Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Family Welcome
Warning: Family fluff alert.
Cyran POV
The Great Hall was full of howls, raucous joy, and family love. And children. The Cresta pups had all stayed up, and worked together to stall at bedtime.
And there were newcomers! Lots of them. Several shifter mages, shifter mates, a human mage, and at least two non-magical humans.
But family came first.
Cyran threw his arms around Ravyn and then Jude–they'd started this explosive chain of events. "Welcome home," he said.
Kyon wrapped Lilia and Dane in a hug. "We missed you."
A shriek as the littlest brothers Patch and Dirge hugged, while Anneliese greeted Thessi. Azandra was hugging Jiro and Garnet. Bram got fussed over, and Naomi kissed Daxius on the cheek. Everyone got the full Cresta homecoming welcome.
The newcomers all stood off to the side. A pretty dark-haired mage. An older shifter with scraggly white hair. An exquisitely beautiful blonde, pregnant mage and her black-haired blue-eyed Dane lookalike shifter husband, and a young boy who resembled his father. His aunt, by the look of her, was with a dark-haired dark-skinned human beauty. They held a soft, fluffy, white bunny. A rough-looking human male carrying a sword, some sort of guard. Cyran smelled a rogue–maybe a reformed rogue. Another dark-haired human woman with some sort of magical protection on her.
And he sensed Hades.
Somewhere in the room, that energy, that smell reached him. It would ALWAYS grab his attention.
His stomach tightened, feeling like a giant hand reached in and squeezed it.
"Welcome," he said to the newcomers. "Welcome to shifter territory!"
"Welcome to the Evenhide Pack," Kyon boomed. "I'm delighted to give the pack back to my big brother, Dane!"
Azandra gave everyone a tired smile. "And I'm thrilled to have my mate back."
"And welcome to the newcomers," Kyon added.
The little boy shrieked with delight, seeing all the Cresta pups. "Little shifters! They're so cute."
He tore off to greet the pups, who all howled at seeing another child around. In no time, the little boy had pups piled around him. Jiro's and Garnet's red-haired, quiet Lucina crawled into his arms. "She's adorable," the little boy gushed.
His parents stood arm in arm with sweet, loving smiles on their faces. "Now, William, remember, you're much bigger than they are," the father warned.
"Okay, okay," William said, with such a serious expression that Cyran melted.
Ravyn grinned. "Everyone, that's Lucina's cousin, William. He's the future Lord Blackthorn. And those are his parents, Lord Talon and Lady Kelara Blackthorn–they're Sinsworths. They, along with Head Mage Pascalline, are secret envoys from the royal court in Lugdunum."
Overcome, Cyran looked at his sister, who wiped at her eyes. Garnet didn't often get weepy in public, but this was an excellent reason. They had long-lost family returned to them.
Ravyn introduced the others. "Lord Talon's sister, Lady Florinda, and her mate, Lady Alicia. The Blackthorn family attorney, Walter Longbridge, Esquire. And one of the family's protectors, Aldwin Brocius. He's human, just like Marieke, Daxius' wife--but they'll keep quiet about meeting shifters."
He strode over to Lord Talon and Lady Kelara, feeling pulled to them, an invisible cord drawing him to them. "I'm Cyran Sinsworth. Ex-Alpha and current Regent Alpha of the Crimsontail Shadows Pack. Welcome home. Where have you been?"
His embrace was swift, and he felt like he never wanted to let go of his new family. They smelled so incredible, and they hugged him as if they'd known him for years. He felt his Naomi slide into the huddle and shower them with affection.
Meanwhile, he could hear William cooing over the Cresta pups. Life couldn't get any better than this.
Cyran stepped back, gazing hungrily at his new family. "Just think, we got you all because Great-Great-Great Uncle Talon Sinsworth ran off with a human."
With a bark of laughter, Talon said, "Good Goddess, you're blunt."
Grinning boyishly, Cyran said, "Too much sometimes. I can't wait for you to come and see YOUR pack."
"Evenhide and Silverpaw are their packs now, too," Dirge told him, his chest puffed up. "I'm Dirge. The youngest Cresta brother. And I mated with an elf." Thessi beamed at them, and Dirge continued. "You've got human blood in you? Well, that's no problem."
