Home. We were going home, finally. I had to restrain myself from pushing everyone out the door of the cabin in the morning. To be honest, they didn’t need me pushing them. Everyone was just as excited as I was to go home. Amie had taken my altercation with Alpha James harder than I expected. She had been keeping close to me ever since. Not that I minded. It was where I preferred her to be, but I didn’t like her to feel stressed or worried. We needed to get back home so I could give her all my attention.

After breakfast, everyone offered to help wash up and pack the last things. It was almost comical to see them all ‘helping’. My aunt did her best not to snap at them as they got in her way.

“Okay, everyone. Take one last look around, make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. We won’t be back for another ten years,” I called out. Amie and I had already made sure everything in our rooms had been packed and stored in my truck. We stood waiting while the others had a look around.

“All done, everything is packed,” Sam declared.

“Then let’s get in the cars. Time to go home,” I told them. There was a loud cheer, and we filed out of the cabin. I opened the door to the passenger seat for Amie. She had the packed lunch my aunt and Raina had made for us. As she got seated, I leaned in and kissed her, because I didn’t have a good reason not to.

“A day and a half,” Amie said as I pulled out and made sure everyone was following.

“Homesick, Red?” I asked.

“Yes.” I took her hand, and as the warrior manning the checkpoint let us pass through, she let out a sigh, and I could feel her relaxing. I kissed the back of her hand while watching the road.

“A day and a half,” I reminded her.

“When we get home, do you think the pack will let us stay locked in our house for a week?” she asked.

I laughed. “Are you kidding me? Medow and my aunt will steal you away to plan a mating ceremony.”

“Oh! I didn’t even think about that.” She was not big on celebrations. It had gotten better since she came to the pack, but she was still bad at things that put her in the spotlight. For everyone else's birthdays and celebrations, she was the first one to organize. It was nice to know my aunt and Medow would make sure Amie got her moment as well.

“I think you need to plan for it,” I said. “What else do you want to do when we get home?”

“Gardening. I know Medow said she would look after your garden, but I miss spending time in it. Maybe there will be enough rhubarb left to make a pie,” she dreamily said.

“Our garden. Well, let’s be honest, your garden,” I corrected her. Her smile grew bigger.

“And I want to walk along the creek; the wildflowers will soon be out of season. And go for a run on pack land. The full moon is only two weeks away. What do you want to do?” she asked.

“Spend time with my mate,” I told her.

“That’s not fair. You make me sound like a bad mate,” she objected.

I smiled. “Not at all. You have all the right to do things that make you happy. I will just follow you around,” I said. She looked at me like I was crazy, but then she smiled.

“I would like that. And we need to move my things,” she added to the list.

“And I will talk to Miles about the addition to the house,” I told her.

“We should probably schedule some time to run the pack as well.” She giggled.

“Yes. That as well. But we will be allowed to sleep in for the next month,” I decided.

“Deal,” Amie agreed. We continued talking, planning, and eventually falling silent. It was the nice kind of silence we had always enjoyed. We stopped at lunchtime to eat and switch drivers.

“Take a nap; you will have the first evening shift,” Amie told me.

“Am I talking too much, Red?” I teased her.

“You are,” she said. “Now be quiet and sleep.” She put on music on a low volume, and I twisted so I had my back halfway to the door. That way, I could lean back and still watch her.

The journey was just as unproblematic as when we drove to the games. Amie had asked everyone if they wanted us to stop for the night. I knew she wanted to get back as soon as possible, but as the Luna, she put the others’ well-being first. No one wanted to stop. We were all equally eager to get back. It was late evening on the second day when we crossed into the pack land. A shiver ran down my spine as the connection reestablished itself.

“Home,” Amie said and took my hand.

“Home,” I agreed. Word of our arrival had spread through the pack, and almost everyone stood waiting outside the pack house as we parked in the open space in front of it. I drove and parked at my house. It was right next to the pack house, and I wanted everyone to have a chance to greet their families before I sprung my surprise on them. Amie and I hung back and watched the reunion. Jake was hugging Mari and Cadence while kissing his mate, who was holding their pup. Sam had Medow in a tight hold as he placed a kiss on Martina’s head. Medow handed their daughter over to him, and all around them, similar reunions were happening. “Ready?” I asked Amie.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she told me and took my hand. We walked towards the pack. Medow looked up to greet us. Her eyes grew big. She looked at Amie’s neck, then at mine, and then down to our linked hands. I could feel Amie was as amused by her reaction as I was. Medow didn’t seem to know what to do. In the end, her instinct won out, and she bowed.

