Sorry to keep you waiting. 

I have handed in my Master Dissertation and completed a few exams. I hope you'll stay with me as I try to complete this story.

I appreciate any and all kinds of input, so feel free to leave a comment. (especially if you see typos.)

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Akela woke to a gentle male voice repeating her name.

She opened her eyes to see Hunter, all dressed for the day with a huge wolfdog at his side.

"Well, Alpha, I think she'd rather stay here," Hunter smirked as Akela reluctantly groaned and stretched.

"I disagree... My newest pack member should know what we do here,"  Zeke mind linked.

Akela's eyes shot open and she stared at the large wolf in her room.

"Alpha... I... " she gasped, horrified that she might have offended her Alpha somehow.

Hunter burst into a guffawing laugh at her shock.

"Go get dressed, child. We'll wait for you," he chuckled and gave her a warm, fatherly smile.

"You'd... You'd wait? For me?" Akela asked.

Hunter nodded with another one of those kind smiles.

"You wanted to come along to pick up the new puppy, right?" he asked.

Akela nodded carefully.

"Well... The story goes that Zeke here is the boss dog, and we need to make sure the new dog gets along with the old one before we know we can train it," Hunter smiled and turned to the kitchen to listen for a faint ping.

"This is a dog who has failed the seeing eye end police dog tests. We need to make it look real," Zeke mind linked.

Akela nodded in understanding and stood.

A few minutes later, she had a bacon sandwich in her hand and a bottle of orange juice. She was in the passenger seat of the car they used to transport dogs in, with Alpha Zeke curled up in the back and Hunter driving.

"Is he... okay back there?" she asked carefully looking at the Alpha who seemed to quite enjoy the ride.

"Oh yeah! He's happier as a dog," Hunter chuckled.

"Oh shut it," Zeke laughed back at them.

"Nah. It's easier. This way he can talk with the pup like he does with Teddy, and find out why he's not performing well on tests. He's perfectly trained, he just doesn't test," Hunter shrugged.

Akela nodded.

They pulled up to the training ground where a human man was waiting with three puppies on a leash. two were sat perfectly still, the third stood up and started tugging towards them the moment the car door opened.

"Ah... One of those..." Zeke sighed and allowed Hunter to attach the leash to his collar before they walked over.

The little dog was so enthusiastic, Akela couldn't help smile at him.

"Hey little guy," She cooed.

"Are you my new master? Am I going with you? Can I bring Sasha too?" the puppy asked in mind link, surprising Akela.

"He... talks?" Akela asked carefully, kneeling down in front of him.

Hunter gave her a quick signal to not talk out loud.

"Not all dogs can mind link. This one seems to have imprinted on you though," Zeke chuckled at the way the small lab was up on his hind legs with his front paws on Akela's shoulders and his tongue going like a whisk at her throat.

"Can I go with you? Mum said I'm going with a new master. Is that you? Are you my Luna?" the puppy asked, his tail going a mile a minute, reminding Akela of Zion's tail when he was laughing.

"I'm not your master. The Alpha is over there in wolf form. He's your master," she thought at the puppy. 

The puppy bounced over to Zeke, sniffing around his face before he quietly lay down between the larger wolf's front paws, his tail occasionally tapping to show his happiness and his eyes carefully following Akela.

"Right. Good riddance. That dog is the most unpredictable I've ever trained! Sometimes he performs perfectly, other times he will not follow a single command," The man holding the other two puppies sighed.

Hunter exchanged a look with Zeke before turning to the man again.

"Well... We've looked at his scores, and he seems to be the friendly kind," Hunter nodded.

"He seems quite taken with your... Granddaughter is it?" the man asked with a nod to Akela.

Hunter simply nodded. Akela's heart felt warm and fuzzy as she stood with Zeke, pretending to hold his leash, but in fact trying to hold her tears in. Through the pack link, she felt the warmth and comfort towards her from Hunter. She had a grandfather! Hunter's proud smile as he gave her a quick hug had her heart thundering.

