?Macy banged on the door. “Hey Kim, look what I got!” she screamed, excited.

  ?Mary opened it. “Ahhh, Mommy Wolf!” Macy squealed with delight, jumping into Mary’s arms. “Why wasn’t I informed Mary was here?”

  ?“You’re chastising the air, sweetheart,” Mary said gently. “She’s still asleep.”

  ?“Oh…” Mary could almost watch the wheels turning in her clever young friend’s head. “Am I invited to the machine gun werewolf party?”

  “Invited! You're the guest of honour!”

  ?“Hello, Mary,” Shannon said, more reserved but just as happy to see the ancient wolf.

  ?Mary cupped her face in one hand. “Shannon… Oh my Lord in heaven.” She glanced at the driveway. “I see someone’s given Macy a license.”

  ?“At least she’s not keeping her guns in my car,” Shannon remarked wearily.

  ?Mary stared at the decommissioned Humvee. Adam climbed out.

  ?“It’s my Bigfoot mobile,” Macy said proudly.

  ?“I really need to talk to your father,” Mary said.

  ?“Hey, no—I have a good dad,” Macy insisted. To everyone else she sounded fine. But the ancient wolf sensed the sore spot.

  ?“He’s raised you to be fierce,” Mary said. “And that is something to be very proud of.” Macy's face lit up like Christmas morning.

  ?”But where’s Kim?” Macy asked.

  ?“Recovering.”

  ?Macy's face ran cold. “Did those apes come for her?”

  ?Mary stared silently at Macy. The ancient wolf’s gaze was gentle but firm. “I’m here. I'm going to sort this out. Hopefully without the Bigfoot mobile—or machine guns. Now why don't you go be the friend and let me be the protector.” She pulled Macy close and whispered in her ear. “Not that you're not doing a wonderful job, as always.” Macy left smiling to go find Kim.

  ?Her smile fell on Adam next.

  ?“I’m just happy she’s on our side,” he said, a little defensively.

  ?Mary laughed—soft, warm—and pulled him into a one-armed hug. “I see you still adore her. That's good. Love is hard. It's easier when you have a mate you adore."

  ?Mary had been dropping by more often since the battle with Inanna. The teens had started treating her like the mom none of them quite had. Adam was quiet. But he looked forward to the motherly attention. Though he would never say it. Luckily the ancient wolf had lots of experience parenting.

  ?Macy, having heard the comment while taking her shoes off, popped her head back out the door. “What’s not to adore?” she casually demanded with her usual candor. Her face changed a bit. “If you get to cuddle with Adam, then I get to cuddle with Daniel next time he's in town.” She trailed off as she climbed the stairs.

  ?Mary laughed at the innocent crush, Adam groaned. “She has to be one of the few creatures on God's earth that seeks my husband's attention."

  ?“She's gonna try to get you to bite me again,” Adam joked.

  ?Mary squeezed him as they walked. “I think she likes you just fine the way you are.” They shared a smile as they walked in.

  ?Macy was waiting when they came in. “Is this because of the gorillas?”

  ?“She’ll be fine. The Sasquatch are lucky Sarah and I arrived when we did.” She nodded at them. “She’s in her room. Remember: you be the friend, I'll be the protector. At the very least go see her before loading your guns.”

  ?Macy ran up the stairs squealing when she saw Sarah. “Snowball!”

  ?“How have you been, Adam?” Mary asked him.

  ?“Well, my girlfriend wants to go to war with giant gorillas. So I guess that’s taking up a lot of my day.”

  ?She put her free arm around Shannon before she could walk off. She and Adam were a lot alike. They risked becoming background characters if you didn't make a point of making the time.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  ?Walking into the house with a teenager under each arm she asked, “Where did Macy get the Humvee?”

  ?“It’s old. Like ancient.” Adam mounted a weak defense. “But her brother had it when it was, I think, decommissioned or something. And well… now she has it. I mean, he wasn’t using it. And they tried really hard to talk her out of it.”

  ?“A valiant effort I'm sure.”

  ?Shannon spoke next. “It took like a half a tank of gas to get over here. I don't think it's gonna be much use to her.”

  Mary patted their backs. “Alright, you two go. Check in on Kim. The full unabridged Macy/Sarah experience may be worse than the Sasquatch. I'm here for a while.”

  ?Sarah ran down the stairs with the kids, barking playfully.

  ?“Do not bark in my presence!” Mary warned sternly.

  ?Shannon and Macy stopped short.

  ?“You are a wolf, not a dog,” Mary continued. “No matter what games you like to play with your friends. Now go get some clothes and change into a human.”

  ?Sarah whimpered. But a second warning look from Mary sent her trotting to Kim’s room.

  ?“Sorry,” Macy and Shannon said in unison.

  ?Mary tilted her head. Her face still warm. “Sarah is more than able to be responsible for her own decisions,” she reassured them.

  ?They were in the living room when Sarah returned.

  ?“I don’t get it, Mom,” Sarah complained. “We were just joking around.”

