Once they were through the driveway, the road curved, like an artist wielding a pen. Logan could see a fence that stretched for kilometres on both sides. Inside the fence was more flat, grassless land. However, evergreen trees and different species of cacti had been planted at intervals. Several gardeners were at work on the trees, pruning their leaves with shears.

Logan could imagine his cousin as a child, running through the sharp cacti and other evergreen plants. No wonder she loved dangerous things and enjoyed taking risks, he thought.

Here and there stood small stone fountains from which flowed water. The fountains were shaped like rearing wolves, and the water spilled from the wolves' mouths. Logan's sharp wolf eyes could pick up some inscriptions on the side of the fountains. They were written in Latin, but Logan knew enough of it to decipher what it was saying.

"For The Greater Good of Lycans. Wow." Casper whispered beside him.

The driveway ended in front of a large mansion painted white. It had large columns in front and a wide, sweeping staircase that led to the front door. It reminded Logan of a Greek temple. the ones he had seen in his books from when he was little. 

The chauffeur parked the car in front and came down, then opened the door on the alpha's side. Logan came down from the car and turned to Casper who was coming down from the other side.

"Well, that was quite a journey, don't you think?" Casper asked in a breathless voice, but Logan did not answer. He was busy still staring at the beauty of the pack house and being wrapped in its magnificence. 

A butler dressed in all white was waiting at the front door for them. He bowed as Logan and his beta walked up the white staircase.

"Welcome, gentlemen. Alpha Rohan sends his greetings." The butler said in curt English. "These stewards will take your bags now." Two stewards scurried from a corner and collected their traveling bags. Then the butler led the way to the front door and threw it open, ushering them in.

The inside view was as equally breathtaking as the outside. Every single thing was white: the sofas in the foyer, the floors, the ceiling, the walls, even the TVs and the curved staircase that led up.

Logan had barely enough time to process everything when a loud voice boomed from the top of the staircase, sending a surge of familiarity through his body.

"My boy!" He heard his uncle call out. He turned to the staircase and saw Louve's father standing there with his arms wide outstretched. Logan had never really gotten used to his uncle calling him "boy". It made him feel twelve and gangly again.

His uncle bounded down in a few seconds and grabbed Logan, pulling him into a tight bear hug. The hug lasted for more than five seconds, and it was starting to get him uncomfortable. He twitched nervously and his uncle let him go without any apology.

The older alpha held Logan at arm's length and gave him a once-over. Logan thought the other man wasn't looking bad himself. He certainly had filled out over the years; Logan did not remember him looking so middle-aged and fat. 

His rotund frame was covered by a pure white bathrobe and his feet was in soft fluffy white bunny slippers. His cap of brown hair was covered in a pajama cap and on his face was a cheerful smile. The sight might have looked ridiculous to any other person, but Logan knew that beneath all that fluffiness and smiles was a tough man who didn't take nonsense from anybody

"My, my! You've grown! Petunia would be shocked at the sight of you." Alpha Rohan said genially. Logan certainly did not miss how his uncle always made him feel like a small boy.

"Good evening, uncle." Logan said, then gestured to Casper. "This is my beta, Casper."

"Oh!" Alpha Rohan turned to Casper and gave him a curt nod. Then he turned back to Logan. "I think you guys must be tuckered out by now. Perhaps we should postpone the rest of the greeting till tomorrow morning? Jean-Francois here will show you to your rooms." The alpha motioned to the butler who was standing at a distance.

The butler came forward and led the two men to their rooms. In the room, Logan stripped and had a hot shower without even pausing to take a good look at the room he had been kept in. He landed on the bed and in a few minutes, was snoring heavily.

The next morning, Logan woke up feeling more rested. He took another bath and wore plain white T-shirt and gray sweatpants. He realised that he hadn't eaten anything more than breakfast since the previous day. The journey down south had taken the whole day.

He walked out of his room and somehow found his way to the dining room through his uncle's voice. He could literally hear the man laugh from several rooms away. When he walked into the dining room, he saw that his uncle and Casper was already seated at the table, alongside Petunia: his father's sister and Louve's mother. 

Immediately Petunia saw him she stood up from the dining table and came to him with his arms outstretched and smiling. She looked so much like her daughter. They shared the same straight long black hair and green eyes that seemed to be a part of their family's genes. He could see the same mischievous light that Louve had in her eyes too.

She hugged him to her chest for a short while, then stepped back to look at him. "By all the mercies of the Goddess, you've grown! See all these muscles!" She exclaimed with excitement.

"I told you, Petunia dear!" Alpha Rohan called from the table.

"I'm a man, Aunt Petunia. That's what we do, have muscles." Logan replied teasingly and narrowly avoided a playful slap from her. He walked over to the table and sat beside Alpha Rohan and opposite Casper, then dug in to breakfast.

The breakfast was utterly delicious, and Logan felt all his worries slowly ebbing away as he talked and laughed with his aunt and uncle. Soon after, they were done with breakfast. Then Rohan turned to Logan.

"Now tell me, son. Do you have a mate already?" He asked.

Logan stopped chewing, then looked at Casper with dread. When Casper shrugged and didn't say anything, he muttered. "Yes."

"Oh, that's splendid!" Petunia said. "How i wish our Louve had a mate of her own too. It's all she has ever wanted."

Casper choked on the glass of water he was sipping and coughed. Then he looked with alarm at Logan. 

"Louve has a mate." Logan said. "And her mate is my beta."

"Oh..." Rohan breathed.

"Oh wow." Petunia exclaimed.

"But why didn't she tell us?" Rohan wondered. He then fixed Casoer with an icy glare. "I hope you treat our daughter right. For your own sake, young man."

"Y...yes sir." Casper spluttered. Logan almost laughed at the lost look on his beta's face. 

Then he turned back to his uncle. "Um, uncle? You were going to show me the warriors." He reminded Rohan.

The older man stood up from the table and Casper and Logan followed suit. "Yes, yes. I almost forgot. Follow me!" He said and led the way outside.

Behind the pack house was a training ground that overlooked the hills that Logan had seen. The training ground was very wide: about the length and width of four football fields. And on the grounds were more warriors than Logan had ever seen.

They were up to a thousand, comprising of different age groups from teenagers to middle-aged men, all undergoing various stages of training. Immediately they noticed the presence of Alpha Rohan, they stopped their training and assembled in front of him.

The alpha then gestured to Logan to go amongst them and select the warriors he liked. Logan did so, assisted by Casper. In the end he selected about 700 able-bodied men and separated them from the rest of the group of warriors.

"Very good, very good. These warriors will be at your beck and call. Once you need them, just place a call through to me and they will be in your pack in no time." Alpha Rohan said.

"Yes, uncle. And thank you very much." Logan said. He finally felt peace and certainty, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Perhaps this war was one he could win after all.