Chris had been waiting for him to finish his physical and Ezra couldn't hide his relief when he left. Chris fell in step beside him, close enough for their clothes to brush against each other. There was a steady drizzle coming down.

"I'm fine, Chris," he said before the other man could ask.

"I know."

"Not that Dr. Jackson would have taken your word for it."

"Of course not."

"He told me to take it easy."

"Thought as much."

Ezra stopped, eyes roaming over the town. Rebuilding was already going on. "You want to tell them right away," he finally stated, sounding almost resigned.

"We'll be busy for a while. Got a bunch of visitors that might need assistance. Town's under repair, too. Better bring the pack up to speed."

"Before something slips?"

The hazel eyes filled with compassion. ::Ezra…::

Revealing his true nature to the rest of the pack was nothing Ezra had been looking forward to.

Vin joined them, a silent shadow coming seemingly out of nowhere, the blue eyes tracking between the two men. His brows rose, understanding reflecting on his features.

"Nathan give you a clean bill of health?" he asked out loud.

"More or less. He couldn't outright tell me I'm fine. That would be against his ethics or something." Ezra grimaced. "Eat, sleep, no heavy lifting. You know the drill."

Tanner chuckled. "Always the same. So, made up your mind?"

Ezra closed his eyes, the tension still running through him. He felt his shoulders and neck muscles lock up, a headache starting to creep up to settle down behind his eyes. Finally he had silently surrendered.

"If you truly want this to remain between the three of us…" Chris began.

"Four. I believe Josiah remembers seeing me with wings. And they are pack." Ezra bit his lip, feeling total off-kilter. "I trust them."

Vin squeezed his shoulder. "Yes, they are pack. Your pack. We'll all be on the same page. I'll tell them. You stay here, eat, rest. When you're ready…" Another squeeze, then he was gone.

Ezra scrubbed his hands over his face. Chris' presence increased, powerful and balancing, giving him something to lean on without physically touching him.

"Sorry," the crossbreed whispered.

The hand on his back was heavy and warm, grounding him. "Nothing to be sorry for, Ezra."

"It's hard to ignore one's upbringing…"

Chris pressed a kiss against one temple. "I know."

Ezra blinked at the open display of affection. Sure, there weren't so many people around in this weather. But still…

"Uhm, you should go with Vin. Handle the pack. Deal with whatever fallout there is."

"No fallout to handle."

Ezra still chewed on his lip. Finally he squared his shoulders.

"I have a meal to eat. Dr. Jackson's orders." He gave the other man a crooked smile. "Not going to cross him. I also desperately want a shower."

Larabee chuckled, then gave him a real kiss. "You do that."

Ezra stared after the departing man, refusing to call his current state 'shocked', but he was. Shocked by Chris' easy nature, how he didn't mind showing affection. The man who was normally harder to read than a rock was suddenly… human?

He gave a little laugh and shook his head.

Shower, food, he decided. Shower first. Always first.

Something else popped into his mind. Yeah, maybe food would have to wait, he decided. There was another, more pressing matter to attend to after he had cleaned himself up.

X x X xX x X xX x X xX x X xX x X x

Vin had gathered the other men and given them a brief explanation. The revelation about Ezra's true nature drew some surprise, but neither Buck nor Nathan looked like they would whip out a gun and go hunting their friend. Buck looked slightly mystified, then shrugged it off with an easy smile. Nathan's expression spoke of his medical curiosity, though he would be able to hold that in check. Ezra would run fast and hard if he so much as gave him the wrong impression of wanting to test him.

"What's a crossbreed?" JD wanted to know curiously.

"What do they teach you in school?" Buck grumbled, but his eyes were dancing with humor.

"Crossbreeds are shifters like you and me," Nathan explained, ignoring the other man's comment. "With one exception: they have more than one form."

"Like triples?"

"Tripleshifters are unusual, but accepted. They stay within the range of their first form. Like being able to be a wolf and a dog. Crossbreeds have no limit."

JD gaped. "No limit?"

"Theoretically no. And they don't have the limit within a form. They can sprout wings or gills on a landbound form."

Vin nodded slowly. "Ezra's fox form had wings."

"Holy shit…" the young wolf breathed. "Wow! That's fantastic!"

