"It's just me, love, go back to sleep," Loki's voice bid you when he entered his room much later that night. You had stirred when the door opened. You barely noticed when he entered your room, but the wolf was more aware in her sleep away from her own bed. You closed your eyes again, reassured that it was just him. He came over and placed a hand on your forehead. "Much better," his voice was soft and warm. His hand was still cold against your skin, but not as bad as it had been. He joined you in the bed a minute later and you curled yourself around him, stealing his cold and using his bare chest as a pillow. He chuckled and petted your hair. "Incorrigible cuddler," he teased.

"Love you too," you murmured.

*

"Time to wake up, little wolf. We need to leave soon," Loki's voice roused you the next morning. You opened your eyes and found that you were exactly where you'd been the night before, curled around Loki stealing his cold, using his chest as a pillow, listening to his heartbeat.

"We're leaving?" you asked him softly, working to get your brain awake enough to focus. He chuckled and kissed the top of your head.

"Yes, we cannot stay in bed all day," he replied. You groaned about it, but finally sat up. He sat up quickly before you could fwump back on him and trap him in a cuddle again. He got out of the bed and pulled you with him. He handed you a pile of clothes. You recognized that the jeans had been rescued from your dresser. The shirt was his. "Get dressed. We're leaving as soon as we've eaten," he told you.

"You're bossy," you teased him, sticking your tongue out at him. "That's dangerous on the day of the full moon," you reminded him. Tony had gotten defenestrated last month for toying with the wolf's temper.

"Lady Wolf likes me too much to harm me, unless I am being mean to you, which I am not. So stop stalling and go get dressed," he pushed you gently toward the bathroom. You stuck your tongue out at him again before you ducked into the bathroom to change. "Annoying puppy," you heard him grumble through the bathroom door. You laughed and got dressed, tying your hair up in a simple ponytail after you'd brushed it out. Loki was dressed as well by the time you'd reentered the main room. "You look lovely, darling," he told you and kissed your forehead.

"That's too close to a lie, Trickster," you scolded him, but gently since his lie was a nice one. "I'm in grungy jeans and a too-big t-shirt that I love because it's yours, and about three steps outside of this room away from a fever. I'm sure I look on the border of death. There is no way in the nine realms that I look 'lovely'," you teased, but leaned up to kiss him. "But I appreciate the lie,"

"My lady wounds me!" he exclaimed as he took your hand to lead you from the room. "I dare not lie to you. You always look lovely to me, darling." The last part was soft and caring, heartfilled and tender.

You groaned at the heat when you stepped out of his bedroom. "Are you sure we have to leave?" you whined, gripping his arm and laying your head on it.

"Yes, darling. I'm sure. It will help, I promise," he kept a firm grip on your hand and led you to the elevator and down to breakfast. He didn't say anything about you keeping your head pressed against his cool arm.

"Clint, those sausages better not be vegetarian," you snarled in the direction of the stove. The wolf did not want to be teased with fake meat today.

"Yours aren't," he replied, ignoring your short temper.

"The rest of us have to eat that vegetarian shit?" Tony demanded. You laughed at his misfortune and collected your plate of pancakes and real sausages from Clint. You kissed Clint's cheek for his consideration and gladly took your plate of breakfast to your usual spot at the dining room table. Tony glared at you for having real sausage. You smirked in reply. "Bitch," he grumbled. You glared at him and growled.

"Stark, do you really want to get thrown out of the window this morning?" Nat asked grouchily from next to Tony. "Because I'll do it for her if you don't stop teasing the wolf." Loki sat beside you, kissing the top of your head as he passed behind you to get to his spot. You smiled at him and placed half of your sausages on his plate. He hadn't gotten any of the vegetarian ones, but loved pancakes, so he had a huge stack of those.

"Thank you," he replied to your gesture. You smiled, glad he was happy, and devoured your stack of pancakes and sausages, adorably happy.

Thor glared at Tony when he opened his mouth. "Our wolf is happy on the day of the full moon. If whatever you plan on saying upsets her and you say it anyway, I will help her throw you through that window," Thor told him firmly.

"I don't need help," you replied pleasantly as you shoved more pancakes into your face.

Thor gave you a warm smile. "Of course you do not need the assistance, Lady Wolf," he replied with a head bow. "But it would be offered." You nodded and turned your attention back to your meal.

"Loki, do you have everything you need?" Cap asked when the meal was nearly over.

Loki inclined his head. "Nearly," he replied. You raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn't clarify.

"Don't wait too long," Cap replied just as cryptically. You glared down the table at both of them, but neither deigned to clarify. You yawned hugely when your breakfast was properly devoured.

