Damian’s stomach growled incessantly while he explained how he and his Betas heard the faint cry, then searched the woods until they found the child. When he told Xavier the details about the trap, he could hear a roar rumbling up his chest cavity.

“Damian, you’ve been a thorn in my backside for quite some time. But your actions today are beyond admirable. Thank you for rescuing my granddaughter. I don’t know what I would do without her. I’ve been raising her for the past five years, and love her as if she were my own child.”

“Are her parents --” Damian started to ask. He was curious why Xavier was raising his granddaughter, but lowered his head when he saw the look in Xavier’s eyes. “It’s none of my business. I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s okay. We suspect her mother was killed by poachers. She’d gone out to hunt and we think she got trapped and may not have been able to escape.” Xavier turned his head away from Damian. “We heard her howls, and scoured the woods, but never were able to find her.”

“I’m so sorry,” Damian said.

“I hadn’t realized my little Leia didn’t come back. And none of her friends said a word. I’ll have to deal with that, but that’s not anything for you to be concerned with.” Damian’s stomach continued to rumble. He wrapped his arms across his midsection. “To show my appreciation for bringing my precious little one back safely, I’d love it if you and your friends would stay and have dinner with us tonight.”

“Thanks, Alpha Xavier, but we need to try to find this land my father gifted us.”

“I won’t take no for an answer. Besides, it sounds as if you haven’t eaten in months. If you’d like you can stay here tonight, then be on your way in the morning.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I’ll let the guys know. It may be safer for us to get a start early in the morning, since we’ll have to stay in our human form. For some reason, we seem to keep getting shot at when we shift to our Wolves.”

“Fine, then I’ll let the cook know. And we’ll have extra for you. It sounds as if you’ll need it.”

Xavier waved at his guards and they quickly were at his side.

“Make sure Damian and his friends are comfortable. They’ll be dining with me, then staying here tonight.”

“Yes, sir, Alpha,” one of the guards said.

“Better tell the women to lock their doors tonight,” the other guard mumbled.

Xavier smiled at his men, then at Damian before walking toward the healer’s post.

When Damian and his friends were taken to their quarters for the night, they were all shocked. They weren’t sure what to expect, but judging by the exterior of the large, weathered cabins, they hadn’t expected there to be many modern amenities. The interior was nicely decorated. Masculine, and cozy. The living room was furnished with leather seating on rustic wood frames. The fireplace was large enough for Damian to stand on the inside at his full height of six-foot-six, and stretch his seven-foot-two-inch wingspan without touching either side. The brick surround soared from the floor up to the ceiling, which had to be three stories tall.

“This fireplace is crazy,” Damian said. His Betas stood in awe, looking at him inside the pristine enclosure. There were logs stacked neatly along the side of the fireplace, and they’d passed by a large woodpile as they entered the domicile.

The kitchen was fully stocked. All the utensils they could possibly want, plus a full set of pots and pans were in the cupboards.

“Man, this is a guest house?” Maverick questioned.

“I know, right?” Jordan replied.

Maverick opened the refrigerator and saw enough food to easily sate them through the night. Even Damian’s excessive hunger could be satisfied.

They walked through the pass-through kitchen into the hall that led to three spacious bedrooms, each with a queen-sized bed. Damian couldn’t help but notice the footboard was taller than the mattress, which he knew from experience would prevent him from being able to stretch his legs. There was also a chest of drawers, and its own en-suite bathroom.

“This one is mine.” Damian claimed the bedroom closest to the front door of the home.

Maverick and Jordan moved to the other two rooms and staked their claim as well.

The trio made their way back to the living room and climbed the stairs up to the second floor. There was railing that allowed them to look over into the living room and kitchen, but the rest of the floor was a wide open space. There was no furniture. When Damian’s stomach rumbled, the sound echoed.

“Weird. What the hell do you use something like this for?” Damian asked.

“Who knows? They probably couldn’t figure it out either and that’s why they didn’t bother doing anything with it,” Maverick said.

“We have one more floor.” Jordan pointed at the stairs and they all made their way to the third floor. Once there, they all stopped and just looked at each other. It was identical to the second floor. No furniture and railing that allowed them to look down into the living room and kitchen.

“Clearly they didn’t think this through too well. They wasted a lot of room in this place,” Jordan said. Maverick and Damian nodded their agreement. They took a quick glance around the space, then descended back to the first floor. The sound of Damian’s growling stomach was louder than the creaking of the worn steps.

Damian went straight to the refrigerator and helped himself to one of the venison casseroles. Maverick and Jordan watched him devour his plateful, then scoop out another heaping serving.

“Make sure to leave some room for dinner. Xavier might not be too happy if you don’t eat,” Maverick said.

“Trust me, this is just an appetizer,” Damian said before shoveling in a large mouthful.

“Sounds like you do have that Hunger disease some of the elders from the Pack talked about,” Jordan said.

Damian shoved his fork deep into the casserole and waved Jordan off with the other hand. The two Betas shook their heads, then turned and made their way to their rooms to freshen up before meeting for dinner.

When Damian finished off his second helping, he made his way into his room where he did the same. He stared at himself in the mirror after wiping the washcloth across his stubbled face. His thoughts went back to a comment his father made that haunted him. Does the good in you ever get an opportunity to surface? He thought back to how they found and released Leia from the trap and smiled. Yes, Father, it does, he thought.