and grab, just like we’d thought. A couple of silly humans who didn't realize they were dealing with a shifter child when they took the congressman's son in wolf form." I shook my head, disgusted at the memory of how the cub had been mistreated in their hands. The idiots had thought they were stealing a prize show dog, and had shoved the boy into a dog crate. He’d be fine with a little counselling, but it had been a scary experience for the little guy. "But it got me thinking, Team Beta has a lot of irons in the fire, mostly backing up you guys or dealing with the white-collar and petty crimes that Team ALPHA doesn't deal with, you know?"

"Yeah, I’m aware. So what were you thinking?" Ray turned to look at me, his eyes holding a spark of interest as if he knew where I was going with this train of thought.

"Well, it occurred to me that neither of our teams has a unit that solely deals with rescue and recovery missions specializing in cubs and pups. And I think we need to rectify that, sir. The question is, do we have the funding for a special unit like that, and if so, would you be willing to let me step aside from running Team Beta? It's been an honor to be the team captain, but I want to do more. Especially after hearing your story today. I realize that kidnapped children aren’t on par with sexually trafficked victims, but I think I could do a good thing there."

"You're wrong," Ray said quietly. "A victim is a victim, Sammy. Whether it's an innocent child or an older omega—every victim deserves rescue." He fell silent for a long moment, drumming his fingers on his thigh as if lost in thought.

"Wow, I bet I could even be of use with a unit like that." Dean sat up, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I already told you that I work as a counselor that specializes in children, remember? A unit like that would need someone who could step in and calm the children once they were rescued, be the liaison with social services and local law enforcement, and even offer counseling after the fact, if necessary."

A slow smile spread over Ray's face as he nodded. "It seems like you've found the perfect mate, Sam. The two of you could specialize together with this unit you want to put together, in much the same way that Justin and I have with Team ALPHA."

"And I know just what to call it."

I turned to see Noah standing on the porch steps with a smirk on his face. His voice was full of laughter as he spoke.

"You know how we always called Team Beta the Alphabits? That would be a perfect name for a unit that specializes in rescuing pups." The laughter fell from his voice as he grew more serious, looking past me to his father. "Honestly, Dad, I think Sammy's idea is a good one. If we don't have the funding, we need to find it so we can make this happen. If one of our pups ever went missing, I'd like to know that there was someone out there like the Alphabits who would swoop in and leave no stone unturned until our baby was found."

"We have the funding," Justin said from the doorway. He walked out to rest a hand on Ray's shoulder, looking down at his mate as the two of them shared a silent conversation.

After a long moment, Ray turned to glance at me, tipping his head back toward Justin. "You guys heard it from the boss’s lips—we've got the funding. Go ahead and make it happen, Sammy. I'll consider your resignation as captain of Team Beta effective immediately. Knowing you as I do, I'm sure you already have a team in mind? And probably a suggestion as to your replacement as captain?"

"I do, indeed. On both counts," I admitted with a wry grin. "I'll email you a list when I get home of the guys I'd like to pull from Team Beta to work on the Alphabits with me, along with Dean, if we can afford to add a counselor to our staff. As for my replacement? If I were you, I'd look at Ryder Putney for the job. He came up the ranks with me, and as you know, he's been my right-hand man all along. I don't think you'd find a better person to take over in my place."

"He’s exactly the first person who came to my mind as well," Noah agreed. "Ryder's a good guy and I think he'll make a fair leader, Dad."

Justin took his seat on Ray's knee, wrapping his arms around his mate's neck as he smiled at me and Dean. "I think you may have misunderstood Ray when he said that Dean would make a perfect partner for you, sweetheart. I don't know if you boys are aware of this, but all our ventures are connected under one umbrella. Ray and I are a unit, and you two need to be one as well. Dean can be easily transferred from the center and reassigned to the Alphabits. The two of you are mates now. It'll be best if you work together anyway, given the long hours that you’ll be putting in from time to time."

Ray nodded his agreement. "That's exactly what I meant. I'd like the two of you to run the team together, Sammy. Dean can be the voice of compassion and keep you levelheaded when your alpha instincts make you want to tear shit up. He'll be the yin to your yang, as it were."

"What do you think, Dean?" Justin asked. "Would you be willing to take a promotion to run the Alphabits at Sammy's side?"

Dean nodded so fast, he reminded me of a bobblehead. "Are you kidding? Hell, yes! That sounds amazing, not to mention a perfect use of my talents."

"Consider it done," Ray said, holding out a hand for Dean to shake, then stretching over to shake mine as well. "Congratulations, boys. You've now got your own specialized task force to run. The next call we get regarding a minor will land on your desk."

"Speaking of desks," Justin said, standing and motioning for Dean to follow him. “We need to decide where to put your headquarters. Obviously it doesn't need to be in the Team Beta building. You'll be more of a liaison with Team ALPHA, I would think. Well, depending on the case you're working at the time, I suppose. But we get all of the more specialized cases that Ray and I then pass onto whichever team is best suited for the mission."

As they walked inside talking excitedly and already making plans for our center of operations, Ray flashed me a grin. "Sammy boy, you have no idea what you're in for now."

"What do you mean, sir? Is it a bad idea to work with my mate?" I was trying to understand what he meant, given the fact that he worked day in and day out with Justin.

Ray waved a hand. "No, nothing like that. I'm sure Dean will have his own projects as the years pass, just like Justin does. And you'll also have the team that you’ll run together. No, I was referring to the myriad of ways that your life is about to change now that you’re a mated man."

Before I could answer, the door opened again. Allan, the cute little pup from the night before, wandered out of the house with his stack of Dr. Seuss books under his chubby, snowsuit-covered arm. He made a beeline for me, climbing up onto my lap as though he'd been expected. I hissed a breath through my teeth as the corner of one of his books scraped my chin, but kept a smile on my face for the adorable little guy. He wiggled around until he was settled, then looked up at me expectantly. "Now would you like to read a book to me, mistah?"

Covering his laughter with a cough, Ray motioned toward the pup. "This is more along the lines of what I meant, Sammy. You have a lifetime of moments like this ahead of you now that you're mated. And at the risk of sounding like a sappy old man, I think Remmie would have been delighted to see you and your Dean and the life you’ll build together. Congratulations, Sammy. On both Dean and the new job. You're going to be great, in all aspects of your new life."

Noah coughed out the words sappy old man, teasing his father as he clapped a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze before sauntering off the porch to go join everyone else in the yard. As I opened the cover of Green Eggs and Ham, Ray leaned back and closed his eyes, smiling to himself as I began to read to Allan.

I pointed at the pictures as I read the words on the illustrated signs. “I am Sam. Sam I am.”