The bus was comfortable, and Hazel was just glad that Kenzie had given them a credit card that was on their new pack's account to pay for it. They had bid farewell to Keika in Seattle, where the fishing boat had brought them and all of their new passengers. They'd had a clandestine disembarking at a boat house that turned out to be owned by Keika's daughter Nat, and her wife, Kit, who were a pair of adorable young women and happy to welcome them all to America.

They stayed in the house for two days, sleeping wherever they could while the charter bus was arranged. None of them minded at all, just being happy to look out windows and not see a fence made everything tolerable. There was still a good number of fish to eat that was delivered via the Selkies, but Karano and Hazel also went to the store with Nat and picked up over a hundred pounds of steak and ground beef, just to give them hungry tigers more options.

But finally, the bus was available, and once aboard the headed for their new home in Wyoming. It was a long drive, and they had to overnight once on the way, but it was worth it when the tigers all got to see the wilds that they'd be able to live in once they got closer to the pack lands.

As for Karano, Hazel and Melashka, they spent the entire time in the back seat of the bus, with Melashka snuggled up between the two hybrids and trying not to become too aroused by their constant flirting and touches. But the last thing she wanted was for them to stop, because not that her friends and family were safe, she really wanted to explore the whole mate dynamic and see just what these two women had in store for her.

"The things we're going to do to you tonight gatita," Karano whispered. "We're gonna mark our tiger!"

"And eat her alive," added Hazel, who nipped Melashka's ear with a chuckle.

Melashka was already excited, her mates were strong and gorgeous after all, but they each had their hands on her thighs now and her heart was racing while butterflies raced through her entire body. "You'll be gentle, right?"

Karano leaned down and tenderly kissed her neck. "Yes, baby. We'll make sure you're comfortable. We want to love you and make sure this is something we can do for years to come. You're our mate, and we already know that love will grow between us, just as it did between Hazel and I."

Love. Love was something that Melashka had heard many times, and certainly felt it for her mother and sister, but never expected to find elsewhere. But with Hazel and Karano she could see it already starting to blossom like the few flowers they would see in the summer. Of course, those feelings inside awakened Retria, who was purring loudly at the thought of doing things to her mates in return. Things that make her feel even more excited, and her body responded in kind. But would she be able to? "And you'll teach me to do the same for you?"

"Of course!" Hazel promised. "That is some of the most fun you can have, exploring your partner's body for the first time, and seeing the reaction that they get when you touch and taste them. You'll be in heaven providing the pleasure, just as much as you are receiving it."

"And you're going to receive a lot!" agreed Karano.

"Tonight?"

"Well, I hope so," Hazel replied, looking about. "I guess it depends on what Eliza has planned for us. But if we get everyone settled down and happy, and give Lucia some major snuggles, then I think we'll want to. We've been around you for weeks now, and our wolves are going crazy wanting to mark you."

"Retria is wanting to do that too," Mel admitted. In fact, if it were up to Retria, she'd have marked them in the back seat of the bus already!

The charter bus dropped hem all off at the same place the bus from Florida had dropped off the members of the South Glade pack, and there were plenty of people to meet them. The first to race over were Jack, Eliza and Lucia, who jumped into their arms, happy to have their moms back.

"I'm so happy you're here!" Lucia yelled. "I have to show you everything, it's so cool! We have our own house! But we get to have sleepovers too! And there are so many animals in the woods too, not just gators and snakes like at home." She chattered on for a solid five minutes before anyone else was able to get a word in, but she was so adorable they couldn't interrupt her.

"Lucia," Hazel finally said. "We can't wait to see everything, and we'd love for you to show us tomorrow. But we have to get all of our friends settled in. Plus, we have a surprise too, we have another mate." She wrapped her arm around Melashka and pulled her closer. "This is Melashka, and she's going to be a part of our family too, okay? Remember the video call you had with her? She's a tiger, and very beautiful."

Lucia gaped at her. "A tiger! A real tiger? No way!"

"Yeah, a real tiger. Maybe when we get back to the pack, she'll show you."

"Of course I'll show you, milashka. Do you like tigers?"

Lucia nodded quickly. "Yes! I love all kitties. I want to have a pet one if we can!"

Melashka look at the other two. "Could we do that? I've never had a pet before." She was just as excited as little Lucia, and that was that. There were going to be kittens coming, it was just a matter of when.

"Yeah, we'll get some kitties," promised Hazel. "Maybe we'll see what kind of pets everyone wants. I think anything that makes people happy would be a good thing."

"I like that idea," added Eliza. "We've been talking about getting everyone involved in the pack, and so far I think we're doing that, but having other sources of joy might help just as much."

