"My brother has changed so much thanks to you Alexi," Aric told his sister-in-law when they were alone.

"What do you mean?" Alexi asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"When you were murdered before his sense of humor for one disappeared. He rarely smiled and never laughed. When he did smile it was a half a smile that didn't reach his eyes at best. He was still my brother and a good man, but it was like all the joy of living had drained right out of him. That changed when you came back into his life and I can tell the difference. He's back to his old self again, to who he was before you were taken from all of us."

"I'm glad," Alexi said. "He did tell me that he was suicidal for a long time."

"Yeah, he was," Aric sighed. "I can't really blame him either. He was grieving. He loved you to the depths of his soul, but so did Adam and me, just not romantically."

"You do know he murdered Thaddeus for his crime," Alexi said and Aric nodded grimly.

"He did exactly what he was supposed to do and that was kill the person that had taken you from him, from your family, from your friends. The fact that you were heavily pregnant at the time only made his rage at least twice as bad. Thaddeus got exactly what he deserved. I only wish Aaron had been able to torture him longer," Aric said his feelings on the matter obvious in the tone of his voice.

"So you approve of what your brother did then," Alexi asked in astonishment.

"Why do you think I wouldn't?" Aric asked her.

"Well, he was a human being," Alexi said.

"Alexi, I know you weren't raised amongst shapeshifters like you and your sisters should have been, but Aaron did exactly the right thing. There has to be consequences for serious crimes and you know very well that there weren't really any prisons back then at least not close by. You belonged to Aaron heart, body and soul, just as he belonged to you. Every part of you belongs to your Alpha, which meant that what Thaddeus did was an automatic death sentence. There are certain things you just don't do to somebody else's wife or mate whether wolf or human. You don't have sex with them, you don't threaten them or their pups and you definitely don't murder them. There're just some things that are unacceptable. Personalitywise, Aaron is probably one of the strongest alphas I've ever known, which comes from his supreme confidence in himself. He's intelligent, knows right from wrong, has airtight ethics, has very strong instincts and knows how to handle himself in almost any situation.

"But taking justice into your own hands..." Alexi said biting her lower lip.

"Shapeshifters have a different set of rules, different laws. Murder is one of those that there is no defense, particularly if it was deliberate and not in self-defense of your life or another's. You know what I'm saying is right, because your instincts are telling you that what I'm saying is true," Aric explained. "Besides, why worry about it? It happened in another lifetime."

"I'm afraid it will happen again," Alexi tried to explain her fears.

"It likely will," Aric acknowledged. "But you must put it into perspective. Whatever my brother does will always be to protect you, your children or an innocent. It is what a true Alpha does."

"I know what you're saying is true," Alexi said finally. "I told Aaron the same thing, but I still don't like it."

"So what do you worry about most?" Aric asked.

"That he'll be caught and put in prison. That would be disastrous as we both know," Alexi said. "Besides, it would destroy me to see that happen.

"I wouldn't worry about that very much Alexi," Aric assured her. "Aaron knows how to cover his tracks if he ever has to do something like that again. Remember, Aaron and I are both centuries old, which means we learned about every trick in the book since then. We were around when video cameras, TVs and cell phones were first invented."

"Would you have tortured someone like Aaron did, if the cause was just?" Alexi asked quietly.

"No and neither would you. We don't have the personality to do something like that and not feel incredibly guilty afterwards. I would kill though, if it was to protect Natalia or our kids. Omegas tend to be quieter, more gentle and while we understand that sometimes killing someone is necessary we don't want to participate or watch," Aric explained.

"My instincts are telling me you are right, but I certainly don't have the training I should have," Alexi said shaking her head.

"That's not your fault though," Aric said immediately.

"No, it's not, but that doesn't mean I don't regret that I don't," Alexi said quietly.

