“Okay, guys, listen up.” Kane clapped his hands, and Marius snapped his mouth shut. He’d been sniping at Adair; nothing unusual there, although a pack meeting probably wasn’t the best place to do it. It was five days after their drinks evening and Marius still hadn’t got much sleep so his nerves were more on edge than usual. Any time he did manage to drop off, his dreams were filled with an unbelievably huge blond who dominated him in ways that made him blush in the light of day. It was no wonder he found his mated brothers so irritating.

“I’ve called you all together because we’ve received an urgent message from the Shifter Council to allow an Elf representative onto our land. He has a message for us from their seers and it needs to be delivered in person.” Kane’s tone gave Marius no idea how he felt about the situation and from the blank looks from others in the pack, it seemed no one knew what to make of it.

“Alpha?” Vadim, their resident vampire mated to Josh held up his hand. “To my knowledge, the only time an elf appears is when there’s trouble in the area. Do you think the elves know who might be behind our attacks?”

“I’m not sure,” Kane looked at everyone in turn. “Things have been quiet lately and I put that down to the efforts all of you have made in keeping this place secure. I didn’t even know elves existed until the council called me. Honestly, I am as clueless as to what this is about as you are.”

“Elves live on a separate realm, much like the fae,” Fafnir chipped in. Out of the two fae in the pack, well, three if you counted Jax who was half wolf shifter and five if you included Connor and Fergus who were Aelfric’s and Fafnir’s guards; he was the one who spent the most time studying ancient laws and cultures. “Their seers are known throughout the paranormal world as being the most accurate in existence.”

“That’s true,” Vassago said. “Even our seer defers to the elves in times of trouble. But that’s what concerns me. Vadim’s hit the nail on the head. They only ever make themselves known to others when something big is going to happen, and they are usually the ones who put a stop to it.”

There were a few growls around the room and Marius could understand the tension. But it was Griff who said what they were all thinking. “We’re more than capable of looking after ourselves and protecting our territory. If they’re all knowing and all so fucking powerful, then where were they when we were fighting those juiced up humans, or the army? How come they didn’t protect wee Raff’s pack?”

“Not even Thanatos could find out what happened to Raff’s pack,” Shawn said quietly as Nereus and Teilo cuddled close to the small wolf in question. “Sometimes you have to remember that what we consider major events are often part of something much bigger we don’t know about yet.”

“We’ve got more powers here than any other pack, herd, group or coven. We’re powerful in our own right,” Adair complained. “What difference is one elf going to make?”

“Elves are one step below angels,” Fafnir said. “They combine brute strength with keen intelligence and yet they’re known more for their negotiation skills than anything else. They are also blessed with magic easily as strong as any here. If one of them is coming, and believe me, one is all that is needed, then maybe it’s a warning we should heed.”

“He’s not going to be a danger to us, is he?” Matthew, one of the biggest alphas in the room, pulled Dean closer to him. Not an easy thing to do when Dean was already on his mate’s lap. “He’s not taking Dean away from us.”

“Elves are powerful,” Shawn interjected quickly, “but they do not go against the will of the Fates and I think we can all agree it’s the will of the Fates that Dean is here with us. He’s coming with a message, not to steal any of our pack members away.”

“Haven’t they heard of email?” Matthew grumped as he cuddled Dean tight. Marius knew Matthew was super protective and that was probably due to the number of times the omega had been kidnapped when the two first met. But sometimes Marius thought Matthew went too far. It seemed Dean was of the same opinion, scowling as he was while the two had a private exchange involving a lot of eye rolling on Dean’s part.

“We have no idea how long the elf will be staying,” Kane said firmly. “While he is here, I expect you all to treat him with courtesy and respect. There’s a good chance he knows a lot about us already, but let’s not volunteer anything until we know why he’s here and what he plans to do to help, if anything. He’ll be arriving later this afternoon and I expect you all here for dinner, including the enforcers. That will be all until six tonight.”

“It’d be really good if this elf can point us to the guy who keeps causing us all this trouble,” Thomas whispered as he fell into step with Marius as they left the pack house. “We can go in, rip out a few throats and maybe we can start having a life.”

“That would be good,” Marius agreed, although, inside he felt a flicker of anxiety. He, his brothers and the three other enforcers were only called in because the Cloverleah pack was under threat. Dean was the only omega in existence; a lot of outside alphas felt there were too many powers in the small pack and tried all manner of ways to take the pack out. If the threat to Dean was gone, did that mean they’d all have to find somewhere else to live?

