Yes, yet another update. I'm really trying to make my absence up to you guys.

Enjoy.

***

We slept through most of the next day. It seemed that the stress and anxiety from the past few days finally caught up to us, ordering for us to just finally take a damn break so we wouldn't die from the stress. I didn't mind; I'd never mind sleeping through every day as long as Allen was beside me in the bed.

We got to Canada soon enough. I only realized that I did, in fact, not have a passport. But apparently, Allen being an alpha and all had further perks. Which apparently involved illegally crossing the border without the proper documentation. It was cold, like cold when we got there. Allen bought himself and me a coat in a store near the train station, and we went to a parking complex nearby. I figured a taxi or something would be waiting for us there, but no; a car, exactly the same model and color as the one Allen had at home, except with snow-proof tires and snow chains around them was waiting for us in the long term parking area.

We stuffed our luggage into the backseat and trunk, and then we were off. The drive would be 6 hours. The time seemed really long, passing too slowly for my liking. Occasionally we drove through big cities. Other times, small towns. A lot of forests and open areas too. For a while we were driving through snow. The radio was on, as the only sound in the car. I didn't know what to talk about, so I just... didn't. Every hour or so Allen would announce 'we're there in 4 hours, 'we're there in 3 hours' and so on. We did two bathroom stops, Allen insisting upon standing outside the bathroom while I used it, because of course with my luck I'd get jumped and murdered in a gasstation bathroom in Canada.

When Allen finally announced that it'd only be half an hour before we got there, I couldn't keep myself contained anymore. "Uh, Allen, you remember we talked about like... having sex once we got off the train? Is that what we're gonna do or...? Not that you have to, if you don't want to or if you're stressed or something, I just want to know a course of action. I don't like unpredictability."

Allen chuckled. "I think that we should get settled there first before considering any of that. Get out our baggage, show you the house. Maybe build a snowman or go sledding. Something. Especially when you have never played in the snow before. I've been so excited to see that." his eyes glinted warmly. "And regardless, I really think that scheduling a 5 o'clock sexssion would take a considerable amount of the romance and excitement out of it. And also give too much presentation anxiety. Let's just... relax, okay?"

"Right, I guess I can see that. Sorry. I don't want you to think I'm desperate or- well, maybe I am. Just a little bit. But I don't want you to know that, regardless." I laughed nervously.

"Don't worry about it. You're excited. It's good- I'd rather that than you being nervous or scared. It's meant to be fun. So, as I said; we'll take our time, relax, and when it happens it happens. Anyways, let's move onto something else; how much do you enjoy Christmas?"

I furrowed my brows. It was December. There hadn't been a trace of Christmas decor at home, so I'd just imagined that maybe Allen didn't enjoy Christmas all that much. But he looked excited right now.

"Uh, well, I enjoy it a lot. It's nice. Bein' with your family, just being cozy." I smiled at memories of my Christmases as a kid. Barely any presents, little food, but still, good memories.

He nodded, his lips pressed together as he smiled. "Well, that's good, because Christmas gets a little... overboard in my family. And the house is entirely completely covered in everything Christmassy. We only use it at Christmas, so it stays up all year. There's all these antique things that we've only just started to be able to bring out again, because Austin is old enough to know not to mess with it. It's so pretty, and there's all these light and reds and greens... it's the best place. I can't wait for in a few years, when I get to show all of it to our babies."

I smiled. "Our babies?"

He shrugged. "You know how excited I am about kids. Bunch of adorable little kids with my personality and great looks? What more could you want?"

I rolled my eyes. "I love you, Allen. And Ares too, by the way. I don't think I tell him that enough."

"He appreciates it. Would you mind it if when we get home, I let him out for a while? He's been so on edge with the whole thing. He could really use some mate snuggle time, if it's not too much trouble." He took a turn off the main road, throughout the freshly cleared road in between the trees.

I watched as we drove between the snow-covered pine trees. If I were to jump out, it'd probably reach my knees. At least. "Sure. I love cuddling him."

Allen just smiled, making another turn onto an even smaller road throughout the forest. I looked out the windshield, excitement building up as I could feel that we were slowly getting closer to our destination. "Are we close?"

