"Hey," Zion said flopping into a kitchen chair. He had broken every rule and run down from the mountain to see if getting away from Abel and Akela could help him clear his mind.

"What's wrong pumpkin," Grange asked, placing a slice of chocolate cake in front of him.

Zion picked up the fork and mashed the cake into a pile of crumbs.

"I met my mate," Zion muttered.

"Oh, that's wonderful sweetie!" Grange cheered.

"No, it's not," Zion shook his head, carefully withheld tears pooled in his eyes.

Grange tilted her head in question. For anyone who knew him, seeing Zion cry was an unsettling experience. His tail was limp and his ears down turned.

"She's got two mates... me... and Abel," Zion said sadly.

"What a lucky girl!" Grange smiled.

Zion shook his head.

"Some lycans live happily with two mates. Usually twins, but brothers are not unheard of," Grange tried to reassure.

Zion looked up at her, tears spilling from his eyes.

"She's so scared Granny! Somebody has hurt her so bad and she's in so much pain! You should see the scars on her hands! I feel her pain and fear every time I look at her!" Zion said quietly.

"You and your brother are both kind and caring boys. She is lucky!" Grange smiled warmly.

"Abel doesn't want to share. And I don't think she wants two," Zion mumbled.

"Whatever makes you think that?" Grange asked.

"Abel told me to back off," Zion said, stabbing the sorry remains of his cake.

Grange studied him carefully.

"What does the girl want?" She asked.

Zion shrugged listlessly.

"You don't know?" She asked.

"If she wants a mate at all after what she's been through....She's gonna choose Abel," he mumbled.

"And why is that?" Grange asked.

Zion looked up with an incredulous look on his face.

"He is stronger, faster, better looking..." Zion started.

"And you have the kinder heart, Zion! Any girl will be so fortunate to be yours," Grange smiled warmly.

Zion shook his head.

"And you've always had the courage to do what's right!" She said gently.

"Which is why I'm leaving her to Abel," he muttered.

Grange tilted her head.

"I will never be able to even kiss her!" Zion said.

"Oh.. kisses aren't all there is.." Grange chatted and looked out the window to see her own mate and two other men approach from the woods. Hunter turned and she nodded in response.

"Clothes. Archer, Gerry and a girl. I'm guessing it's your one," Grange chatted as she got a pile of clothes from a large chest before bustling outside.

Zion followed and was met with a smile on Ezekiel's face.

"Hey. My big hero!" He grinned and gave him a hug.

"Stop spoiling my boy," a familiar voice chuckled and Zion turned to see his dad, his brother and the girl of his very literal dreams emerge from the woods with Grange's random clothes on.

"I'll spoil this one as much as I want. He saved Allie," Ezekiel smiled as he noticed the girl.

"Hey there. You're new," Ezekiel smiled and held his and out to greet her.

"Akela Kira James meet Alpha Ezekiel Zeke Connor. The one you know as the Cizinec heir," Gervais introduced with a smirk at his uncle.

Immediately Akela fell on her knees in front of Ezekiel in submission.

"Mighty, fearless warrior Alpha. I beg you. Please help me free my sister from Alpha Preston North. He's claimed her by force and she's my only family," she begged.

"Hey there... slow down... first of all... I'm Zeke. Connor. Not Cizinec," Ezekiel insisted.

She shook her head in despair.

"Second. I'd love to help... but Alpha Preston is not someone I'd like to meet," he said.

"But you killed the evil Erberus?" Akela begged.

"My one and only kill. Never again. Killing steals your soul," Ezekiel shuddered.

Zion's heart broke as he saw Akela crumple to a heap on the grass. Without thinking he strode to her wrapping her into his arms.

"Kira," she sobbed into his chest as he rocked her gently.

"Please. Uncle Zeke! Dad!" Zion asked, feeling her hopelessness through the bond.

"I was hoping to do this without you or Abel here..." Archer frowned at his son.

Akela looked up at Zion's protective frown before looking to the men around them. Unbeknown to her, Grange and Hunter exchanged a knowing look.

"We have to find her sister!" Zion said evenly, his hands stroking Akela's back gently.

His eyes met Ezekiel's smiling ones.