"Yeah, I would too," Aric said, as he and Alexi sat side-by-side quietly caught up in their own thoughts.

~~~Aaron and Alexi~~~

"I think it's time we had a talk with my sisters," Alexi told Aaron, even as she held one of her new daughters in her arms. She'd had an easy delivery considering it was triplets and Aaron had been beaming from ear to ear ever since their births a few weeks before. It was obvious that the babies daddy adored his pups and that was the way it should be. Her sisters as well as Aaron's brother doted on the pups. Her own brother from another life had finally showed up and they had hugged forever. It has been a very emotional reunion for both of them, though she was the only one that had cried buckets.

That was to be expected she been told as Omega's tended be more emotional though that wasn't always true, just mostly.

"Yeah, it is," Aaron agreed, even as he held his son. "Your sisters aren't stupid and Adam looks just like you, except in a more masculine way and while it could be a coincidence..."

"Since so many people share the same facial features and bodies types, but still, they are going to figure it out pretty soon and that he has to be related," Alexi agreed. "I know they're already suspicious, particularly Amelie. While it was nice to see Adam again and have a reunion..."

"He could cause some major problems," Aaron said. "On the other hand, they were bound to run into each other at some point as he intends to come and visit often, even if he doesn't live here in the city."

"Which is why I think it's time we reveal our secret," Alexi said.

"We'll invite them over in the next few days. There's no guarantees they'll believe us though," Aaron said.

"Well, for one thing one of us needs to point out how young they look. None of the three of us look anywhere near 40 and we both know that we are," Alexi suggested.

"I'm not sure that will be enough,"Aaron said, "but it's certainly worth a try."

"Probably not, as they might just consider it strong genetics, though more likely they should have at least some gray or white in their hair now me included," Alexi said. "What about the fact that we heal faster?"

"That's an idea," Aaron said. "Just cut a finger and let them watch it heal in a few seconds. That's one reason we're not so easy to kill because of our ability to heal so fast."

"That certainly didn't help me when Thaddeus murdered me," Alexi said with obvious distaste.

"Your wounds were simply too grievous," Aaron said soberly. "Also with you being heavily pregnant, well, you lost most of your healing ability, at least until after they were born. If somebody had gotten there really fast and bandaged your wounds it's quite possible you would have healed though no doubt the babies wouldn't have."

"Well, that sucks," Alexi said finally. "I wish I had known that sooner."

"Yes, it does suck," Aaron said with a chuckle at the word suck. "And yes, I should've told you sooner about not having much healing ability until after the babies."

"It's okay you're forgiven," Alexi said. "It wasn't really very important, but it's a good thing I never had a broken bone as a kid or that my sisters didn't either."

"I'm sure you had various scrapes and bruises though," Aaron said.

"Well, yeah," Alexi said with a confused expression.

"Well, did you have them the next morning?" Aaron asked amused.

"Come to think of it no," Alexi said finally understanding what Aaron was getting at. "I don't believe I never noticed and I don't think my sisters did either, though I could be wrong about that and they might just think it's normal"

"It probably never occurred to you three that bruises and scrapes should not heal that fast. You were kids and most kids don't think about that kind of thing," Aaron said. "It just doesn't occur to them."

"I suppose," Alexi agreed. "The three of us were just trying to survive, so we might not have noticed something like that, something that seemed so insignificant."
"So I'll call Amelie and Audra and let them know of the invitation. When do you want to do it?" Alexi asked.

"Tomorrow will be fine they can come over early to play with their nieces and nephew," Aaron said.

"That's certainly one way to not make them suspicious at the sudden invitation. They simply adore our kids," Alexi grinned.

"Yes, they do and that's not a bad thing at all," Aaron said.

"No, it's certainly not," Alexi chuckled.

~~~Aaron and Alexi~~~

"It was nice of you to invite us over to spend some time with our nieces and nephew," Audra said, as she gave her sister a hug.

"You're welcome here anytime you know that," Alexi said.

"Yes, you are, so you're welcome to come over every few days," Aaron agreed

"You're welcome to come to help change diapers," Alexi added. "It'll give you practice if you ever have your own pups."

"I don't think that's too likely anytime soon," Amelie said.

"You never know when you'll meet the right man for you," Aaron said.

"I certainly did and I never expected it," Alexi added.

"The triplets should just be waking up from their nap, in a few minutes and then you can see them. You're even welcome to change their diapers," Aaron told Alexi two sisters with a mischievous grin.

"We might as well get in some practice," Amelie said. "They're both right, we might find our own mates someday."

"Considering that we're all 39, I doubt very much we'll meet somebody like that," Audra said.

"Don't give up hope yet," Aaron told Audra. "The Omega for you might just be around the corner."

