The alpha and the wolves stood at the foot of the hill where the church was located. By the time they were able to look back at the window, the alpha could already sense that his mate was no longer in the room.

"What should we do, Alpha?" The woman asked. She had to dodge a man walking by with a folding table as she spoke and looked after him in annoyance.

During their conversation with the strange man, the once quiet streets had become busy and bustling with people coming and going carrying more decorations and supplies for whatever the event was. It was dangerous for wolves to be out in the open with so many humans; they weren't good in those kinds of social situations.

"We shouldn't be here when that man comes back," The other wolf stated, looking nervously at a little girl not far away who was pointing at them and pulling on her mother's sleeve. "Should we head back into the forest and rest for the night?"

"No." The alpha grunted. He couldn't stomach the idea of that, even if it might be the best thing to do. "This amount of movement might be just the distraction we need to blend in."

"Wolves don't blend in," The woman reminded. "We stick out."

"Well we're just going to have to try."

"Julie, come on. We were supposed to be here by six and we're almost late!" A woman's voice cut through the air. She was headed right towards the church and the wolves shared a knowing look before scattering out of the way. "Your makeup looks fine."

The woman, who appeared to be in her late forties, had frizzy blonde hair and tired eyes. She was dressed in gray capri pants and a silky orange blouse with a deep neckline. She carried a large cream leather purse in one arm and applied lipstick as she walked with the other. Behind her was her daughter who had matching blonde hair which was artificially straightened and the tiredness in her eyes was exchanged for nerves. She had on a pale lavender spaghetti strap dress that reached just above her knees. The skirt was tulle and had a fluffy shape to it which puffed from side to side as she walked. Her outfit was finished with a white sash that cinched in her waist and matched her pointed pumps. She carried a small pink compact in her hand as she blushed her cheeks in the tiny mirror.

The girl said nothing to her mother as she walked, but tripped halfway up the stone stairs which led from the street up to the church and the rectory. Her mother ran back to her with a squawk and managed to steady her back to an upright position. They both continued walking after that, only slower.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs they moved away from the church, through the churchyard, and over to the yellow rectory, just as the man who'd threatened the wolves had done. The alpha wordlessly pressed forward once they were out of sight on the white porch of the rectory so as to hear what was going on above.

"You're here, Miss Goodwin. Glad you could make it!" The alpha heard, followed by the footsteps of several other people. He instantly knew that his mate had come out with the people as the wonderful and intoxicating scent he had only just begun to know filled the air. To Elijah, Teddy smelled warm and sweet like vanilla but with a bit of a deeper cinnamon spice. The fragrance was finished off with a lingering dash of floral sophistication that Elijah couldn't quite place. He longed desperately to see his mate again but the yellow building sat farther back from the edge of the hill so he was unable to make out anyone not standing right at the edge of the porch from below.

Though he couldn't see, the alpha could sense that four people, including Teddy, had come out on the porch to greet the new guests.

"Yes, yes! And such a wonderful day for the festival this year, I was so worried it would rain! Wasn't I Julie? I think I told everyone I thought it might rain, but it doesn't look like it will, does it?" Being that she answered, the alpha assumed that the woman dressed in orange must have been Miss Goodwin.

"Not at all," The first male voice replied. It was unfamiliar to the wolves, and didn't belong to the man they'd spoken to on the street. Being that they hadn't seen that man enter the house, Elijah assumed he must live there with Teddy.

"The children look so cute, don't they? Oh Damien you look so handsome. Who would have ever thought he'd look so handsome? Doesn't he just look so handsome, Julie?" Miss Goodwin continued with her distinctive cheeriness. Her tone seemed out of place in the mood Elijah could read above.

"Sure, Mom," An annoyed voice of a teenage girl answered— Julie, Elijah figured.

"I can see where he gets it from. Might I say Mr. Murphy, you just look ravishing today!" Miss Goodwin continued, and the alpha could smell discomfort in the air at her awkward comment.

"Why... uh.. Thank you Mrs. Goodwin." That voice Elijah recognized instantly as the man who'd threatened them on the street. The alpha looked immediately to the male wolf who shared a look of confirmation, acknowledging that he too recognized it.

"It's Miss!" Her chipper little voice gleefully exclaimed. "Doesn't Julie look lovely? We could be sisters!"

The conversation fell silent as nobody dared to disagree. The wolves exchanged an amused look at the attitude of the woman. Nobody spoke until the voice of the teenage boy from before cut in.

"I.. uh.. I got you something, Julie."

"Oooh! What is it?" Miss Goodwin chattered.

