Running with the Pack - 49. Chapter 49

Sunshine streamed through the windows, throwing sparkles of light around the room. Ethan inhaled his mate’s rich scent as he fought the urge to open his eyes. He wanted to put off the world for a few more minutes. The warmth and protection of the arms wrapped around him felt good. His head rested on the furry chest; his ears caught his husband’s rhythmic heartbeat. Taking another deep breath, he let the scent wash over him. There was no place in the world he would rather be. It was not long before he felt Aiden beginning to stir beneath him.

“Five more minutes, Big Bad. Please?”

“I’d love that, Pup, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a busy day.”

Ethan snuggled tighter against the larger body. “How about I blow you if I get my five minutes?”

“We both know you’ll do it with or without the extra time. Just like I’ll do you.” Aiden pulled his mate up so he could give him a good morning kiss. “Besides, I really need to piss.”

Ethan sniffed himself. “Fine. I want a shower anyways.”

After a bit of playtime in the shower, they headed downstairs. There was a note from Craig on the kitchen table saying they had gone to the alpha’s for breakfast with cousin Denise and her family.

Cody stuck his head in the door to find the pair pulling things out of the pantry. “Wow, morning after the big wedding and you’re already up and decent.”

“We weren’t sure if you guys would be dragging us off again on another honeymoon.” Ethan joked. “I still say you all just wanted to act as witnesses to verify we consummated the marriage.”

Aiden laughed so hard he nearly spit out his coffee.

“Nope. Nothing like that planned for today. And it was Casey who wanted to be the witness. Suggested it should be videoed for verification purposes.” Cody could tell his friends didn’t believe him. “Okay, Dari and I didn’t disagree with him at all, and it would have been hot as fuck to watch.” The scent of his arousal caused him to blush as he adjusted himself. “Mary called and said they’d be over a little before lunch time to deliver the wedding presents. Mentioned she’d bring over some stuff to barbeque. Casey’s been drooling more than usual ever since.” Cody returned to his mates to give Aiden and Ethan a little private time.

“I guess we’ve got a few hours to relax, Pup.”

“I kind of hated it the first few times you called me that even though it also sounded cute. But I love that nickname now.”

Aiden leaned in to kiss him as they made breakfast together.

******

Shortly after 11:00 a.m., Rafe pulled up towing his big grill trailer. Joe and Jack jumped out and unhooked it so they could roll it into the yard. The back of the truck was packed with several ice chests and a large stack of chairs.

Ethan went to help his brothers unload the stuff. “Dad, what’s with all this? Are you planning on feeding an army today? We do have our own barbeque. And what’s with all the chairs?”

“An army pretty much describes it. I didn’t think yours would be large enough. Your mom should be here soon, and she’ll explain.”

Trevor arrived a few minutes later. “Good morning to the re-newlyweds.” He bumped fists with Aiden before turning to Ethan and doing the same. “I still can’t believe it’s been a year since we found you along that stream in the mountains. I’ve missed a lot being away at school. And I’ve missed you as much as I have these guys.”

“Thanks, Trevor. For everything you’ve done since the day I met you. I’ve missed you too. These guys are fun, but it always feels like something’s missing when you’re away.” Ethan stepped over to give their friend a hug. Trevor glanced at Aiden for approval, before placing his hand on Ethan’s back to return the hug.

Out front, cars and SUVs began arriving at a quick pace. Mary pulled her van into the driveway followed by a second one driven by the alpha’s assistant, Heather. Both were filled with gifts. Two more vans soon arrived also packed with presents. As people unloaded the vehicles, Ethan and Aiden looked on in awe. They had seen the piles of wrapped packages at the reception, but with everything else going on, it never quite registered just how many there were or how large some appeared to be. The extra vans left only to be replaced by two more, delivering the last of the gifts.

Mary went out to the front yard and returned a few minutes later followed by Kate, Weylin, and lots of people Ethan did not recognize. Craig arrived about the same time with Marsha, her parents, plus two guys Aiden didn’t know.