"We'll think of something," he smiled and Akela dared another look up at the kind looking man with the golden eyes.

He held his hand to her and pulled her to her feet with Zion's help.

"First. Food! I just came home from work," He chuckled, gesturing to his firefighter uniform.
Akela couldn't hold back her disbelief. The rumours were true. The Cizinec heir lived openly among humans.

With no ceremony, he led the way into the main house where he stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"Finn! Hunter! Zion's here!" He hollered up and Akela looked in astonishment as two teenage boys came hurtling down to practically tackle Zion.

"There's dinner to be cooked! I'm nominating the three of you!" Ezekiel ordered, leaving no room for discussion.

Turning to Akela, Ezekiel gave a friendly smile.

"I want to hear you out. So while the pups cook, we'll talk," he grinned, pointing her to a comfortable seating area.

"The pups?" Akela asked, still a bit star struck and awed by meeting the one lycan she had always imagined to be a huge, muscular guy. But his man looked so... nice. And he exuded this air of reassurance, not power.

"Dad..." the youngest boy complained.

"No discussion, Finn. Your mum will be home soon and I want food to be on the table when she walks in the door," Ezekiel said with a firm raise of his eyebrow.

"Gaaaah," Finn groaned but Akela saw Zion's smirk.

"I'll let you skin the fish," Zion grinned and was rewarded with Finn's look of pure disgust while Hunter burst out in laughter.

"Right. Akela. Meet Hunter, my heir, and Finn, his second in command. Allie should be home with Blossom in a minute," Ezekiel introduced with a smirk.

Akela shook hands with Hunter, a year or so younger than her with the same shiny gold eyes as his dad before getting a shy nod from a 14-year-old with brown eyes streaked trough with the same gold as both the other two.

"C'mon guys. Let's impress these heathens with some culinary magic!" Zion said and herded the two boys towards the kitchen.

"That's the girl?" Hunter asked as they rounded the corner but was shushed by Zion.
Through the bond, Akela could still feel the spike in his emotions as he nodded. It was the same spike she always felt when he thought about her... which was kind of often.

It made her want to smile. The way Zion's emotions were so easily read.

She was made to sit in a comfortable armchair. A shaggy old dog limped in to sit next to Ezekiel.

"Hey. Teddy old boy. How's your day going?" He said and the old lab looked at him with a happy look.

"Yeah. Yzma is going to be happy as a rescue dog. You did good training her," Ezekiel smiled and nodded.

Akela looked at Archer in question.

"Oh. Zeke trains rescue dogs for the fire squad. Teddy was his first," Archer explained.

"Twenty-three years old and still likes to chase squirrels..." Ezekiel smiled.

"But... you talk to him!" Akela asked.

"And he talks back. It's a good way to train them," Ezekiel replied before turning to the dog again.

"She's Akela," he told Teddy.

The old lab hobbled over to lay at her feet and she automatically found herself stroking him as if he'd asked her to.

"Right. So. Alpha Gerry, how are you holding up? Getting used to being a father?" Ezekiel asked the dark haired man.

"Getting used to it. But its a lot to get into. He's growing so fast! River has him on solid food already. And he's crawling... You should see the speed of him," Gervais said proudly.

"He's a cute kid," Ezekiel said and noticed the soft smile on his nephew's face.

"Yeah. He looks like River. Us having a pup... It feels like a miracle," Gervais smiled happily.

"Granddad, huh?" He smirked at Archer who just nodded proudly.

"Yeah. My boys are shaping up," he nodded.

Carefully, Ezekiel turned to Akela again.

"And then there's you. Wanna tell me why you think I can help?" He asked.

Akela swallowed hard and prepared for the next bit.

"All my life, I was told about the Cizinec heir. The fearless alpha who killed Erberus Cizinec and lived among humans. When mum got ill, dad said this Alpha had someone in his pack who could help if we pledged allegiance to his power. And when Kira and I were trapped, dad's last words were to seek out the Cizinec heir, because he was the only one who could protect us from Alpha Preston..." she said quietly.

She was feeling ridiculous. The story was one thing but actually telling Alpha Zeke about his own mythical status felt a bit stupid.

