I'm greeted happily by the guards at the gates. As I drive to the castle at the center of my pack lands, I think of all the videos and reports I've gotten from my son.

I'd never truly understood why the Moon Goddess involved our Kayla in the Wolf Camp Massacre. Now I find out the wolf she saved that day is my son's Luna.

There is always a reason.

I'm waved to the front doors, and a guard offers to park my car and take my bags to my rooms. I expected nothing less. My son, Alex, has only been the Blood Alpha for less than two years. I reigned for a little over twenty-five.

An unfamiliar and rather bizarre sight greets me as I exit my vehicle. My son's second-in-command, walking forward to greet me, has a plaid wrapped around him like a baby sling. The she-wolves have done this for centuries, but seeing it on him has thrown me.

"Good day to you, and welcome home, Blood Alpha," he says as he shakes my hand and pulls me into a side hug. "You have a bit to catch up on." His laughter shows in his tone.

"Let's start with this," I say as I gesture to the plaid.

"She had a rough night after a mission, and I had work to do. Her Gamma recommended it."

At that, my nephew leaned forward and pulled a section back so I could see inside. It was a red wolf puppy who whined at the feel of the outside and probably my scent. He cooed and closed her back up, rubbing the bundle lightly. His eyes lit up for a moment before he smiled.

"Welcome home!" I looked away from the Beta to my brother and his mate, who had rushed out the door to greet me. "How was your trip?" My brother continues as I'm pulled into another side hug.

"Excellent. I've set up trade posts around the world with different packs, but I'm starting to wonder if the trip was worth it, though," I turn my head back to his son before finishing my thought. "I seemed to have missed a lot."

My brother laughs as he glances over. "That you did."

"How is Kayla?" I asked seriously.

"She was back to torturing the kitchen staff within a week or so. Being near death didn't stop her from her duties." I saw the look behind the fading smile.

We almost lost her.

It didn't help that the Council found texts from Amber on that bastard's phone, updating him on anything happening with Kayla or Alex. Blood Alpha Sands had also caught her right after she mated into the pack, in the human town, and given Alpha commands to text daily, then erase them. The poor thing only knew what she was doing once the commands were removed.

"Hi, Dad."

My smile went wide as my son came forward to greet me with a full-on hug. Now, this feels like home. Over his shoulder, I look at the she-wolf dressed in warrior clothing. Her stance is that of an Alpha warrior, but she is a Gamma.

"Dad, this is my mate and Luna, Victoria." His voice drips with love, and I can't help but smile as my heart aches a little, thinking of my own Luna. I miss her so much.

"Good day to you, Blood Alpha," our new Luna says seriously, but I see the nervousness behind it.

"Call me Ben." I smiled as I approached her. "Or Dad."

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I spent several hours catching up with pack happenings with Alex before having a big dinner, where I met all the new family.

My senses picked up the powerful Mahani Gamma before even meeting him. His children warmed up immediately once I started tickling Sydney. It felt wonderful to have pups in the castle again.

Something about Grace bothered me, but it took some time to figure it out.

"While you smell like an Alpha, you don't seem to have much of an aura. Why is that?" I asked her directly, as she was in adult headspace.

"I learned to keep it hidden. I only release it when I'm in battle, where it's useful." Her tone of voice showed she thought this was normal. I know it's not. Most Alphas can tone it down a bit, but she seemed to turn it off completely.

"Is that a Mahani power?" I asked, intrigued.

"No. My sisters can lower theirs, but I'm the only one that can hide it."

Nicolas interjected at this point. "We believe it may be a by-product of being a Little. She is one of only a handful of known Alpha Littles, and the ones we have records on died not long after emerging." He smiled at her fondly. "She teaches us new things all the time."

Lachlan kissed the top of her head before putting some mashed potatoes in her mouth. I turned to my other nephew as he called my name.

"Uncle Ben, I've checked all the records I could find, and there don't seem to be any Mahani mates within our pack going back centuries. How is that possible?" Keith asks, perplexed.

"They were well hidden, and for good reason. The old ways were hard on them. As you know, our father," I pointed to my brother and myself before continuing, "was a Gamma and mother a Delta. Needless to say, everyone was surprised when I came of age: everyone but my grandfather.

"He was a Mahani Gamma, but no one knew that. The pack believed he was a Lone Wolf. They had hidden it from the start, telling everyone that he couldn't shift because of an accident as a child. His bones would not snap correctly. Since this was something seen before, very few questioned it. Lone Wolves didn't have access to medical care back then.

"At my transfer ceremony on my twenty-fifth birthday, where I became the Sinclair Blood Alpha, the then-current Mahani Blood Alpha came with his next in line, Sam. The men greeted my grandfather as an old friend. It was troubling to me."

"Did anyone know he was Mahani?" Keith asked me.

"No one. Not even the Blood Alpha. I questioned my grandfather when we were alone next. He admitted it but asked me to keep it to myself as he was concerned about the fallout from keeping a secret that big. I agreed. Since none of us had Mahani genes, there wasn't a need. I don't think it matters now."

"How did they hide that? I can't believe he went without shifting." Keith wondered aloud.

"I can answer that," his sister chimed in. "They can sense other people in the area and when being watched. With their ability to stay clothed and how fast they shift, he could easily shift several times a day, and no one would have known."

"The Mahani that have joined our pack now are not hiding, and I'm glad," I said to all present. "My grandparents missed the pack runs and other things that involved shifting because of the secrecy. The current generation won't have that issue." My attention was pulled when Kayla's oldest pup, Will, suddenly spoke up.

"It's getting dark in here." His soft voice showed his anxiety. It was apparent he didn't like the dark. I glanced over to the window to see the approaching storm.

As I turned back to the table, I stopped cold and stared. Lachlan had laid his hand, palm up, closer to Will, who sat beside him. In his hand was a flickering flame, sending light up towards the ceiling and spreading around the room. His other hand was trying to get his mate to take more food.

I looked at my son, who shrugged his shoulders before returning to his food. Kayla got up from the table and turned on the lights in the room. Lachlan closed his fist and then wrapped his arm around his mate in his lap. He glanced up at me as I spoke in a shocked voice.

"It may take a while for me to adjust to... that."

The End.

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Thank you for reading The Mahani Wolves. I will post a bonus chapter soon of Doc and Duncan's ceremony!

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—April Jester

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