Adair and Teilo would stay, Marius reasoned to himself. They have mates who are pack members. But what about me, Thomas, Wesley and Ryan? Thomas and the others could all go back to their work in law enforcement, but what the hell would I do? Playing shoot-em-up games in his room through the long afternoon did nothing to quell the way his mind spiraled in despair.

The sensible thing would be to talk to Adair. He was the head enforcer and more likely to know what was going on than anyone else but the Alpha. But Marius hesitated. Since Vassago came along, Adair never seemed to have any spare time and the last thing Marius wanted was to be told he was acting like a child. Throwing his controller on the bed in disgust, Marius stripped down to his pants and sauntered down to the porch. He’d shift and go for a run. His wolf loved being free and alone in the forest with nothing but trees for company, Marius could dream of a life where he was wanted and loved.

As for the dinner, Marius wasn’t part of the inner circle. He wouldn’t be expected to stay at the pack house for long. He’d eat, respond if asked a question, but apart from that, he wasn’t going to draw attention to himself in any way. Hide and run; hide and run. Although as Marius let his wolf free, he admitted in the back of his mind, that hadn’t been an effective strategy as a child. Unfortunately, learned behaviors were hard to change.

/~/~/~/~/

Cathair raised his hands. Thanks to his affinity with magic, he could feel the threads of the wards surrounding Cloverleah. Fae, shifter guardian and damn, is that a djinn signature I can feel? Well, well, well. This is an unusual pack. In Cathair’s extensive experience, most wolf shifters he’d met were elitists; refusing to mate outside of their species. But then, Cloverleah was already different in having no women in their pack. Although, there were rumors of a bear cub being part of the pack and the notes Cathair had been given indicated that one of the sons of Poseidon had recently started calling Cloverleah home.

Curiouser and curiouser. Cathair looked at his phone – a new device the seers determined was necessary if Cathair wanted to fit in. His instructions were explicit. On the dot of noon, the wards would be lifted for exactly ten seconds. That would be his only window for entry onto Cloverleah lands and that hadn’t been easy to get. The pack Alpha, Kane had suggested meeting in the local town; even suggested they video conference, whatever that was.

Cathair hefted his bag. The clock read 11:59. He had no doubt the view in front of him would change the instant the wards were lifted. For now, all he could see was the continuation of a road, surrounded by trees, brush and not much else. Cathair recognized it for what it was – a trick of the eye. Move on, there’s nothing to see here. And yet apparently there was plenty behind the ward. The coordinates he’d been given were specific and he knew he was in the right place.

The time on the clock ticked over and Cathair tensed. A shimmer filled the air and Cathair felt his ears pop. Then, suddenly, he was confronted with a long driveway that led to a huge house. The pack house, Cathair thought unnecessarily as he stepped forward. He felt the wards close immediately behind him. Six men, all handsome in their own way were waiting on the pack house porch. Straightening his spine, Cathair threw his bag over his shoulder and strode up to the house.

As he got closer, he took in the details of his welcoming party. Arms crossed, four were dressed in blue jeans, two in black; t-shirts covering impressive muscles. At first glance Cathair thought they were all wolf shifters, but the vibes he got as he approached the porch let him know the smaller man on one side of an Alpha wolf was a Shifter Guardian and the blond dressed in black with hair slightly darker than his own, was a powerful cat shifter. The one on the end; the smallest man of the group had an unusual power signature. Is that the djinn?

“I am Cathair, Battle Lord of the Elves, son of the High Elder with a message from the Seer. I am seeking Alpha Kane Matthews, is he available?” He asked, his foot resting on the bottom step of the wooden porch. He swung his bag on the ground beside him, but made no move to get any closer. Wolves were the worst for being territorial creatures and while he stood taller than all of them, he wasn’t about to make any aggressive moves. He was supposed to be staying a while.

“I’m Kane,” one man said, stepping forward. Not Cathair’s first pick but then he knew the alpha was true mated to a shifter guardian so that was possibly why no one challenged him. “This is my mate, Shawn, my second, Griff Matthews and his mate, Diablo. On the other side, is Adair Reef, the head of our enforcers and his mate Vassago.”

“Gentleman.” Cathair gave the briefest of nods. “You know why I am here?”

