"Car," Arlo repeated for the umpteenth time as Fionn removed him from the car seat.

"Yes, buddy, you were just in a car," Fionn sat Arlo on his hip and pecked Dante's lips, "don't be too long."

"I shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes, don't make any rash decisions without me, puppy," Fionn chuckled, "bye-bye, Arlo," Dante waved at the child, who slowly attempted a copy at his action. Suddenly Arlo leant forward, reaching through the open window to hug Dante tight, his bottom lip quivering when he moved back to clutch onto Fionn's shirt.

"I'll be back soon, little guy," Dante kissed his hands gently before driving off, leaving the two alone in the darkness of the unfamiliar forest.

"Bye-bye?" Arlo whimpered, tears in his golden eyes.

"Oh, not forever, buddy, he's coming back, don't you worry. I'm not going anywhere," Fionn rubbed Arlo's back, striding through the forest toward the collection of houses nearby the dirt road he had been dropped off at.

"You must be Fionn," a tawny-haired woman emerged from one of the closest houses, beaming, "and this is little Arlo?" the woman waved at Arlo, who was immediately drawn into her eyes.

"Yellow," he pronounced proudly.

"He loves people's eyes," Fionn explained as Arlo ran his fingers just below the woman's eyes.

"He's adorable," the woman's smile somehow grew brighter, "you have beautiful eyes yourself, wow, they're different colours... are you a hybrid?" the woman frowned slightly, studying Fionn's eyes.

"No, I just have a very strong and complex bond with my fiance. It's a long story."

"I'm Pria," the woman changed the subject quickly, which Fionn was rather grateful for, shaking hands with him, "I contacted the alphas of the packs I speak to regularly and there had been no cubs going missing recently. The last one was about four years ago, it was a little girl, and they found the body last year. Hunters," Fionn noted the sorrow in Pria's eyes, felt it in his own soul too. Parents shouldn't outlive their children, "I was speaking with Hanson earlier this morning and we believe Arlo was probably left by a group of lone wolves that passed through his land no longer than four months ago. It's likely they probably didn't have the capability to take care of a toddler or simply thought he would have a better life without them. I mean, if Hanson had found him I would have had to take him in and at least then he would have grown up with a pack."

"Tree," Arlo chimed in, his gaze flickering around their wooded surroundings.

"That's right, lot's of trees, buddy," Fionn smiled down at the child, who was beginning to look rather tired.

"How about we go inside? I can find something to keep Arlo busy whilst we talk," Pria led Fionn into the house she had exited earlier, stepping over a variety of children's toys, "I have two boys myself, and a little girl, they're all in bed."

"How old are they?" Fionn saw Arlo rub his eyes, yawning, and wondered if maybe he should have left him back at the hotel with Dante to sleep.

"Kailen is nine, Hendrix is five and Ivy is nearly one. Speaking of which, if you would excuse me," Pria turned down the volume of the baby monitor as it began to relay Ivy's crying and walked up the stairs. Fionn sat on the couch, holding up a toy for Arlo that the child completely ignored.

"I think you're tired, buddy, aren't you?" Fionn rubbed Arlo's back as the child sank into him, closing his eyes.

"Would you like something to drink?" Pria asked, returning to the room with a small baby in her arms, placing her in Moses basket by the window.

"Coffee would be great, thanks," Fionn watched both children as Pria made the two some coffee.

"So you're at peace with Hanson?" Fionn inquired when Pria perched on the couch next to him, tucking her legs underneath her.

"Yes, it was the first thing I did when I became alpha. My brother was the last alpha, he died in a car accident about two years ago and obviously, the status was passed down to me automatically. I always thought Hanson was a really sweet guy, despite all the stuff my brother said about him, so I made peace.

"I didn't want my kids growing up hating their kind for the same unknown reason that we did. They don't attack us, and they have no problem with our kind so fighting with them is pointless. I've gotten a few other alphas in the area to make peace too, they agree it's better off like this," Fionn sipped his coffee, hiding his own smile.

"Juice," Arlo perked up, reaching for Fionn's mug.

