"That was Reilly! She's almost here!" Madison clutched her phone and bounced around with even more than the usual exuberance. The preteen girl was stinking up the room with her excitement. Usually, Sammy enjoyed seeing his adoptive sister so happy and often went out of his way to provoke that kind of joy. But this outburst of energy just made his bad mood worse.

"Oh, joy," Sammy growled. He rubbed Clara's back. "Come on, let's get outta here."

He peeled himself off the couch, but his girlfriend was more reluctant to budge. "Hang on. What's so bad about this girl?"

"Samson had a crush on her!" Madison said with a snicker.

Sammy felt his eye twitch and he shot the girl his best withering gaze, which she answered back with a grin. 

"You left out the part where she broke my arm for it," he said. "Most girls are content to just break hearts. Your sister's a psycho."

"Aw, c'mon, she felt really bad and apologized for it! Besides, it healed up in a few days."

"I feel like I'm not getting the whole story here," Clara spoke up.

Sammy threw his hands into the air. "Trust me, there's no context to justify snapping my arm in half. You tell her the story if you want. I'm going into town. I don't wanna be anywhere around when she gets here."

"You can't avoid your alpha's [i]niece[/i] forever," Clara pointed out.

Sammy snorted. "I can try."

***

For someone who made a living hunting down vampires and rogue thropes [i]and enjoying it,[/i] Reilly Austin felt her palms growing damp as she pulled into her uncle and aunt's ranch. The entire pack--minus one--stood outside waiting for her as she parked her rental car by the fleet of weathered pickups, a mix of human and canine faces staring expectantly. Right. No pressure.

Audience aside, it was good to be home. She barely had a chance to stand up before she was almost knocked back into the car by her exuberant kid sister screaming her name. Uncle Nicholas was the next to greet her, placing a large, furry hand on her shoulder and sniffing the top of her head when she bowed it down, the traditional greeting of an Alpha welcoming a pack member back home. Then the rest of Argo converged upon her, family and friends alike, including a face she didn't recognize but was quickly introduced to, a shy young woman who introduced herself as Clara.

"But around here we call her Ironclad," Odysseus said. 

"Oh, yes. I forgot," Clara said.

"How was your trip?" asked Liam.

"Did you bring any cool weapons? I wanna see!" said Madison.

Somehow the wordless gaze of Hatchet, veteran of a thousand battles, added to the clamor.

She heard a click and looked down to see a seven-year-old girl in pigtails pointing a small digital camera at her.

"Well, hello there," Reilly said, squatting down to meet the kid eye-to-eye. "You must be Jenny. I haven't seen you since you were a baby!"

"That's what mommy said," she said, utterly serious. She held up her camera. "I took a picture of you for a drawing, if that's okay?"

Reilly was delighted. "Well of course it is!"

"I like your hair," Jenny said. "Are you a werewolf too? Or are you human like me and Daddy?"

Reilly gave her a wink. "Oh, I'm a [i]big[/i] bad wolf."

"Not as big as Samson, I bet," Jenny said, then sighed at looked up at her mother. "There's not enough humans in this pack."

Reilly stood back up and Aunt Ruth pressed closer, pushing a large white box into Reilly's hands. "I made you something."

"What? Oh!" Reilly cracked open the box and gasped. "Aunt Night Sky, you didn't...!" She pulled out a twelve foot, multicolored scarf.

"Well, I know how much you like that show, so I figured you could wear it to your sci-fi conventions."

"Oh, you guys!" Reilly wrapped the impractical article of clothing around herself and surveyed the loving gazes around her. As she was passed around the crowd for hugs, it was just as she expected, overwhelming and comforting at the same time. Homecoming. She had always preferred Argo over California, and this was why. Everyone here was so close. There was only one face missing... Sammy's absence was one of the first things she noticed, if only because the six-foot-six-inch giant stood head and shoulders above the rest. But given their history, she hadn't expected him to make an appearance.

***

When his dilapidated pickup pulled up a few hours later, Reilly excused herself from the family revelry. It was just as well; Liam had recently decided to focus his creative energy into learning the flute, and when he broke it out after dinner, she decided that was as good a time to get some fresh air as any. Plus, there really was some air to clear between her and the tall, muscular man stretching his limbs as he pried himself free of his truck.