Denise and her family walked up the driveway and stopped at the open garage. She excitedly pointed at what sat inside. “You still have Uncle Wes’s Jeep.” She turned to her kids. “Craig’s father bought that new and refused to ever sell it. He took us everywhere in that and drove it up until the day he died.” Her sons both walked over to inspect it while she returned her attention to Aiden. “I knew you guys rebuilt it, but didn’t realize you still had it.”

“I love that thing. It’s not going anywhere as long as I’m alive.” Aiden’s pride in the old Jeep showed. “Besides, I don’t think Ethan would let me get rid of it.”

Spencer stepped up beside Aiden and eyed the older vehicle. “I’d sell Matthew for organ harvesting to get a Jeepster Commando in that condition. Please tell me it still has the Dauntless V6.” The punch to his arm barely fazed him.

“I love you too, Spence.” Matthew glared at his mate before actually glancing around. “Beautiful house guys.”

“Yeah, yeah. I love you, but I’ve got a Jeep to check out.” Spencer walked into the garage.

Carl and Edward were doing miserably at hiding their amusement over their friends banter.

Aiden turned as more people walked up the driveway. “Alpha, Jackie. We’re happy to have you here.”

“Uncle Alex! Uncle Nathan!” Ethan excitedly ran over to the men. “Anthony, Tyler. Good to see you.”

“Hey, Ethan.” Tyler fist bumped his friend. “Connor and Kevin are parking the truck. Seems your street has a lot of cars on it today. We should have gone wolf and just run over.”

“We still on for the full moon run? Or are you guys going to be away on another honeymoon?” Connor’s voice caused Ethan to turn.

“As far as we know, we’ll be here. Can’t miss going on a run with you guys. It’s become tradition.” Aiden extended his hand to his friends only to pull them into a hug.

He led his pup over to the group with Craig. “The woman who was so excited to see the Jeep is Dad’s cousin, Denise. The tall guy beside her is her mate Roger. Those two are their sons, Tom and Chance.”

“It’s great to meet you again, Ethan. There were so many people yesterday we barely got to say hi.” Denise grinned ear-to-ear at the small blond before pulling him into her arms. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Ethan happily greeted his mate’s family. “I remember seeing you, but didn’t know you were family.”

Adam continued the introductions. “Aiden, since you’re the alpha designates here in addition to being my step-grandson, I thought you should meet my other grandsons. This one is Josh, and that’s his older brother and my alpha designate, Curtis.”

Josh shook their hands before Curtis reached out. “Congratulations on your wedding. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for the smaller one in December. I look forward to working with you, cousin to cousin and alpha to alpha. Our packs are family.”

“I look forward to that too.”

Mary waved Ethan over to the mass of people surrounding her. “We thought it was about time you met the rest of your family. Being a Tucker means you have lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins now. They live in different packs, but we manage to get together about once every other year as a group. We were going to introduce you to everyone yesterday at the reception. But you know you boys were busy meeting world leaders and such.”

“These people are all my family?” His eyes traveled around the faces before him. “How come no one bothered to mention this family has more people than some countries?” He turned to his mother. “Hey, the world leader thing wasn’t our fault. No one told us that was going to happen.”

“With so many guests, we realized yesterday wasn’t the day to introduce you.” She wrapped her arm around the blond, brushing a finger through his shaggy hair. “We didn’t want to scare you off. You had enough to go through just settling in with us.” She waved her hand towards the mass of people. “Everyone figured it was safer to wait until we had our claws into you before springing all of them on you.”

“I never had aunts, uncles, or cousins in my old life.” Ethan’s mood briefly saddened as his voice grew quiet. “At least none who had anything to do with us.”

“These three on the right are my brothers with their wives and kids. The group to the left is your Dad’s two brothers and his sister with all their families.”

Aiden ran his hand up and down his pup’s back, watching a finger move around counting the number of family members. “Wow, twenty eight cousins? Is this everyone or are there some who couldn’t make it? Oh, and please tell me there isn’t going to be a test on names after you all tell me who you are.”

“This is everyone. I’m Dave and this is my mate, Zoey. We’ve all been dying to meet you since Mary told us you joined the family. We live in North Carolina. Danny and his wife, Abby are in the neighboring pack to ours. Last are Lee and his mate, Malory. They’re just across the state line from us in South Carolina. We’ll introduce you to all our pups as the day goes on.”