"Right?" Ezekiel asked.

"But mum died on Preston's territory and we were taken in... in a way..." she said, her voice cracking with the memories of life in the silver cage.

In the door, Zion was watching her. He was fighting back the urge to run to her and tell her he would fix it. He would restore her faith. He would... do anything... Anything she needed.

Akela lifted her face to look at him in gratitude.

"Basically, he raped her sister every day until she got pregnant. He released Akela once her twin had given birth," Archer continued the story, his voice thick with disgust.

"So your sister is claimed by force?" Ezekiel asked, confirming the story Gervais had told him over the phone.

Akela nodded.

"And you think I'm able to free her?" he asked and got another nod.

"You killed the most feared lycan on the continent... I know I'm just a rogue girl with no value, but I hope you will help me anyway," she muttered.

Ezekiel scrunched his face.

"As far as I know, the only way to recognise a forced mating is that the mark is black. And the only way to erase it is if we find her true mate, who will have to bite the false mark and replace it with his own," Grange informed from her seemingly endless knowledge of Lycan lore.

Akela looked up at Zion, who swallowed hard.

Gervais nodded seriously, sensing her thoughts.

"So... Either Zion or Abel..." he muttered.

Archer looked at his wolf-faced son and back to Akela.

"What do you think, Akela?" he asked.

"I don't know, Alpha... I can't believe I'm sat in a room with three Connor Alphas... And I'm bound to two Connors. When I look at Zion, I feel drawn to him. But when I'm with Abel, it seems he's mine too," she shook her head.

"Well... it needs some planning, so I suggest you stay here, away from Tweedledee and Tweedledum... until your heart tells you the true path," Gerry said.

"It will give you a chance to heal, dear. Our guestroom has been empty for far too long," Grange smiled motherly.

Akela nodded and looked at Ezekiel who nodded gratefully at Grange. The old matriarch had already decided to adopt Akela into her family.

"Will you accept my allegiance?" Akela asked fearfully.

His face crinkled into a smile.

"It would be my pleasure," he smiled and held his hand out to hers.

She hesitated. For the first time in her life, she would be a member of a pack. Not an outsider or a visitor, but an actual member.

Carefully, Akela lay her hand into the hand of the Alpha she had up until this moment thought was a fairy tale figure, And she gasped as her mind opened. In addition to his mind, she was feeling a pack bond to at least ten more people. And her head spun with the understanding that most of them were human, or at least part human.

"Your human pack! It's true!" she whispered.

"We live as humans. Allie is a teacher, so is the Beta's mate Emily. They will provide your education. Beta Ameer runs a gym. He will teach you to fight. Delta Sam and his mate Saleha live off territory, near the hospital, with their family. We don't have Omega as a status. You will be a Delta. Our pack doctor is Dixon Morris. If you will let him, he will check you over and make sure you haven't got any serious injuries after your ordeal. And then there are the dogs. We have some young 'uns that you are free to cuddle, and I'll teach you how to train them if you want," Ezekiel informed with a smile.

Akela nodded in awe as all the stories her dad had told found a basis in truth.

Ezekiel suddenly brightened and stood.

"My Allie!" He whispered happily.

"Still with the sappiness!" Archer teased.

"Hey. She's my Luna. And everything I live for," Ezekiel shrugged back and went to open the front door, letting a little girl in a pink dress launch herself into his arms.

Ezekiel grinned and rubbed his nose on hers before setting her down.

"Go wash your hands. Dinner is almost done," he smiled but the girl stood and stared at Akela.

"That is Akela. She'll be staying in Granny Grange's guest room," Ezekiel smiled.

The girl wandered over to study Akela carefully.

"I'm Blossom" she said.

"I like your dress," Akela replied softly.

"I've been to ballet," Blossom smiled happily and did a little twirl.

"A lycan child called Blossom dancing ballet..." Archer chuckled.

Over by the door, Akela saw her Alpha and Luna exchange some information before the Luna smiled warmly at her.

"Welcome to the family," Allie smiled without pity, but with a voice full of genuine friendliness.

Akela stood to shake hands, but before she could take a step, the world spun around her as she fainted.