Chapter Seven

"Don't you EVER fucking touch him!" Lore had dragged Hugh from the spot Harry had thrown his body to the side of a near by house, picked the smaller man up by the neck, slammed his head and shoulders into the wall.

The alpha looked quite the sight. His blonde hair was sticking in every directing, deep red blood ran out of his nose to pool on the collar of his shirt, straight white teeth were bared, hands shaking in wild fury and eyes glittering dangerously.

"Lore…please." Hugh choked out, clawing desperately at the alpha's powerful grip. "He-"

"Shut up." Lore hissed furiously. When Hugh's eyes began to gloss over and his attempts at breaking the alpha's grip grew weaker, Lore threw the semi-limp body to the cold wet ground. "Get out of my sight."

The two boys who had watched the entire scene play out, from the moment that Harry sat at the table to the end of the scuffle, bolted into action. They rushed forward to grab the younger werewolf who was struggling to get to his knees and gasping for breath.

"Come on, Hugh." Tommy whispered desperately, fearing the wrath of his alpha who was watching the three with a blazing glare. Once they had gotten their friend to his feet, they proceed to drag him out of Lore's line of vision as quickly as possible.

The alpha was seething. Not just at the fool who had attacked his pervious but at himself as well. He had to learn how to control his emotions; what would the pack think of his leadership now? He buried his aching face into his hands and took a moment to collect himself.

"And what just happened here?" Lore froze and then let out a bitter laugh at the deep raspy voice addressing him.

Logan Aurelius was an intimidating man. Standing at the same towering 6'7" as his son, the two easily were the tallest in the pack. The recently retired alpha had dark brown hair that ran from a short length on his head to a scruffy full beard on his powerful square jaw. His friendly blue eyes matched his son's but the crow's feet around them gave him a more weathered look.

His father walked over to his only son and gently lifted his head from his hands. Logan took a moment to observe the tired look and the trail of dried blood on Lore's face.

"Let's get you washed up son." Logan escorted his son to their family home down the street as quickly and covertly as possible. Once inside he set the twenty-four year old alpha on the couch and left for the restroom. When he returned he brought a damp wash cloth and wordlessly handed it to Lore, who wiped at his face angrily.

"I know how protective you are of him but you must control your temper." Matching blue eyes met in a silent stare. Lore finally sighed and returned his head once more to his hands.

"I know dad, it's just that-"

"You feel very strongly toward him." Logan finished. Lore lifted his head out of his hands and stared at the floor by his father's feet.

"I'm so confused." He said quietly with a dejected look.

"I know." His father took a seat next to him on the sofa and wrapped a giant hairy arm around the younger man's shoulders. "But every so often, before we've found our mates, we develop strong feelings toward other people; a special connection so to say. Sometimes this is because that person that we feel so strongly for is the key to finding our other halves. Mates are a very special blessing for those of us who are graced with them. For instance I categorize my life as before I met your mother and my life after I met your mother."

Lore gave his father a hard look. "What are you trying to say?"

Logan smiled at his son and ruffled his hair affectionately. "I'm just saying that perhaps you should be a bit more open minded when it comes to Harry. Proactive. You might be surprised who you meet. And I think you should start with a very good apology and perhaps some groveling?"

Lore gave a humorless laugh.

"But not in public. Remember, you are the alpha. You don't want people to think you are getting soft." Logan continued with a smirk before quickly pulling himself off the couch and walking quickly toward the open door. "Speaking of your mother, I haven't had a good…" But Logan strutted through the threshold before Lore could hear the rest of the sentence.

Lore sighed and looked at his watch with a pained expression. Lightly taping a button on the side, the face turned into a list of different destinations and actions and tiny names etched themselves on the new hands. Lore looked for the one labeled "Harry" and noticed it was resting on traveling. With only a moment's hesitation Lore pulled his cell phone out, dialed and patiently waited for someone to pickup.

-0-

The evening was beginning to creep up on the New York skyline. Remus gripped Teddy's hand a little tighter as the toddler made a grab of a large toad in the grass in front of their new house. The werewolf had been around the entire perimeter of the Aurelius territory and had seen no sign of Harry.

