"Wel ." He shrugged, his eyes twinkling. "True we're a temperamental bunch, but Irini has never blamed you for what happened. No one has." Right.

"Good to know." She turned away and gazed straight ahead with her jaw set in determination. Out of the corner of her eye she felt him nod in understanding. It was irritating - she wanted to hide where he couldn't see through her false bravado.

"Wel , as for having no immediate family that wil change.

It's only right you go back to staying with Irini and her mother El a... and Lucien, of course."

"What about Uncle Magnus?" She tried to sound indifferent. Magnus was an Elder like Dimitri and El a, and in truth, the lykan she remembered the most.

"He's there ... waiting for you, too."

They're all waiting for me, she sighed, trying to tamp down the b.u.t.terflies in her stomach.

"You've been living a civilised life with Irini in a big town much longer than the pack has. I'm sure you fit in at high school much better than any of the pack kids." She turned towards him at that smiling wryly, shaking her head. "Uh wel ... I wouldn't say I exactly fit in."

"What would you say then?"

"I ate lunch in my car."

"Oh."

The door was thrown open, his tal , gangly a.s.sistant almost fal ing into the room in his hurry to get to him. "The spel !" He heaved, as he lunged at him, out of breath.

"You've been running?" He asked him incredulously, fol owing the trail of sweat that trickled down his a.s.sistant's forehead.

He nodded, bending over, his hands braced on his knees as he tried to regain composure. "I ... I ... I stil ...

haaaa ... haven't ... mastered the communication spel you taught me." He gulped for air again, wheezing as he flopped down beside him.

"Wel obviously you rushed with a purpose. Spit it out, Lars." Lars turned to him now, his eyes bright with excitement.

"The protection spel is down. She's unprotected."

His eyes blazed with the news. "You're certain?"

"Positive. I've been on Marion duty for two years. Her protection spel on the girl has been dropped."

His smile of triumph was slow and predatory. "Do you know what this means?"

"It's time?"

"Activate our agent."

"They're on their way, Magnus." Lucien sauntered into his sitting room. Magnus was sprawled across an armchair, whilst his mother El a poured them al coffee.

The Elder looked up at him and smiled brightly. "I get to see my Cy again."

"I forgot how fond you were of the little brat."

"You were too busy chasing skirts at the time to notice the little blonde kid who was constantly perched on his shoulder," El a pointed out wryly.

"I remembered her," his voice was low, tone a warning.

Instantly a chil fel over the room.

El a stood slowly, her eyes narrowed on her son. "No one would dispute that you were very aware of Caia's existence, Lucien. I meant only that you avoided her, so you knew nothing about her."

"She was a cute kid." Magnus chuckled, straightening up beside El a, his warm teasing bending the steel of tension emanating from Lucien. His huge hand came down on El a's shoulder. "Why don't you brew more coffee?"

Nodding stiffly she left the room, muttering under her breath about sensitive dogs.

"You need to ease up, Lucien. Everyone is wel aware that you've fulfil ed your responsibilities to this pack and that you intend to fulfil the one that's on that plane.

Defences down, please."

"Thought I was the Pack Leader?"

Magnus laughed and cuffed him across the head, pushing him into a seat. "You're stil a pup."

After El a had returned with more coffee, and it was clear the tension had eased between son and mother, talk returned to pack business.

"So when do they get here?" Magnus queried, his excitement evident. Lucien had been so wrapped up in dealing with what was to come from Caia's return that he had forgotten about the one person who was actual y looking forward to it. The girl had never known anything but Albus and El a, and in particular, Magnus.

He didn't want to burst Magnus' bubble but they needed to get serious about the situation. "Magnus-"

"Don't start with that tone... this is a happy occasion. This is what your father fought for: the safe return of Rafe's daughter."

Lucien sighed. "I know. And I am happy to final y have that realised. G.o.ddess knows for this reason only I wil have made the old man proud. But Magnus." His hard silver eyes searched Magnus' happy ones. "We have to deal with the pack." Reluctantly, the Elder nodded in agreement. "Stupid, scared judgemental lykans."

"That may be, but they're our lykans, and we've got to make sure the pack is happy."

El a cleared her throat from the corner of the room. "I've already made sure most of the mated females are clear that they have to welcome Cy home. It's the young I'm worried about. Most of them wil see her as an outsider anyway. They stil fear what they don't know, and they fear possible war ... and the fact that she's more compet.i.tion for our males ..." Lucien smirked. "Yeah, I see where you're going. Fine." He heaved, slapping his knees in determination and standing to his feet. "We'l gather the whole pack here. It must be made perfectly clear to them that Caia is part of this pack's future; that mention of the war is to be kept to minimum, absolutely nothing about her parents ... and I want a ful pack welcome."

"Oh I dunno." Magnus shook his head, his forehead wrinkled with anxiety. "Ful pack welcome? That could be a little overwhelming. Lucien, this girl has lived without a pack for ten years. Irini would only have been able to teach her so much."

"Irini wil have taught her wel ," El a replied tersely, her look defying him to speak otherwise.

The Elder looked between son and mother, their posture relaxed but their eyes determined.

He knew when he was outvoted. "Pack welcome it is then." 3 - Home?

"Have we got everything?"

