Tyler spent the next three days with Benjamin in the forest.  Making sure he could shift easily and that he was comfortable enough in both forms.  But mostly, he just listened.  And helped Benjamin make some sense of what his new life was going to be like.  Males from the pack brought them some clothing and food, as well as a tent and some other camping equipment if they felt like sleeping like humans for a change.

Once the alpha was satisfied that Benjamin would not revert, he invited them back to the pack.  By the time they reached the pack grounds, every single member of that pack was there to welcome Benjamin in silence as he walked onto the pack grounds beside their alpha; a path forming as it lead up to the pack house.

The clapping started off slowly, reverently; and as the ‘procession’ moved further along the path, it became more enthusiastic and soon it was such a loud cheering that the birds in the surrounding area flew away startled.

Benjamin was surprised at their support and he smiled at them timidly but as their enthusiasm grew, so did his and his smile grew and soon the people standing closest were shaking his hand and welcoming him to their pack.  After all, he was a symbol of new things for their species; a complete new beginning and they were thrilled that he had accepted their alpha’s offer to stay on at their pack.

While he followed the procession Tyler was feeling relieved that what could have been a sad and potentially tense situation had become a huge celebration that threatened to take on gigantic proportions judging from the way the females were discussing what foods to prepare.  And Tyler was right.  The whole day turned into an event of joyful festivities and he had a hard time staying out of the limelight.

Tyler waited for two more days before he left for home.  Overall, he had never felt this positive about his contribution and he could not wait to tell Mandy that she had been right.  When he arrived home late in the afternoon, he did no more than greet his parents before asking Rudi to send Mandy over.

[Good news?]  Rudi asked as he walked over to Mandy’s room.

[Yes!  You can come along too.]

Rudi’s whole family poured into the kitchen within a few minutes, all of them eager to hear what had happened.

“Ty!”  Mandy jumped into his open arms and her thin arms almost choked him in her excitement at seeing him so soon after he had left.

“Hey squirt, let me breathe girl!”  He pleaded as he playfully pretended to pass out.

Mandy rolled her eyes at him when she eventually loosened her grip and dropped to her feet.

“So, what’s up?”

Rudi drew in a hesitant breath, was Tyler going to tell her now that she was his mate?

Tyler took her hand in his, smiling at her brightly.  “I have something I want to tell you.  Actually, I want you to meet somebody.”

“Meet someone?”  Her face was puzzled and her brows scrunched together.

In an automatic response, Tyler smoothed out all the lines between her eyes before nodding eagerly.  “Yes.  I want you to meet Benjamin.”

With his hands on her shoulders, he turned her around so that she was facing a stranger she hand not even noticed was there.  She looked this Benjamin chap up and down frowning.  “Yes ..?”

Tyler grinned at the question in her voice.  “Benjamin, was up until recently … a rabid wolf.”

Her head whipped back to him, her eyes shining brilliantly.  “Really?”

Smiling down at her he was so glad that he had thought of bringing Benjamin back to meet the girl who had indirectly saved his life.  “Yep!”

Mandy barreled into him so hard he had to step back to stay on his feet before he grabbed her and swung her around, making everybody else duck to miss her flying feet in a hurry.

“Hey!  Stop monkeying around in my kitchen!”  Cassy yelled at them, only half serious.

With a sheepish smile he flashed an apologetic look at his mother as he put Mandy down.  As soon as her feet touched the floor, she ran up to Benjamin and gave him a hug.

Benjamin grunted in surprise and she planted her hands in her sides as she studied him.

Taking a good look at the snip of a girl in front of him, Benjamin could hardly believe he owed his life to her.  But if that is what Tyler said, then that is what it is.  That much he knew.  There was still so much to learn about this crazy new world he had been thrown in at the deep end, but the one thing he felt one hundred and ten percent sure about, was that he could trust Tyler.  Tentatively he reached his hand out to her.  “Thank you.”

The words he spoke were simple and plain words, yet they carried the world in meaning; to all of the people standing in the kitchen.

“It’s OK,” Mandy spoke shyly after shaking his hand quickly as she crept in under Tyler’s arm.  “I’m just glad it worked.”

“So am I.”  Benjamin added with a grateful smile.

Shortly he had to answer questions left, right and centre and soon all the attention was on him.  Leaving Tyler free to drag Mandy out of the kitchen by her hand to sit in the den with him as he had to tell her over and over exactly what had happened.