“Dad, I’m twenty-two. Not all of us are pups still.” He extended his hand to Ethan. “I’m Marty, by the way.”

“You’ll always be a pup to me, even if you are a young man.” Dave laughed at the glare he received.

Weylin took over introductions. “Now for the Tucker side of the family. This is my oldest child and beautiful daughter, Claudia Jean, her mate, Ritch, and their six kids.”

Leaning in and talking in a not so hushed whisper, Rafe pointed to his sister. “She’s the only one that has grandkids so far, but her oldest is thirty now. Dad’s not kidding when he says she’s old.”

Claudia swatted at Rafe’s arm. “Yes, I’m a grandmother, and I’m damn proud of it. You just wait ‘til one of yours makes you a Grandpa.”

Weylin waved his hand towards two more from the family. “These are your Dad’s younger brothers Peter and Chase and their wives Ellie and Susan. When they all met their mates, they moved out of the territory to where they felt they were most needed. Parker Valley’s home to the Tucker family, but wolves sometimes need to strengthen other packs.”

Ethan went to shake hands and ended up getting pulled into a hug by each family member. “I’d finally gotten used to feeling so small around the family here. Now I really feel small.”

“From what I hear and from the guests at your wedding, you may be small in size, but you have a big heart and a large presence.” Claudia held him the longest. “Don’t worry as far as names go. We’re all planning on wearing name tags today to make it easier for you.”

Rafe pulled Alex and Nathan over to the family. “If you didn’t have a chance to meet them yesterday, these guys are two more of the newest members of the Tucker clan, Alex and Nathan.”

John jokingly called out to his enforcer. “Rafe, if I didn’t know you better or didn’t already know most of these people, I’d say you were trying to stage an invasion or pack takeover.”

“Invasion maybe, but never a takeover. Especially since I serve the best alpha I could.”

“Kiss ass.” Jackie tipped her beer to her friend and bodyguard.

Aiden got everyone’s attention. “These are our friends Trevor, and Anthony, Tyler, Kevin and Connor from this pack. Spencer, Matthew, Carl, and Edward are friends visiting from other packs.”

Casey proudly wrapped an arm around each of his men. “These two are my mates, Darius and Cody, the last of the new family members.”

“Casey Weylin Tucker, why didn’t you tell me you’d mated?” Claudia glared with her hands on her hips. “And no fair you get two men. I was told I could only have one.”

“I sure as hell could use a second in dealing with her sometimes.” Her mate ducked to avoid the hand aimed at his head.

A smug grin crossed Casey’s face. “I learned from you, Aunt C.J. Do something and then ask permission. Besides, there’s no way I could have picked only one of them. Mom and Dad had a bet on when I’d ask them to bite me.”

Kissing Darius on the cheek, Mary giggled. “I won. Rafe thought he’d take an extra few months before figuring his feelings out. We’re happy to have them both in the clan. Between Alex and Darius, it’s nice having felines in the family. And we’re not forgetting about your beautiful bear, Nathan. Or my handsome coyote son-in-law.”

Claudia raised an eyebrow as she appraised Darius. “No, you couldn’t be.” She subtly scented the air again. “Are you?”

Focusing his attention on Darius, one of the smaller pups called out. “Is he a tiger?”

“Bet he’s a lynx or bobcat,” another one suggested.

One innocently replied to her brother. “He can’t be a bobcat. His name isn’t Bob, silly.”

A ten-year old offered his guess. “He’s probably a mountain lion.”

Darius crouched, his hands held up like clawed paws as he playfully growled. “I’m a big ol’ lion.” His humanized roar had all the pups giggling, and the adults were momentarily stunned at the realization a solaris stood before them.

******

Joe approached the group. “Dad, the barbecue’s ready. Who wants what?”

“We’re going nice and simple today, plus there are lots of leftovers from yesterday, so burgers and hotdogs.”

Mary pointed to all the wrapped packages. “We thought if you didn’t mind, after lunch you could start opening those.”

Ethan scanned the mountains of gifts. “How are we going to keep track for sending out thank you cards?”