Audra said nothing but she wasn't entirely sure she agreed, but since she didn't want to get into an argument she kept her silence.

The four of them chatted when there was a wail over the baby monitor.

"Well, it looks like a triplets are awake," Alexi said cheerfully. "Come along you two, you can practice changing diapers. Aaron we'll probably only be gone for half an hour."

"Take your time I know the routine by now," Aaron chuckled.

Alexi gave him a wink and then rose and headed for the stairs.

Alexi's sisters rose and followed her up the stairs towards the nursery.

~~~Aaron and Alexi~~~

"Here is your papa, sweetie," Alexi told her daughter Jaida, just over half an hour later. "She's all clean and ready for her daddy to cuddle her.

"Here is my little darling," Aaron said, as he took Jaida out of his mate's arms. He swung the tiny girl around causing Jaida to giggle.

Amelia and Audra watched this smiling. It was clear that Aaron loved his triplets. Alexi had said that he was an excellent father and spent plenty of time with his children. Now here was proof. He apparently even helped change diapers, so Alexi wouldn't become totally exhausted, which was really thoughtful of him and something a lot men, alphas or otherwise wouldn't do, leaving it totally to the mother. Then again, there was three of them and not just one and Alexi couldn't do it all herself.

Aaron did the same thing with the other two children who seemed to love being swung around in their daddy's arms trusting that he wouldn't drop them.

"Here you go," Aaron said passing one of his daughters to Amelie.

"Hey there, Miss Jaida. Look at how much you've grown, just in the last few weeks."

"According to Alex children grow really fast at this age. Their growth will eventually slow down and then they'll be finished once they hit 18,"Alexi told her sisters.

"So what age will they change into wolves for the first time?" Audra asked.

"Sometime after they hit six months old for the voluntary change," Aaron said. "They'll do it instinctively. As for the full moon shift, they'll do that at the same time."

"Well it's a good thing changing on the full moon isn't painful then, because I would hate to see them to suffer while the moon forced their small bodies to change," Amelie said.

"Me too," Audra agreed.

"Yeah, it's a good thing," Aaron said. "I would hate to see them suffer as well, as I am their father. Unfortunately, werewolves aren't so lucky when they are forced to change."

"I'm always been grateful that the transition is smooth and painless," Alexi said.

"I don't think any of us can blame you for that, as who would want to put up with the pain until the transformation is done?" Audra said, even as she cuddled Evan in her arms.

"We can agree on that," Aaron said.

After a few more minutes of conversation Alexi said while trying to hide her nervous. "We have something else to tell you."

Amelia looked at Alexi and Erin sharply. "You aren't pregnant again are you?"

"No, of course not," Alexi promised her overprotective sister. Her voice was steady, even while she blushed at Amelie's mistaken conclusion.

"You shouldn't jump to conclusions," Aaron told Amelie disapprovingly. "Let us explain and try not interrupt the will never get through it.

"Sorry," Amelie apologized to her sister who nodded in acceptance. Alphas nearly never apologized, but Alexi and Amelie were close, as they were sisters after all. While the sorry was said grudgingly it was sincere, which is what mattered.

Aaron started the explanation and Alexi did her part as well.

"Things like immortality or reincarnation aren't real," Audra finally sputtered, once there was a pause in the explanation.

"Normally, I would agree with you, Audra," Alexi said quietly. "But think about it. Where do you think shapeshifters and werewolves come from? They can't possibly be some sort of meta humans as our species have been around for a very long time. In fact, long before they had the technology to even think about doing some kind of weird gene splicing experiment."

"As for it being a mutation of some sort, while it might be possible its very unlikely or the government would likely know about us, but we've gone out of our way to keep our species a secret and the werewolves have done the same," Aaron said calmly cuddling his son.

"As Aaron pointed out to me just the other day you remember all the scrapes and bruises we used to get and how they disappeared overnight?"

"Yeah, I do remember that," Amelie said slowly. "It never occurred to me that that should be impossible. That kind of thing takes a few days at least to heal if not a week."

"So you're saying that immortals heal fast and that is part of your immortality," Audra said.

"As an immortal, we heal nearly really fast depending on how bad an injury is. If it's just scrapes and bruises you might not even notice before they've disappeared, but as for a broken arm or leg that will take longer."

"So why do you believe that Alexi is in reincarnation of your Adrianne?" Audra asked.