Nathan's smile was grim. "As fascinating as they sound, they are rare. Not because of the genetic trait that enables the shifts, but because they hide. Have to hide. Crossbreeds suffer from badmouthing, from witch hunts, from rumors and lies. A crossbreed would have been killed in some areas not so long ago, without question. Or incarcerated, if lucky. Since you can't keep them locked up due to their abilities, many so-called judges found it easier to kill them. Inside Territories jurisdiction is within the hands of the regulators. It's mostly safer."

"But why?" JD was visibly horrified. "What's so bad about being able to shift in so many forms? It's… it's their gift!"

Buck ruffled the younger man's hair. "Thank god for the new generations," he rumbled. "Generations before you have spread the rumors and lies about crossbreeds being impure, about them being an abomination of nature, a mutation that needs to be exterminated. You can't understand it, you can't shove it into a handy box, it's abnormal or vile or dangerous."

"So they just killed them!?"

"Like others hate snakes, for no other reason than the fact that they are not mammals or birds," Nathan said darkly. "I ran into people who despised waterbound shifters. I never understood their claims, couldn't wrap my head around it. For them it was clear as daylight that waterbounds were unnatural. But to be a crossbreed outweighs all of that even more. Across generations. Prejudice is everywhere, but wherever you go, crossbreeds are at the top of the list. Even the cities, though it's rare nowadays."

"And Ezra's one," Vin said evenly. "He's one of us and he's a crossbreed." His blue eyes were steely, holding a warning. "He's pack."

JD nodded vigorously. "Of course he is. He'll always be pack! Doesn't matter what else."

It got him a tiny smile. Nathan and Buck nodded grimly.

"Good to hear," a dark voice said, startling JD, who shot their pack leader a careful look.

Chris looked his imposing self, composed, dangerous, a true leader. His eyes, while all human, held an expression that was a clear warning. A dark promise that whoever hurt Ezra would answer to him and his justice.

"Of course Ezra is pack," JD reiterated. "Nothing has changed! He's the same guy we've known for two years now."

Vin exchanged a look with Chris, who relayed a lot with just his eyes sometimes. Like now.

"He's pack," he repeated. "'S all that matters. Anyone come here looking for trouble will know what pack means in this Territory."

The others nodded their agreement. Vin was confident that Ezra had nothing to fear and whoever came at him the wrong way, he had six others who stood by his side. Not to mention that crossing Chris Larabee was a dangerous thing to do. Or threaten his mate. Whether Ezra wanted it or not, it would get out throughout the Territory.

The land knew. He had felt the shift in the ley lines, in the nodes. The pack was stronger than before now, grounded in itself, the alpha's position unthreatened and powerful. Ezra had given back what Sarah's death had taken from the black wolf, and Chris was the undisputed leader of their team.

"Been to see Josiah yet?" Buck asked.

Chris looked like he had swallowed glass and his growled "No" sounded like it, too.

The alpha needed time, but he was their leader and he had to handle this. Ezra was healthy and whole, still a little banged up, sure, but otherwise perfectly fine considering what had happened. Nathan had inspected the healed wounds thoroughly and found they were coming along perfectly. Right now their crossbreed pack member was cleaning himself up and making himself presentable, as he had declared.

Vin knew he was stalling for time, putting up shields and masks. The pack would tear them down in time, but they would let Standish go at his own pace. Tanner would see to it, just like Chris.

"He's at the chapel," Nathan said calmly. "Had a bad few days."

Chris' expression said it all. He didn't care.

"Not yet, cowboy," Vin said softly, catching the taller man's attention. "You need some distance. No sense laying into him like that."

The expression grew even darker, more feral, but Chris simply stalked over to the sheriff station, probably to find something to take his mind off things until he was calm enough to look at the whole incident from a watcher's perspective. As pack alpha he had to distance himself, had to leave personal feelings aside, but Vin knew it would be hard.

Well, what was a second in command for? he mused. He would have his hands full.

As always.

Chris wasn't a violent man who gave in to his baser nature or wolf instincts. He had a sharp head on his shoulders, a quick mind, and he didn't lead through punishment and pain.

They would get over and through this, too.

tbc...