"I like the idea of having a few kittens too," agreed Kenzie. "It might be a good way for us to learn how to be parents."

Karano and Hazel blanched a little at that. "Parents?" Karano couldn't help but gasp. "Are you.... Trying?"

This time it was Kenzie and Eliza who reacted, though for them it was blushing. Kenzie was the one to answer though. "I think we will soon. I've always wanted to be a mother, and I think having a secure Alpha with heirs that can take over when the time is right, is a great idea. I wouldn't mind a bunch of kids."

Eliza gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "She's not wrong. Plus, Cobium and Sybil really want to go at it, and I'm pretty sure Cobium isn't gonna stop for condoms!"

Karano just snorted at her. "I'm shocked you didn't do it yourself then!"

Both Kenzie and Eliza shared a look before Eliza had to ask, "What do you mean? I'm not the one with the-"

"Hey!" Hazel said while covering Lucia's ears. "Be careful!"

"Sorry!"

Karano leaned in and whispered. "You know when you marked her, you elongated your canines? That was Cobium giving you a little access to your wolf. All wolfs can do that, and Cobium can lend you other parts as well."

"He can?" Kenzie blurted, since her wolf hearing had picked up the whisper. "That... could be interesting."

Eliza wrapped her arm around her, pulling her in for a side hug. "Maybe I'll have to have a talk with Cobium tonight."

"But first, we party!" admonished Kenzie. "We have a bunch of food already cooking, so let's get you all to the pack house."

They piled everyone into the vehicles, with almost no luggage but the two crates of gold to put in the back and headed out onto the road for the short drive to everyone's new home. Much like bringing in the South Glade wolves, there was an air of excitement in the pack to see all the new people. And also, like the last additions, there were not mate matches within seconds. The big problem was that of all the tigers, only Melashka spoke English fluently, and her kid sister Verka was partially fluent. So, there was a lot of translating that fell to them, and it was clear that language lessons were going to be high on the list of things to make happen.

It was heart warming in one case to see a Russian tiger, who Melashka said was one of her uncles, holding one of the women that had been forced to mate with the old Alpha Day, and both of them sobbing happily, while speaking in their own language, though not understanding one another verbally. But their emotions spoke volumes, and there were few dry eyes as people saw their happiness. Maybe Hazel would find out just how cute a tiger and wolf combo could be! What would they even call it? A woger? Or would the offspring have both a tiger and wolf?

One thing was for certain, the merging of the three packs, plus the rogues, had been a smashing success.

"This is incredible," Karano whispered to Eliza, who was looking around the throng of packmates that were celebrating for the third time in under three weeks. "Look at how happy everyone is!"

"They are, yeah," Eliza agreed. "It will take time to settle in, but we have the money we need to expand and train people, and I know that everyone is already happier than where they were before. Maybe the South Glades people are just as happy, since we had a nice set up there, but the resources here will help a lot."

"Speaking of which, the two crates in the back of your SUV are filled with gold that the tigers had mined back in Russia. We should be able to use it to get them everything they need for their new lives. Most of them have not much more than the clothes on their backs."

"More gold? Seriously?" Eliza just shook her head wonderingly. "We already have a lot, but we can give it to Julie and Darla, the Gammas. They run the finances, and we'll make sure that there is plenty for our new friends. They need to feel at home here, however we do it. Language lessons, a big ethnic potluck where we try Russian, American and Puerto Rican dishes, you name it. Just seeing all the new mates is making everyone happy already, so I think this is working better than expected. Until the tigers can speak better English, we may need them to lay low though, the last thing we need is to get attention here and have authorities looking for illegal aliens. That wouldn't go well."

Karano nodded at that, proud of her daughter for thinking all of this through on the fly. She was indeed well suited for the Alpha role. "What can we do to help?"

"Well, you're going to be one of my Deltas, and in charge of combat training. I'm hoping someone else sets themselves apart as the other, and even better one of the tigers so they can be represented on the leadership team. Worst case, we can make Mel's mom a third Gamma, just so she can help there too. Hazel is one of my Betas, along with Aaron." She pointed at him across the way where he was drinking with some of the new Russians. "He led the rogues for a decade, so he will provide some leadership."

"That sounds like a good plan. Now, no more talking about work. Enjoy the party, this is your pack ad you should enjoy it!" The pair waded back into the crowd, headed towards Hazel who had Lucia on her shoulders while they both toasted marshmallows. It was another good night, and the first of many more.

***

A/N - Yes, that is another Sushi reference, as Nat and Kit are the main characters from that book!