"Harry?" Remus called into the living room of the two story bungalow as Teddy giggled and looked around expectantly. "Now where did that kid go?" He mumbled to himself. He lightly pulled Teddy toward the kitchen and set him in one of the chairs which the toddler immediately jumped out of to run into the family room squealing. Remus shook his head and reached for the phone to try and call his adopted son again.

After a moment he heard a familiar ringing and swore quietly when he noticed Harry's phone on the kitchen counter. Almost as soon as he hung up, his phone rang with an unknown number.

"Hello?" The werewolf asked tentatively. "Teddy, get in here!" He covered up the receiver and yelled as an after thought.

"Remus?" A soft voice came through the other end.

"Harry! Where have you been! I haven't seen you since lunch and I've looked all over-"

"I'm at Paul's." Harry cut him off with a serious tone.

"Paul's? Damn it Harry! You can't just run off to the other side of the country without even letting me know where you are or taking your phone!" Remus suddenly stopped talking when he heard a strange sound echo through the ear piece.

"I'm sorry." Harry choked before letting out a quiet sob.

"Harry." Remus continued gentler this time and reached down to scoop up Teddy who had picked up on the sudden change in his father. "What going on pup?"

There was a rustling sound and then a different, deeper voice came through.

"Hello? Mr. Lupin, its Paul. Why don't you and Teddy come over for dinner tonight? I'm sure Harry will explain everything."

Remus paused for a second. "We'll be over as soon as we can."

-0-

After getting slightly turned around in the Quileute territory, Remus finally made it to the small "Mother in Law" home on the edge of the woods. Walking through the open door he spotted Harry and Paul sitting at a small wooden table in the kitchen. Harry looked as if he had been crying, his arm was wrapped and supported all the way up his shoulder and Paul was running a soothing hand up and down his back.

Teddy, spotting Harry's tear ridden face, suddenly broke out into loud cries; his cubby arms reaching for his distressed older brother.

"Harry!" Remus exclaimed worriedly. "What happened to you?" He rushed to his oldest son. Harry just flashed him a sad smile and took the struggling toddler into his good arm. The tiny black haired boy wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and whispered a sorrowful "Hawy?"

"I'm fine baby." Harry whispered back with a soft kiss to the boy's forehead.

Paul suddenly stood up and addressed the young boy. "Hey Teddy? Do you want to see a trick? I'll have to show you outside though." He said enthusiastically.

Teddy threw a questioning look at Harry who nodded with a slightly wider smile. "Go on Teddy. Daddy and I will be right here when you come back."

Teddy sniffled but accepted the giant tanned hand offered to him. Harry let out a genuine grin this time as he watched Paul walk with a hunch so that he could continue to hold Teddy's hand on the way to the door. He looked up to meet worried amber eyes that flashed with a hint of something wild.

"So…"

-0-

By the end of the story Remus was audibly growling into the summer air.

"Now Remus, please don't do anything! You know how dominant werewolves are at that age, I'm sure the alpha didn't know his own strength…"

"That's no excuse, Harry. You know that." Remus gave Harry a hard look and spoke so icily that the air seemed to freeze. A moment later he let out a defeated sigh and looked at the ground. "You know, if you don't want to come home for the full moon tomorrow night you don't have-"

"You know I will."

Remus looked up at the boy he considered his oldest son and nodded.

"I know you will." He agreed.

A strange silence carried through the room until it was broken by a muffled giggling coming from outside.

"Let's go rescue Paul from that little monster." Remus got up with a small smile as he helped support Harry out of his own chair.

The younger boy let out an exasperated half laugh at the action but secretly liked the fatherly attention. "Remus! I can get up fine on my own!"

"Okay! Okay!"

They both made it just outside of the door before they were stopped in their tracks. Right in front of them was a disgruntled looking sandy brown wolf that was playing "horsey" to a bight eyed Teddy and another small, black haired girl right around the same age. Paul stood right beside the massive animal just incase one of the toddlers lost their balance.

Harry covered his mouth with his good hand to stifle a laugh. Paul noticed the two on the porch and sent them a handsome smile, turning just in time to steady the young girl leaning a bit too much to one side.

"Whoa there, Kim!" He said with a rumbling laugh which both toddlers responded to with their own giggles.

The giant wolf seemed to glare at Paul before gently lying in the dirt, hinting at the man to help the children dismount.