"Mhmm. Just three more minutes. You'll know it the second you see it."

I leaned forward, the beautiful scenery of ice and snow slowly moving beside us as we drove between the trees. And then the trees thinned out, and I knew.

It was a large log and stone cabin, like the ones you'd see in a small-town hallmark movie. Big open windows letting in tons of light, the dark wood standing out against the bright snow. The driveway was freshly cleared, and an elderly man stood in front of the house with a snow shovel in hand. Allen stopped the car in front of the garage, and got out. I followed.

"Alpha Allen. How nice to see you. Everything should be ready. The water, heat and electricity is turned on, and I've been heating up the place since this morning, and running the taps, so the water is clear and drinkable. There's also fuel in the snow scooters, and a gift card for a pair of brand new ice skates for your mate- courtesy of Mayor Westhall. We're pleased to have you here as always- despite the, er, irregular circumstances."

I stood back as Allen thanked him, before he looked at me, and held out his hand. I wrapped my hand, reddened from the cold, around his warm one. Allen gestured to the man. "Paige, this Mr. Brunn. He takes care of the property throughout the year, and makes sure it's ready for us when we get here. He's also the Ranger at the nearby nature- and native reservation."

I waved at the guy. "Hi.I'm Paige."

He took off his hat. "Barney Brunn at your service, miss. Like I said to Alpha Allen, it's great to have you here. We hope you'll enjoy the skates. Nothing better than getting out on the ice. Well, anyways, I ought to get going. You folks have yourself a good one, eh?"

He smiled, and then walked to his goddamn snow scooter, and drove off.

I blinked as the powdery snow that had been flung into the air as the scooter drove off fell to the ground. "He was... nice."

Allen rolled his eyes with a smile. "Canadians. Come on. I'll get the car into the garage, so it won't be as cold when we need to use it."

Once we'd parked in the empty garage, we grabbed our luggage (correction: Allen grabbed 99% of our luggage, and only allowed me to carry my coat and the neckpillow I'd bought at one of the gas stations). The garage led into the kitchen, which was much larger than the one at home, with an open floor plan; the kitchen island faced towards the 18-person dining table standing in front of the large window. Everything in here seemed... old. Somewhat old. The carvings in the chairs, the glaces tiles making up all the kitchen counters, and the walls around them. The appliances were new, but with a classic touch- an electric stove made to look like it was a gas stove. A 80's style coffee maker, with a few too many buttons and lights to actually be from the 80s. We walked through the kitchen, into the hallway.

It was open to the floor above us, an old chandelier (no kidding, it was a goddamn electric crystal chandelier with energy efficient light bulbs), and a large staircase leading up to the second floor. Along the stairs were pictures; hundreds of them. I walked over to it slowly, looking at the black and white photo at the very bottom of the stairs. A man and a woman, the woman with a baby in her lap. Around, aside from the baby , were 1-2-3... 13 kids. 14 total. All looking faraway sad, and with stern mouths.

"Yeah, that's my great-great-great-so-on-grandmother Elaine and her mate. She was the Alpha back in the late 1800s."

I stared at the photo. "They've got 14 kids."

"They actually had 17, all in all. This was just taken before the last 3 were born- if you look at the photos further up, they show up one by one. Birth control wasn't common back then, and, well... they were mates. They loved each other."

"They look depressed in the photo though."

He kissed my cheek. "Everyone in photos from the 1800s looks depressed. It's a rule. It's really fun to look at the pictures as you move up; there was one taken every year, so you can just see how the photo quality got better, and how fashion changed throughout the years. The photos from the 70s are so ugly. Mustard yellow sweaters." he fake shuddered. "There's also a bunch of regular family pictures around the house. Also a bunch of old ones."

"Oh."

We stood silently in the hallway, awkwardness spreading between us. Allen cleared his throat. "So... love. There are plenty of bedrooms here. So, should I leave your things in my bedroom, or do you want somewhere to sleep on your own? Just in case?"