"No going back to sleep," Loki told you firmly. You pouted at him, letting him see your exhaustion. It was so draining to be awake when the wolf just wanted to sleep and rest now so she could play tonight when the moon was out. "You can rest on the way," he promised, gentling his tone.

"On the way where?" you demanded.

"You'll see," he replied with a grin. "But we do need to get going," you sighed and stood with him to put your plates away. "I just need one more thing before we head out," you heard the mischievous grin in his voice, but didn't question it. He was usually silly and mischievous. He did hand you your shoes. You sighed and put them on quickly. He wouldn't leave you alone until you did. "One last thing," he summoned a beautiful fur lined cloak and draped it over your shoulders. "It's mine from Asgard," he explained as you cooed over the beautiful soft comfortably warm garment. You drew the cloak around you. Loki chuckled. "Adorable little wolf," he smiled, then before you knew what he was doing, he had bent to throw you over his shoulder, and had straightened with you secured over his shoulder before you could do anything about it. You yelped and tried to get your arms free of the cloak to protest the treatment.

"Loki! Put me down!" you protested indignantly.

He chuckled in reply. "Hush, love. I'm not hurting you," he told you gently.

"Was that the last thing you needed, brother?" Thor laughed. The others were all laughing at Loki's effective handling of the exhausted, short-tempered, argumentative werewolf.

"It was. We shall see you tomorrow," he bid everyone.

"Loki!~" You complained, but your voice sounded tired even to you.

"Hush," he replied, tightening his grip on your legs so you wouldn't fall.

"Take care of our wolf or you'll have the entire team to answer to," Nat threatened.

Loki agreed and turned, carrying you from the room over his shoulder. "Loki, put me down," you whined.

"Soon, darling," he answered softly. "Soon, I'll put you down and you can rest," he promised, promising exactly what you needed.

"I can walk," you protested feebly one last time for dignity's sake.

He chuckled. "And you would be stubborn, exhausted, and noncompliant the entire way. This is a much better solution. You're not the only one who protects what is theirs."

"I'm going to bite you," you grumbled at him. He chuckled, knowing the threat was empty.

He did finally set you down, in the passenger seat of one of Tony's fast cars and had you buckled in and the door closed before you could even process that you weren't being carried anymore. By the time you had fought your arms free from under the cloak, he was in the driver's seat, backing the car out of the garage spot.

"You're driving?" you asked indignantly. Loki didn't drive. He never drove. He hadn't learned how and you hadn't had time to teach him yet.

"Yes. I'm driving," Loki replied pleasantly and proceeded to do so. He drove well, a little cautiously, but that wasn't a bad thing. "Barton and Lady Natasha taught me a few weeks ago when we came up with this plan,"

"What plan?" you demanded.

"You'll see," he repeated. "Rest now, darling. We have a long drive before we get there, and will have a long night tonight,"

"Loki, I can't leave the territory," you reminded him even as you were reclining your seat to get more comfortable. You took off Loki's cloak and laid it over you like a blanket instead.

"I know, and we will not leave the territory, I swear. We verified the location on the map you gave the Captain," Loki replied. A few weeks ago, Cap had asked for the exact boundaries of the pack's territory. He'd said it was so he could determine which missions you could be brought on. That probably wasn't a lie, but you had a feeling it also had to do with whatever this plan was.

"Ok, silly Trickster," you surrendered, too tired and fighting the moon fever to demand any more answers. You laid back in the passenger seat and closed your eyes, letting the soft hum of the fast car's engine lull you to sleep.

*

You didn't wake until the car turned off. "We're here, little wolf," Loki told you as you opened your eyes groggily. He touched your forehead when he saw the glaze in your eyes. "The moon fever really is bad this month," he commented softly.

"Where's here?" you asked stupidly as you sat up and looked out the windows. You were parked in front of a nice house which backed up to a forest. Your car door opened and you swung your head to it. You hadn't noticed anyone walk up to the car.

"Easy, little Omega," the man standing there said softly when he saw your shocked expression. He was a werewolf and looked like he had been in his early thirties when he had been changed. He was also old; he had been a werewolf for a very long time. You could feel it in his strength and power, but you could also tell instantly that you were safe with him. Loki was out of the car in an instant, while the old wolf offered you a hand. You unbuckled the seatbelt and took his hand, letting him help you out of the car. "You're safe here,"

"Where are we, sir?" you asked, keeping your eyes down in respect of this old wolf. Loki came up beside you and draped his cloak back over your shoulders. He wrapped an arm around your waist, obviously claiming you in front of this strange wolf.