"Are you sure Jared? They're having a really good time." Paul said with a mocking smirk. Jared just continued to glare at the russet skinned man until Paul finally helped the children down.

Harry glanced over at Remus who was watching the scene with a shocked expression. When the wolf ran into the woods and returned moments later as a young man, the older werewolf murmured "That's amazing." to no one in particular.

"Yeah" Harry agreed while admiring his boyfriend's taunt body and handsome smile. "He is."

-0-

"So Jared got a babysitting job?" Harry asked with a grin. He was gently stirring a pot of vegetable soup; Paul, standing hip to hip with the smaller man, was flipping three large burger patties in a skillet.

Remus and Teddy had left a few hours prior when the small black haired boy started to slip off to sleep. But not before promising Jared future play dates. According to the teenage boy, Teddy and little Kim got along famously. Remus had given Harry a final sympathetic hug, looking wearier than he had in years; whether due to recent events or the on coming full moon was unknown but Harry didn't like the look one bit.

"Oh no! I forgot to tell you the good news with everything that's been going on!" Paul flashed the smaller man a mischievous smile that lit up his entire face; Harry couldn't help but match it.

"What?" He asked excitedly.

"Jared imprinted!" He all but shouted. "I know it looks a little weird at the moment but all Jared feels right now is a protective instinct, once Kim matures then… well, you know." Paul finished, looking at the burgers slightly embarrassed. "It's also kind of strange that it took so long for the imprint to happen. It should happen at first sight. We have some theories floating around. Some of the elders think it's an age thing, but then why now? She's still only two. But you know what I think? I think that fate gives mates a second chance. Once a person sees their mate, that's when they imprint, you know? But if something happens to the mate before they even see them, it's like they get another chance to roll the dice; the imprint will move to someone else. Like Kim wasn't Jared's original mate, but something happened to that person so fate decided to give him a chance closer to home."

Paul stopped to take a breath and shook his head at the silence.

"It's a stupid theory, I know."

He glanced over at the young doctor and noticed that Harry was standing rigidly, staring at the wall in front of him. Harry honestly hadn't heard a word past "imprint".

"Harry?" Blank green eyes met his. They didn't look like Harry's eyes at all. "What's wrong, baby?" He reached out to lay a massive hand on the boy's good shoulder but Harry quickly shrugged it off as though it had hurt him.

"Nothing." Harry whispered. "Paul, I'm not that hungry anymore. I'm going to go up to bed."

"Harry! Wait!" Paul shouted after him but the smaller man had all but run up the stairs. The bedroom door closed with a loud bang. "Fuck, what just happened?"

Paul quickly finished cooking and moved everything off the hot stove. He poured himself and Harry a small bowl of soup while eating a double hamburger on the way up the stairs. When he got to the door he knocked quietly.

"Harry? Are you okay in there?" Hearing no answer the massive shape shifter wandered in to investigate only to find the room pitch black. By the light of the door, he could make out the figure of the smaller man facing away from him in the bed.

"Babe? I brought you some soup. Are you awake?" Paul whispered, walking quietly over to the other side of the bed, gently set the tray down on the bedside table and carefully lowered himself into a sitting position next to the British man.

A large russet colored hand brushed back the messy midnight black locks as Harry let out a tired sigh and slowly turned over.

"I'm sorry, Paul." Harry tentatively wrapped his smaller arms around the thick waist. "I'm just a bit moody, what with everything that's going on." Green eyes closed tiredly as the massive hand moved to stroke along the thin back.

"It's okay. Please, just eat something. You are too skinny already." Paul shot Harry a teasing grin that Harry interrupted with a serious look.

"You have to admit that our odds aren't looking so good right now."

Paul opened his mouth as if to interject but Harry beat him to it. "I've already had my heart broken once. I'm just afraid to let it happen again." Harry's voice broke on the last word and he closed his eyes for a couple moments to collect himself.

"Oh, Harry. You know I won't let that happen." Paul bent down to gather the distraught young man into his protective embrace.

"You don't have a choice. We don't have a choice"

"But I can try. We can try."

-0-

Harry rolled his eyes in amusement at he heard a human sounding howl echo from outside the new house. "Honestly, it's not even three o'clock yet and they are already letting those kids run amuck."

Remus was busy cutting up a very rare streak in to tiny pieces while Teddy waited not-so-patiently for his pre-full moon meal.

