We couldn't let Caspar leave without a proper good bye. It had been a couple years since his big old bear form had lumbered into our lives, and now it was hard to imagine our pack without him. He'd softened in those years, though he still lived mostly on his own in the woods. He was there for every event. He was our early warning system. He was our light into the future. And now he was leaving.

No one felt the weight of his leaving more than Asher. Caspar had been the one to tell him he would be our pack leader. Caspar had brought Asher his mate, Jesse. He was the cornerstone our pack was built on, and we were only realizing it now as he was being yanked away from us. I knew my brother well enough to practically hear the concerns running through his mind. What if he was only a good leader because of Caspar? Who was he going to turn to when he needed to consult someone? 

I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. I should have stepped up and shouldered some of my brother's burden over the past few years. It had been too easy to simply let others do so. I was the jokester. The class clown. No one expected much of me, and I didn't expect much of myself. No wonder Asher got so frustrated with me at times. I needed to grow the fuck up.

Ryeth touched my mind with a warm feeling of acceptance. You're growing up right now. And for what it's worth, as someone who is a few thousand years old, your immaturity never annoyed me more than any other human your age.

Ryeth's teasing broke my mopey mood. Okay, grandpa.

Jesse had taken charge, directing us like his mini army as we prepared an impromptu-farewell feast. It wasn't what any of us would have preferred, but the threats looming over our heads meant we really didn't have any time to spare. But we would spare a few moments for this. 

Everyone relocated to Ryan's, as he had the most seating and largest kitchen, and within a half hour, we had a giant pot of macaroni and cheese and several bags of steamed vegetables. The kids wandered in and out of the dining room but kept to the living room for the most part, with the few infants resting on parents' shoulders or in portable chair thingies. 

Once everyone was seated and food was on the table, Asher stood, lifting his glass of iced tea. "Caspar..." He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. I stood up next to my brother with my glass and touched his arm, taking over for him.

"Caspar, we all thought you were crazy when we first met you. Well, we weren't wrong." Soft chuckles circled the room. "But we're all a little crazy here, and that's what made you fit in. Your absence is going to leave a hole in our pack. A very, very large hole." More laughter, and Caspar shifted uncomfortably under the attention, but not the joking, I didn't think. "We all stand by Asher's words earlier. This is your home. Whether you choose to live in a house or not. Home is people. And you can and will come back to us as soon as you can." I lifted my glass. "To Caspar."

The room echoed me, and Caspar stood, no glass in hand, head bowed.

"I don't think you can understand what this pack... what you all have been to me. I..." He cleared his throat, having a little more success than Asher had in putting his thoughts to words. "I did not have an easy life before meeting you. Nor did I have an easy life after meeting you." The laughs at his teasing were louder, given that we didn't expect it from him. "But my life has been very full. Life is always confusing, and there are so many paths, not all of them ending well. When I chose the path that lead me to you, I thought it was so that I could help you. I thought that was my responsibility, that you would save the world and I would be by your sides. You are going to save the world, but I will not be there. I realized, though, that it wasn't you who needed me, it was I who needed you. I do not leave willingly. Perhaps as Ryeth says, this path is fixed in time, but I hope that one of its branches brings me back home soon." A decidedly mischievous smile crossed Caspar's face. "Thankfully, I don't need to be present in body to be able to see the trouble your child is going to give you." He nodded at Ryeth. "Let me be the first to offer my congratulations."

Silence fell over the room as everyone turned their attention to Ryeth and me. "I don't... we're not... are we?" I sputtered. We'd only had sex just that morning. How could Caspar know already?

Ryeth looked puzzled for a moment, looking down at his stomach, then nodded. "Well. That was unintended."