“We weren’t told much at all,” Kane said frankly. “I was informed by the shifter council you had a message for us and that you would be staying for a while. I’ve arranged a room for you here in the main house. I’ll be upfront and tell you now, I’ve had half my men looking up information about you and elves in general; but we haven’t been able to find anything but anecdotal evidence which tends to make us all a bit cautious.”

Cathair approved. It’s exactly the sort of thing he would have done; checking out a stranger before allowing them access to a home. “The Elven race is deliberately secretive,” he agreed. “We deal with troubles in all realms and none but an elf or elven mate has access to our home realm. It prevents trouble following us home.”

“You may find some of our pack members a little curious,” the man identified as Shawn stepped forward, slipping his arm around Kane’s waist. “I trust you’ll be patient with them.”

“Of course.”

“Also,” the burly one named Griff growled, “we have an omega here as well as a cub. You’ll find us all very protective of our smaller members.”

“I beg your pardon,” Vassago drew himself up to his tallest height, which was still a good foot shorter than the others. “I’ll have you know that some of the pack’s smallest members are quite capable of kicking your ass.”

“You’re the djinn, aren’t you?” Cathair’s mind was churning through the stuff he’d learned, trying to place who everyone was. “Vassago, that’s right. You recently became King. It’s an honor to meet you, but isn’t it unusual for you to be living outside of your own realm.”

“And this is where the conversation could get complicated,” Kane interrupted. “I’m sure you already know our pack has expanded, mostly through our members meeting their true mates. I’m happy to answer questions you might have in private, but note that we all believe we are here for a reason. Perhaps it’s time for you to come inside and get settled. Or is your message urgent and for my ears only?”

Cathair played a hunch. He could already tell this pack was like none he’d ever met before. “The message relates to you all and if you are confident with me speaking to you as a group, that might be the easiest way to deal with any questions.”

His hunch was right. Kane managed a tight smile. “The entire pack will be here for dinner. Adair and Vassago will show you to your room for now, so you can freshen up. You can meet everyone else before the meal and we’ll hold the meeting afterward.”

Some traditions remain the same then. Cathair was pleased he’d been invited to share food with the pack though. Wolves never ate with people they may have to fight or kill at a later stage so dinner was a positive step forward.

His mind buzzing with a dozen questions, Cathair followed the hulking enforcer and his tiny mate inside the house. There was a short entranceway which opened out into a large comfortable open plan living area. Cathair counted six huge leather couches spread around an airy room that had French doors leading out to the wraparound porch and the forest beyond. A long dining table that could seat at least thirty people took up one end of the room and a spotless breakfast bar created a divide between the dining and kitchen areas.

But it wasn’t the décor that caught Cathair’s attention, it was the homely feel of the place. There was a leather jacket slung over one of the couch arms. The stack of what looked like car magazines were spread over the coffee table; one of them open as though someone was reading it when he arrived. The warm smell of roast meat permeated the air and Cathair felt the tightness in his shoulder’s ease. He was in a well-loved home.

“Your room is this way,” Adair said, leading the way to a staircase that would be at home in any expensive house from years gone by. Cathair could feel magic humming through the walls and wondered if the house had been magically expanded in some way. He stroked the carved wood of the banister as he placed his foot on the stairs.

“Ollie, you come back here!” Cathair heard a shout then the thundering of feet through the living room before a small bear cub started climbing his legs in jerky little jumps.

“Watch the claws, little one,” Cathair hoisted the cub up and found himself considering intelligent eyes.

“I am sorry, so sorry.” The man chasing the cub had an open friendly vibe and carried a trace of musk. A bear shifter then and that made sense with the cub. Cathair remembered there were two bears in Cloverleah – Luke and Kurt who were mated to a wolf. He was just about to ask who the bear was when the man started spewing words in all directions.

“I didn’t mean for him to get away, not that we keep him tied up or anything, but we were roaming in the garden and Kane said to stay away until dinner, but Ollie was curious and caught sight of you through the glass. He shifted and started running before I even realized it and he didn’t really mean to try and climb you like a tree, although you do have really big legs so you can understand how he might think they were tree trunks and he does like to climb, you see, and sometimes it’s hard to stop him although I have to because he can go really high and then I worry he’ll fall and Kurt tells me I really shouldn’t worry so much about him, but I do and Ollie is….”

“Luke!” Adair and Vassago said in what was obviously a practiced move. “Breathe, Luke,” Adair continued. “One breath at a time, remember? Cathair is our guest. What do we say to guests?”

“But Ollie….” Luke protested.