The noise was overwhelming. Why were there so many people going places, and did they have to be going there today? Someone b.u.mped into her and nudged her into someone else. Was it warm here? Jeez, they real y needed more windows in this airport.

She stopped herself from bracing her hands on her knees and tucking her head between her legs in an effort to breathe.

"Caia?"

They were here already. How did they get here so fast?

She wasn't ready yet.

"Caia?"

Pain flared up her arm and she looked down to see the cause of it. Dimitri was gripping her tightly by the elbow, so tightly he was close to cutting off her circulation. She gazed up at him stupidly, her eyes clearing at his worried expression.

"You alright?"

She needed to get herself together. Lykans didn't act like this. They didn't wimp out. Nodding, she pul ed from his grasp.

"You got everything, then?" He repeated, looking a little annoyed now. "We real y should get going."

Oh my.

Those earlier b.u.t.terflies suddenly burst into flames in her stomach, the metaphorical residue covering her lungs in an attempt to suffocate her.

"I... uh... I just need to... use the bathroom."

"Fine. Hurry up."

She slammed the door of the women's toilets behind her and stumbled over to the sinks, striving to get her breath back. If she wasn't mistaken she was having a ful blown panic attack. Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it. But the more she said that the more her head whirled.

Caia suddenly stil ed at the beginnings of a rumbling noise.

Was that her heart?

No, she shook her head, looking around as the rumbling increased in volume. Holy Artemis, Caia exhaled, stepping back as the entire length of sinks in front of her began to shake ferociously, the rumbling coming from the pipes.

What the...

Al the taps blasted open, and water streamed out into the sinks with the power of a fireman's hose, the original rumbling now deafening. Ceramic cracked and fel away from the wal s; water bil owed over the sinks and onto the tiled floor.

"Caia?"

She whipped her head towards the door where Irini stood, looking shocked. The water abruptly stopped.

"What the Hades?" Irini indicated the watery mess in front of her.

She gaped at her, and after a moment managed a reply, "I have no idea."

"Wel , come on, quickly, before you get the blame," she snapped, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her outside.

"How could I get the blame?"

"Just come on."

Her breathing had regulated once they had left the airport. However, now that the car had travel ed directly through the large town, and then made a turn onto the highway, her breathing was feeling a little forced again. She was nearly at her new home. Caia could see why they had chosen the town. It was large enough to melt into but had enough rural area surrounding it to run free in. There were a few tracks dotted along the highway leading off onto what she thought must be homes.

Final y Dimitri took a turn down a track that was closed in on either side by woodland. At last, the trees made a huge circled clearing, and in the centre sat a large home with an old-fashioned wraparound porch. She drew in a deep breath.

"The whole pack is here?"

Dimitri nodded, his kind eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with understanding. "It's the only way to real y welcome you, kid."

Irini on the other hand was bubbling with excitement.

Before Dimitri had even parked, she was out of the car and running for the house.

He merely laughed and final y shut the engine off.

"Ready?"

"No." She shook her head nervously. "But then I'l never be ready for this moment so we might as wel shove my a.s.s out of the car, right?" He chuckled getting out of the driver's side. "That's the spirit." Caia had no idea how she managed it, but she got out of the car, and slowly fol owed Dimitri up the front stairs to the porch. Her lykan ears could hear the sound of Irini crying happily and people murmuring warm words of welcome to her. She could hear her growl Lucien's name, but then start crying and mumbling, 'I missed you brother' over and over. I guess all is forgiven, Caia thought wryly.

As her light foot came off the last step she was seized once more with absolute anxiety, undiluted and pure. She steadied herself, taking a deep breath. She couldn't let them see how nervous she was. Dimitri had swung open the porch door, and was now throwing open the main door with as much grace.

"Wel hel !" He shouted in amus.e.m.e.nt. "Look at you al ...

you didn't eat everything already, did you?"

"I managed to save you some food." A female voice sing-songed back at him. "I hid it from these vultures for you."

She could hear Dimitri smack a kiss on someone and the pack chuckled lightly. The sounds of familiarity between them al sent another wave through Caia's stomach, but before she could melt into an anxious puddle on the floor, Dimitri's head popped back in sight around the door frame.

"Come on kid."

A sudden hush could be heard fal ing over the room.

Slowly, she pushed her way through the porch door and stepped into a beautiful open hal way with a wide antique staircase winding up from the centre of the room to the next floor. Bracing herself against her own insecurities, she turned to the opening to the left of the hal way and took in the sight of the large pack that was to be her new family.

There looked to be about thirty of them - large feral, handsome males, young and older; beautiful, athletic females; smal children with enquiring eyes.

This was Pack Errante.

The whispering immediately began as al eyes drank her in from head to foot.

Lucien was stunned. Whatever he had expected it was not this. Caia stood at the front door gazing at them, her cat-like green eyes stil and calm as she took in the sight of the pack staring back at her from his large living room. He could tel by her tentative step towards them that she was more nervous than her placid expression let on. He watched in satisfaction as people came forward to shake her hand politely.

They had taken his warnings to welcome her to heart.

As distracted as she was by his pack, she had yet to notice him, and so he took pleasure in the moment to real y look at her. Her heritage gave her away, he decided - as did her smel . She wouldn't realise it, how could she? She didn't know that there was anything to look for. She was as graceful as the lykan she was, but looked more fey than wolf.