  ?“I wasn’t being a hundred percent serious either.” Mary’s face became solid stone. All the warmth drained from it. “Shall I start being?”

  ?“No,” Sarah said meekly.

  ?Mary’s face returned to normal. “Good, my love. You look lovely by the way.” She was wearing a pink sweater that was big enough to act as a dress on her. She had grown. Her face looked more the predator than the little girl every day.

  ?Sarah wedged herself between Macy and Shannon on the couch, crushing Adam at the end. An ashen Kim joined them.

  ?“Kim, you gonna be okay?” Adam asked.

  ?“In my defense, there were fifteen of them.” She looked at Mary. “Do you know how my pack is?”

  ?“Did someone hurt the Sasha!?” Macy asked, alarmed.

  ?“Kim has Macy named one of the grey wolves?” Mary asked a little perplexed.

  ?“I think she's named all of them,” Kim sighed.

  ?“Oh I have!” She started listing them off. Mary raised a weary hand.

  ?“Sweetheart, please be very careful. They are not like family pets. If me, Sarah or Kim are not around, they're extremely dangerous. Even if they don't want to be,” Mary said gravely.

  ?“Macy, do you understand me?!” She said, enough sternness returning to her voice to push the mischievous look out of her eyes. Mary preferred not to be so stern with the young. But knew it was actually a cruelty not to be, when it was required. “They're like male werewolves, my dear. Beautiful, yes. But easily unhinged. And often deeply regretting what they do to their human friends.” she looked at Kim when it dawned on her. “Don’t tell me you’re bringing the grey wolves into the house.”

  ?“No, well yes... but it's just that they come. And I'm always here when they do. But there’s a girl wolf. She likes to sleep here from time to time.”

  ?Kim gave Mary a helpless look. That was heartbreaking. “Daniel met them. He liked them.”

  ?Mary understood better than her. “I understand. Wolves sleep in packs. I do the same. But remember she is wild. Not like Sarah is wild. She doesn’t pose a threat to you. But if Macy is in the bed and elbows her, she could take her arm off.”

  ?Macy and Shannon shot each other guilty looks. Sarah jumped in before the lecture could continue.

  ?“Is it the fluffy white one? Have you named her? Can I meet her?”

  ?“We all like Sasha,” Shannon insisted. “I think she responds to it.”

  “Mom can Sasha sleep over!”” Sarah begged. Mary ignored it.

  ?“She knows it’s what we call her,” Kim said confidently. “But I don’t think she thinks of it as a name the way you guys do.”

  ?“Mom, all the wolves are gonna be okay, right?” Sarah was concerned now. Imagining herself playing with these wolves and her human friends.

  ?“Yes, love. I made sure. I know the rangers around here. They’re good men. But Sasha was injured.” A litany of threats came out of Macy echoed by Sarah—Sarah clearly having sympathy pains.

  “She will be fine. Probably knocking at your window by morning.” Mary responded. “But if she's not we’re not going looking for her!”

  She returned her attention to Kim. ?“If you spend time with the Grey Wolves I'll have to let the Rangers know who and what you are. They're very concerned about them. And they are friends to our kind.”

  ?“Now, I take it you want to know about the Sasquatch?”

  ?“Just how to track them,” Macy chimed in.

  ?Mary laughed. “That’s actually tricky with them. We shift forms. But they shift realms. It’s why they’re so hard to track or capture.”

  ?“But you can shoot them!” Macy clarified.

  ?“Yes, and it hurts them. But let’s not be so quick to judge them. They shouldn’t have started a fight with those wolves. And certainly shouldn't have gone after Kim. But they have a long and painful history with packs of Dog Men. Most of that pain being theirs.”

  ?“I thought Dog Men were rare,” Kim said. “I didn’t know they had packs.”

  ?“Sometimes they have had enough numbers to warrant a pack. Though they’re mostly solitary. It’s a long and complicated history. But they tend to hunt Sasquatch. Whereas werewolves leave them alone if they leave us alone.”

  ?“Now there was a fight,” Mary continued. “No one died. On either side. Kim didn’t start it.” She glanced at Kim disapprovingly. “Though she was out there looking for it.”

  ?“Regardless, if they had an issue, involving children wasn’t the way to handle it. They should have come to us. When Daniel is in town next, he will reiterate this.”

  ?The kids assaulted her with questions. Mary sighed. “Kids, I'm tired. I'm sorry you've again been dragged into adult problems. But the Sasquatch will be dealt with before I leave. If any of you ever see one again, we will wipe this area clean of them.”

  ?Kim came and sat on the arm of Mary's chair. She pulled the young girl in. “I'm sorry, sweet thing. It seems that once again far too much is being asked of you."

  ?“It's okay,“ she murmured, nuzzling the ancient wolf.

  ?“It most certainly is not.” She returned.

  ?The kids talked and got reacquainted with Sarah. Kim fell asleep in Mary's arms. Still recovering. Mary pulled her into a ball in her lap and stroked her hair. “I'll be here until the danger has passed.”