"Aaruuuooooo" Harry winced as Teddy let out his own howl in response to the older children outside.

"Not yet bud." The older boy laughed as he ruffled the short bronze locks. "How are you holding up Remus?" Remus flashed his oldest son a grin as he snuck a small piece of meat between his lips.

"Never better." He answered honestly. "Harry, would you feed your brother please. I have to meet with the heads of the households to establish a perimeter for tonight." He set the plate full of meat bits on the table. "I should be back about an hour before moon rise."

After Remus left the day carried on rather uneventfully. At one point Teddy over enthusiastically yelled "'Ore!" while pointing to the window. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be just Mr. Aurelius who shot Harry a friendly wave which the older boy gladly returned.

As the young man held an ice pack against his sore shoulder, he couldn't help but be angry with himself. He was already beginning to forgive that over grown dog. It was hard not to. Harry had to fight with himself to make sure to give the alpha the cold shoulder tonight if Lore approached him. Unless of course, it was to give him a well thought out and sincere apology. Harry huffed, damn him and his inability to stay angry at that dope for too long.

A half an hour to moon rise, the small family headed out to the central clearing in the center of the perimeter. All around other families were out mingling in long robes, loose shorts and in the smaller children's cases, nothing.

Harry smiled and waved at a group of girls around his age sitting in a massage circle but politely turned down their offer to join. The black haired boy was eager to get out of the crowd and into the wooded section of the land that his family had been changing in since joining the pack for their transformations. He kept a sharp eye out for any boys his age as well as the alpha himself, intent of avoiding them. It was especially on these evenings that the men tended to be more volatile than usual.

Once reaching the clearing Harry took a moment to watch Remus and Teddy. The graying man was standing proudly in a black floor length robe that was open at the top, exposing a tuft of hair that reached the top of his collar bone. He used one strong arm to hold his small son to his chest. Teddy had left the house restless but had ceased his squirming as soon as the fresh summer air hit him and instead looked intently around the clearing. Today the pair matched; bronze hair, slightly silver in Remus' case, and glowing amber eyes that reflected a wild sovereignty that had developed over the past year.

Noticing that everyone was beginning to become overly restless, Harry transformed into his lupine animagus form and lay on the warm grass to wait. He didn't have to wait long until loud barks and howls echoed through the trees and clearing and suddenly a tiny tawny pup was licking at his face and nipping at his ears.

Harry let out a surprised yep when the small wolf pup accidentally trotted on his injured shoulder. In an instant, Moony's massive form was standing protectively over Harry with Teddy clasped firmly in his jaws. The little wolf whined in protest and kicked fruitlessly in his father's grip. Moony shot Harry a questioning look before slowly trotting off into the clearing.

The black wolf lying on the ground let out a loud sigh that blew the leaves around his face in all directions. He slowly got up and limped carefully away until he was further into the trees, just along the edge of the perimeter. He wearily took one last look around and after spotting no other wolves in the area, he lay back onto the soft ground and drifted off into a light slumber.

-0-

A low whine and then a deep growl pierced Harry's sleep just a few hours before the sun rise. The black wolf sleepily opened his exotic green eyes only to be faced with the enormous form of a tawny dominant lying on his stomach and looking at the other with intensity. Harry looked around to make sure they were alone; it wouldn't do well to have the alpha showing weakness in front of the pack, especially on the full moon. He let out a quiet growl before carefully getting up and limping a few feet away from the larger wolf then plopping down facing away from him.

The alpha let out another quiet whine and crawled on his belly until he was right against the small black form. He then began to softly lick at Harry's injured shoulder, alternating to lick the underside of the smaller wolf's muzzle as well. After a few moments Harry opened his green eyes once again and looked at Lore as if to say 'you really hurt me'.

The giant wolf just rested his massive head in his paws and gave Harry a morose look before scooting closer to give an apologetic lick to the other wolf's nose. 'I'm sorry and I love and miss you.'

The two wolves stared at each other intently. Suddenly a loud howl broke through the humid summer night. Lore's ears shot up and the massive form began to lift itself off of the ground. 'Talk with me later.' He nuzzled at Harry's head and licked his snout a few more times before answering with his own booming howl. He took a few steps away and shot Harry one last apologetic look with his tail in between his legs before he turned, puffed out proudly and darted into the clearing to his pack.

