“They are coming!” 

Alex laughed at the excitement in his son’s voice as the seven year old Tyler came crashing into him.  He managed to brace himself and hugged the wriggling body close to him for as long as he held still.

“Yes; they are finally coming again.”  He agreed when Tyler started bouncing up and down in excitement.

A frown flashed across his face.  “No dad,” he corrected his father.  “They are here; they are just past the broken tree.”

“Who?”  Alex asked.  Now that his brothers were all alphas of their own pack; he found he could not broadcast to them like he used to when they were still part of his own pack.  He had to connect with the individual brother if he wanted to speak to him.

“Ricky, Graham and Genna!”

[Brian; you there?]  He sent a quick query off not really expecting an answer.

[Yeah; how on earth did you know?]  Brian’s mental voice held plenty surprise.

Alex looked down at his son.  [Tell you later.  Just move it for now!]

[Sure thing; the kids are going pretty wild right now.  They can’t wait to see their cousins again.  It has been too long.]

“How did you know they were here?”  He asked his son.

“I listened for them.”  Was the clever reply he received.

Tyler got his hair all ruffled by his dad and he tried to duck away from his father’s long arms.  “What were you listening for Ty?”

Tyler frowned up at his dad with an uncertain look in his young eyes.  “Don’t know.  It’s kinda hard to say.”

As reassuringly as he could; Alex grinned down at the son that would one day be taking over from him as alpha.  “Tell me what you heard when you listened for them.”

“Well; uncle Brain has this buzzing sound; you know; like bees?”  He looked at his dad to make sure he understood before going on.  “Sometimes he had a busy buzz; but right now it is quieter.  And Sam sounds like soft rain.  Except when she is angry; then she sounds like a thunderstorm.”

As Tyler carried on explaining how he heard his uncle; aunt and cousins; Alex tried remembering if he had ever perceived people as sounds while he listened to his son.  He and Cassy had joked before saying that Tyler was very sensitive to other people.  They had always put this intuitive ‘talent’ of their son down to the doting parent syndrome.  Perhaps they were wrong in not looking at this deeper.  If Tyler could really sense Brian, Sam and the kids from so far; he and Cassy should look into it.  But not right now; his werewolf hearing was telling him that his brother was driving into the pack grounds from the other side.

[They’re here!]  He sent to Cassy as he grabbed Tyler by the hand and swung the squealing boy onto his shoulders.  By the time he arrived at their home; Cassy was waiting out front with the rest of their kids; Rebeccah and Audrey; Tyler’s triplet sisters; then there was the four year old Sean and one year old Ellie hanging on to her mother’s jeans to keep up straight.  She had no idea what the commotion was all about; but if the brothers and sisters were excited; then so was she.

Alex looked at Cassy’s face and chuckled softly; if the kids were excited then Cassy was over excited.  It had been too long since the whole family had been here at the same time.  It was his thirtieth birthday; and where he would rather keep it quiet and low key; Cassy insisted on going big.  And when Cassy went big; it was BIG!

Brian and Sam would be the first to arrive; Ethan and Lucy were hot on their tails – literally; and Conrad and Grace should arrive just before dinner.  The rest were only expected to arrive tomorrow; but by lunch time; they should all be here.  Just imagine; for the fist time in almost five years they would all be here at the same time.  This was going to be like old times again.

When they could see the car coming through the houses; the whole family stepped down from the porch and walked to where the car would be stopping.

The engine was still running when Ricky burst through his door; nearly flying out in his hurry to be the first to greet his cousins.  He reached Tyler and without any embarrassment; hugged him warmly.  Tyler returned the hug with enthusiasm.  Both boys were lavishly awarded loving attention from their fathers so they did not think anything of it to show affection to each other in much the same way.  As Ricky moved away to greet the rest of his cousins; Tyler greeted Graham and Genna.  Little Nicola was shyly trying to stay out of sight behind her mother as the parents greeted each other.  With a little coaxing from Tyler she let go of her mother’s blouse and grabbed hold of his hand. 

When Sam felt the gentle pressure on her blouse fall away; she looked around to see if Nicola had fallen or something.  Her eyes popped wide open when she saw her youngest child totter off; merrily chatting up a storm as Tyler listened attentively to her incoherent blabbering.

Alex’s attention was claimed by each and every one of the nine kids before he got to greet his brother properly.

“You’re looking good.”  He told Brian as he pulled him close and hugged him.

Brian clenched his brother’s shirt in his hands for a moment.  “It’s good to be back again.  Even if things are going to be a bit crowded this time with all of us here.”

“Tell me about it.”  Alex rolled his eyes as the two of them followed their noisy families to the house.  “Cassy had been baking non stop.  Even the kids are tired of helping with the baking and the rolling and the icing.”