"No, no, buddy, this is too hot. You can't have coffee," Arlo pouted, his bottom lip quivering as he stared up at Fionn, "I refuse to give you caffeine, buddy, Dante would kill me."

"Hang on, I have some apple juice in the fridge," Pria placed her mug on the coffee table and left the room. At the same time, a man walked through the front door, frowning at Fionn.

"You must be Fionn," he said, flashing a small smile as he picked up Ivy and cradled the babbling baby, "is Pria here?"

"She needs a feed, babe, if you're not busy, there's a bottle heating in the microwave," Pria kissed the man's cheek and passed a carton of juice to Arlo, who immediately thanked her, "Fionn this is my husband and beta, Garnett."

"Nice to meet you, Fionn," Garnett said politely, "there's a vamp outside saying he knows you."

"One gold eye and one red?" Garnett nodded, "that's my fiance, Dante, you can let him in," Pria and Garnett, as expected, looked a little shocked.

"Your fiance is a vampire?" Pria asked incredulously, returning to her seat as Garnett left to collect the bottle for Ivy.

"Yeah."

"How long have you been together?" Fionn chuckled quietly.

"About a week, it's an odd relationship."

"We're getting married tomorrow," Fionn glanced toward the origin of Dante's voice and his eyes widened at the vampire's appearance. His white shirt was stained with blood and torn around the collar, revealing the bruising on his neck that was slowly healing.

"Oh my God, Dante, what happened?" Fionn ran his fingers across the discoloured skin when Dante sat down next to him, anger flaring within him.

"Someone tried to mug me, isn't that hilarious?" Dante was smiling but Fionn didn't find the situation all that funny.

"No, not really. Is Kas OK?"

"Of course, it was after I had dropped him off. I was walking back to the car and four men attacked me. I got a good feed from it, there's nothing to worry about, puppy," Dante pressed a gentle kiss to Fionn's mouth, brushing his thumb over the wolf's cheek.

"Scar," Arlo interrupted the two, reaching up to touch Dante's scar as he often did whenever the vampire was around. He was completely enamoured by it. Fionn allowed the child to scramble onto Dante's lap, chuckling softly when he turned and curled up against the vampire's abdomen.

"There goes that outfit," Arlo immediately settled, closing his eyes as Dante stroked his fur gently, "we're gonna have quite a large clothing bill until he can control his shifts," Dante cocked an eyebrow.

"We are?" Fionn smiled, glancing back at Pria who was observing the two.

"If his parents can't be found I don't want to force him into your pack. You already have three children, I didn't think it would be fair to you," Pria shared in Fionn's smile.

"Of course, we don't really have the room here at my pack for more cubs. He seems to have taken to you both very well, it wouldn't be good for him to leave you. I can always tell the parents he's with you if they come looking for him... or I can say I never saw any of you," Fionn smile faded and puzzlement took over his expression.

"Why?"

"Well, a part of me wouldn't feel right giving the child back to parents who just abandoned him. He's probably better off with the two of you," Fionn wasn't sure if he entirely agreed, Arlo's biological parents could be out worrying about him for the rest of their lives. Fionn wasn't sure if he could deal with that weighing on his shoulders for his eternal life.

"Fi, think of it this way," Dante interjected, "would you really want to give Arlo up if his parents came for him in five years time? When we had raised him and he had become a part of our family?" Fionn bit the inside of his cheek, still not entirely convinced.

"What if Kas' parents had survived and come looking for him? Wouldn't you sympathise for them even a little?"

"No," Dante answered bluntly, not surprising, "Kas almost died, I saved his life and from the minute I turned him he became my child. They could have turned up at my doorstep days, months, even years, after I took him, my answer would be the same. It's your choice, I'll support you either way," Dante linked his fingers in with Fionn's, rubbing his thumb over the back of the wolf's hand.

Dante had a valid point, but Fionn just couldn't help wondering what it would be like if the roles were reversed, if they lost a child and someone kept it from them. He wouldn't stop until he found them, Arlo's parents had. They had stopped. There was no missing person's report matching him, no packs had been alerted, nothing. They had abandoned him.

"OK," Fionn turned back to Pria, "you never saw us."