The alpha’s assistant, Heather, stepped beside the blond. “I’m going to keep a log of everything to help you out. I got it started yesterday with the diplomatic guests.”

While Joe and Rafe cooked, Ethan became acquainted with his family. Claudia placed two of her newest grandsons into Aiden’s arms and a third into Ethan’s. “Here, make yourselves useful. All newlyweds need practice at this.”

Casey watched his friends and chuckled as he chased some of his younger cousins around. Cody and Darius were amused seeing him like this with his family.

Ethan’s eyes opened wide. “Triplets?”

Claudia’s oldest son, Will proudly grinned. “Yeah, we were planning on staggering the kids out a little and having three or four. The first set was twins and the second were these little guys. They’re just coming up on four months old.”

“And as soon as the last set was born I sent Will in to be neutered. Five kids is more than enough. We don’t need any oopsies.” Will’s mate smiled at how red her husband turned.

“I’ve never held a baby before. I don’t want to risk dropping him or hurt him.” There was genuine concern in Ethan’s voice.

“Just sit back and relax. If he gets fussy, we’ll pass him off to his grandmother.”

He stared down at the not so small bundle in his arms and grinned at Aiden’s two armfuls of kids. “This does feel kind of good. You look like a natural.”

Craig walked over with his camera and took a few shots. “Now you’re going to get them thinking about turning me into a grandfather. Thanks a lot.”

Aiden watched each of the boys in his arms as they stared at him. He made faces and stuck his tongue out causing the little pups to giggle.

“Yeah, you’re going to make a good dad someday.” Ethan enjoyed the sight of his mate like this. After about five minutes, his nose twitched as something unpleasant hit him. “Umm…. I think this one might need his mom or dad. I’m pretty sure he needs changing. I’ll hold him, but I’m not ready to go that far yet.”

The boy’s mother picked him up. “Yep, he definitely needs changing. Be right back.”

“This seems so surreal, looking around the yard at all these people and being told I’m related to them.”

“It took a lot of restraint on all our parts not to rush here to meet you.” Claudia moved to sit next to him. “Rafe and Mary explained you needed time to adjust, but they kept us up to date on how you were doing. You’ll find we’re a fairly tight family even though we’ve spread out to different packs. Our family get-togethers usually last a week and we have a great time at them.” She faced Alex and Nathan. “You two will be expected to come to the family reunions as well, though we’ll make allowances because of your business.”

“You could always have the reunions at our place.” Alex countered.

Mary came over and picked up one of the pups from Aiden’s arms. “You had a lot of adjustment to just get used to us, Ethan. We knew in time you’d be ready to meet the entire family. What better time than a wedding?”

******

After everyone had eaten, they settled down to watch Aiden and Ethan open their presents. Several of the younger kids rested while others played games and entertained themselves under the watchful eyes of the adults.

Heather took a seat beside Ethan with her laptop. “When you open something, hand me the card and I’ll log it for you. I’ll also take a picture to make it easier to associate the gift with the thank you cards. There’s also a stack of envelopes that most likely have something in them, and I’ll do the same for whenever you get to those.”

“Thanks, Heather. You really are making this easier for us.” Aiden was grateful to the woman.

“That’s why I’m here, and it is a joy to do this for you both.”

The kids picked what present was going to be opened and brought it over to the couple. There were the usual household goods, dishes, and other items for the kitchen. There was also a lot of art. Many of the newer pack members Ethan had cured sent framed pictures of themselves in their animal form with a message written on it to the couple they adored. John and Jackie sat back watching what their pack members had given the guys and smiled. The more personal the tribute to the young men, the more it touched their hearts. An older couple, who had been against the idea of such a powerful wolf as Aiden mating a male, gave them a pair of very detailed handmade quilts.

A box from Alex and Nathan had a framed picture of the Palomino Aiden and Ethan always rode together along with a note. “Thank you for becoming my new dads.” Ethan ran over to the men, throwing his arms around their necks.

Alex ruffled his hair as Nathan joyfully accepted the attention. “He likes it best when you two ride him together. And we figure this will give you more reason to come visit us. Not that you don’t have space here for him.”