“At least she had five pairs of hands helping.”

“Uh-uh.  Four.  Ellie breaks cookies more than anything else. She doesn’t quite understand that …”

What he was going to say was cut off when the girl they were talking about stumbled over her own chubby feet and plopped down.  The undignified surprise on her face made everybody laugh; which made her giggle so hard that she fell over.  Tyler dragged Nicola to where Ellie was rolling around on the grass and he plopped down and joined her.  In next to no time all the kids were rolling around on the grass; laughing hysterically as they each tried to be even sillier than the others.

Cassy shook her head at them as she carefully climbed over the wreathing mass of tiny bodies on her way into the house.  But not before flashing Alex a scathing gaze; as if she held him responsible for their behavior.  “Hooligans; that’s what they are.”

Sam bent to pick Ellie up; but Alex stopped her.  “Let her play for a while.”

When Sam looked unsure; he hooked his arm through hers.  “Don’t worry; Tyler is here; he will watch over her.”  Reluctantly Sam followed them in promising herself that she would just check up on the kids in a little while.

The adults sat in the kitchen over cookies and coffee while Rebeccah and Audrey had come to get a whole tub full of cookies for the kids.  It was almost time for Ethan and Lucy to arrive when Brian went looking for Nicola.  He found the kids playing outside by the trees.  Tyler was sitting against a tree with Ellie wrapped up in one arm while Nicola was snuggled on a … was that a table cloth? - while she had her head on his thigh.  Both girls were fast asleep as Tyler sat there watching the rest of his cousins’ play with his siblings.

Tyler must have sensed someone looking at him because he looked up at Brian and smiled at him.  Brian could not help but return the boy’s smile with one of his own as he went to pick up his daughter. 

“Aunt Lucy just phoned; they are leaving town now and should be here in about half an hour.”

When Brian had Nicola; Tyler shifted slightly; getting a firmer grip on Ellie; then he stood up with her in his arms and followed his uncle inside before the other kids could wake the sleeping ones with their loud and excited yelling.

Tyler made sure Ellie was safe before he checked to make sure Brian didn’t need anything for Nicola.  By the time they were back downstairs; Ethan had just switched of the engine.  Both males rushed to join the rest of their families as they welcomed the latest arrivals.

Lucy and Ethan’s two eldest children were eager to stretch their legs after the long trip.  The one year old Hank was so fast asleep and unimpressed with the current company that he did not bother waking up.  When Lucy took him from the baby seat; Tyler grabbed the nappy bag from Ethan and followed her upstairs to Ethan’s old room.  The only reaction Hank had to being transferred onto the bed was a sleepy smile that dimpled his cheek.

“How cute is that?”

Lucy smiled as Cassy walked over and sat down at the bottom of the bed as she made sure her baby was comfortable.

“I know.”  Lucy said with a chuckle.  “I try my best all day to get the little monster to smile just so I can see that teeny dimple.”  Her fingers lovingly traced the red and puffy cheeks of the sleeping child.

“So;” Lucy began as she turned to face Cassy; “are you planning on adding onto your family again?”

Cassy rolled her eyes playfully as she hugged Tyler.  “We have spoken about it; but we have agreed to wait until Ellie is about two or three before we try again.  And you?”

Lucy shrugged and giggled softly.  “I haven’t stopped speaking about anything else since you started planning Alex’s party.”

“Really?”  Cassy asked surprised.

“Yeah; the other kids were all conceived here and I thought it would be great to carry on in that tradition.”

The two girls smiled with each other.  “And what does Ethan have to say about all of this?”

“Well; he won’t admit it out loud; but I think he kinda likes the idea.  Although I do get the feeling that he would have preferred a longer gap this time.  But who knows when we will be visiting again?”

“Darn girl!”  Cassy said as she stood up to walk with Lucy.  “That right there would be a dandy excuse to come visiting again.”  She flashed her sister a saucy wink.  “I am sure Alex would not have any objections at all if you came for more frequent visits.  And neither would Rudi.  He misses you sometimes you know?  And the next time my dad and your mom comes visiting; you have to be here.  You are the only sister that I have a double connection to.  My sister-in-law and my step sister.”

Lucy gave Cassy a one armed hug as they went downstairs to have a light lunch.  After lunch Lucy and Ethan left their kids in Cassy’s care and took a walk over to Dinah where they visited for about two hours until Rudi came home.  Rudi greeted his sister and Ethan before taking a quick shower.  Then they all left to go to the pack house to wait until Conrad and Grace arrived.

That night it took all eight adults to make sure the kids were in bed and quiet.  They were all so hyped up that they trouble calming down enough to go to sleep.

“Perhaps tomorrow night you can let us all sleep in the play room.  That way we can all be together. It should be easier.”