When Rudi came looking for his daughter when it was time to leave, he found her fast asleep on a sleeping Tyler’s lap.  Taking care not to wake either of them he lifted Mandy up; or rather tried to.  As soon as Tyler felt her moving, he tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer to him.  The weight of a hand touching his shoulder woke Tyler immediately.

“Tyler, let her go.  I have to take her home.”

Fighting hard not to growl at Rudi, he forced his hands to release his small mate into the care of her father.

“Go and get some sleep son.”  Rudi said softly before leaving with his daughter in his arms.

About three hours later Tyler wished he had gone straight to bed.  Instead, he had gone to the kitchen looking for something to nibble on, and got sidetracked into discussing Benjamin’s change with his parents and Sean.

Alex asked how Benjamin became infected, and Tyler told them that Benjamin could not recall.  He told them that Benjamin had become a ‘street kid’ after the death of his parents left him with no family.  He had been put up in foster care, but they had not been screened properly, and within a year, after being abused for nearly that amount of time, he left one night and never went back.

He soon fell in with the wrong group of kids and within a short time, he was stealing to support his drug habit.  The last thing he can remember happening, was taking a hit and blacking out.  For the next who know how many days, weeks or months, he thought he was on a bad trip.  He could only start thinking rationally after Tyler had bitten him; and that is all he knows.  How and what exactly happened, is still a mystery to him.

Cassy was a bit disappointed that they did not get any useful information, but Tyler refused to let that get to him.  He was not forced to kill so that others could be safe anymore and he was confident that they would get lucky, somewhere along the way.

Feeling rather pleased with the way things had turned out, Alex was grateful to see that Tyler was so positive about the role he had assigned himself.  He had worried about his son so much for so long and he was glad that Tyler was finally more at peace.

Actually, Tyler was so happy that he left the next day to drop Benjamin off on his way to a pack that had called about spotting a rabid wolf in their territory.  He kept himself so busy that he hardly had time to visit with his family anymore.  Most of his time at home was spent sleeping close to Mandy because he was so exhausted all the time.  The further the news spread, the more Tyler had to go around saving rabid wolves.  Not that he minded; he just wished that it actually brought him closer to finding a solution to end this for once and all.  No matter how many wolves he saved, none of them could tell him more than he already knew, although the circumstances were varied, and it was starting to get to him.

His frustration grew and eventually he became so frustrated that he drove himself relentlessly to do more and more, and even more.

It was well after his twenty first birthday that a tired, weary and frustrated Tyler reached his home in the middle of the night.  He only let his dad know that he was in before he went up to his room and collapsed on his bed.  Feeling only marginally better, he dragged his tired bones out of his bed so that he could see the fourteen year old Mandy off to school like he normally did.  No matter how lousy he was feeling; he would never miss out on any time with her.  That was still the only thing that kept him sane in this madhouse that he called his life.  A tired smile brightened his face marginally in anticipation as he heard her laughing in the kitchen and as he always did; he opened the door to walk right in.

Before he could put one foot inside, a scent so delectable, so edible and oh so tempting; hit him and shook him up like he was a leaf in a tornado.  It jumbled all of his senses until he wasn’t even sure about his name.

Gone was the sweet and innocent smell of fresh snow that normally surrounded his young mate and in its place was the most captivating scent he had ever come across and he had to hold on tightly to the door post to keep him from doing something he would certainly regret.  The longer he stood there breathing in the scent he could not get enough of, the harder it became for him to think clearly.

Rudi gritted his teeth as he took in the condition of the young man standing in his door.  As far as he could recall he had never seen Tyler react this way to any of the other girls going into season for the first time.  He half rose out of his chair in case he had to step in.  Not that he would be able to do much against Tyler, the kid was huge!  Of all the times for her to grow up and go into season for the first time, did it have to be now?  Hell, of all the times he could come along, did it have to be now?

Different feelings and emotions crashed over Tyler like a tidal wave as he could see only her.  Nothing else at all existed for him anymore.  Nothing.  His whole life had been leading him to this point; to this girl who was turning into a woman at last.  He had heard his brother and cousins speak about needing and wanting their mates, but he had somehow never been able to grasp the precise meaning or their words.  Now, with clarity, he understood everything they had spoken of.