“Alpha, Luna,” she said. The pack became silent as they looked at Medow and then at us. Realization hit them, and they followed Medow’s lead. Even the members who had been with us bowed, even though they had already sworn their allegiance once.

“Thank you, but that is enough,” Amie told them. I looked at her and smiled. That is why I missed the missile that was Medow as she hurled herself at Amie. At first, my instinct was to pull her off as I was afraid Amie would get hurt, but she just laughed and hugged Medow back.

“You couldn’t have waited until you came back? You didn’t even call to tell me?” Medow said as they both laughed.

“We thought it would be more fun this way,” Amie told her.

“You robbed me of the opportunity to welcome you home as a Luna deserves,” Medow said, pretending to pout. “And you!” she said, looking at Sam. I saw my friend turn pale. In the past, I would have found it funny, but since mating, I truly understood the need to please your mate.

“We told him not to say anything,” I told Medow. She looked disapprovingly at me.

“Well, then I guess I will forgive him,” she said. Sam looked relieved.

‘Thank you,’ he linked me.

‘Remember this if I ever need to be saved,’ I mindlinked back. The pack all came around to congratulate us, and Medow and Shelly demanded to know how we found out we were destined mates. To my delight, Amie blushed as she told a very watered-down version of events.

“Thank you, everyone. It has been a long day for the ones coming back. I think we all could use some food and then head off to bed. Tomorrow, we will celebrate the pack’s new rank,” Amie told everyone. There was a lot of cheering and howling as the pack disbursed. I noticed Ramses had a trail of single women following him around. He was the only unmated member of the participants. I put my arm around Amie as we walked into the dining hall. We sat down at our usual table. My aunt, Sam, and Medow joined us. There was food being brought out, and we ate as we talked. As I expected, my aunt and Medow wanted Amie to sit down with them to plan the mating ceremony.

“We need to have a meeting first; the top tier have some things to discuss,” I told them. They agreed. Once we had eaten, I could see Amie hiding a yawn. “We will deal with your things tomorrow. I think it’s time for bed,” I told her and kissed her. She happily nodded. We walked together towards our home. I paused outside the front door.

“What? Please don’t tell me you have lost the key or something. If you have, we can spend the night in my apartment and figure it out in the morning,” she told me. I smiled at her and showed her the key. I unlocked the door and opened it, but when she was heading inside, I stopped her. I swept her up in my arms. “What are you doing?!” she asked. I chuckled and kissed her.

“I think this is a human custom. The man should carry the woman into their home on the first night. I like it. It feels like we should mark this occasion somehow. This is a good way,” I said. She smiled and kissed me.

“I agree. Please don’t slam my head on the frame,” she told me.

“I would never. You are too precious.” I carefully carried her into our house and kicked the door shut behind us. I walked towards the stairs. Usually, when Amie was in the house, we stayed on the ground floor. Upstairs were only bedrooms and bathrooms. She had never had a reason to be there. It was different now. I climbed the stairs with her in my arms. She had put her arms around my neck and was resting her head on my shoulder.

“I could get used to this,” she told me.

“I will carry you around every day if you wish.” She giggled.

“It’s sweet of you, but I think it would get old fast, but I won’t object to it occasionally.” I walked into my, now our, bedroom and gently put her down.

“It smells like the old you,” she told me with a happy smile.

“I prefer my new scent. It’s part you.”

“You are laying it on thick tonight, Alpha,” she told me. I smiled and pulled her flush to me.

“Should I stop?”

“No. I like it. I like it very much, and I think I’m going to reward you,” she said and pulled my t-shirt out of my pants.

“You are tired,” I pointed out as her hands ran over my naked skin. The sparks felt amazing.

“So are you. Do you want me to stop?”

“Fuck no!”