Talon stiffened. "I never said it was," he growled. "For me or my son."
Kelara elbowed him, smelling like the forest after a wildfire. "He didn't insult you."
Azandra growled at Dirge. "He's young. Forgive him."
Appeased, Talon blushed. "Sorry."
"No worries," Dirge chirped. "I'm used to poking my family."
And just like that, Talon fell under the spell of the Dirge Cresta charm. He ruffled Dirge's hair.
Dirge sniffed him. "Hey, Patch, do you smell that?"
"New big brother smell," Patch declared. "Haven't had that since Cyran joined us."
Warm and loving, Azandra's parents Ransome and Titania came forward to embrace the Blackthorns, greeting Alicia and Florinda, then Talon and Kelara. "We've dealt with humans before," Titania said in her smooth, polished way. "They didn't know who we were, of course, but Ransome does a lot of business with the human world."
"Humans make up almost a quarter of my customers," Ransome declared.
Talon smiled bitterly. "Oddly, it was my parents who wanted to keep me away from the shifters. Especially my part-Lycan father."
"To live more easily among humans," Ransome guessed.
"Partly. My first wife was never told what I was," Talon admitted. "Her family would have been horrified. They were wealthy and wanted the title, but not that badly."
Jude grinned darkly, pulling Ravyn into his embrace. "I know the type."
Titania sniffed, and she and Azandra got identical disgusted looks on their faces. "Money and titles can't give someone class. It looks like young William has it in spades, all from you. And your current mate, too."
Talon and Kelara both melted like snow in spring. "Thank you," Kelara murmured.
If Cyran judged Talon Blackthorn correctly, he kept that Alpha toughness in place at all times. That was the face he showed the world. Cyran could relate. For either of them to be so open and vulnerable with strangers meant something.
"You're a part of us now," Dane assured Talon and Kelara, spreading his hands to include all of their family and household. "In fact, I want to present you all to the pack tomorrow morning–if that's acceptable to you."
* * * * *
Ravyn POV
She'd wanted to reprimand Dirge for his silliness, but Talon had overreacted. Probably because of his family's attitudes. How horrible! How narrow-minded. Even though they lived in the human world, that didn't explain them being so judgmental and not allowing Talon and his sister to embrace their shifter heritage.
Talon paused, thinking.
"No pressure," Ravyn added, knowing how overwhelming a traditional pack welcome, with the Alpha and Luna presiding, could be. "We can wait until you're settled here."
"And used to our people," Jude added.
Meanwhile, the Cresta pups were crawling all over William, and Naomi greeted Flufftail, the bunny, with delight, then said hello to Florinda and Alicia. Both ladies seemed enchanted by everything, while Flufftail wasn't nervous in the least. She let Naomi stroke her fur without flinching.
"She knows I'm friendly," Naomi gushed. "Bunnies are far more intelligent than most people give them credit for. They can travel long distances, they're experts at hiding from danger, and they have natural healing magic."
Alicia smiled at her. "You know our Flufftail, alright."
Naomi's reverence for nature as a hunter was winning points with the ladies. For that matter, all the Crestas were making their newfound family feel at home.
Talon seemed to take all this in, his midnight blue eyes thoughtful.
Ravyn whispered to Jude, "He's adjusting remarkably well."
Thoughtfully, Jude said, "I think he's been missing his own kind, the community, the sharing, the feeling of belonging. His first marriage sounds like a nightmare." He gave Ravyn an adoring look. "He didn't have the luck I did, twice."
She kissed him gently. "I think she's his secret weapon."
Kelara whispered in Talon's ear, and he relaxed, a joyful smile spreading across his chiseled features. Raising his hand, he announced, "Alpha Dane, Luna Lilia, We can't wait to greet your people!"
Dane clasped his hands. "Wonderful. Tomorrow morning, then. Let's get you all settled."
William piped up, "Can Flufftail and I sleep with this little pup?" He cuddled Lucina.
His parents jumped in and gently told him that Lucina's parents wanted to spend some time with her. William pouted, but got diverted by Patch and Dirge, who took him off on a tour of the house on the way to the bedrooms upstairs.
Wonderful idea. Jude's hands on her were making Ravyn wild with desire. After the Blackthorns and their family got settled, Ravyn pulled Jude into their bedroom …
And pounced on him.
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