The storm hadn't really lost any of its intensity. Going by the creaks and groans around them, the repeated banging noises as things were thrown against the ERSS, it was truly a Centennial.

Chris listened to it with half an ear, neither scared nor disturbed the force of nature. He knew he was safe here, knew they had enough food, water, and everything else they might need. Looking at Ezra, he carefully asked his next question.

"It never occurred to you to trust us… me… with your true nature?"

Ezra's ears went to his head automatically, wings tightly pressed against his sides, and he had ducked down like expecting an attack. Chris hated to use the con man's current imbalance, the way his most basic shields wavered again and again, to get to the bottom of the whole charade.

But Ezra had told him to ask questions. So he did.

"Sometimes," was the barely audible reply.

"You never went with that 'sometimes'."

"No." It was a quiet, almost strained denial.

"An alpha's priority is to the pack," Chris told him evenly, as if reciting some ancient lore. Of course, there was no book on being a leader, on how to handle a team like the men he had under his command, but it was in his very nature. It was instinct and a natural aptitude. "The alpha protects everyone within the pack. I had always believed you knew you were under that protection, Ezra, no matter what."

The crossbreed swallowed, tongue licking over his lips. Another nervous tell. Yes, he was wide open and Chris was pained to see him this vulnerable.

"We might have had our differences," Larabee went on, voice laced with humor, "and we still have them. And I enjoy them, Ez. I enjoy pitting my wit against yours. I didn't think you would see this as a reason to hide what you are."

Still hide, he added silently. After two years. After everything they had been and now had become.

"The first instinct of a crossbreed if to hide," Standish finally mumbled. "Always. It's what we are taught. Hide who we are, lies protect us, the truth kills us."

"I wouldn't have killed you, damnit!" Chris growled, expression intense and close to feral at the very thought the fox could think he would. "Just because you can shift in whatever form you want? I don't believe in that shit about evil and abominations, Ezra! I never have! No pack leader would kill a pack member cold-blooded!"

Well, they shouldn't, Chris amended to himself. Unless someone tried to kill him, Larabee didn't just go around killing people at random. Least of all his team!

The small head ducked back as canines glinted in the artificial light of the shelter. "I know."

"And still you hid."

"I…" He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "I hid. I had to. I realize that it's a matter of perception, but instinct is, as they say, a bitch. Life-long indoctrinations are, too. It's something I can't shake. I can't go against what has become second nature. And then… I betrayed you. I turned and ran out on you. I couldn't think of a single way how my… revelation would be perceived in any way that didn't get me killed."

"You came back," Chris murmured, pained by the words.

"Yes. Yes, I did, but I betrayed your trust in myself. After that… I didn't dare say anything about who I was." Ezra's wings quivered a little and he hugged them tightly to his slender form. His tail was wrapped just as tightly around his lower body.

"And then you became pack. My pack. I'm your pack leader and even though you're not a wolf, you followed. That's against instinct, too, right?"

Because Chris had met Maude Standish once and he knew that everything Ezra Standish had done in the past, it had gone against everything the woman had taught her son. She had no compassion, wouldn't give a single dime to a person in need, wouldn't throw a game of cards because the player would go home broke and hungry. Maude was a shark. Not in a shifter sense, but Chris was convinced that if she was a shifter, she wouldn't be cute and cuddly.

As much as the whole team had been amused by Ezra's behavior while his mother was there, she had set Chris on edge like no other personal visitor had before her. Something had been off and if he had analyzed those feelings back then, he might not have been as amused as the others by Ezra's loss of composure. Back then he had chalked it up to a parent upsetting a child in their new work place. Maude had made no secret out of her disdain for the law profession her son now worked in, insinuating it was probably a big con.

So Ezra had thrown a lot of his teachings into the wind, except for the one about hiding what he truly was.

"That's not the same," the crossbreed argued. "Look at Josiah and Nathan. They are bears. Granted, very different characters, but loners. Like a fox," Ezra drove his point home.

"You're not like them."

And while the bear as an animal was a loner, the human who shifted into one wasn't. Shifters didn't reflect all traits of their animal form. Ezra had played his part, gave everyone what they wanted to see.

"You do realize that the first time I was coerced by a very vindictive Judge with a malicious sense of humor," was the annoyed addition.

"You stayed after your year was up," the Fenris reminded him, a glint of humor visible in the yellow eyes.

Ezra sighed, tail tip twitching. He glared at it, like his tail was a traitor, had a mind of its own.

"You are pack. All of you are pack," Chris went on. "You are my team, the men I work with, and it doesn't matter where you come from, what you have done in the past, what your abilities are. It doesn't matter at all!"

"I couldn't tell you," the crossbreed said, sounding almost pleading now. "You… you were more to me than just a person I had to work with. I had come to… form bonds. Relationships. Friendships. Not just a temporary partnership, a business relationship… I didn't understand what a pack meant, but then you happened!" It sounded almost accusing. "You… you offered and like a fool I accepted!"

"You aren't a fool," Chris told him quietly.

"For a long time I thought so. You became a friend and then I made the most grievous error a con man can ever commit."

"You slept with your boss?"

The green eyes flared. "No. Yes. Yes, we slept together and I didn't know why you even wanted me, but I was… I felt…"

"Happy?"

"Yes." Ezra turned his head away, refusing to meet the knowing eyes. "This suddenly felt like home, not just one of the many places I've passed through. I belonged," he whispered, almost desperate now. "I had friends. Friendships. Relationships. You wanted me, despite knowing my rather shady past, and it wasn't just because you needed something from me."

