Ceri Morris hoisted her pup onto her back. "Hush, Bryn, we're almost there." She murmured, starting back on her path after her brief respite.
"But Ma, why we gotta go to a human place?" He spat. Ceri sighed.
"I'm sorry Bryn, but I'm taking you somewhere you'll be safe from Alric. I don't care if it's human if it will keep my precious cub safe." She told him softly. In order to save her cubs, she would have to embrace the side she abandoned when Alric's pack had found her. She was going to her parents' home. Her tame parents, Alun and Anwyll Morris.
She reached the town, and followed the familiar roads to a small house, worn yet welcoming, looking the same as it did seventeen years ago. She hesitated, but climbed the steps. She knocked on the door, and waited as it was opened. She shoved Bryn into her mother's arms, ignoring her surprised gasp. "Ceri, I missed you. Please, come in, get warm. I thought you were dead!"
"I've got to speak to Remus." She told Anwyll Morris. The elderly woman nodded sadly, looked at the boy in her arms, and then gave a small smile. She obviously thought Ceri was finally giving in to the mating bond. It wouldn't hurt to allow her mother a few moments of happiness, no matter how small. "Although, would it be alright if I cleaned up first?"
Anwyll's smile was bright as she ushered her daughter to the guest bathroom, and started the water. "I'll bring you some clothes." The warm water felt heavenly, and Ceri stayed in longer than she should have, before climbing out and changing into the clothes her mother had brought her. She tied her hair back, exposing her worn features, something she hadn't expected when she left. Life had been hard. She entered the kitchen and smiled at Bryn, cleaned up and sitting with a bowl of chicken soup. Ceri turned down the offered bowl, and started for the door.
"I need to see Remus, mother." She insisted.
"He lives in Maxwell and Noni's old home. They passed not long after you left." Anwyll sighed. Ceri felt a surge of grief for the Alphas of her old pack. Steeling herself, she nodded and walked out. The Lupin's home was four streets away, and beautiful. She sighed again, remembering the antics she'd gotten up to with Remus. She gazed nervously at the old Victorian house. The three story home loomed over her head, making her more nervous than she already was. She took a deep breath.
"I'll be okay." She told herself, trying to stay confident. She shakily knocked, and waited as Remus opened the door. When it did, her wolf rose up and almost forced Ceri into a prostrate position, his presence was so strong. An Omega wolf mated to a strong Beta, Ceri had always been submissive to Remus, but her years away had made her forget how strong he was.
"Ceri?" He gasped in surprise. She studied his face. The years had been kind to him, although his scars still shone brightly.
"Remus." She said nervously, baring her neck in a sign of submission. He reached out as if to draw her into a hug, but decided against it.
He ushered her inside and sat her down in an arm chair. She had cleaned up, but she still felt self-conscious. This man was still someone who commanded her attention, and she found herself once again drawn to him. He was her mate, something she hadn't valued when she was young, and something that was too late to claim now. Remus disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared soon after with a kettle of hot tea, two mugs, and sugar.
"How are you?" She blurted out, desperate to break the silence.
"I'm doing okay." He said tiredly. He turned his attention back to her.
"Ceri, where did you go?" He asked her after handing her a mug of tea, sweetened to her preferences.
"I was found by a wild pack, and joined them, but that is not why I am here." She paused and looked Remus in the eye, fighting every urge that told her to submit. Remus set down his mug and leaned forward from the chair across from her.
"Why are you here Ceri?" He sighed tiredly. "You left seventeen years ago. Why re-open these wounds?"
"Remus..." She started, tears gathering in her eyes.
He didn't let her finish. "No, Ceri! You betrayed me! You left me to break, and for what? Did you find what you wanted? No, or you wouldn't be here. Why did you finish the mating with me if you were going to leave me to find comfort in the arms of another man? Don't deny it. I can smell others on you. Some are your pack, but one shares your scent and another. That means kids, Ceri. You had kids with another man. Then you come running here with your tail between your legs. So what are you doing here?"
Ceri wiped at the tears in the corner of her eyes. "Remus, I am dying of gywnn (trial by poisoning) and I have two sons." Remus looked away, growling under his breath. "Bryn is eleven, and with my mother right now. His father was Cayden Evans, a military man and a wolfblood." Remus's head snapped toward her, mouthing the name. It was a familiar one. Ceri continued. "Ryddian is seventeen. Remus, he's yours."