Leader of the pack 2: Protected

Epilog

Eren rolled over. A twinge struck his back, wincing he shifted position. His arm reached out. The bed beside him was empty. Not only empty, but cold. He sighed. Sitting up he looked around the familiar room. Levi had built this house with him when they came back to the proctor. They had decided to live outside of the stuffy confines of the mountainous cityscape.

The village had grown with their friends, their families, other packs that had come to live near them. Although far from always being peaceful, it was a lovely place to live. Eren tossed the blanket around his shoulders. The exposed beams of the bedroom ceiling always mad him feel as if he slept in the forest.

He got up, stifling a cry as his back twinged once more. He wasn't as young as he used to be. Chuckling to himself, he first checked the sliding door that led from the bedroom out to the wrap around porch, no mate there. This didn't surprise him at all. Slipping his feet into slippers, he padded out of the room.

Their bedroom was at the end of a short hall. Only two other doors were off of it, supply room on one side, with a laundry room on the other. Eren check both as he walked past. Still no mate. This hall opened onto the living room. Halfway across the circular space was another short hall, then another two feet from it, a final one was another two feet away. This was closer to the kitchen. Each hall marked one of the triplets rooms.

Eren turned toward the kitchen. He could see that the pillows on the couch had been freshly cleaned. The entire room was spotless. Levi hadn't been able to sleep at all last night. He always got this way whenever something big was up. If it involved the girls, it was even worse on their father.

Eren pushed open the door to the kitchen. It was void of his mate. The coffee pot was just finishing spitting out the dark brew. He grinned. Walking to it, he pulled a mug from the shelf beside it. Filling it with the dark liquid, he added some creamer before going to the sliding door.

There, leaning against the railing as the birds sang in the new day, was his lost mate. Levi sipped from the cup of tea in his hand as the smoke curled up into the chill of the morning. Eren hugged the blanket he had wrapped around himself a bit tighter. He pushed open the door. It was a bit of a struggle to get the blanket out without spilling his coffee. Levi eyed him.

Eren walked up to the shorter male. He wrapped his mate up against him, inside the blanket. He could feel the chill of Levi's skin. He kissed the slender neck. It had been eighteen years since they had to fight for their life, their children's lives. Eighteen years they had built a vast wondrous future for the packs under Levi's command, his protection. The land he watched over thrived with his insight. But today...

"I'm not ready." Levi insisted.

"It's not like they are going anywhere, love." Eren stated for the millionth time.

"It's not right!" Levi insisted. "She's too young!" He growled.

"You aren't giving her free regin of the land." Eren tried to soothe the man.

"They will be off doing things." Levi insisted as he clutched at Eren's free hand.

"All kids grow up." Eren pointed out.

In fact Erin and Levy, Armin's twin daughters had left the year before for college. It was strange without them over all the time. They came back on break, in fact they were home now. They came to support their friends. Eren rested his chin on Levi's head.

"Ariel didn't come home last night." Levi said.

"So, what did you do?" Eren tried to keep his exasperation out of his tone.

"I went out to find our daughter!" Levi snarled.

"Where was she?" he asked knowing full well Levi wouldn't be home if he hadn't found the girl.