The gift from Spencer and Matthew had a box set of the Twilight movies that had the adults laughing. The DVDs sat atop the real gift, a pitcher and eight glasses. Ethan held up the DVDs while Aiden held up the pitcher. It was made of clear glass with spots of color in it.

Spencer explained the gifts. “We’ve been waiting for the right occasion to re-gift those movies to a new home, so tag, you’re it. I think you’re the fourth, maybe fifth recipient of them and yet they still remain unopened which accounts for them not even being Blu-ray. One of our pack members’ trying to keep the art of glass blowing alive and made those especially for you. It’s great to watch him work at making things like that. He gives classes to teach a younger generation of artists his trade. Each piece started clear and rolled the molten glass in colored beads before blowing them into the shapes he wanted.”

“Until we can visit you guys and tell him in person, please let him know how beautiful we think they are.” Aiden carefully returned it to the box.

One of the pups picked a large, but fairly flat crate to open next. Aiden read the card aloud before handing it to Heather. “From your friends in beautiful Greenland. Congratulations on your wedding. May you have a long and joy filled life.”

Ethan turned to John. “Alpha, I don’t remember meeting anyone from Greenland yesterday. Did we miss someone?”

“No one from there requested to come. That could have been one of the gifts that was shipped to us.”

Darius and Casey lifted the framed item out of the crate. It was a painting of a glacier meeting the ocean. There were several lupus gathered around two figures in their hybrid form. One black and one white with bright sapphire blue eyes and his arms slightly raised. At the edge of the glacier, large chunks of ice fell to the water below, revealing a white wolf seemingly carved on the side of the glacier.

“Wow, it looks like they did a painting of us with you working your magic.” Aiden pulled his mate close.

Heather took a picture of the two with the painting and logged the information.

“So, some people just sent presents to us?” Ethan appeared deep in thought over his question.

“Yes, packs around the world who didn’t or couldn’t send a representative sent gifts or cards.” John was amazed by the amount of items that had been received. “I would say news of you reached just about everywhere in our world after your coming out show at the Congress. Since not everyone was able to send someone, they felt this was the next best thing.”

Ethan was stunned, as was Aiden. Having all the global leaders who came was overwhelming enough. But the thought of packs, clans, and all other manner of shifters who had heard of them and wanted to send them something was almost too much. A single tear ran down Ethan’s face as Aiden kissed the top of his head.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… It’s just a lot to take in I guess. I mean the people that sort of raised me didn’t want me and all these people who haven’t met us want to do something for us. For our wedding. On top of it, I’ve got this huge family now.” Ethan paused to wipe his face. “All I really wanted from the start was to be a part of the Tucker family and to be with you. I got both my wishes.”

Claudia leaned forward while holding one of the triplets. “Speaking as the oldest of Mom and Dad’s kids and as your aunt, you’re definitely part of the Tucker family. We’re happy to have you as one of us.”

“It may take me some time to learn everyone’s name, but eventually I’ll know all of you by name and scent.”

After an hour or so, the gift opening was placed on hold for a little while as everyone needed a break. It would take several days to open everything and begin the process of writing out thank you cards.

******

Ethan took time to play with the younger members of the family. He was soon joined by a few of the cousins around his age. Several of the younger ones called out they wanted to see his wolf. They knew all the other wolves in the family by both sight and scent, but they wanted to see their newest cousin. It took some prodding from the adults and Aiden encouraging him to do it. Ethan walked behind the garage for a little privacy as he stripped and dropped to all fours. Soon the large white wolf trotted into view. Even the adults were impressed with what they saw.

“Ethan, you’re beautiful! Those facial markings are incredible.” Claudia brushed her hand over his head as the youngest kids surround him, all waiting their turn to pet his soft fur.

Mary’s brothers all knelt down as Ethan came to each and scented them. Lee glanced over to his sister. “I know you said he was an impressive wolf, but that doesn’t come close.” In response, his hand was licked. “You’re very welcome, Ethan.”

Peter and Chase sat on the ground beside the white wolf. “Okay, chalk it up to family pride, but he’s the most beautiful lupus I’ve ever seen.” Chase ducked as his wife slapped his arm playfully. “You know what I mean.”