"I knew from the minute that I saw her for the first time. Not only because she's my Adrianne's nearly identical twin, but there was also her scent that was exactly the same. You must realize that a shifter's sense of smell is very acute, certainly better than a human's. It was also obvious within minutes that she had no memories of her past life."

"As for me, I felt a sense of strong familiarity, but that was it. It was like I had known Aaron for years, maybe even since we were children, but finally, whatever barrier was blocking my past memories was finally broken. I remember our previous relationship, how we grew up together, how we married when I was 16 and Aaron was 18, how we were dopily in love," Alexi explained with a goofy smile. "It took me awhile to sort out the memories that had smashed into my mind like a flood leaving behind a wreckage. The memories didn't even seem like mine at first, but then, within days I knew they were. I started to remember my previous life."

"So if you were immortal how were you murdered?" Amelie asked.

"It is possible if you know what you're doing," Aaron said, even as he gave Alexi hand a loving squeeze. "The fact that Alexi or Adrianne was pregnant made it a lot easier. You see, females of our kind don't heal nearly as fast when they are pregnant. All the energy that goes to healing one of us goes directly towards the babies to make sure they are born healthy. Thaddeus, who was the one that murdered my Adrianne, knew exactly what to do to get her to comply."

"Threaten the babies," Audra said in understanding.

"That's exactly what he did to," Alexi said quietly. "He said I should've been his and because I hadn't married him he murdered me without remorse. He didn't care that I never would've married him for he was human and in the time in which we were originally born it was very dangerous to reveal what you were. Because of that fact there never could've been a relationship between us."

"You could be burned at stake for being a witch, stoned or drowned," Aaron explained grimly. "People like us were always careful for that very reason."

"Even if he had been another shapeshifter or even a werewolf I never would have married him. I didn't like him at all. I remember he really creeped me out actually and my murder tells me that my instincts at the time were correct. What chills me, whenever I think about it, is the casual cruelty of it all, as to Thaddeus, he wasn't murdering an intelligent being he was murdering an animal. I would've been a pretty object to him, but not truly his wife, someone he treated equally," Alexi said in a monotone with no emotion. "He absolutely hated that I was pregnant with another man's children, so decided murdering me was the way to go for my supposed betrayal, even though I was never his."

"We can be killed it's just very difficult, but the thing is we are reincarnated afterwards. That doesn't happen to normal shapeshifters though or to werewolves for that matter."

"So those that are immortal are the only ones that have that privilege," Audra said.

"As far as I know," Aaron shrugged.

"So are you telling us this because you believe we are immortal as well?" Amelie asked.

"I'm telling you directly that you should be, because if Alexi is immortal like me, so should you be," Aaron told the two bluntly.

"How can you be so sure?" Audra asked.

"Because it always happens that way," Alexi explained quietly. "That guy you just met recently, Adam was my twin brother in my last life. While we're not technically related this time around he's still my brother. I have memories of him to and how close we were. You saw how much he looked like the three of us and that's because technically he's related, even if that was in my last life."

"Do you know how weird you sound?" Audra said. "You sound like you're insane."

"You don't have to believe me, Audra," Alexi told her quietly, with just the barest hint of hurt in her words, causing Audra to cringe. "You'll see for yourself when in another 10 years you notice that you haven't aged at all. If you think about it we should have white or gray hair, perhaps age lines in our face, but we don't. All of us barely look 30 and we all know that we are nearly 10 years older. Considering our lives you would think we would show some signs of age due to stress at least. Something like lack of energy the older you get."

"Audra!" Amelia said quietly with command in her voice. "Do you really think our sister would lie to us? Your hurting her feelings with your disbelief instead of accepting her explanation."

"Well no, I don't believe she would lie to us and if she did we likely be able to tell," Audra admitted. "It is just so unbelievable."

"Don't you think I don't know that, sis?" Alexi asked her tone frustrated. "I didn't believe it at first myself, even though I felt what Aaron was telling me was the truth. When I finally got my memories back I knew he was being honest, as my memories told me so.

"I'm sorry sis," Audra finally said.

"It's okay I know how hard it is to believe. I'm sure we would have been taught a lot of things if we had been brought up within the shapeshifter community," Alexi said.