“What do we say to guests?” Adair said again. Cathair was pleased to see the burly enforcer wasn’t being mean in his attitude, and as Ollie was now curled up on his chest watching the proceedings with half closed eyes, he kept his tongue for now.

“Welcome to our home, Cathair,” Luke stood up, his face still red and his hair a mass of tangles. “I am not allowed to shake your hand or anything because Kurt gets angry if he scents anyone non-pack on my skin and you don’t want to see Kurt when he’s angry…but…er…what comes next? Oh, I know,” he said as his face brightened with a smile. “May I offer you some light refreshments?” Then he frowned. “No, that can’t be right because you are heading upstairs. Adair, did you already offer our guest light refreshments?”

“We haven’t yet, but Cathair just got here. We were going to show him his room first,” Vassago said with a matching grin. It was clear Luke was loved by his pack members. “Now, do you want to grab Ollie before he goes to sleep? I am sure it’s probably time for his afternoon n a p.”

“Don’t do that,” Luke cried as Ollie tensed in Cathair’s arms, his claws tearing nicks in Cathair’s shirt. “He’s learned how to spell that word and the dreaded b word. I swear, it’s like you have to catch him unawares otherwise he won’t go near his bed or that you know what. Kurt is going to be cross if I can’t get him down because he’s training with Tobias and I promised I could handle him on my own.”

“Where does the cub need to go?” Cathair asked.

“I have to whisper,” Luke said pouting at the cub. “Bears have got really good ears, you know and Ollie’s super smart. He knows when people are spelling things out and even if you’re really quiet he knows you’re talking about him. He seems to like you, though.”

Cathair looked down to see the cub was almost asleep. “I have a way with children and animals of all kinds,” he said quietly.

“Let me zap him,” Vassago suggested. “I know where he needs to be. You run home, so you are there when he arrives. I’ll give you five minutes and then zap him to his you know what.”

“You won’t hurt him? No, of course, you won’t. Ollie wouldn’t have fallen asleep like that if you didn’t like children, but I don’t know you and….”

“I promise you Ollie will be all right. Vassago and I will stay with Cathair in case Ollie wakes up and gets upset,” Adair said. “You run home. Go on. Kurt and Tobias are going to be really proud of you for showing initiative and using pack skills when you need help.”

“Initiative.” Luke rolled the word around on his tongue. “I like that word and yes, my mates will be pleased with me. Ooh, I might even get a blowjob when this one’s in bed. Okay. Got to go. Nice to meet you Cathair even if you have legs like a tree.” He sprinted off in a mad dash of sexy limbs and flying hair.

“You’d better come into the living room for a few minutes,” Vassago was doing his best not to laugh. “Now you can say you’ve met Luke, one of our bears and Ollie, of course.”

“Luke’s special,” Cathair agreed. “He has a good vibe about him.”

“He does, and he’s our best tracker,” Adair said, “but it was him Shawn was referring to when he said some of our members will be curious about you. If Luke hadn’t been worrying about Ollie, he would have bombarded you with questions about anything from do you have wings and what you ate for breakfast.”

“Well, I do have wings as a matter of fact,” Cathair said, sitting in the couch Adair indicated, “and I imagine I eat the same things for breakfast he does. But speaking of food, is there any chance I can get a drink? Just an orange juice if you have it. I don’t have a problem being a bear bed until Luke gets home, wherever that is, but I am parched. It was a dusty ride.”

“You ride? As in motorcycles? Oh, you are going to fit right in here,” Vassago said, plopping down beside him as Adair headed for the kitchen. “So, where is it? Your bike, I mean?”

“Outside the wards.” Cathair winced. “You gave me a ten second window. I didn’t want to take the chance my bike would be caught by the wards and I figured roaring up the driveway on it would probably stir your protective instincts.”

Vassago closed his eyes. “Red Harley complete with gold flames on the tank?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Because a couple of drunk punks are trying to steal it,” Vassago laughed. “Hang on.” He flicked his finger, first one way and then the other. “There, it’s parked outside the house now.”

“You just zapped it away from humans?”

“Not until I zapped them and their beat up rust bucket over to the other side of the forest,” Vassago shook his head, his smile still wide. “They’re going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning and will probably figure they dreamed it all.”

“Thanks.” Cathair leaned back enjoying the warmth of the cub in his arms, feeling strangely relaxed and invigorated. Cloverleah is certainly a unique place, he thought. Maybe I will fit in here.