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around his neck. "No. No need. I wanna share a bedroom with you. I mean, even if I got 'my own room' I'd undoubtedly end up sleeping ín your bed anyway. No reason to avoid fate."

He grinned, and grabbed the bags a little tighter. "Right. I'll put our stuff upstairs. You go explore the house, make yourself comfortable. Through there-" he pointed at a set of sliding doors right next to us. "-is the TV room. The other door leads to the family room. Pick a spot, and then I'll let out Ares for a while, and then we can go into town before the stores close, alright?"

I looked back at the pictures on the wall. "Alright."

He walked behind and past me, disappearing off into the hallway on the right. I kept looking at the photos, seeing Allen's ancestors growing older and older, the families growing larger, until they were replaced by two people; the oldest kid in each group of siblings, and their mate.

I walked back down the stairs, and into the living room- which had more photos. The first one was a black and white, some little kid, a girl I think, in clothes that looked like they were from the 1920s, with a teddy bear in her arms. There was another one not far from it. From the 80s or 90s, I'd guess. Three kids standing around a newly built snowman, smiling at the camera with puffy coats and snow goggles on. The photo was too old to be Allen and his siblings. So, probably Allen aunts and uncles, maybe his father too.

It was a little weird, walking through the room and looking at all this family history. New faces being added, One made me stop in my tracks though. A woman with three kids in a black and white photo. I'd seen her up on the other wall, in the hallway. I guess she had to have been living during the 40s and 50s. She'd looked happy in most of the pictures, a man beside her.

In this photo though, she looked like an empty shell of a person, even as the picture displayed her looking at her young kids as they opened their Christmas presents.

"It's my great-great grandmother. Theresa. Her mate was drafted during World War Two. He didn't make it back. My great-grandmother says she was never quite the same. Neither was my great-Grandma's older brother, Charles. After their dad died, my great-Gran said he became... strange. Sick, mentally. Things were different back then, so they put him in an institution, and decided that it was my great-grandmother who was gonna be Alpha."

I looked at the little boy in the photo, who seemed a lot more sullen than his younger sisters. "Poor kid."

Allen shrugged. "Yeah. Things haven't always been perfect in our family history. There's some bad things that have happened, and bad things that we have done. Also up until very recently. But we're trying to make it better. For example, my grandmother started a foundation for people battling mental illness because of him. It's called the Charlie Foundation. They provide psychiatric help for people in need. And it also helps pay for people's mood stabilizers, as well as anxiety medication."

I shook the thought out my head. "Well, enough about your historical family tragedies... snuggletime with the big bad wolf?"

Allen grinned and nodded, sweeping me off the floor and carrying me to the couch as a squeal escaped me. He threw me onto the couch, wrapping himself around me like a blanekt with seperation anxiety. His nose buried into the crook up my neck, and a deep sigh escaped him as he tightened his arms, just a little.

"Miate loves Ares?" she voice was deep, primal, and so so sweet. As always.

"Yes, Ares. I love you, a lot."

"Mate was med at us."

I scooted closer to him, closing my eyes and relaxing completely into his warm embrace. "I was mad, because it makes me angry when you and Allen keep things from me. If you just tell me things, I won't be mad."

"Ares wants to tell mate. Ares wants mate to know. Ares knows that mate is smart and brave. Allen doesn't want to worry mate." he breathed deeply into my neck, inhaling my scent and releasing a soft purr as he did.

"Mhmm, sure, Ares. You're just as bad as Allen, and you know it. But it's sweet. Annoying as fuck, but sweet. Anyways... are you excited about being in the snow? Do you like it?"

Ares kept his eyes closed. "When Ares is in the North, Ares get's to shift more often. Back home it's too warm; Ares's and Allen's wolf has too much fur. But here is perfect. Mate wants to see our wolf?"

"Sure, Ares. I'd love to later... do you want a kiss?"

Ares flipped me over, so he was hovering above me, golden eyes trained on my face. His lips met mine, oftly at first, until he gave in and his entire weight settled on top of me, and he kissed and kissed and kissed me until neither of us could breathe. We took a few seconds to actually breathe, before I pulled him back down, tugging at his hair and wrapping my legs around his.