The old wolf chuckled. "No need for dominance games with me, little Omega, or you, Loki of Asgard. I am Joshua, mate to Sarai of the Hudson River pack-"

You looked up, shocked. "Sarai's here?" you demanded. "She left ages ago! No one's heard from her in years!"

Joshua nodded with a smile. "She's in the house, resting. You can see her in a minute. As for the rest, until a few weeks ago, this was the Hudson River Wildlife Preservation Reserve. Now it is the Stark Industries Wildlife Preservation Reserve. Sarai and I live here with our children as guardians of the land. Your new family asked if it would be safe for you to run in our forest. In exchange for our cooperation, which we would have given anyway by the way, Tony Stark bought the preserve so it could never be taken from us. The preserve is fenced and monitored. There are no humans or werewolves in our preserve that we do not know about. The pack will not bother you here," Joshua explained quickly, but his words were reassuring.

"How-?"

Joshua chuckled cutting you off before you could even get a question out. "Sarai has told me all about your pack. I am not surprised that they would have treated a treasure such as you as poorly as they treated my Sarai," he explained kindly. "Come, join us for lunch. I'll rouse Sarai." Loki supported you while Joshua led you into the beautiful, well loved house. Loki was bristling, obviously on edge, though you didn't know why.

"What's wrong, Lo?" you asked him softly.

"Oh. Right, a dominate..." Joshua sighed, remembering his manners. He turned and offered Loki a formal bow. "I apologize, the pleasantries were interrupted. I welcome you into my home, Y/N honored Omega of the Hudson River Pack, and Prince Loki of Asgard, guardian and chosen mate of our beloved Omega. I swear no harm will come to you in our den and as I am a married man, you can be assured that I will make no moves on your lady," he added with a quick grin.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Joshua," you replied and stepped into his house, Loki right beside you. Loki seemed relieved by Joshua's words and relaxed.

Joshua led you to the dining room where lunch was already set out. "Help yourselves. I'll go wake Sarai," he told you kindly. You thanked him, but he wouldn't leave until you were filling a plate from the spread on the table. Loki also filled a plate. You picked the chairs that usually belonged to the children so you weren't displacing Joshua or Sarai from their usual places. It was easy to identify those as Joshua's and Sarai's chairs smelled like them. Loki followed your lead on waiting to eat until your host returned.

Joshua returned, supporting the sleepy Sarai. He had draped his robe over her pajamas, you could tell by the scent and how big the robe was. He wasn't above making sure his mate was well-claimed in front of strangers. Exhaustion didn't keep you from jumping to your feet when you saw her and ran to hug her. Loki was on his feet a moment after you were. "Sarai!"

"Little sister! I can't believe you got out too! You'll have to tell me how you did it!" Sarai exclaimed. Joshua huffed in exasperation and steered you both back to the table.

"Sit and eat, ladies. You can catch up while you eat something," he told you both firmly. He got two tongues stuck out at him for his efforts. He sighed, but got you both settled back in your chairs.

"What happened to you? All we were told was that you left to live at the edge of the territory," you told her. She looked down, saddened by the tale, but steeled herself to tell it.

"I was supposed to marry Jareth. He needs a mate before he can take over the pack from his father. He thought a tame little submissive like me would be perfect for his needs," you rolled your eyes at that and she smiled. "So I ran instead of submit. I left a message on the pack's machine to let them know I was going to live on the edge of the territory and then smashed my phone so they couldn't find me. After a couple years on my own, I met Joshua," she kissed his cheek when he set a plate of food in front of her. "He was a lone wolf looking after the reserve. He courted me so gently and carefully. It took a long time after Jareth's attentions, but he finally gained my trust and love. We got married six years ago and we take care of the reserve together now," she explained. "How did you end up all the way out here, little sister?"

You sighed and took a couple bites of your lunch now that Joshua had sat down. "I'm glad you got out of there. After you left, Jareth turned his attentions to me. I was 13 when you left," you added for Loki's benefit. "Obviously, I wasn't old enough to pursue, but he and Ferris went to my mom to arrange the marriage when they got your message. You know how the treat submissives," you shuddered, remembering. Sarai looked sad as she remembered too. "They were worse to me," you told Joshua. "Because I'm a defective submissive. They refused to understand what an Omega is," you added when he just stared in shock, horror, and confusion.

"To treat an Omega that way?" he asked, still horrified.

"I didn't bring peace, calm, and happiness in the way they wanted," you said softly.

"An Omega who has no peace, calm, or happiness cannot extend it to the pack," Joshua recited. You nodded.