Cassy frowned down at her son playfully before smiling softly at him.  “I know you missed them terribly; and if you still think it is a good idea by tomorrow night; we can talk about it again; OK?”

“Ok.”  Tyler said while he yawned.  He watched as his mother left the room, switching the light off on her way out.  As he snuggled into the cool bed he sent soothing thoughts to all the kids, hoping they would calm down soon and sleep.  Tomorrow the other cousins would arrive.  A huge grin covered his face before a yawn distorted it.  Tomorrow will be so much fun!

After five days of having the whole family together they were all going to be leaving today.  They would have breakfast, say their goodbyes and then leave.  Cassy sighed and stuck her head into Alex’s shoulder.  Heaven knows it was hectic enough with just the brothers and their mates; the kids made it frantic to say the least.  And still she was going to miss it.

Alex moved beside her; his hand brushing against her as it instinctively found her waist and pulled her closer.  His lips found the hollow under her ear and he kissed her lovingly.

“Mornin’ Love.”  His breath tickled her neck in a delicious way that sent heat rushing through her veins.

“Morning to you too.”  Cassy whispered as she pursed her lips against his shoulder.

His eyes pierced into hers and because he knew her so well; he could see the sadness in them.  “They will be back again soon.”

“I know.”  Cassy sighed.  “It will just be so long before they are here all at the same time again.”

“You will just have to be more creative and come up with good excuses for them to all be here together then.”

Cassy almost missed the lightning fast flicker in his eyes.  “What?”  She asked as she moved away from him so that she could look at him properly.

“Tyler.”  Alex said after a short hesitation.  “I am afraid that he will be missing them a lot more now after having them all here at the same time.”

Not saying a word she thought back at the time when Brian and Sam had left to start working at their own pack grounds.  She had been thrilled for Brian that he had been one of the first new alphas to get his own pack.  But what them leaving did to Tyler she would never be able to forget.  He had been inconsolable.

That first week had almost made her ask them to bring Ricky back.  But she had persevered.  She and Alex had to take turns to try and keep their son happy.  It had taken every trick in her book to help him over the separation.  Much the same had happened with the others as they had moved out and away.  When that couple had children it was worse; but luckily none were as bad as with Ricky.

With all the time he had been spending with his cousins; strengthening their bond; she was afraid that it might be too much to handle.  Not for Tyler but for her.  How was she going to cope if her son reacted the same way he did then with all of them leaving at once?

“Don’t worry my love; we will manage; I am sure.  It might be tough for us; but we will have to be strong for him.  Besides; I have this funny feeling that he will be OK this time.”

Cassy sat up straight and looked at him in surprise as her eyes searched his.  “There is something you have not been telling me.  I have sensed it this whole weekend.”

Alex grimaced as he sat up as well.  He drew her back into his arms as he let his head rest on hers.  “He said something that first day when Brian was almost here.”  He sighed softly as he thought about his son’s words of that day.  “Cassy; have you ever heard of someone sensing other shifters as a noise or sound?”

“Not a scent?”

“No; a sound.”  He confirmed as he ran his fingers up and down her arms soothingly.

“No; I don’t think I have ever heard of something like before; why are you asking?”

“Remember when Brian and Sam arrived?”  He waited until she nodded.  “Somehow Tyler knew they had arrived; he told me they were here.  After I checked to see if Brian was close by; I asked him about that.  He told me that he had been listening for them and that he knew it was them because Brian buzzes like and Sam sounds like soft rain.”

Cassy chuckled at that.  No matter how crazy it sounded; the possible sounds they made sounded so much like them that it was hard to doubt.  “Buzzing and rain?”

Alex knew that she asked that particular question because she needed time to process the other part of the question first.  “Fitting isn’t it?”

“Very.”  Cassy said as she wondered about how Tyler would have been able to sense them on a completely different way than she was used to.  “What else did he say?”

“Not much.”  Alex shrugged.  “Brian and Sam were practically here and I needed some time to figure this out before asking any questions.”

“And did it help?”  Cassy asked sarcastically.

“Nope.”  Alex admitted knowing exactly why she was sarcastic.  Normally he would have shared his concerns with her; but he didn’t this time.  He had wanted her to enjoy the weekend without adding unnecessary stress or worries.  When she rolled her eyes at him he smiled at her.  “Besides; this wasn’t urgent.  If it was I would have shared it with you.”

Cassy realized the truth of his statement.  “This is something we are going to have to look into.  Test him to see if this was just a once off thing or if it is going to be a regular thing for him.”

“Yes.  We will also have to see if it is only a family thing or if he can sense everybody.  For his sake I hope it is only family.  If it isn’t; it could become too much for him as he grows up.”