"An alpha doesn't abuse rank like that," Larabee told him, feeling a surge of anger at the implications that maybe, in Ezra's past, something like that had happened. To him or to someone he knew. "I didn't sleep with you to get something. I did it because I wanted you, still want you…" He dropped his voice in a low rumble. "Because there is something between us I can't shake off."

Again, the unspoken word hung between them and Ezra stared at him, those vivid eyes reflecting it back at him. They were both aware that their casual relationship had stopped being that a while ago. A long, long while ago. Not just a few weeks, or months.

"I couldn't tell you," the crossbreed groaned desperately. "Whenever I wanted to, I knew it was just another betrayal. And after… after… everything…" He exhaled sharply. "It would have destroyed everything… me, you… the pack…"

::Ezra, no::

::Yes!::

::It didn't destroy us now:: Chris reminded him with infinite patience and gentleness.

Ezra's expression was pure agony. ::This, here, was different! You saw me… and I couldn't hide and couldn't stop you from finding out who I really am! I was…:: A low, suffering whine escaped him. ::Facing you with all my senses intact… conscious… I know it wouldn't have been pretty!::

Now the wings tried to spread open by the sheer agitation radiating off him and Ezra winced as the strained muscles protested. He barely managed to get them off the mattress and they ended up a messy heap. He panted with the exertion, shaking badly from the emotional outpour.

"It might not have been pretty," Chris rumbled as he nosed the uncooperative appendages closer to the light gray form. "But I wouldn't have made you leave."

Ezra winced again. This time because the words hit too close to home.

"I would never make you leave, Ezra P. Standish," the wolf told him, voice dropping into a soothing murmur as he nosed against the other shifter's neck. "I admit that not knowing what you are, getting it dumped on me like that… it… is painful. I'm your alpha. I should know this."

Ezra shunned away again, but there was hardly room and he kept entangling his wings. Larabee's low, warning rumble had him freeze, the spike of fear too sharp to be ignored. Chris lightly tugged at one ear.

"I am your alpha," he repeated. "But I'm also your friend. You have at least five more of them. You are not alone any more, Ezra Standish."

Chris could almost see Ezra's thoughts whirling around in his head. He wanted to run. So hard and fast. But he also wanted to stay here.

"Crossbreeds never talk about themselves," Ezra finally choked out, emotions fighting for release. The emotional tidal wave grew larger, threatening to become a tsunami of uncontrolled dimensions, and he bowed his head. "Even if we think we have found… someone to trust. Never tell anyone who and what you are. Word spreads. Word cannot be stopped. Anyone who knows can slip up. Our lives depend on it."

"You know we won't. Vin won't. I want the pack to know, but if you really fear them…"

"I don't fear them!" Ezra snapped, bristling at the implication. "I fear what an excited tale of Mr. Dunne might entail. I fear that Mr. Wilmington's boasting might let him slip up!"

Chris slowly shook his head. "Won't happen. This is a serious matter, Ezra. A very serious one. It's about your safety and well-being. Pack keeps secrets. We have kept many so far. Yours will be just another one."

He deflated a little. "I trust you," he finally said, staring at the mattress. "Good lord, I shouldn't ever have, but I trust you. The pack. You. My alpha. I let things slip and lived with the fear of repercussions."

"We're not letting anything happen to you. No one in town will know. Not Mary, not Inez, not Casey or Nettie, no one."

It was a solemn vow, one Chris would always follow. His team, his pack, came first.

Chris was suddenly very human and his broad hands captured the narrow fox head, thumbs brushing over the light fur.

::Ezra::

::I wouldn't run out on you again:: was the shaky promise. ::Even if things came to light… got ugly… I wouldn't::

::I know::

::I'll stay:: Ezra breathed. ::Always. I'll…::

::I know:: Chris repeated, interrupting the desperate words.

::But it could hurt all of you!::

::It won't. I weathered through too much to get us where we are. You know people were wary of us, of the mixture we brought. We protected them, kept the Territory safe::

::This is different…::

He pressed a kiss against the soft forehead, silencing the protest. Chris carded his fingers through the silky fur, along the wings, coaxing them to open so he could check on the torn out feathers and their general condition. He straightened a few rogue ones and combed through the rest like he would through hair.

Ezra watched him, fascinated, his own emotions tumbling through him, overwhelming his still tired and exhausted mind. Too much had happened. Too much would still happen. He was scared. He was actually terrified. Even with the leader of the pack on his side, even with a Fenris next to him, the fact remained that he was a crossbreed.

The sure caresses, the meticulous grooming, had a rather relaxing effect.

"You're beautiful," Chris murmured, stroking the uninjured skin, letting the warmth of his touch suffuse into the turmoiled mind, calming the crossbreed. "Very beautiful."

Satisfied with his work, he shifted and curled up around him again. A lot still remained unsaid between them, even if they both felt the intensity of their relationship. Chris refused to be baited into analyzing his feelings on a much deeper level and Ezra was too busy biting back the primal panic that wanted to rear up whenever he thought about leaving the shelter when the storm had passed.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Nothin' t'be sorry for," Chris replied.

Ezra struggled with an automatic reply, then simply buried his nose in the dense, black fur.

Rumbling softly, the wolf rested his head on the smaller form, covering Ezra almost completely as the crossbreed slipped into a doze once more to give his recovering body what it needed.

Fine tremors ran through the other, then finally he quieted down. The presence of his alpha helped evening out the waves.

tbc...