"The pup is well trained. It's just the trainer giving different commands on the training ground than he does during testing," Zeke observed, obviously having had a chat with the small dog.

Akela nodded.

Hunter studied the man.

"Will you demonstrate his training?" Hunter asked.

The man nodded and brought out a clicker.

"C'mon Reggie," the man commanded.

The pup stood, reluctantly, shook himself and trotted over.

"That's not my name, but whatever..."  the pup sighed and sat obediently next to the man.

Fifteen minutes later, Zeke was satisfied that the pup was sufficiently trained but the trainer hadn't fully understood the range of the dog's intelligence.

"He will do quite nicely. We can certainly make this dog into a fine rescue dog," Hunter nodded.

"And Sasha?" the pup asked.

"Who's Sasha?" Hunter asked with a frown.

A blonde retriever stood over to the side. She was one of the other two young dogs the handler had brought.

Hunter studied her for a second.

"How about her?" Hunter asked

"Oh. Her? Her name is Lily. She's another one who seems to perform better at training than for tests," the handler sighed.

"Her name is Sasha, not Lily!" The labrador huffed.

"Can we see her too?" Hunter asked.

"Sure," the man said and untied her from her tether. Immediately se ran over and rubbed noses with the young Lab.

"You belong together huh?" Zeke asked.

"She's my best friend..." the young Lab nodded.

Zeke looked at Hunter who nodded back.

"How much for both?" Hunter asked.

Akela crouched down with both the young ones. She felt both of their minds in the mind link. Sasha was holding back, shy and careful about opening the link.

"It's Okay, Sasha. We're Lycans," Akela thought to her.

Sasha looked at her friend.

"I told you. We'll be together!" the dark Lab chuckled.

"But if you're not Reggie... We need to know your real name..." Akela asked.

"I hate that name! I want to be Spot!" the pup announced.

"Spot? But you haven't got any spots, you idiot!" Sasha smirked.

"How about Kyran?" Akela asked.

The dark lab sat studying her for a moment.

"I like it!" he announced happily.

Next to them, Zeke nodded. He gave Akela a weird sense of safety as if he gave her a hug.

"Welcome to the pack, Kyran and Sasha," he grinned.

"He's Alpha?" Sasha asked.

"Yep. Meet, Zeke Ezekiel Connor," Akela smiled at the two pups.

"Come on you lot. Let's see how you get on with Yzma," Hunter laughed at the way two pups were crawling over and running around the larger wolfdog.

"Is he... safe with them?" the seller asked, handing over the paperwork.

"Zeke? Yeah. He's a Czech wolfdog. Really intelligent breed. We have four of them in our pack. two are trained as rescue dogs," Hunter said as if rehearsed.

Akela shot Zeke a questioning look.

"Sam, Hunter junior, Finn and me. We could count Aimee, Hunter and Grange, but only Sam and I are certified for rescue," Zeke shrugged.

Akela looked at the two pups, suddenly sat still, awaiting command.

"We'll get you certified if you want. I did Abel a few months back," Zeke smiled.

"Abel is a rescue dog?" Akela laughed.

Hunter shushed her but nodded. The man who just sold them the dogs looked at her suspiciously.

"Sorry... Just looking through the papers," Akela smiled with the folder in her hands.

"And Abel would be?" the man asked.

"Oh. He was a rebellious pup that no one thought would be any good for anything," Hunter shrugged.

"Right," the man breathed and untied the last pup who seemed to follow without any trouble.

"Let me know if you get any trouble with those two," he said as he opened his car and the last pup jumped in.

"I don't think we will. They seem like lovely dogs," Hunter smiled back, opening the back of his own car to allow the two dogs and the wolf in.

"Well. Good luck," the man huffed, shaking his head before he got in and drove off.

"Right. That's him gone... Kyran was it?" Hunter grinned at the puppy.