"Just some flowers," The boy grumbled in a false deep voice. "Teddy... could you grab them for me?"

"Why does Teddy have them? Isn't that strange?" Miss Goodwin asked, clearly missing the social cues.

"He was keeping them for me."

Teddy's scent grew more faint, then returned even stronger as he came closer to the edge of the porch yet remained just out of sight.

"Here." Damien grunted.

"Oh... it's beautiful," Came Julie's sincere voice. "I love it"

"It's a corsage! I love corsages. And it matches her dress? How did you know Damien? How thoughtful. My ex husband never thought about stuff like that," Her nasal voice carried in the wind louder than the others. Or perhaps she just was louder. "I'm sure he gets it from his father."

"No... no."

"Oh can we get a picture of the kids before we go? Just the couple?" Miss Goodwin called.

Elijah's heart skipped a beat as he sensed his mate's movement. Teddy had stepped away from the commotion to lean on the edge of the railing that surrounded the porch. There he was finally in full view of the alpha, who stood closest to the rectory of all three. The man nearly burst as he caught sight of Teddy basked in the light of the sunset, only the boy was looking off in the distance towards the water. It took every ounce of self control for the alpha not to shout up for his attention.

"Does he have a bandage on his head?" the female wolf asked. She was an omega wolf, and less adept at non-verbal communication than the beta and alpha.

"Shh!" The beta silenced her.

"Damien's meetin' up with the rest of his friends at the festival, so you guys should probably head out soon," Mr. Murphy's voice explained. Noticing he was in the group that would head out, Teddy looked back towards the people and slowly stepped away from the edge, back out of view.

"And Damien's really alright with bringing Teddy along? Teddy could stay home if—"

"He's alright with it," Mr. Murphy answered for his son. There was a slight air of urgency to his voice and the alpha could smell a bit of nervousness emanation off the two men.

"Teddy, you be safe, and stay by Damien the whole night," The unknown man explained. "If your head hurts, or you want to go home early, or anything, you come get me right away."

"Yes, Sir." A smaller and more faint male voice answered. The alpha instantly identified it as belonging to his mate. It had a timidness and lack of assurance to it that made Elijah's heart swell with adoration.

"You kids have fun!" Mr. Murphy called out, and the sound of footsteps grew louder. Suddenly the three teenagers appeared at the edge of the porch and began making their way across the churchyard back towards the main steps. They were followed closely behind by the adults, whom the alpha was anxious to separate them from.

The wolves shared a brief look before they scattered once again, attempting to blend in at various spots around the street. The alpha himself turned around and dodged behind a street lamp, which was an embarrassment to his pride to say the least.

It wasn't a far walk since the church was located directly at the center of the town, but the children quickly sped away from their embarrassing parents just as the wolves hoped that they would. Elijah longed to go and speak with Teddy, but knew that he ought to wait until the man— Mr. Murphy— who'd threatened them was gone. Still, he turned slightly, shielding his face to catch a glimpse of the adults as they went. He was determined to catch as much information from them as he could.

"Do you really think it's alright for me to let Teddy go? He's at that age and... and you know what tonight means," The unknown man asked Mr. Murphy in a hurried whisper as they walked. A normal person likely wouldn't have been able to make out what was said, but the alpha could. "What if—"

"What does tonight mean?" Miss Goodwin shouted, clearly not picking up on the secrecy.

Mr. Murphy and the man shared a look of annoyance.

"Maybe it's safer this way. I saw three strangers starin' up at his window when I got to your house. I don't know what they were doin,' but I sent them off just the same. Either way it's better to have Teddy out and surrounded by people than at home alone."

The alpha's heart thumped in his chest. They were talking about him, and they seemed to have some clue as to his intentions. He needed to tread carefully.

"They showed up today?" the unknown man began wringing his hands. "Of all days. Do think it means—"

"It doesn't mean anythin' yet, only that we ought to keep 'im close to us."

"I would feel much better if I could stay with him as opposed to Damien..."

"We've got an obligation tonight," Mr. Murphy reminded.

"I've got an obligation to Teddy," The man countered.

"Best he's in public, seems to me like then the whole town's watchin' him."

"I hope you're right. I've got an awful feeling about tonight—" Fr. Charles' voice drifted off when the group passed too far out of the way to be heard talking as quietly as they were.

The alpha had a smile on his face by the end of the conversation. They might be onto him, but for whatever reason they were going to be separated from Teddy for the night. That meant it was time to make a move.

"What are you planning, Alpha?" The omega asked.

"I think we'd better crash this party."