"So I decided I was leaving the compound to go to college, try to buy enough time that I could become a lone wolf. I left the day after the Winter's Moon following my 18th birthday,"

"He-?!" Joshua exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Will never touch me again without getting his balls ripped off and shoved down his throat," you replied firmly. You forced yourself to soften to ease his agitation. "Peace, Joshua. I'm happy with my new family. I won't be returning to the pack, no matter what they think." Joshua sat again, but was still growling. You and Sarai both managed to finish your plates, chatting about happier things and catching up on your lives. Joshua just watched you both fading to exhaustion with warm exasperation.

"Why aren't you like them?" Loki asked Joshua, finally speaking up after he had digested all of the exposition.

"They are young yet, fewer than 150 winters between them. Our lady, the moon, loses some of her power over us as we age, and I am old, Asgardian." Joshua explained as he made his way around the table to Sarai and lifted her into his arms, despite her sleepy protest. "Come on, puppy, back to bed with you. We'll go play after dinner. Yes, I'll do the dishes. Yes, I'll entertain the Asgardian, and be polite. Yes, I'll make dinner. Yes, I will wake you and the children for dinner." he told his wife warmly. He turned back to Loki. "There are beds upstairs where your lady may rest, including Sarai's," he added at her sleepy murmur telling him to let you know you were welcome in the cuddle pile.

Loki smiled and swept you up in his arms. You protested just as sleepily as Sarai had. Being around happy werewolves didn't give you the spike of emotions it took to not be a sleepy mess the day of the full moon, and Joshua and Sarai were both definitely happy. "Hush, little wolf," he told you lovingly. "You need to rest. We'll play after dinner. I would ask if you want to join the cuddle pile, but you are an incorrigible cuddler, my love," he commented. You smiled and kissed his cheek in reply. He chuckled as he laid you on the bed where you joined the puppy pile with Sarai and her two young sons. His hand shimmered to blue and he placed it on your forehead. You moaned in relief and pleasure as the feeling of ice ran down your spine.

"What strange sorcery is that? I have never seen anything that relieves moon fever so quickly," Joshua asked, watching impressed.

"I have ice magic. It seems to help," Loki replied, stretching the truth just a little. He didn't go advertising his frost giant heritage.

Joshua hesitated, but finally said. "I do not ask for myself, or even Sarai, and I know it is a great imposition on a guest, but..." before he could even finish, Loki had reached over to place his hand on the forehead of each of the fevered boys, then, after a nod of approval from Joshua, did the same for Sarai.

"That should help them until dinner," Loki told the other man. He kissed your forehead again. "Rest, darling. The men will be just fine without you. We can be civilized for a few hours,"

You cracked your eyes open. "Behave, silly Trickster," you told him softly.

"I will be on my best behavior. No, I will not stab our host. Yes, I will help him with the dishes and dinner. Yes, I will wake you for dinner and we will play when the moon comes out. Stop fretting and rest, little wolf,"

"Annoying god,"

"Stubborn puppy," he replied with love in his voice. "I believe we have some stories to exchange, Joshua," Loki told the other man as they left.

"That we do," Joshua replied.

You had to trust they would be ok. Loki had promised, and he didn't break his word, not to you anyway. So you fell asleep in a pile of wolves for the first time in years, an amazing feeling, even if the wolves were all in human form right now.

*

Loki and Joshua came to wake you for dinner as promised. The second you were awake you grabbed his arm and leapt from the bed, dragging him from the room. "Wha-?"

"Trust me," you told him and dragged him out of the room and down the stairs, nearly running in your haste.

"She's right!" Joshua was laughing as he called the reply down the stairs.

"Y/N!" Loki protested, trying to keep up without trampling you.

"Hurry!" you told him. You heard pounding feet behind you. "We're out of time." You pushed him on the couch. "Stay. You're safer there," you ordered, standing in front of him as a human shield, bracing yourself for the impact.

"Y/N!? What's-?" he was interrupted again when two tiny boys ran into the room, a tornado of happy puppies in human form.

"New friends!" they exclaimed, running directly for you. You caught them before they could tackle Loki and spun them around so they giggled. Loki was shocked and...scared?... of the tiny wolf boys. He didn't know how to deal with them. You didn't blame them.

"Boys! Play nice with the Omega," Sarai's voice came down the stairs.

"Yes, mom!" they replied obediently. You held one of the boys on each hip. They nuzzled you and smelled your hair, happy content puppies.

"You smell nice," the older one said. It would have been rude, except that he was a werewolf pup.