"The master-woman suggested it and I like it!" Kyran nodded.

"Well.. I guess that makes him yours..." Hunter laughed and rubbed Akela's shoulder with a wide smile.

"And Blossom will love Sasha!" Zeke agreed, giving each pup a gentle lick.

Akela studied them with a smile.

"New breeding stock," Hunter said quietly.

Akela looked at him questioningly.

"Maddox says Teddy is on his last. He won't last the summer. We need these two to provide the next generation rescue dogs," Hunter said quietly.

Akela nodded sadly, picking up the sense of sorrow from the alpha.

"Why are you sad?" Sasha asked.

"Because the old dog who will be your master is sick," Hunter mind linked.

They arrived home and Akela opened the cage. Zeke immediately went to shift and get dressed, but both Hunter and Akela knew he'd be curled up with Teddy for a while first.

"He'll be letting go of one of his best friends," Akela observed and saw Hunter's sad smile.

"You are observant. Teddy means the world to Ezekiel. He's the true Beta of this pack and I don't think anyone can replace him," Hunter said as they rounded the corner to the garden to introduce the new pups to Yzma.

Akela released them into the spacious cage and watched Yzma immediately lick Kyran's jaw.

"Damn, she's fast!" Finn chuckled from his seat on a nearby picnic bench.

"Yeah! let's hope Sasha takes as fast to Rocky!" Hunter grinned.

"Let's find out!" Finn laughed and gave a low whistle. The slightly larger fire rescue dog limped out.

"What happened to him?" Akela asked.

"Work injury. He sprained a leg jumping from the second floor of a burnt out house," Finn shrugged.

Akela frowned. Rocky had been in the garden the last time she'd seen him, not caged or tied, but wandering around, free and as part of the pack.

"It happens. Dad always takes him home when he's injured," Finn smiled.

Rocky wandered over to the cage, greeting his little sister first and establishing her rank as second to his. Yzma gave his nose a lick through the bars before they looked like they were having a small conversation.

Rocky looked at the two newcomers, his tail high and proud to denote his superior rank while Kyron and Sasha lay down flat.

"Okay. They have accepted their dog-Alpha..." Finn laughed.

Rocky turned to look at Hunter.

"Glad you approve, because you haven't got much choice. Zeke wants you to train them," Hunter grinned.

Rocky sat down and tilted his head.

"Sasha," Hunter called out and the blonde retriever approached cautiously.

Akela stood back as he opened the cage to let her out.

Finn picked up his book and walked towards the house.

"If she's in heat, I don't want to know!" he muttered.

Akela chuckled at his teenage sensitivity, but she could smell the change in hormones as the young female golden retriever registered the masculine energy of the strong lab in front of her.

Rocky studied the slightly stockier built blonde in front of him before he gave a happy little "ruff" and crouched down in front of her to signal playtime. Sasha gave a "ruff" back and bounced towards him and before long they were running around the garden.

"I'd say our breeding stock is secure," Hunter grinned and lay a hand on Akela's shoulder.

Akela studied the muscular black lab. She was used to seeing him calm and controlled, it was almost like seeing a different dog chasing Sasha around like a playful puppy.

Eventually, Ezekiel came out, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. The darkness around his eyes revealed recent tears. Akela had never seen an Alpha cry before, and the sight was a weird mixture of unsettling and reassuring.

"Don't worry, Akela. It's just hard to see him in so much pain," Ezekiel smiled at her.

"I'm sorry Alpha. I didn't mean..." Akela apologised with a submissive bow, but Ezekiel brushed her off.

"Rocky will live here, not at the station I need him to be our new dog-alpha," He said quietly.

Hunter stared at the broken man.

"You mean?" he asked hesitantly.

Ezekiel shook his head sadly.

"Not yet. But I phoned Maddox. He'll come here tomorrow," Ezekiel said quietly.

Hunter nodded in sympathy.

"It's for the best. Poor old soul," the old man agreed.