"You definitely would have," Aaron who had remained silent agreed. "You were put at a severe disadvantage because nobody bothered to come to try to claim you. You would've been taught the possibility that you could be Immortals, which is no more than 2% of the shapeshifter community, though that's just a rough estimate."

"So you are saying earlier that you believe we are the children of a God or at least their descendants?" Amelie asked to break the uncomfortable silence.

"That's what is believed anyway," Aaron said. "We believe that we are the descendants of Fenrir, who was the son of the Norse god Loki. The legend is that he could shapeshift into a wolf and passed that onto his many children, which is how the shapeshifter race began. If it's true or not I can't tell you with any certainty, but it does make a certain amount sense."

"How so?" Amelie asked curiously.

"Just that it has to be at least partially true, because there's no way that shapeshifters would exist if not so. I don't believe there is any other way it could've been done, because as we said already we just didn't have the technology or the knowhow. We were very primitive back then, so it has to be some sort of gene in our genetic makeup that makes it so, that allows us to shift like we do. I know very well that legends or myths get exaggerated over time, but there's probably at least some truth to the old legends," Aaron explained.

"I hadn't thought of it that way, but he's absolutely right," Amelie told Audra.

"Yeah, he is," Audra agreed.

"So will these beauties be immortal?" asked Audra, told Alexi that her sister had finally accepted that they would no longer going to die, at least not easily.

"It's not likely," Aaron said shaking his head. "I'm not saying it's not possible but considering these our first children the possibility is nearly zero."

"That doesn't mean however, that at least one set of our pups won't get what they're parents have, our immortality," Alexi said. "After all, we're never going to get too old to have children."

"That's a very valid point," Amelie murmured.

"I see you hadn't thought that far ahead and I don't blame you. It took me quite awhile to absorb all the implications, though having my past memories helped," Alexi admitted. "Unfortunately, you don't have that advantage."

"How about something to eat as I know you two have a lot to absorb," Aaron suggested gently.

"That sounds good," Audra said, even as her stomach suddenly growled. "I didn't realize how hungry I was until you mentioned food."

"I think we could all use something to eat," Amelie said.

"I certainly could," Alexi popped up to give her sisters big hugs. "I'm so glad you accept our story."

"I don't see where we have a choice, because if you're right if we won't see any difference in our ages in ten years, we'll apparently look exactly the same. I never really thought about it before, but you're right we don't look much older than 30 and neither does Aaron as he's apparently been around for hundreds of years," Amelia said.

"I would've been too if not for that bastard Thaddeus," Alexi said surprising everyone with her cuss word. "On the other hand, I wouldn't have you, my sisters, if I hadn't been murdered, so I'll be grateful for that reason alone, even if I wish it hadn't happened."

"Of course, you wish it hadn't happened! After all, you lost your pups before they even had a chance to be born and also your life," Audra snorted. "You'd barely been married for a year when it happened and really, that's no time at all. You would have barely been out of what they call the honeymoon stage of a relationship."

"Just to point out that true mates are never going be out of the honeymoon stage as you put it, but other than that, you're absolutely right. I was without her for so long there's no way I'm ever going to let her believe I don't love her with every fiber of my being. I finally have my second chance at love and I'm not about to mess it up," Aaron swore.

"Neither am I," Alexi agreed. "A marriage is a partnership after all. It isn't all one sided. The two of us finally have the family we craved in our last life, something that Thaddeus went out of his way to wreck and nothing is going to take that from Aaron and I."

"Luckily, we have no hidden enemies this time, but that doesn't mean we won't be on our guards just in case," Aaron added.

"Look, I know you two have a lot to absorb and I'm sorry for dumping this on you, but you had to know that you were immortal like Aaron and I. It's not the kind of thing you can keep secret forever and then you would've been mad at us for not telling you."

"That's true," Amelie agreed seriously. "It's just as well that you told us and didn't keep it to yourself, even if it is very hard to believe."

"I think we can both agree to that," Aaron said dryly, causing the sisters to laugh.

The four of them chatted for awhile after that particular subject was dropped for the moment. Alexi's two sisters took their leave after a nice lunch.

~~~Aaron and Alexi~~~