"I'm an Omega, silly puppy, we're supposed to smell nice," you told him with a smile. "My name's Y/N, what are you two called besides Trouble 1 and Trouble 2?" you teased, earning two adorable giggles.

"I'm Sammi, he's Mikey," the older one replied, obviously enthralled by your Omeganess.

You gestured to Loki. "This is Mr. Loki. He's not a werewolf like us. He doesn't like pouncing or cuddles, so you have to be extra nice to him, ok?"

"Yes, Miss Y/N," they replied obediently. You set them down and they ran off to go annoy someone else for a few minutes.

You turned to Loki. "Sorry, didn't think you were up to dealing with actual puppies. They're a handful and a tornado,"

"That was...an experience," Loki finally said, as he extricated himself from the sofa you'd shoved him on.

"They're puppies," you said with a shrug. You took his hand and led him back to the dining room.

"Did he survive my sons?" Sarai asked with a laugh.

"I shielded him," you replied with a grin.

"Ah, that explains how he survived the experience," Joshua added.

Dinner was enjoyable and a loud affair, but it felt like home. Loki even seemed to think so too. He was smiling warmly throughout the meal.

"The moon is almost up, time to go play, puppies," Joshua announced. The boys jumped off of their chairs and ran outside. "I'll help them through the change,"

"We'll get the dishes and join you in a few," Sarai replied and kissed her mate before he rounded up the boys. You and Loki helped Sarai with the dishes. It only took a minute, since the dishes were mysteriously clean by the time you'd carried them to the kitchen. You looked over at Loki and stuck your tongue out at him. "Thank you," Sarai told him and touched his cheek. He looked shocked at the affection from other wolves besides you. "I best join them before the puppies overpower Josh. We're staying close to the house on our run. You're welcome to play with us, or go explore the woods. Anything within the fences is our territory, free of humans and other wolves."

"Thanks, Sarai. I'll see you out there," you gave her a hug and she went to join her family. You turned to Loki. "Do you have a book or something to entertain you until dawn?" you asked, concerned. You felt bad that he was alone tonight.

He chuckled. "You misunderstand, little wolf. I promised I was playing with you tonight, remember?" He'd said that, but surely he couldn't mean... "Yes, darling. I'm joining you,"

"You are?" you asked softly, touched, but not quite believing.

He nodded and chuckled again. "Yes, little wolf, I am. I love you and want to spend time with you, even if we're on four feet instead of two." You stood up on your toes to kiss him, deeply. You couldn't think of how else to thank him for his love and thoughtfulness. He broke the kiss first. "Come on, darling, the moon is almost up," he led you outside to join the others. There was a privacy fence set up between the back of the house and the edge of the woods. You ditched your clothes next to the pile with everyone else's and shifted quickly to wolf. Loki kept his back to you while he used magic to change his shape. You stretched, readjusting to being on four feet and he followed suit.

You looked to the sky and saw the moon had broken the horizon. You sat and lifted your head, howling the greeting to the moon. A moment later your call was answered by two wolves in the woods, followed by two puppies, and followed, hesitantly by a Loki in wolf form. You bounced over to Loki and licked his cheek. He was hesitant, unsure in this form, but followed you into the woods to play under the moon's light.

You caught up with the others and romped and played with the puppies for awhile. Loki watched from the sidelines. Playing with the puppies was too dangerous for him. They didn't have the control to avoid accidentally hurting him and potentially accidentally turning him. Sarai, however, pounced on him nipping playfully at his tail. She bounced back when he turned and growled, dropping her front legs and waving her tail, an invitation to play. He hesitated, unsure. You huffed and rolled your eyes. You batted his forelegs out from under him, then gestured to Sarai with your head. His tail waved hesitantly, but Sarai got the idea. The three of you chased each other through the woods, once he got the idea of how this worked. It was nice to see Loki having so much fun. You snuck up behind Joshua, at least you tried, but he was much more experienced than any of the rest of you, but he gladly joined in the fun.

You and Loki broke off from the others to go explore the rest of the woods. You showed him how to run and hunt and got you each a rabbit to snack on. He got more comfortable with the form as you played in the moonlight all evening. You teased fishes together and chased deer, running just for fun and chasing each other all over the forest. You howled songs to Sarai and Joshua and they sang the replies that you hadn't heard in years.

A couple hours before dawn, you laid down in a clearing near the house in the moonlight cuddled up together. You licked his cheek before you settled comfortably, laying your head on him, curled comfortably together in the light of the moon for a much needed nap. Playing all night was hard work. Even Loki was actually tired. He wasn't used to the form and running and playing all night had worn him out. You licked his cheek again, reassuring and closed your eyes for the much needed nap.