We stopped to breathe again, and Ares rested his forehead against mine. I kept petting my hands through his hair, listening to the soft sound of his gasping breath. His hands began creeping downward, clumsy fingers messing with the button of my jeans. I closed my eyes, giving in to Ares' gentle touches.

He was slow. Patient. More so than usual. I exchnages between whispering Allen, Ares or some combitation of oh god/fuck/please.

My fingernails dug into his scalp as I felt the world disappear around me, Ares placing soft kisses along my collarbones. I opened my eyes, breathing deeply and feeling content and safe as ever. I looked down at Ares, whose head was resting softy against my chest. Slowly, the gold disappeared and melted from his eyes, being replaced by familiar brown as Allen regained control.

I kept petting his hair, and he placed a kiss to the top of my breast. "My love,"

"Was it nice? Getting him out for a little while?"

"It was relaxing. He's always there you know? He wants out, constantly. It's gotten especially bad since the two of us became... well, since the nature of our relationship became more than just platonic. Or, rather, since you began to reciprocate me wanting to be much, much, much more than platonic." he buried his face in between my breasts.

"Comfy?"

"Very much." He rumbled against my skin, sending shivers through me. My body was still soft and sensitive from him touching me just a few minutes ago. "Do you wanna go grocery shopping? I forgot to order it. Slipped my mind."

"Oh, uh, sure. I'd love to see the town nearby."

He groaned. "Hoped you wouldn't say yes..." he rolled over, getting off the couch and stretching his limbs, my eyes following a little too closely as his shirt moved up, exposing his stomach in the process. "Very well then. Let's get you in a nice coat and a pair of warm boots, so we can go, and come back, and I can worship you."

I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks at the thought of exactly what 'worship' may mean, and I felt nervousness prickling in the deepest, deep pit in my stomach as my mind began to spin little fantasies about what might happen...

Allen interrupted my trail of thought, and reached his hand out. I took it happily. In the hallway he got on his knees, happily showing me how to assure that my winter boots were on in the correct way to make sure they'd keep me properly warm, and then, like a true gentleman, he helped me into my coat, before stuffing the ugliest hat I'd ever seen over my head.

The hat was literally monstrous. "I'm not wearing this."

"You are. It's yours." Allen put on a hat of his own; a simple black one.

I looked at the terribly knitted bunny hat. It was too big for my head, and the ears were floppy and drooping all over. "Allen, this is... I can't go out in public wearing this."

"Please? I made it, you know."

"You knitted this for me? And since when do you knit?"

He laughed, moving the ears from the hat out of my face. "I can knit. I don't do it much, but I'm capable. I made this when I was maybe 12. Probably closer to 11, so no, not for you specifically. I found the pattern in an old knitting book as a kid, and made it with scrap yarn- that's why the gray isn't consistent. Come on... won't you wear the hat I made?" He looked down at me with those soft brown eyes.

Goddamnit, those puppy eyes are gonna be the death of me. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, fine, gosh. I'll wear the very carefully but also badly made hat."

He just smiled in response,

We walked into the garage, where I stopped as my eyes caught onto something under two black fabric sheets, in the corner of the garage. Something that'd been hidden away in the dark of the corner when we arrived earlier. "Are those snow scooters?"

"They are. And no, we're not taking it into town. I'll happily take you for a drive one of these days, But not right now. It'll be dark by the time we have to get back, and I'm not comfortable with you driving in the dark when you've never driven one before."

I blinked. "Does that mean you'll let me drive one? Like on my own? Without having to cling to your back like a koala joey?"

"Sure. I was younger than you when my mom taught me. It's not difficult, and you meet the age requirements. As long as you wear a helmet and please don't drive around it alone when it's dark, I don't have anything against it... once you've learned to drive properly, that is. But now, we need to go to town and buy groceries so we don't starve. That sound good to you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. You're always so boring. Let's go." I got into the carseat, and we got out of the garage, and out from the driveway, being enveloped in the white blanket-covered trees around us.

The cabin was apparently not far from town, just 15 minutes in a car. According to Allen, there were around 3000 people living here, and most of them depended on the holiday season for their