Bruin walked up the drive and into the main engine bay of the Serenity Fire Department Headquarters. He didn’t really need to come in this way. There was a service entrance much closer to his office. But after spending the last few months away traveling he wanted to see the heart of the fire station. He wanted to see the gleaming red engines, the piles of equipment perfectly cleaned and organized and the duty station full of males ready to respond to a call at a moment’s notice.

 

He had hoped for at least few seconds to himself, but the instant he walked in he was swarmed by bearen. “Chief! Bruin! You’re back! Great to see you!” Greetings rang out from all sides as the bearen dropped everything to talk to him. Before he knew it he was surrounded by a mass of bearen shaking his hand and clapping him on the back. It seemed like they really did miss him.

 

He laughed out loud as the bearen swarmed him, their happiness and good nature rubbing off on him immediately. He had missed everyone here. It was good to be home. He had been doing important work out of town, but he had really missed this place. More so than he could have imagined. He would never get used to being called chief though. That still didn’t feel real.

 

Still shaking hands and greeting everyone who came by, seemingly every single bearen inside the station, he made his way through the station and up into the headquarters, slowly working his way towards his office. As he reached the command center where dispatch was monitoring all the activity of the entire Fire Department he slowed to a stop. Bearen packed the hallways and the main room, slowing his progress until he couldn’t move any further. Word had spread fast, and everyone wanted to see him.

 

A chant started building slowly, coming from the back of the crowd, then getting louder until all the bearen were chanting together. “Speech, speech, speech!” Bruin felt his cheeks grow red. Even after months of speaking to all kinds of strangers he still wasn’t comfortable in front of crowds. He preferred quiet conversations with friends and family. But he was the BOGI. And the Fire Chief. He didn’t have much of a choice. This sort of thing came with the territory. He sighed. Rhen had chosen something different, something bigger, for him, whether he liked it or not. If he was going to be the chief he owed it to these males to give them what they needed.

 

So he guessed he was going to have to give a speech. He held both hands up, calling for quiet. The crowd slowly quieted, waiting for him to speak. He lowered his hands and looked around, at all the males who were counting on him, all the bearen who needed him more than ever. He didn’t like giving speeches, but he knew what he had to do.

 

“All of you know I’ve spent the last few months traveling. I’ve been all over the country and all over the world. I’ve seen some amazing things and met some incredible bearen.” He paused, looking around, meeting the eyes of the bearen as they listened, silent. “But nothing I’ve seen has compared to our home, right here in Serenity. And none of those bearen, great as they are, can hold a candle to the folks right here in Serenity. You males are the best of the best, every single one of you. And I’m prouder and happier to be home than you can possibly imagine.”

 

The bearen erupted into cheers as he finished, calling out his name and clapping as he looked around. It was simple but true. There was no place he would rather be than here, no bearen he would rather be with than these males.

 

____________________

 

Speech given and hands shaken, Bruin finally made it to his office. It was much later than he had hoped but it was worth it to reconnect with the males here. He sat at his desk and eyed the huge pile of papers in front of him distastefully. Besides, it was far better than doing paperwork. He sighed, looking around. Maybe he should have a snack first before he got started? He had to have stashed something good in here before he left. Maybe there was still a jar of last fall’s honey somewhere on the shelf? He got up from the desk, turning hopefully to the large shelf behind him when a knock at the door interrupted him.

 

He sighed again. Now that he had thought about it he really did want that honey. Willow had said it was the best fall batch in years. He didn’t know about that, but he did know it was amazing. Dark, rich and malty with sweet undertones of all the best fall flavors, apple pie, pumpkin pie and cinnamon. He sighed. He was going to be thinking about that jar of honey all day.

 

As he thought about the special jar he remembered a little bit more about it. A little bit more about why he had liked it so much. Willow had brought the jar to him so that he would be the first to taste it, and she had fed it to him in bed. He remembered the way she had looked, completely naked with nothing but a jar of honey and a spoon. Perfection. He felt a rumbling sound coming from his chest. He was purring. The memory alone was enough to get his heart racing.

 

Before he got too lost in the memory the knock sounded again, bringing him back to reality, back to his office. Where there was no apparently no honey and definitely no Willow. Sigh.

 

He turned back to the door. Apparently whoever was knocking wasn’t going to go away. He might as well answer and get this over with. Then he could go back to looking for his honey. Besides, they might have a snack for him. He called out. “Come in.”

 

The door opened and a big male walked in. He was younger but still broad and strong, and fully filled out. Bruin grinned to see him. “Silas! Come in.” He was glad to see this male. Of all the younger males, he was the one that most reminded Bruin of himself. He was a bit of an outsider, but still always helpful. And the male was as fierce as they came. He would do well with the wolven. Silas didn’t look happy though. He didn’t return Bruin’s grin. Instead he ran a big hand through his wavy brown hair and looked down at the floor.

 

Bruin sighed. He could tell what was coming. He should have known this wouldn’t be easy. He had forgotten how much of an outcast he had been when he started spending time with the wolven. Not just an outsider. He should have known the other bearen would think an assignment with the wolven was punishment.

 

Without looking up, Silas launched right into his complaint. “Chief. I really don’t understand what I did. Why do I have to go work with the wolven? I like it here. And Conri said I’ve been doing really well. The wolven are all rough and rowdy and unpredictable and they’re always messing around. What if they make fun of me?”

 

Bruin frowned. That wasn’t exactly what he had expected. “Why would they make fun of you?” Silas looked up, finally meeting his eyes. “They make fun of all of us. That’s what Brandon told me.” Bruin shook his head. This was so not worth interrupting his search for honey. But having a liaison with the wolven was important. Wade had big plans for the KSRT. They needed new, strong males to increase their numbers now that the One True Mates had been found. And the bearen needed to be a part of that. They owed it to the wolven and to themselves. Silas was going to join up with them one way or another. It would be best for him and for all the shiften. Bruin just had to help him see that.

 

He pointed at one of the chairs across from his desk as he slowly eased back into his own chair, still glancing back towards the bookshelves behind him. He was sure he had put at least one jar of the fall honey there… Maybe this wouldn’t take that long. He had already heard the gist of it anyway. He perked up as a thought came to him. Silas was a promising young male, and his pants had lots of pockets. Maybe he had some honey, or at least some cookies or something sweet. That was enough to make Bruin grin, his optimism restored.

 

“Silas. Sit.”