-0-

A few minutes after the alpha had left Harry heard another howl, this time he recognized it. Remus. Harry limped out into the clearing without any problem until a pair of adolescent wolves tumbled over him in the middle of an intense wrestling match. From his position on the ground, the black wolf took a moment to look around the giant clearing. There were all colors of wolves ranging from snow white to pitch black, and all ages and sizes. The puppies were all asleep in a pile in the center of the clearing, having worn themselves out in the early hours of the transformation. Standing just feet away from the pile was a congregation of the largest wolves in the pack, Lore and the old alpha included. They seemed to be wrapping up for the night and preparing for the morning by making sure everyone was accounted for.

The proud light blue eyes met his own for a moment before looking back at the group of older wolves. Harry blinked and continued his search for his adopted father. Suddenly a warm body pushed itself up against his side and Harry looked over to see Moony with a devilish grin on his face. Harry licked the tawny wolf's muzzle in greeting which the other happily returned as if to say 'Where have you been hiding all night?' The two made their way over to the mass of children before settling down for a quick rest before they returned to their human form.

The following day was lazy and slow, typical for the day after the full moon. Everyone in the pack was catching up on their sleep and cooking large, heavy meals full of meats and fruits for their families.

Harry was resting peacefully in a hammock in the back yard with Teddy's tiny body sprawled out on his chest letting out quiet snores. He heard the back screen door slide shut and the sound of soft footsteps across the crisp grass. A shadow was cast across Harry's face so that the sun wasn't beating down so hard into his eyes.

"Stay there" Harry laughed quietly. He carefully opened his eyes to make out Remus' tall, lanky form carrying a wrapped tray.

"My boys." Remus said with pride in his voice. He ran a wrinkled hand through his youngest son's hair and planted a quick kiss on Harry's head. "Harry, do you think you can run this over to the Aurelius' for me? Charlotte's has wanted this recipe for a while now. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

Remus reached down and scooped up Teddy's still sleeping form and replaced it with a tray of chocolate éclairs.

"Okay, okay. I'm going." Harry said with a roll of his eyes and struggled out of the hammock. As he began walking across the yard, Remus stopped him.

"And Harry?" Harry turned around to face the older man. "I know what Lore did was wrong and I'm angry about it but he has been in a pretty bad way since it happened. Just try to let him talk. Sometimes dominants aren't all there" Remus made a tapping gesture on his temple with his free hand "when it comes to their emotions. He came by earlier this morning. I told him I'd send you by his parent's with breakfast."

Harry stared at his father for a moment before nodding and continuing on his way. At least he won't be in for a surprise.

-0-

It was later that evening that Harry decided to pay Paul a visit. He really wanted to tell his boyfriend about the events of that morning. In the end, he and Lore had made up. Just as he had known they would. The stubborn alpha also agreed to stop making fun of his boyfriend but made no promises for the rest of the pack. Harry laughed quietly to himself and shook his head. Lore had been devastated to learn that he had unintentionally injured Harry just as he had suspected from their brief meeting in the woods on the full moon night. He had spent the entire morning babying Harry and waiting on him hand and foot in apology. The alpha had finally allowed Harry to leave after making him promise to be extra careful on the Quiluete territory and not to let that "flea bitten mongrel… I mean Paul" take advantage of him.

After receiving no answer on his phone, Harry tried Paul's home only to find it empty. He let out a sigh and decided to take a walk to the cliffs to admire the ocean, intending on trying to find Paul once again in an hour or so.

The path was bright green with small clovers and new shrubs; rain droplets and the moist soil created a lingering smell that soothed the young British doctor for the majority of his walk. A few more steps toward the wall of trees that marked the end of the path and that feeling disappeared, only to be replaced with one of anxiousness and foreboding. No sound. There was no sound. Not birds chirping, not leaves rustling, not twigs snapping. Harry froze.

The air around him suddenly grew cold and heavy. Harry slowly turned around and started when he saw three pale figures with hungry black eyes standing just feet away from him.

"Well, well. Who do we have here?"

-0-

-0-

AN: Sorry guys. I forgot to post this but I'm working on the next chapter now so that should be out pretty quick.

Getting closer to the end!