Everything about her enticed him.  Her scent made him believe he had never breathed before today.  If he could not breathe in her scent, there was no point in breathing.  If he could not hold her and feel her heart beating against his, there was no reason for his heart to carry on beating.  And if she was not part of his life, there was no reason for him to carry on any more.  Before this moment, he had thought his purpose in life was to do something about the rabid wolves, now he realized that he was put here on this earth, so that Mandy could be loved and cherished by him.  She was the reason for him being here.

Al of this took but a second to flash through his mind.  Still hanging on to the door frame for his dear life, he did not miss the confused look on her face.  That confusion changed to a thoughtful expression, and then he could see the shock reflected in her eyes.

Mandy shook her head in denial as she stood up and walked closer to him and when Rudi held out an arm to stop her from getting too close, Tyler growled at Rudi in warning.  Mandy narrowed her eyes at him as she stopped right in front of him, her fists balled tightly.  Slowly the shock faded away and it nearly broke him in two to see her pleading at him with her eyes.

“Please, tell me I am wrong.  Please tell me I am not your mate.”

Tyler made sure he had a good grip on the door frame to keep him from sweeping her into his arms where he wanted to keep her as close to him as possible.  Shaking his head slowly he could not stop from telling her the truth.  “I can’t.”

His whispered words hung in the air like a storm threatening to break loose; very much the same way her eyes and face clouded up and Tyler could do nothing to stop the panic from rising in him.

Shaking her head, Mandy stepped back, away from him.  “No, it can’t be.”  She muttered softly.  “You wouldn’t do that to me.  You couldn’t!” Her body started shaking and she stepped further away from him.  “You wouldn’t keep something like that from me.  Not for so long.  Not for four whole years!”

Tyler grimaced.

With her eyes on his face, she didn’t miss it and the look of disbelief on her face turned to weariness.

“How long?”

Her voice was ice cold when she spoke and it sent shivers down his spine.  He did not reply soon enough and she asked again.

“How long Tyler?  How long have you been keeping this a secret from me?”  Angry, she walked right up to him and almost shoved her face in his.  “How long have you been lying to me?”

“I haven’t lied …”

“How long?”  She insisted.

Tyler shuffled on his feet.  “Since the day you were born.”

Mandy gasped softly as she stepped away from him, anger and sorrow raging in her eyes and face.  “And you have been lying to me al this time?”

“I haven’t lied to you!”

“How can you stand here and dare say that to me?!”

“Because I have not lied to you!”  Tyler pleaded with her to understand.

“If you had not told me the truth, you lied to me Tyler.  You lied to me.”

Reaching to her with his hand he tried to ignore the pain he could sense coming from her.  “Mandy please, let me explain.”

“No.”  She could hardly speak as she choked the word out.

Tyler felt his heart break when she seemed to fall in on herself.  “Mandy, please.  Let me explain.”

Shaking her head she backed away from him, step by step.  Before she turned to leave the kitchen she looked into his eyes one last time.  “How can I ever trust you again?”

Tyler was left reeling.  His world came collapsing down around him.  With his mind he tried to reach out to her, to get a fix on her emotional state.  A gut wrenching ache tore through him, forcing him to his knees at the intensity and severity of her feelings.  Bringing down the wall he had built around him he let himself open to feel and hear her.  The agony she was feeling tore at his heart and he sank down onto the floor, dropping his head into his hands.  How could this have happened?  He did not know that she would take it this bad, and how could he have hurt her so much?

A hand on his shoulders made him look up.

“Come on up Tyler, you can’t sit around on the floor the whole day.”

“What have I done, Rudi?  What have I done?”

“Give her time son, OK?  Let her work through this first.  Then you can try and talk to her again.  But give her some time for now.”

Feeling numb, Tyler let Rudi walk him half way back home before he sent Rudi back to his own home.  “Go see to her, please.  If I can’t be there you should.”

Rudi left him after a short hesitation, anxious to make sure his daughter was alright.

In a daze Tyler walked back to his home, stumbling on the steps and not even caring that there might have been someone there to see him stumble.  He reached his room and fell onto his bed.  Closing his eyes he tried to reach through the fury in her mind to see how she was doing and he groaned when he could get nothing else but anger from her.

The usual pleasant breeze sound she carried with her had become a hurricane; changing the shape of everything around it while the fury boiling inside her flared like a sun gone super nova.  For who know how long he listened to her and eventually, he felt the level of her rage subside.  But not by much.  An hour later Tyler debated going back to her to see if he could get her to listen to him, and that is when he felt it.  Brick by brick she built up a wall in her mind, shutting him out bit by bit until he could feel nothing from her anymore.