Even Adam’s grandsons, Josh and Curtis, had to come over to see Ethan up close. “Wow, I don’t know what to say beyond that.” Curtis shook his head.

Aiden ran his fingers through the fur just behind Ethan’s left ear as he leaned in and whispered into it. He stepped back with pride covering his face. “Give him a little room for a moment.”

Once it was clear around him, Ethan shifted, but not back to his human form. His body increased in size as it reshaped, while bones snapped into their new position. In seconds, his hybrid towered over even the tallest member of his family.

Curtis—his grandfather’s alpha designate—was first to comment. “My wolf’s strong, but I can’t even do that.”

Adam patted his grandson’s shoulder. “You haven’t really come into your own as an alpha or found your mate yet, so we don’t know if you’ll have that ability or not.”

A few of the smaller kids became scared of the unusual type of wolf. One they had never seen before. A four legged lupus was one thing, but a massive two legged hybrid was all new to them. Ethan quickly sat and reached out for one of the crying pups. He wanted to show them there was nothing to be afraid of. He feared he’d made the wrong decision when the boy of five began to scream. He tried cradling the boy in his arms to calm him. As the boy screamed for his mom, Ethan sat him on the ground. His deep gravely voice was tinged with sadness. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have switched to this form.”

“It’s okay, Ethan.” Lee tried to console his nephew. “I don’t think any of them have ever seen a lunis before and definitely not a hybrid. This is their first time seeing something other than a lupus.”

The screaming boy’s six year old sister came over and stared at him. There was a wonder in her eyes at the beast sitting before her. “I didn’t know wolves could take more than one shape or could talk.”

Claudia moved beside the massive wolf. “Some can. Usually the very special ones. And your cousin’s one of the most special there is.”

“I should go change back to human. I don’t want to scare them any more than I have.”

“I’m not scared of you.” The six year old reached out and touched the fur on his arm. She squealed with excitement. “Your fur is still soft. It’s just like it was before you changed.”

Hearing his sister, the boy who had been screaming squirmed out if his mother’s arms. “I wanna feel.”

His mom held him back briefly. “Are you sure? I thought you were scared of him.”

The boy tried to sound brave. “I wasn’t scared.” After his mother set him down, he tentatively went to Ethan who sat still as a stone while the boy ran his hand on the furry arm. “You are still soft.” Getting braver, he held onto the beast’s arm and pulled a little but could not get it to move. When Ethan lifted his arm, the boy giggled happily as he was raised a few inches off the ground.

Several more of the kids who seemed scared at first came close. Within a few minutes, Ethan had become a furry jungle gym for them to climb on. He sat the first boy on his shoulders as he lifted up three and four at a time on his arms while their parents took pictures of the spectacle. Ethan went from feeling bad about scaring his cousins to having a ball as they climbed on him. After an hour of playing he’d worn most of the young ones out.

Ethan was about to return to human when Aiden sat in his lap. Reaching an arm up, he pulled his pup’s muzzle down next to his ear so he could run his face along the furry snout. It was an unusual turnaround for the two with Aiden now being the smaller one. Grabbing his mate’s massive paws, he wrapped them around his chest so Ethan was holding him. Everyone with a camera snapped pictures at their simple display of love for each other.

After Ethan finally returned to human, Claudia pulled him aside. “Thank you for doing that. I know you felt bad about some of them getting scared, but it’s the first time they’ve seen that type of wolf. You really are good with kids. I must say, both your wolves are beautiful. Dad and Rafe were right on how they described you.”

“I never knew having a big family could be so much fun. Getting to be my hybrid around them was great. I loved having them climb all over me.”

She hugged him as Mary came over and gave him one as well. His mother smiled and brushed some hair out of Ethan’s face. “A year ago you didn’t know what you were getting into by coming here with Aiden, Trevor, and Casey. You didn’t trust anyone even though you put on a good show of it. Now you’re surrounded by love. You have a wonderful husband and more family than you could ever want. Thank you for becoming our son.”

“I love you, Mom.”

Aiden watched as Mary held his mate. He’d not only given his pup all the love he could, but also a family who adored him.