The last time Reilly had seen Sammy, he had been a scrawny, sickly-looking sixteen-year-old still fresh from his traumas. But even back then, he had looked older, with a hollow look in his green eyes that made one wonder if he had [i]ever[/i] been a child. The scar above his left eyebrow didn't help that effect. Reilly didn't know much about Sammy's history, it wasn't her place to know, but it was [i]very[/i] obvious that before coming here, the young man had been through some shit.

And Reilly, a stupid, impulsive eighteen-year-old, had been completely freaked out by him and broke his arm when he tried to offer her a flower. She winced as the memory came bubbling up. There really was no excuse for that, and the guilt of it caused her stomach to knot anew as soon as she laid eyes on him.

As soon as his eyes fell on her, she saw suspicion and smelled nervousness. Despite his physical maturity--having grown even taller, filled out, and no longer carrying himself with a slight hunch or his hoodie drawn over his face all the time--his posture shifted into an overtly defensive stance. She considered shifting back into her human form in the hopes of seeming less intimidating, but she had left her clothing inside, and she doubted bare skin would put him at ease.

"Got bored with your fan club already?" he sneered as soon as she approached. The best defense was a good offense.

"Well, hello to you too," she said, eschewing offense for bravado. "It's been, what, six years?"

"Just about. I was hoping for ten."

Reilly gave an obviously-forced "Hah," and punched him on the arm. He flinched. [i]Damnit![/i]

She withdrew her hand and gave him a bubble of personal space. "Really, Sammy? Still mad at me?"

"It's Samson, now. Or Phoenix. Only my friends call me 'Sammy.'"

"Samson. Well," It certainly suited him. She began to circle him, sizing him up more closely. "You [i]have[/i] grown up. You even have a girlfriend now! Congratulations. But you didn't answer my question." She stopped in front of him and looked him square in the eye.

This time, Sammy maintained eye contact, though he wavered. "I'm not mad atcha. I just don't like you."

Wow. For some reason, that hurt more than she expected.

With the wind knocked from her sails, she found herself adrift. "Look. I'm really [i]sorry[/i] for what I did. You were right at the time. What happened to me as a kid didn't justify treating you with such hostility. And I'm willing to apologize as many times as it takes for you to believe me."

Sammy threw his hands into the air. "What do you care whether I believe you or not?"
"Because of Maddy! She's always calling me up, telling me about this or that adventure you take her on, or the things you do for her!" In some ways, Reilly was jealous. As much as she believed in the work she did, reveled in the life she led... she did miss spending time with her sister. A mischievous half-smile formed across her muzzle. "She even showed me a video she took of you singing 'Baker Street' at a karaoke bar."

Sammy shut his eyes. "I am going to kill her."

"My point is; she loves you like a brother. I thought..." Wait, what did she think? Where was she going with this? [i]Why hadn't she planned this out beforehand?[/i] "I dunno, maybe..."

"You thought what?" Sammy scoffed.

"I guess... I've kinda been vicariously enjoying your friendship through her. I'm gonna be here for about a month, I was thinking I could treat you both to a night out?"

"Stop right there," Sammy raised a hand. "Just stop, will you? What is this, really?"

"What do you mean?"

"You got a whole pack in there that... treats you like royalty. You're [i]Fortune[/i], niece of Argo's alpha and daughter of California's. You're the freakin' princess of [i]two[/i] packs. Even [i]Hatchet[/i] likes you. What is it--what is it, you see one peasant who isn't bowing to you and it's drivin' you nuts? S-sorry to be the pea in your bed, but we ain't friends. And we never will be. Now if you'll excuse me, your highness, I'm gonna go spend some time with a girl who actually cares about me."

He gave her a melodramatic bow and marched inside, right past the revel-makers, faltering only as Liam's rendition of "Let It Go" assaulted his ears. But then he was out of sight, leaving Reilly wondering... Was he [i]right[/i]? Why did she care so much about [i]him[/i]?